The young Emperor was undoubtedly devastated.
After so many years apart—her face nearly forgotten, only occasionally mentioned by the Minister as his fallen, destitute elder sister—to have her appear before him now and dismiss him so casually, so lightly…
Yet, no matter how furious he was, it was utterly useless.
Even the Shikoutazer—the National Defense Machine God—had already bowed to this imperial sister. What power did he have left to say no?
Any more words now would only seem laughable and cheap.
He wanted to rage and curse, but he couldn't bear the thought of being recorded in history as a sore loser, lacking in magnanimity, at this final hour.
But even more shattered than the young Emperor was the Minister himself.
He simply couldn't comprehend how things had come to this.
The Shikoutazer's power and destructive force had shown an utterly stark difference before and after, clearly proving that while this Teigu was driven by bloodline, it was not indifferent to the wielder's strength.
In the hands of the weak, its power was far inferior to that in the hands of the strong.
The world-altering radiance had confirmed this beyond any doubt.
Not only that, what he truly couldn't grasp was that control over the Shikoutazer could be contested for, even manipulated from the outside.
It was an absurd scenario he had never even considered.
Yet there was another scene he hadn't anticipated: Budo.
Honest was utterly baffled.
Eblana and her army had already entered the city, so why was Budo still over at the city walls, brandishing his lightning blades with such ferocious vigor?
Just what was he holding back? What was he even fighting?
Could there be a Teigu that induced hallucinations, hypnotizing Budo?
The Minister couldn't understand, couldn't imagine it, but the facts were laid bare before him. The young Emperor had lost, the Empire had lost, and he had lost too.
No one paid any mind to Honest's tangled emotions.
Run, who could fly, quickly spotted his location.
Seeing the Minister turn and flee, he remotely directed the Jaegers to corner and chase him down. They soon had him bound and brought before Esdeath.
Eblana had no time to deal with the Minister just then. Instead, she controlled the Shikoutazer to pluck the young Emperor out and toss him to Night Raid.
Once she truly took control of the Shikoutazer, Eblana was surprised to find the mecha far more formidable than she'd imagined.
Not only could it fire beams, it could even fly.
This conveniently solved her dilemma of where to place the giant robot—she simply had it fly out of the imperial capital and stand for now in the suburbs, clearing the palace mount.
Honestly, looking at the scene before her, the post-disaster reconstruction was going to be one hell of a task.
And a significant part of that trouble could be credited to Esdeath for not ending the battle sooner, dragging it out and even expanding the combat zone instead.
Quietly adding another mark against Esdeath, Eblana tossed the worries of reconstruction to the servants to handle.
This "final showdown" ended faster than anyone had anticipated.
They'd thought it would take at least a day, but it was over in less than half—a lightning-fast battle, no different in speed from any of Eblana's previous campaigns.
But truly seizing control of the Empire wouldn't be as easy as the battle had been.
Chouri and Najenda were immediately escorted toward the capital after the war ended, arriving one after the other three and five days later.
By then, post-disaster recovery had made considerable progress.
Dr. Stylish hadn't been much help in the fight itself, but upon arriving at the capital—or rather, returning to his lab—he promptly developed numerous machines and devices for construction and engineering.
Meanwhile, Eblana had Budo and Esdeath mobilize the civilians, calling on all citizens to join in rebuilding their homes.
The two of them actually held considerable sway in the capital.
One was the Empire's strongest, from an old-line military family; the other was the Empire's strongest, undefeated in foreign wars and always kind-faced toward the common folk.
Even in an era without fandom culture, plenty of people admired them.
Add to that the compensation for the work… it was genuinely tempting, and the machinery was easy to use, all contributing to the remarkably swift recovery.
As for the palace, it was less a restoration and more a complete rebuild—both in location and style, it was entirely new.
With the Servants of Lamentation and Ice Cavalry working tirelessly and with extreme efficiency, the new palace was formally completed in just half a month.
Finally, Eblana formally took her seat upon the throne, gazing down at the assembled officials below.
Some of these officials were familiar faces, others strangers, but without exception, they all displayed extreme deference toward Eblana.
A joke? She had fought her way to the throne, her martial prowess unrivaled in the world. Who would dare not submit?
The young Emperor and the Minister were locked in the dungeons, both sentenced to death.
Due to his special status, the young Emperor's execution was not made public—she wasn't the Revolutionary Army; she didn't need to publicly behead him to win fame or pave her way.
Besides, for winning fame or paving the way, making an example of the Minister was more than enough.
Once their fates were decided, there was only one remaining eyesore Eblana needed to deal with.
Hearing this welcome news at last, Esdeath immediately stepped forward, kneeling on one knee before Eblana to volunteer.
The previous final battle, due to her excessive… enthusiasm, had caused massive property damage. Eblana hadn't given her a good look in a long while. Going out now would not only let her vent her frustrations on the Revolutionary Army but also help repair their ruler-subject relationship—killing two birds with one stone.
Who knows? If Eblana was pleased enough, she might even permit her to test the Shikoutazer's capabilities or have an imperial bout with Budo?
Eblana could pretty much guess Esdeath's line of thought. Her anger had long since cooled—after all, she was the one who'd given Esdeath free rein to play around in the first place.
So she simply nodded, granting Esdeath a chance to redeem herself.
There was no worry about her finding the Revolutionary Army members, either. Najenda knew all their strongholds well, and even if they tried to establish new ones, she had informants already in place.
Regarding the disposition of the Revolutionary Army, neither Najenda nor the other powerful Ministers said a word, their expressions neutral as they moved on to discuss the next matter.
Though the throne was now secure, the country was not yet stable. They still had plenty to busy themselves with.
Eblana didn't much care for managing these affairs herself. She mostly let them debate and reach a conclusion before deciding whether to give her nod.
With nothing requiring her immediate attention, she simply opened the group chat.
[Eblana: In the Imperial Capital. Now Emperor. Recognition efficiency skyrocketing!]
[Amber: Congrats congrats~]
[Castorice: Congratulations, though I'm still firmly holding second place.]
[Herta: No need to rush. I'm already expanding into space. You'll soon see who's really on top.]
[Amber: True, feels like Herta might end up being the biggest earner later. And, Eblana might have to give up her third-place spot pretty soon too.]
[Eblana: ?]
[Eblana: Is there a newcomer with more potential than me becoming Emperor?]
[Amber: Someone drawn not long ago. Their assigned world is very suited for harvesting recognition. The numbers might not match yours, but the quality is extremely high.]
[Eblana: That impressive? Who's in this summoning pool? Which world did they go to?]
[Melusine: That's right! It's me!]
[Melusine: Currently in Campione! Preparing to slay a god! Gotta go incognito for now!]
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.