I - the wizard, Magnus - was fed up.

"Do I need to repeat myself, Your Majesty?　I am on a journey to avenge the Demon King. With a great deal of shame, I dare to speak out, but it's for your country's sake. I have brought a letter from King Rakstad to you, requesting your help. It's genuine. Inspect it as much as you want. I have come to ask permission to explore all the ancient ruins in Aravana to avenge my demon lord. As long as you give me that permission, I can do the rest. I don't need your help in any way.

　I try to persuade him calmly, intelligently and verbally.
　My opponent is the emperor of this country, the Desert King, the Emperor of the Alabana Empire.
According to the character information in the Strategy Book, he is 44 years old. He was still young to be the master of a country.
　However, when he saw him in person, he looked fifty or sixty years older. He was probably suffering from the ill effects of his extravagance and debauchery.
　Perhaps he had some kind of complex about his unconcealable age, or perhaps he was covered with a thick coat of white powder and a thorny coat of bright red lipstick.
　He's looking down at me from the high, high platform he set up in the audience room.
　It was so high that he looked like the "boss monkey of the mountain", but he was the only one who didn't notice.
　The emperor said in a high-pitched voice, as if he was turning the tables.

It is not good. I, myself, do not approve of such a thing!

　I read in one of the books that the use of "I" by emperors in the first person, including the Leanhalter Empire to the north, was dead a hundred years ago....
　So this man is a nostalgic.
　Even though Alabana has declined to the point where it's no longer worthy of being called an "empire". He is unable to acknowledge this fact and pines for the heyday of hundreds of years ago.
　It's so unseemly and stupid.
　But this is none of my business.

"Will you deny King Rakstad's request?
'Ohohohohohoho!　It's hard to believe that Rakstad is one of the eight great powers, a small country with such a short history!　I don't deserve a second thought, ohohohohohohohohoh!

　A loud, babbling Emperor.
　But nowadays, Rakstad is bigger than your country, isn't it?

I am Emperor Alabana. Fear and adore. I am the Emperor of Alabana! I shall bow to no one but God, and I shall accept no command from anyone!　In other words, it is always me who gives the orders!
..........
"Magnus," you say?　Serve me, my friend. Then fight for me and die for me. Are you good?

　The emperor suddenly jokes about it.
　How could it be good?

"Listen to me, Magnus.

　But the emperor, pretending to be my lord, had already ordered me arrogantly: "My sacred and inviolable empire is now in danger of being overrun by bandits.

"My sacred and inviolable empire is suffering from banditry.

　If it's sacred and inviolable, don't gasp....

"Those d*mned rebels who presume to call themselves the 'Unguarded Brigade'...!　They have slandered me as a foolish emperor, and justified their actions by slandering me as a fool, and have gone to the extent of insolence in attacking my superiors and the merchants in my care!　I've been stuck here for five years!

　If you're not a foolish emperor, don't let him linger for five years........
　I can't keep up with the tweaks anymore.

'Hence Magnus!　By the authority of God, I command you by the authority of the Emperor!　Kill all the rebels!

　The emperor is a towering figure, ordering me around in a huff.
　He doesn't seem to doubt that I'm in control.

There's a political concept called "Theocracy of Kings".
　In short, the royal families of the nations say, "We are a family empowered by God, and you can't disobey us. So, they call themselves (and that's all they call themselves) "We are a family empowered by God, so defying us is the same as defying God", and they justify their reign over the people and doing whatever they want.
　This is far more fierce and thieving than the "Unguo-guoing Volunteer Army".
　However, it seems that the emperor does not call himself that to justify his actions, but rather he truly and sincerely believes that he is a transcendent being recognized by God.
　The congratulations are in order........

　I gave such a congratulatory idiot an answer.

'I refuse.'

　Immediately the emperor said, "That's ridiculous! "Why are you disobeying my orders? I just looked at him in a black and white way.
　I guess there are only yes-men around, I guess. Or maybe they've kept all of their precious subjects away from them who are willing to admonish me.
　I was fed up, and sure enough, the emperor commanded in a flipped-out voice, "Yes, meet, meet, meet.

'Eei, meet, meet!　Catch this profane fake wizard!

　The guards who had been standing by my side immediately began to flock to me.
　I knew it was going to be like this.
　It would have been best if things had gone smoothly for me.
　Well, it can't be helped........

　I said to the guards while holding my hand to my forehead.
　Repelling them with magic was, of course, easier than yawning, but I dare--

Don't touch me. I'll put you in a cell or something.

