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

Chapter 420 Benevolent King, Where Are You?

The imperial capital, the royal palace.

After receiving Iluvia's message, the events that had occurred within the Empire over the past few days seemed to have a clear answer.

The existence of those who have died and come back to life, and the so-called "spirits" that only exist in legends, now has a concrete answer.

"Federalik."

The old emperor rubbed his throbbing temples and summoned his chief of the Imperial Guards.

"His Majesty."

"Send this message to the General Administration of Supervision and have them draft a notice and issue it."

"Also... could you please ask Dean Hern to come to the palace? I have something I'd like to see him about."

Federico, who had just recovered from his injury and returned to his post, respectfully responded and then left the room.

After the other party left, Salah III sighed.

Although the curse was lifted, his body was not fully recovered.

Even though the regional archbishop of the Royal Cathedral, the eighth-rank archbishop, cast a divine spell, he was unable to exert much healing effect on the damaged body after the curse was dispelled.

He'd taken plenty of alchemical potions these past few days, which had stopped his body from deteriorating further, but the curse mixed with the power of the Chaos Brotherhood, even after being completely expelled, still caused him damage that was difficult to heal.

fortunately……

Salah III sighed with a hint of relief, then smiled and looked out the window.

Although my days are numbered, I no longer need to worry too much about what will happen after my death.

He did indeed make an investment with an amazing return.

The rate of return was so high that he couldn't quite understand it anymore.

"Cough cough cough..."

A violent coughing fit erupted, a rapid and uncontrollable cough escaping his mouth as his lungs, like an old bellows, struggled to complete yet another cycle.

His time is running out.

Even among rulers, his age of just over fifty is considered young.

But no citizen or minister who had ever met Salah III would believe that their emperor was only in his fifties.

Years of hard work and the erosion of the curse have made him look almost like an old man in his eighties.

He was glad that all of this happened after Iluvia left the capital.

As for the communication magic he used to contact her, he asked his friend Sean to cast a disguise spell so that he would still look like he did a little over a month ago.

Before long, Headmaster Hern arrived at the palace.

The somewhat chubby old man with a long white beard was not wearing his usual kind smile; instead, he had a serious and sad expression.

Many nobles or talented members of the royal family in the capital city studied at the capital's magic academy for a period of time when they were young.

The same goes for Salah III.

Hearn was somewhat sad at that moment.

These students, who are less than a third of my age, now look older and weaker than me.

Although from the students' perspective, Hearn is a talkative and rambling dean, no one can dislike this kind, chubby old man.

Because he can remember each student's name, their birthday, and give them a "small gift" on their birthday that is hardly worth calling a small gift.

They vary in price and rarity, but they are definitely the most suitable items for that student's current needs.

Even though he didn't have a strong impression of Salah III's student days.

In his exceptional memory, he could not compare to his elder brother, who was exceptionally talented and had outstanding personal charisma.

He couldn't compare to his second brother, who was skilled in political maneuvering, appeared sinister, but was actually very concerned about his family.

He seemed like a carefree, energetic young man who dreamed of embarking on a spontaneous adventure.

But then what happened next...

Hern couldn't help but recall the last time the capital was in turmoil.

The eldest prince died in a trap specifically designed for him, while the second prince died from a conspiracy and poison.

For the sake of the Academy, Hern has long maintained its relatively neutral position to prevent the Academy from becoming completely involved in the power struggles between the royal family and the nobility.

He had assumed that the previous emperors' attempts to centralize power would therefore fail, as would their attempts to reduce the power of the nobility.

But he was wrong.

After the two princes died in "accidents," a massacre ensued.

The scale was far greater than this one.

After that, no one dared to openly oppose the reforms until the previous emperor died and Salah III, who had been hastily recalled from abroad, ascended the throne.

This was also the 30 years in which the empire underwent a complete transformation.

but……

Even he never imagined that someone would contact cultists, collude with noble forces, and make a last-ditch effort.

Looking back now, this plan may have been going on for a long time, and Wellington's scheme was by no means a spur-of-the-moment decision.

Salah's body has been in poor condition ever since he was born from Ilúvia and caused that catastrophe.

So much so that when Salah fell into a coma, everyone instinctively assumed that his body had reached its limit.

It's not that someone is using a curse.

But that's all in the past.

The freshman who had barely attended any classes since the start of the semester greatly shocked him.

In his view, in just two short months, the other party had become a grand duke, an imperial prince, and the future empress's husband...

