Chapter 358
Chapter 358
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: crow
Chapter Title: EP.75 – The Cog Declares (5)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Just one meter.
It was the distance between the king and Lee Han, close enough that a single large step would bring him right up to the king.
And in that silent meter, the soldiers and knight attendants shouted all at once.
"You insolent cur!"
"How dare you assume such safety!"
"To insult His Majesty! Where have we ever seen such a vile—"
The king's loyal retainers immediately threatened the knight, drawing spears and swords to surround him with murderous intent.
However, their clamor...
"From now on—"
Shaaaa...
Crack...!
Kwajik!
"—you'd better think carefully before opening your mouths."
"………."
...quieted down silently, and swiftly.
No, they were forced to shut their mouths.
Why?
"………."
Tremble...
...They were utterly overwhelmed.
Not just them—the entire group that had been roaring moments ago now clamped their jaws shut, their bodies shaking.
Not only them. Everyone who heard his voice froze in place, trembling uncontrollably, their faces paling as they stiffened.
"...Lion's Roar, right?"
His disciples knew what their master had done.
But it was different from the usual Lion's Roar.
Just yesterday, it had been a thunderous shout to suppress foes, but now he had unleashed it simply by infusing his voice with sheer presence.
And even without the shout, its power was far from ordinary.
Glass cups shattered, cracks spiderwebbed across the walls, and the air grew oppressively heavy...
It was as if one man's aura alone dominated the entire banquet hall, with some nobles unable even to breathe properly.
Whoosh—
The next moment, the aura vanished in the blink of an eye.
However, more people would feel this as a silent warning rather than consideration.
As if to prove it.
"There won't be a second time."
He made it clear, and not a soul among them dared contradict or resist his words.
In less than two minutes, he had seized control of the surroundings, and he looked up at the king once more.
The king still gazed down from his throne, but somehow...
"From now on, I'll ask the questions. If you lie, my patience will vanish from that point on. So you'd better answer well."
"……."
"No answer? Fine, 10% of my patience is gone."
"!!?"
...it created the optical illusion that the knight looking up held the advantage.
* * *
...King Edmund's eyes shook madly.
It was no exaggeration to call it pupil earthquake, and his knees seemed to tremble faintly too.
No matter how far he had mastered Fighting Technique, he couldn't possibly withstand a knight who surpassed even a Champion...
A Status Window-certified [Hero Class] at Lv. 8.
The gap between them was like that between a pup and a war chariot.
However...
"I... I have no idea what you're talking about..."
Edmund was a king.
Not just any petty king's—he was the sovereign of Pendragon, the great power dominating the southern continent!
As long as he possessed the dignity, pride, self-esteem, and sense of responsibility befitting a king, Edmund had to stand tall, with the spirit to match.
Though far weaker than this knight, King Edmund opened his mouth with regal bearing.
"Lee Han Turtle. I don't know what misunderstanding has led you to this insolence, but what you're doing now is no different from treason."
Some might admire it.
Even against someone far stronger, he didn't back down and boldly questioned what needed questioning.
This was something even a knight would acknowledge...
"—First question. Do you admit to 'sponsoring' the Blood Crusaders—those fanatic bastards—for 30 years?"
"……."
"I'm asking if you admit it."
...Far from admitting, the knight looked at the king like filth, and though the king felt humiliated by that gaze, something even more horrific than humiliation was...
"Wh-what are you saying!!"
Blood Crusaders.
An accusation that he had sponsored the force that had ravaged the capital multiple times, inflicting massive damage.
The king shouted in bewilderment.
Where did such nonsense come from!
But even at that reaction.
"I asked. Is it true you sponsored them?"
The knight remained nonchalant.
No—chillingly cold.
As if demanding only answers to his questions.
"Kuh!"
King Edmund felt humiliation and shame, but in the end.
"...I did not sponsor them. I have no idea what nonsense you're spouting."
He answered.
For now, preserving his life was the way...
"A lie."
"!!"
"Next question. Did you perhaps kill the War God?"
"What are you saying right now!!!!"
A roar incomparable to anything before echoed out.
The War God—King Edmund's brother, the sole sovereign comparable to the great Knight King.
And now, accused of killing him?
"There are things you can say and things you can't! How dare you utter such words!!"
"……."
"You scum! Trying to deceive me..."
"I see. So you didn't kill the War God. But strangely, it's not the full truth either. You didn't contribute to his death, but you know some hidden circumstances."
"………."
"Next question. Did you collaborate with the Brass Knights?"
"……."
"No, not collaboration—you gave them orders? Are you perhaps Torn Wing?"
"...Go on, spout whatever you like!"
King Edmund plopped down on his throne, refusing to respond to such drivel.
As if to say, babble all you want.
He now looked weary, even tired of responding.
To others, it seemed the king was being unilaterally oppressed, and sympathetic glances spread toward him...
"...Well, your vessel isn't fit for a king anyway. So you have to resort to cheap tricks just to barely play the part."
"……."
...King Edmund's expression hardened astonishingly.
Even seeing it plainly, Lee Han continued with words ambiguous as evaluation or question.
"I saw you for the first time today and judged you like this. Not bad—outwardly utterly ordinary, but with backbone. You can put on a decent show, seize the mood. Probably put in a lot of effort... But 'exactly' that. At best, your vessel could barely manage a county. Underestimating more, village head would fit perfectly."
Grind...
"Ah, don't misunderstand—I'm not insulting village heads by saying that. Villages have tons of work, tons of mediation; ruling one is tough. So I'm evaluating you fairly high. Just saying you're not fit to rule a nation."
