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I left the Emperor’s quarters with mixed feelings. In my hand was a scroll given to me by the Emperor.

▶ First, become stronger than Ether.

▶ Second, become more noble than Hedera.

▶ Third, become more devout than Solana.

▶ Fourth, acquire more wealth than Chain.

▶ Fifth, reach a higher magic realm than Neo.

Simply put, the Emperor’s options were just two — either complete the prerequisites written on the scroll to escape being an “inadequate man,” or just die.

Except for the fifth item, the difficulty was nearly impossible, but what could I do? If I don’t want to die, I have to do it. I couldn’t die in vain after doing this out of resentment for my terminal illness.

I muttered while chewing on the sunweed.

“…In the end, I couldn’t even suggest pretending nothing happened.”

Moreover, there was an even more crucial fact now.

— How on earth did you manage to win the hearts of all my daughters?

Yes, the Emperor definitely said that.

The fact that the Emperor, not the princesses, presented the five prerequisites, and that he offered conditions instead of trying to kill me… These clues suggest only one thing.

‘Are the princesses considering this marriage positively?’

…All five of them?

Given the circumstances, it seems so. Sufficiently so.

This could be incredibly good news, but currently, my feelings were rather complicated. After all, the Emperor’s way of thinking had long since left the realm of human comprehension.

The biggest concern was the potential friction between the princesses and the Emperor. If they, who have reached the pinnacle in their respective fields, were to oppose the Emperor, the repercussions…

The chaos that could ensue across the continent was terrible even to imagine.

Somehow, the future of the continent now depends on me.

It was too late to back out, and the situation had grown too big to pretend nothing happened, so completing all the prerequisites was the only way to conclude this without any harm. That’s the situation I’m in now.

“Hah,” I sighed deeply, shaking off my worries.

Nothing would change by dwelling on concerns and apprehensions. It’s a hundred times more helpful to focus on what needs to be done and the positive aspects.

The Emperor also said this—

 —If my daughter gets a husband, well, I don’t think he’d be terminally ill.

Though indirectly, the Emperor’s meaning was clear.

If by any chance I were to marry a princess, he would help with my current terminal illness problem.

“Well, it’s not impossible.”

I muttered this as I made my way to my quarters.

Hoo─

I exhaled a long stream of sunweed smoke.

Tomorrow will be the start of some extremely busy days.

~~••~~••~~

The next day.

“We’ve arrived!”

I nodded at the coachman’s call and got off. I now stood in the bustling area near the Imperial Magic Tower in the Empire’s capital.

The Magic Tower, so tall its peak was invisible to the naked eye; numerous towering buildings and floating objects in the air; passersby in mage-like attire with pointed hats and hoods, striding through the streets…

It was indeed a scene brimming with magical ambiance.

I chewed on the sunweed while checking the schedule in my pocket.

‘The inauguration ceremony for the Magic Tower Inspector is tonight.’

I don’t plan to make the ceremony too grand, but it would be odd to show up knowing absolutely nothing. Since this would be my workplace for a while, I intended to familiarize myself with the surroundings in advance.

But then…

Clunk─!

As soon as the carriage that brought me here departed, a much larger one took its place.

The person getting out of the carriage was all too familiar.

“Solana?”

The face of the Empire, the Angel of the Empire, Solana; her eyes widened as soon as she spotted me.

“Ah, Master?”

She wore a hood tightly pulled over her head, perhaps trying to conceal her identity, but it was insufficient to hide her characteristic sunflower-like brightness. I asked her, “What brings you here? What about the Holy Temple?”

Solana was undoubtedly the Empire’s greatest saint. No matter how many public activities she had, they couldn’t compare to the days she spent inside the Holy Temple within the imperial palace.

However, Solana just smiled, “The Holy Temple is fine with all the other priests there. Someone needs to spread the Sun God’s grace and teachings directly to the masses. This time, I’m just doing it myself.”

“I see.”

“By the way, Master, what a coincidence. To run into you like this.”

“Indeed. You must be busy too. Let’s meet again when we have the chance.”

Just as I turned to leave…

“W-wait a moment! Master!”

Solana swiftly blocked my path.

“Such coincidences are rare…! Have you eaten yet?”

.

.

.

.

.​

“I see. I’m glad the conversation went well.”

At a restaurant in a bustling district.

