After the conversation in that separate space came to an end, roughly five more years passed.
During those five years, the wars across the land grew increasingly intense, until they were on the verge of spiraling completely out of control.
Just as nearly everyone was about to lose their reason beneath the endless flames of war, one ruler stepped forward.
That ruler had a powerful warrior under her command.
It was said that this warrior had received the blessing of Phagousa, the Ocean Titan.
On the battlefield, she needed only to sing a few songs to make the soldiers under her command fearless in the face of death and keep their morale perpetually high.
Meanwhile, enemy soldiers would tremble in fear and think of nothing but escape.
With such an overwhelming advantage on the battlefield, the ruler's armies became virtually unstoppable.
Within an extremely short period of time, they conquered vast stretches of territory.
Even Okhema eventually fell under her rule and became the capital of the nation she established.
After annexing numerous surrounding city-states and bringing their warriors into her service, this ruler became the most powerful figure on the entire continent.
No one knew exactly how she had built such an enormous force.
Even those who carefully investigated her past could only vaguely determine that she seemed to have once been the princess of some remote and insignificant kingdom.
Under her rule, many lands that had long suffered beneath the ravages of war finally welcomed peace.
Just when everyone thought peaceful days had finally arrived, the Black Tide, after building for so long, erupted in full force.
One-third of the easternmost coastal region of the continent was completely swallowed by the Black Tide.
Only when the threat stood directly before them did people finally realize that the warnings of the apocalypse had been real.
The oracle handed down by the Titans had also been real.
It had not merely been an excuse used to justify war.
Nor had it been some alarmist rumor.
Only when the disaster truly became a force capable of destroying everything did people finally understand.
And by then, regret came far too late.
Years of warfare had already devastated the continent's fighting strength.
Even the wise ruler had failed to complete the unification of Amphoreus.
In truth, the land had still been consumed by war right up until the Black Tide crisis fully erupted.
Now, faced with an approaching catastrophe that threatened to destroy the world, people finally stopped fighting and learned what it meant to set aside their differences.
"The Flame-Chase Journey requires us to obtain the Coreflames of the Twelve Titans and use them to save the world."
"This is no longer something we can choose whether or not to pursue. It must be carried out."
"Spread the news everywhere."
"If those fools still insist on fighting, if they remain obsessed with meaningless political struggles even with this disaster right in front of them, then let them perish alongside their city-states in the flames."
The ruler was small in stature, yet the pressure she gave off was enough to make even the much larger men below her break into cold sweat before kneeling.
The ruler who looked like a young girl had not ascended to this position through beauty or schemes alone.
The road leading to her throne had been paved with corpses.
"And make sure public sentiment is handled properly."
"I don't want to see another crowd gathering in the streets and shouting slogans that anyone with a functioning mind can tell were planted by agitators."
"I gave the Senate authority so you could govern."
"I did not give you your positions so you could sit there enjoying yourselves like useless nobles who contribute nothing."
"I expect you to govern this nation properly."
"I expect you to govern the territory I conquered."
"If you continue showing me nothing but stupidity and incompetence, then you'll end up like those corpses hanging from the stone gates, drying in the wind until you're nothing but strips of jerky."
The Queen did not raise her voice.
She did not shout or roar to emphasize the weight of her words.
She simply spoke in an even tone, almost as though she were discussing something ordinary.
"Lady Swordbanner, once my orders have been delivered, if those fools are still thinking only about how they can profit from this situation, deal with them yourself."
"The same as always."
"Leave no one alive."
The people below her trembled slightly.
They all understood exactly what "leave no one alive" meant.
The rulers of those city-states would be killed along with every member of their families.
"Understood, Your Majesty Caesar."
The ruler before them was both an autocratic tyrant and a wise monarch.
Most people addressed her simply as Caesar.
The extraordinarily beautiful woman smiled and nodded.
From her appearance alone, she did not look much like a warrior.
If anything, she seemed more like a singer.
But everyone present knew that this woman was the reason Caesar's armies had become nearly unstoppable on the battlefield.
She was also responsible for the mysterious deaths of numerous rulers from enemy nations.
After everyone else had withdrawn, only Caesar and the woman known as Lady Swordbanner remained in the palace.
Caesar rose from her throne.
The throne had been designed for someone much larger, so she needed a small footstool beneath it just to sit comfortably.
As a result, getting down required her to first step onto the stool before walking down from it as though descending a set of stairs.
"Caesar, can we really deal with the Black Tide?"
Lady Swordbanner could not completely hide her concern.
Her homeland had been destroyed by the Black Tide.
It was also because of the Black Tide that she had been left alone on the surface.
Before meeting that mysterious man, she had wandered through each day in a daze, unable to find any reason to keep living.
It was through that mysterious stranger's help that she finally found meaning in her life and a purpose that belonged to her.
Afterward, she returned to the depths of the sea alone.
There, she recovered a few belongings she could keep as mementos.
She also obtained the power of the ocean from Phagousa.
The Ocean Titan's Coreflame.
In truth, with her own strength alone, returning to the deep sea would undoubtedly have meant death.
But that book seemed to have granted her some sort of special power, allowing her to carve open a path through the depths.
Unfortunately, the book disappeared as soon as she returned to land.
That only strengthened the suspicion already growing in her heart.
At the same time, she could not help feeling regret.
Perhaps the book had existed solely to help her, and had disappeared only after exhausting all of its power.
"Without a proper understanding of the Black Tide, I won't make reckless claims about whether we can defeat it."
Caesar spoke calmly.
"It's like a game of chess."
"If the game hasn't even begun, and you don't yet understand your opponent's style or level of skill, believing that victory is guaranteed would be nothing more than blind arrogance."
Then she changed the subject.
"Have you still not found the person who gave you that storybook?"
"No."
"We still only have the same information we found at the beginning."
"He once commissioned clothes from Aglaea, but after collecting them, he disappeared without a trace."
"I see."
"How is the Goldweaver?"
"She successfully obtained the Coreflame of the Titan of Romance, but perhaps because of a flaw in her golden blood, or because something went wrong during the Coreflame inheritance ritual, Aglaea lost her sight."
"Fortunately, it hasn't prevented her from living normally."
"Then next, it should be my turn to obtain Talanthon's Coreflame."
"Then next, it should be my turn to obtain Talanthon's Coreflame."
"It sounds like Your Majesty is quite confident."
"Because I am the king."
After answering, Caesar calmly walked outside.
She had no intention of explaining any further.
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)