Chương 633: B9 - Chapter 11: Merit Festival II

Leo reached the designated spot a few minutes after bidding farewell to his group. By then, the venue already pulsed with energy as crowds surged forward, everyone eager to get closer to the distant stage. Leo hesitated, uncertain how to proceed. Should he force his way through the throng? Should he announce who he was to get them to clear a path? Just then, a familiar voice sounded in his mind.

"Don't resist." In the next instant, Leo felt the familiar sensation of spatial Mana gathering around him. He did his best to stay still and not interfere with the process. Then, with the feeling of a gentle tug, his surroundings changed in an instant. Leo suddenly found himself standing in the very spot he had been gazing at from a distance just moments ago. The crowd, which had been swarming all around him, was now far below his feet.

"Take a seat. It will be some time before the event officially starts." This time, the voice came not from inside his head, but from somewhere beside him. Leo turned and found himself standing before an opulent chair. Next to it, someone was already seated in a matching one. Zeke smiled at him and nodded toward the empty seat. Leo quickly sat down, realizing he had drawn more than a few stares. His sudden appearance had made him the center of attention among those already gathered.

But as soon as he took his seat, that pressure vanished. He realized there was a sort of protective zone around him. The spots around his own were filled exclusively with their allies. Zeke sat to his left, Vulcanos to his right. Elder Tiger and Elder Dragon were just beyond that, while Irisen and Cassius were on Zeke's other side.

"How are the kids?" Zeke asked casually.

"Did they enjoy their outing with their 'big brother'?" Despite the teasing, Leo felt a smile tug at his lips.

"It was good. I think they really needed it." Zeke nodded slowly.

"They're lucky to have someone like you." Leo sighed.

"I just wish they could come and see the ceremony too." Zeke gave him a look that seemed to say, What am I going to do with you?

"…What?" Leo asked. Zeke shook his head.

"Let's just say: You're lucky to have someone like me." After that, Zeke fell silent, leaving Leo to ponder his words. But he didn't have long to wonder, as a small commotion broke out in the crowd below. Leo saw a group pushing its way through the crowd, ignoring everyone's protests. He was about to ask who could be so rude when he realized he recognized the figure leading them. It was Zelkara. She walked with her head held high, the massive overlord spear propped on her shoulder.

At her approach, the crowd parted—not only because of her fearsome presence, but also due to the pale blue mist radiating from her skin. The chill was enough to turn the warm day into deep winter. Then Leo saw it. A line of Bloodguards followed in her wake, interspersed with small figures barely visible above the heads of the crowd. They were unmistakably the children he had brought to the festival.

That group soon reached the front, and under Zelkara's less-than-gentle urging, managed to claim a space for themselves right beneath the stage. The children's faces glowed with excitement as they looked up at him and the others. Seeing their eager expressions, Leo felt both grateful and uneasy. He was thankful to Zeke for granting his wish once again, but wondered if the price had been too steep. Such a blatant abuse of power was sure to unsettle the crowd.

They would remember the person responsible, and it was no secret who Zelkara and the Bloodguard served. It could seriously damage his reputation. In the end, he turned to Zeke, unable to keep his concerns to himself.

"... Is this really okay?" Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. While Leo worried, Zeke seemed entirely unbothered.

"Who's going to say anything?" Leo stared at him, stunned.

"Aren't you concerned people will see you as some kind of tyrant?" Zeke shrugged.

"I am a tyrant."

"... What?"

"A tyrant," Zeke repeated.

"Didn't you see it? I don't hesitate to push everyone else aside so the people close to me can have the best view." Leo nodded. Zeke could certainly be that way. The aftermath of Maximilian's death was proof enough—thousands had been hunted down because of Zeke's ruthless bounties. That was exactly why Leo had advised the queen not to make an enemy of him. Yet, Zeke's public image remained untarnished. He had never abused his power against ordinary people.

On the contrary, he had always sought to uplift them, much as Maximilian had done.

"Isn't this... going to hurt your reputation?" Leo asked. Zeke gave him a sidelong glance.

"Do you really think so?"

"... Yes?" Zeke shook his head.

"If a slight shove at a public gathering was enough to turn the people hostile, there'd be a revolt every week. As for my reputation..." he paused, a faint grin appearing, "this is exactly the kind of reputation I want."

"For being overbearing?"

"Why not?" Zeke asked in return, his grin turning mischievous.

"Everyone, look at how overbearing Ezekiel von Hohenheim is. He's so domineering that even the orphans clinging to his shirt are treated better than us. Even the dogs in his household eat better than the local mayor. Even the worms in his garden feast on delicacies..." Leo stared at his brother in disbelief. What kind of reasoning was this? No, before that, who would ever want to be known that way?

