That Man’s 101st Bad Ending

At the Wall Tower-2

“Robert is also attending this California meeting.”

“All right.”

I already knew that, so I nodded my head without being surprised.

He didn’t have to show himself in front of his father.

It was like that before, but I had to be careful about my behavior as much as I had to get the position of head of the household.

There was a lot to like.

Things that YuRia doesn’t know, that only I know.

The only thing that bothered me was Yuria’s change.

I think her hair was quite long until the last time I saw her.

Now, it was almost short enough to be called bob hair.

Her eyes, which used to waver when she looked at me, also disappeared, and after meeting our eyes for a moment, Yuria raised her head with an expressionless face.

I thought it was shaken for a moment, but was it my mistake?

That side was good.

As he hadn’t even tried anything yet, he hoped that YuRia’s heart would continue to be strong.

Now that I thought about it, it seemed that I could understand Theresia’s heart.

Watching the fallen Ikaros only when you thought you had reached the highest point… would be a pretty good game.

My father’s gaze turned to me, then to Yuria again.

Unlike the past, this meeting was quite an important topic.

It is about the southern subjugation that the Empire has been planning for a long time.

The South has been a territory where heterogeneous tribes and barbarians have been mixed since ancient times.

Isn’t that the reason why it was occupied but not developed?

A land full of grass, forests, strange plants and people.

Come to think of it, the children Adrian took care of last time were also children with ties to the South.

The more I thought about the children who escaped and were saved from being sacrificed, the more I thought that the connection between this household meeting and the saintess was quite large.

Even so, the reason they hadn’t met before was that he heard the news directly through the princess.

“Robert, is this your first time attending the California State Conference?”

“That’s right. I will make no mistake.”

“Nothing to make mistakes. Because there aren’t many opportunities for you to speak there. Just get used to it so that there are no unknown faces. It wouldn’t be a bad thing for all those attending the meeting to know the faces of the leaders who lead the empire.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

As I bowed my head, my father issued a congratulatory order as if he understood.

I just came to hear that he was attending the California State Conference anyway.

Checking on YuRia’s condition is only part of the process.

As I left the room, I could feel Yuria’s eyes reaching for me.

His gaze didn’t waver at all, it was just straight and cold.

It was clear that YuRia’s attitude had changed.

However, that is all. Even if you change your mindset,

It is said that the cold-blooded woman she embraced became even colder and turned to frost.

She was the woman I would one day break.

“If not, I’ll leave first.”

In the future I would draw anew, there was no woman named Yuria Taylor.

That was certain.

#

The place where the Gaju meeting is held is the ecliptic.

It was actually a distance between the duke’s residence and the ecliptic, but the difference was quite large.

No matter how duke’s territory it is, it doesn’t seem to reach the emperor’s dignity.

Even simply crossing a gateway would make a drastic difference to what one sees.

If you pass the gate made of gold, the gate of the sun decorated with ivory and jewels, what you see is the gate of the moon.

This time, beyond the gate decorated with platinum, the gateway to the capital began to be seen.

Eclipse, the last gateway to the capital, made entirely of black.

Since the capital Eden was visible only after entering it, the driver who saw the scenery changed in an instant gave a small exclamation.

The vigor of the capital was incomparable to that of other cities.

No matter how much it is called the City of Light, it cannot be compared to the vitality that this city exudes.

The Wall Tower we saw last time was also located here.

The place where the saintess lives, the strange feeling passing by was not just a feeling.

If my intuition isn’t wrong… I’m sure we’ll run into each other at this meeting.

Whether it’s my will or someone else’s.

However, the purpose of this was to meet the princess, so it would be better to put aside thoughts of the saint for a while.

After moving for a while in the wagon, they eventually arrived at the place where the family meeting was being held.

A garden that looks like a forest from the outside, but only those whose identity has been verified can enter.

The vines, wriggling as if they were alive, moved and eventually stopped the horse from moving forward.

Then, out of nowhere, a knight appeared and began to confirm our identities.

The knight, who completely covered his face with a helmet, looked at the pattern engraved on the carriage and asked his father.

