A Child's Welcome and Dark Negotiations
How long had it been since he started eating after receiving the food? The moment break time ended, customers began trickling in one by one, and in the blink of an eye the restaurant was packed to capacity. Most of the patrons were middle-aged men, which made sense given the menu. Judging by their attire, they seemed to be public transport drivers who ferried passengers around in automatic carriages like taxis or buses. In other words, a drivers' restaurant. The fact that so many of them who roamed the capital came here suggested the place had already earned a reputation as a hidden gem among them.
"Mmm!"
His suspicion was confirmed the instant he put a bite of bulgogi in his mouth. The sweet-and-savory umami flooded his tongue. "Eat slowly. You'll choke at that rate."
Hemming set down a thick rolled omelet in front of him, his voice laced with concern as Togun devoured the food like he hadn't eaten in days. "It's delicious! Really!"
"Glad to hear it. Here, this one's on the house."
"Ah, you don't have to…"
"Don't worry about it. I just wanted to give it to you."
"Thank you. I'll enjoy it."
Hemming smiled at Togun's words. After taking a big bite of the fluffy omelet, Togun glanced around the bustling restaurant and spotted Anna rushing about in the kitchen. "By the way, do you not hire part-timers? You both look incredibly busy."
"My wife and I prefer to handle everything ourselves. So aside from lunch rush help, we don't bring anyone else on."
Hemming explained that they used to work straight through without breaks, but after Togun started attending the academy, he had insisted on creating a proper break time so his wife wouldn't be overwhelmed. "Still, I'm not as young as I used to be. I can feel the strain on my body. I've been trying to convince my wife to hire more staff, but she won't budge."
"One more bowl of rice over here!"
"Coming right up! Well, duty calls. If you need anything else, just say the word."
Watching Hemming hurry off to another table, Togun let out a long sigh. Was it a bad idea to come here when they're this busy? He hadn't expected it to be this packed. Maybe he was just causing trouble.
Tap. Tap.
Just as worry began to bloom in his chest, someone gently tapped his leg. "Bbya!"
Turning his head, he found himself looking at a child even smaller than himself. Was that their own greeting, or some trend among kids their age? The child raised a hand in a casual wave and approached, tilting their head curiously at Togun as he ate. "Who are you, mister?"
They must have found it strange to see a kid their age sitting in the restaurant instead of the usual uncles. Togun met the child's gaze with a smile. "Hey. I'm Togun Masao. What's your name?"
"Andy!"
"Andy, huh?"
"Yeah!"
After introducing himself, Andy climbed straight onto the chair beside Togun without hesitation. His eyes darted between the food on the table and Togun. "Is it good?"
"Yeah, it's really good. Want to try some?"
Togun grabbed a fresh pair of chopsticks, picked up a piece of omelet, and blew on it gently. "Here. Careful, it's hot."
Without a moment's hesitation, Andy took the bite. His face lit up with a bright smile. "It's yummy!"
"Right?"
"Yeah! Mom's food is the best!"
"…Mom?"
Togun was still blinking in confusion when a voice called out. "Andy!"
Hemming, who had been darting between tables, approached their table. "Daddy!"
At the sound of his father's voice, Andy hopped down from the chair mid-bite and ran straight into Hemming's arms. "When did you come down?"
"Just now!"
Andy answered while nestled in Hemming's embrace. So this was Hemming's son. Togun watched the scene with mild surprise. "I'm hungry!"
"Got it. Can you wait just a second?"
"Yeah!"
Hemming carried Andy over to Togun's table. "We live on the second floor. He must've woken up from his nap after kindergarten and come down because he was hungry. Sorry to ask, but could you watch him for a bit?"
"Of course."
"Andy, stay here and play with Togun. Is there anything you want to eat?"
"I want omelet too!"
Andy must have liked the piece Togun had given him earlier. Hemming set the boy down in the seat beside Togun and leaned in to whisper, "Thanks. It always bothered me that he was alone while we were working. Having you here is a huge relief."
Togun's face brightened at the words. Thank goodness. I wasn't just a nuisance after all. He resolved to play with Andy even more enthusiastically so Hemming wouldn't have to worry.
"Here, ahh."
Responsibility gleamed in Togun's eyes as he fed Andy another piece of omelet.
Pride's response to Kain's orders was swift and precise. "What do you think?"
In mere hours, the letter Pride had sent had reached not only King Raymond but every key figure in the Ellemental Kingdom. A request issued in the name of the absolute ruler, the Death King. Its contents were simple: he wished to meet because there was something important to discuss.
"……"
Summoned in haste by the king's call, Ern Benedict, the Magic Sovereign, closed his eyes for a moment in thought. "If I may speak my mind, I don't believe this is a bad development."
He opened his eyes and relayed his organized thoughts to the king. "Based on the publicly known information about the Death King, he generally abides by his own laws and rules. However, once those are broken, he becomes the type to act without restraint or regard for consequences."
He was still far preferable to Tugwi, who ignored even those minimal laws and acted like a savage, or the Empress, the pinnacle of arrogant self-centeredness. The Death King might wage war against an entire nation if provoked, but until that point, he was someone one could reason with.
