Before long, it was afternoon.
In the late autumn weather, which had become as cold as winter, the sunshine was clear today. The people gathered like clouds welcomed this sunshine and stood under the podium, looking up at me.
There were kings, soldiers, heroes, and citizens. I carefully observed each of their faces.
"The monster we faced this time, the Black Dragon..."
I hadn't specifically prepared a speech, but the words came out naturally.
"Was an opponent we couldn't originally defeat."
Coldly, honestly, and objectively speaking.
"Originally, the world should have been destroyed by now."
Night Bringer was an enemy capable of annihilating us and ending the world.
"But we are now alive and standing under the sun. We split the night, defeated the evil dragon, and are breathing here."
I looked around the audience.
"Why do you think that is?"
Everyone looked up at me silently, waiting for my next words.
I smiled and continued.
"Because every warrior buried here, and every warrior who returned from the battlefield... didn't think we couldn't win."
I emphasized again.
"Because they foolishly believed that we could win... that we could protect this world."
I'm not advocating mental fortitude or perseverance. In the first place, it wasn't an opponent that could be defeated by such things alone.
In short, this is the basics. The hardest basics to maintain.
The spirit of not giving up.
The strong will to not lose the courage to fight in any desperate situation.
"If even one of those who participated in this battle had given up the fight and laid down their weapons a bit earlier."
I looked at the graves filled in the western plains.
"If we lacked even one attack to scar the evil dragon, one defense to somehow block its breath, and one act of courage to jump into harm's way to protect our allies."
Clenching my fist and taking a breath.
I looked at the audience again and continued.
"We would have been defeated. By now, the whole world would have quietly met its end, covered in snow and darkness."
My voice grew stronger.
"Every single attack we barely fended off, every small wound we inflicted on the enemy."
People gritted their teeth, clenched their fists, and tightly closed their eyes.
"The sacrifice of all those who fell, and the determination of all of us who survived, piled up layer by layer... all of it together protected the world."
With conviction, once more.
"Every action we took had meaning."
As I paused, a moment of silence filled the cemetery.
It might be an illusion, but it felt as if even the dead buried here were listening to my words.
I lowered my eyes and slowly quoted part of a philosopher's writings from Earth.
"The world is deep. The sorrow of the world is deep. But joy is deeper than that pain."
Looking up again and making eye contact with the people, I smiled.
"The night is deep, and the darkness is deeper. But the human desire for sunlight is deeper than that."
Under the clear sunlight that we finally reclaimed.
I nodded slowly.
"Remember with what heart you fought in this battle. Remember the courage that allowed you to fight against an undefeatable enemy without giving up."
While longing for the sunlight, even fighting under the darkness without it.
As long as each of your hearts continues to remain.
"If we have that courage, we can overcome any future wars... and the life beyond. No matter what adversity comes, we can live in the direction we hope for."
Afterwards, I slowly turned around and bowed respectfully towards all the graves in the west.
"To everyone who overcame yet another great challenge, and to all the comrades buried here. Thank you."
Turning back around and looking at the audience.
I spoke sincerely.
"Truly, thank you."
In front of the faces of people with various complex emotions, I took a deep breath and slowly prepared the elegy for this funeral.
In fact, I had long decided what to recite.
Don Quixote. (TL Note: I'm amazed that both of the novels are using Don Quixote)
The most famous knight on Earth.
Treated as a clown for his ridiculous actions, but ultimately became a legendary human because of his convictions.
I recited the lyrics made from that story.
Thinking that everyone buried beneath the graves here, and everyone standing before me listening to my speech, are just like that man from La Mancha. (TL Note: The Impossible Dream is the name of the song)
To dream the impossible dream
To fight the unbeatable foe
To bear with unbearable sorrow
To run where the brave dare not go
To right the unrightable wrong
To be better far than you are
To try when your arms are too weary
To reach the unreachable star
This is my quest, to follow that star
No matter how hopeless, no matter how far
To be willing to give when there's no more to give
To be willing to die so that honor and justice may live
And I know if I only be true to this glorious quest
That my heart will lie peaceful and calm when I'm laid to my rest
And the world will be better for this
That one man, scorned and covered with scars
Still strove with his last ounce of courage
To reach the unreachable star
***
After the funeral, there were a few more events I was scheduled to attend, but they were urgently canceled.
This was because a more pressing matter arose that required my attention as the Crown Prince of the Empire.
"Your Highness, the Emperor has regained consciousness!"
Upon the soldier's report, I immediately rushed to the temple.
Inside the temple, high-ranking priests from the order, including the head priestess Rosetta, were hurriedly coming out. I urgently asked.
"How is His Majesty?"
"His condition is stable."
Rosetta, nodding, made way for me.
"Please go in."
"Thank you."
I carefully passed the priests and stood in front of the innermost sickroom.
"Father, it is I, your son."
After a light knock and inquiry, the Emperor's reply came immediately.
"Come in."
Entering the room, I was about to make a light-hearted remark to ease the atmosphere, but I had to shut my mouth immediately.
The Emperor lying on the bed was in a dreadful state.
His left arm and left leg were missing, and his right eye was bandaged.
During the 'Night Closing' operation, he personally controlled La Mancha's flight and continued to steer the ship, fending off attacks from the darkness even when other heroes were incapacitated.
