The Evil God has died. All of her followers in the Evil God Cult have been eradicated, and peace has returned to the continent.
However, peace is merely a stage for preparing for another fight. That era of peace was not eternal. At least, not for the Empire.
“Emperor! Take responsibility for this situation right now-!”
“What kind of Son of Heaven are you!? You’re trash that gave your behind to the Evil God!”
The Evil God Cult that had attacked the Empire, with the help of the current emperor’s third son, stormed the Imperial Capital—and rumors spread throughout the capital that they even devoured treasures from the Empire’s secret vaults to resurrect their god.
Upon hearing these rumors, people demanded accountability from the Emperor. If it were the past when the Emperor’s power was at its peak, no one in this centralized society would dare question him… but after the Evil God rampaged through the imperial capital, things were different.
“—What should I do, Counselor?”
“You can simply ignore it, Your Majesty. There’s no need to pay attention to the words of mere commoners.”
“It’s precisely because it’s not just the words of mere commoners.”
The Emperor looked at his counselor with a worried expression. The counselor let out a low hum and nodded lightly.
Even if powerless commoners rise up, under normal circumstances, it wouldn’t escalate into a large-scale riot like this.
Clearly, this required intervention from other vested interests—such as merchant guilds that control over half the currency issued by the Empire or other kingdoms hoping to take over after the Empire collapses.
“How many are there?”
“…Practically all of them.”
“Haa—how did it come to this?”
Kingdoms that saw an opportunity to topple the Empire banded together and simultaneously began attacking. They started supporting the noisy protesters outside both financially and militarily.
This was also why the Emperor couldn’t simply unleash the Knight Order to suppress them. Hidden within the protest groups were knights at the Expert Level wielding Aura and mages ranked three stars or higher.
The soldiers of the Empire, who were busy rebuilding the collapsed system, couldn’t handle such a large number of knights and mages. Moreover, weren’t these protesters using the shield of being citizens of the Empire, which the Imperial Army couldn’t touch, to attack unilaterally?
“—Send the Master.”
“…Forgive me, Your Majesty.”
Believing only the Master could resolve this situation, the Emperor ordered the Master to be sent.
“There are no Masters currently in a fit state to act.”
“…What did you say?”
Unfortunately, the remaining Masters in the Empire were all in less-than-stellar condition due to the aftermath of the Holy Kingdom’s recapture war and the terrorist attacks by the Evil God Cult.
The intense battles that followed had significantly depleted even those of Master-level strength.
“…Are you telling me there’s no one available to move immediately?”
“I apologize deeply…”
“What about the Princess of the First Rank’s bodyguard?”
“He claims he came to guard the princess, not to serve as a servant, and has refused.”
“What about the Magic Corps Commander?”
“He disappeared somewhere before this incident even occurred.”
“…And the Knight Order Captain?”
“He’s too severely injured to move.”
Hearing that all three Masters in the imperial capital were currently unusable, the Emperor clicked his tongue lightly and mentioned other Masters.
“The two at the Academy… no, they’re too old.”
“Yes. Despite already being retired, we included them in the previous battle… there’s no way they can handle this situation now.”
“What about Duke Northern?”
“That… it seems he harbors resentment for not being called upon after defeating the Barbarian Tribe. He hasn’t responded to our summons.”
“That-! How dare a mere duke defy the Imperial Palace! Send the Knight Order immediately─!”
The Emperor stopped mid-sentence, realizing they lacked the forces to do so.
Why call for a Master? Wasn’t it to suppress the protesters attacking the capital and the spies from other countries secretly mingling among them?
To divert forces specifically to capture a Master in this situation? If they had such forces, they would’ve resolved this crisis long ago.
And on top of that─
“Even if we had the forces, we couldn’t do it, Your Majesty…”
“…What do you mean by that?”
“That man… warned us not to interfere since his family isn’t involved in this matter…”
“…Is the person you’re talking about the one I think it is?”
