Chapter 16
Chapter 16
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: Guardians in the Castle
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"Ah, Father.
This is Knight North, who's taken over as my new guard in place of Knight Trey."
When Sion introduced the knight who had followed him in, Margrave Lichten tilted his head.
"Hm?
Didn't Knight North say he was retiring from knighthood and returning to the countryside?"
"Actually, I sent someone to ask if he could serve as my guard knight just a bit longer."
"...Well, even if it was his hometown, he had no family or acquaintances there.
Welcome back, Knight North."
"Ah, thank you.
Your Excellency, Margrave."
Knight North, who had been staring at Kim Yu-hyun, bowed his head in gratitude at Margrave Lichten's words.
Even so, he kept stealing glances at Kim Yu-hyun, shooting him strange looks.
"Young Lord Sion."
"Lucia, you've arrived as well."
Lucia greeted him first with a bright smile.
Sion welcomed her with a smile of his own, and as a result, Raido smacked his lips with a sour expression.
No matter how much he adored his daughter—and no matter that the rumors didn't do justice to the young man's excellence—from a father's perspective, it was still far from ideal.
Assuming all fathers with daughters felt the same way, Raido spoke up.
"Anyway, I came to ask your opinion, Lichten, on having my disciple stay in the castle until we're certain it's safe, given the odd happenings at the temple that could spill over to the castle."
"?"
"If you're willing to do that, I'd actually be grateful.
But wouldn't that leave you handling the temple investigation alone? Is that alright?"
"It was always just me anyway.
My disciple's hopeless with academics and no help at all there.
The temple business is plenty for me solo."
"?"
While Raido and Margrave Lichten talked, Sion and Knight North exchanged glances, both floating question marks.
Surely the 'temple' they meant wasn't the one they were thinking of.
"Father."
Suddenly, Lucia poked Raido's side.
Raido let out an "Ahh" of realization and pointed to his daughter sitting beside him.
"And since we'll need a capable mage too, my daughter plans to stay here as well.
She's not quite at my level, but excellent at detecting traces or remnants of mana."
"?"
The situation grew stranger by the minute.
Having Kim Yu-hyun stay in the castle was unexpected enough, but now Lucia too?
As Sion floundered in confusion over what was unfolding—
Margrave Lichten spoke up with a faint smile, as if it were all working out perfectly.
"My son mentioned something related to your disciple anyway.
Truth be told, I was planning to ask for his aid in the upcoming war with the Nudia Kingdom."
"My disciple?"
"Yes.
My son was looking forward to it, saying he'd be a huge help in battle."
"Hm.
Your son has a good eye for people.
Your disciple really is a perfect killing machine—hard to believe he's even human."
"...Hearing that from his master is a bit awkward."
Kim Yu-hyun, who could take on hundreds or thousands with a single sword, and Raido, who once pulverized regular knights like fruit with his bare fists.
With those two monsters trading casual jokes, only Lucia could laugh.
"Um, Father?
And Master Raido?"
Sion interjected carefully.
Margrave Lichten asked if he had something to say, and Sion glanced alternately at Kim Yu-hyun and Lucia before speaking.
"I don't know exactly what happened, but is this serious enough that both of you need to stay in the castle?"
"What are you talking about, Sion?"
"Even if I don't mind, the territory's knights might see it as distrusting them—bringing in outsiders to handle guard duties."
"Hm...
You're right. Bringing in an outside investigator without a word to the Knight Commander could come off as disrespectful to him."
"The family mages too.
Not that it's dismissing Lucia or Master Raido's disciple—
I mean, Kim Yu-hyun—but if it feels like a rolling stone displacing the ones already here, it could shake things up internally in an instant, no?"
Margrave Lichten nodded repeatedly, agreeing with Sion's point.
Raido said nothing but sipped his tea, clearly having worried about the same issue.
"Young Lord Sion."
Breaking the silence wasn't Kim Yu-hyun, but Lucia across from him.
"I understand your concern.
But the situation's quite grave, so it can't be helped.
And it's not something that should spread to many people anyway."
"Lucia's right, kid.
We were keeping the temple investigation secret—just me, my daughter, and the disciple.
To be precise, the disciple just stood around keeping watch without doing much."
"Checking the surroundings is the most important part, Master."
"You never let up, you bastard.
Anyway!
This is for you, your father, everyone in this castle, and all the territory's people."
*That energy leaking from the temple feels like it's sitting right next to me, though.*
Sion snuck a sidelong glance at Knight North—or rather, Lilriet—standing beside him.
He recalled their conversation before entering the drawing room.
*...Hey, you fucker.
Are you insane?*
The portrait Sion showed was of a middle-aged man, not a woman.
Lilriet reacted with disbelief, but Sion remained nonchalant.
*He left at dawn today.
He hasn't gone far, so you can catch up, Lilriet.*
*What?
You want me to kill him?*
*No.
Just mind control him to hole up quietly somewhere for a while.
If it's not about stealing mana, that's easy, right?*
*It's not that easy!
It's just less draining.
But why a man of all things!
There were plenty of women around!
I could turn into one of them!*
*No.*
*Why!*
*A reformed guy with a woman on his arm? What would people think?*
And with Lucia here.
