Chapter 26
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: Martial Tournament
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Afterward, the bets between Yujin and the girls continued.
And the results were, naturally, all victories for Yujin. Thanks to that, he managed to acquire ten wish coupons each from them in this round of betting.
Of course, that excluded the draws. At least Yujin had never lost.
'Practically twenty, then.'
Ten from each of them, so it added up to twenty. A total steal.
"I never thought you'd win even once..."
"Yujin's not called a master for nothing. His eye for this stuff is..."
The girls clicked their tongues as they looked at Yujin.
No matter how much of geniuses they were, there's always someone better out there.
This time, it just happened to be Yujin.
Besides, he was a master who had honed his senses to the limit through life-or-death battles on the battlefield. In fights where victory or defeat meant life or death, it was easy for him to tell who would win.
Yujin sweeping up all the wish coupons was a foregone conclusion.
Realizing that, the girls simply accepted defeat and wondered what wish he might make.
'Something naughty would be nice.'
That was Irene's thought.
'I wish I could make some progress like Irene... Would he touch my body? Or should I seduce him myself?'
That was Lucia's thought.
Maybe because the two had been friends since childhood, their minds worked in similar ways.
And Yujin, the actual owner of the wish coupons—
'...There's something off about those two.'
—wasn't thinking about wishes at all.
Ever since the bets ended, his gaze had been fixed on the finalists of the martial tournament.
"……"
More precisely, on just a select few among them.
The girls finally noticed Yujin's demeanor and tilted their heads questioningly.
Lucia peeked over cautiously.
"Yujin?"
"…Hm?"
"Is something wrong? Your face looks kind of serious for some reason..."
"Ah."
Did it look that way?
"It's not anything serious."
It was just something mildly bothering him—nothing that grave.
"…Really? Your expression was pretty stiff for that..."
In fact, his face was extremely tense.
Even someone completely oblivious would notice he was uncomfortable.
"…"
"…So there is something bothering you."
Irene wrapped her arm around one of his with a worried look. His arm sank into her soft breast.
Squish—
Yujin's expression softened slightly.
Lucia, quick as a ghost to pick up on it, joined in, and soon both his arms were buried in their bosoms.
No matter how battle-hardened a war hero he was, Yujin was still a man. That didn't mean he was willing to be led around or taken advantage of by women, but he did have a soft spot for the affection from beauties like these.
Besides, having lost precious people twice before, he was even thirstier for affection, so he had no choice but to yield to their advances from both sides.
Finally, he spoke up.
"…It's about the finalists."
As soon as he opened his mouth, they stopped rubbing against him and looked at him.
"Something feels off about them."
"Off?"
"Yeah."
It was an inexplicable sense of wrongness.
"They're clearly just ordinary mages and swordsmen, but it feels like there's some kind of impurity mixed in among them."
Of course, it wasn't certain.
It was such a fleeting feeling that he wondered if it was just his imagination, and now they all looked like perfectly normal people.
But that very fact fueled Yujin's suspicions.
Humans make mistakes, sure—but Yujin was a master.
A being among humans who made almost no such errors.
Would a master's senses really deceive him?
"Of course, I'm not immune to mistakes."
He had misjudged on the battlefield before due to faulty senses, nearly getting himself in danger.
"But that doesn't mean I can ignore my instincts."
That faint, impure sensation that had brushed past for just an instant.
But now,
"They're all too normal. That's what makes it feel wrong."
If he hadn't noticed it at all, fine—but once he had, he couldn't stop paying attention even if he tried.
Like the discomfort when you become aware of where to place your tongue or how to breathe.
Lucia released his arm and crossed hers.
"…I'll have someone look into their backgrounds. Do you remember who gave you that feeling?"
"Number 9, 45, 17, and 114."
"…More than one?"
Lucia's expression hardened at the fact that Yujin had sensed it from multiple people.
It meant there could be even more he hadn't noticed.
"Yeah. Quite a few, actually. That's why I'm starting to wonder if it's just me imagining things."
They all seemed like ordinary people with standard levels of power—maybe his body was just off, causing a momentary lapse.
'Can't rely on it blindly.'
He couldn't put total faith in his senses.
"Yujin. I'll mobilize my family's resources to investigate as well."
"I'd appreciate that."
With the imperial family and a ducal house on it, he could rest easy.
The Banus family had solid intelligence as a marquisate, but it paled compared to those two.
