Chapter 135
Chapter 135
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 135
Chapter Title: Wrapping Up VER.C.DAWN
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“Cheers!!”
That evening after the rebellion had ended, Prim’s forces gathered in one place and began celebrating their victory with a lavish spread of food.
The commanders and vice-commanders of each army had also gathered together, raising their glasses.
“Man, it was such a rush when everything went off exactly as planned.”
The vice-commander of the 2nd Army, Hea-il, took a sip of his beer and spoke up.
“Tell me about it. Bachinum-sama is incredible, but without that slippery guy, we would’ve been in real trouble.”
The 2nd Army commander chimed in.
In informal settings like this, Noah was called by his nickname, Slippery.
Total Vice-Commander Slippery.
The situation had been stuck in a rut with no progress, circling the same spot endlessly. Then suddenly, he burst in like a storm and pushed things forward at a terrifying speed.
Among the commanders and vice-commanders—many of whom were nobility from the Bachinum faction that valued propriety—Noah had initially been a thorn in their side. But now, they’d grown fond of his distinctive cheekiness.
“By the way, why didn’t he join us on the day of the battle? After helping out so much.”
“Yeah, he’s not even here at this gathering of all the army representatives.”
“Haha, probably doesn’t want a title.”
At that moment, the representatives from each army who had earned merits in the rebellion were discussing how to divide up the assets and territories held by the old emperor’s nobles and factions.
“If Noah officially joins the army, I’d like him to take the strategist role. What do you think? We don’t even need to mention a title—Bachimun-sama will handle that just fine.”
“The guy’s got no class, but I’ve got no objections.”
The 2nd Army vice-commander Hea-il snorted at the 1st Army vice-commander Amanda, who was still acting like she refused to acknowledge Noah.
Everyone pretended otherwise, but they all knew just how monumental Noah’s contributions had been.
Even if he hadn’t shown up that day—who knows where he’d gone.
Then, out of nowhere, they recalled the girl who looked just like Noah, the one they’d seen that day.
Remembering how she’d appeared at such a dangerous spot with her small frame made their chests tighten.
“Noah vice-commander, you’re married, right?”
“What??? Noah the vice-commander is married?!”
The 3rd Army commander Casey slapped his forehead and shot up from his seat.
“What makes you say she’s married?!!”
“Didn’t you see that girl during the battle who gave off a vibe like Noah? She kinda seemed like a daughter…….”
“No way!! What kind of lowlife street rat could’ve snagged our Noah vice-commander…….”
“It’s not certain. Calm down.”
“What kind of crazy mother sends her daughter to the front lines of a battlefield? It must be someone else.”
“Then who was that kid? She left a strong impression. Showed up out of nowhere and swept everything away.”
As the conversation shifted to topics about Noah, everyone suddenly had plenty to say, and a variety of stories flew back and forth.
“Where’s Noah vice-commander right now?”
“Yeah, she said she’d come to the afterparty.”
Noah! Noah! Noah!
Noah! Noah! Noah!
“What’s that noise?”
Hearing the cheers from outside, 3rd Army commander Casey cracked open the tent flap.
Noah was standing on a table, downing an enormous barrel of wine to the soldiers’ roaring approval.
She looked like she’d chugged a ton, but there wasn’t a hint of drunkenness on her.
“Kaaah~ Three barrels down.”
Kwaaang!
Noah smashed the empty wine barrel to pieces with her fist. As shards flew everywhere, the soldiers cheered wildly.
“Waaaaaa!!”
“Kyaaaa!! So cool, big sis!!”
The representatives inside the tent sighed as they watched Noah’s unreserved display.
At first, her raw demeanor had felt awkward, but now they just accepted it.
Catching sight of the representatives in the tent by chance, Noah wiped her mouth and hopped lightly down from the table.
“H-Hey! Sis Noah’s running away!”
“How is even hopping off a table so effortlessly cool…….”
“Sniff, huuuh. Don’t go, Noah vice-commander…….”
