Dictator From Outer Space

“…”

Margareta gripped the railing and tried to blow away her displeasure with the rough wind.

She had crossed the continent to come here, but her meeting with Vandus’s governor had left her with nothing.

Unification by force, war was necessary?

It was necessary to exclude people?

She had no idea what qualifications he had to say such things.

‘He can say that because he’s sure he won’t be harmed.’

In some ways, he was the most wicked being.

A human who never wanted to lose, full of selfishness.

That was the true nature of Leobold Vandus that Margareta saw.

‘He doesn’t deserve the note I brought.’

She silently tucked her hair behind her ears and looked at another airship.

If he was really such a person, then the atmosphere of that airship was inexplicable.

No matter what era or place, the people below were affected by the people above.

If Leobold was so oppressive and selfish, then the crew of the airship should be similar.

The Floating Continent Fleet was an organization that only followed Leobold’s orders.

In that respect, the crew of the airship she visited for the past few weeks were quite relaxed despite the strict discipline.

Their clothes were old but not dirty, and their tone was not rude.

The hierarchy did not seem to be too rigid either.

They were much more free than Elvrande’s airship, where they couldn’t even make a joke.

‘Is it just because of the admiral’s dignity?’

Admiral Hampton approached her as she felt the cold wind.

He was on board Elvrande’s airship as the admiral of the entire fleet.

“Your Highness, the wind will soon become very cold. Please go inside.”

“…Don’t you find it strange that I’m leaving so abruptly?”

“Ha ha, what would I know as a fool? I just follow orders since I received them.”

“The truth is, things didn’t go well with Vandus’s governor.”

“I see…”

The two had built some friendship over the past few weeks.

The elves from Elvrande did not say a word to her, perhaps considering her status.

So Margareta, who was bored, spoke to Admiral Hampton, who was the highest-ranking human among them, and he told her stories about the amazing scenery and strange crops of the Floating Continent, and they had a conversation.

“I believed that he would listen to me. But it was a pathetic delusion. He was no different from other power-hungry people.”

She had softened her words as much as possible, so one could imagine how harsh the actual atmosphere was.

Hampton looked around and she spoke again.

“Is he always like that? In your opinion, is Vandus’s governor a villain who oppresses others and gets what he wants by violence?”

“Uh, well… It seems like you’ve forgotten that I’m his subordinate for a moment.”

“I’m sorry. I just wanted to vent my frustration.”

“It’s unfortunate that it turned out like this after you endured such a long journey. I don’t dare to give you any advice, but if I may say one thing, that’s not his true intention.”

“His true intention?”

“I often visit the Floating Continent because of my position. As you know well, it takes a lot of money and effort to visit the Floating Continent…”

Margareta nodded her head.

“I’ve heard a lot about it. It’s impossible to get to the Floating Continent by ordinary means, and the operating cost of an airship is not cheap either.”

“As I took on such a heavy duty, I had to push ahead with my plan without any hesitation. But people can get sick sometimes, right? Oh, I don’t know about elves, but we humans sometimes get sick.”

“I understand. So what happened?”

“Our fleet was returning to our territory with a full load of resources and crops from the Floating Continent as usual. We were quite slow because we carried so much. And then someone collapsed clutching his stomach.”

“Oh no…”

“As you know, it’s a very awkward situation when someone gets sick in the sky where there is nothing. We had some emergency medicine, but his condition was not good. He screamed and twisted his body as if he was dying…”

Now Margareta’s face turned horrible as if she was the patient herself.

She heard a voice in her ear that contained a twist.

“I quickly contacted Lord Vandus, but I didn’t have much hope. I expected him to order me to endure until we reached our territory. But Lord Vandus told me to empty all the cargo of one airship.”

Her eyes widened at that point.

“Didn’t you say there was gold in there?”

“We don’t always bring gold. Anyway, we followed Lord Vandus’s orders and emptied the cargo of one airship. And we were able to transport the patient to our territory quickly. In the end, he received proper treatment and saved his life.”

“I didn’t know that happened…”

It was an order that no one could give if they were cold and selfish.

