Chapter 31 - Awakening
It was around seven in the morning, the day after I had dealt with Zova the Great Elder.
I was strolling through Void Town, a place that existed within the Void Realm.
At my right side walked Dia, First Seat of the Five Prisons—the highest executives of Nihil—her beautiful silver hair flowing gently behind her.
Man, this place really has developed...
It had already been three years since we began developing Void Town. Back then, this pure white expanse had nothing, but now a splendid city had risen.
At its center lay the residential, commercial, and industrial districts, while on the outskirts stretched the farmlands, dairies, and livestock areas.
This was no longer just a village or settlement—it was no exaggeration to call it a “small-scale city.”
Oh, there’s a new shop over there. And that place... huh, a green park? Nice touch, very charming.
After exhausting myself with the main route—the protagonist countermeasures and all that—I liked to take my time wandering around Void Town.
It had become something of an oasis for my heart.
Building a city was the kind of thing where the joy didn’t come only from the finished product, but from the process of growth along the way.
Of course, walking through a completed city had its own unique charm too.
In other words... what I meant to say was... city-building was the best.
And this Void Town Development Project wasn’t just a hobby.
The foundations of the city are complete, and finally, the long-awaited “Research & Development Facility” has been built. At last, we can move into the next phase: “manufacturing” itself!
Modern knowledge × otherworldly items = infinite possibilities.
By combining my own Japanese knowledge with mana and magic stones, I planned to create all sorts of interesting things.
Who knows—maybe something useful for conquering the main route would be born by sheer chance.
“Hehe... (I can’t wait…!).”
When I let out a smile without meaning to, Dia immediately reacted.
“What’s the matter, Void? You seem to be in an unusually good mood today.”
“Well, things have been going smoothly up until now. —But more importantly, what was it again, the ‘Nihil Palace’?”
The reason I was here in Void Town this early in the morning was none other than Dia’s ＜Call＞, where she asked me to come for an “inspection.”
Apparently, late last night, the Nihil Palace—my personal royal residence, the abode of King Void—had finally been completed.
“You’ll see it soon. It’s a special place I built for someone very dear to me—for you, Void. I worked on it day and night, without even sparing sleep, just to see the look of joy on your face.”
“Ah... yeah... thanks.”
I let out a long, deep sigh.
H-heavy... it’s not heavy... not at all...
If I complained that this was too heavy, there was no way I could keep being around Dia.
As the ruler of Nihil, I should accept this with magnanimity... right?
While I wrestled with such thoughts, we walked straight along the paved road until a white church came into view ahead.
That must have been the Nihil Palace.
“Well then, pardon my intrusion.”
“Yes, please.”
As I pushed open the heavy doors, I found myself standing in a solemn chapel.
The black marble floor gave the place a weighty atmosphere, ornate candelabras lined the walls, and instead of an altar, a magnificent throne sat at the far end.
The curtains were drawn and the candelabras unlit, so the chamber was quite dark.
But thanks to the pale light streaming down from above, it was just bright enough to see.
This light... I see, she embedded magic stones into the ceiling.
As expected of Dia—she has great sense.
While I was admiring the arched high ceiling, I suddenly felt my sleeve being tugged.
“Hey, Void... what do you think?”
“Yeah, it feels really nice.”
“No, not like that... doesn’t this remind you of something?”
“Huh? What are you—”
I was just about to finish when I swallowed my words.
For some reason, Dia’s expression was filled with deep sadness.
...This is bad. This is really bad. I must be about to step on a landmine here...
I forced my Hollow brain into overdrive, desperately analyzing the situation until I finally arrived at an answer.
A strangely dark chamber + beautiful magic stones shining above + Dia’s cryptic words... this Nihil Palace must be meant to represent... that!
Feigning composure, I raised my gaze toward the ceiling.
“Heh, I was just teasing you a little. Of course I remember. That night three years ago, when I saved you from hell, and we first looked up at the starry sky together... right?”
“...!”
Dia’s face bloomed with a smile like a flower in full bloom, and she nodded again and again, small and joyful.