One ruled the empire, the other was nobility among nobility...
'…Need to bolster the family's intel network.'
He felt a bit inadequate.
"Anyway, putting that aside, the martial tournament's level is higher than I expected."
As if it were a new revelation, what Yujin truly wanted was the empire's and his family's prosperity—and wealth and glory.
A comfortable life? Or love?
Nice, sure.
But what value did they hold?
'None.'
Yujin considered them unfit as life's main goals. They could be secondary aims, but never primary ones.
Love, first off, wasn't something you set as a goal. It was a connection of hearts—you couldn't force it just because you wanted to.
What about a comfortable life, then?
The world had its currents of fate, like a massive whirlpool. The smaller the existence—like an ant—the more it dragged you into hellish depths.
Want to live comfortably amid those currents? Yujin saw that as the defeatist talk of escapists.
'If you don't want to lose what's precious, you can't just sit still.'
You had to actively mount the flow of fate and steer it yourself. Sometimes, resolve to defy it.
To seize what you want and sustain a secure life.
'That's why I seek the empire's and my family's prosperity.'
So he never had to endure the contempt and disdain from his childhood again.
So he never had to let go of what he had now.
And...
...so he never lost another precious person.
'…Jane.'
Yujin murmured the name of someone he could never see again.
...
That was why Yujin had chosen strength.
He wanted the family he would lead to seize unrivaled power and flourish.
He wanted the empire to prosper eternally, stronger than any other.
'I have to make it happen.'
No matter what.
...Even for the sake of Irene and Lucia, who had approached him first.
In that sense, the high caliber of this martial tournament's participants was unambiguously good news.
It meant the empire's talents ran deep, regardless of class.
The entrants were a mix of commoners and nobles alike.
"Heh, well, we've been through a war."
"Fair point."
"Everyone's experienced war, big or small. There are quite a few veterans too."
"Ho."
Yujin nodded at Lucia's explanation.
Evidently, no one had escaped the war's currents.
Though since they'd won in the end, was it fortunate or not...?
'…Ah.'
Suddenly, Yujin recalled what Second Prince Russel had told him.
He explained it lightly to the girls.
"Hm... So my blood kin said that?"
Come to think of it, Lucia referred to Russel as "my blood kin."
Maybe because they were siblings by blood, she avoided calling him brother or by name?
Quite familial, in a way...
Then Irene spoke.
"His Highness Russel's words aren't wrong. Most people just haven't noticed yet, but it's a highly plausible scenario."
"I agree."
Yujin glanced at Lucia as he said it.
"If things continue like this, the empire will fall somehow. National rise and fall is natural, of course, but ours might be right around the corner."
Heir issues and power-blinded nobles posed risks of civil strife.
On top of that, the cultists of Pandemonium were stirring, and the borders were ringed by potential enemy states.
It wouldn't be strange if nations wary of the empire allied and invaded at any moment. There was already precedent with the Eastern Union's unilateral aggression.
'Not even past-life Germany or Japan faced this.'
They had two-front wars, but not every territory under assault.
The empire, though...
"It's fine, Yujin. Don't mind me. I know you're worried about the empire's future. Just be a bit more discreet around other nobles..."
"Of course."
"Hee, thank you."
Then Irene said gravely,
"…Looks like I need to back His Highness Russel after all. That'd be best for you too, Lucia?"
"Hm, not just because he's my blood kin, but yeah—supporting him wouldn't hurt. I can confidently say he's far more capable than that dimwit Crown Prince."
"Then for internal issues, we bolster His Highness Russel's faction to resolve them, and for Pandemonium and potential hostiles..."
Irene trailed off, looking troubled.
At that, Yujin narrowed his eyes coldly.
"Don't worry about that. I've got it covered."
Their gazes converged on Yujin.
...Pandemonium,
...hostile nations,
"…Just kill them all. Simple as that, isn't it?"
The empire had two choices.
Die, or kill.
And the one to choose was...
"Obviously, kill."
...
"…Yujin."
"…You okay...?"
"I'm fine. It's familiar territory. Besides, it's just a possibility—not a certainty."
Reality was too filthy and sordid for moral qualms.
'Been far gone for a while.'
The war with the Eastern Union.
On that blood-soaked battlefield, morality had worn away long ago.
—Killing tens or hundreds of thousands now? What more hell could there be?
He murmured quietly to himself.