“Are you from Taylor?”

“exactly. Could you please open the door?”

“…Has confirmed. Peace be upon you.”

Everything that appears in this garden changes every year.

This year, that knight always appeared, but next year there will be a naked savage, and then a shooter with a bow.

It was because this garden was a mysterious garden that had existed since the beginning of the empire.

That is why the beings that appear in this are each subject to the spirits.

So, my father must be setting an example.

Except for the emperor, there were no equals to these beings.

When I got off the carriage, I felt a different texture than normal grass.

A soft and cozy feeling, just like stepping on a cloud.

Water droplets floating in the air exploded with a pop as they touched the body.

Yuria stared at the scene with an insensitive expression, then opened her mouth to look at her father.

“Should I infuse magic?”

“No, there is no need for that this year. It will show up on its own soon.”

With those words, the other direction of the garden began to move.

The trees, grass, and flowers slowly moved their roots and opened the forest like a door.

Since it was literally open, the nobles on the other side seemed very surprised to see each other suddenly appear.

In the midst of this, the only one keeping his composure was this one, so my father glanced at the other nobles as if he was pitiful.

Among these numerous nobles, Taylor was the only duke.

That’s why even though it’s a California meeting, Taylor takes on the role of chairman.

However, the chairman of this meeting was not his father.

The imperial family was also participating in today’s meeting.

“Her Highness is coming!”

The gaze moves naturally following the shouts of the knights lined up in the empty space.

At the end of it was a woman, but the nobles who saw her fell on their knees and bowed their heads.

It was natural.

Because that woman with waving black hair that only the royal family could have and eyes resembling the moon was the most supreme person in this place.

“Thank you all for coming together. I know the construction is busy, but the subject of this California meeting is quite important, so I also participated.”

When the princess spoke, silence instantly came to the garden.

It was a familiar voice.

I’ve already heard it dozens of times, haven’t I even heard that woman whisper to me that she loves me?

Miragen de Artein. The woman with that name spoke again.

“If not, let’s start now. A meeting about how to treat the South.”

As the princess raised her arm, a brilliant light followed immediately above the garden.

It would be good to call it a signal flare to announce this imperial meeting.

But my nerves were in a different place than that light. It was about how to approach the princess.

There was also a sneaky approach like before, but it seemed like it would be quite difficult this time.

‘…It seems like they’ve been staring this way since before.’

That’s because YuRia cares about me.

I didn’t know why she was looking at me like that, but it was clear that Yuria was interested in me.

That doesn’t mean there’s no way out.

Since I know how this garden works, it’s probably easy to get out of the middle of the meeting.

Although the princess held this meeting, it was the ministers who came with her who led the meeting.

The right to speak is obtained by borrowing the name of the princess, and the princess only needs to hear the conclusion of the meeting and report it to the emperor, so her role is over.

She would always disappear mid-meeting and wander around here.

After making eye contact with YuRia for a moment, she smiled at the falling gaze.

What are you thinking? However, that’s not my concern.

What Yuria wants is for me to interpret her true intentions, so shouldn’t it be appropriate for that?

“My position on the South has always been the same. Other than subjugation, there is no clear countermeasure.”

“I think so too. Shouldn’t you deal with barbarians or other races anyway? I think it would be right to take this opportunity to cut out what needs to be cut out and go the way to accommodate the different races by developing the Great Forest.”

“Are you accepting barbarians too?”

“No, they should be subdued. Aren’t they a group of people who live up to the sun in the first place? Witchcraft, there must be some children the saintess saved last time.”

The discussion about the treatment of the southerners, which had begun with my father’s words, was heading toward subjugation as I knew it.

The subjugation of the south was a confirmed matter. It just gets blocked later.

Shamans living in the South are by no means easygoing.

Since he uses magic that is more focused on killing than most wizards,

If it wasn’t a single hit, it wouldn’t even be a meaningful subjugation.

Of course, I didn’t have the qualifications to spit out these words here.

Rather, you will be beaten for only burning candles.

So, I watched the discussion as it progressed.

The heat of the meeting grew even hotter, and finally the palace ministers and some nobles began to raise their voices.

