Chapter 89
Chapter 89
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 89
Chapter Title: Reunion (1)
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“Sir Demian! What in the world is the meaning of this!”
As soon as the meeting ended, Oliver Apple grabbed Demian and scolded him.
“Or-orc subjugation, you say! Someone like me could never handle something that huge!”
“Then why didn’t you just say you couldn’t do it right there?”
“H-how could I? Everyone was looking at me with such expectant eyes!”
Oliver Apple raised his voice in protest. But when Demian raised his hand, he flinched in surprise and stepped back.
“Still, wasn’t it quite a sight to see the bureaucrats’ attitudes change?”
At Demian’s words, Oliver Apple’s mouth snapped shut. It was a sign of agreement.
“Wasn’t it good to see His Majesty the King so pleased?”
Oliver Apple nodded silently.
Oliver Apple was a man who craved recognition more than anyone.
There was no way he could have disliked that situation.
“There’s no need to worry. Just pull it off, and no one will ever dare ignore Your Highness again.”
“But…”
It was while Oliver Apple was speaking listlessly that a servant approached Demian.
“Sir Demian, His Majesty the King requests a private audience.”
“I’ll go now. Until later, Your Highness.”
Demian followed the servant’s guidance to the king’s office.
“Sir Demian, what’s going on all of a sudden?”
As expected, the reason the king had summoned Demian seemed to be to ask about Oliver Apple.
“I know the crown prince well. That boy would never step up for something like this.”
The king wasn’t rebuking Demian. It was pure curiosity and concern.
It was understandable. His son had suddenly taken on such a dangerous task.
“Your Majesty, that’s a mistaken view.”
Demian addressed the king.
“The crown prince has a strong desire for recognition. On top of that, he respects his uncle, Duke Alexander.”
The king listened to Demian in silence.
“That’s why he’s always harbored the wish to serve the kingdom with his abilities, just like Duke Alexander.”
“So that’s why he volunteered for the orc subjugation?”
“Yes.”
The king fell into thought for a moment.
“…As king and as a father, I’m pleased to see Oliver taking action himself. I want to help however I can. But as you know, Oliver’s position as crown prince is precarious.”
Oliver Apple had lived as a wastrel for a long time. The royal family had tried to cover it up, but it wasn’t perfect. His close associates already knew all about it.
“All I can do is provide basic support. Anything more would only damage Oliver’s reputation.”
The king was right. It could be seen as the king favoring an incompetent crown prince.
“In contrast, Oliver has to shoulder far too much risk. If this subjugation fails by any chance, it’ll be a massive disaster.”
Demian had seen with his own eyes how the noble bureaucrats openly mocked him, so Oliver’s position was indeed shaky.
In such a situation, volunteering for orc subjugation and failing? His position as crown prince might even be in jeopardy.
“No need to worry. Don’t I have your back?”
Demian said it nonchalantly. That casual attitude actually inspired great trust in the king.
“With you there, Sir Demian, I feel secure. But… I don’t understand. Why go this far for Oliver?”
At the king’s question, Demian pondered.
The reason Demian was helping the prince was for his family.
In the future, the Apple Kingdom would face rebellion, leading to the king’s death, and Oliver Apple would suddenly ascend the throne.
The novice king failed to properly manage state affairs. The kingdom shook violently, and the suffering people multiplied. That was why, in the later war with Dorgo, the Apple Kingdom fell so easily.
Demian had come here to prevent that.
The Apple Kingdom was none other than the homeland where his family lived.
But it wasn’t only for such pragmatic reasons.
“I just couldn’t stand by and watch.”
Demian hadn’t expected to grow so fond of Oliver Apple. At first, he was just a nuisance.
“With Sir Demian stepping up like this, I can’t just sit idle.”
The king opened a drawer and took something out. It was a small box made of ebony.
When he opened the lid, a pine needle scent spread everywhere. Inside, a blue orb was wrapped in silk.
“It’s the inner core from the Sea Serpent.”
An inner core was a lump of magic power generated within a monster’s body.
