"I'm standing right here in front of you."
"So why not just ask me directly?"
Iskandar continued vigorously rubbing Waver's bowl-cut.
"Fine! I'll ask! I'm asking right now!"
His face burning red, Waver finally pried Iskandar's enormous hand off his head.
At this point, there was no point feeling embarrassed about having his "research" exposed.
Since he'd already been caught, he might as well go all in.
Snatching The Tale of the King of Conquerors back, he rapidly flipped to a marked page and pointed at a particular passage.
"According to history, Alexander the Great wasn't very tall."
"So why did you manifest looking like... well... this?"
"I'm short?"
Iskandar's eyes widened like bronze bells, filled with genuine bewilderment.
Then he scratched his head and burst into laughter.
"Ah... looks like books written by nobodies really can't be trusted!"
"Hahahaha!"
"...You're not angry?"
Waver stared at him in disbelief.
"They recorded you as being short. Isn't that practically slander?"
"If someone wrote something like that about me..."
Waver trailed off.
At the Clock Tower, he'd suffered countless insults and dismissive remarks.
If someone underestimated him...
He would fight back with everything he had.
That was precisely why he had traveled all the way from England to Fuyuki City.
He wanted to prove himself.
To win back his pride.
Yet Iskandar's answer completely exceeded his expectations.
"Why would I care about something like that?"
He looked at Waver as though the question itself were strange.
That carefree indifference...
To Waver, it felt like a complete denial of everything he had struggled for until now.
He couldn't understand it.
"But... throughout history, haven't rulers always sought to leave their names behind for eternity?"
"That's true enough."
Iskandar nodded thoughtfully, rubbing his chin.
"Having your name remembered throughout history could indeed be called a kind of immortality."
"Then—"
Before Waver could continue, Iskandar interrupted him.
"But if the only thing that survives for two thousand years is my name inside a book..."
"I'd rather trade one percent of that fame for one percent more lifespan."
"...Huh?"
Waver's mouth hung open.
The legendary Alexander the Great...
Had such an unbelievably down-to-earth wish?
"Is it because you died when you were only thirty?"
Waver pressed on.
If Iskandar simply regretted dying young...
If he merely wanted the chance to experience a normal lifespan...
Then Waver could understand that.
Unfortunately...
He was wrong.
"It's true that I died at thirty."
Iskandar's smile disappeared.
His expression became utterly serious.
"But everything after that..."
"...is completely wrong."
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Someone violently pounded on the opposite side of the bookshelf.
"Hey! You two!"
"I've been putting up with this for a while!"
"This is a bookstore, not a library—but shut the hell up already!"
Through the narrow gaps between the books, Waver caught sight of a pair of murderous eyes glaring at them from the other side.
"Eek..."
He instinctively shrank back.
"S-Sorry!"
"I'm so sorry!"
Waver immediately bowed repeatedly toward the college-aged man with glasses.
"Hmph."
"Just keep it down next time."
Seeing Waver apologize so sincerely, the young man merely adjusted his glasses with one finger before turning and walking away.
"...Whew."
Waver finally let out a long sigh of relief.
Then...
He turned around—
—and promptly smacked Iskandar on the forehead.
"You idiot!"
"Why are you yelling so loudly inside a bookstore?!"
"Owwww!"
Ironically...
The blow hadn't hurt Iskandar in the slightest.
Instead, Waver's own fingers instantly turned bright red.
Hissing in pain, he frantically shook his hand before blowing on it.
Feeling the silent judgment of every customer in the bookstore...
Waver hurriedly grabbed Iskandar by the hand, paid for The Tale of the King of Conquerors, and practically fled the store.
"...It's all your fault."
Walking down the street, Waver looked utterly dejected.
"Hahahaha!"
Iskandar laughed as heartily as ever.
Then his expression gradually became more thoughtful.
"What I said afterward..."
"...was wrong."
"Huh?"
Waver blinked before realizing what Iskandar meant.
"I don't wish for a longer life simply so I can repeat the same days over and over."
"And it certainly isn't because I'm afraid of death."
"Of course..."
"I'm not saying there's anything wrong with living an ordinary life."
"For most people, that's the path they choose."
"Whether by choice or circumstance..."
"They become the countless gears that make up a nation and its society."
"They're admirable people."
He paused briefly.
"But..."
"I'm the King of Macedon."
"What I desire has never been something so ordinary."
Stretching one hand forward, Iskandar reached as though trying to grasp something beyond sight.
"What is it?"
Waver asked quietly.
"Isn't it obvious, boy?"
With one hand pointing toward the heavens...
And the other toward the earth...
He slowly brought them together until they met perfectly in the middle.
"Conquest!"
"Of course it's conquest!"
"...I was an idiot for expecting some profound philosophy."
Waver sighed.
For a moment he'd thought Iskandar's grand gesture was about to produce some legendary words of wisdom.
Instead...
It was exactly the same answer as always.
Yet somehow...
That felt perfectly like Iskandar.
Before he realized it...
He had almost grown accustomed to the giant who constantly spoke of "conquest" and "subjugation" as casually as breathing.
"First..."
"I'll reach the Endless Sea and fulfill the dream I couldn't accomplish while alive."
"Then..."
"I'll march forth once more and conquer the world!"
Iskandar looked toward Waver.
"So, boy..."
"From the sound of it..."
"Do you think my dream is meaningless?"
There wasn't the slightest trace of anger in his voice.
Nor any accusation.
Only calm curiosity.
"...Not exactly."
Sensing the sincerity hidden beneath Iskandar's unusually quiet tone, Waver scratched his head awkwardly.
"If someone really could conquer the entire world..."
"That would be an incredible achievement."
"Once the world was united..."
"Everyone would belong to the same nation."
"They'd speak the same language."
"Use the same currency."
"And protect the same peace."
"I think..."
"That world would probably be far more harmonious than the one we have now."
"Exactly!"
Iskandar laughed and slapped Waver heavily on the back.
"You understand better than I expected, boy!"
"Cough..."
The powerful slap nearly knocked the wind out of Waver.
"But..."
His expression suddenly became conflicted.
The smile gradually faded from Iskandar's face as well.
"But..."
The words refused to leave Waver's mouth.
"What is it?"
"If you've got something to say..."
"Then say it."
Iskandar remained completely composed.
Looking at him, Waver lowered his head.
"Rider..."
"Maybe someone really could accomplish the feat of conquering the world."
"But that person..."
"...could never be you."
"After your death..."
"The Macedonian Empire—Alexander's empire—collapsed almost immediately."
"If ruling your own empire couldn't endure..."
"Then governing the entire world would be infinitely harder."
"Winning battles isn't the same as winning people's hearts."
"After you..."
"The First Emperor of the Dragon Kingdom also built an enormous empire."
"But after his death..."
"His empire likewise fell apart."
"In my opinion..."
"He accomplished even more than you did."
"You lived in roughly the same era."
"If both of you had been granted equally long lives..."
"I think he would have had a better chance of conquering the world."
"But..."
"As civilization advances..."
"As technology progresses..."
"As humanity longs more and more for freedom..."
"And grows ever more weary of war..."
"'Conquering the world'..."
"...is simply impossible."
Waver spoke without stopping.
He wanted to prove that Iskandar's dream—
His so-called conquest—
Was nothing more than a castle in the air.
A beautiful illusion that could never become reality.
And yet...
Iskandar simply smiled.
"So what if it is?"
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