“Uh huh, then, isn’t that the only way to sacrifice the ranks of the nobles!”

“The imperial palace didn’t say they would dispatch mages, I think that’s enough.”

“Wizards are the purpose of rear support. Isn’t this a ploy to use this opportunity to reduce the authority of the nobles!”

“What nonsense are you spouting!”

It’s such a pitiful argument whenever you look at it, but there was no opportunity like now for me to hide myself in this conference hall.

Coincidentally, Yuria was also eagerly representing the position of the nobility, so she glanced around for a moment and drew out her magic.

What the mysterious beings in the garden react to is the magical power possessed by ‘those who are allowed’.

As it was his father’s magic that he confirmed when the wagon entered, it was said that he could manipulate this garden as much as he wanted if he applied it.

Slowly, the vines of the trees with magic began to slowly cover my body.

If anyone saw it, it would look like I was being eaten by the tree.

However, there is a place that can only be reached by hiding like this.

The back side of this mysterious garden, where the princess is probably wandering around.

Coincidentally, there was a paved road, so I walked along it and looked around.

I was already prepared for what they would say if they met.

It’s okay to say that I came here by accident, really by accident, after using magic.

It was Arwen’s help in interpreting this mysterious garden.

So at this point, it is impossible for anyone other than me to freely use the garden.

‘Arwen’s reply will come soon.’

Then contact with the crown prince had to be made before then.

He knew of a story that would appeal to the prince, so if he met the princess and said a few words, they would meet naturally.

So now all I have to do is find the princess.

What caught my eye was a butterfly roaming the garden.

At that moment, the gaze was taken away by the elegant pure white bar alone, which did not match the green garden.

Every time it flies through the air, golden lines are drawn as if dancing.

If there was something I realized from that appearance, it was that that butterfly did not exist here.

“Divine power…?”

No living creature can exist in it.

It was because the article I saw earlier and even this tree were created by the Spirit after all.

However, that butterfly was moving of its own will.

I looked at the light that blended into the air, and then shot my magic at the butterfly.

With a pop, the butterfly hit by the magical power staggered for a while.

Then, the butterfly that had been wandering aimlessly began to circle around me.

As if trying to figure out my true identity, I muttered blankly at a thought that suddenly came to my mind.

“Adrian… it’s not like that. no way.”

Then the movement of the butterfly stopped, and the fluttering body of the butterfly slowly dispersed.

The light that transformed from something that had a form into light, and eventually into a light with divine power, whispered to me.

Literally, I heard a familiar voice in my ears.

-Are you Sir Taylor?

It was a familiar voice. Isn’t it natural

It was such a calm and soft voice that I couldn’t help but know who it was the moment I heard it.

However, it was just so unexpected to hear from this place.

Quickly regaining consciousness, he opened his mouth to the light hovering in the air.

“Are you a saint? I didn’t hear that you were participating in the meeting.”

– Actually, I was looking for Miragen. I thought it would be around here.

“Is that so? I was also looking for Her Highness, the princess.”

When I asked if she seemed to know roughly where she was, Adrian let out a flushed voice saying that it was rather good.

– Oh, did you? Then I’ll tell Mirazen separately, so can you come to the Wall Tower a little later?

“May I enter the Wall Tower?”

-If I let you in, it will be fine. And regarding the South, I have something to say to Sir Taylor.

He nodded his head in a slightly serious voice.

Talking about the South was quite sensitive to Adrian.

Maybe it’s just the two of us, or in a place with the princess.

Rather good. After all, there were quite a few opportunities to talk with the princess.

When I turned my head, I saw a large tower visible over the garden.

The tower is noticeably closer than the one I saw at the last full moon festival.

I’m going. There’s no problem, but it’s pretty sudden, isn’t it? However, I couldn’t help but go.

Because he couldn’t pass up the opportunity to meet the saint and the princess at the same time.

I considered various possibilities, but in the end I met the saintess again.

Now that it’s like this, I’d better change my thinking a bit.

Somehow, it seemed certain that there was a connection between Saint Adrian and me.

At least in this life, that is.