Chapter 99
Chapter 99
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 99
Chapter Title: Chapter 32 - Grand Banquet
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Luther tethered Schwarz in the stables—where massive seahorses and kelpies were housed—and followed the priests' guidance to the room that had become King Adon's new sick chamber.
Until now, King Adon's condition had been such a closely guarded secret that only key figures in the kingdom, like Queen Reina, Grand General Azrael, and Chief Priest Martriel, knew about it. But the situation had changed.
Thanks to Luther, King Adon had regained consciousness, so there was no longer any need to hide him away with various excuses.
"Thank you so much. Truly, thank you."
"Luther, sob, you are the, sob, benefactor of the kingdom."
No sooner had they arrived at King Adon's sickroom than Yoru and Iru, just like Queen Reina had done, burst into tears and expressed their gratitude to Luther.
"Thank you so much."
"Luther... thank you."
Aru hugged Luther's neck again, and Queen Reina also offered her thanks anew with a quiet smile.
Grand General Azrael and the chief priest expressed their gratitude as well.
[Master, for now, let's separate from Aru and get to talking.]
[We need to give a rough explanation for why we had to leave suddenly, and discuss how we'll receive our reward.]
Agreeing with Integra's sharp words, Luther gently pushed Aru away with Yoru's help and briefly discussed the upcoming schedule.
[So in conclusion, we'll head back to the capital on the surface and talk there.]
'We can't keep chatting in King Adon's sickroom.'
King Adon had regained consciousness, but he was still a patient.
It would take at least a day or two for the herbal medicine's effects to fully spread through his body.
[The royals won't want to leave the newly awakened King Adon alone either.]
'Exactly.'
So, to have a proper conversation with Queen Reina, it would have to wait until at least tomorrow morning.
"Then, we'll meet again tomorrow."
After bidding farewell to Queen Reina, Luther politely greeted the princesses as well and left King Adon's sickroom.
Integra then reappeared beside Luther in her mermaid form, swimming alongside him as she spoke.
[Master, how much longer do you plan to stay in the Malkuth Kingdom?]
With the Sky Citadel gone, the risk of the southern region being swept by tsunamis due to the ritual device had vanished as well.
Moreover, having defeated Lagros, the mid-tier vessel of the Hecatoncheires operating from the shadows, the south had effectively achieved results beyond the original story, just like the west.
But Luther still had plenty of unfinished business in the south before he could leave.
'How long will the nanomachine repairs take?'
Asking soundlessly so the escorting priests wouldn't hear, Integra pursed her lips briefly before replying.
[Full restoration of the nanosuit and Night Wing will take about 51 hours.]
[But factoring in parts fabrication for Schwarz and resupplying various provisions, we'll need at least 82 hours.]
Luther wasn't the only one battered in this battle.
The large drone—Air Striker—that Integra had operated separately was smashed, and they'd run out of pre-made energy packs and missile cartridges, so time for resupply was essential.
'And...'
Luther peered into Integra's face once more.
The other Integra.
The true power of Clairheim Morr that she had unlocked.
Integra had said that to use Clairheim Morr's true form, the Ultimate Form, an Ultimate Cube was required.
And given that the Ultimate Cube had been consumed in this battle, she had hypothesized that the cube itself was a consumable.
Integra's words were probably all true.
But that was where the story ended.
Integra didn't know how to reproduce the Ultimate Cube.
'I need the other Integra.'
She might know not only how to reproduce the Ultimate Cube but also how to perfectly analyze the Eight Divine Weapons that the current Integra couldn't.
But once again, Luther couldn't bring himself to speak.
He couldn't bring himself to explain the other Integra to her and say that she needed to be awakened.
There were many reasons.
It was clear that learning the current Integra couldn't do something while the other one could would deeply torment the Integra before him.
And it felt ominous. Unsettling in the extreme.
Every time he tried to bring up the other Integra, the image of Integra with her functions suspended in the submarine tunnel flashed in his mind.
[Master?]
Just put it off a little longer.
The incident had only just ended. There was still some time.
In the original story, the southern arc was supposed to drag on for another month, but he'd wrapped it up much earlier.
[Master?]
"Huh?"
[Master, are you okay?]
[Your vitals are normal... Could it be mental fatigue?]
Integra, now right in front of him, asked in a gentle, worried tone.
The priests walking alongside were looking over with concerned eyes as well.
Luther gave them a light wave to signal he was fine, then resumed walking and told Integra.
'I just zoned out for a second. Not quite mental fatigue.'
[Hmm...]
Integra narrowed her eyes suspiciously at Luther's words but didn't press further and changed the subject.
[Understood.]
[Anyway, to sum up, there are three main things left to do in the south.]
[1. Repairs and resupply]
[2. Claiming the reward for saving Malkuth Kingdom and King Adon]
[3. Making contact with the Holy Knight Order]
[Especially number 3—we should start making moves soon.]
[We still haven't properly connected with Ash since the incident.]
The communicator must have been damaged while deploying the barrier to block the debris; he couldn't reach Ash.
He'd need to make time tonight to go find her.
[Good, Master.]
[With the south mostly wrapped up, let's talk about the east next.]
The story in the east, following the west and south.
In the original, the Hecatoncheires that destroyed the west and south would drag the east down to ruin as well, but Luther had no intention of letting that happen.
'But... it won't be easy.'
Having failed in the west, the Hecatoncheires had even attempted things not in the original.
Now that their southern operation had failed too, they'd surely put even more effort into the east.
'And they'll know about me by now.'
The existence blocking them.
It was still just a hypothesis, but it wasn't an overstatement to say the eastern story had almost no chance of following the original.
The Hecatoncheires themselves were likely to act differently from the original.
