Chapter 684

"Ready?"

"Of course."

With a nonchalant response, Charlotte looked at Reinhardt with a lukewarm expression.

"I'll ask again since my idea of preparation is different from yours. Are you ready?"

"I said I am."

Still not satisfied.

The outfit was checked and there were no problems with the appearance.

So all they had to do was go out like this.

But there was always something else besides the outfit that was a problem.

Lastly, Charlotte checked the emperor's outfit and raised her arms around his waist.

"Do you remember how you're still not married to us because of that wedding?"

"......Uh, yeah, I know."

The emperor had tried to proceed quickly, but he had ended up with a dissatisfying wedding that still bothered him.

Especially when the wedding is mentioned, it still causes a stir for Harriet.

"If you don't want to create another problem, do it well."

"I got it....."

"As usual, I agree that you don't need a long speech, but you don't need to talk nonsense. Your speech is clearly nonsense."

"I'll do well....."

"You always say that, don't you?"

Even after scolding him like this, he still spouts nonsense in front of people.

The emperor's habit of owing a thousand nyang for a single wrong word still hasn't been fixed.

"......Then can't you do it?"

"What?"

"Of course, I should do it! Ah!"

The emperor felt like he was in mortal danger just by looking at her.

After that, the emperor was scratching his head until the preparation was finished, or more precisely, until just before it started.

And so, after a long time had passed.

-Clack

The door to the waiting room opened and a knight with red hair entered the room.

"Your Majesty, it's time."

"Ah, okay."

The emperor's knight, Scarlet, led the way and the emperor followed.

Charlotte's gaze followed them, as if to watch how they would do it.

* * *

In the vast square of the temple, many people stood with tense expressions.

The first thing the empire did was to reopen the temple.

It wasn't as large as before, as the absolute number of humans had decreased, but a huge number of freshmen had enrolled in the temple.

There were no benefits as great as before, but the tuition fees were not astronomically expensive as before.

The temple is in operation.

That alone is enough.

Since the empire is no longer that of the Gladius royal family, the temple is no longer called the Gladius Temple.

The temple is just the temple, and the emperor did not bother to add any other modifiers in front of the temple.

So.

The elementary school is an elementary school, the middle school is a middle school, and the high school is a high school.

Even now, there are not only humans.

There were definitely demons, although in small numbers.

There were demons that were very close to the human form, and there were also demons with slightly unfamiliar forms.

All beings that receive education and have the intelligence to understand can enroll in the temple.

It has been a long time since demons began to mix into the Gladius Empire, so that sight is not only visible in the temple.

But of course, there are those who feel discomfort from that sight. All eyes were fixed on one place, where the emperor would appear. With a loud horn sound, the music announcing the emperor's entrance began to play. The voice of the imperial wizard, who had taken on a social role, echoed throughout the area. Some worshiped him, some feared him, and some hated him. The emperor, Reinhardt, appeared before the people without any flashy accessories. He stood on the platform in a solemn attire, looking down at the people who had gathered. Scarlet, the emperor's knight, stood behind him in a dignified posture. Every year, a speech was given for the temple's new students. Whenever the emperor appeared at this event, he faced various looks filled with hatred, admiration, awe, and fear. This meant that the emperor had not yet unified the continent, let alone humanity. The emperor's voice echoed throughout the square, and he spoke about how he had regretted not saying more during his previous speeches. He explained that being the emperor meant accepting the long titles that came with it, even if it made him uncomfortable. He also stated that he had two relics and was the representative of the gods, the ruler of the empire, and the ruler of all beings. Translation:

-Well... there's a reason why all those endless titles are attached to me.

-I explained in detail how great I am.

-You should know how great of a being you are facing right now. That's what I mean.

-I am listing the evidence of my greatness.

-Well, there may be children here who don't know what it means.

-Those kids may not know what words like "magic council" mean yet.

-So, summarize it for the children.

-I am extremely great.

-You are facing the greatest and most dignified being in the world right now.

-So, be very honored.

The atmosphere in the hall paused slightly at those words.

No matter how much of an emperor he was.

I understand that.

But to say such things with his own mouth?

Regardless of whether the emperor is good or not, just saying those words is very unpopular.

In that atmosphere, the emperor looks at the crowd in silence.

-What are you guys doing?

-You should applaud.

At that command-like statement, everyone mechanically began to clap.

-Clap clap clap clap clap!

Everyone clapped, wondering what it meant, but their expressions became strange.

-You saw it, right?

However, the mischievousness in the emperor's expression disappeared in the applause.

-This is what greatness is.

-Some of you may hate me.

-Some of you may despise me.

-Some of you may want to stab me in the back.

-But, you have to applaud me.

-No matter what feelings you have towards me.

-You cannot resist me.