"...Enough."
"Pendragon blood lives long, so experience might compensate for your vessel. But still, you can't rule a great power like this. Your effort style is that of a mid-sized merchant guild master."
"Shut up!"
"Position makes the man, but only to a degree. Some seats are beyond one's capacity. In other words..."
Bang!!
"I said stop!!"
King Edmund bellowed in rage.
His face flushed beet red with fury, his eyes gleaming with venomous hatred.
A ferocious demon.
A terrifying expression, but the knight merely shrugged.
"I pity you, King Edmund. But that doesn't mean forgiveness. You're the one who sponsored and revived the subversive force your brother the War God crushed, and put my people in danger."
"No! I said no! Why do you keep slandering me!!!"
"Right. Definitely can't slander without evidence."
"Finally saying something sensible! Without evidence, how dare you—"
"What if there is?"
"......What?"
"What if there's evidence?"
"……."
"I'm asking what you'll do."
"………."
...King Edmund suddenly fell silent.
As if overwhelmed by the knight's defiant, provocative gaze.
No, beyond overwhelmed, it was like...
"...Feels like looking at a kid caught lying."
Someone's murmur.
But strangely, it rang in everyone's ears, clearly heard, and utterly relatable.
Though he composed his face, at the mention of evidence, they had seen it.
On King Edmund's face...
'A crack.'
The "oh no" expression of someone brazenly lying, caught red-handed.
...Nobles couldn't survive without sharp eyes, and a tiny crack was enough to spark suspicion.
* * *
'I hear it well, it comes through clear.'
Invisible to others, but every time Lee Han spoke, he heard what King Edmund uttered with his whole body.
He heard his heartbeat, smelled the scents of truth and lies he emitted.
Truly...
'An honest fellow.'
If it were people he knew, it wouldn't be like this.
Isis, Duke Blake, or Grand Duke Magnus...
Against those rulers, he wouldn't panic so pathetically at this crude pressure tactic, nor let his emotions slip.
Even if told there was evidence, absolutely not.
That's why Lee Han found it amusing.
What confidence allowed such brazen lies?
Shwick!
"Getting flustered over flimsy evidence like this—why even commit the blunder?"
What Lee Han pulled out and carelessly spread on the floor was none other than a ledger.
A ledger filled with countless records.
"This ledger details how, over the past 30 years, the money you secretly circulated flowed all the way to the Blood Crusaders. Tracing these records would make uncovering your connection to them simple enough."
"……."
"I've got a few more pieces of evidence like this?"
"……."
"Still acting tough? Not bad. Fine, I'll give you a chance."
Swipe—
As if offering an escape or mercy, Lee Han pointed behind the king with a finger.
There was.
"The White Silver Dragon and the Knight King, Avalon, fairies and mystery. Swear on all of it. That 'I have never spoken a falsehood.'"
A painting.
A sacred, noble depiction of the White Silver Dragon and fairies heading to Avalon with the Knight King.
Not mere legend or myth, but great beings that existed and might still.
And swearing on them with impurity meant eternal torment even in death...
"—That damned [mystery]..!"
Sizzle!
King Edmund hurled his staff violently at the painting behind him.
"!!!"
The people gasped in shock.
At the damage to the painting from the king's staff.
But King Edmund ignored it all.
Simply...
"If that's the case, you should've made me swear on the mystery from the start... Why humiliate me like this...!"
"Mystery isn't omnipotent. Plenty of ways to wriggle out. Besides, for mystery to act, there needs to be a 'process' backing the 'truth.' Namely, performance—like you always did."
"...Heh, sly one, unlike your looks."
"You're playing the fool as you look."
"……."
Crunch!
King Edmund gnashed his teeth, glaring at Lee Han, who met the gaze nonchalantly.
And King Edmund.
"...Fine. I did it."
Step!
King Edmund stepped forward.
"I sponsored them! I sponsored the force my revered brother crushed! I revived them! And collaborated!!"
Spitting venom like curses, Edmund approached right up to Lee Han's nose, unleashing his rage.
At the "insolent traitor" who had exposed his "truth."
"You insolent wretch! Traitor! My knight! Subject of my kingdom, and you commit this outrage! Why? Because they call you a hero, do you think you're one? Planning to play the hero, is that it!!!"
Poke poke!
Poking Lee Han's chest, King Edmund provoked him.
"But do you think you can punish me?! I am Pendragon! King of Pendragon! Do you think a mere knight like you can punish me just because you've uncovered the truth?!"
Yes, he was Edmund Julian de Pendragon.
The 31st sovereign of Pendragon.
Even with crimes, no judge could punish him.
Even if all nobles condemned him, would they drag him to prison?
"That's reality! There's nowhere that can punish me!!"
Edmund declared boldly, gazing provocatively at the knight.
At the knight who could do nothing, standing powerless...
"—When did I say I'd judge you by law?"
"......?"
"I said it from the start."
Poke.
"There might be a chance I'd rip out your tongue first."
...He showed no anger, no wronged expression.
He simply looked at Edmund like a yapping mad dog, gently grabbing his collar.
Grip!
"But maybe save the tongue for last. Let's start lightly with the molars."
"???"
"Don't grit. They'll come out anyway."
Edmund's body dangled slightly in the air, flailing futilely.
Truly gently gripped, yet no matter how he struggled, he couldn't break free, and thus...
Whoosh!
"Wai, just... "
Smack!
......he was precisely slapped across the cheek.
Plink—
A molar fell trivially to the floor, rolling.
But.
"Still 31 left."
"...!!?!!"
There were still many teeth to extract.