A VR Travel Story That Makes You Want to Be Humiliated

Chapter 19: At That Time, the Imperial Palace (2)

It's been almost a hundred years since the war with the Demon King's army, the Great War between Man and Demon, broke out.

It may not be true for long-lived species, but for humans, it is long enough to turn a young person into an old person.

The crisis of humanity, where the front lines were deadlocked, and the front lines were being pushed back day by day, has now become an old story that old people who were young back then tell to their grandchildren.

Naturally, as time passes, the sense of crisis of war fades.

Recently, it was only the people on the front lines who were putting their energy into the war, and in the rear, they were wasting their energy on politics as if there was no war.

In that political situation, this emperor was close to a heretic.

An emperor who is serious about the war against the Demon King's army.

The political nobility who were born after the war had already occurred and grew up during the war initially accepted the emperor roughly, thinking he was a youthful prankster, but by the time they realized how sincere the emperor was, it was already too late to back out.

Moreover, the irrefutable justification that 'I will lead the war to victory for humanity.'

Since a law was established early in the war that anyone who refuted this would be punished regardless of status, the nobles were at least outwardly working as loyal subordinates of the emperor, even if they were manipulating things behind the scenes.

The emperor not only provided various support and commands for the war effort through the nobles under him, but also worked very hard himself.

Even Baray, the emperor's closest associate, did not know what made the emperor so sincere.

He was exhausted from work and overtime, and all he knew was that the emperor was working in person and could not leave work first.

'Once this face-to-face meeting is over, I will submit the report next time...' . No. That's because the budget isn't ready yet. Then first... '

Someone appeared in front of Barei, who continued to think about work while moving to the emperor's office to leave work a little early.

"Ah. It's Baray. It worked out just fine. "This schedule was to meet you face to face."

At first glance, the slightly faded blond hair, voluptuous breasts, kindly smiling face, and elegant body movements showed a nobility that was not that of an ordinary person.

Her body and beauty, which made it hard to believe that she had experience giving birth, showed that she possessed powerful magical powers.

It wouldn't be strange for someone who doesn't know anything about fashion to fall in love at first sight. But Baray could never look at her like that.

"Meet Your Majesty the Emperor."

She is the supreme leader of the Lexis Empire, the largest nation of mankind. Because she was Empress Tyrus.

In other words, it could be said that he is the biggest culprit behind Baray's overtime. In fact, this was the biggest reason why Barei did not see the emperor as a woman.

In the Lexis Empire, unlike other countries, the eldest child inherited the throne regardless of gender.

This is because she was a queen who broke out of her existing kingdom and established her own power.

Other kingdoms have expressed dissatisfaction with the succession method, which directly challenges their own succession system, but the Lexis Empire suppressed such dissatisfaction with its extraordinary national power even when it was a kingdom.

"It's okay to say hard words. Because one o'clock is busy. "If you're Baray, you understand what I'm saying, right?"

The unique way of speaking, mixing first-person derogatory terms and honorifics, was a compromise between Tyrus' personality and his status as emperor.

"Ha... Your Majesty, I have told you this many times... "

"That's Okay. Even now, people are risking their lives on the front lines, and I don't want to waste precious time."

Barei had no choice but to bend his will due to coercion rather than coercion from the emperor.

Originally, one had to enter the emperor's office, wear formal etiquette, and then report according to procedures, but the emperor strongly disliked such ostentation because it was a waste of time.

Other nobles make a lot of noise about maintaining dignity even if they die, so the emperor adjusts to a certain extent to save time while fighting, but Barei is one of the rare nobles who agrees with the emperor's words about saving time, so he often forces himself to do this. There was.

Finishing your work quickly means you can do other things at that time, and that means you can leave work early, so I tend to cater to the emperor as much as possible...

"... Anyway, are you talking here?"

This was neither Barei's office nor the emperor's office, but a hallway in between.

"Yes. Here."

"No, confidentiality is also involved. At least it should be soundproof... "

"Baray? "Didn't you hear me?"

When it seemed like the scuffle would continue, the emperor withdrew his authority as emperor.

In this case, no matter how much he is the duke's prince, Barei, one of the people of the empire, has no way to disobey.