Hampton beat his chest.

“If he was a normal lord, he would have ignored it or ordered me to secretly throw the crew away. Since that day, our crew swore to follow Lord Vandus’s orders with our lives.”

“…”

Margareta looked at the sky silently.

It could be a fabricated story, but it didn’t seem like it.

Hampton looked in the same direction and said.

“Of course, this is not to make excuses for Lord Vandus. I’m just telling you what I felt.”

“It was a good story. But I still don’t understand him…”

“It’s hard for humans and elves to understand each other…”

She suddenly thought that she was too hasty.

She hadn’t even done what she came here for, to find Yggdrasil.

After saying goodbye to Admiral Hampton, she returned to her room and felt two Yggdrasils with a devout heart.

One was the branch that disappeared in the border area, and the other was unknown.

‘What is this…?’

It was not an illusion or a hallucination.

In her garden of mind, there were two branches of Yggdrasil that were larger than usual.

‘How did this happen…’

She got up in surprise and the airship shook suddenly.

Bang!

An explosion occurred near the ether engine and the shock wave pushed the wind violently.

The airship tilted and some elves on the deck fell down.

“Ahhhh!”

“Help me!”

The floor started to tear and the buoyant stones that were firmly attached fell off.

As a result, the airship began to fall down without stopping.

“Damn it!”

Admiral Hampton, who had moved to another airship, grabbed the railing and cursed.

The airship of Elvrande that the princess was on was falling.

If it fell to the ground like that, it would be dead without a doubt.

There was nothing they could do from above.

As the crew stomped their feet, the clouds blocked the bottom of the fleet.

“It’s over…”

Admiral Hampton had no choice but to order a retreat.

He couldn’t even see the wreckage of Elvrande’s airship that had fallen.

Meanwhile, Zigarion, who was waiting below the clouds, grumbled.

―This is kidnapping, not rescue!

「Did you really think I was going to kidnap the real princess? Stop complaining and get her out.」

―Why can’t you do it with that spaceship?

「The Settler is somewhere else, so I asked you who are nearby. Do you want me to tell Master that you don’t want to do it?」

―I didn’t say I didn’t want to do it.

Zigarion spread his wings and approached the falling airship.

The princess’s private room was marked in his sight.

―This is a fun feature. It’s not magic, but what is it?

「It’s called a gravity radar. It catches anything that weighs more than a certain amount. The princess is unconscious, so grab her gently, okay?」

―Do you think I can’t control my strength?

「Weren’t you?」

Zigarion felt a murderous intent from Arma’s calm voice, but he couldn’t express it.

According to Leobold, Arma was incomparably stronger than him.

It was really infuriating.

He folded his wings and flew through the debris to get to the airship.

He broke the private room slightly and grabbed the princess with his front paw as she was exposed.

―Hahaha! Success!

Then she groaned in pain as if he had grabbed something wrong.

Arma’s cruel voice came in.

「You just dislocated her rib. Master said he would do the same to you, you know?」

―Please, please…

Zigarion cowered and flew cautiously toward Roseron.

***

The news of the crash of Elvrande’s airship carrying the princess flew in.

It was announced by Leobold Vandus, the governor of Bagran.

He officially declared the death of the princess and expressed his regret.

Many people were shocked and horrified.

―The princess of the empire died? So she died on her way back from the meeting?

―It’s obvious who did it… What did they do it for?

―I don’t understand. What benefit do they get from killing the princess?

The atmosphere in Roseron was gloomy.

It was not long after the dragon attacked the western territory that such a huge incident occurred.

The incident where the great lords of the west were killed could be somehow resolved because it happened within Bagran, but this time it was impossible.

Bagran was noisy while waiting for the result of the meeting, and Zaium was startled.

Most of them reacted as if they wondered how they could fix it after doing such a thing.

―Are they crazy? She may not have real power, but she is still a royal. A guardian of Yggdrasil and a champion of a royal family. How can they kill her?

―They didn’t even fight her as an enemy, but killed her when she came to talk. I don’t know where that idea came from.