“I apologize for badmouthing you behind your back, vice-commander. Don’t go, Noooaaah…….”
Regardless of gender, they all grabbed at Noah as she tried to enter the tent.
“Hey, you drunks. I partied with you plenty—let me go now. Gotta say goodbye to those guys too.”
“Huuuaaaang…….”
“The truth is, I’ve always liked you, Noah vice-commander!!”
“Me too!”
“Me too! I’d always complain that you were too intense, but deep down I admired you so much…….”
“Hey, don’t butt in on my confession! Mine was real!”
“P-Please marry me! I’ll follow you to the ends of the earth!!”
“Ah, shut up!!! I was about to say it!”
Dun planned to abandon the Noah identity. So she’d been going around saying her farewells.
Peeling off the soldiers clinging to her like leeches in their drunken stupor, she entered the tent.
Noah straightened her messy light-brown hair and clothes before sitting in the spot prepared for her.
“Why’s everyone staring at me?”
With all the army representatives’ eyes on her, Dun wrinkled her nose with a sniff and nibbled on the corner of a piece of bread at her seat.
“Could it be, Noah vice-commander…….”
“?”
“You’re married?”
At the sudden marriage talk, Noah raised one eyebrow.
“Why bring that up out of nowhere?”
“There was this girl who popped up in the battlefield and racked up insane merits—she looked just like you…….”
The moment Noah heard that, she burst out laughing. How did I end up with a daughter?
She’d only come to say goodbye and leave, but this amusing misunderstanding sparked her interest, so she decided to fan the flames.
“Yeah, that’s my daughter.”
The impact of her casually tossed words was enormous.
“!!!!”
“Your daughter?!!!”
“Wait, she looked pretty grown—when did you even get married? Oh right, you’ve always looked super young, Noah vice-commander.”
“No, why’d you send your daughter to the battlefield?”
“W-W-Who’s the husband……?”
“So that’s why you always skipped training and meetings…….”
“Vice-commander, what’s your real deal anyway?”
They’d been planning to make moves on the popular Noah vice-commander, now that the enemy was crushed and peace reigned within the rebel army—harboring good feelings for her. But that dream came crashing down.
“Uh, mind if I go see your daughter sometime? She takes after you—looks like an absolute powerhouse.”
“Who’s the husband?”
As everyone started taking it seriously and the mood grew tense, Noah raised her hand.
“Kidding. She’s not my daughter. Don’t know her.”
“You expect us to believe someone who looks exactly like you just jumps into the middle of a battlefield out of nowhere?”
The vibe, the looks, the skills—everything was like a perfect copy.
They all started shooting her distrustful looks.
Given Noah’s personality, it seemed totally plausible she’d throw her talented daughter into the fray.
“That poor girl. Denying the daughter who earned merits for you. Cut the joke.”
“No, really, I don’t know her.”
Noah shot back with a laugh.
“Anyway, I came to say goodbye. Not planning to stick around the army.”
“Huh? Where do you have to go?”
At the news of Noah leaving, everyone fell into shock, and the daughter talk fizzled out fast.
They’d assumed she’d stick around to claim her rewards after all those merits.
“I was only hired for the rebellion. Time to go now.”
With the rebellion over and no need to manage the army’s morale anymore, Noah let her speech loosen up a bit.
Fortunately, no one minded.
“You’re not taking the money, land, titles, and all that?”
“I’ve already got plenty.”
The representatives buzzed at her words. They’d always been curious about her background, and now even more so.
“Anyway, you all worked hard. Take care. Oh, and by the way—the food all the armies are eating today, including yours, is on me.”
Noah flicked a gold coin into her palm, grinned, and left the tent.
Everyone stared at Noah’s back for a long while as she departed so suddenly.
For all the time they’d spent together, it was such a clean goodbye that they all felt a pang of regret deep down.
“Wait, if Noah leaves, what about that girl?”