Barei began reporting after defeating the maids accompanying the emperor.

"... Yes. Then I will report it to you."

...

"... Great. "This interview will end here."

How much time has passed? The meeting between Barei and the emperor, which lasted for a while, has ended.

"Really. I'm glad I have Barreira. "I can barely communicate with other nobles."

It is said that the emperor has business elsewhere.

Since it happened to be in the same direction as Baray, who was returning to the office, the two were chatting for a while walking.

The emperor, who disliked formality, would chat in a friendly manner with some of his close friends when not in public situations.

Baray, who had similar tendencies to the emperor and worked with him as a close associate, was one of them.

"It's not that I don't understand what they're saying. "Your Majesty needs to get some rest."

"But I don't know how many precious lives will be lost because of the few minutes I rest. When I think about that, I don't feel at peace even when I rest."

Conversations on this topic always ran parallel lines.

However, there was no reason to say anything when they said they would work harder because people's lives were precious. The fact that the nobleman who claimed, 'Your Majesty's health is more important than the lives of commoners' has now been appointed as a commander on the front lines also played a role.

'That is correct. Then your life is less precious than my health. Would you please ease my burden?'

It was clearly a riot, but the nobles could do nothing. Currently, the imperial authority is at its peak, and its ability to prevent nobles from uniting by coordinating individual requirements is outstanding.

For reference, Baray was in charge of that part. One thing the emperor did was to kill Barei in the aftermath every time he made a move.

"I am now used to hearing Your Majesty's words. Still, it's a good idea to get some rest. Adequate rest also increases work efficiency. "Please."

At that moment, the bead shined in Barei's pocket for a moment, and at the same time, the light disappeared for a moment from the intelligent emperor's eyes and returned.

It happened so quickly that no one noticed it.

If it had been in the emperor's office, or indeed any room in the palace, the magic contained in the bead would have been easily deflected.

Because every room in the imperial palace had a strong magic barrier.

However, the place where the emperor and Barei were now was a hallway, and the level of barrier installed in the hallway could not block the secret magic of the beads.

"Hmm... Efficiency? "Let me explain."

"Yes?"

"Explain. Why is taking breaks related to work efficiency?"

Barei was surprised.

This wasn't the first conversation we're having.

To be precise, Baray even talks about efficiency. I had recommended rest with the same words several times before, but each time it was gently rejected.

But why was there a different reaction this time?

Barei was puzzled, but he thought nothing of it.

Since your Majesty is also human, you must be more tired today.

"This is a story told by the wizards of the Magic Tower. It is said that humans spend more time concentrating if they take breaks in between than if they continue to focus on something. Well, relieve stress? I used the word... "I'm not sure about this word."

"Wizards? Those who bet everything on research say that... It's not something you can just ignore. For now, I'll just listen carefully. But, do you really have to rest to relieve stress?"

"Ah. From what I heard, anything that helps you relax is good. It meant that it was okay to do nothing and that it was okay to do something that made you feel good."

"Okay. It feels good... Let's consider it. Then Baray. Good luck with the rest of your work."

"Oh my, is this already my office? I had so much fun talking with His Majesty that I didn't notice the passage of time."

"Hehe. It's okay if you don't flatter yourself like that. "It's between us, right?"

The emperor said that, but he didn't even try to hide the raised corners of his mouth.

After seeing the emperor off to his destination, Barei returned to his office and looked at the report on the top of the desk and remembered something about his bead.

"Right. He was thinking about these beads... Hmm?"

However, the bead that Baray took out was transparent.

"It was definitely a cloudy color earlier?"

I squinted and looked closely at the bead, but no matter how I looked, it was a transparent bead with the back visible.

It simply looked like the bead had become clean, and it also seemed like something inside had come out.

Who did I meet with this bead?

Baray could feel cold sweat running down his back.

If done incorrectly, it could be misunderstood that a magic tool was used in front of the emperor.

No matter how dangerous it was confirmed to be, using magic tools without permission in front of the emperor was grounds for severe punishment.

Barei searched through the report he received with his bead to find out its identity, but was unable to find out its identity.