Chapter 8 – 4. December (3)
Today, three days after the executives were elected through a class meeting, the noble third princess called us.
I, who had been given the position of deputy representative through half-forced recommendation and mean agitation, had no choice but to join the party heading to the palace.
The four of us, Park Min-ho, Min Hye-rin, and Choi Ji-hoon, are on our way to the ‘Palace of Seonghwi Star’, guided by a maid and escorted by a knight.
The horse would be the guide and escort, in effect the surveillance. The moment we do nonsense, the knight’s blade will cut our throats.
My heart trembles with strange tension when I think of becoming part of the spectacle that I have only ever seen through the window.
Why did the princess call us?
Wouldn’t the princess, who had high expectations for strangers she’d never seen since her birth, be disappointed in us, who were ordinary and lacked any talent, and would lower our handling of them a few notches?
Some may point out that my thoughts are too pessimistic.
In fact, it is very unlikely that we will be treated badly unless one of us makes a big mistake.
This year is an inflection point in history, and we are the core of that inflection point itself.
We do not know what role we will play in Cataclysm, but it would not be an exaggeration to say that the survival of the continent and the empire is at stake in our attitude.
At least until the property inspection, we are safe.
We, who have proven our tremendous potential with our attributes, will stand on the side of the Empire to promote the continent’s prosperity, or become enemies of the Empire and the continent will enter a new period of decline.
The rise and fall of mankind is unfolding before everyone’s eyes.
So, one might ask, why not just kill us all and treat this cataclysm as non-existent?
However, the possibility exists that we are not all of the cataclysm.
Like the Holy Demon War 300 years ago, the suddenly summoned hero turned out to be the sword of God against the demon king.
Because we, summoned out of nowhere, could be God’s paving stones for future enemies.
The imperial people can’t just give up on us.
Nonetheless, I will not stop being pessimistic.
It is better to be prepared for all possible cases than to be hit in the back and fall miserably while only imagining optimism.
If you do not have enough time to prepare for a sudden event like now, you should focus your thinking on the negative future.
Park Min-ho is asking a maid who is leading the way, Min Hye-rin walks with an expressionless and wordless face, looking only at the front, while Choi Ji-hoon turns his head to and fro at the majestic sight he encounters for the first time.
At the end of the group, I cross the drawbridge leading to the main gate of the golden palace, constantly thinking.
The golden palace and the circular clear water surrounding it.
It is truly a beautiful illustration that can only be found in fantasy novels.
The front gate is grand as befits a castle. Knights in heavy armor are equipped with iron-clad defense posture.
As soon as the long spear of the gatekeeper struck the ground, the door opened left and right.
If the exterior of the castle is splendid, its interior is noble. Luxurious chandeliers on the ceiling of the hall brightly illuminate the hall.
We climb the stairs through endless corridors, stepping on soft carpets.
Suddenly, the number of knights escorting us doubled.
Eventually, after walking for about 30 minutes, we arrived at a room. The leading maid turned around and announced.
“This is the Small Real Life.”
A place to meet the owner of this castle.
Having been briefly instructed on etiquette for the audience with the imperial family in advance, we knelt down on the red carpet and waited with our heads bowed.
A long waiting period followed.
Five minutes have not passed, and I feel Choi Ji-hoon wriggling next to me.
‘Please just stay still…’
I’m afraid he’ll cause trouble for nothing.
His carpet was soft enough that his knees didn’t hurt. But he has to stay in the same position over and over and his legs don’t have good blood flow.
By the time my legs start to go numb-
“The noble 3rd Princess Amer di Cairos is entering.”
As the maid’s voice announced the princess’s position across the room, the elegant sound of high heels continued in front of the sofa on the throne in the audience room.
We maintain an immovable posture without raising our heads even by mistake. Because she hasn’t allowed it yet.
“Summoned representative, please raise your head.”
Reflecting on her soft beauty, I raised my stiff head.
The first thing that catches your eye is the shiny pink hair.
Her eye smile is kind and her smile is warm, but you can feel her soft charisma in the atmosphere around her. Her voluptuous breasts and narrow waist seem to prove that she was born with the best bloodlines of her empire.
The third princess, the star of the Cairos Empire, was looking down at us.
* * *
‘Why me···.’
Amer di Kairos sighed inwardly.
She is 19 years old this year, and has a property test that will determine her life in the upcoming New Year.
Like all 19-year-olds regardless of status, she has been losing sleep lately because of her attributes.
‘What are my attributes? He’s still from the royal family, but he’s not a shaman, right?’
Concerns that she won’t wake up are absolutely ridiculous.
Amer is a member of the imperial family.
It is the most noble lineage in the empire, inheriting the blood of the goddess Kairos.
In the history of the empire, there has never been a case in which a direct descendant of the imperial family did not acquire attributes.
Her younger siblings and her maids remind her of this and all together tell her not to worry.
But how can I not tremble?
If Amer were a non-attribute, the whole empire would be turned upside down.
This shocking news will spread everywhere, from nobles to slaves, with no one ignoring it.
The respectful eyes of her younger siblings and the courteous attitude of the court ladies in an instant turned into contempt, and she herself would not be able to raise her head in the imperial castle.
