Episode 646
The time I spent in the temple alone is almost 70 years.
From the moment he was born, he was considered a very promising talent, even within the large organization called Dokwan.
Antonio Senna lived up to those expectations.
Red Master, not just any Red Master. He was just halfway to the realm of Transcendence.
Antonio Senna’s realm was still at a standstill until the moment Jack Milos first made contact with the group known as the Dojo.
To be honest, it is clear that Antonio Senna’s growth has been slower than the enormous expectations placed on him.
Because there are at least a hundred people who think that he will become stronger than the head of the Taoist temple.
What this means is that Antonio Senna has not had an easy life. An organization where the officials are stronger than the rulers can never last long.
The charisma of the ruler? The power of the ruler? It’s all useless.
The Taoist order is a group that speaks with power. When power is strong, the strong are the law, and the power of the strong is the true power.
So there were countless people who tried to keep Antonio Senna in check. There were really many people who tried to assassinate him since he was a child.
He has overcome it all.
There were countless people who admired Antonio Senna, and naturally, he became the center of the school.
This center means the center that gives orders to the dogs below, rather than being an absolute subordinate who does not rebel against the master who holds the leash. Antonio never left that place. He only carried out orders and never disobeyed his master’s words for even a moment.
There were no complaints.
That’s just how the world is.
If there is someone who rules, that rule must be fully spread throughout the world, but the ruler cannot go around and do that every day.
There had to be someone who, according to the ruler’s orders, would spread the ruler’s influence throughout the world. That was the great warrior of the Taoist temple. The Taoist temple was that kind of organization in the first place.
When the Milos Empire was founded and stability was restored, Antonio naturally transcended the species.
Even after becoming a vice-captain, Antonio Senna still held the line.
He followed the orders of the governor absolutely. The orders of the emperor were the same. Even though the country he belonged to and his position changed, his will and his sharp convictions forged through years of experience never changed.
It’s natural.
Antonio Senna has done enough in the vice-chancellor’s seat.
I’ve been watching the conduit split apart. I’ve tried my best to stop it, but it’s no use.
The governor simply gave the order to watch, and the emperor also simply told them to watch.
So I left.
Exactly 14 years and 3 months since he was appointed to the position of Vice Admiral.
It had been a long time. Antonio came down from his seat without any regrets. And he had been wandering around the world, seeing all sorts of things.
In one estate I lived as a cook, in another I acted in plays, and in another I became a tutor, and that’s when I met Carl Sagan.
He asked me to teach his children.
There was no reason to refuse.
Even though I am retired, I am still a citizen of the Milos Empire. If I can do something for my country as a retired person, it is meaningful.
So I accepted.
Two years have passed and now Antonio Senna is entangled with the Dojo again.
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“Senior Grandmaster… … Please save me. Here I am. Floyd, whom you taught me, is now misunderstood. I… … am now being framed. This is the work of someone who is afraid of the Taoist. I am entangled. Please save me.”
“Your Majesty, do you remember me? It’s me, Thomas. I’m the Thomas who was there when you became an intermediate master!”
“Senior Grandmaster… … No, Adjutant Lord, I am Emerald. You never spared me in giving advice to grow up as my name suggests. I have lived diligently without regrets. This is all fabricated. Please help me clear my name.”
Among them were comments denouncing Goldway, who had just been stabbing officials with the dagger he was holding.
“That bastard, who is worse than Goldway, has betrayed the Dojo.”
“That guy is not an official of the Taoist temple right now. He is a lackey of the forces that are trying to destroy the Taoist temple right now! We must catch him! Your Majesty, please catch him so he doesn’t escape. Please clear our name.”
He shook his head.
Antonio isn’t really that stupid, he knows enough.
That’s why.
The subsequent actions were more natural.
After snatching the dagger from Goldway’s hand, he slit the throat of Emerald Zen, who was in front of him.
This was the beginning.
One by one, the dagger passes through the neck of each and every official who was being tortured.
