Chapter 297
Chapter 297
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 297
Chapter Title: Suspicious Traces
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“……Are you willing to stake your neck on it?”
Ban Slaine asked.
It was a way of asking how certain he was of the words he had just spoken.
Diarok chuckled.
“Not quite to the point of staking my neck.”
To be honest, he was still on the fence.
What he had sensed wasn’t demonic energy.
It was an energy of a form and feel he had never encountered before.
A chaos that perfectly matched the name ‘Chaos World’—chaos itself.
And yet, Diarok had felt traces of the Demon King within that unfamiliar energy.
Of course, if asked to explain precisely, he couldn’t pinpoint it.
“Then you’d best watch your words. You wouldn’t want to cause unnecessary misunderstandings.”
“This is the first time I’m mentioning it to you, Viscount. I do have my own thoughts on the matter.”
When Ban Slaine warned him with a stern expression, Diarok casually said something that would have shocked the nobles of Lennistant.
“I just had my suspicions, so I wanted to stick around and confirm them for myself.”
“Hmm……”
Ban Slaine’s eyes narrowed.
He had discovered traces of the Demon King in Seowujin?
It was nonsense.
How many Apostles had died at Seowujin’s hands so far?
How many times had he thwarted the plans of the Demon King’s followers?
Considering that, Seowujin was the perfect candidate for the Demon King’s greatest adversary.
‘…It’s not that nothing bothers me.’
Ban Slaine recalled a few puzzling things he had sensed from Seowujin.
Like how Drakus, who had suddenly appeared during the Northern Subjugation, had suddenly frozen up, or his growth rate that was far too rapid for a D-grade ‘Sword Soldier.’
‘That boy is definitely hiding something.’
But it couldn’t be related to the Demon King as Diarok claimed.
If it were, Seowujin wouldn’t be fighting the Apostles so aggressively now.
“So, have you learned anything?”
“Not yet.”
Diarok shrugged.
All he had confirmed while following Seowujin around was that the man didn’t like him.
“I see.”
Ban Slaine nodded and pondered for a moment before speaking.
“Then how long do you plan to stay here?”
Diarok was a noble from another country.
One who stood above even a duke—a transcendent powerhouse.
From Sion’s perspective, he was an existence that couldn’t help but be burdensome.
Moreover, someone of that stature had ignored the royal family entirely and headed straight for Massive Guardian.
It was an action rife with potential problems.
It could even be interpreted as a slight against Sion’s king.
That was why Ban Slaine asked, his words laden with the hope that Diarok would leave soon.
“Well, I haven’t decided yet.”
He grinned.
“There are other heroes here too, aren’t there? Shouldn’t I meet them as well?”
It was an excuse.
A roundabout way of saying he had no intention of returning to Lennistant anytime soon.
Ban Slaine sighed inwardly upon realizing this.
‘This is going to be a headache.’
With a figure of this magnitude lingering at Massive Guardian, neither Sion’s royal family nor Lennistant would sit idly by.
He had a feeling things might get a bit complicated.
But he couldn’t force him out either.
After all, he wasn’t an enemy.
Ban Slaine had no choice but to accept his presence.
Of course, it wasn’t a simple permission.
“While you reside here, you are forbidden from causing any disturbances.”
“Of course. I’m not so lacking in manners that you need to worry.”
Ban Slaine nodded as he looked at Diarok, who smiled while speaking.
“That’s what I expect.”
It was a warning that if he caused trouble, he wouldn’t get off as easily as this time.
* * *
“Aaah-”
“I thought we’d get to rest today……”
“Urgh!”
The heroes were rolling on the ground.
Every one of them looked like they couldn’t even twitch a finger anymore.
Only one stood unscathed in the middle of the training grounds, looking down at them.
Seowujin.
“You’ve grown a lot in that short time.”
Seowujin looked genuinely surprised.
His words weren’t empty praise.
It had been less than twenty days.
His comrades hadn’t hunted a single monster during that time, so their levels remained the same.
‘And yet they’ve gotten stronger.’
He had expected it.
Seowujin himself had been pushed to the brink of death under Ban Slaine’s training.
But his comrades had exceeded even his expectations.
“We went through hell for it.”
“We had to get this strong just to break even, right?”
They had slept less than three hours a day and trained even while eating.
It was impossible not to grow.
Seowujin let out a hollow laugh at their words.
‘This guy’s gotten even harsher.’
It seemed Ban Slaine had devised a new training regimen based on his experience teaching Seowujin.
Since heroes had far superior recovery and stamina to ordinary people, he must have calculated he could push them harder.
It was brutal, but the results were undeniable.
Seowujin was impressed, after all.
