After Starting a Thread as a Reincarnated in an Unknown Otome Game, I Got Caught in a Battlefield of Beauties - Chapter 52: The Emperor's Anger

Chapter 52: The Emperor’s Anger

—While Alto and the others were attacking the castle with magic and bombs…

“What… what is this!?”

Emperor Gerald, dressed in dazzling clothes and equipped with the Empire’s finest magical tools, looked frail but his eyes burned with ambition. As he used magic to block the falling debris, he shouted angrily at his subordinates in response to the sudden attack.

“Who dares to attack this castle where I reside? Bring them to me immediately!”

“But, Your Highness! Your safety is our top priority! We can find out who the attackers are later! We are currently summoning the soldiers within the Empire, so please abandon the capital for now and move to a base protected by an anti-detection barrier!”

The one making this suggestion was Cedric, the chancellor of the country.

With his glasses and gentle appearance, he seemed unlikely to have ever struck anyone.

Despite being from a minor noble family, he used his extraordinary intellect to mercilessly defeat his political rivals and rise to the position of the Empire’s No. 2.

Because of this, Gerald had immense trust in him.

In response to Cedric’s words, Gerald gritted his teeth in anger.

“Do you expect me to just run away and let them have their way!? I, who will surpass not just the Spirit King but even the Spirit God, and overthrow the gods that rule this world to take control myself!? I absolutely cannot allow that! If I waver from just this, my ambition to rule the world will never be realized! —[Divine Art: Divine Iron Barrier]!”

As Gerald shouted, the magical amplification device he wore glowed brilliantly, enveloping the entire castle in a golden barrier. 

The shaking that had been ongoing ceased, and silence returned.

While his subordinates sighed in relief, Gerald bit his lip hard.

(Damn it… what is happening!? We just received reports that all the spies I sent into the kingdom have been killed! And yesterday, someone blew up the Forbidden Library!? This is outrageous! Who is trying to obstruct my path to domination…!?)

As Gerald fumed, a soldier ran up to him, looking panicked.

“Your Majesty, we have identified the attackers!”

“What!? Who dares defy me!?”

Gerald grabbed the soldier’s shoulder and demanded with bloodshot eyes. The soldier, still looking distressed, delivered his report.

“T-there were three of them! Two of them were Spirit Gods! The Spirit Gods of Light and Darkness! And the last one is… a crazy bomber who blew up the Forbidden Library, exposed and killed all our spies, and has become a hero in the kingdom—a boy named Alto Bersac!”

This report shocked not only the subordinates but even Gerald himself.

(Impossible… the Spirit God of Light!? He should have been bound deep beneath the Forbidden Library with [Divine Art: Divine Demon Binding]… wait, did the explosion relocate him? Was that explosion a kingdom’s plan to free the Spirit God…!?)

Gerald’s guess was completely wrong.

Everything was just a series of events caused by Alto. The kingdom had nothing to do with it, and Alto didn’t blow up the library to free the Spirit God—he did it to escape his pursuers. Gerald couldn’t even imagine this in his wildest dreams.

However, this accident ended up dealing a severe blow to the Empire.

“Your Highness! Now is not the time to fight the Spirit Gods! It’s not too late to complete that technique! Let’s retreat for now!”

Gerald was about to argue again, but realizing the barrier was already at its limit, he gritted his teeth and muttered reluctantly.

“Alto Bersac… I will repay this debt… I will definitely kill you with my own hands!”

With that, he and his subordinates vanished from the castle.

“Hey, why aren’t they here? Who said they were in the castle?” 

“It wasn’t me. It was Rampas.” 

“I-I’m sorry… It seems they managed to escape. But what was that unfamiliar magic…?”

By the time we broke through the golden barrier and entered the castle, it was already deserted. 

We found many servants, but none of the key figures like the Emperor or his associates.

The golden barrier was probably just to buy them time.

“What should we do, my Contractor?” 

“Hmm… let’s see…”

After thinking for a moment…

“Let’s report to Leticia.”

I decided to report to Leticia. 

Since the Emperor had fled, the barrier surrounding the Empire was gone, and my magical communication device worked again. 

However, since I disappeared without a word for over a day…

“Uh, um—”

“—Where have you been all this time? You better have a good explanation!”

“…Y-Yes, ma’am.”

As expected, Leticia was very angry.

Knowing it’s best to just nod silently in this situation, I turned to the other two after the communication was cut off and said,

“W-we need to return to the kingdom immediately! If we stay here, we’ll be killed!”

“Oh dear, you’ve done it now, my Contractor.”

“…I guess I’ll visit Aria after a long time.”

We flew at full speed back to Leticia.

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