Crunch-!
* * *
As I headed towards the hideout, I discovered an unexpected person.
“Your Highness, it’s been a while.”
It was Antonio Senna whom I had been looking for.
He had an impressive white beard and white hair, and he looked just like the one I had seen a long time ago.
“It’s been a while, Your Majesty.”
“It’s been over six years since I stepped down from my position as vice minister. Now I’m just an ordinary person.”
I looked around for a moment.
“If you’re an ordinary person… …then this situation would be even more absurd.”
It was only natural that something like this would come out.
I ordered Team 4 to torture those who broke the rules of the Dojo.
There were clear signs of torture. The problem was that they were all dead. I looked at the dagger Antonio Senna was holding. Blood was dripping down.
“I never said to kill him.”
“……sorry.”
If it’s going to end with an apology, there’s no reason to bring about the situation in the first place. I need to hear the reason first. Convincing them is a problem after that.
“What is the reason?”
“Because I decided that even if my incompetent junior made a wrong decision, there was no reason for him to suffer until the end.”
“Why are you judging that?”
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Antonio Senna kept his mouth shut. He looked very calm on the outside, but his mind seemed complicated.
It’s not because of my lowered tone. It’s because of your own actions.
“I don’t understand. I thought Antonio Senna had retired from the front lines and was enjoying his freedom, so why is he talking about his juniors here and getting his blood on the line?”
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I started walking. I stopped when I reached the old man holding the dagger.
“Antonio Senna, you have clearly crossed the line. Do you admit it?”
“… … Yes. I admit it.”
Just then, the four team members, including Goldway, who were standing next to him, were about to say something. Antonio Senna raised his hand to stop them.
“His Highness the Crown Prince is speaking. Do not dare interfere.”
As if it were a lie, Goldway and all four team members kept their mouths shut.
Let me repeat that Antonio Senna was a great warrior respected by all officials even before his father brought him to the island of Arendal in the Black Sea.
He served as a grand champion and adjutant general until his retirement from the Imperial Guard of Milos.
There is no need to question his leadership skills, and his trust in the officials of the Taoist temple is also beyond doubt.
The heart that would punish the juniors who had gone astray was still like a sharp blade.
After retirement, he returned to being a natural person? During that time, he did not decline. Rather, he became stronger.
No matter how you look at it, he is the right person for the job.
Antonio Senna bowed his head to me.
“I did not intend to interfere with what Your Highness the Crown Prince was trying to do. I apologize. If you punish me, I will gladly accept it.”
Things seem like they’ll work out easily.
“A punishment… … . I have something in mind, but I don’t know if it’s a punishment or a reward. Would you please judge for yourself?”
“I will listen.”
“The position of the head of the Taoist temple will soon become vacant. You take that position.”
“… … Guanju… … are you speaking?”
“Why? Don’t you like it?”
“… … Your Highness, I am retired. If I were to become a government official, I think there would be a lot of opposition.”
I ended up laughing.
“Which side is this backlash referring to? Gunnar’s backlash? Or the backlash of the common officials?”
Antonio Senna’s expression changed strangely.
“Your Highness the Crown Prince knows.”
“I know. How could I not know?”
It’s simple.
My father neglected the ‘division’ of the Taoist temple. To be exact, he just watched the division unfold.
The reason wasn’t anything special. There was definitely one part that was bothersome, and that part was something that even a father couldn’t easily touch.
Father gave ‘them’ a chance.
It wasn’t just a chance. He even gave me the position of a peacock.
The condition that such a father put forth was only one.
Don’t look down on the emperor.
This shouldn’t be viewed simply as a sentence.
Imperial power naturally included the threat of imperial power, but it also meant something else.
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The warning to live without being sly, without causing division, and without showing greed must have sent a chill down their spines.
But as time passed, the color of that warning faded.
Most of the Dojo eventually follows Gunnar. His father’s original name was not Valanti or Milos. It was Gunnar.
Jack Gunnar.
