So I'm a Snake, Who Cares?

Though he couldn't hold back a single tear that flowed.

Obern's acting ability to maintain a dignified expression is truly admirable.

How could such an impressive man receive such an evaluation from the Emperor?

'An empty piece of trash,' he said.

Considering that Obern was in the Porcelain Room for less than 15 minutes, the Emperor's insight must be quite extraordinary.

Obern was assigned a room in the imperial guest quarters.

It was a dormitory for low-ranking officials, or temporary lodging for those needed for imperial business.

Entering that room.

Meaninglessly locking the door with loud clicks.

"Sob."

Only then did he fall to his knees and begin to cry.

"I'm ruined..."

It's been quite a while since I've seen Obern like this.

Reminds me of the old academy days, how nostalgic.

"Execute me, death sentence... Even though I'm a guest of the kingdom... That dog..."

Even in this situation, he seems too scared to curse the Emperor out loud.

But being connected to him, I could hear the curses he was directing at the Emperor in his mind.

'Wow, really?'

And I learned something surprising.

'Yes, the Emperor must have an ability to see through whether people's words are true or false!'

It seems there's a specific skill like that.

After summoning Obern, the Emperor asked several questions.

Making plausible answers was Obern's specialty.

But there's a limit to making non-existent content seem real.

At some point, the Emperor adjusted his posture.

And asked:

'You said you're a magician, is it true that your magical abilities are excellent enough to be acknowledged by Balanyar?'

'I still have much to learn.'

He gave such a modest answer, but.

'You must have been overrated compared to your actual skills.'

'...'

Such an answer came suddenly.

Wait, that seems like too big a jump.

The Emperor continued:

'And regarding your monsters growing stronger through evolution, did you contribute to that?'

'A little...'

'That's a lie.'

The Emperor approached Obern one step at a time, he says.

And even the Sword Saint was fiddling with his sword handle.

Up to this point, Obern says he maintained his composure.

The next question was the problem.

'Do you have any abilities that could contribute to this empire, to me?'

'...If you give me time, I will accomplish anything.'

'That's a lie.'

The Emperor's gaze changed, he says.

From then on, he looked at Obern with contempt.

'You're not particularly skilled at handling monsters, nor are you a talented magician, and your decent looks are all you have?'

'...I apologize.'

'An empty piece of trash.'

No, that's too harsh!

Of course, none of the criticism was wrong.

'You've wasted my time and even insulted me.'

'Your Majesty, how could I ever harbor such thoughts of insult!' Explore more stories at My Virtual Library Empire

'I don't want to hear it.'

Even to my ears, this judgment seems too quick to be just based on good eyes.

'I'll give you three days' grace. Prove your loyalty and ability. Bring proof that you can be of use to me. If not, you won't keep your life.'

And then came the order to leave.

Pelerian's reaction after hearing this story was:

"I heard those eyes were extraordinary. So this era's Emperor inherited that ability too."

'That ability?'

Pelerian seemed to know something.

"The Emperor can use his power to see through others' lies. That's how it was passed down."

'Is it like a skill...'

"There was a theory that it was just a rumor to glorify the Emperor, but perhaps not."

But thinking about it, I've already deceived the Emperor before.

When I manipulated the Marquis to deceive him, that was clearly in the past...

"You didn't tell any lies then either."

'Ah.'

What did I say back then?

Did the Emperor ask if I could bet my life?

Since I didn't care whether the Marquis bet his life or not, I just said 'Yes!'

It certainly wasn't a lie.

"He probably doesn't use that ability constantly. He likely uses his own insight to test people at important moments."

In any case.

The Emperor was Obern's natural enemy when I wasn't attached to him.

'What should we do, Mr. Snake!'

We need to bring something that will interest the Emperor within three days.

Obern can't become a real genius in that time.

Then what story could entice the Emperor?

'Hmm.'

'Hmm...?'

'Well...'

I don't know either.

How would I know!

Obern muttered in despair.

'To die like this.', 'I wanted to marry Daisy...', 'No, come to think of it, if I sell out Mr. Snake...'

I quickly struck Obern's solar plexus.

Obern bent over with a "Urgh," dry heaving.

'Wait, let's get some fresh air first.'

'F-Fresh air?'

Obern seemed out of his mind.

'At times like this, you need to relax your mind and refresh yourself.'

'Is, is that so?'

'Yeah, will good ideas suddenly come while staying cooped up in the room?'

That had been my philosophy since my previous life.

When facing an important exam.

Or the night before a job interview, I would say 'I need to refresh' and go to PC rooms and such.

Of course, the effectiveness was... well...

'I understand...!'

'Great!'

It wasn't particularly great.

"That sounds exactly like what lazy people would say."

Regardless of what Pelerian said, at least Obern understood my suggestion.

He left the guest quarters with me.

'But where are we going?'

He asks quickly.

'Let's go downtown first. Ideas will naturally come while relieving stress!'

I said with confidence.

Obern's expression brightened for the first time.

==

No brilliant ideas came to mind.

Obern sat on a bench in despair.

In one hand, he held a large cotton candy that didn't suit him at all.

And I was inside that cotton candy.

'You really don't eat this, right?'

'...'

The experience of being buried in cotton candy was truly precious.

'Alright, we've done everything we can downtown, now let's go there.'

'There being...'

'The Imperial Bank.'

The Imperial Bank.

The largest bank on the continent.

Pelerian had a rental vault there too.

How I knew this was because of the cube in the Royal Bank's vault.

Opening that cube revealed one bottle of 'Small Giant's Elixir' and a piece of paper.

The contents written on the paper were simply:

──────────────

Imperial Bank Rental Vault, 41048.

──────────────

Just that simple content and vault number.

This probably contains something else Pelerian wants to pass to Caspian.

Whether Pelerian has bad taste, or is just too shy to show kindness straightforwardly with his twisted personality.

He keeps giving riddles like this as if making an escape room game.

"You brat, what disrespectful thoughts are you having now."

Pelerian reads my mind too easily now. I should be careful.

"There must be reasons why I set up these things... no, these matters."

Even Pelerian himself doesn't seem to know why he did this.