By Zephyria 
“I once saw the face of the former Emperor Hohenheim right in front of me. The aura he exuded was truly… inhuman. It felt like no one could defeat him… like seeing the great Gilbert the Hero, who even defeated the Demon King, right before my eyes.”
The coachman added, “Of course, I’ve never actually seen Gilbert the Hero.” and laughed.
‘Hmm.’
Come to think of it, the Albinus family was said to have roots in Gilbert. Feeling a similar atmosphere… does that mean Albinus is indeed of his bloodline?
Separately, I frowned, disliking the phrase “the great so-and-so who defeated the Demon King.”
“Ah. We’re already here. You can’t take a carriage to the entrance of the Imperial Palace from here, so you’ll have to walk the rest of the way.”
The coachman slowed the horses and turned to us. Scanning beyond the window, I saw a street that seemed unusually quiet.
“Let’s go, Ray.”
Herman, opening the door first, approached the door where I was sitting and acted as a servant. As I stepped out while he held the door open, the coachman left me with a short piece of advice.
“Be careful, there are many eyes and ears around here.”
I took his advice to heart.
After that, the coachman, who had taken us right to the Imperial Palace, turned his horses around and quickly left. I watched his retreating figure for a moment before turning my head.
‘Ah.’
I quietly inhaled at the sight before me.
It was quite a spectacle.
Dercalio Street, number 24, right in front of the Imperial Palace, had most of its shops closed, and everyone passing by was dressed in black, making it look like a black wave.
A strange tension hung in the air.
There was hardly anyone talking, so the street was silent.
We soon blended into the black procession. As we walked in the direction of the procession, I could feel the density of people gradually increasing. Lifting my heels slightly, I could see that the Imperial Palace was right in front of us.
“There are so many people.”
Herman, who was also looking ahead, muttered softly. I suddenly looked down at my feet. He was taller than most people even without lifting his heels, so he looked relaxed.
I somehow didn’t like it.
Why was this body so small and delicate? In my previous life, I was a little, just a little, shorter than Gilbert, but I was still taller than this servant.
Now, even if a slightly taller person is in front of me, my view is blocked by their head.
Well. I’m still young, so I might grow a little more in the future….
As I was thinking that, Herman stopped walking. With so many people crowded together, he must have decided that it was impossible to move forward any further.
But having to lift my heels was something my pride wouldn’t allow.
I pushed through the gaps between people. Herman told me to wait behind, giving me orders again, but I had no reason to listen to the servant.
Finally reaching the front where there were no people, an open view appeared.
That’s better.
A moment later, Herman also popped out next to me, sighing.
I turned to the entrance. Many people who appeared to be working at the Imperial Palace had just brought a white coffin with a gold frame, encased in transparent glass, to the entrance.
The body of the former Emperor Hohenheim must be enshrined inside. I had one question.
“Where are they taking that?”
Herman easily provided the answer.
“There’s a mausoleum where the bodies of past emperors are kept. They’ll perform a ceremony around the Imperial Palace once, then take it into the mausoleum. We have to follow along.”
“Raymond!”
At that moment, a familiar voice called my name. Turning around, I saw Tom and Zeon pushing through the crowd and approaching us. Of course, they were also attending the funeral procession.
“You were here. I wanted to meet up and go together, but when I went to your room, you were already gone. But I’m glad we met again here.”
Zeon grinned, looking relieved. I wanted to tell him that I see him at school all the time, why do I have to see him here too, but I held back. Herman turned to the two of them and asked.
“Did you two come together?”
Tom answered the question.
“No. We met by chance when we arrived.”
Anyway, gathering like this, it’s no different from school.
It was around that time.
Pooooooo.
Several people dressed in black blew long blasts on horn-like instruments, drawing people’s attention.
Soon, people with luxurious beauty, silver hair, and golden eyes, were seen walking towards the carriage. It was hard to see clearly from a distance, but even their clothes, which must have been more modest than usual, looked luxurious, so they seemed to be of the imperial bloodline.
Pooooooo.
Immediately after, a heavy sound rang out once more.