―It’s a bit awkward to say it’s revenge for the former emperor…

―But are we sure that Count Vandus killed her?

―It doesn’t matter. It happened in Bagran’s sky. Count Vandus is responsible for it.

Meanwhile, Elvrande, who was involved in this, was shocked beyond words.

When the news of the princess’s death in the human kingdom spread, Medea turned upside down.

Many elves ran out of their homes and marched on the streets.

“They shouldn’t have sent the princess to that trashy human kingdom!”

“Who killed her! Who stabbed our hearts!”

“The claim for peace with humans was wrong! The only good human is a dead human!”

As voices of criticism echoed everywhere, Elvrande’s flags waved here and there.

The elves mourned the death of the princess and wanted revenge.

As a result, the atmosphere of reconciliation that had barely been maintained around the princess was shattered.

Most of the elves gave their full support to the Grand Council, which advocated a radical policy of one-sidedness.

They completely forgot that the princess had been at odds with the Grand Council in doing so.

“Oh~ Our pride, our love~!”

“One drop of elf blood requires a hundred human lives! The Grand Council must awaken!”

“We want war! Kill the humans!”

“It’s a pity, isn’t it?”

Drizden and Kelodian looked at the radical crowd that shouted for war.

The peaceful and quiet atmosphere of Medea had suddenly become like that partly because of mourning the death of the princess, but also because of the weed that the Grand Council had secretly hidden.

The elves of Elvrande were prone to stress because they were forced to live a frugal life.

If someone lit a fire, they would burn like that.

They even made a creepy claim to execute the slaves in the autonomous region as a warning to humans.

It showed how angry the elves were.

Drizden, who could be called the mastermind of this, smiled faintly at the corner of his mouth.

“With this, the public opinion against us in our country is gone. We can do whatever we want.”

“Wasn’t there another way?”

Kelodian asked cautiously, but Drizden clicked his tongue.

“Look around. What have we lost? Our country is united and cries for revenge. The light of Yggdrasil is still there, and we only lost one stupid royal who cried for dialogue.”

“It’s amazing that Yggdrasil is still fine even though the princess died.”

“The temple will select another guardian. There won’t be anyone decent, but it’s enough if they just act as a scarecrow.”

But was the princess really dead?

No one had actually confirmed her death.

They were just burning with revenge based on what Vandus’s governor announced in Bagran.

If she was alive…

Kelodian shook his head to get rid of his thoughts.

Now that things had come to this, the princess had to be dead for Elvrande’s future.

Drizden tapped his shoulder.

“Let’s go see Tiren. We have to tell him who killed the princess.”

“Isn’t it hard to kill Vandus’s governor even if he accepted the divinity? He’s a monster.”

“No one said they would face that monster head-on. Let’s go quickly.”

“Yes…”

Kelodian left the Grand Council and headed for the secret laboratory.

There were quite a few laboratories in Elvrande, but none as secretive as this one.

Because it contained an infinite circuit.

He passed through several strict gates guarded by elven knights and finally approached a sphere that emitted a golden light.

This was the core and soul of Yggdrasil, the Infinite Circuit, where new souls were born.

It originally had the mission of accepting the souls of Astera and giving birth to new life forms, but it was currently being exploited by the elves.

‘I have no choice…’

Kelodian justified himself.

The Infinite Circuit was absolutely necessary to protect the whole of Astera.

That was the prepared plan of destruction.

The humans would never remember, but the elves had been planning this since 200 years ago, when they took over Yggdrasil.

Now it was time to activate part of it.

Kelodian approached Tiren, who was soaking his body in the Fountain of Creation.

“How do you feel?”

“…You didn’t come here to ask me that.”

“I should apologize in advance. The princess is dead.”

“…”

Tiren’s body shuddered for a moment.

Tears streamed down from his bulging eyes.

“Who did it?”

“Leobold Vandus, that bastard. The airship that Her Highness was on crashed in his territory.”

“…”

Something was wrong.

Tiren realized that something was fishy even in his dizziness from the nonsense of divinity that permeated his body.

