Chapter 136
Rank 8 (5)
『 Translator – Divinity 』
“So… the Sculptor just let you go?”
“To be precise, he said it would take time to create the reward I wanted.”
“What did you ask for?”
“Haha, I’ll keep that a secret.”
Back in the room after all the twists and turns,
The Archbishop, who had been captured separately, had a dumbfounded expression. He seemed unable to believe that I returned from the Sculptor’s grasp unharmed and without incident.
Come to think of it, what did he do?
“Where were you, Archbishop? I was in a luxurious-looking room.”
“………”
“Archbishop?”
“…It was a place that looked like an army barracks. A very familiar and… irritating place.”
The Archbishop didn’t say anything more. He must have been reminded of his past as a soldier.
I thought he would be safe since the Sculptor called the Archbishop a ‘clichéd character,’ but it seemed like he had been traumatized.
Of course, it wasn’t my concern, and I didn’t want to pry, so I just nodded and moved on.
“Anyway, he said he would give me the reward first and then take my heart, so he let me go since it would take time to create it.”
“I don’t know what that reward is, but if you give him your heart, you’ll die. Aren’t you afraid?”
“Not at all. I have no intention of giving it to him in the first place.”
“Why are you so bold for a Rank 1?”
“Because if the Headmistress is with me when I receive the reward, even the Sculptor will have no choice but to back down.”
What’s he going to do? Fight the Headmistress?
I knew the Sculptor was a formidable Rank 8. But there was a saying that there’s always a bigger fish, and what if the Headmistress stepped in?
Of course, I had a plan. If I blatantly broke the deal, the ‘sculptures’ I received as a reward could turn against me, so it wasn’t entirely a good idea for the Sculptor either.
“In the end, wouldn’t it be best for everyone if we just went with the flow?”
“…You devil.”
“Oh, that’s a coincidence. Student Milia also said something similar to me. I ordered Student Milia to work an all-nighter, but I can’t do that to you, Archbishop. It’s truly a shame.”
“………”
He seemed to be looking at me with a disgusted expression, but what could I do?
Anyway, we returned safely, so it was time to rest—
“…It seems like she’s coming. You two stay here. I’ll be back later.”
“Huh?”
Right after the Archbishop, leaving those cryptic words, disappeared through the window,
The door burst open with a loud bang.
Thud!
“Finance Director!!”
“Ah, Your Highness Beatrice. My walk took a bit longer than expected. There was something…”
“I’m so… relieved.”
What? Why was she suddenly like this?
Beatrice, who seemed to have rushed here, was breathing heavily as she embraced me. I could feel the softness of her chest, but let’s not focus on that.
But why?
“I thought you were kidnapped by the Duke of Wei or my brother…!”
“Technically, I was kidnapped. By the Sculptor.”
“…Brother’s guess was right. It doesn’t seem like you’re a sculpture, though.”
“It was troublesome at first, but things worked out well.”
“What? Against the Sculptor?”
“Well…”
After calming Beatrice down, I had her sit next to me and told her about my encounter with the Sculptor.
How he suddenly appeared and showed interest in me, how his sculptures had infiltrated the castle, and how I made a deal with him.
Beatrice had a surprised look on her face as she listened to my story, then a strange expression, and finally, she laughed hollowly.
“So that’s what happened.”
“You don’t have to worry, as long as the Headmistress is there, everything will be fine.”
“Worry? It’s a trivial matter that my brother misunderstood and thought I was betraying him.”
It didn’t seem like a trivial matter at all. So she went to Crown Prince Zeke after realizing I was gone and said something, and now I had returned on my own?
If it were me, I would have been upset, so I didn’t resist Beatrice’s touch and looked into her eyes. I felt a bit sorry.
But was it just my imagination that the hand on my shoulder was moving towards my arm?
“…Your arms are weak.”
“I-Is that so?”
“They’re arms that could break if I put even a little force into them.”
Why was she suddenly discriminating against Rank 1s here?
As I gave her a “What are you talking about?” look at the sudden rank discrimination, Beatrice smirked.
