My dear witch, please turn evil according to the script!

Chapter 219 The Empire has made its decision: it has to be you!

The journey soon came to an end.

Although the journey was long, there were no unusual events or attacks along the way.

Everything went exceptionally smoothly.

The only unexpected event was Roland's strange dream.

However, on the Demon King's advice, he did not choose to immediately use the Mind Control Technique to search for the knowledge left to him by the World Tree.

Although the Demon King didn't mention the consequences of doing so, he still chose to back down.

Just as the Demon King said, although the woman's appearance was very strange, she was indeed not hostile.

I'll take another look when I rest tonight.

The rest of the trip went exactly as planned before departure.

Iluvia, Roland, and Frederick, the Grand Master of the Imperial Guard who was also traveling back to the capital, headed to the palace.

As for the others, they chose to stay overnight at a hotel near the station and set off again early the next morning.

However, to Frum's surprise...

Kalia surprisingly did not object to this.

She had absolutely no objection to the fact that Roland and Iluvia would inevitably be in the same room tonight!

This made Flam feel that her child had finally grown up.

However, if she knew what Kalia was thinking, she wouldn't think that way.

This guy's mind is now filled with the victor's condescension towards the loser.

Naturally, they wouldn't care about such trivial matters.

Meanwhile, the three who got off the train and boarded a waiting carriage outside the station to go to the palace arrived before Salah III in the early hours of the morning.

When Roland entered the room with Iluvia and saw Salah III's appearance, he knew that things would not be simple today.

Salah III was holding a large pipe, taking intermittent puffs, his face practically contorted with worry.

Although Roland hadn't met the emperor many times, he was quite familiar with the emperor's character.

A typical, cunning politician.

Even though he always treated Roland with the demeanor of a kind elder, smiling and trying to win Roland over with sincerity.

With Iluvia as their connection, they could even be considered family.

Roland may have lost his father, but he could certainly gain a new one.

But in fact, Roland never let down his guard.

He looked young, but the knowledge he had accumulated before his transmigration told him that becoming the ruler of a vast empire was an absolute solitude.

Especially the position of emperor.

Even parents and children may not necessarily stand by your side.

The person sitting in this position is destined to be lonely, and must be lonely.

They must always remain suspicious and vigilant, carefully giving their trust while maintaining a distance so as not to cross the final boundary between ruler and subject.

Roland understood this perfectly. He appreciated Salah III's difficulties and knew about his doting affection for Iluvia, but he also had to be careful.

But Salah III today is different from the past.

He no longer wore the fake smile, and even after seeing Roland and Iluvia enter the room, he didn't relax his expression. He simply greeted them with a slightly weary look and invited them to sit in the seats that had been prepared for him.

Clearly, something must have happened here during the two weeks I was away from the capital.

Iluvia also seemed a little worried. She wanted to ask her father, but Roland stopped her with a look.

After a long while, Salah III put down his pipe, as if he had made a difficult decision, and turned his gaze to Roland and Iluvia.

The old emperor forced a smile onto his weary face.

His body had not yet recovered from the poison and curse that Wellington had laid on his feet, but the series of political affairs forced him to postpone his rest.

"I'm sorry, kids, for interrupting your trip."

"Because I called you here, your journey will probably take another day to arrive in Isfar."

"Haha, luckily Ms. Flam is an elf, she shouldn't mind a day's delay. You know, elves are never very sensitive to time."

Salah III's remarks made Iluvia even more worried.

In the past, her father would never have used such a formal introduction when he spoke.

She grasped Roland's hand, tightening her grip somewhat uneasily.

Roland glanced at the somewhat uneasy Iluvia, then looked at Salah III: "Your Majesty, it's getting late. You need rest more than we do. Let's get down to business first."

"Haha...you're such impatient young people. I'd like to chat with you about everyday things, like the progress of your relationships."

Salah III smiled, appearing to be in a much better mood.

As he spoke, he glanced at Iluvia and Roland's tightly clasped hands, his eyes filled with a mixture of emotion and relief.

Then he changed the subject: "But you're right, I need rest more than you guys. I haven't had a good night's sleep in days."

"That's why I called you here, Roland."

"Originally, I just wanted to see my daughter... but then I thought, with you here, things might be much simpler."

Salah III picked up a file folder from the table and handed it to Roland.

“Take a look, but if you follow the news, you should know about Isfar’s situation.”

Upon hearing this, Roland did not rush to open the file folder, but instead asked, "You mean... the state of martial law in Isfar?"

“That’s right.” Salah III nodded. “I contacted Iluvia as soon as I learned that you were planning to travel to Isfar with Lady Flam.”

"Aren't you going to open it and take a look?"

Roland gave a wry smile: "Once I open the door, what awaits me is not a trip, but a lot of trouble."

Salah III laughed: “It is indeed a troublesome matter. At least for me, but it may not be for you.”

"Oh? Is that so? Your Majesty is the Emperor of the Empire, how could there be anything that gives you a headache?"

Salah III sighed, “My child, sometimes sitting in this position doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want.”

"People have their own will; you can't control everyone like you would a puppet."

"I am not an emperor with a strong hand like my father, nor a hero with extraordinary charisma and strength like the Knight King." "I am just an ordinary emperor who was forced into this position in an emergency."

"I'm able to hold onto this position not because of my charm, nor because of my shrewdness."

"It's not about royal status or titles; such things are insignificant in the face of ambitious people."

"Compromise, deals, forbearance, balancing the interests of all parties, and most importantly, discarding them after they've served their purpose... these are the fundamental ways I control this empire and maintain my power."

“My child, my control over this country is not as strong as you imagine.”

