Chapter 90
Chapter 90
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 90
Chapter Title: The Stirring Viper
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As usual, Duke visited Grace's embassy.
'The holy knights should be returning soon...'
He had been in close contact with Peter, who said they would arrive in the capital in about three days.
'Once the holy knights are back, it won't be easy to play Go every day.'
Right now, there were no prying eyes, and the escort duty provided a perfect excuse for daily visits, but that would all end when the holy knights returned.
'Go was fun, though.'
Duke loved the adrenaline rush and blood-soaked battlefields, but he also enjoyed Go as a reminder of those fields.
In that sense, his matches with Grace had been thoroughly enjoyable.
'Everyone around me plays Go so boringly.'
He knew Peter well from a century of games, but his moves were terribly predictable.
-"Textbook moves again."
-"Basics are the best."
-"What good are basics if I already know how to counter them?"
-"You're the only one in heaven and earth who grasps my basics, so I just won't make you my enemy."
'A guy who follows the art of war playbook even on the battlefield.'
That was why Go with Peter had grown tiresome.
He occasionally played with Hana.
But sadly, it was even less fun than with Peter.
-"This is Go."
-"I know, my lord. I'm not confusing it with reality."
-"Then why won't you abandon this house?"
-"Well... it's a shame to lose it..."
She hated taking losses, which made her easy to read and even less enjoyable.
'Of course, anything with Hana is fun.'
But that wasn't about the Go being fun.
Finally, Rex.
'The guy plays like a Go addict.'
After one or two games with human AlphaGo Rex, he never wanted to play again.
-"Uh... isn't that move dangerous...? Let me give you a handicap."
-"Then this..."
-"You counter like this. Game over in 50 moves. Want a rematch?"
-"...How about this?"
-"Uh... bottom-left corner falls in 47 moves? Rematch? Hey, Duke? You're not mad, right?"
One mistake, and Rex would meticulously detail every step of Duke's impending defeat afterward.
For the record, anyone who had played even once with Rex never touched Go again.
'That's why Grace is great.'
Games with Grace were ever-changing.
While regular Go players avoided bad moves assuming rational opponents, she preferred gambling on psychology.
Like a gambler throwing down a bold bet, trusting in your trust in her.
When a seemingly bad move suddenly became brilliant, a thrill ran through Duke's mind.
Then Duke would counter by betting on psychology over logic.
Their win ratio ended up about 3 to 7.
(The 7 being Duke, for reference.)
'Not stable, but a strategist who strikes vital points.'
Especially when facing her mad charging strategy of "just repay in kind," Duke nearly burst out laughing on the spot.
'What an interesting woman.'
How bored must she have been in the Holy Kingdom with that mind?
In the Providence Kingdom, she could throw those gambles freely.
'After I crush the Holy Kingdom, maybe make her my strategist.'
Duke preferred strategists like Grace over commanders like Rex who eliminated all variables for perfect victories.
Big win if it worked; if not, exchange blood and figure it out.
Either way, pure catharsis.
With such thoughts, Duke prepared for today's match.
'First, the code.'
Serious games began after exchanging codes.
With that in mind, Duke reached for a black stone.
He took black to set the tone for the story he wanted to tell.
But something felt off today.
'What is it?'
He looked at her unveiled face.
The platinum blonde beauty wore her usual faint smile.
Duke lacked the skill to read minds from faces, so he gleaned nothing from hers.
But,
'The code is weird?'
It felt awkwardly edited mid-sentence.
He wanted to ask via code, but it was her turn to speak, so Duke quietly focused on the board.
While picking up the black stone and conveying the code.
Behind her mask of a smile, Grace wrestled with conflict.
'I don't want to follow the Holy King's orders.'
She recalled the command to seduce Duke.
'He doesn't even know my feelings yet... this is too much.'
To her, love was a profoundly noble emotion.
Beyond faith, heavy and pure.
Having begun taking interest in solar good deeds, the word felt too weighty to utter just because she'd been helped a few times.
At best, it was a flutter; "fated one" felt awkward.
It wasn't enough to paralyze reason, abandon human duty and conscience, or even cover her hatred for the Holy Kingdom.
'Blocking the Holy King's ambitions is the right thing, isn't it.'
Burying her bitterness deep, she picked up a stone.
In her conflict, the code sentence had only reached midway.
[A new order has arrived from the Holy Kingdom. Seduce and cloud your vision. Cooperate and play along.]
Normally, completing the board like this would make:
[Play along to deceive the Holy Kingdom.]
She hastily edited it into a negation.
Adding a [Negation] note at the end.
In human terms,
[Play along. Not]
Something awkwardly like that.
"I concede defeat."
= End of sentence.
She bowed to Duke.
Duke took in the board and bowed as well.
"Good game."
Her chest ached as she exchanged greetings with Duke.
Scolding herself as selfish for wanting him to understand her feelings.
A few days passed.
The holy knights finally arrived in the capital, and Duke and his knights handed over escort duties.
During the process, a slight altercation occurred.
"You accommodated all of this?"
"That's right."
"Tch."
"Any issues?"
"Issues? Of course there are. You're not saying the Honor Guard doesn't know the importance of safety and dignity in scheduling, are you? Your protection policy isn't just indulging the king's whims, is it?"
"?"
For Hedonius, leading the protection team, the holy knight captain's words made no sense.
Common sense: If the king wants something, squeeze out safety however you can.
Scheduling was for aides; the Honor Guard just followed orders.
