Aftermath of the War - 3
A week had passed since the conquest of the 70th Floor. Sitri had been absolutely delighted to hear that the Demon King Castle would be handed over to her as well. It wasn’t that she had been completely unaware of Nahen’s intentions, but her attitude suggested she was more than willing to accept that much.
“I’ve already divided the territory and troops evenly. I’ll leave the treasure inventory for Rin El Laza to examine later. We can split everything properly once I receive her report.”
“Understood.”
In response to Nahen’s goodwill, Sitri had insisted on dividing the 70th Floor’s territory, assets, and remaining forces at a strict five-to-five ratio without omitting anything. Just as she had promised.
“Since I’ve handed over both the Demon King Castle and Andromalius’s head, may I claim first pick from the treasure list?”
“As long as the division remains fair, I have no objection.”
“Then that’s what we’ll do.”
A mutually beneficial deal was struck, and Sitri also agreed with Nahen’s suggestion to focus on internal affairs. She had her own newly subjugated territories and forces on the 70th Floor that required organizing.
“Then it looks like we’ll both be busy for a while.”
“Please visit at least once a week. Neglecting training now would render everything we’ve accomplished meaningless.”
“I’ll make as much time as I can.”
After that conversation, Nahen, having decided to concentrate on internal governance, first sorted his tasks by priority. The most urgent matters were naturally those concerning the 70th Floor. Managing the newly subjugated districts was essential, so Nahen focused his attention there for the time being, making sure not to miss any of Seere’s lessons.
Today as well, Nahen had thrown himself into work the moment he woke. He intended to finish his duties before Seere rose and then proceed with her lessons once she was up. Yet even after some time had passed, there was no sign of Seere. Kain, who was supposed to bring her, was also nowhere to be seen.
“Has Seere not woken up yet?”
While he was wondering, the door to Nahen’s office burst open without so much as a knock. Nahen was slightly startled, but the urgent look on the visitor’s face kept him from saying anything.
“Secily, what’s wrong?”
It was Secily, the maid of the Demon King Castle. The fluffy fox tail that usually swayed gracefully was now bristling, fur standing on end. When Nahen tilted his head in confusion, Secily spoke.
“Lord Nahen, please cancel Her Majesty’s lesson for today.”
“What?”
Recalling how hurriedly Secily had entered, Nahen asked, “Did something happen to Seere?”
“She seems to have a slight fever.”
At Secily’s report, Nahen shot up from his seat in alarm.
“What!?”
A fever meant Seere was ill. Nahen’s expression twisted with genuine panic as he pressed her. “She was perfectly fine only yesterday!”
He quickly ran through the schedule he had designed, searching for any critical flaw. But that was impossible. He had given Seere the optimal training volume he had repeated dozens of times across countless endings. He had never pushed her with intensity that would damage her health values. Nahen wasn’t the type to make such beginner mistakes, yet…
Unlike the overly flustered Nahen, Secily spoke as though it were nothing serious.
“Children sometimes catch sudden illnesses, don’t they? She also has a runny nose, so it looks like nothing more than a simple cold.”
“…A cold?”
Children sometimes suddenly get sick. The words left Nahen feeling strangely dazed.
Of course kids get sick sometimes…
This was reality, not a game. He had reminded himself of that fact constantly, yet somehow he had failed to apply it to Seere. Nahen’s brow furrowed slightly.
“She should be fine after resting a day or two. Please don’t worry too much.”
“Then why did you rush in with such an urgent face earlier…”
“Ah, the chief butler told me to deliver the message quickly. Should I have knocked first?”
“Ah… yes. Tell Seere to rest well.”
“Understood. I’ll take my leave now.”
Secily bowed politely and left the office. Once she was gone, Nahen sank back into his chair, drained.
I’ve been viewing Seere too much as the protagonist of a game…
It was hardly unusual for a child who had been healthy only yesterday to suddenly catch a minor illness. Children had weaker immune systems than adults; catching something as trivial as a cold was perfectly natural.
“…That was a stupid way to think.”
It was fortunate that his own mistake hadn’t caused Seere’s illness, but he felt like a fool for assuming that following his training regimen would mean she would never fall sick. Nahen pressed a hand to his forehead and let out a low groan.
“I’ll finish today’s work quickly and go see her…”
Seere was dreaming.
Because of the fever, she had spent the entire day lying in bed asleep and had several dreams. The one she was having now was rather special.
“Teacher!”
“Oh, Seere.”
There was Nahen. Strangely enough, he was holding an armful of the soft, fluffy dolls she loved.
“There are so many dolls!!”
Seere ran toward him with a bright smile. Nahen smiled back and gladly handed her the dolls one by one.
He gave her dogs, cats, rabbits, dolphins, foxes, and many more. Seere’s eyes sparkled as she accepted them, but the number of dolls kept growing until it was almost excessive. Before she knew it, there were piles of every kind behind Nahen as well.