“Shall we call it a day then?”
Even after sparring 9-to-1, Seowujin hadn’t broken a sweat. His comrades shook their heads and rose from their spots.
“We should wash up and regroup.”
Kang Byung-gyu groaned as he spoke, and Seowujin nodded.
“Yeah. Go wash off the sweat, rest a bit, and then we’ll meet up.”
At his words, his exhausted comrades trudged back to the barracks.
They were too drained to even exchange words of encouragement.
Seowujin smiled as he watched their retreating figures, then turned away.
He still had business to attend to.
‘Is he in his office?’
He needed to see Ban Slaine.
Diarok’s issue needed resolving, but more importantly, he had something to ask.
Seowujin headed toward where he sensed Ban Slaine’s energy.
‘They’re still talking?’
He could sense Diarok’s mana beside Ban Slaine, so their conversation must be dragging on.
“It’d be so much easier if I could just chase him off.”
Diarok’s constant hovering was stressing Seowujin out.
He hadn’t done anything major yet, but considering the guy’s past madness……
‘He could pull some crazy stunt anytime.’
That unease alone made him irritating enough.
Seowujin clicked his tongue inwardly as he walked and soon arrived near Ban Slaine’s office.
Knock knock-
“May I come in?”
After knocking and asking permission, a reply came from inside.
“Come in.”
Creak-
The door opened with a sharp screech from the rusted hinges, corroded by ice and frost.
“So, have you caught up with the kids?”
Ban Slaine asked with a warm smile.
“Thanks to you. They grew tremendously in that short time. Impressive.”
When Seowujin answered with admiration, Ban Slaine chuckled heartily.
“How could it be my doing? It’s all thanks to them keeping up.”
‘Hmm-’
His tone was kindly to a fault, but Seowujin felt a chill for some reason.
“You seem to have grown quite a bit yourself in the meantime.”
Ban Slaine said with a meaningful look.
“Ah, yes. I beheaded one Apostle.”
“Oh? Is that so?”
“His name was Mardetain.”
Seowujin gave Ban Slaine a brief rundown of recent events.
Since he had already told his comrades once, he could convey it more concisely and clearly.
“So that’s why Aier started the war.”
Ban Slaine’s expression darkened.
The war had ended without escalating too badly, but the damage hadn’t been light.
Thousands of soldiers, hundreds of priests, and holy knights had been sacrificed.
The biggest issue was that Aier had lost trust.
The Holy Kingdom, which should stand at the forefront against the Descent War, had been played by a Demon King follower.
The revelation shocked the entire continent, breeding suspicion and division.
It was bound to cause problems ahead.
“This is troubling.”
As a great noble of a kingdom himself, Ban Slaine could well imagine the fierce backlash this would bring.
“By the way, where is Sir Oyen?”
This time, Seowujin asked.
No one anticipated news from Aier more than Oyen.
Massive Guardian was so remote that information traveled slowly, so he must have been waiting eagerly for Seowujin.
Yet he still hadn’t shown himself.
“Ah, he went out on a subjugation with the garrison troops around the fortress.”
“…Subjugation?”
Seowujin tilted his head.
“I’m sure the monsters around here have been wiped clean.”
The first thing Seowujin and his comrades had done upon arriving north was hunt.
They had scoured the area so thoroughly that not even a shadow of a monster remained.
And yet there were monsters left to subjugate?
“A considerable number of monsters are swarming in from the south. It means the Demon King’s Descent is approaching.”
“Are there so many that even Aier’s forces have to step in?”
“Indeed.”
Ban Slaine nodded.
“Without them, we’d be in quite a bind.”
Seowujin’s expression grew serious.
“Looks like we’ll have to go hunting again.”
Monster subjugations were a nightmare for soldiers.
But not for Seowujin and the heroes.
It was an opportunity, really.
The more they hunted, the stronger they got.
“It’s exactly what I was going to ask of you.”
Ban Slaine brightened.
With the heroes stepping up, soldier casualties could be minimized.
From his position, there was no reason to refuse.
“We can’t go right now, but we’ll head out at first light tomorrow.”
“Do that. You need some rest too.”
He wanted to say they could rest a few days before moving, but the situation didn’t allow for that much leisure.
“Oh, and one more thing I’d like to ask.”
“What is it?”
Ban Slaine nodded as if to say ask away, and Seowujin glanced briefly at Diarok.
He was sipping hot tea, showing no interest whatsoever in their conversation.
Seowujin hesitated inwardly for a moment.
‘Whatever, it’s fine.’
After all, it was Diarok who had told him to ask Ban Slaine.
Seowujin spoke.
“How do I reconstruct a body?”