I’m Going to Destroy this Country

“Your Majesty, are you conscious?”

With Sapien’s power, the Emperor fully regained consciousness. As the Emperor sat up, his retainers shed tears of joy.

“Thank heavens, Your Majesty. We’ve been so worried!”

“Everyone will be overjoyed!”

The Emperor looked at Sapien. He seemed to have noticed that he was able to wake up entirely thanks to her, no, the Sacred Dragon’s power.

So he seemed to have mixed feelings.

“Thank you so much for returning to the Empire. I don’t know why you decided to come back, but…”

At those words, Sapien let out a hollow laugh as if it was ridiculous.

“Why else? To marry the Skeleton Ki… Mmph!”

Isaac quickly covered Sapien’s mouth.

Sapien glared as if asking what he was doing, but Isaac changed the subject as if telling her to be quiet.

“Your Majesty, did you really never receive a letter from the Sacred Dragon?”

The Emperor’s expression turned serious as he heard the story through the Imperial Princess.

“That’s right. At the time, the previous generation dragon had been so badly injured by the Skeleton King that he had to retire.”

…What? Who???

[Master… So you caused trouble for the Sacred Dragons too.]

No?! I’m telling you I didn’t do anything to them!

“At that time, the Skeleton King had kidnapped the young Crown Prince. He became like that while rescuing him.”

At those words, Sapien and Shablis glanced at Isaac. Whisper also clicked his tongue as if in contempt.

[My goodness. Even taking hostages…?!]

‘Shut up! It couldn’t have been me! Especially not 20 years ago!’

“The Pope said it was the Skeleton King’s doing.”

This maggot-like Pope bastard!!!

Why does he keep using my name?!

Killing intent flashed in Isaac’s eyes.

‘He’s been pinning everything on me since the old days whenever something happens.’

Isn’t this too much even for him?

Of course, he didn’t get along with the Pope originally, but the Saintess’s family had a direct connection.

‘Why are they so desperate to get me?’

Shouldn’t they stop caring after so many generations have passed?

As if reading that thought, Shablis said:

“It’s probably because the Pope can maintain his power only if the Skeleton King exists. The kidnapping incident could also have been orchestrated by the Pope with high probability.”

It’s not high probability, it’s almost 100%, isn’t it?

“It was all a plan to tear apart the Sacred Dragons and Imperial Family, right?”

Everyone was startled by Isaac’s words. The retainers looked flustered.

“Would they really go that far?”

“They’re skilled at sowing discord and manipulation. There was even a Saintess who was executed by the Gold family using the same method.”

He meant the Saintess who disappeared like morning dew on the execution ground while proposing peace to the Skeleton King.

But the retainers’ jaws dropped.

“T-There was a time when the previous generation Saintess was executed?”

Isaac said ‘Ah’ and changed the subject.

Lilai seemed to know about her existence, but it seemed her name had really been erased in the Empire. The historian’s confused face said it all.

“I only heard about it from my uncle, so I don’t know the details.”

Well, the only thing that bothered him was whether the current Pope had that level of power.

‘To be able to cripple a Sacred Dragon, it would have taken no ordinary power.’

In fact, it wasn’t an easy feat even for himself. So Isaac couldn’t help but recall the current Pope he had seen. He was certainly strong among humans, but if he had to say, he was only a bit stronger than a Cardinal.

‘Well, he is old now.’

The warning for did appear, but originally the Survival Origin’s notification could refer to the person’s environment, not the person himself.

So he had thought without a doubt that the authority of ‘Pope’ was interfering with his survival by attacking ‘Eshua’.

‘Could it be that bastard has power equal to or greater than the Skeleton King?’

[Huh, I didn’t feel that level of power. Rather, the Blue family head felt stronger. Is it because he’s old?]

No. A person who could cripple a Sacred Dragon wouldn’t weaken just from aging. For that level of master, power becomes more concentrated as time passes.

‘One thing’s for sure, the Gold family is hiding an ace up their sleeve.’

It seemed he would have to seduce Kina and dig into this.