“It’s just… I’m dumbfounded that you acted so boldly against the Sculptor, a Rank 8. Even my brother and the Duke of Wei are struggling against him.”
“Did something happen?”
“I met both my brother and the Duke of Wei to find out who kidnapped the Finance Director. And they both made me an offer. To join their side.”
Beatrice, even in my eyes, was the owner of an insane talent. She was already almost at Rank 7, and it was almost certain that she would become Rank 8 in the future, so it was only natural.
But Beatrice had a truly complicated expression.
“He said he would make me a Rank 8. The Duke of Wei is a Rank 8 himself, and my brother… said he would use a hidden method.”
“A hidden method? Is there such a thing?”
A method to make someone a Rank 8?
If such a thing existed, I would have heard about it from the Headmistress—
“…Necromancy.”
“Really? The necromancy I know?”
“To be precise, it’s a byproduct of it. He said there’s an artifact from an Archmage who reached Rank 8 through necromancy among the royal family’s assets.”
Necromancy. Along with summoning magic, it was a magic that had always been rejected, regardless of the era.
Because of its usefulness, even the hegemonic powers secretly maintained it while publicly denouncing it, but it was still a terrible magic that had to be condemned.
Just as summoning magic was tabooed because of monster terrorism, necromancy also caused countless terror attacks and the downfall of nations.
And an artifact from an Archmage who reached Rank 8 through necromancy?
“He said it’s an artifact that can quickly raise your rank by sacrificing human souls and taking their power. What do you think my answer was?”
“I don’t think I need to ask.”
“That’s right. Of course, I didn’t accept it. It’s not the Archmage himself, but just an artifact, so the efficiency would be low, and no one knows how many people would have to be sacrificed. When I criticized him, my brother answered…”
──Even if it takes a thousand, ten thousand souls, the value of a single Rank 8 is greater. That Rank 8 can save tens, hundreds of millions of lives. A ruler must sacrifice the few to save the many.
“If that’s what a ruler is, I don’t want to be one. Maybe that’s why I wasn’t suited for royalty.”
Beatrice rummaged through her pockets for a moment and then took something out.
An ordinary gold coin. Something that royalty always possessed and used in abundance.
“This is money I earned myself. The part-time job at the academy was more enjoyable than I thought.”
“You’re a celebrity now.”
“Heehee, that’s right. Something I earned by working, moving, and putting in effort myself… something that truly belongs to me.”
It was, as if…
“Don’t you think it’s the opposite of this talent?”
“Even your talent belongs to Your Highness. It makes me pity all the Rank 1s listening.”
“Well, yes. This talent is also me. But it’s only been half a year since I truly felt this talent.”
“………”
“But in that time, the way people look at me, the way they treat me, has completely changed. As if my entire life, suffering from that chronic illness, was infinitely less valuable than this past half-year.”
Beatrice, who was half a year ago, lived a life of being ignored, neglected, compared, and ridiculed.
Ironically, it was partly due to her talent. The talent blocked by the wall of her chronic illness.
But now, everything had changed for Beatrice. Even the way she was treated in the Delphia Kingdom.
It was understandable that she felt a sense of emptiness.
“That’s why… I think I cherish the Finance Director even more. Because he treats me the same, whether it was half a year ago or now.”
“Is that so? I consider myself quite the materialistic person.”
“That’s right. The Finance Director is the most materialistic person, craving bribes, loving money, and adoring gold coins.”
“Hmm.”
“That’s why I liked it even more. Even though he helped change my life, even though I showed him kindness, even though I regained my talent, the Finance Director’s attitude always remained the same.”
That sense of distance, ironically, resonated even more with Beatrice.
Because she had seen how everyone’s attitude changed with talent. And the more she saw it, the more miserable her past self felt.
Someone who was always consistent, regardless of talent, and showed human kindness.
Someone she wanted to support and help in return.
“Finance Director, what do you… think?”
“…May I be honest?”
“Yes, of course.”
“It’s an extravagant question, bordering on absurd.”
“…Yes?”
Well, wasn’t it?
Whether it was the gap or the sense of alienation caused by talent, from my perspective, it was.
