Amadeus, the twentieth emperor of the Ad Astera Empire. He is the second emperor to bear that name, and is therefore known as Amadeus II.

　As I have mentioned before, when I was a child, I was approached by the Emperor at a banquet I attended on behalf of my father. He smiled wickedly at me with a stern face and patted my head with his big hand. At that time, we must have exchanged a word or two, but my memory is already foggy.

　At that time, the emperor was already over fifty years old, and now he is over sixty, maybe even close to seventy.

　Perhaps Prince Shion would be the last child of Amadeus II. As the youngest child born to him in his old age, the emperor must be even more attached to Prince Shion. The fact that he walked lightly to the prince's room was proof of this.

　It was an unexpected reunion for me who happened to be there. Well, even if it was a reunion, the emperor probably didn't remember me, but anyway, I saw his face for the first time in ten years.

　--The first thing that came to my mind was the word "small".

　The emperor in my memory was so big that I could look up to him. But the current emperor was smaller than me. The big hand that used to pat me on the head has become wrinkled and shriveled.

　In ten years, I have grown up and the emperor has grown old--that's all there is to it, but for some reason, I was choked up.

　When the emperor noticed a stranger standing in his son's room, he looked at Baron Zido with a suspicious look on his face.


Baron, who is that man?　I've never seen him before in the Imperial Palace.

"Well... I am an envoy of Sakuya-sama from the Canary Kingdom.

"What, Sakuya's?


　The emperor's deep voice had a crazy sound to it. The emperor's deep voice sounded crazy, and then his long, slitted eyes turned to look at me.

　With dignity in his right eye and clarity in his left, his gaze had the dignity and power befitting a lord of the great nation of Ad Astera.

　I salute the man in front of me with the imperial salute. For a brief moment before I hung my head, I thought I saw the Emperor's eyes widen in surprise when he saw me.


"Mm. If you are Sakuya's messenger, why didn't you bring him to me?　That tomboy made the Imperial troops I had sent with her turn back from the border. General Yudith, who was in command, was in a panic.


　The emperor's voice was full of amusement as he said with a snort, "I'll have to ask him what kind of letter it was. He seemed to be amused by his daughter's behavior.

　At this point, Prince Shion opened his mouth.


I'm sorry, Your Majesty. I wanted to hear what my sister had to say, so I forced the baron to bring a messenger here.

"No, Shion. No, Shion. I would prefer that you call me father in public, but not in this situation.

Oh, I'm sorry, Father.

"Oh, I'm sorry, father." "Mm-hmm, that's better.


　The emperor nodded in satisfaction and urged me to raise my head, which I did.

　The emperor nods his head in satisfaction and asks me to look up, but not at Baron Zido.


Now, I ask you again, who are you?　You say that you are Sakuya's emissary, but I don't remember that Sakuya had a man like you in his inner circle. I thought you might have been hired in Canary, but I don't understand why Sakuya would dare to appoint a newcomer as her messenger to the Imperial Palace.

"Your Majesty, in regards to that...


　Baron Zido stepped forward and tried to hand over the imperial princess' letter of intent in a tube.

　But the Emperor restrained him with a slight wave of his right hand.


Baron, I am asking this man a question.


　The emperor did not issue a scolding. However, Baron Zido trembled as if struck by lightning, and stood erect with his back straight.

　Not paying attention to the Baron, the Emperor continued to speak.


I've never seen anything like it in the Imperial Palace. I've never seen you in the imperial palace, not even in Sakuya's study. But your face somehow touches my memory. Identify yourself, young man.


　The Emperor's gaze settled on my face.

　As soon as he did, I felt a heavy pressure on my shoulders, as if lead had been placed on them.

　It's not wariness. Not hostility either. Nor does it have anything to do with strength or magic.

　It's the dignity of a man who's been at the top of his country since long before I was born. I felt the weight of humanity on my body.

　I guess this is what it means to lose rank. At that time, I was indeed overwhelmed by the emperor.

　--I was overwhelmed, but also impressed. So this is the kind of strength you have.

　I've never had this feeling before, not even with my father. With this in mind, I responded to the emperor's question.


"My name is Sora, Your Majesty. My name is Sora, Your Majesty. I am currently disowned and am not allowed to use my family name, but I used to call myself Mitsurugi Sora.


　I was about to continue that I had met you at the banquet, but I thought that if I mentioned the name Miken, you would understand. Thinking so, he stopped speaking and looked at the emperor.

　The legitimate son of the disinherited Miken family had come to the palace as an envoy of the imperial princess. The emperor must have a stern expression on his face, wondering, "What on earth is going on? That's what I thought.

　However, from the corner of my eye, the emperor had an unexpectedly calm expression on his face. It was as if he had predicted the words that would come out of my mouth.

　While I was trying to figure out the meaning of his reaction, I heard a surprised voice from another direction. It was Prince Shion's voice.


What?" "...... Miken?　What, but, what, why is my sister ...... eeeeee!



"Shion. A member of the Imperial Family should not express surprise in such a manner. Keep any emotions carefully in the back of your mind and always remain calm. That's what a member of the royal family should be.

"Yes, Father!　I'm so sorry!

"Yes, do your best.


　The emperor nodded to the prince and called out to Baron Zido beside him.


"Well, Baron... You have a letter from Sakuya. Take it out.

"Your Majesty!　Right this way!


　The emperor received the letter from the baron, broke the seal, and began to read through it right then and there.

　Apparently, the letter was quite long, and it took the emperor quite a while to finish reading it.

　Eventually, the emperor looked up from the letter, looked at me, and said gravely.


You want my permission to pass through the gate? Do you know what is enclosed beyond that gate, O sky?


　I was puzzled by the question. The answer was too obvious. It was not a question to be directed at a member of the Mikado family, even if he was a former member.

　I hesitated to answer for a moment, but I thought it was not the right time to use my wit, so I answered frankly.


I understand that the demon gods are enclosed.


　When the emperor heard my reply, he narrowed his eyes and seemed to be thinking about it.

　After a moment, the Emperor turned on his heel and headed for the door of the room.

　While the people in the room were confused by his sudden action, he turned his face to me and said, "Follow me, sky.

　--Stay with me, sky.