Chapter 487.1

In the Imperial Capital (1)

We moved out of the fortress city and headed for the nearby dungeon door which we used to come here.

Once we reached there, I had my pets return to the Demon Forest as there would be no more battles.

I left a message to Byaku, who was very reliable, telling him to tell the others that I might not be back today, so they wouldnt have to worry about me being late.

Okay, here we are! This is Gallia, the capital of the Rogard Empire.

[Hmmm, a Demon Lord can use some useful tricks, no? Can this door be placed in an unlimited number of places?]

The Spirit King asked this question as he stared at the door he had just pa.s.sed through.

There is a restriction that it must be within my domain, but as long as its within my domain, I can use it as much as I want. I can also return to the Demon Forest now, just as I sent my pets home earlier. But, on the other hand, those from the other side can also use it to come to our side in an instant if they want to, so I made sure that no one but I can use it.

When I said this, he nodded his head.

[Thats good. The line between others and relatives is one that must be drawn without fail if one is to be in a position of authority. If that line is blurred, you put yourself in danger. If you have a family, it is important to take such measures. To be fair, it is impossible for any creature in this world to fool the eyes of Leficios, and once they enter her domain, no one will be able to come back.]

Thats right.

Lefi could even sense my approach before I even entered my dungeon.

Well, yeah. But I dont want to rely on her in that aspect as much as possible. I meanIm still weaker than her, but I want to protect her as well if I can.

[is that so? You truly love her.]

Well, never mind that! Here we are at the Imperial Castle. Shall we start the tour?

I scratched my cheek and tried to change the topic as if to cover up my embarra.s.sment towards the somewhat smiling Spirit King.

[Mm, of course, please.]

As we talked, I showed him around the inside of the Imperial Castle, where we were currently located.

Thanks to the fact that the commander of the fortress city contacted them ahead of time, there were butlers and maids standing by here and there, making it easy for me to move around.

Well, although I was eager to show Spirit King around, I was not familiar with the castle at all, so I asked those people to show me around from the halfway point onward!

Thinking about it, the only places I knew in the castle were the throne room, the former emperors laboratory, and the conference room, so I asked a middle-aged man who seemed to be the castle butler, who was making various arrangements, to show me around, and enjoyed sightseeing in the castle as well.

The butler was very professional.

He didnt show any nervousness at all, and was very polite and smiling from start to finish.

I felt as if I had been taught what it meant to be a professional. The explanation of the castle was interesting, as well.

Now that I was emperor and the head of this country, I should give that butler a promotion or raise in salary. Definitely.

[It is the first time for me to see human structures up close like this. It is quite interesting.]

The Spirit King, who had traveled to many places in his life, was also fond of doing such things as taking a detailed look at furnis.h.i.+ngs, walls, pillars, and architectural style.

It made me happy to listen when he talked about the things that interest him.

Well, it was a castle that I wasnt involved in at all.

Hmm, its also interesting for me to see it like this.

[? You are the owner of this castle, right?]

Technically yes, but I am more like a decoration and mostly not around. I dont even know much about this place. Well, it cant be denied that it is now part of my territory, and Im the boss at the top. No doubt about that, and if something troublesome happens that could not be managed by the people currently managing it, Ill deal with it. Thats about it in terms of my responsibilities. And though I am certainly the ruler, I am not really ruling it.

So, even though I wanted to look around the castle because it looked interesting, I would feel bad if I disturbed the people at work, so I did not want to roam around as I pleased.

In short, there was no sense of my home in this castle.

Who would go into the back of someones house and look around? No one.

[Ku, kuku, I see, you hold the reins but do not rule, huh? Isnt that a very good position for a ruler?]

Well, not really, it is quite a ha.s.sle.

It was definitely not that big of a deal, thats for sure.

Oh, by the way, maybe I should show the castle to little ones when I have the time.

In fact, I had never brought any of my family members over here.

Partly because it was simply too dangerous, but also because I knew people wouldnt think well of me, the emperor, leisurely exploring the castle with my family while the political situation was still unstable.

I really didnt give a darn about the animosity that would build up against me, but I didnt want my family, especially the little girls, to feel bad about this.

However, while the [Human Supremacy] thing hadnt died down yet, there seemed to be a sense of calm in the empire, and slowly but surely, interactions among the different races had increased.

Now that I think about it, not only the young girls but also the adults were interested in visiting the Rogard Empire. So it might just be the right time to bring them here to play and explore the castle.

Right, it was a good opportunity since the Spirit King was also around. I didnt know what his future plans were, so I would have to ask him, and depending on his answer, I might be able to invite the members of my family over tomorrow and have dinner with them here.

While I was thinking about this, a soldier ran up to the butler who had been guiding us, and whispered something in his ear.

What was it? The butler nodded his head and then turned to me and said.

Your Majesty, may I ask you a question?

What is it?

Well, actually I have been informed that Finar-sama will be arriving in the capital in about an hour.