　I followed them and I followed them.
　And I was imprisoned.

　　　　◇◆◆◆◆◆◆.

　Imprisoned in the stone prison, I looked up at the moon through the barred window.
　The moon, which is said to be the home of the magic goddess Luna City and her territory and kingdom, is the most familiar celestial body to us wizards.
　It's a good thing that you can see the moon at night, no matter where you are in the Arcelia world. Of course, there are not as many moons as there are countries, but the moon is a moon and there is only one.
　Nevertheless, it was a common belief that the moon seen from Alabana was the most beautiful in the world.
　In fact, I thought it was beautiful too.
　I can't say for sure if it's the most beautiful moon in the world, as I'm still traveling, but somehow it looks more beautiful than the moon I saw in my homeland of Halicon or in Rakstad, where I was until the other day.

　There's nothing else to do, but enjoy the moon and watch it for what it is.
　From the height of the moon, it was probably around midnight.
　Two footsteps could be heard echoing down the stone corridor.

'Are you awake, Lord Magnus?
I'm sorry to leave at night.

　He spoke in a subdued tone to the voice that had crept in.
　A beautiful man and woman stood in front of the prison. They are both a little over twenty years old.
　The reason they look alike is because they are brother and sister who share the same stomach.
　However, the older brother looks timid, while the younger sister has a more solid appearance, or perhaps a more competitive one.
　I turned to them.

Hey, I was expecting you. Prince Heydar. Princess Fara the Second.

　He spread his arms lightly to welcome them.

'Ho. Do you know who we are?
The fame of your illustrious Highnesses reaches far and wide, Your Highnesses.

　I answered the amused Fara-hime with a jocular response.
　The truth is, I only know her from the character information in the Strategy Book. Well, this isn't flattery, it's more like minimal greeting etiquette for starting a friendly conversation with you.

"So, what is it that Your Highnesses want with me?
"Our father has been extremely rude to you at this time.
I beg your forgiveness, Lord Magnus.

　Regrettably, the two of them bow their heads firmly.
　They must have been taught from childhood that an imperial family does not bow down so easily, and that their authority is also shaken.
　By the way, it's a bit amusing that the younger sister has a more friendly tone of voice, while the crown prince is a bit too arrogant in his use of honorific language.

It's a bit of a shame that a mere wizard like me has to deal with this.
"I have read the Epistle of King Rakstad. The Demon King is the common enemy of mankind. We can never pay too much respect to the Demon King's avenger, Lord Magnus."
First and foremost, this unjustified imprisonment should not be tolerated!

　Prince Heydar did not raise his head with his head bowed, and Princess Farah's eyes burned with righteous indignation.
　Then the two of them showed up in secret, without any soldiers, and they unlocked the prison on their own.
　I was free, and we shook hands again as equals.
　Then Princess Farah cut in.

"To apologize for my father's rudeness, but I beg you, Master Magnus, to put this to rest.
It's on the Certificate of Ancient Relics, which you requested. However, this is a first-class permit, so it does not allow you to enter all the monuments.
Forgive me. But only my father, the Emperor, can get a special permit.
No problem. In the meantime, as long as you have a first-class permit, you can explore 99% of the country's ancient ruins. Won't you?
Oh, yes. You are very good at that.
I hope you'll forgive me for this...
'No, no, their highnesses are not guilty of anything. I am so grateful to them. That's why I'm so grateful to them, and I'm happy to help you with your problems.

　As I said this, Prince Heydar's face instantly lit up.

"In that case, I urge you to take out the Unguarded Volunteers..."
Brother. Don't be rude.

　When his brother Prince was about to make his wish, Princess Farah chided him.

You are on a very important journey to save the world. You must not bother with the internal affairs of Alabana.
'Ugh.... That's true. I'm sorry, Lord Magnus. I hadn't quite worked it out.

　Prince Heydar nodded his head.
　I really don't know who is the older one now.

"I don't appreciate your disgraceful behavior, Lord Magnus. You have explored our country's ancient ruins to your heart's content. You can always count on us brothers and sisters to be there for you when you need help.
I don't expect you to be able to do it like the Emperor, but if there's anything I can do to help, I will do my best to help you.
No, I don't care. You're as dependable as an army.

　As I said this, I exchanged a firm handshake with them again.

　But thanks to that, I successfully obtained a permit to explore the ancient ruins.
　Now, we're done with this palace for a while.
　Yes, a while.
　The next time I come here, it will be when I come to get the Special Class Exploration Permit!