"No way I'm going to be the emperor!!"
The boy shouted while spurring the pitch-black horse to gallop faster.
He had greyish-black hair. His eyes were of a beautiful shade of blue like sapphire, and his skin was tanned just right. But stood out the most among the many beautiful Elven features was his elegant face. Just three years more and he would become a handsome youth for sure, or so the boy thought.
He was the twelve-year-old Hercule.
He's currently running away. At his top speed.
From what, you ask?
From the position of emperor.
A few days before, his father Hadrianus III had passed away from an epidemic disease. He had named Hercule as his heir.
It was His Highness Hercule after all.
No wonder, since His Highness is so excellent.
He's young, but still preferable to his brothers.
Such an obedient boy would listen to the advice of his vassals.
A few more years and he would definitely become a wise ruler.
From the point of view of the nobles, bureaucrats, soldiers, and citizens of the imperial capital, Hercule was undoubtedly the right choice. But Hercule himself was flabbergasted.
How come I was chosen when I've got two older brothers!!
It seems there was a difference in sense of values between the elf race and the human race that Japanese people were part of. You could call it culture shock.
The elf race was long-lived, they could live on for centuries. Thus it was impossible to tell if an elf was 20 years old or 100 years old from their appearance. Consequently, one's ability was more valued than their age.
That said, it was not easy to remove an emperor from power once he had taken the throne. Because elves had such long life spans, failure to choose a competent successor could mean a disastrous two-hundred-year rule under an inept emperor or a tyrant. Therefore choosing the most excellent son was a matter of course, even if he was a little young.
No matter how Hercule saw it, the Lemurian Empire was way past its prime. It was already on the brink of destruction. He may be able to halt its destruction, but that would mean destroying himself in the process.
You may think, "Hey, aren't you going to repay your father's love?", but…
To Hercule, Hadrianus III was just some uncle whom he occasionally talked to in the first place. If Hercule and Hadrianus had met each other every day, eaten together and bathed together from his childhood like any ordinary Japanese family, perhaps Hercule would see Hadrianus as his dad.
But in reality, they only passed by each other on the hallway once in a while, and once every month Hercule would talk a bit about the progress of his studies and martial arts, then Hadrianus would take him to visit some weird places.
That was the extent of their interactions. It's just how the parent-child relationship worked in the imperial family.
"To begin with, I just want to travel. I won't be able to go anywhere if I become the emperor."
Hercule grumbled while spurring his horse forward. Suddenly, he felt something approaching behind his back.
"Stop right there, Your Imperial Majesty!!"
"I'm not your Imperial Majesty!!"
The one chasing behind him was a lovely elf girl with crimson hair. Her shoulder-length, fiery red hair was like a gorgeous ruby gem, shining beautifully in the sunlight. Her strong-willed eyes glared straight at Hercule, the girl… Carolina Galeanos spurred her scarlet horse forward.
"Why are you running away!!"
"Because you are chasing me!!"
"I'm chasing you because you ran away!!"
Hercule running, Carolina chasing. Their game of tag continued until sundown…
"Caught you!"
"Argh!!"
Carolina caught Hercule by the nape of his neck, causing them both to fall from their horses. After smoothly performing a roll to protect both Hercule's body and her own, Carolina straddled on top of Hercule.
"You have to become the emperor."
"Don't wanna. I'm going to travel."
"…Fine, then."
Carolina quickly separated herself from Hercule. Then, she said with a sorrowful expression.
"It pains me that we won't be able to meet anymore."
Carolina hung down her head.
Hercule became flustered.
"H-Hey, C-Carolina?"
"I want us to stay together forever…"
Carolina began to cry. Hercule racked his head to find some words to comfort her, but couldn't.
In the end, Hercule said.
"F-Fine! I'll stay in the country, so please don't cry anymore!"
"Then this will be quick. Let's get back and get you crowned."
Carolina gripped Hercule's neck and jumped onto the horse.
"C-Carolina! That's sly!!"
"Father told me that to gain victory, a soldier has to be able to use any weapon at his disposal."
A woman's weapon was her tears. And Hercule always was weak to Carolina's tears. Being Hercule's childhood friend, Carolina knew that very well.
Within the palace of the Lemurian Empire's… Or more accurately, the Eastern Lemurian Empire's capital—Nova Lemuria—a young boy sighed.
"Damn it…. I got crowned… Damn it, I'm gonna die along with this country…"
The new Lemurian Emperor.
Hercule the First.
"Fufu, I told you that you would become the next emperor. I gave you knowledge from a distant world and fed you, so do your best. I have great expectations for you, future Great Hero."
A voice that only Hercule could hear whispered to him.
Breathing out a sigh, Hercule replied in a mutter.
"…Damn you, do you know how much headache you have caused me? I would never have expected myself from the previous life to be such a dull man… Well, it's definitely useful though."
Grumbling, Hercule continued to talk with the voice.
"Ahh, I want to abdicate so bad."
Just as Hercule raised his voice, a man's voice came from behind him.
"Good grief, do you really have to look so down? Your Imperial Majesty."