“You’ve chosen the wrong person to consult with. To talk about this with a Rank 1 who has no talent at all…”
“N-No, Finance Director! I didn’t mean to make fun of you!”
“So honestly, I can’t fully empathize with your thoughts. I have no talent whatsoever. Therefore, all I can say is… well, it’s cliché, but it’s about your mindset.”
“Mind… set?”
“Because Rank 1s have to practice mental victory to survive.”
She felt a sense of alienation from the difference in treatment between her past and present self? That her talent felt like it didn’t belong to her?
“It’s not that you’re only being treated well now after overcoming your chronic illness and regaining your talent.”
“Huh?”
“It’s just that everyone else was blind. You’re the same as before, Your Highness Beatrice, but everyone else is just now realizing it because they were blind.”
“Finance Director, what…”
“I understand why you care so much about others’ evaluations. It’s probably because you spent most of your life having to read their eyes.”
“………”
“So you change your mindset. It’s not you who has to read their eyes. It’s others who have to read yours.”
It was just a cliché about mental victory. A loser’s excuse, claiming that the world didn’t recognize them.
But that loser had become the most brilliant victor.
So the excuse became reality.
“Your Highness, I dare give you this advice, but the most important thing in the world is your current self.”
“………”
“The gaze of others? Who cares. The sense of alienation from your past self? Who cares. Worries about your talent? Who cares.”
“………”
“In the end, it’s the current you that matters. Even the offers from the Duke of Wei and Crown Prince Zeke, they’re not above you. They’re below you, clinging to your skirt and begging you to join them.”
“…Pfft.”
What I said wasn’t anything special. It was something anyone could say.
But even so,
“Coming from a Rank 1 who’s so confident in front of a Rank 8, it’s quite persuasive.”
“It’s an honor.”
“Clinging to my skirt and begging, you say? Then it’s my choice whose hand I take. And the one who isn’t chosen will cry.”
“They’ll be on their knees, sobbing.”
“Haha! That’s funny to imagine. But… I feel relieved somehow.”
Just by listening to her story,
And just by having someone she could trust, something changed.
Until now, Beatrice didn’t have anyone she could truly trust, but not anymore.
“…I’ve made up my mind.”
“Is that so?”
“Thank you, Finance Director. This is for the consultation.”
Beatrice, handing me a gold coin she took out from her pocket…
“I think I finally have my answer.”
…smiled brightly.
The fan art of Beatrice that I had seen on the <Dark Kingdom> strategy community…
‘She’s much prettier.’
It was a smile befitting the most popular character, much prettier and more beautiful than any of those.
…And there was something I could tell her.
“Your Highness Beatrice.”
“Huh?”
“The chronic illness——”
***
Time passed, and the day of the king’s execution arrived.
The distance between the Duke of Wei’s forces and Crown Prince Zeke’s forces gradually closed, and just as the execution of the one who was once at the pinnacle was about to take place before everyone’s eyes,
“I apologize, but I’ll be interrupting for a moment.”
BOOOOOM!!!!
Beatrice, obliterating the execution grounds right in front of the two armies with high-ranking magic as if to show off,
Stood before the Duke of Wei’s forces with a refreshing smile.
“…Beatrice.”
“I refuse your offer, Duke of Wei. Instead, I have a counter-proposal. How about becoming my subordinate? I’ll even place you right under the Finance Director.”
“What?”
“I’m the one making the choices. So, Duke of Wei, I’ll give you a special offer.”
[Spatial Control]
[Army of the Storm]
[Blazing Sun]
And…
[Day into Night]
The sun high in the sky was gradually being obscured by the power of her chosen talent.
The manifestation of transcendental magic that clearly surpassed even Rank 7.
Beatrice, creating an artificial solar eclipse with magic, floated into the air and looked down at the Duke of Wei from above.
It was the opposite of their encounter in the forest.
“I’ll spare you if you kneel now.”
“You’ve gone mad.”
“I wonder? But one thing is certain.”
“…Wait, you’re not in a state of mana exhaustion…!!”
“This is the most refreshed I’ve ever felt.”
And then…
Magic bombarded the Duke of Wei.