“Yes, Your Majesty…”
“Hoo…”
Hearing the counselor’s words, the Emperor sighed deeply and looked up at the ceiling. The dragon’s eye painted on the ceiling seemed to mockingly suggest that his fate had reached its end.
“How did it come to this?”
They couldn’t summon the Duke Northern.
That man. Kyle Meyer, the Duke Northern’s son-in-law, boasted divine might surpassing even Masters.
Opposing him was tantamount to opposing a god.
Even the Emperor, hailed as the Sun on Earth, lacked the courage to defy a god.
* * *
─The Emperor must apologize for this situation!
─You worthless knights! My family died because of that trash!
The voices of the protesters reached the Imperial Palace. The Emperor fell silent as the voices of the approaching protesters grew louder.
It seemed the flow of the times could not be changed.
* * *
Emerald Realm.
A favorite vacation spot for young nobles.
Once shut down due to a massive sea monster invasion, it had become a popular destination again for the youth after recovery efforts were completed.
“Waaah-! This place is amazing! Smartphone, ah, no Instagram here, huh.”
“What are you looking for SNS here for?”
“But! If I take pictures and post them, everyone will ask where I am!”
Kyle came to Emerald Realm with Yuri, Sera, Arthur, and others—family and friends—to recover from injuries sustained in long battles.
Watching Sera run barefoot across the sandy beach toward the seaside, Kyle began setting up a parasol and chairs.
After installing the parasol to protect his wife from the sun, Kyle guided her to the chair he set up.
“Yuri, aren’t you swimming?”
“Nope, not swimming.”
“Why?”
“My stomach feels heavy.”
Seeing Yuri gently caressing her pregnant belly, Kyle couldn’t force her. How could he push her into the sea when she said her pregnancy made swimming impossible?
Kyle stared intently at Yuri’s belly. To him, it didn’t look very pronounced, but she must feel differently.
In the end, the only ones swimming were Sera, who leapt alone into the sea, Star Tail who chased after her, and Arthur who kept an eye on Star Tail.
“Aren’t you swimming?”
“What-? Why should I wear some girly swimsuit?”
“Fine, do what you want.”
Kyle, seeing Jerry squatting on the sand staring blankly at the sea, suggested swimming. When she declined, he handed her his wallet and told her to buy drinks instead.
Though grumbling, Jerry took the wallet and fulfilled her role as a servant.
While Jerry went far away to buy drinks, Kyle and Yuri were left alone. Smiling softly, Kyle gazed at Yuri lying beside him.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Just because you’re beautiful.”
Her figure was impeccably maintained, making it hard to believe she was a married woman. Though her belly was slightly swollen, it didn’t appear like she’d gained weight or was pregnant.
The unique protrusion of a uterus typical of women with low body fat wasn’t overly noticeable thanks to her prominent chest and wide hips. Her slightly rounded abdomen didn’t look strange at all.
That such a beautiful, well-shaped, and modest young lady was his wife was perhaps the hardest thing to believe since arriving in this other world.
“…I said, why are you staring?”
“Just because?”
“This is really-.”
Unable to bear his continuous gaze, Yuri jumped onto Kyle with a thud. Feeling the combined weight of an adult woman and a newborn, Kyle let out a faint groan and looked at Yuri sitting atop him.
Slowly swaying her hips left and right atop Kyle, Yuri flaunted her figure.
“You keep staring, I can’t take it anymore.”
“…Here?”
“─It’s fine.”
Snap! With a flick of Yuri’s fingers, the light around them shimmered. Seeing the blocked gazes, Kyle let out a dry laugh.
Having refrained from frequent intimacy due to her pregnancy… if she’s the one initiating now, that’s a different story.
“You started it?”
“The baby wants to meet Daddy soon.”
“…Where did you learn to talk like that?”
Smirking, Kyle slowly placed his hands on her waist. Enjoying her soft moans, he eventually kissed her.
Soon after, heat hotter than the sun began emanating from beneath the parasol.
