This must have been what Kousaka warned me of—that if the one at the top was too talented, the organization as a whole could very easily crumble. If an autocratic president continued to heavy-handedly run a business, you ended up with nothing but useless bootlickers filling your ranks, leading to the gradual decline of your company’s growth in capability, making it impossible for employees to nurture a sense of autonomy and responsibility.
The Odas quickly fell to ruin after the Honnoji Incident for similar reasons. Oda Nobunaga was an outstanding leader who no one could replace. The moment he was dead, his clan fell apart. However, it likely didn’t help that his successor, Nobutada, lost his life in the same battle.
“Do you hate Melle for forcing the role onto you?”
“My sister? I...don’t know. I certainly hate Endymion, at least.”
Oh no, Ende, looks like you’re still not out of the woods yet.
“When my sister first disappeared, it felt as if I had been abandoned. First came sadness, then anger. Most of that was directed at Endymion, but...honestly, I felt the weight of the title of Sovereign. Upon being given that role, I was once more made painfully aware of the greatness of my sister, and was made even more painfully aware of my own powerlessness.”
You did often hear stories of successors who had to go to extreme lengths in order to finally be respected at the same level as their great predecessors. Having taken up the crown after Melle, Halle’d had no choice but to fight the pressure of the unreasonable expectations being placed on him by his subjects.
“Upon becoming Sovereign, I finally understood what my sister must have been feeling. You have the motivation to work hard for those who need you, but you can’t help but wonder why you need to work yourself to the bone for those who only care about your power. To them, anyone would suffice as Sovereign, so long as they had sufficient power. Perhaps that was the reason my sister and Endymion resolved to cross worlds.”
“I do think it would be difficult to want to dedicate your life to people who weren’t even truly looking at you...”
I sure wouldn’t be able to find the motivation to be grand duke if the people of my country were entirely indifferent toward me and even those close to me in the castle never truly cared about me. I’d definitely abdicate the throne, go to another country, and enjoy my life there instead.
Some people might accuse me of being irresponsible as someone with power and authority, but what was the issue with me living my own life? I wasn’t self-sacrificing enough to live purely for other people. Those who were had to be what we called saints.
Thankfully, both here and around the world, I’d made proper bonds with many people. That was why I had come to love this world. I had people that I wanted to protect, so I was able to work hard. Halle likely didn’t have anyone like that in his life. I’d heard that, for better or for worse, the Phrase were very much a meritocracy. No doubt a ton of people saw that Halle was inferior to Melle, and that was what led to the chaos in Phrasia.
“My sister... She smiles now. Not just her, but Ney and Lycee as well. She has a daughter named Allis, and she looks like she’s living her life so much more than when she was Phrasia’s Sovereign. I can’t help but think that...she looks really, truly happy. When I think about how Endymion was the one that granted her that happiness, I feel this bubbling rage, but...I also think this is for the best.”
Halle really did love Melle. He had all the right to be mad at her for dumping the title of Sovereign onto him, yet he was glad about her happiness.
“I said I understood my sister’s feelings, right? This body belongs to Leylle, and I am little more than the remnants of the Sovereign Halle, but I want to tell him to abandon the title of Sovereign just as his sister did. He should abandon the title of the one who exists to be used like a puppet. However, I know that it is likely my core is already shattered back on Phrasia, and I have been reduced to nothing but a corpse.”
Was the real Halle back on Phrasia still alive? Though he was created by Yula, given that he was able to give birth to a new power in the form of the Quos, I highly doubted he was an incompetent Sovereign.
“Mngh, it feels like Leylle’s about to wake up. Sovereign of this kingdom, I express my thanks for accompanying me for this talk.”
“I’m not the Sovereign, I’m Touya. Touya Mochizuki. Learn the name already.”
“I see. In that case, may we meet again, Touya.”
Halle flashed a smile at me before his eyes slowly closed. Next thing I knew, Leylle’s eyes snapped open and she started blinking furiously.
“Ahuh? Wha—? Where is this?”
“You’re at the castle’s third training field.”
“Oh, Grand Duke!”
Leylle was naturally surprised upon suddenly finding herself standing somewhere she didn’t remember walking to. Honestly, Leylle and I hadn’t really talked all that much since she’d come here. Apparently, whenever Halle was in control of her body, Leylle only had vague memories as if she had been in a dream, even though Halle seemed to perfectly remember whatever Leylle saw.
“Huh? I was lost, and then I...”
“There you are! Leylle, haven’t I told you not to wander too far away?!”
Dashing at full speed toward us from the other side of the field was Allis. Kuon was also power walking behind her. She was like Leylle’s guardian—she really had become like her older sister.
“Sorry, Allis...”
“So long as you’re safe, it’s all right. I was just scared ’cause I turned around and suddenly you weren’t there.”
It turned out Allis had come with Leylle to visit Kuon, but then Leylle suddenly disappeared. Or rather, Halle’s personality had taken over and come to find me. Allis seemed to remember something as she turned to look at me.
“Your Grace, is there any chance you could make a smartphone for Leylle?”
“Oh, wait, did I not give her one?”
If Leylle had had a phone, Allis would’ve been able to just call her. I’d sealed Leylle’s echo with [Prison], so Allis couldn’t sense where she was that way anymore.
I took out an unregistered phone from [Storage] and handed it over to the girl.
I was going to exchange contact details with her while we were here, but Allis stopped me; she said that the one who should be first in Leylle’s phone contacts was her older sister.
Okay, okay, off you go.
Kuon came over as I was smiling fondly at them.
Wait, why is he wearing glasses?
“Father, there’s a guest here to see you.”
“A guest?”
“I came to find you because your phone’s turned off. They’re currently waiting in the reception room.”
Right, I’d turned my phone off during training. But I was pretty sure I didn’t have any plans to meet anyone today. Who the hell was it?
“They called themselves Glassie, and they’re quite forceful... They’re who I got these glasses from. As a sign of goodwill, apparently.”
“Oh.”
I instantly knew who it was the second Kuon explained the situation to me. There was only one person I knew who was like that. But what reason would he have to come here? I wasn’t sure, but I might as well meet him for now. If I wasn’t quick about it, everyone in the castle would be forced to wear glasses.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Oh, Master Touya. I believe your wedding was the last time we met.”
“Um, yeah, it’s nice to see you again...”
When I entered the reception room, the god of glasses was waiting for me with under-rim glasses on. Whether out of habit or him consciously doing it for the effect, he pushed them up with a finger, the lens letting off a mysterious glint.
He looked like an ordinary young man in his twenties with long black hair, but his glasses had this sheen to them that made them unnaturally stand out. Those glasses must have been his main body.
“I’ve already made a round trip of the neighboring countries to inform them of the wonder of glasses. Henceforth, I would like to concentrate my efforts on popularizing them around the world. As such, I have come to you for assistance.”
“What? What kind of assistance do you even want from me?” I asked, confused. As if he’d been waiting for me to ask that very question, the god of glasses’s...glasses gleamed once more.
“Of course, I wish to use you as a walking advertisement! If I were to place glasses on you, the most popular man in the world, then surely people all over will begin wearing glasses too!”
“Are you kidding me?”
To think that what had awaited me was a pushy glasses salesman.