In the process, unable to actively protect his own body, he sustained such severe injuries.
"Don't make such a face."
The Emperor tried to sit up but lost balance, and I quickly approached and helped him sit up straight on the bed.
Looking at his empty left arm and smacking his lips bitterly, the Emperor spoke.
"If I can see the morning sun again, losing a limb or two isn't too high a price to pay."
"..."
"Oh, I suppose I should add an eye as well."
The Emperor seemed to be making a joke, but I couldn't laugh.
As I stood silently, unable to say anything, the Emperor clicked his tongue and gestured with his right hand.
"An emperor should speak of the future to move forward, not dwell on the lost past. Put aside my irreparable injuries and tell me about the situation on the front lines."
"...Yes, Father."
I explained in detail how the battle with the Black Dragon concluded and how we managed the front lines over the past week.
After hearing the entire report with his mouth tightly shut, the Emperor sighed softly.
"Indeed. You are now the successor of the Bringar Duchy, following the Duchess Dusk Bringar... You have become Dawn Bringar."
"Yes."
"And at the same time, you are the Crown Prince of the Empire and my only son by blood."
The Emperor's wrinkled lips curled into a smile.
"The lands of the Bringar Duchy, long separated from the Empire, will finally return to the Empire."
I blinked quietly.
"Do you intend to annex the Bringar Duchy into the Empire?"
"Of course, wouldn't that be the natural course? The Bringar Duchy was originally just a western fortress of the Everblack Empire."
The Emperor calmly explained the history from hundreds of years ago.
"It was similar to this place, Crossroad. A fortress built to fend off attacks from neighboring countries. The progenitor Duchess Bringar, who became the guardian dragon of the Empire, was appointed as the lord of that place... Villages and cities formed around the fortress, eventually taking its current shape."
Originally, the progenitor dragon Dusk Bringar had no desire for human territories, so although she received the title of Duchess, she did not receive rights to the land.
She was appointed as the administrative head to oversee the military facilities and surrounding areas in the west, and since then, the descendants of Duchess Bringar have traditionally governed the land.
Consequently, and in practical terms, the form of the principality governed by the Duchess was accepted by the world. Legally, however, it was entirely the territory of the Empire, as explained by the Emperor.
And now that I inherited the blood of the Duchess, the Emperor had gained the justification to absorb and merge the Bringar Duchy into the Empire.
"..."
The Emperor burst into hearty laughter as he saw my silence.
"It seems you don't wish for this."
The Emperor picked up the cane next to the bed and, staggering, stood up.
"I will assist you."
"It's fine. I must adapt."
The Emperor refused my help and, stumbling, walked alone to the window.
The Emperor quietly looked down at the brightly lit Crossroad of the afternoon for a while before suddenly asking.
"Have you found the answer to the trial I set for you?"
"..."
The trial set by the Emperor.
It was a question of how far I would embrace the darkness of this world.
- My son, you once said you would slay monsters and save people. And I asked you then, what is your definition of the people you want to protect?
- And you answered that question by founding the World Guardian Front. You said that all beings who try to communicate and understand each other are the people you want to save.
- Then let me ask you one more time. If those beings who try to communicate and understand have an irredeemable evil within them, will you still embrace them? Will you protect even such beings?
I decided to protect people.
And people are beings who try to communicate and understand.
Here, the Emperor took it a step further, reminding me that those I seek to protect will never be entirely good.
Petty, narrow-minded, insignificant, evil—such are the 'people' I aim to protect, close to darkness.
"Now that you have become Duke Bringar, you must reflect on the shameful and brutal history of the Bringar Duchy."
As I remained silent, the Emperor continued unabashedly.
"Having directly inherited the Duchess's flame, you must have also glimpsed it. The history of the Bringar Duchy and the life of the Duchess were far from beautiful. The history of the flame is also a history of ashes and soot."
"..."
"Moreover, as the future Emperor of the Everblack Empire, you will inevitably inherit the bloodstained legacy of the Everblack Empire as well."
The Emperor, standing with his back to the window, turned towards me.
As always, bathed in backlight... the Emperor was smiling.
"I assure you, the darkness of this country is deeper and thicker than you can imagine. And you must inherit this darkness."
"..."
"Now, answer me. New Bringar. Successor to me, the next Everblack."
Even with no sanctity, missing an arm, a leg, and an eye, the Emperor still pressured me with his overwhelming charisma.
"What will you do about the darkness of this world? Do you still possess the same youthful folly and recklessness to embrace all of this?"
"..."
"Or have you, as I suggested before, leaned towards the idea of cutting away and selecting only the palatable parts to swallow?"
"..."
"Come, answer me. Crown Prince! What is your answer to the trial I set?"
As I listened quietly, I couldn't help but chuckle.
In truth, my answer had long been decided.
But the only reason I hesitated to answer now was that I wanted to wait until the Emperor had fully recovered.
The reason being...
"...Are you sure you will be okay with this, Father?"
The answer I was about to give would utterly overturn the Emperor's expectations.
I looked steadily at the Emperor and smiled. Perhaps flustered by my unknown resolve, the Emperor shuddered.
"The answer from the son you placed on the Crown Prince's seat, the view of the Emperor I have chosen..."
With my eyes narrowing, I whispered softly.
"Might completely destroy the Everblack Empire."