Chapter 276

In a time before Solletarass, Lanzo, and Doroysen existed, the world belonged to heterogeneous races.

Dragons, beastmen, merfolk, elves, vampires, and dwarves.

Under the wings of dragons, everyone fell silent, and any weapon was rendered useless in the face of the beasts’ strength, including lizardmen, cat-people, and werewolves.

The seas were a realm only merfolk could traverse, and the tranquil forests were the exclusive domain of elven hunters.

Only vampires could spread their chests under the dark night, and only dwarves could receive the blessings of iron and gold deep within caves.

Humans, due to their remarkable reproductive abilities, occasionally produced a few exceptional individuals, but ultimately could not overcome their innate weakness and short lifespan.

“An inferior race that can’t even grow back a lost tooth.”

That was the common perspective of heterogeneous races towards humans.

Beastmen and dwarves revered martial arts and technology, dedicating themselves to swords, iron, and fire year-round, leaving agriculture, cleaning, cooking, and laundry—everyday life—to the lowly human slaves.

Vampires were no different.

To them, humans were mere livestock to be kept and fattened before being consumed.

However, alternatively speaking, they also needed humans.

According to a paper banned by the Solletarass Imperial Family, the lives of serfs under noble vampires were far more prosperous than that of current serfs.

The taxes required from serfs of vampire nobility in that era were minimal, often just one young person for every thousand individuals each year.

In a time when the Orc horde swept over the horizon, committing atrocities indiscriminately against men and women, and families usually had at least four, often ten or more children, the prospect of being protected by a vampire aristocrat for just one young person was quite an attractive choice.

Moreover, vampires did not necessarily drain the life blood of every young person who was brought to them.

In most cases, they returned within a few years, and with good fortune, could be employed at the castle, or if exceptionally lucky, chosen as a servant or companion.

This was not significantly different under dwarven and beastmen nobility.

Of course, the stories of a few fortunate individuals could not adequately explain the times.

In novels about the romance between a princess of a conquered nation and the emperor of a conquering nation, the deaths of soldiers were not depicted, but if all their spilled tears were gathered, they could bring rain to the vast land.

Most humans toiled all their lives and faced death once they could work no longer.

Simultaneously, most heterogeneous races relied on humans to maintain their opulent and luxurious lifestyles.

In this process, while individual treatment might have been abominable, the survival of the species itself was tolerated.

Only elves treated humans differently.

* * *

“They are like bugs that destroy the forest.”

“No matter how you look at it, it seems right to kill all the humans.”

“We must live in the forest, and they must live without it. And if one must be erased, it must be them.”

The humans who practiced slash-and-burn agriculture could not coexist with elves who engaged in hunting and gathering.

This was not a matter of cultural difference, but rather a difference in economic structure and social systems.

Conflict was inevitable, and countless humans perished.

Elves, born with graceful forms, were skilled in swordsmanship, spear, archery, and magic. They had a high affinity for mana, making them remarkably proficient magicians, able to command spirits as they wished.

It was common for a few elven warriors to turn human towns near the forest into seas of flames.

“Kill them all!”

“Surrender is not needed.”

“Breathable air is a waste for these fellows!”

But time was on the side of humans.

They burned the forests, reducing the elves’ territory, stole blood and seed, and finally gave birth to individuals worthy of being called nobles.

And when the conflict between humanity and heterogeneous races turned from one-sided slaughter to a somewhat balanced war.

When the corruption and magical realms became a significant threat during a rare catastrophe that might only occur once in a thousand years.

The elves fell into the most devastating decline.

They were few in number, weak to corruption due to their high affinity for magic, while humans endlessly evolved.

“Finally, we have returned.”

Humans, endowed with the elven affinity for mana, ogre strength, dwarven metallurgy, and the ferocity of beastmen avenged their fallen kin with blood.

“There is no surrender, is there? You wouldn’t want that, right?”

They did not desire the elves’ deep mana or their undying beauty.

They simply killed the elves mechanically, just as the elves had killed their ancestors.