Well, if they have the power to cripple a Sacred Dragon, we should have countermeasures too, but…

Just then, the Emperor spoke to Sapien.

“I heard the story. The previous generation dragon… Sage, that guy waited for me until the end.”

The Emperor seemed very sad about that fact.

How much must he have resented me as he was dying.

“I’ll return Sage’s belongings. Will you allow me to go pay respects even now?”

At the Emperor’s words, Sapien remained silent instead of answering. Just as he thought it wouldn’t be easily resolved, Sapien turned around abruptly and left.

“Well, Uncle only bragged about you until he died. If you go once, he might jump up from his grave in joy.”

“!”

“The grave is in the northern land, so go if you can.”

Knowing that was an expression of forgiveness and reconciliation, the Emperor closed his eyes tightly.

But Isaac furrowed his brow.

‘The grave is near the north?’

Isn’t that the Black territory?

And saying he would jump up from his grave means those remains are still there…

‘Could I resurrect him as a bone dragon?’

For the Skeleton King, a black magician, that wasn’t a difficult task.

And an undead dragon would be the highest tier of black magic, a top-class force. It would be tens of times stronger than living dragons due to special characteristics.

Usually people can’t even think of realizing it because they can’t get the materials, but with this…

Puhuhehe, Isaac’s mouth corners rose to his ears.

Subjugating a being like a Sacred Dragon as an undead? This would be an incomparable follower! Puheheeheheheht!

But whether they knew Isaac’s dark intentions or not, the Emperor and retainers were delighted.

“Anyway, it’s fortunate the Sacred Dragon has returned.”

“Yes, Your Majesty! Just having a Sacred Dragon raises our national power! Of course, now that we’re interacting with Sacred Dragons, the Magic Empire might covet Hella.”

“The Pope won’t be able to object with this either. The Crown Prince has worked hard all this time.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Now…”

It was such a heartwarming scene of fine words of blessing that even onlookers would feel warm, but there was one gaze that had been very displeased from earlier.

“Ahem.”

“…”

“Ahemmm.”

“…”

“Ahemmmmmm.”

As Isaac gave him a look, the Emperor broke out in a cold sweat. Isaac was glaring with fierce eyes as if telling them not to forget about him.

The Emperor, who couldn’t fail to read that expression, apologized.

“I heard the story. This was all thanks to the young master’s efforts.”

“Ahem. Well, I’m not asking for that much gratitude. I just thought if you’ve received something, you might have something to give.”

You bastard! This is in front of His Majesty!

As the retainers could only gape, the Emperor smiled.

Was it when he was a suckling baby? From the first time he saw him, he felt he would bring light to the Empire.

“I apologize for expressing gratitude like this in my current physical state. I’ll properly reward you later.”

As the Emperor bowed his head deeply, the retainers were shocked.

“Y-Your Majesty!!”

“H-How can Your Majesty bow your head to a mere priest without rank! Please retract it!”

“He’s no different from a benefactor who saved Hella and the Imperial Family. Moreover, he saved my child, how can I as a father not even give this much courtesy?”

“Your Majesty!”

Isaac barely held back his laughter, kyaaah, as if he was thrilled.

Yes, this is how it should be! Where else could I experience something like this! The feeling of receiving a bow from the Emperor, it’s thrilling!

“But will it be alright?”

“Huh?”

The Emperor looked at Isaac worriedly.

“Even if he gives up the right to approve imperial succession, the Pope still has many powers left. Most notably, he has the absolute authority to summon all priests on the continent.”

The king of all priests. In fact, the Pope’s cards were essentially all the priests across the continent.

It’s not for nothing that even the Imperial Family avoided an all-out war. It’s not a matter of power, but because they don’t want to end the relationship in the current era where priests are essential.

With one order from the Pope, even the Imperial Knights might not be able to receive treatment. Because priests would have to refuse treatment even in front of patients.

“He might attack the young master instead.”

However, Isaac chuckled.

“It’s alright, Your Majesty. That’s why I’m taking away his powers one by one, and decisively, I have allies.”

