Having traversed countless realms, can you possibly be as clever as me?

After all, even though he acts with an 'evil' personality, he is still disgusted by those mundane daily matters.

They mediate disputes, adjudicate cases, handle sewage discharge, clean up rivers, and deal with local gangs.

Wait, doesn't that sound exactly like a neighborhood committee office?

Considering the size of Rome today, it wouldn't be much different to say that his position as consul was essentially that of a head of a large neighborhood office...

In short, Dongjiang had no interest in these trivial matters. He spent most of his free time doing what he was best at.

Only kill!

He actually managed to create the First Legion that he had boasted about before. Tsuruga found some gladiators and loyalists from the Praetorian Guard, obtained their loyalty by signing contracts with them, and then placed them in various corners of Rome.

All intelligence on the nobles in the city was gathered into his hands—although he could achieve a similar effect by using his media power, it would be too wasteful!

Whenever Tsugumi discovers anyone who disobeys Nero's orders or engages in any corrupt or illegal activities, she can't wait to go and kill their entire family!

In just a few short months, the number of nobles and members of parliament who died at the hands of Tsurugi has reached three digits.

Compared to Dongjiang's past kill count, this is just for fun. But for the simple old Romans, this sophisticated secret police system is terrifying!

Back in Tiberius's time, at most people would engage in informing or something similar. How could it compare to the terrifying system that Tsuruga developed, which borrowed from the Zhu family emperors and the mature modern spy system of later generations?

These old Roman Black Banner bastards are so omnipresent that they're terrified that a First Legion spy could jump out from among the street vendors or their own slaves at any moment. They're so scared that they can't sleep at night. Countless nobles and members of parliament have petitioned the council to expel Dongjiang!

But if anyone dares to use this thing, Nero will immediately send his royal guards to slaughter their entire family.

Then, regardless of whether or not evidence of a crime is found in his home, there will definitely be evidence to drag him to Victory Square and behead him.

After several cycles, the whole of Rome realized that there was an abnormally close relationship between their emperor and the consuls.

Countless people secretly grumbled – our emperor and her treacherous minister are truly a pair of smiling tigers and two black sharks!

Tyrant! Tyrant!

Traitorous minister! Traitorous minister!

Luo is not Luo, and Ma is not Ma!

However, complaining in private is useless.

Now, the emperor has a firm grip on the Praetorian Guard, and the entire food supply of Rome is also in the hands of the Emperor.

The power of nobles and senators was greatly diminished, and the Senate was now practically a figurehead. Commoners had food to eat and were even well-fed. Rome was essentially a one-man show for the emperor.

Those incompetent nobles and members of parliament flocked to the emperor in exchange for leniency, while the capable ones often had no choice but to accept their fate and try their best to secure a governorship and be sent out to seek future benefits.

It can be said that Nero's power now is much greater than Caesar's back then!

The senators of yesteryear dared to assassinate Caesar without thinking, but they wouldn't dare to lay a hand on Nero now.

That omnipresent First Legion would probably send their entire family to their deaths before they even begin.

In short, Tsurugi's work in Rome consisted entirely of these kinds of things, which was quite boring, but thankfully he wasn't too bored on the other side.

However, to be honest, he has indeed had a lot of worries lately...

"Dong Jiangqing, be my empress!!!"

Tsugumi stared blankly at Nero, who was blocking her doorway with a wide smile, dressed in a white, wedding-like outfit that seemed to transcend time and culture. She then slammed the door shut.

"Oh, my bride, don't be shy, listen to the voice of the people!" Nero shouted at the entrance to the Tsurugi River.

"Marry her! Marry her! Marry her! Marry her!"

Hearing the sounds of Nero having brought them over to liven things up outside, Tsugumi expressionlessly pushed open the door and pulled Nero inside.

"Don't think that just because you're the emperor I won't beat you."

Tsugumi raised her fist in front of her and threatened her.

"But how can I suppress this overwhelming love?" Nero blinked, her confession overflowing with passion.

"I love you, Tsurugi, my star. Not just because of your looks, but also because of your character. Everything about you makes me love you so much."

"You are my star, my Juno. I can promise that I will love only you for the rest of my life!"

"So, marry me, Tsuruga, and together we'll raise the next emperor of our empire!!!"

Looking at the affectionately confessing emperor before her, Tsugumi covered her forehead and sighed for a moment, then said in a low voice...

"If you really want it, you can."

What could Dongjiang possibly lose? A lovely and beautiful adorable loli queen says she wants to marry you—that's something countless men dream of!

He was clearly a demon, clearly evil, yet he felt a non-existent sense of guilt because of it.

Is it because you vaguely guess what you'll do in the future? Or is it something else?

But Tsurugi didn't want to think too much about it; she figured she could just take it one step at a time.

"Really? Then I'll go back and announce it to all of Rome!!!"

Nero's eyes lit up, and he was very pleased.