“T-Teacher, there are too many dolls…”
“Here are more.”
Even though she protested, Nahen kept handing them over. Seere frantically took them and set them down, but she couldn’t keep up with his pace. Eventually she began to be buried beneath the mountain of dolls.
“Ugh… Teacher, stop giving them to me!!”
“There are still so many dolls you like. You have to take them all.”
“Hwaaaang!!!”
In the quiet room, Seere’s head turned slightly to the side. She frowned in her sleep, letting out a distressed mumble.
“The dolls… there are too many……”
“…?”
Nahen, who had quietly entered Seere’s room, was momentarily taken aback. He glanced down at the penguin doll he had brought. It was only sleep-talking, but hearing those words right after buying her a new doll left him feeling oddly flustered.
Still, Seere only owned two dolls so far. This would make three, but objectively it hardly seemed like too many.
“What kind of dream is she having…?”
Nahen chuckled softly and placed the penguin doll beside the whale doll at her pillow. Then, careful not to wake her, he gently brushed aside her bangs and pressed a hand to her forehead.
Her fever seems to have gone down.
At this rate, she should be fine by tomorrow. That was a relief.
“I’m glad you’re not suffering too badly.”
Muttering to himself, Nahen pulled the slightly lowered blanket back up to cover her properly. He brought a chair over and sat beside the bed. While she slept, he would watch over her in case the fever returned.
I can’t just sit around doing nothing…
He brought some simple paperwork that could be handled easily and began working at Seere’s bedside.
About an hour or two passed. The steady sound of Seere’s breathing grew quieter. Sensing the change, Nahen looked up from his documents.
Seere was awake, blinking at him. She must have woken up at some point.
Caught off guard, Nahen asked with a slightly flustered expression, “Ah, when did you wake up?”
“Just a little while ago.”
Then she really should have said something. Nahen let out a small sigh of relief and asked, “How do you feel?”
“I’m fine!”
Thanks to the long rest, Seere looked energetic, as if she were in perfect health. Seeing her like this lifted Nahen’s mood, and he gently stroked her hair.
“That’s good. I’m glad you weren’t too sick.”
“Were you… worried?”
“Of course. The girl who demolished two slices of cake yesterday suddenly fell ill.”
Seere recalled snack time, when Nahen had allowed her two pieces of cake as a reward for following the lesson well. Remembering the sweet taste, she beamed.
“It was delicious!”
“I’m sure it was.”
Nahen lightly touched her cheek. “Sleep a little more. If you rest now, you’ll be able to attend morning lessons, won’t you?”
“Can’t I look at that too?”
Seere pointed at the documents in Nahen’s hands. She seemed surprisingly interested in work. It was a good sign, but he couldn’t allow it today.
“No. Rest for the rest of today. We’ll do it together tomorrow, alright?”
“Mmm…”
“If you don’t sleep now, you might not get to eat delicious pudding tomorrow.”
Seere’s eyes widened. She shook her head vigorously as if that would be unacceptable, then squeezed her eyes shut. Nahen smiled warmly at her adorable behavior and stroked her head again.
“Have sweet dreams.”
Nahen was flipping through documents in the front courtyard. After finishing Seere’s lesson, he was handling work during the time she spent on her personal training.
That was when Kain approached, carrying a thick stack of papers.
“Lord Nahen. The treasure inventory report from Commander El Laza has arrived.”
“It’s finally here.”
This was the report Nahen had been waiting for. He took the documents from Kain and began scanning them immediately, clearly searching for something specific.
“Are you looking for a particular item?”
“Yes.”
The reason he had negotiated priority selection rights with Sitri was because there was one item on the 70th Floor he absolutely had to obtain.
One of the most critical elements in Evil Queen Maker was equipment. The right gear could dramatically increase a character’s growth efficiency, making it an absolute necessity.
For example, certain pieces of equipment could raise health stats by ten points per training session instead of the usual one or two. The item Nahen sought now was one of the best among such equipment.
It was a hidden piece he had only discovered during his fortieth ending after viewing dozens of them. He had found it so late because he never expected such an item to be hidden on the early-stage 70th Floor.
After scanning the inventory for a while, Nahen’s eyes stopped on the third page. A satisfied smile spread across his face. He circled the item with his pen.
“Kain, make certain this one comes to our side.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Choose the rest appropriately and hand them over to Commander El Laza.”
“Understood.”
Kain’s expression was filled with doubt as he accepted the report. The item Nahen had chosen was extremely puzzling.
“Lord Nahen, are you certain you marked the correct entry?”
“Yes, that’s the one.”
“…Understood.”
Though still doubtful, Kain had learned to trust Nahen. His decisions had always produced excellent results.
The item Nahen had marked was listed as follows.
Broken Blade of Unknown Origin
A sword with a shattered blade, origin unknown. A groove is visible where a jewel appears to have once been embedded and later removed.