He was only at the second-ring level during the entrance exam, but now he is a powerful figure capable of facing off against a bishop of the Pardon Council.

He's only in first grade and hasn't even had his first summer vacation yet.

Sigh... With sadness for his former students and感慨 for their current achievements, Hern sighed softly.

He looked at Salah III: "Your Majesty, what brings you here?"

"Ahem... Headmaster, you don't look any different than before." Salah III chuckled before handing over the intelligence report he had on hand.

"This is information sent by Iluvia."

"Death has closed the gates of the underworld, which is why those unusual occurrences have been happening these past few days."

"I would like to ask if you have any way to stop the situation from getting worse."

Hearn took the intelligence from Salah III and laughed: "When you get to my age, nothing much will change."

"As for the solution... I'm sorry, I don't know either. But since the accidents involve souls, and those souls have self-awareness, it would be better to manage them in a unified manner."

"As for those who have come back to life, as long as they are not heinous criminals, we should ignore them."

"Isn't this a gift bestowed by the god of death?"

"The same goes for those souls. Although they are managed in a unified manner, if there are any people who want to see each other again, I personally believe that I would be willing to let them have that wish if conditions permit."

Salah III laughed: "Is that so? But the reality is not as light as Ilúvia makes it out to be."

"Take another look at these... This is the actual situation. The Supervisory Bureau has still concealed most of the truth."

As he spoke, Salah III handed over another piece of paper.

Hearn took it and started reading.

It contained a passage that read like a narrative poem.

Where are you, benevolent king?

Why not let your gentle light shine upon the world?

The earth is filled with misfortune, shrouded in darkness.

We are powerless to fight against this dark and vicious enemy.

【King of Benevolence, where will you lead us?】

Wherever we may go, we will follow your glorious glory.

Hearn put down the paper and then looked at Salah III.

Then, the old emperor slowly spoke: "These are the sentences that those lingering souls repeatedly recite."

"The first inspector to discover these anomalies documented them."

"Clearly, those lingering souls do not have such a clear sense of self."

"And so it is with those who have died and come back to life."

"After standing up again, he kept muttering the same lines of poetry to himself."

"and……"

The old emperor paused, then struggled to his feet, supporting himself on the armrest of his chair. He pointed to the map in front of him and said, "They are all heading north."

"To be precise... it's in the direction of the Papal City."

"This is the conclusion drawn by the Bureau of Inspection over the past few days based on observations of undead phenomena occurring throughout the Empire."

"These undead are approaching the direction of the Papal City."

"This is the second reason why I asked you to come here."

The old emperor looked intently at Hearn; "Dean, what exactly happened at the Holy See?"

"And why, after wiping out the core forces of the Ash Order three hundred years ago, did you choose to move the location of the Papacy City there?"

Hern sighed. "I don't know much, child."

"After all, I've only lived for a little over two hundred years."

"When I was born, the Demon King War had already ended, and several decades had passed since the Church moved away."

"However... I did hear my elven father mention some things about the Papal City."

He said that when he was still in Avalon, he saw a map in a book that categorized records of the dead and the living.

"In a record of a mass resurrection witnessed by the Elf King Thran, the gates of the underworld once opened in the mortal realm."

"The location is near the Papal City."

"And that legendary king, who only appeared in legends, once retrieved the souls of the dead from the underworld and granted them a second life."

The old emperor was taken aback: "You call this not knowing much?"

"Hehe, after all, it's just hearsay. Besides, my unreliable father is also a smooth talker who likes to make up stories for me. After all, I can't tell which elf stories are true and which are false."

"Unfortunately, he died in the great exploration movement initiated by the Society."

"He originally intended to hitch a ride back to his hometown, but unexpectedly..."

Hearn sighed as he thought of his father.

As a half-elf, his father was the only being who outlived him.

For the first half of his life, he believed he would die before his father.

Salah III said apologetically, "I'm sorry to have brought up such a painful memory."

"No need. So many years have passed... Your Majesty, do you intend to support the Papal City?"

“No.” Salah III shook his head. “But the Empire must plan ahead, mustn’t it?”

"Please wait a moment, I'll contact Sean now."

"We would appreciate it if you could accompany us to the headquarters of the Society, the City of Truth."

"The Empire has given the Society so many preferential treatments and resources over the past three hundred years."

"They were able to develop smoothly into a powerful force that rivaled the Papacy; now it's time for them to repay the favor."

(End of this chapter)