Phew... that was close…
To be honest, my first thought had been, “Huh? What’s she talking about?” But somehow, at the very last second, I managed to remember.
Dia really did feel a deep sense of indebtedness toward me...
The only problem was that her feelings were ridiculously heavy.
She was the very definition of a Ronzolkia Overbearing Heroine. The type who probably remembered every single “one-year anniversary of dating,” “wedding anniversaries,” or any other trivial “special day” down to the last detail.
Okay, yeah, maybe a bit too heavy... No, no, cherishing memories is a good thing. Let’s just leave it at that.
While I was forcing myself to be convinced of that, Dia suddenly voiced an intriguing proposal.
“Void, what would you say to making this—our headquarters—right here in the Void Realm?”
“In Void Town?”
“Yes. You see, Nihil has temporary bases scattered everywhere, but we’ve never had a proper headquarters. That’s why we should make this Nihil Palace your royal residence, and expand around it with central facilities, so that it becomes a grand headquarters.”
“I see... yeah, that’s not a bad idea.”
If we built our base in the Void Realm, enemy attacks would be practically impossible.
And even if some ridiculously strong spatial magic managed to breach the defenses, this was, after all, inside my stomach.
The moment a foreign presence intruded, I would know immediately, and I could even eject everyone safely back into the surface world.
More than anything, I had absolute confidence I wouldn’t lose here.
Normally, since sealing away my arrogance and sloth, I tried to avoid using words like “absolute” or “certain”—those kinds of bold, self-assured claims.
But even then, I could say it outright:
Within the Void Realm, I was as close to “the strongest” as one could get.
Void Town was a place hard to invade, easy to defend, perfect for evacuations—and the one place where I could fight at my very strongest.
Placing our headquarters here was the most rational decision possible.
“Yeah, I like it. Let’s make our main base here. And if we’re doing it, we should make it big and impressive.”
“Hehe, very well. I’ll start drafting plans immediately, so wait just a little.”
As we were having that conversation, the heavy doors behind us slowly creaked open, and a slender shadow stretched into the chapel.
“—Lord Void, I have returned.”
“Oh, Ruby. It’s been a while.”
The one standing there was Ruby, another of the Five Prisons, ranked as the Fourth Seat.
She was only fifteen, a rare half-blood of human and dragon—what was called a “Dragonkin.” Normally she had horns and a tail, but to blend into human society, she hid them with ＜Humanization＞ magic.
Her vivid, crystal-like crimson hair flowed long and straight, and at 170 centimeters tall she had a slender frame—though her ample chest gave her silhouette an undeniable presence.
Large, beautiful ruby eyes, porcelain-like skin as smooth as glass—she wasn’t so much cute as she was stunningly beautiful.
In Nihil, she carried one of the more tragic pasts. And despite her cool appearance, her personality was “clingy.” Because of that, in the official [Character You Most Want to Spoil Rankings], she had won the top spot by a landslide.
Dressed in the Five Prisons’ signature black uniform, she stood there smiling brightly, for reasons I couldn’t quite guess, as she looked straight at me.
Then, sliding right between Ruby and me, Dia stepped forward with a pointed glare.
“We were finally enjoying a nice moment together... If this is just a routine report, couldn’t you have done it over ＜Call＞?”
“Hehe, this isn’t just a report. I’ve brought very important documents.”
“Even so, you could have had someone else deliver them—”
“—But to receive Lord Void’s praise in person... surely that’s only natural?”
“...Hmph. Well, I suppose I can agree with that much.”
Their gazes locked, sparks practically crackling in the air.
...Too fast. This is way too fast...
We were still only at the “Hey, long time no see” stage.
Starting a fight already was about three moves too soon.
While I sighed quietly, Dia and Ruby only heated up further.
“Dia, don’t you think you’ve been clinging to Lord Void far too much, using your position as First Seat as an excuse? Even among the Five Prisons, this has become quite the problem.”
“Ruby, ugly jealousy only lowers your dignity, you know? I’m merely fulfilling my duty as overseer of the Five Prisons and helping manage Nihil. ...Well, I won’t deny there are perks involved. Why, just the other day, we enjoyed a cup of coffee together, the two of us, alone.”