The Crown Prince, Sacred Dragon, White Cardinal, Eshua. And it seemed he could recruit the Red Cardinal with this incident too.

Then all that’s left is the Black Cardinal.

‘If I recruit him too, I can corner the Gold, right?’

Isaac was already planning to look into the Pope’s family anyway. Above all, he was curious why they were keeping him as a junior family head.

‘Those bastards who were trying to eat up Eshua using Goel and Noel, they wouldn’t give up so quickly, right?’

But that’s not what’s important right now.

“Your Majesty. Didn’t you have something to give me?!”

The Emperor let out a small sigh as if he just remembered.

“Ah, right. It’s something the young master absolutely needs.”

As he instructed the attendant, the attendant immediately brought the item. It seemed they had prepared it in advance, thinking to give it to Isaac originally.

“It was sealed with the Sacred Dragon’s power so we couldn’t open it until now, but now we can.”

What the Emperor handed over was none other than an ornate box.

It looked like it would contain something precious at a glance. Isaac’s eyes, which liked shiny things like a crow, were enough to spin.

‘Ooh! Is the content gold bars? A treasure chest??’

As if he could see the estimated value at a glance, drool seemed to be dripping from Isaac’s mouth.

‘How much would just selling this box fetch? Puhuhehe.’

It seemed he had already recouped his investment and then some.

But Isaac wouldn’t be satisfied with just that.

‘If the box is this impressive, how much more amazing must the contents be?’

As if responding to that expectation, the Imperial Princess smiled.

“Isaac will really like it. It contains something of extremely high value.”

“Really?”

“Yes. My daughter also inherited the Imperial Family’s eye, so she can recognize valuable things.”

Kyah! The siblings are both tempting!

Isaac chuckled as he opened the box. As Sapien had returned and the seal was lifted, the box opened immediately with a simple unsealing spell.

The retainers and Isaac were surprised at what was inside the box.

The contents were none other than a notebook.

“What is this? A secret technique book?”

The Imperial Princess smiled.

“It’s the diary of the Saints throughout history.”

Th-The Saints’ diary??

“It seems to have been written by the Saints from the 2nd generation onwards, a record spanning hundreds of years. It’s the diary contents written while fighting the Skeleton King.”

Those around cheered loudly as if they couldn’t believe it.

“Oh, it’s of great historical value!”

“It’s a priceless treasure for Eshua!”

“It’s a treasure of the Empire!”

…No, I don’t want iiiiit!!!

As Isaac who was holding the notebook almost rolled around, the Emperor looked very pleased.

“I’m glad the junior family head likes it so much.”

Does this look like I’m happy?!! You bastard!

“Except for the first page with names and introductions, it seems only Eshua people can read it. I knew it was a diary from the first page, but you should be able to read it.”

What am I supposed to read!

This alone is already an exorcism book!

[Still, you should check it out? If it’s the Saints’ diary, there should be a lot of holy power to extract from the diary.]

Isaac flipped through the diary as if telling him to stop talking nonsense.

What nonsense is this kid spouting.

‘Even so, from that era it’ll probably just be full of curses against me…’

As Isaac flipped through the diary without expectation like that, he froze.

-I’m going crazy with love for the Skeleton King.

-I’m starting to like the Skeleton King more and more. What should I do.

-He’s our enemy, so why am I falling for him?

-Why is he kind? Why is he gentle?

-I curse my fate.

Roughly… contents about the Saints throughout history liking the Skeleton King… What the fuck?!

The Emperor became interested.

“As expected of an Eshua person, you can read it. What does it say?”

Isaac slammed the notebook shut.

Then he had a pupil earthquake.

“Young master?”

Something’s wrong here.

Yeah. Something’s really wrong!

Why do they like meeeee!!

At that reaction, the Imperial Princess smiled and pointed to the notebook below it.

“Ah right, this is Saintess Melissa’s diary. Would you like to check this one too?”

What’s going on?! Melissa’s?

Isaac screamed.

Are you crazy? I absolutely won’t look at that one!!!

Isaac sealed Pandora’s box.