Solana nodded quietly as she chewed her food. I had just finished telling her about my meeting with the Emperor.

Of course, I couldn’t divulge everything that had transpired.

I simply explained that while there were a few conditions, the conversation itself wasn’t bad.

It wasn’t exactly a lie. Considering the Emperor’s temperament, this could be considered a remarkably smooth dialogue.

I took a bite of the sunweed and said, “What, were you worried about me?”

“Of course I worry about you, Master. Isn’t that natural?” Solana replied with unexpected confidence.

Her reaction was as if I had stated something as obvious as the sun rising in the morning and the moon at night. Her boldness in expressing concern made me feel slightly embarrassed for my attempt at humor.

“Still, you shouldn’t have put aside your work to follow me.”

“Oh, no, that’s not it. We met by chance. You saw it yourself earlier, didn’t you? Me getting out of the carriage by coincidence.”

The world doesn’t call that a coincidence.

I was about to say that, but instead, I just chuckled and let it slide; there was something endearing about observing Solana’s obvious lies; it reminded me of her younger self.

‘She must have been really worried.’

Though she pretended it was a chance encounter, it was clear Solana had followed me here, too concerned about my conversation with the Emperor to stay away.

She cleared her throat a couple of times, “More importantly, I have two urgent matters to discuss with you.”

“Alright, go ahead.”

Thanks to her tightly drawn hood, fortunately, no one in the restaurant recognized or bothered Solana. I also had time to spare until dinner.

“First, your current living situation might be difficult.”

“You mean ‘living arrangements,’ not ‘situation.’”

“Right, living arrangements. That’s what I said. Did I pronounce it wrong?”

Solana laughed awkwardly, holding the back of her hand to her mouth. She was probably the only one unaware of how red her face had become.

“Why would my living arrangements be difficult? Surely there are dormitories in the magic tower.”

“Ah, about that, I have something to tell you.”

Solana pulled out a piece of paper from her pocket, “I’ve looked into everything in advance – the dormitory capacity, how many rooms are available… Let’s review it now that we’re on the subject.”

Her eyes narrowed as she read down the paper.

“…Oh? This can’t be.”

Finally, with a grave expression, she spoke in a serious tone. Her eyes were filled with shock and concern.

“Master, what should we do? There are no rooms left.”

Is that even possible?

Solana grinned.

“But it’s alright. As it happens, I’ve rented a house nearby because I have so many matters to attend to in this area. The house turned out to be much larger than I expected. If you don’t mind, why don’t you stay there with me?”

“Let me see that.”

“………….”

Solana quietly licked her lower lip.

She glanced back and forth between the paper and me, then suddenly began to look twice as shocked as before; her hands trembled as she widened her eyes to almost twice their size.

“What should we do… Master, there really are no rooms available in the dormitory.”

“I said, let me see it.”

“………….”

Finally, I used telekinesis to snatch the paper.

Upon inspection, not only was the dormitory fully occupied, but it was surprisingly empty. It seemed inexplicably vacant.

“There are plenty of empty rooms.”

“………”

Solana discreetly avoided my gaze.

It’s not that I didn’t want to stay with Solana. 

However, there were too many factors to consider before rashly going through with such an arrangement.

What would happen if people found out that the Empire’s face, the so-called Angel of the Empire, was living with a man? 

…The repercussions would be enormous. Moreover, I had no time for distractions with the urgent task at hand.

“Let’s reconsider living together later. For now, the magic tower takes priority.”

Solana blinked, as if she had heard something unexpected.

“Oh? Have you become interested in the magic tower affairs now?”

“It seems that’s how things turned out.”

Now I was in a position where I had to take great interest in solving the magic tower’s problems. Otherwise, I might end up dead.

My gaze shifted to Solana, whose eyes had suddenly brightened.

“So, what’s the second thing?”

“Ah, the second matter.”

Solana nodded as if she just remembered.

“The second is about your inauguration ceremony this evening.”

“My inauguration?”

“Yes. While the living arrangements are important, this is also why I decided I needed to ‘coincidentally’ meet you. It seemed crucial.”

…Decided to meet me? Is she unaware that she’s confessing to intentionally following me? It seems she’s not even trying to hide it anymore.

Anyway, she once again reached into her pocket.

“……”

I inadvertently furrowed my brow slightly.

Because what she pulled out was none other than an envelope.

“Look here. Two letters addressed to you.”