* * *
After the emperor’s death, Prim launched a sweeping overhaul of the empire’s laws.
First up: laws related to monster subjugation.
Things like rewarding those who brought monster corpses to the military, or mandating walls at least 10 anzu thick around villages near dungeons. She reestablished a bunch of them.
She also created adventurer laws to punish those who crossed the line.
Separate court buildings just for them were under construction.
The existing slave system was outright abolished.
Nobles and monsters kept raiding small villages, nearly wiping them out.
And putting ethics aside, slaves caused a ton of problems. Better to cut it off at the root.
As she enacted law after law, the sudden changes caused some friction at first. But everyone understood Prim’s intent to somehow save the empire, so the radical reforms took hold quickly.
Prim flopped exhausted over her desk.
“Ah, I’m actually kinda missing the Bachinum days just a tiny bit.”
She grumbled at the endless workload.
In her peripheral vision, she spotted Dun curled up on the sofa like a pill bug, leisurely flipping through a comic book.
“Dun, you know all the army representatives are looking for you? They keep asking about your identity—what should I tell them?”
“Just say I keeled over eating or something.”
“That’d probably make them go even crazier…….”
Prim held back a laugh and opened her mouth again.
“Truth is, they’re all freaking out way more over you than Noah.”
“Me?”
“They’re saying you’re the child born from Noah vice-commander’s youthful mischief. So the story goes you joined the war to win your mom’s approval.”
“How does it turn into that?”
Their imaginations were wild. She regretted the prank just a tiny bit.
“So they all agreed to leave the Puegor ducal estate—the one with the best land and views—for you.”
“Eeeh?”
“First, they’ll hand over all the wealth, land, and whatnot Noah’s owed to you, then track her down and convince her to take responsibility for you.”
What is this touching true story?
Gulp, gulp.
Dun blinked her round eyes as she sipped apple juice.
“Anyway, Dun, isn’t this great? Congrats on becoming nobility.”
“Whaaat? Hold on.”
“The whole mansion’s yours now, so you can live comfortably there with Rihavel. You complained a lot about how noisy Genesis was. Might as well move to a spacious, quiet place.”
“That place is too big.”
Dun stroked her chin for a moment, pondering if this was really a good direction for her.
Dealing with territory paperwork or disputes sounded like a total hassle.
She could end up with a title and accidentally summon a disaster on herself.
Even Daboseok was a handful.
Moving to somewhere new with Rihavel and Daboseok came with too many hitches. If she wanted a nice place, better to snag one here.
Dun thought it over.
“Fine. I’ll take it.”
For Daboseok, she could just pick a smart creature to manage it as proxy.
Daboseok had plenty of clever ones.
“Since you’re a duke now, you’ll get a castle too. You probably don’t want Puegor. Got any ideas?”
“Not really……? Hmm, give me a sec…….”
Seeing Dun mull it over, Prim suddenly recalled Dun’s naming sense.
She could end up with something like Duke Dungpoomujige Mention.
“How about Sabak?”
Prim blurted out urgently.
“Sabak?”
Sabak was an Illitine word meaning “between night and morning.”
There were plenty of alternatives now, so it wasn’t commonly used anymore.
“Dun Sabak?”
“That’s right. You’d become Duke Sabak.”
As Dun stroked her chin in thought, Prim tensed up.
Suddenly, she remembered the answer to a question she’d tossed out on a whim long ago.
‘If you got a second name, what would you pick?’
‘Dungpoomujige Mention.’
Absolutely not.
Even Dungpoo might take her naming sense seriously and make it her actual name, not just a joke.
Prim clasped her hands together, gazing desperately at Dun in silent prayer.
“Sure, whatever.”
“Phew…….”
Truth was, Dun hated racking her brain over names and would just go with whatever was given.
“Duke Sabak! Congratulations! I’ll let them know you’ll hold the title in Noah’s stead until she returns.”
Prim opened a drawer and handed over the key to the reclaimed Puegor mansion.