“You have outdone yourself,” Cha Hee-Ra said.

“Huh? What are you talking about?” I asked.

“Yesterday,” she replied.

“Ahh.”

“I can understand the old man’s mouth dropping, but I was surprised when I saw the princess’s mouth drop as well,” she told me.

It definitely felt that way. I couldn’t see the princess’s expression because I was focused on the emperor, but I recalled how she stuttered with wide eyes. Obviously, the emperor’s expression was more dramatic and it had been so exaggerated I was worried his heart was going to stop due to the shock. After the short demonstration, people started asking questions. Even though the people here were used to magic and holy power, I figured it was interesting to see a being like a dragon being created. Of course, what I created wasn’t an actual being, but it seemed like it looked real to them because I could clearly remember them rubbing their eyes. The emperor wasn’t the only one surprised.

It seemed like Suzumiya Ibuki had heard about me from Kasugano Yuno, but the attitude of the two from Dawan noticeably changed. After all, I had basically proven to them that I ended up here not just because of pure luck. The mage Cheon Kwan-Wi, continued to ask questions after dinner and the archer Yu Ran, kept on giving me strange looks, which embarrassed me.

Of course, the emperor’s reaction was more important than their gazes. Maybe it was because I had laid down the bait, but after our dinner, he expressed that he wanted to speak to me alone. In addition, he even said that he wanted to support alchemy. I made all those happen within five hours, which was a great achievement even for me.

‘Awesome!’

I didn’t really need support since I had a lot of money, but I was really interested in the catalyst that might be stored in the treasury. To receive imperial support; no, the support of the Holy Empire, it would be rather strange if I wasn’t excited.

“I was bored to death, but I enjoyed the show thanks to you. I’m sure some of them are even thanking you. Dealing with that old man is quite a nuisance,” Cha Hee-Ra confessed.

“That’s what people like you think, noona. It’s not every day you get to eat dinner with the emperor, so if you don’t make a good impression now, you may not get another chance. From my point of view, I actually don’t understand you, noona,” I explained.

“I just don’t like it. I don’t care if I don’t become close to that old man. I think people like Yu Ran and Park Yeon-Joo think that it’s necessary though… But do you really think they’re doing it because they like it? You know… a thought popped into my head when I watched you yesterday,” she said.

“What kind of thought?” I asked.

“This bastard is enjoying it,” she replied.

“It’s a compliment, right?” I questioned.

“Of course. It’s like you were meant to do something like that,” Cha Hee-Ra added.

“I won’t deny it,” I told her.

My heart kind of broke when I heard that I was apparently meant to be a bootlicker, but it was true that I enjoyed it.

When I turned my head out of embarrassment, I saw a crowd cheering under the royal platform. I expected the event to be big, but it seemed that they had put a lot of work into it. The cheering was loud enough to hurt my ears and seeing the place decorated with the empire’s flag and the number of ornaments around made me think that they used a lot of gold.

The nobles sitting on one side were influential nobles representing the empire. I noticed Lady Marilyn waving while staring at me, so I waved back.

My family at the Vatican was located a bit far from them. The pope wasn’t there, but including Father Basel, there were three cardinals. It was Sister Jessica and Sister Helena, who barely appeared in public. I felt proud when I saw those I had a close relationship with attending this event.

‘I should feel proud.’

“When does this start?”

As soon as I heard Cha Hee-Ra’s complaint, I heard a loud voice.

“His Majesty, the Emperor, has arrived.”

The emperor and Charlotte were walking on the platform. The only difference from yesterday was that a woman I assumed to be the first princess was with them. When I used Mind’s Eye to see her status window, her information was displayed before me.

‘Hm…’

Charlia, the First Princess of the Empire. And her nature was Self-Righteous Egoist.

‘Wow…’

Even the emperor, who had holes for eyes, seemed to know who was more suitable for the throne between the first and the second princess.

‘She’ll never get it…’

Her wicked face made her look like a villain and her eyes filled with spite were on Charlotte, who was receiving the emperor’s affection. Of course, her face was also full of greed…

[Unique Habit - Jealous Witch]

Even the system called her a witch, and I was sure there was a reason why her personality became that way. It was such a cliche that I wondered if an explanation was even necessary at this point. The second princess had to have received a lot of their father’s affection, while the first princess received none. Sisters fighting over the throne was a story that many had heard before, and I was certain that they were fighting viciously over it behind the scenes. However, the fight shouldn’t be that fierce, but if the emperor’s health continued to decline or if an external element intervened, the battle for succession would surely appear.

I thought my unique habit might affect her, but just because she was a femme fatale didn’t mean she would be loved by all.

‘I think it's for the best if I stayed away from her.’

Anyway, the emperor walked out slowly with the first and the second princess by his side. It didn’t take long for him to arrive and stand on the platform where everyone could see him.

“I think he’s going to give a speech…” I said.

“Yeah. It’s because this is his chance to put on a good act. After all, he created that Eight Seats or whatever just to do that.”

I had to agree with Cha Hee-Ra. As expected, the emperor’s voice was loud thanks to the voice amplification magic, but honestly, the speech wasn’t that great.

‘It’s really boring.’

His voice didn’t have the power to draw people in, and his speech reminded me of the long speeches principals often gave, making it unbearable. To say I couldn’t help but yawn was the most accurate expression to describe his speech.

“My beloved people of the Holy Empire. We have all gathered here…”

I had to have heard “My beloved people of the Holy Empire” about twenty-three times now.