"My father laid a solid foundation for the implementation of many policies and left behind those who were willing to follow his will. I was just responsible for carrying them out and supporting those people."

Salah III stood up as he spoke: "I cannot arbitrarily mobilize those legendary ninth-ring experts of the Empire."

“Even Kefas, he is willing to obey my orders and is strong enough to solve most problems... but I can’t rely on him for everything. I think you understand this, child. It’s not a good thing to rely on one person for everything.”

"Sean is the same. They are the only two strong people I can command at will, but just as they respect me, I must also respect them."

"Moreover, they already have a lot on their plate. The escape of the Demon King's Hand prototype has left them both very exhausted."

"Although Kefas took some time to visit Riskan, the Oversight Bureau and his main task remained to track down the missing prototypes."

"Sean must remain in the capital, and I don't need to explain why..."

Salah III paused for a moment, then said, "But you are different, child. I have heard about your killing of the Chaos Brotherhood's Sword Guard Commander."

“You have the means to deal with a ninth-ring legend, and Ms. Flam is willing to help you... rounding up, that’s the strength of two ninth-ring legends.”

"You are absolutely capable of resolving this trouble."

Roland sighed, still showing no intention of opening the file folder.

But he had already figured out that Isfar's affair was at least related to a legendary figure with nine rings.

"So Your Majesty, stop beating around the bush and just tell me what happened there and what I need to do?"

Upon hearing this, Salah III got straight to the point, realizing that Roland had already agreed to the task: "Let me make this brief."

“Actually, strange phenomena have been reported in Isfar for the past six months.”

“A resident was walking normally on the street, and then suddenly disappeared in front of everyone.”

"The border guard corps and the local inspection branch conducted an investigation, but found nothing."

"In the days that followed, this situation became even more pronounced. As a result, Isfar declared a state of martial law."

"The garrison believes that it may be the work of a cult, but because it is close to the north, they do not know whether it is the work of the Chaos Brotherhood or other groups that have infiltrated from the north."

"But not long ago, after the turmoil in the capital had subsided, Isfar sent the last message."

"It was said that some unknown cognitive contamination had occurred... and then all communications with Isfar were cut off."

"What!?" Roland's expression changed drastically. "If I remember correctly, there should be three ninth-ring legends over there, right?"

Salah III nodded: "That's right. After the communication was cut off, I ordered the nearby towns and territories to go to Isfar to investigate. They found nothing unusual in the city and also made contact with one of the legion commanders, who is a ninth-ring legend in the military."

"But the other party's answer was... everything is normal in the city."

"Only communications were disrupted."

After Salah III finished speaking, he looked at Roland, whose brows were furrowed: "In the past, I would have believed this explanation."

"If it weren't for the earlier message that there was some kind of unknown pollution spreading in the city, it would have been the words of that meritorious old general, Lanzhous."

"The liaison officer was unable to see General Lantrus before leaving, and after returning to the original town, I contacted the Society and asked them to conduct an investigation on the liaison officer."

"Sure enough, he has already shown signs of cognitive contamination, and his soul has been affected to some extent, but fortunately, it is not life-threatening."

Salah III took a deep breath as he spoke: "Fortunately, there is only one legion stationed inside Isfar year-round."

"The four border legions take turns stationing in the Isfar fortress."

"When not stationed, the other three legions were stationed in three satellite cities outside Isfar."

“I mobilized the other three legions, put the Hatter in command temporarily, and sealed off Isfar.”

"Of course, Isfar's magic train station is located outside the city, in a satellite city."

"Therefore, the operation of the magic train has not been affected, which is why you were able to buy tickets smoothly."

"I also contacted the Society. The Isfar branch is still able to send out some information intermittently. What is certain is that the city is still maintaining order, and daily life has not been affected."

“But strangely enough, since I sealed off Isfar, no one has tried to leave the city.”

"Listen carefully, no one is trying to leave. The gates of Isfar are not closed, and entry and exit are unrestricted. But no one is coming out."

"Someone saw a person standing at the city gate, ready to leave, but halfway there, he seemed to have lost his soul and turned back..."

"This file folder contains the compiled intelligence."

After Salah III finished speaking, he sighed: "It is still unknown what exactly happened in the city. The reason I sent you there is firstly because Lady Flam's destination is Isfar, and even if this happened, she will most likely not give up her original goal."

"Secondly, your experience at sea proves that you have ample ability to deal with cognitive pollution."

"The blessing of the World Tree... Do you know, child, before you, this only existed in the legends about elves passed down by humans."

Roland sighed; having heard this, he roughly understood the nature of the task.

Another cognitive-related incident...

However, given this situation, he had no reason not to participate.

The phenomenon described by Salah III closely overlapped with that described to him by the great sage Erebus.

Just then, Erebus's communication request came through, but he quickly canceled the spell and converted the projection into a message.

I guess they were embarrassed to make a video call to themselves in the middle of the night, so they switched to sending a message.

To Salah III's astonishment, Roland opened the message.

[Eribos: I apologize for disturbing your rest, Lord Roland. However, the Isfar branch has sent a request for assistance; please take the time to investigate.]

Salah III naturally saw the message about the gathering of magic, and then patted Roland on the shoulder: "It's incredible that a great sage would speak to you in such a tone. They've never been this polite to me."

"By the way, regardless of whether things go smoothly or not, whether we succeed or not, I will finalize the matter of bestowing a title upon you when you return."

"At the same time, we will also announce your engagement to Iluvia."

"So... prioritize your own safety above all else. Don't try to be a hero."

"By the way, to make your actions easier, I will give you a suitable identity."

(End of this chapter)