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Chapter 58: Ain’s Storyteller
Translator: Blushy
Editor: delishnoodles
“That his child was to be kept a secret for 200 years and told only to those who needed to know after the 200 years are over.”
I stopped thinking for a few seconds when I heard those words.
The Holy One scriptures state that he was celibate all his life and had no children, so his followers inherited his teachings and became divided because of their differing interpretations.
“You lie.”
The Holy One religion would be turned upside down if what he was saying was the truth.
… Oh, I see. Ain didn’t want that to happen.
He didn’t want his descendants to be taken advantage of, so he set a period of 200 years. If the sects managed to build a stable foundation, then they would just treat this information as a hoax. Did he see that the repercussions would be small?
… Wait, then why did Daniel tell me this? Is he implying that I am one of the few people who need to know this information? Because I’m the Emperor? Or because I’m someone who should have been told this long ago?
A reincarnated person. Those who entrust the world to a reincarnated person. Information that is handed down through Ain’s descendants. Ain… I’m sure that means ‘1’.
“Daniel de Pierce.”
“Daniel is fine, Your Majesty. What is it?”
“What is the name of Ain’s child?”
“Of course, it was Zwei.”
That name means ‘2’. I knew it.
“So that was why Ain entrusted his child to the ‘storyteller’. You storytellers would do your best to protect them since you see hope in the reincarnated.”
So…
“His child was a reincarnator as well, wasn’t he?”
“Yes, we believe he was. We hypothesised that a reincarnated person will be born among Ain’s descendants. Not all of Ain’s descendants are reincarnators, but if we protect the descendants of Ain, then we will gain the possibility of having many reincarnators being born. That was our conclusion… and it has been proven correct so far.”
Reincarnators are born to Ain’s descendants, so…
“I have Ain’s blood in me, that’s why I am one of the few people who need to know.”
That butler guy is also a reincarnator, which means he is a descendant of Ain and is connected to ‘Ain’s storytellers’.
“Even we did not expect that his blood would enter the emperor’s bloodline so soon, or that the first child born would be a reincarnator.”
“Which means…. I got it from my maternal grandmother?”
“Yes. The deceased wife of the present Lord Aquicurl, Maria-sama, is one of Ain’s descendants.”
He told me shocking facts one after the other. You know, I’m in the middle of preparing for a coup though.
I glanced at Daniel and saw that he had knelt down without making a sound and was bowing his head.
“Your Majesty. We, ‘Ain’s Storytellers’, would like to devote ourselves to you, the reincarnator. We need neither merit nor reward. We only ask two things of you.”
… Two things? I can guess what one of those things are, but… well, alright.
“Tell me.”
“I would like to ask you to spare the descendants of Ain as much as possible after the coming civil war.”
I knew it. They wanted to have as many chances as they could to have a reincarnator in this world, so they’re asking me to spare Ain’s descendants.
“So, you want me to forgive Lord Aquicurl’s family?”
“Not all. There are some who cannot be forgiven, but I would be grateful if you spared those who surrender to you, Your Majesty.”
… I’d really like to get rid of them all… but I guess I’ll spare them if this man will be on my side in exchange.
“You’ll have to look after them then, and I can’t make any guarantees since nothing has happened yet… but I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Thank you very much.”
“But are they worth protecting? A reincarnator may know the future, but they could misuse their knowledge.”
They could misuse their knowledge of another world to fulfil their selfish wishes. A person like that will definitely be reincarnated here.
“Yes, we understand the danger. Therefore, our role is to protect and monitor.”
… So, I’m one of the people they’re monitoring. I’m used to being monitored.
“And… the thing we want to avoid the most is stagnation. We will overlook a certain amount of misuse if it brings about change. Our race is dying because we are being submerged by a swamp called stagnation.”
“Our race?”
I asked and Daniel took off his hat.
He had long, pointed ears.
“You’re an elf?”
“I am.”
Elf… This word and his features closely resembled the elves who were described in the fairy-tales of my previous life. I’ve never seen them before in this world… but everyone here knows what they look like.
According to the legend, Ain and his followers saved the ‘wise, beautiful and long-lived race (the elves)’ and persecuted the ‘short and quick-tempered barbarians (the dwarfs)’ on the Central Continent. This topic was often spoken about in the boring sermons given by the Western Sect.
“Come to think of it, this wasn’t in the original text.”
“Ain was certainly persecuted, but he thought that deeply rooted discrimination would be born if you compliment or criticise certain races, so he told his followers not to hold any grudges and strictly ordered them not to write or document anything down. But… there were many followers who were persecuted along with Ain, so their writings have been left behind in every sect.”
I used to see Ain as just the ‘founder of the Holy One religion’ but I respect him now that I’ve heard this. Maybe because I was told that he was my ancestor… but I think he’s a great predecessor as a reincarnated person.
But… elves and dwarfs aren’t supposed to live in the Eastern Continent.
“Which means… The elves not only helped Ain in the Central Continent but on the Eastern Continent too. And with their long lives…”
“Unfortunately, the elves are not as long-lived as you believe, Your Majesty. Therefore, it was not I who started the ‘Ain Storytellers’, but my father.”
Hmm. I thought Daniel had met Ain in person.
The room seemed to be descending slowly. There may still be time for questions.
“Why didn’t you know that I was a reincarnated person until I came into contact with another reincarnated person on my first tour even though you had considered the possibility of me being one? And why didn’t you contact me after that?”
“You should understand, Your Majesty. It took me many years to infiltrate the Western Church. All of our efforts would be for naught if the ‘Guardian of Lothar’ were to become our enemy.”
I thought of Count Palatine Vedett who had been by my side earlier. So, he was the reason why Daniel didn’t contact me.