-Those who resisted me, the enemies of humanity, eventually kneeled at my feet, ate the dog food I gave them in the autonomous region I established, and lived miserably.

-They still hate me, but they bow their heads to me as the representative of the autonomous region, hoping for my help.

-You cannot resist me.

-Those who resisted me have either died or become beasts begging for food.

-That is why I am great.

No matter how much hatred and anger there is.

Applaud when told to applaud.

Kneel when told to kneel.

Dominance is complete with just that.

It would be nice to have loyalty, but obedience alone is enough to establish it.

The emperor now knows that.

But this sound is completely out of place for this occasion.

It's a correct statement.

So what's the point?

It's not a speech given after conquering humanity, it's just a temple entrance ceremony.

It's ridiculous for the emperor to boast about how great he is at a temple entrance ceremony.

-But, for me, who is so great.

-There is one way to become greater than this great, noble, and absolute emperor.

-Rebuild the fallen demon world, conquer humanity, and end the gate crisis, achieving the impossible task of rebuilding civilization.

-There is only one thing that even this great demon lord who accomplished this great task could not do.

-Graduate. "I still haven't graduated from the temple. Everyone was taken aback by the emperor's nonsense. The demon king couldn't attend the temple in the first place. At that time, all the temple students said that since the operation was completely suspended. But the truth is the truth. The demon king couldn't graduate from the temple. And now that the temple has reopened, some of the soldiers who served in the coalition have graduated from the re-operated temple. Among the demon king's classmates or temple students at the time, there are also those who graduated after returning to school. Anyway, it is as true as the adjective that precedes the demon king that he couldn't graduate. Soon, you can do what I couldn't do. There is only one thing in life that is better than the great demon king. You can go anywhere and say that you are better than the demon king. How grateful is that? I have a life where I can proudly say that I graduated from the temple that even the demon king couldn't graduate from. You can live a life where you can say that the demon king who couldn't even graduate from the newly opened temple is a fool! So, study hard. Graduate safely. That's all. Everyone was staring blankly at the demon king and emperor who disappeared like that. There was no applause or cheers for the exiting demon king. Everyone was confused. Regardless of what they thought of the demon king, everyone had one thought in their heads. They all thought that Reinhardt the Great Emperor was a very strange guy. * * * "I told you not to do that!" "Oh, but this time it was long!" "Did I tell you not to do it shortly? I told you not to do it like a dog! Today is the worst, no, the second worst day ever! The second!" "Is it that bad? I didn't do well..." "Aaaah!" Scarlet was standing in front of the door, listening to Charlotte's hysterical voice coming from the waiting room. It was a familiar sight to Scarlet, who had been by the emperor's side longer than the empresses. And of course, it was not a normal day, but a ceremonial event, so there were several imperial guards with the emperor. Scarlet was the commander of the imperial knights and therefore they were all under her command. One of them asked, "Commander, wouldn't it be better to have a script instead of letting Charlotte roast you like that?" Wouldn't it be better for Charlotte to not roast you like that and instead have a script? "...He won't read it if there is a script." Scarlet still had the habit of being respectful to everyone. The emperor tried to correct that habit several times, but it never changed. "To be precise, he can't read it." "He can't read it?" Of course, the emperor was not blind. "If there is a script, um... you have to read it like 'to the beloved citizens...' or something like that." "Ah." "Surprisingly, he's very nervous." It doesn't look like he's nervous at all. But he's so nervous that he can't read the script properly and even says nonsense because of the tension. "So Charlotte has been trying to cure his strange illness for five years now, but every time she fails, he explodes after everything is over. Why is he like this? Should we just die together? Why are you so angry for not being able to do that one thing? You're not improving at all! You're not growing up! Growing up at this age is a disease...! Why can't you say a single word again? Other knights also hear the sound of the emperor scratching his head beyond the door. The knights are not surprised as it is a common occurrence. Scarlet speaks with a faint smile. 'Still, isn't it better to have an emperor who can't give a speech than an emperor who loses?' Everyone nods their head with an ambiguous expression at her words. The titles of God, Invincible, and Immortal were obtained from the day he alone suppressed the army marching for rebellion. The emperor has never been defeated once. He didn't even need an army. After the declaration of the new empire, there were a few wars. It was inevitably a war that occurred after all conversations and compromises failed. The emperor took only Scarlet to all those battlefields. No one else joined him. Even Scarlet was waiting on the other side of the battlefield without fighting. 'Do you have to go alone?' The emperor stood alone against the enemy army marching. 'I have to instill fear in those who do not obey.' 'That I won't die.' 'If even I, who is alone, cannot be killed, I cannot raise a banner for myself or the empire.' 'Then there will be no more of this in the future.' 'I'm not so sure about that.' 'At least it will decrease.' To crush those who do not accept domination with fear. The emperor went on a mission alone. And the emperor's enemies learned why he was a messenger of war."