“Today… the great power of the empire…” the emperor continued.

And I had heard “The great power of the empire” about thirty-five times now. When it was getting harder for me to endure it, I smiled when I noticed that his speech was about to end.

“Now, I would like to introduce… the shields that will protect the empire, and the swords that will punish the empire’s enemies… I would like to introduce them to the proud citizens. The black-haired foreigners made numerous contributions to the development of the empire, and the ones I name will be appointed as the Holy Empire’s Eight Seats,” the emperor announced.

“Uwaaaahhhh!!”

Obviously, the people cheered loudly. I wasn’t sure whether they were cheering because the emperor’s long speech was finally coming to an end or if they were cheering for the Eight Seats, but there was a high chance it was the former. The emperor nodded in joy at their cheer. He then continued talking, but this time, it wasn’t a speech.

“Cha Hee-Ra, the First Seat of the empire.”

Cha Hee-Ra next to me stood up and headed toward the platform.

“I’ll be going first, darling,” she said to me.

“Alright.”

As she confidently walked in front of the crowd while wearing her flashy armor, her red hair caught my attention.

‘She looks amazing.’

Her image was very suitable for the crazed crowd. A soldier introducing Cha Hee-Ra in the emperor’s stead shouted her achievements as loudly as he could. I found myself blushing while listening to her achievements, but I believe it was necessary.

‘Even if the presentation is a bit excessive…’

I thought it would have been better if it was simpler, but this wasn’t too bad since it was created for this event. The emperor achieved a publicity effect that was more than he wanted and since the crowd was excited, there weren’t any problems.

When the other seatholders after Cha Hee-Ra started walking toward the platform, the people cheered.

‘I think know why they’re doing this…’

As time passed, I couldn’t help but think…

The public was thirsty for power.

“Kasugano Yuno, the Third Seat of the empire.”

Kasugano Yuno was after the Mist Summoner Cheon Kwan-Wi. It seemed that she wasn’t that used to this kind of event because she started walking with a stern face.

“Park Yeon-Joo, the Fourth Seat of the empire.”

The crowd cheered.

“Yu Ran, the Fifth Seat of the empire.”

They cheered once more.

“Suzumiya Ibuki, the Sixth Seat of the empire.”

And…

“Kim Hyun-Sung, the Seventh Seat of the empire.”

The lovely regressor stood up and headed out. Even though he was wearing light armor, his steps were bold as he walked. The empire flag fluttered as the wind blew and the strange vibe that captured the people’s attention intensified.

‘You’re picture-perfect, Hyun-Sung!’

I wasn’t sure whether it was a coincidence or not, but the clouds in the sky cleared and the sunlight started shining down upon him.

‘What a perfect scene!’

Earlier, I thought all this was a bit excessive, but now, it seemed fine. The people cheered even louder, and of course, it was no exception when it was my turn.

“Lee Ki-Young, the Eighth Seat of the empire.”

I tried to walk as confidently as possible, but I couldn’t portray the same image the other members had, and to make things worse, I almost tripped, but their cheer was pretty loud.

“He’s the Sub Guild Master of the Blue Guild representing the Free City of Lindel and was chosen by a dragon. He’s the Holy Empire’s Honorary Bishop and one of the thirty continental guardians who had saved the continent from destruction. He’s an alchemist who not only represents the empire, but…”

I had a lot more titles than I thought and I would have even more if the unofficial titles were added on top. They announced ridiculous titles like Extraordinary Genius and Genius of Strategy and Resourcefulness, but they were part of the publicity strategy…

‘So, it’s worth overlooking it...’

The people behind this event had decided to give me the brains of the empire image. The only thing I had achieved was blocking the monster wave at Castle Rock as well as assembling the troops to do so, but since the Republic’s Five Tiger Generals had a similar formation, they probably wanted to make sure things were balanced.

‘Not bad.’

They did kind of lie, but there was no reason for me to reject their words when they were labeling me as a genius. It was the position I wanted in the first place and even if I weren’t all that great, what they had done would still make me look amazing.

“Uwaaah!!!”

The crowd’s cheer was really loud as the members waved. The emperor, the planner behind all this, and us, the event participants thought that this event ended perfectly, but the only issue was that there were other events after this one. After leaving the platform, we got placed in a parade, and after shaking hands with the imperial representatives, we still had to go to a party with the nobles and attend other events, which filled our schedule to the brim.

‘Do we really have to do all this…’

It was pretty fun at first, but as time passed, I felt like my body was going to reach its limit. And that was when the old emperor came up to me and lifted my hand high. Naturally, the people cheered and the old emperor patted my back.

‘This old man really likes it when people fawn over him.’

I was sure there hadn’t been many emperors who openly showed that they liked brown-nosers. I wasn’t sure why, but Father Basel was shocked when he saw us and he slowly made his way over to me.

‘This wasn’t really what I wanted…’

I hadn’t planned any of this. Receiving affection from many people was great, but if this continued, I would most likely make enemies as well. As expected, I was right. I felt Charlotte’s gaze as she looked at me with dissatisfaction, but having the emperor on my left and Father Basel on my right made me feel even safer than I had expected.

‘I! Ugh! Drank! With them! Ugh! Ate with them! Went to a sauna with them! Okay! We did everything, punk!’[1]

A line I had heard from somewhere kept replaying in my head.

1. It's a famous line from the Korean movie "Nameless Gangster: Rules of the Time” ☜