That was my father’s real name. He rejected that name. He became Jack Milos. I became Milos too.
The rule that the conductor is loyal to Gunnar still remains.
And that Gunnar still exists.
“The Gunnar Dukes. The more I think about them, the more disgusting they become. Turning public organizations into private organizations… … It’s interesting. I also respect their guts.”
“… … .”
“From Your Majesty’s perspective, there is no reason to kill them all. It’s not that they crossed the line, but rather that they were on the other side of it. But that’s not the case for me. So, I plan to sort things out.”
Antonio Senna asked.
“Your Highness, do you intend to rule the Taoist temple?”
“The word dominate is a bit ambiguous.”
I honestly thought so.
“What is the significance of the existence of the Taoist temple?”
“… … .”
“The organization that is loyal only to the Emperor, follows only the Emperor’s orders, and serves only the Emperor is the Taoist. For the Emperor’s sake, you should not be afraid to roll in shit and get covered in all kinds of dirty things. That’s the Taoist. That organization is becoming the personal armed force of the Gunnar family.”
Antonio Senna nodded with a complicated expression, as if he knew everything.
“That’s right. As His Highness the Crown Prince said, the Taoist temple is in shambles. Even before I stepped down from my position as Adjutant General and Gunnar took over, work was already underway behind the scenes.”
“Why didn’t you report that to His Majesty?”
“I reported to the governor. The governor reported to His Majesty, and His Majesty gave an answer.”
It was so obvious what the answer was.
“Just watch and see, that was His Majesty’s order. Perhaps, rather than having His Majesty deal with the last remaining ‘blood relatives’ by his own hands, he wanted to give His Highness the opportunity to choose who would lead the empire in the future.”
This was also accurate.
This is the father’s, no, the emperor’s test.
With such a huge continent, it takes an iron-blooded heart to organize it. Not something that can be done outwardly, but a determination to complete the action with a sound mind.
How far can I show it? My father was asking me now.
That’s obviously a difficult task.
But there is not only easy things in this world.
I’m already prepared.
The price of sin must be paid. Even if they are blood relatives, if they cross the line, they must pay.
I am already ready.
Antonio Senna responded with a laugh.
That was enough.
“… … But there will be someone better suited to the position of Crown Prince than me. I am inadequate. Your Highness.”
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“Why do you think it’s not enough?”
“… … .”
“Then why did you kill those dead bastards over there?”
“Your Majesty, that is.”
I shook my head at Antonio Senna, who unconsciously answered, “Your Majesty.”
“You must regret it. What if you had given your officials more proper training when you were the adjutant general? What if you had stopped them from becoming a private organization under the illusion of Gunnar? Antonio Senna, your regret has been fully expressed now.”
He pointed to the dead bodies with his hands.
“Those corpses are the ones you killed. They are the past, present, and future of your foolishness. Do what you couldn’t do by my side.”
I took a step closer and looked straight into Antonio Senna’s face.
“I am ready. I am ready to become an emperor. I will not be bound by the past and will only think of the future. Antonio Senna, I ask you again. Are you really not ready?”
“… … .”
“Are you so stuck in the past that you can’t even think about the future?”
“No, Your Majesty, I… … .”
He reached out and grabbed Antonio’s shoulder.
“Look into my eyes and tell me. Are you ready to become the head of the Taoist temple and punish those who have violated the purpose of the Taoist temple’s existence?”
Antonio Senna’s eyes sparkled. He nodded with a serious expression.
“… … Perhaps I have been waiting for this moment. Yes, I am ready, Your Majesty.”
That’s enough.
Antonio Senna slowly knelt down in his seat. He then bowed his head deeply and continued speaking.
“Ready. Just give the order.”
The first command was simple.
“Give me one day. Within one day, gather all the bugs in the conduit, except for the Gunnar family, here.”
“insect-!”
Oh, and.
“I’m even throwing away things like tutoring that aren’t even funny.”
Antonio Senna laughed awkwardly.