"This situation is likely no different. He probably has something he wants to do in our kingdom and is seeking permission first."
Whether framed as negotiation or, less charitably, a request, the fact that Pride—the underworld's second-in-command—had moved personally spoke volumes. Just as he had done in the past with the great nature nation of Yggdrasil. Pride was the sort of man who would never act on his own initiative unless directly ordered by the Death King.
"I already know that much. The real question is what the Death King wants."
This was a critical issue. Unlike the Ellemental Kingdom, which had tacitly allowed the underworld to operate within its borders as a necessary evil, Yggdrasil had fiercely resisted their presence. In response, Pride had personally sought negotiations with the Empress. She had ignored the request, and after rejecting it once, the Death King had not sent a second. His answer to the Empress's continued attacks on his forces had been war. Yggdrasil had suffered devastating losses, and the Death King had become a figure the Empress ground her teeth over. The outcome had been a draw on paper, but in the aftermath, the underworld had successfully infiltrated Yggdrasil. In truth, it had been the Death King's victory. He had achieved his objective completely.
In other words, the same would hold true this time. He would accomplish whatever he had set his mind to, no matter what. The Ellemental Kingdom faced two possible futures: negotiate within reasonable bounds, or prepare for war with the underworld. The result would depend entirely on what the Death King desired.
"He likely won't ask for anything unreasonable. If he had, he wouldn't have bothered setting up negotiations in the first place. He knows we wouldn't accept it. In that case, he would have moved in secret to avoid detection. What they want is something that won't harm us, but might cause misunderstandings or require careful handling if discovered."
I have a rough idea what it might be.
A recent incident flashed through the Magic Sovereign's mind—the terrorist attack on Grant Department Store orchestrated by Decken Nasara. Though it hadn't been made public, the one who had resolved that incident was undoubtedly the Death King, Sawang Heokcheon. At the time, it had seemed connected to the Nasara Trading Company, but the fact that this request had followed so soon afterward suggested there was more to it than that. Whether he had uncovered additional clues while investigating the attack or stumbled upon something else entirely…
Is he planning to mobilize the underworld?
If that was the premise, then there was only one thing the Death King could want: to expand the underworld's operations. The reason would be to investigate or search for something. Whatever it was, he had apparently judged that the current underworld forces hidden in the Ellemental Kingdom's shadows were insufficient and intended to send reinforcements. The problem was that such a large-scale deployment would resemble a war, so he was seeking prior permission.
"Hnn."
The king rubbed his temples wearily after hearing the Magic Sovereign's reasoning. The theory certainly seemed plausible. "If it's only to that extent, we could grant permission, but it's not without its issues."
The biggest problem was that the underworld answered only to the Death King's commands and was not subject to any nation's control. Except for Yggdrasil, which they had conquered through war, the underworld was recognized as a single territory and paid a set amount of taxes to each country. It was a form of bribe. Beyond that, the underworld had no further obligations to any nation. Nearly all its members were criminals or the dregs of society. With their strong violent tendencies, they naturally committed countless crimes. If they entered the kingdom, far greater attention would have to be paid to public security.
"The best approach would be to permit their entry while demanding strict controls to prevent any incidents. And we should extract as much as we can in return."
It was important not to forget that in this negotiation, the kingdom held the upper hand. They needed to gauge how much the other side could offer and demand the maximum. This was precisely why the Magic Sovereign had said the request wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
"Regarding this matter, it would be wise to schedule a meeting with the ministers tomorrow before any negotiations begin."
This was not a problem to approach lightly. A single misstep could spark war. Even though they were in the position to gain something, they had to proceed with extreme caution. Because so little was known about the Death King's true nature, they had no idea where the line was drawn. That uncertainty alone was deeply unsettling. The Magic Sovereign let out a small, invisible sigh toward the king.
"And even if we assume negotiations will proceed, we should also prepare for the possibility of war, just in case."
"What if that offends the Death King?"
"It won't. The Empress would have taken it as a sign of distrust and picked a fight. Tugwi would have charged straight into battle, declaring that if we were preparing to fight, we might as well get it over with. But the Death King won't care about such things in the slightest. In fact, because it is the Death King, preparation is essential. In some ways, he's even more capricious than Tugwi, so we can't predict how these negotiations will turn out."
"Very well. Let's proceed on the assumption that we'll accept the underworld's request. As you suggested, we'll hold a meeting tomorrow to determine what demands to make."
While the Magic Sovereign could offer opinions, the final decision rested with the king. Nodding as he accepted the advice, the king looked at him seriously. "You should attend tomorrow's meeting as well."
"Of course."
It hadn't been long since he'd begun having the intelligence department track the Death King's movements in the capital after suspecting something like this might happen while investigating the Grant Department Store scene. Had even that response been too slow? As expected, a mountain of headaches was already piling up. A bitter, exhausted smile tugged at the Magic Sovereign's lips as he lowered his head. Another all-nighter tonight, then. He sighed deeply in his heart.