Why would the Council send the princess to such a place?

And Leobold had no reason to kill the princess.

It would make sense if he wanted to go to war with Elvrande, but at this point, it was almost suicidal to clash with Bagran’s caliber.

There was no way to stop Meteor Strike if it was activated simultaneously.

But why?

Kelodian offered him words of consolation as he looked confused.

“I understand that you are sad because you were close to the princess. Now, let’s start your revenge. There is nothing that can stop your way…”

“That’s right.”

As Kelodian winked, the guards pulled the switch.

The water level of the fountain dropped and Tiren’s naked body was exposed.

They handed him a towel, but he was staring at Kelodian.

“Why don’t you cover yourself with a towel first?”

“There is no need for that.”

“What?”

Before he could retort, Tiren’s hand grabbed Kelodian’s neck.

The magic circle was destroyed in an instant and a choking sound was heard.

“Gah! Cough!”

Tiren lifted him up with one hand and said.

“I’ve been waiting for this day… The day I take revenge on you for my subordinates…”

“Cough cough!”

Kelodian struggled, but he had no way to fight back at such close range.

He was also a great mage, but he was helpless when attacked like this.

Tiren tightened his grip.

Crack crack―

A ominous sound was heard and Kelodian’s eyes began to roll back.

“If you had given the order in time, my subordinates could have lived… But you ignored it!”

“Hurgh…”

“You’re next after I kill you, Council… And then I’ll kill that bastard Leobold…”

There was a final snap and Kelodian’s body went limp.

Tiren threw his corpse with an indifferent face and looked at the guards.

“Sound the alarm. I won’t stop you.”

Gulp.

No one could sound the alarm.

Tiren walked through them.

Whoever killed the princess, he had to pay for it.

***

“Rib number three is broken. No other injuries and she fainted from shock. She’ll wake up soon.”

“Tell Zion to come in.”

“He said he had something urgent and ran away. Should I catch him?”

“…Just leave him alone.”

Leobold looked at Margareta lying in bed in his bedroom.

He wore the insult of being a beast who assassinated the princess while not reacting because she couldn’t be known to be alive.

Elvrande was burning with revenge for this incident and Zaium even backed off saying it was too much.

No matter how much he hated elves, it was hard to defend him for killing the princess who came as an envoy.

Even Duke Prozhan or Countess Croitz scolded him for doing that.

Only his confidants were comforting each other that there must be some reason for it.

“You didn’t write everything in this note, did you? There must be something else in your memory.”

Leobold skimmed through the note that Margareta wrote after entering the Infinite Library.

It was well recorded, but he could see some missing contents.

He would find out when she woke up.

And also,

“I wonder how much you know about Rasa…”

Margareta had warned him not to call Rasa rudely, saying it was blasphemy against God.

It was impossible for an ordinary Asteran to do that.

Because Rasa was a forgotten god.

His existence was acknowledged, but he had no presence, so there was no temple to worship him either.

In the midst of that, she recognized him as a god, so he thought there must be some story behind it.

He also needed more detailed information about the Infinite Circuit.

If he combined that with the research results of the super-large ether stone that Arma was making, something amazing might come out.

Soon after, Margareta opened her eyes.

“Huh… What?”

She touched her body lying in bed and then gasped and pulled up the blanket.

Her eyes of disbelief looked at Leobold.

“What, what is this? What did you do to me?”

“Nothing. I told you, didn’t I? That you would come back here.”

“Ah…”

Her mouth opened dumbly.

She remembered checking the branch of Yggdrasil in her private room after parting with Admiral Hampton.

She also remembered the explosion somewhere on the airship and her body being thrown against the wall and hitting her head.

Then who caused that explosion?

“How could you do that? I, I thought you were a good person…”

“You seem to have gone through a lot of changes in a short time. But think about it. Do I have any reason to kill you?”

No.

She couldn’t think of any reason.

But someone did.

The Council’s elder and the oldest elf, Drizden Featherwood.

What if he bribed the crew of the airship and planted bombs in advance?

Margareta’s face turned red.

She had made a big mistake.