Perhaps, in order to maintain the legitimacy of the imperial family, it may be announced that Amer was not a member of the royal family as it turned out. Her mother will be dethroned with the disgrace of being her adulteress, and her genealogy will be destroyed.
Amer couldn’t stop her thoughts from becoming more and more pessimistic.
She was so insecure that she was following the superstitions of the townsfolk that supposedly allowed her to gain her attributes.
If you put water in her bowl and bow to the sky seven times a day, the god will take care of you and bestow you with attributes.
If she receives pure magical water and bathes her body three times a day, she can acquire attributes.
‘I know it doesn’t work, but there’s no harm in doing it…’
As such, while Amer suffered from nightmares in which her shamanic property was confirmed every day, signs of a cataclysm were reported to the imperial palace.
Unannounced summoning of numerous aliens.
Immediately, all events in the imperial palace were canceled, and an emergency meeting presided over by His Majesty the Emperor was convened.
Amer also attended the meeting as a member of the imperial family that governs the empire.
Meetings were held daily for several days, and the conclusions were as follows.
1. Summoners are not an immediate threat to the Empire. However, since we cannot be too sure about the summoners due to lack of information, we must constantly monitor them.
2. In order to make summoners into allies later, you must give them a good impression of the empire. Therefore, they must be treated with special care.
3. Appoint the 3rd Princess Amer di Cairos as the person in charge of the summoners.
‘My head hurts because of the attribute test! Why is it me!’
Her dissatisfaction with her name runs through her head countless times a day, but in fact Amer knows why her heavy responsibility has been imposed on her.
Her younger siblings, 4th Princess, 4th Prince, and 5th Princess, are too young.
The 3rd prince lost the emperor’s trust and fell, and the 2nd princess lived in seclusion after hating her imperial politics.
The 1st Prince, 1st Princess, and 2nd Prince are currently maintaining a precarious balance with their respective political factions.
Following the aging emperor, the fight to succeed to the throne was not far off.
Today’s Hwangseong is literally the night before the storm. Everyone who works at the imperial castle is feeling the approaching storm.
In this situation, if one of the three gets the summoners, the balance may be broken and bloody winds may start to blow in the imperial capital.
Therefore, only the 3 princesses remain by the elimination method.
This is why Amer now greets four of her summoners who bow their heads in front of her.
“Summoned representative, please raise your head.”
The distance between her and her summoners was considerable, so she had to speak in a louder voice than usual.
“My name is Amer di Kairos. I am the third daughter of His Majesty the Emperor, the sun of the Kairos Empire where you are now. First of all, I would like to convey my deepest condolences to you who are inevitably cut off from the world called ‘Earth’.”
Amer had been contemplating since the morning whether to treat them with respect or speak plain language. The bottom line is, they are the will of God itself, so let’s respect them.
“Um… First of all, would you like to introduce yourself, starting with the person on the left?”
“Ah, hello! I’m Choi Ji-hoon! That’s one of the executives in our class! The princess is really beautiful! The most beautiful person I’ve ever seen in my life—”
The man on the far left looks like a rambunctious aristocrat who falls in love with her beauty at a social church.
He only asked for a self-introduction, but luckily, the man next to him cut off his words of praise.
“Hello, I’m Jung Ji-hoo. I’m the vice president of our class.”
Hmmm… This man gives off a magical, intellectual vibe. His hair looks great.
“Hello Princess, I’m Park Min-ho! Thankfully, I was chosen as the representative of our class.”
She had more eyes on a man named Park Min-ho than Jeong Ji-hoo. It was because I liked the confident atmosphere that Park Min-ho gave off.
‘Looks… He’s more handsome than most aristocrats…’
“Hello. My name is Min Hye-rin and I was also chosen as an executive member of our class.”
Amer, who turned his gaze to the sweet voice of the woman next to him, was quite surprised.
‘Wow, it’s so pretty… Do you think this is comparable to my level?’
This is an evaluation with a hint of pride, but the saying that the princess is the most beautiful in the empire is, in a way, the truth.
Appearance is proportional to the level of attributes, and genetic factors have a very large effect on attributes.
Also, the blood of the imperial family is the noblest blood in the empire.
Therefore, the First World Empire always has no choice but to become a member of the imperial family.
It is in everyone’s instinct to be interested in beautiful things.
Amer thought she wanted to get to know Min Hye-rin.
“I see. Thank you for introducing everyone. It’s late, but I want to say welcome to the Kairos Empire. I’ve been appointed as the general manager of all the summoners, so if you have any inconveniences, feel free to talk to me through the maid!”
Several people stood behind her.
The maid who recorded every single conversation, the maid who was the general manager of the main building where the summoners lived, and the knights who were in charge of the safety of the princess and her maids.
At Amer’s glance, a woman standing among the knights stepped forward.
She’s a woman more foreign than anyone in this place.
She carried no weapon, let alone a sword or shield, and instead of her maid uniform or armor, she covered her entire body with a black robe. Also, a white mask covered her face except for her two eyes.
“This is Leia, a corner of the Five Classics of the Empire. You are one of the great Transcendentalists that the Empire is proud of. You are responsible for the security of the main building where you are staying and the area including this palace.”