'But some things won't change.'
The means the Hecatoncheires chose to devastate the empire.
In the west, it was the beast lord Balakiya; in the south, the Sky Citadel's ritual device.
Similarly, they were likely to choose the same means in the east as in the original.
'Wild Hunt.'
A phenomenon unique to the east, where massive numbers of evil wyrms and monsters formed a horde, moving together to destroy and hunt everything in their path.
'It's a periodically recurring behavior, so eastern settlements are usually far from the Wild Hunt migration routes. But manipulated by the Hecatoncheires, the Wild Hunt—even the largest in history—drives the east to ruin. That's the eastern arc.'
[From what you're saying, in the original, they couldn't stop it either, right?]
Luther nodded at Integra's question.
'In the original, they couldn't prevent the Wild Hunt from occurring or the Hecatoncheires from altering its path. The eastern arc is mainly about fleeing the Wild Hunt while protecting people.'
[Just hearing it sounds painful.]
[It'd choke you like eating sweet potatoes.]
'Yeah... pretty much.'
It was a story full of hardships throughout the eastern arc.
[How does the Wild Hunt happen?]
[Preventing it from happening at all would be best, right?]
It was in the same vein as destroying the ritual device to stop the tsunamis altogether.
'The Wild Hunt occurs when the "Lord of the Wild Hunt" is born. And that lord...'
[Wait, don't tell me it's random again?]
At Integra's question, Luther grinned sheepishly, and Integra let out a big sigh.
[This damn shitty game.]
[Way too many pointless random elements.]
[Star Savior's a god game, though.]
In terms of random elements alone, Star Savior had far more, but Luther focused on the Wild Hunt instead of arguing with someone from Star Savior.
'There are four candidates for lord. Depending on which one leads the Wild Hunt, its nature and even the surrounding environment change.'
[How so?]
'Elements of Nature.'
[Pardon?]
'The four attributes the lord can have: wind, water, earth, fire.'
[Uh... so if a fire-attribute lord is born, the entire Wild Hunt becomes fire-attribute?]
'Right, and everywhere it passes turns into a sea of flames as a bonus.'
Fires rain from the sky, lava erupts from the ground.
[Earth attribute means earthquakes, right?]
'Water means floods.'
[Wind is hurricanes?]
As Luther nodded, Integra pressed her temples like she had a headache.
'The best way to handle a Wild Hunt is to take down its lord. That disintegrates the Hunt itself.'
[Couldn't do it in the original?]
'Yeah, the lord is strong, but the Wild Hunt itself was the real problem.'
With hundreds or thousands of rampaging evil wyrms, you'd get swept away and die before even reaching the lord.
[Hmm... Definitely not easy.]
[Four lord candidates... and this time the Hecatoncheires will interfere hard.]
She was right.
That's why not only the Holy Knight Order but local allies in the east would be crucial.
[What's the east like?]
'Land of the heteromorphs.'
Elves, dwarves, centaurs, and various other races living together.
'The atmosphere is pure Eastern fantasy. Elves in hanbok, ao dai, or cheongsam, something like that?'
The evil wyrms that appear resemble Eastern dragons more than Western ones.
[Skipping dwarves and centaurs to talk only about elves—very much like you, Master.]
"Ahem."
Among the major forces dominating the east, elves were actually the smallest in number.
But conversely, they had the most powerhouses.
[Because they live long?]
'Correct.'
The elves in Dragon Hunter Origin lived long, true to their nature.
Their lifespans were longer than even the merfolk, who lived twice as long as humans, and nature elves could dedicate far more time to training than humans.
'Even half-assing it for 200 years makes you a master inevitably.'
That's why there were so many experts among elves.
To the point of jokes like: next door's a swordmaster, back door's an archmage, front door's a fist saint, and our house has a divine archer.
[The strongest elf is a woman, right?]
'No, how did you—'
[It's obvious.]
[Must be an incredible beauty.]
Instead of denying it, Luther gave an awkward smile, and Integra shook her head.
[Come to think of it, you haven't mentioned the eastern arc protagonist.]
'Yeah, 'cause it's a guy.'
[Master?]
'Kidding, kidding. He is a guy, though.'
The protagonist of the eastern arc, the elf mage Radien.
True to his DPS specialization, he was a damage nuke unmatched in firepower.
[Handsome?]
At Integra's question, Luther instinctively furrowed his brow.
Integra burst into laughter, then hugged his neck and said.
[Well, even if he is, he can't be more handsome than Master.]
[In my eyes, Master's the handsomest in the world.]
[You know that, right?]
Luther blushed at the tender, sweet whisper, and instead of laughing again, Integra gave a seductive smile, pressing her chest against his back as she continued.
[Alright, let's prepare properly before starting the eastern arc.]
[Stock up on gear to the brim! And get ready thoroughly for the grand banquet!]
"Huh?"
The last part felt off.
Prepare thoroughly for the grand banquet?
[Of course. You heard earlier. They're holding a big festival to celebrate King Adon's recovery and soothe the people scared by the Sky Citadel incident.]
[So we need to prepare.]
[Master's handsome even plainly, but dressed up, even more so.]
[Uh, of course, me too.]
Blushing to the end without full shamelessness—that was so Integra.
[L-Look forward to it?]
What on earth was she planning?
But it was true he was looking forward to it, so Luther nodded, climbed onto Schwarz's back at the now-arrived stables, and said.
'Yeah, looking forward to it big time. In my eyes too... no, uh. Anyway, let's go.'
[Pardon? Master, what were you about to say? Huh?]
Integra pestered from behind, but Luther spurred Schwarz toward the surface without answering.
And five days later, in the evening.
A grand festival began in the capital of the Malkuth Kingdom.