But the captain's attitude didn't change.
Hedonius nearly let slip his tongue while handing over, barely recovering.
- 'A free religion that changes names freely must treat saints like disposable goods too, huh? No different from objects.'
Hedonius trapped his tongue behind clenched teeth.
Unlike the other two vulgar captains, he was a cultured, intellectual scholar.
Of course. He couldn't stoop to those maniacs' level.
Afterward, Hedonius maintained perfect courtesy till the end.
But before leaving the room, he had to say it.
"In the Providence Kingdom, watch your tongue. They say the sun hears daytime words, and the moon hears nighttime ones."
The dark elf left with a grin.
Alone, the holy knight captain propped his legs on the desk and clicked his tongue.
"Nosy. But what to do with this."
He massaged his furrowed brow, as if preempting fatigue.
"Tch tch. Habits all gone bad."
"Who?"
"...Nothing. Lord Awik."
The holy knight straightened in his chair at the voice behind him.
He didn't ask how or when he entered.
He hadn't forgotten the chilling telekinetic touch from the crystal orb.
Creeeak.
Duke slowly walked from behind the captain to the opposite chair.
Sitting across.
"A question."
"Ask away, my lord."
"How valuable is the saintess to you?"
"Worth trading for half the Holy Kingdom."
Note: Not "all," because of the Holy King.
Exceeding half would imply she's more precious than him.
And this was the captain's true heart.
She was the Holy Kingdom's totem.
Her tours guaranteed good harvests that year.
Even in the harsh northern continent.
Seeming to grasp this sincerity, Duke nodded.
"Then I'll ask again. If I demand the saintess, will you oppose me?"
"Pardon?"
A piece of intel flashed in the captain's mind.
Duke was deeply smitten with the saintess, and the Holy King had ordered seduction.
The captain's mission: Confirm she was seducing Duke well.
'That woman. She was doing it right.'
On one hand, such thoughts.
But also,
'Acting all noble while playing me perfectly.'
Sneering inwardly at the saintess, the captain focused on Duke.
"Uh... does that mean...?"
"I want her. Must I explain?"
"No, of course. Haha. But, as you know, I'm just a mere captain..."
The captain's neck grew damp.
His mission was only to check her seduction.
No authority over her disposal.
If the Holy King planned to give her to Duke for Opfir's body, he could assure it.
- "Of course! The Holy Kingdom will rejoice!"
Taking credit as if his efforts matched them.
But the Holy King had no such plans.
The totem saintess was too valuable for the second-in-command of a fledgling kingdom, not even a hegemon.
'Unless this kingdom becomes an empire in the future.'
Unless the oracle next month declared Providence an empire, no way.
'What now.'
Thus, Duke's question put the captain in a tough spot.
Yes meant purge by Holy King.
No risked Duke's wrath.
Finally, as a beleaguered middle manager, he earnestly explained.
After 10 minutes of persuasion, Duke nodded.
"Sorry. Might have been too much to ask you."
The captain sighed in relief.
Then.
The space around them began to warp.
"Huh?"
As the knight panicked at the sudden dungeonization, Duke continued.
"Our conversation was well transmitted to the Holy King."
A chill ran down the captain's spine.
Not fear of Duke noticing.
Embassies tacitly allowed spying.
So being caught wasn't scary.
What terrified him: Inducing dungeonization to block Holy King contact.
After the conversation ended.
Cold sweat beaded on his forehead.
"Forgive me! I'll do everything to unite you and the saintess..."
"Wrong context."
In the distorting space.
Duke grabbed the captain's throat.
"Did you think I wouldn't know your thoughts? Being here distracts, making oversights easy. But if I lost priorities that badly, I wouldn't be in this seat."
'N-No way, from the start...'
The flailing captain, throat constricted.
Duke tightened his grip as he spoke.
"By the way, you're quite dense. If I truly admired the saintess, did you think I'd stay silent after that insult?"
"Guh... I..."
"Thanks. You handed me perfect justification to remove you. But I can't yield your seat to the empire."
'?'
Before questioning "empire," Duke snapped the knight's neck.
Handling it in the warped space.
Returning to reality, Duke muttered at the corpse.
"You needed an apology, not excuses."
Unlike his cloaked entry, he openly exited the room.
Showing himself to all in the embassy as he left.
Only in the carriage did he relax a bit.
'Wanted to monologue villain-style to a doomed target once.'
Of course, compromised for reality by isolating the space.
Practical and romantic, Duke nodded contentedly.
'A month till the new captain. Back to relaxed Go.'
Praising himself for never dropping guard as the final boss.
Unaware of the single platinum blonde strand by the door.
The next day.
[Our escort representative died in an unfortunate incident. Please send new knights.]
A somewhat rude document arrived at the Holy Kingdom.
Everyone knew Duke killed the captain.
Yet the Holy Kingdom didn't protest, gladly sending a new one.
"Losing a Rank 6 hurts a bit, but tolerable."
On his sunlit throne, the Holy King nodded pleased.
It meant Duke was that hooked on the saintess.
"Good. Send a new captain. Who's available?"
"The deceased was Earth Knight Order captain. Among Dominion-blessed captains, we can send Swiftness or Hunt."
"Good. Swiftness it is."
"Understood."
Discussion done, the Holy King changed topics.
"By the way, the oracle?"
"Ready in a month."
"Yes. Dragon veins recovered well. Curious what it'll say after so long."
The Holy King and his high priests smiled.
Believing unwaveringly in their happy future.