With a smug grin, Dia dropped that unnecessary detail.
“Wh-what—! The two of you, alone... for coffee?!”
Ruby’s crimson eyes went wide in shock, her clenched teeth audibly rattling.
And then, before long, the two of them were loudly arguing, throwing back and forth their treasured episodes with me like a pair of bickering children.
Honestly, I had no idea what this bizarre ritual of theirs was supposed to mean... but it sure looked fun.
Dia and Ruby had both grown taller and more mature-looking, but on the inside, they were still the same as back then...
Everyone in Nihil was like family to me.
And among them, the Five Prisons—Dia, Ruby, Eme, Aqua, and Wolf—were special.
After all, they were the very first five people I had picked up.
Those three years I spent with them in Void Town had been tough in a lot of ways... but truly, they were some of the best years of my life.
—Well, enough with the sentimental mood. It was about time to shift to business.
“So then, Ruby. What brings you here today? You mentioned you’d brought some ‘important documents.’”
“Yes. Please review them here.”
“...This is—”
“A detailed investigation report on the Klein royal family.”
“Ohh, that was quick.”
Ruby was in charge of intelligence gathering for Nihil, with a special focus on the Klein royal family.
Incidentally, the rest of the Five Prisons had similar roles.
Aqua handled the Alvara Empire, Wolf the Spirit State of Phyllis, and Eme the Holy State of Eria—all to prepare us for the eventual conquest of the main route.
Let’s see...
I skimmed through Ruby’s report.
・The King of Klein lay bedridden with illness, not expected to live much longer.
・Within the royal castle, movements to support the next successor had already intensified.
・The four royals with succession rights had scattered to the north, south, east, and west, each striving desperately for military achievements.
The King’s condition, the inner workings of the castle, the current situations of the royal family—even the profiles and locations of the princes and princesses with succession rights—everything I wanted to know was written here in detailed, classified precision.
“You’ve really done your homework. As expected of you, Ruby.”
“I am honored.”
She bowed deeply, her face as expressionless as ever.
She was trying hard to appear calm, but... I knew better. She was overjoyed.
Proof of it was that part of her ＜Humanization＞ spell had come undone, and her tail was wagging furiously.
Among dragonkin, this was a telltale sign of excitement. She probably thought she was hiding it well... but really, it couldn’t have been more obvious.
“The Royal Selection is still a distant event, but arrogance is forbidden. When the time comes, I want us prepared to face it in perfect condition. So Ruby, I’ll be counting on you to continue investigating the royals, all right?”
“Yes, of course. I will accomplish it without fail—even if it costs me my life.”
“Yeah, well, your life is more important than the job, okay?”
...Everyone in Nihil really was a little too heavy.
As I enjoyed that kind of moment with my precious family, a ＜Call＞ came through from Glad, the former bandit leader.
Yo, Boss, got a minute?
Sure. What’s up?
That ‘thing’ we talked about looks like it’s about to wake up... What do you wanna do?
Perfect timing. I’ll handle pickup from here, so you can head out for work now. Thanks for the watch.
Aye, got it.
＜Call＞ ended.
“Let’s see... if I remember correctly, it was around here...”
Using ＜Void Step>, I summoned a certain “ragged bundle of cloth.”
“Here we go...”
I sat down upon the jet-black throne, with Dia and Ruby standing by at either side.
Incidentally, Dia always insisted on standing to my right.
Apparently, the right side of a ruler was the “right-hand position” and carried important meaning.
Honestly, I thought, “Does it really matter where you stand?” But since it clearly meant so much to her, I refrained from saying anything.
Values differed from person to person, after all.
While I was thinking such things, the ragged bundle at my feet stirred faintly, then slowly began to awaken.
“U-ugh... wh-where... am I...? What is this place...?”
Seeing “him” waking up in confusion, I deliberately greeted him in a bright voice.
“—Good morning, Zova. How are you feeling?”
Comments
Post a Comment