Upon Amer’s introduction, Leah took off her mask.
The Imperial Pentateuch, the strongest military force in the Empire, and a gathering of transcendentalists each equaling an army.
Originally, they were directly subordinate to the emperor and only served the imperial order, but Leia was temporarily placed by the third princess for the safety and surveillance of the summoners.
Leah’s black pupils grazed the summoners, and her mask covered her face again.
Amer then delivered the news that the summoners’ curfew would be lifted at the New Year’s and New Year’s ceremonies, which were to be held in a few days, and information about when, where, and how the property test would be conducted.
“This is the end of the message. Do you have any questions?”
* * *
Park Min-ho hates this world.
Attributes, magic, swordsmanship, gods, and monsters.
Based on elements that do not exist on Earth, human civilization that has developed in a completely different way from Earth is very interesting the more you study.
All the otherworlders he has met so far have been kind to him.
So far, there has been little discomfort in all aspects of food, clothing and shelter.
But-
The Cairos Empire, which dominates the Western Continent, is a caste system.
The value of life differs according to the status of a person.
Slaves are treated as property of their masters and are not treated as persons.
The only way for commoners and slaves to escape from their given status is to overcome the odds and luckyly awaken their attributes.
Park Min-ho does not like Empire.
The book 〈 Introduction to Astronomy 〉 I saw in the library one day.
The book justified the caste system on the basis of attributes.
I understand that too.
I had already accepted the fact that the presence or absence of an attribute was absolute when it came to learning swordsmanship or magic.
However, he does not agree with the saying that strength determines human superiority.
He knows too.
The fact that ‘human rights’ and ‘democracy’ are ideas that have just been born based on the history of the earth.
Most of human history has been a caste system.
However, he believes that the caste system is a ‘wrong’ system and that the idea of human equality is the absolute good and the absolute truth.
Park Min-ho learned about the inflection points and cataclysms of history in the common sense education class of another world.
So he naturally infers.
‘Maybe this cataclysm is the collapse of the caste system and the establishment of the idea of human equality?’
* * *
Jihoon Choi likes this world.
He clearly remembers the moment when he was summoned.
The moment he pressed the shooting button with his camera, white light covered all sides and half of them were transported to another world.
Before that, there was a time when, for unknown reasons, the cell phone flash went off and covered the entire classroom with a blinding light.
Here, Choi Ji-hoon paid attention to the fact that the source of the light was his mobile phone.
Everyone in the class came to another world through white light. Also, a white light came from his cell phone.
In other words, the center of summoning to another world is himself, Choi Ji-hoon!
Choi Ji-hoon was convinced that he was the protagonist of a great and courageous narrative that would unfold in the future.
The classmates must have been swept away by his summons and came unintentionally.
The location where everyone was summoned was also spread around the sanctuary where he was summoned!
‘Are you sure! I’m sure I’ll awaken amazing attributes in the attribute test and become a munchkin!’
He envisioned defeating all enemies in the future, surrounded by exquisite beauties, and reigning as the ruler of the continent.
‘Minho, Jihoo, I’m sorry in advance… I’ll eat your girls well~.’
Even in high school, Choi Ji-hoon was the type of person who would reveal himself to women.
Jeon Ji-hye and Seong Ah-yeong are owners of looks and bodies that are hard to find around them.
However, they also lose all color in front of Min Hye-rin.
‘I should take Hyerin and the princess as her wives, and Jihye and Ayeong as her concubines.’
He was drinking kimchi soup with the thought of eating the three girls in his class, as well as the princess he had seen for the first time today.
‘Ah~ I wish time had passed quickly. I want to undergo an attribute test.’
* * *
“Princess, thank you for your hard work.”
“What effort did I do? I just said this and that.”
3 After returning the summoned patients to the main building, Princess Amer di Kairos and her Transcendental Lady Leah went to Amer’s office. There is little time left until the next schedule.
Amer remembered the four summoners he saw today.
I didn’t get to talk much, so I mostly remember their looks.
‘Choi Ji-hoon is out. Jeong Ji-hoo is handsome, but he’s not my taste… Among the three, I like Park Min-ho the best. Lol.’
Of course, if you include Min Hye-rin, she won the beauty contest by a landslide!
If Amer and Min Hye-rin both awaken their attributes, they will go to the academy together.
If that happens, I will definitely become friends with her!
“How was Leah-sama summoned?”
Amer went out with Park Min-ho, and she asked with a happy smile as she imagined a future where she became friends with Min Hye-rin.
After taking off the mask, Leah’s expression remained unchanged.
“After stopping. I was looking at him.”
“Eh? Do you like that person’s face…?”
“It’s not because of the looks.”
The eye is an organ that can dig up the most information about a person’s unconscious through sight.
It is often said that you can reach the depths of a person by looking into their eyes.
“After stopping, those eyes.”
Leah recalls those motionless black pupils.
“It was the eyes of a man who had killed a man.”
His abyss smelled of blood.
The smell of blood in my soul the moment I experienced my first murder.
The smell was infinitely faint, but it couldn’t fool her senses.