"Wouldn't people still despise you for acting like a tyrant?" he asked. Zeke kept smiling, though something flickered in his eyes.

"Do you know the difference between a tyrant and a hero?"

"Aren't they total opposites?" Leo retorted.

"A hero doesn't oppress anyone." Zeke's smile didn't falter, but it was beginning to unnerve him.

"So, what does a hero do, then?" Zeke asked. Leo considered the question.

"They fight monsters, save people, and bring peace to the land. Things like that." Zeke nodded gravely.

"Exactly."

"... Exactly?" Leo repeated, now even more confused about what his brother was getting at.

"There's plenty of oppression in a hero's life, isn't there?" Zeke said. Leo stared at his brother for a long moment. Had Zeke finally lost his mind? Zeke shook his head, as if baffled that anyone could see it differently.

"Didn't you say a hero fights monsters? What do you think those monsters would say if you told them a hero never oppresses anyone? They'd probably feel pretty wronged."

"That is—""And what about the villains a hero saves people from? I bet they feel oppressed, too."

"Zeke—""And as for peace?" Zeke pressed on, ignoring Leo's attempts to interrupt.

"Isn't that the most oppressive thing of all? Forcing everyone to follow the rules by sheer power?" Leo couldn't help but laugh at his brother's logic.

"Alright, alright, I get it. Heroes are the most oppressive of all. Now, could you please get to the point?"

"My point is," Zeke said, "a hero is just a tyrant who oppresses others to your benefit." Leo stared at his brother for a long while, waiting for the rest of the explanation. There was none. Zeke seemed content to leave the statement as it was.

"There has to be more to it than that." He prompted.

"There really isn't."

"Surely, there are heroes in history who amount to more than that?" Zeke shook his head.

"How could there be such a thing as a universally good person? A hero to the Empire would be a tyrant to the rest of the continent. A hero to humanity would be a nightmare for the other races..." Leo opened his mouth, but hesitated. There was a name on the tip of his tongue, a question he wasn't sure he wanted answered. Eventually, he asked anyway.

"What about Maximillian?" Zeke paused, his expression going still.

"Maximillian," he began, as if weighing the name, "was a hero to the powerless. But he harbored a deep hatred for the ruling class. Once, he stormed the Feuerkranz estate and unleashed hellfire on their gathering, simply because they tried to kidnap me. Three people died that day." Despite the grim story, a faint smile touched Zeke's lips.

"He was a hero to us because we had no power. But to the ruling class, he must have seemed like a tyrant." Leo let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Part of him had feared Zeke's answer—feared what it would mean if his older brother no longer believed in their mentor's teachings.

"Isn't that enough?" Leo asked. Zeke shrugged.

"I never said there was anything wrong with being a tyrant. It's only a matter of deciding who you want to be a hero to—and who will see you as a tyrant." Leo considered his words carefully, but in the end, his answer had been clear from the beginning.

"Then I will be someone like Maximillian," he said.

"A hero to the powerless, and a tyrant to the ruling class." Zeke nodded, but said nothing more. The silence left Leo with an uneasy feeling, as though he had made a mistake somewhere. But no matter how he turned it over in his mind, he couldn't see where.

"It feels rather strange," Leo said, mostly to fill the silence.

"What does?"

"You. Talking to me about these things," Leo clarified.

"You never bothered to explain such matters before." To Leo's surprise, Zeke nodded.

"I didn't think you would need to know."

"... But now I do, all of a sudden?" Leo asked, teasing. To his utter shock, Zeke nodded again.

"What? Really? Why?" No response.

"Oh, come on..." Zeke grinned slyly and pressed a finger to his lips.

"Hush now. It's starting." Leo's mouth fell open. How could his brother do this to him? Did he really think he could drop such a monumental statement and then not expect any questions? Before Leo could form a coherent sentence, a stranger's booming voice swept across the plaza.

"Citizens, honored guests, everyone—rise for the venerable queen, Myriel Arden Rukia!" Zeke stood, and Leo rose with him, along with everyone else on the stage. At the call, the queen appeared with a host of servants and took her place on a separate, more ornate stage across from them.

"Please be seated," the same booming voice announced. Leo could finally make out the speaker: an elderly woman speaking into an antique-looking amplifying device.

"To those who do not know me, my name is Myr, Myr Sala," the woman said.

"As the sole survivor of the inner council, I have been tasked by my queen to oversee today's bestowal of merits. Any questions?" Her words were accompanied by a flood of Mana that swept over the stage. It was so oppressive that the hairs on Leo's arms stood on end. Even Zeke's expression tightened into a faint frown. Nobody said anything.

"Well then," Myr continued after a moment.

"Which of our meritorious guests would like to come forward to claim their reward first?"