"…Oh, it's you, my maternal relative."
Suddenly being called "maternal relative", the man smiled bitterly.
His name was Christos Augusto.
He came from the House of Augusto, one of the Seventy-Seven Sacred Clans which were the noble families comprised of pure-blooded high elves. Christos' older sister was married to Hadrianus III and gave birth to the third prince… in other words, she was Hercule's mother. So Christos was more or less Hercule's uncle.
Currently, Christos had the closest blood relationship with Hercule among his vassals, he was one of Hercule's guardians. With the exception of Hercule who was the emperor, he was the second most powerful man in the Lemurian Empire.
Appearance-wise, he had gorgeous blue hair and a pair of sapphire eyes just like Hercule. His skin was well-tanned with a brown color. His face was beautiful, just as you would expect from an elf.
"Was you the one who planted the idea in Father's head?"
"Even if I had not done anything, you probably would still get crowned, Your Majesty."
Christos Augusto shrugged his shoulders.
"Ahh, can someone revolt on me pleaseー"
Ignoring Christos Augusto, Hercule looked up at the sky while humming a tune. He wished he could fly out of this cage like those birds on the sky.
He felt like a poet.
"Your Imperial Majesty!!!"
Just as Hercule was feeling a little better, a man's shout dampened his mood. Hercule turned around in irritation.
"Garphis Galeanos… I'll have you know that I'm having a good time contemplating about these birds on the sky…"
"I beg your pardon, Your Imperial Majesty. But we need to talk about the governance of the Empire from here on."
Garphis Galeanos.
A noble from the House of Galeanos, one of the Seventy-Seven Holy Clans. Commander-in-chief of the Imperial Lemurian Army, the third most powerful man in the empire. He's also Carolina's father.
His hair was of a fiery crimson color just like his daughter's. His eyes were like ruby gems. Muscles could be seen bulging up even through his clothes. And finally, his features were finely chiseled.
"What a pain…"
"Hahaha, please don't say that, Your Imperial Majesty."
The one who replied to Hercule's grumbling was a man(?) with an androgynous appearance.
Lucanos Lucalios.
A man from the House of Lucalios, one of the Seventy-Seven Holy Clans. He was the Patriarch of Nova Lemuria, the highest ranking bishop in the Messianic faith—the state religion of the Lemurian Empire. Anyone would have to recognise that Lucanos was the most powerful man in the Empire as well as Hercule's number one guardian.
In addition, Lucanos was not a man. He also was not a woman.
No, this is not a trick description.
To put it simply, he was missing his male member. There's a complex reason for this, but it's a long story so let's put that aside.
Well, in a nutshell, his faith was more important than his member.
His hair was of a gorgeous blond color. His eyes were jade green. He looked frail at the first glance, but hidden underneath his clothes were tempered muscles. Even when he had lost his member.
Let's just omit the rest.
"A maternal relative, a military man, an eunuch, and a twelve-year-old emperor. This country is doomed."
Looking at the three men, Hercule spitted out a rude comment. But having known Hercule for a long time, they just wryly laughed it off.
At any rate, Lucanos was not an eunuch, he's simply a man(?) without his male member. Eunuchs were something else entirely.
"You all can do as you please, I'm just going to enjoy myself in the library until things go to hell."
Hercule's hobby was reading. He loved books, the library was his paradise. His dream was to be burned to death along with his books.
Looking at Hercule who was escaping to the library on the double, the three men shrugged.
"Looks like we have to count on Lady Carolina again."
Lucanos laughed.
"Your Majesty, can't you handle politics?"
"What are you saying, Carolina?"
Carolina asked Hercule who was reading a book in the library. Still keeping his eyes on the book, Hercule replied.
"Well, I can probably manage with those three's support. But it's a pain."
"Hm, so you can't do it."
Hercule's hands stopped.
Carolina continued.
"What a shame. I thought Your Majesty would be able to solve our country's financial problems in jiffy… Can't be helped I guess, Your Majesty is only twelve year old after all."
Incidentally, Carolina was born a little earlier than Hercule, but they were both twelve year old. She was not really old enough to make fun of Hercule's age.
"I thought Your Majesty would be able to do it…"
"Of course I can! It will be a piece of cake once I learn of the problem. I just gotta solve it."
"But you can't, right?"
"I told you that I can!!"
The man called Hercule was a child. Not in terms of his true age, but his mental age.
If other people looked down on or made fun of him, he would get worked up right away. He would get especially infuriated when the girl he's interested in told him such things.
The person called Hercule hated to lose, it was his virtue but also his weakness.
"Then show me the proof."
"Fine. The Empire's financial state… I'm going to fix it in three years!!"
Even if that was the opponent's aim, the man called Hercule would never back down. He was like a bull charging at a red cape.
"In exchange… If I really can fix it, will you do any one thing I ask?"
Carolina was a girl innocent enough to think that babies were made through kissing. So She didn't notice the ulterior motive behind Hercule's request.
"…Alright. I'll do anything for Your Majesty."
"We have a deal then!!"