Only the Emperor of Solletarass was an exception.

“I shall become the ruler of all races.”

He accepted elven surrender and granted them the deep forest as their settlement.

Solletarass faced severe criticism from contemporary human lords for this.

“How could you spare those demons?”

“They tried to kill us all!”

“We must leave no remnants.”

In response, he mobilized powerful magicians of elf blood in large numbers and swept away the critics with fire and water.

“I do not forget where my power comes from.”

“Heterogeneous races must not rebel against us, but if we kill them all, we lose the way to become stronger.”

“Humans? Heterogeneous races? It matters not. As long as mixed blood is possible, only who rules matters.”

Thus, the Emperor of Solletarass became the ruler of five races, and heterogeneous races were allowed to live somewhere in the Empire, while the emperor’s vassals and nobility became notorious mixed-blood nobles.

They took pride in the blood of heterogeneous races mixed within them, simultaneously feeling a sense of kinship with humans, and completed their lineage through proactive intermarriage.

“That young lord is the son of a vampire.”

“That young lady is said to be a hybrid.”

“Remember that knight well. He carries the blood of a merfolk.”

Though the entire world and the Church of Light despised heterogeneous races, in the noble society of Solletarass, they became objects of strange affection and yearning.

They were the monsters who had persecuted, devoured, and slaughtered humans, yet were also the source of power that transformed them into nobles.

That was the reason why Sererassie ran to Valenciaunos upon learning that elven magic tools had surfaced in the world.

* * *

“What on earth are you doing at this hour?”

My half-sister barged into the villa at the crack of dawn.

I was dressed in pajamas, having hastily done my hair with water.

Sererassie hurriedly started to explain.

“Did the magic tools come from the elves?”

“Isn’t that the case! They aren’t ancient relics hundreds or thousands of years old. They were made just 90 years ago! Doesn’t this mean that the elves are trying to crawl back into the world? They might have allied with the infiltrators to exterminate humanity. No! They definitely would.”

Sererassie was unusually flustered as she rushed to the villa.

Unlike usual, she wasn’t wearing her pointed hat or leaning on her staff.

From the way she was breathless, it was clear she’d run madly upon discovering the truth.

…Why did she run when she could just fly?

“We must inform the emperor immediately! I hate causing trouble, and I despise having my research materials taken from me, but this is serious. The Imperial Family and the great lords must work together to find solutions.”

“Understood. I’ll report it to the emperor properly.”

I replied nonchalantly, trying to appear unfazed.

In truth, I felt quite embarrassed to be seen like this by Sererassie.

The infamous Duke Valenciaunos sitting in the living room in striped pajamas, just waking up.

Fortunately, Sererassie seemed to care little about that at all, simply looking surprised.

“Are you… okay?”

“Yeah. I’m fine.”

Of course, I wasn’t fine.

I was extremely grateful that she rushed to me to talk instead of going somewhere else.

I’m the one who has returned, and naturally, I have a solution for the heterogeneous race problem laid out.

First, merfolk, then elves.

And Sererassie should not be focusing on the heterogeneous race issue right now; she needed to continue her research for me and the Empire.

To do that, I had to send her off as though it were no big deal and not make a fuss about it.

Since she didn’t understand the ways of the world well yet, if I acted as if it were a trivial matter, she would feel reassured.

I handed her a lukewarm glass of water and said, “Their magic skills are quite renowned. Some nearby great lord might have secretly sent someone to create them. Just send holy knights and inquisitors to clean it all up.”

“No. They were in the hands of the infiltrators.”

“That lord was likely an infiltrator, not an elf.”

Sererassie’s eyes went wide.

“That could be true… I guess.”

“Elves have also fallen due to corruption; no matter how much they despise the Empire, they wouldn’t ally with infiltrators.”

That had been true even before my return.

Heterogeneous races would rebel, but they would not make alliances with infiltrators.

Sererassie turned her body with a relieved expression.

“Right. Then I can carry on with my research without worry. I’m sorry for waking you at dawn.”

“Right. You should get some sleep, too.”

