Chapter 44
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: SSR Dragon and SSR Zhuge Liang (15)
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After the reader discussion part also set my inner Three Kingdoms spirit ablaze.
I stayed away from reader reactions for a while.
I had no choice.
Cao Cao ended up as a backstabbed fool who trusted the big-eared guy.
Liu Bei got flak for his bro's bro-like actions—sure, what’s wrong with that?—but still took the heat for it.
On top of that, what commentary could I even add?
I'd just whispered to Chloe, "In truth, Liu Bei was an opportunist," and the response I got back was...
"What does an official know, desu! Cao Cao is an irredeemable villain anyway! The root of all evil that persecutes the noble high elf bloodline, desu!"
...
That was it.
It was an expression I'd used myself before transmigrating, so I couldn't even argue back.
And it didn't end there.
With his rage gauge maxed out, Cao Cao activated Rage Mode and clapped back hard, kicking off the legendary prologue to Great Lord Liu Bei's saga.
From that point on, Liu Bei's storyline could only play second fiddle.
Because...
Without his head, Guan Yu was invincible.
Still, wasn't that better than Zhang Fei, who vanished only to slink back later as a bandit?
But if there's a taboo in serialized novels,
it's that no matter how well-crafted a side character is, the moment they overshadow the protagonist, the story's popularity tanks.
I held back tears of blood, trimming those parts to avoid messing up my card business too.
So.
Let's just wall myself off until the Battle of Guandu.
That seems better for my mental health.
Besides, there were plenty of other things worth focusing on.
"Make it even flashier."
"Grr...! Illusion magic doesn't just pop out when you squeeze it like that, desu!"
For example, squeezing Chloe dry.
After much discussion, we finalized the draft for our tentatively named "Heroes Assemble."
The rules were, naturally, drafted by Historie herself—the goddess of plagiarism in the flesh. Base is Hearthstone, apparently, but I've never really played, so whatever.
Ranks are R, SR, SSR.
Basic sets we sell start with all R-ranks.
Gacha packs contain five cards each. You get R-ranks exclusive to gacha packs, plus the devilish probability games kick in from there.
"So why is this Zhao Yun guy SSR when he barely even shows up, desu?"
"Spoiler."
"Who's Zhuge Liang, desu? Why's he fanning himself so coolly, desu?"
"Spoiler."
"Hmph!"
Oh no.
Bro-mode activated.
Anyway.
To heighten the thrill of pulling one, we needed dopamine hits.
Packs with special cards?
They glow when you rip 'em open!
Sparkle sparkle! Heart thump thump!
Gold! SR!
Whoa! Rainbow! SSR!
...Magic sure is amazing.
For SR and above, like what Chloe's grinding now, holograms float over the cards.
SR gets a standing pose. SSR gets custom animations.
Perfect differentiation to stoke collector urges.
People who doubted it'd sell at first went red-eyed ripping open the sample packs I tossed them.
Ah.
I hope time flies.
I want to unleash this devilish invention (or not) on this world and throw a dopamine party ASAP...!
"Oh, message for you, desu."
"What is it?"
"Dad saw the investment proposal and wants to meet Kim Yul. Clear your schedule, desu."
"Hm, that's no biggie... Wait, Dad?"
The father of this pathetic bro-elf lady is surely...
...
I wish time would stop.
Why do I keep attracting old geezers?
Should I drag Roselin along as a human shield again?
Her Ladyship's been kinda scary lately...
Schnaizen von Wisperaud.
Commonly known as Duke Schnaizen.
He was the epitome of a high elf.
The wisdom gained from eons far beyond human lifespans filled him with ethereal grace.
His body, slow to age, gifted him unwavering vitality.
Naturally, his heart brimmed with gratitude to nature.
And pride that high elves were the race destined to lead the world!
A touch misguided, prone to sporting mustaches and turning haughty or flushed.
Fortunately, he was adept at navigating society and governance.
In other words, he sniffed out power and influence like a pro.
Just like his daughter sniffed out money.
And now, to his nose,
the scent of one man began to waft in.
Tricked Duke Berthus in writing.
Subdued the duke's third son by force.
Yanked and teased his daughter's ears relentlessly.
Thick as thieves with that monster saintess.
Origins unclear, even black hair and black eyes.
Maintains ties with Draconians.
"Dropped from the sky like that. Registered his status just over a year ago, at twenty."
Of course, imperial admin isn't perfect—plenty unregistered folks.
But cases of twenty-year-olds popping up out of nowhere? Rare as hen's teeth. Better to live unregistered forever.
Even without issuance, he got registered? Means some trickery.