Recalling the warm gaze she'd sent him last time, Sion had a bad feeling that parading another woman in front of her would spell trouble.
To be exact, not Lucia causing it—but her father, Raido—with intense certainty.
*This is nuts.
In my succubus life, turning into a man—and a middle-aged one at that—is a first.*
*So?*
*Skinny build, chubby build, short woman, tall woman.
Married woman, or even a child...*
*Stop.
That's enough.*
Sion shut Lilriet up and urged her to get started.
With a sigh, Lilriet slipped out of the room, caught up to the knight who hadn't gone far, mind-controlled him, and implanted a suggestion to help out quietly in some remote spot.
With no family or friends, he wouldn't raise suspicions for a few days.
*But Sion.
Does this change anything?*
*What?*
*It's just a few days' delay.
I have to stay by your side forever—how's fooling people for a bit supposed to work?
Especially in this shriveled old man's body.*
*Don't worry.
I've got it all planned.*
Lilriet had no choice but to trust Sion's utterly confident attitude, scratching her cheek.
And so, having swiftly handled it and transformed into Knight North, Lilriet entered the drawing room with Sion.
*...Turns out Raido, Kim Yu-hyun, and Lucia were investigating the temple.*
In the original novel plot, Sion Klauser's idiocy would sour relations with not just Lucia but Kim Yu-hyun and the Klauser territory.
Raido probably overlooked it once for Margrave Lichten's sake but would have resented Sion.
Naturally, the trio would leave the Klauser Margraviate immediately, and the temple would stay forgotten until a Nudia Kingdom knight discovered it later.
*The story's already veering off a bit.*
But the big picture remained unchanged.
The war would happen anyway, and Kim Yu-hyun would join it.
Just that Sion Klauser himself was enlisting too.
*My goal is survival, not following the plot.
Stay within the broad strokes as much as possible, but stack as many cards as I can in the details!*
While kingdoms warred and racial alliances assaulted the demonkin with fearsome momentum, the continent's true enemy sharpened its blade from the shadows.
And when humans, demons, and other races alike lay exhausted, the attack began.
Those who wasted their strength elsewhere had only blood, tears, and death left.
*The others can take it in the back of the head, but not me.
I'll smash the skulls of those plotting betrayal first.*
Over a year remained until that day.
It was tight for perfect preparation, but not impossible.
Powerful novel characters who would later turn blades on the protagonist were still out there somewhere, living.
If he could recruit them all to his side, survival wouldn't be hard.
Even if the world ended tomorrow, he'd defend his land and tend his apple orchard.
Then sell the apples from it at premium prices to the miraculously surviving fools!
That was Sion's cherished "wisdom for surviving a brutal world."
"If that's what you want, Master Raido, go ahead.
But there will come a time when we need Kim Yu-hyun's strength.
When that happens..."
"Do whatever you want.
Roast him, fry him, boil him—I won't stop you."
*Would Kim Yu-hyun really sit still for that?* Sion wondered.
But he just smiled along with Margrave Lichten.
"Margrave."
Kim Yu-hyun, who had been quietly listening, finally addressed Margrave Lichten.
"When do we deploy?"
"To attack when the enemy nears the border after leaving the territory, two days from now at dawn would be ideal.
And to prevent leaks, I'll lead only the handpicked elite troops."
"I see.
Forgive my rudeness, but allow me to say this:
When battle breaks out, stay as far from me as possible.
Soldiers or knights could get caught in the crossfire needlessly."
It was a boast bordering on arrogance, yet no one laughed.
Sion knew Kim Yu-hyun's swordsmanship better than anyone, and Raido and Margrave Lichten both acknowledged his strength.
"I'll keep that in mind.
But first, there's something I'd like to confirm."
"If it's something you wish to verify."
"As Sion said, the frontier is a closed-off place by nature.
The locals don't always look kindly on sudden outsiders."
"..."
"So how about a light spar with my knights this afternoon?
Show them your skills, and they won't breathe a word about outsiders again."
A light spar.
Kim Yu-hyun smiled with interest.
But to Sion, that grin looked like a demon pondering, *Should I wreck them all?*
Praying no territory knights died, Sion offered a silent prayer.
"Not a bad idea."
"Then we'll prepare accordingly.
Ah, as for Miss Lucia..."
"Don't worry about that.
I'll tell them she's my daughter."
"...But secrets could leak. Are you sure?"
"Those who want to die will wag their tongues; those who want to live will shut up forever.
Among the mages in the Hispanya Kingdom, there's none bold enough to ignore my warning."
Raido's smile landed like a cold dagger.
Sion involuntarily swallowed dryly.
Even if mages were all a screw loose, none would dare speak carelessly under that murderous grin.
"Then just ready the knights.
As for numbers..."
"Margrave."
At Kim Yu-hyun's call, Margrave Lichten looked at him inquiringly.
Kim Yu-hyun slowly turned, gazing toward Sion as he continued.
"I'd like to face off against that man once."
"Hm?"
"Eh?"
The one Kim Yu-hyun pointed to was none other than Sion.
No—Knight North standing beside him, disguised as Lilriet.