I sent her off with a smile on my face until the end.

“…Hah.”

When I returned to the second floor and threw myself back onto the bed, memories of my time before the return resurfaced vividly.

I distinctly remembered the words of the rebellious royal Justianus, spoken decades ago.

“We must forget the grudges of the past and move towards the future!”

“We are comrades groaning under a mad emperor. The tyrant Jeilliris will kill indiscriminately, regardless of humans or heterogeneous races!”

“If we cannot forgive the heterogeneous races, think of them only as excellent warriors who share a common enemy!”

What a magnificent speech that was.

I had no idea I would be fighting real elves for the first time and nearly lost my mind.

I couldn’t imagine there would be a magician with skills as remarkable as mine.

Of course, that rebellion ended in failure.

Humans did not trust the heterogeneous races, and the heterogeneous races remained wary and dismissive of humans, while the great nobles who sponsored Justianus were cautious of the possibility of a new noble arising.

Above all, Jeilliris, who had accumulated experience by quelling the rebellion of the great nobles, was extraordinarily powerful.

In my hands, the World Tree burned, the merfolk king was trapped in the conch shell, and the dwarven underground palace was submerged. Jeilliris dragged the beastman royalty around the imperial palace in chains.

“…Heterogeneous races.”

I muttered with a sigh.

It was a problem that needed resolution.

Jeilliris was not just an emperor for humans.

Doroysen, Lanzo, and the others would likely remain quiet for a while.

The cursed Amir of the Southern Continent would pose a problem.

In a few years, a grand ceremony would be held, and it seemed Matheos would likely initiate a crusade before that.

Continuously strengthening the purification illness and increasing the number of holy knights clearly indicated preparatory measures for war.

The heterogeneous race issue would be attended to afterward.

For now, I’d better forget it.

What matters now is not that.

* * *

“…The Church has suggested a way to affix the purification sacred object to your magical lamp to drive away the energy of corruption. Assuming the Imperial Family handles production and distribution, around six thousand gold coins will be initially invested.”

I reported the contents I had organized from my discussion with Matheos and the documents he provided.

Jeilliris smiled with satisfaction and immediately summoned the Minister of Finance and the mages from the imperial magic guild to discuss production.

She tapped the desk thoughtfully and said, “You often present gifts I had not anticipated.”

“I appreciate the compliment.”

“No, it’s true. My original plan focused on the administrative and distribution networks. The great lords would jointly push against the forces of corruption, and at the moment when localized magical realms emerge, we would quickly gather core forces like knights and holy knights to shut it down, while I planned to personally tackle any non-standard issues.”

“That would be the right approach. Though it may seem presumptuous of me to say, it’s more important for you to make good use of what you have. Not every issue can be resolved through improvisation and innovation.”

Jeilliris had made a name for herself as a formidable magic swordsman, and her title as the Emperor of the Empire could not fully explain her greatness, but to do what she wished, the emperor’s authority was even more critical than the reputation of a strong magic swordsman.

“But it’s better to solve problems through innovation.”

Jeilliris smiled lazily.

“Indeed, my friend. Now, we have one more tool to pressure those beings. We must install it first in densely populated areas. It will be an opportunity to protect the unaware citizens intertwined with corruption.”

Every single infiltrator was a calamity to individuals, but to people like us, they were just numbers.

Rural provinces had lower population densities, so corruption spread more slowly.

Even if they fully succumbed, honestly, we could just burn down the town and rebuild it.

In contrast, cities had high population densities, leading to rapid corruption spread, but we couldn’t simply set them ablaze.

We had to keep watch over the ‘ordinary common folk,’ which was a very tiring and expensive task and was absolutely necessary.

“It seems everything has been organized.”

I said, lowering my head.

It was something that needed to be done, but it wasn’t my responsibility.

The person granting grace should be the notorious Crown Prince Valenciaunos, not the Holy Emperor Jeilliris.

Jeilliris nodded.

“Then go meet that lover of yours.”

“Excuse me?”

For a moment, I questioned my ears.