One conclusion.
A long-retired hero of the Holy Kingdom.
Nothing else explained it.
Heroes weren't just for breaching the Demon Realm—they were strategic weapons.
Though frontline hero culture faded, decades ago they crushed foes, not just blocked the Realm.
Thus, hero identities stayed top secret.
The monster saintess avoiding the Realm? Likely paired as the hero's partner.
Heroes don't really retire.
They die in the Realm first.
But this guy retired successfully, now enjoying life in the Empire, not the Holy Kingdom.
"Meaning he's an overwhelming powerhouse we can't easily deploy even for Demon Realm subjugation."
Intel even confirmed he returned unscathed.
Humans are idiots.
One percent of sharp brains could've deduced it—why didn't Duke Berthus see and stir trouble?
Plotting obvious failed rebellion to boot. Utter folly.
Of course, he kept this bombshell from his daughter.
She'd surely...
"Ack, it, eek, uh, yo, it's the Hero, desu?!"
"She'd break."
Better their current casual bond.
...Slim chance she'd seduce him with her body, but closeness breeds affection, right?
Even a saintess is short-lived.
Her eternal beauty like his could melt that strategic weapon's heart eventually.
If not, well.
She's Chloe, what can ya do.
He was a cold schemer before father.
.
.
.
Duke Schnaizen had been shadowboxing solo fervently, but.
"Hello. I'm Kim Yul."
"Hi! I'm Esthea!"
"Mind your manners with the elder."
"Huh? Elder? Who?"
Just as novels can't outdo real history in plausibility,
Schnaizen's imagination crumbled before overwhelming reality.
"Es... Es... Esthea...?"
"Yeah? You know me?"
Duke Schnaizen swiftly erased Kim Yul from his "Recruit for alliance—useful" list in his head.
And created a new one:
"Touch wrong and it could shatter not just the house but the nation—a walking calamity."
Kim Yul and Esthea topped it.
And inwardly,
'How dense do you have to be... not to recognize a dragon...?'
He sighed.
Chloe had said,
"He seems decent—plays with a cute Draconian sometimes, desu!"
Draconian, she said.
Draconian...!
Sure, superficial traits—horns, tail, hidable with human blood—but
dragons and Draconians are worlds apart.
Appearance frequency too. Dragons sighted once a century, if lucky.
Expecting that level of common sense from Chloe, who’s barely twenty? Overkill.
Even Gilford, who relayed the sighting, pegged Esthea as a bratty Draconian.
"I'm asking. Do ya know me?"
"Sss. Tch."
"Arrrf!"
"..."
Sure, that puppy act makes you think "How's that a dragon?"...
But when she said, "I'm asking. Do ya know me?"
Duke Schnaizen felt the primal terror etched into racial instincts and individual worth eons ago.
"So, you really knew her—or rather, was she an elf?"
"Nah? But she doesn't seem like a total lapdog! Oom, pure gold!"
Watching Esthea chomp gold bars with dead eyes, my heart tore.
Still,
Dragging the bored mutt along paid off big.
Chloe's an idiot bro-vending machine—poke lightly, get what you want—but
could've sparked weird misunderstandings like with Duke Berthus. Old ginger's spicier, right?
"Hm... I'm, er, I mean I, have some interest in that venture. I'll invest more seriously."
...Felt like Do-jo facing wheelchair man with Little Boy on the table—talks went smooth.
Anyway.
Mass production hurdle for my "Heroes Assemble" TCG? Solved clean.
"As promised, new series! Write it up big and show me?"
"Sure, that much."
I pictured Esthea wielding the Feather Fan and fluttering a white feather fan.
Bit back a laugh.
As elf magic and magitech elite joined to suck up nosebleed cash,
"Kya...! Barkeep! Gwan Woon Jang here!"
Dark black sinking at the glass bottom, fleshy red mix on top—the cocktail "Gwan Woon Jang" topped imperial sales.
"Betraying the Prime Minister's grace like that!"
"Tch tch. Told ya, never adopt black-haired bastards."
Guan Yu haters jeered at the O Gwan Cham Yuk Jang massacre: big-ears or long-beard, same scum.
Dunno who snatched the report, but Cao Cao's part skipped commentary on Guan Yu's rudeness.
Just marched north under extermination banners.
Thus Cao Cao went from O So, White Horse, to shredding Yuan Shao at Guandu, and smacked big-ears in Yeo Nam hard.
Liu Bei, eyeing Cao Cao's nape again, got his pot fully shattered and bolted, pants off.
To Jing Province.
To where the coiled Crouching Dragon quietly slumbered.