“There’s no need.” Tsugumi raised her hand and placed it on Nero’s shoulder, speaking earnestly.

"I don't like grand displays, and—I hate titles like Empress, so let's just leave it at that!"

Tsugumi put forward his conditions: he could accept a common-law marriage, but he did not want to announce it publicly—he would never accept titles such as bride or empress!

Nero pouted, displeased, while Tsugumi pressed her advantage, saying...

"Then let me be the emperor and I'll agree!"

"Very well! I will go to the Senate and announce that you will be my emperor!"

Nero agreed almost without hesitation, leaving Tsugumi speechless.

The original plan was to break down the wall first by opening the window, but who knew he would actually break it down?

Hmmm, how did I, a Catholic saint, become a Roman emperor?

Is this legal?

I hope I won't be punished by heaven!

P.S.: I'll probably finish writing The Age of Gods in about three days, and then I'll start the Cup Battle to settle all the foreshadowing!

Changing styles doesn't stop the killing spree! : 169. Pigeon: Roman gods? Shine my shoes!

Although she was momentarily tempted, the thought of becoming an emperor made Dongjiang decline the offer.

Although he boasted about becoming the Galactic Emperor in the Gundam series, he actually delegated all the work to his subordinates and knew he didn't need to worry about such trivial matters, which is why he said that.

Moreover—even if Universal Century is a mess, it's still a future civilization, and it still has basic morality!

And what about the Roman Empire?

Anyway, even though Saint Dongjiang deliberately restrained himself from visiting Roman cities along the way, he still managed to visit at least 100,000 Romans.

To be emperor to this bunch of bastards who still live in a slave society?

The order Dongjiang gave on that first day was probably to commit suicide!

However, these words did appease Nero. Although he was unhappy, Nero decided to sort out the affairs of state first.

Although the Great Purge and secret police rule temporarily calmed the situation in Rome and improved the lives of ordinary people, Rome still had many problems that needed to be solved.

One of the most crucial issues was how to resolve the problem of the Romans' lack of religious space.

Although Dongjiang had successfully captured the priests of the Pantheon, there were still a large number of believers in the Roman gods among the common people.

These people might not be able to do good deeds, but they're absolutely capable of doing bad deeds!

Moreover, maintaining popular rule relies heavily on the space provided by religious beliefs. Talking about science with ordinary people who can't read a single word but may have actually seen all sorts of strange things is just asking for trouble.

If we don't fill the void of faith in these people, something bad will happen sooner or later!

Dongjiang didn't really care much about them. After all, their god was gone, so how much trouble could this bunch of good-for-nothings cause?

But if we treat this as a serious matter and get it done, we can use it to appease Nero—so let's do it!

Dongjiang would never admit that he actually has some fear of marriage.

And just then, Tsugumi found someone who could handle the matter perfectly well!

"You are Peter? Yu Zhixingchen recommended you to me!"

Perched high above, Nero looked down with disdain at the calm old man dressed in linen, slightly raising his chin and speaking in a proud voice.

"I've heard that you Christians are arrogant atheists?"

The concept of atheists in this era is roughly equivalent to modern flat-earth theorists.

St. Peter glanced at Tsurugi, who was watching the commotion, sighed almost imperceptibly, and then calmly said...

“Your Majesty, we are messengers who shepherd the sheep in place of our Lord. We are not atheists, but we do not wish to believe in the clay statues on the altar, nor do we wish to engage in idol worship.”

“My Lord has said, ‘You shall not make for yourself an image, nor make in any likeness of anything in heaven above, or on the earth beneath, or in the waters below. There is no other god but my Lord.’”

Nero's eyebrows shot up, and she immediately retorted with a cold laugh.

"Are you questioning the existence of Rome? We, the ancestor of the gods, Romulus, are the son of Mars, the god of war! Raised by a she-wolf, we founded Rome on the Seven Hills—this is a fact!"

“All gods except my Lord are illusions, and have already passed away,” St. Peter said calmly, twirling the rosary in his hands.

"The existence that Rome worshipped has long since returned to the stars, and even when they walked among men, they were like a mist or an illusion before my Lord."

"Arrogant!!!"

Nero was furious and immediately prepared to order that all of these arrogant Christians be given a hundred lashes!

But Tsuruga stepped in to smooth things over, but instead of separating the two, he laid his cards on the table.

"Stop fucking arguing, neither of you can be helped by God!"

Tsurugi gave both of them the middle finger without any politeness and sneered.

"First and foremost, Nero! Don't argue with me, I know your ancestor Romulus's situation better than you do!"

“You say he is the son of Mars, the god of war, and the beautiful princess Silvia, and I don’t deny that; he was indeed worshipped as a god. But when he created and transformed Rome, he was no longer a god!”

"That old man is right. None of the kings who established countries on the continent after the Age of Gods faded away were gods. Romulus and your Rome both belong to the possibility of civilizations created by humans who broke away from the Age of Gods!"