As the carriage began to move first, the magicians who followed, casting levitation magic on the coffin, and the knights who began to walk, guarding the surroundings as if surrounding it, formed a single formation.
“Let’s go.”
I slowly moved my feet, blending into the following crowd. No one spoke while walking. Only the sound of many people’s footsteps passing by and music for mourning echoed throughout Dercalio Street.
It was no easy task for the procession to circle the Imperial Palace once. There were so many people watching nearby, even if they weren’t directly participating in the procession, that it was obstructive, and the speed at which the coffin was moved was also very slow.
It was truly a tedious time.
The imperial magicians were using levitation magic and barrier magic to protect the members of the imperial family, so they probably didn’t have time to be bored, being careful to prevent any possible accidents. The procession, having barely managed to complete one lap, turned towards the back of the Imperial Palace with the sound of the third horn. It seemed they were finally heading to the mausoleum.
The dense crowd gradually thinned out. As the number of people heading to the mausoleum became sparse, many familiar faces began to be seen nearby.
The majority of them were academy professors and students in uniform.
It seemed that most of the ordinary people had left at this point, and only those deeply connected to the imperial family and members of the academy remained.
‘Finally, I can breathe a little.’
I sighed softly, looking at the spacious procession. The path to the mausoleum was narrow because there was a forest, and it was stuffy and boring, so it was a relief.
As we got closer to the mausoleum, the atmosphere relaxed as the sound of conversations mixed in. Soon, the procession arrived at the mausoleum.
The magicians placed the coffin next to the designated spot next to the mausoleum and opened the glass front and the lid of the coffin.
The elderly man lying inside had a beautiful and peaceful face.
As if he had left in his sleep. He didn’t look like someone who had been assassinated at all, so I wondered if it was just a rumor.
“The deceased’s relatives, please come forward first.”
Following the guidance of the waiting clergy, the emperor’s direct family members, who had been waiting, stepped forward first and laid flowers.
After that, others acted freely. Some quietly offered a silent prayer, while others didn’t bother to do anything.
No one was crying. They were just calmly sending off the departed.
That must be because that is the funeral custom of humans.
‘I think I’ve made my presence known, so shall we go back?’
Looking around, the number of familiar professors, including the young humans in uniform, had decreased considerably. It should be okay to leave at this point.
I glanced around and turned around, unnoticed by the servants who were whispering and distracted. Coming down to the entrance of the forest, I could no longer hear the sound of people’s conversations.
Swoosh.
A cool breeze blew once. As the trees in the forest shook their heads, the fragmented sunlight sparkled. I closed and opened my eyes for a moment, feeling the unique scent and wind of the forest.
‘…Refreshing.’
How long has it been since I felt nature like this?
Come to think of it, in my previous life, I was busy running towards my goal, and after taking over Raymond Valentasia’s body, I was busy catching up to my previous self. It seemed like it had been a very long time since I had felt such pleasant leisure.
‘Sometimes this is good too.’
It was then.
A human suddenly popped out from behind a tree.
“……?”
It was a pretty human male with beautiful silver hair that seemed to hold the moonlight in the middle of the night and dazzling golden eyes like processed jewels.
He looked about the same age as this body. That is, he was still a young man.
Stopping at the sudden presence, the human male naturally stood in front of me, as if he had been waiting for me from the beginning.
‘I didn’t feel any presence at all.’
I arched one eyebrow. Judging from the fact that my Mana Detection wasn’t working, he was definitely not an ordinary person. What was this guy doing? While being wary.
“Hello.”
That was the first word from the man who had blocked me.
“You’re Raymond, right?”
Tilting his head to the side, his silver hair, shining even more brightly in the sunlight, fluttered. A pair of golden eyes, staring intently at me, curved prettily.
At that moment, I personally experienced what it felt like to be speechless by the overwhelming feeling of beauty. If ‘beauty’ was the logic of the world, then the young human in front of me would have to be considered ‘right’.
“I’m glad to meet you again like this.”
The man, who had already approached with his long legs, carefully took my hand.
He was quite tall, so he bent down, left a kiss on the back of my hand, and raised his head. The golden eyes, facing me up close, had a power that drew my gaze.