Some monsters used these inner cores to wield various abilities.
The Sea Serpent was one such monster.
The Sea Serpent was a massive monster inhabiting the seas. Not only was its size enormous, but it also possessed water-manipulating abilities.
That was why sailors saw it as a minion sent by the devil of the seas.
“It’s a wondrous item.”
Inner cores weren’t easy to come by. Those from rare and powerful monsters like the Sea Serpent were even rarer.
The infamy of the Sea Serpent matched the immense magic power contained in its inner core.
“If you safely complete this task… no, even if you don’t, I promise to give this to you.”
Demian’s chronic issue was a lack of magic power.
The Sea Serpent’s inner core would solve that problem cleanly.
It was an overly generous reward for the troublesome task.
“Just leave it to me.”
* * *
It was when Demian finished his business and left the study.
“Sir Demian, did your audience with His Highness go well?”
Liam Bluegreen was waiting in front of the study for Demian.
“There’s someone who wishes to see you. Could you spare a moment?”
A person who could use someone of high-class status as an errand boy.
Only one person came to mind for Demian.
“Lead the way.”
Demian followed Liam Bluegreen. He guided Demian to the royal garden.
An artificially created small lake.
A small pavilion built over it.
Someone was sitting there.
“Sir Demian, we meet again like this.”
Prince Alexander Apple said with a friendly smile.
“Have a seat first.”
Alexander Apple offered the seat opposite him. Demian pulled out a chair and sat.
“What is it, Your Grace?”
“I called you to give some advice, since it’s a shame to see a promising young man walking into the jaws of death.”
Demian smirked with one corner of his mouth.
It seemed he was planning to meddle again, just like at the castle gate.
“You seem too young to understand the ways of the world, Sir Demian.”
“I think I’ve aged just the right amount.”
“Hahaha, so a guy like that is siding with my nephew.”
Alexander Apple laughed loudly.
“You may not know it, Sir Demian, but Oliver’s situation is extremely bad.”
Demian let Alexander Apple’s words go in one ear and out the other.
“He’s my nephew, but… I can’t even call him reliable as an empty phrase. His conduct is poor.”
Unaware of that, Alexander Apple continued.
“At first, everyone tried to change Oliver. There’s a saying that a nephew under an uncle’s wing can’t thrive, right? But that boy didn’t change. He’s always been the same.”
Demian paid little attention to Alexander Apple’s words.
Not because he trusted Oliver Apple. But because if he didn’t listen, he could just wield the whip again.
“Now everyone has completely given up on him. It’s no exaggeration to say almost no one trusts that boy. Rather…”
“It seems Your Grace is uncomfortable with Crown Prince Oliver drawing attention.”
Demian interjected curtly. Alexander Apple nodded slightly.
“You’re saying something strange all of a sudden. Why would I be uncomfortable with that?”
Demian let out a scoff. Alexander Apple probably thought he’d hidden it well, but Demian had already seen it.
The moment he spoke those words, Alexander Apple’s pupils had trembled faintly.
“I appreciate the concern, but it seems like unnecessary advice.”
With that, Demian stood up. Before leaving the pavilion, he looked at Liam Bluegreen and said,
“Sir Liam, I didn’t expect you to be on this side.”
At Demian’s words, Liam Bluegreen smiled faintly.
“It’s a choice for the kingdom.”
“Then there’s no helping it.”
Demian left just like that.
Once Demian was gone, Alexander Apple gripped his teacup tightly. It shattered into powder.
“That insolent bastard.”
Alexander Apple muttered through gritted teeth.
* * *
After that day, a notice went up recruiting forces for the orc subjugation.
But no matter how much time passed, no volunteers appeared.
Even after sending letters in Oliver Apple’s name, it was the same.
Knight families refused participation for various reasons.
“…It seems it’s because of my reputation.”
Oliver Apple said with a dejected face.
“Families close to the royal family all know how pathetically I’ve lived. So they have no intention of sending troops.”
It was clear that any noble or knight family connected to the royal family knew the crown prince was a wastrel.
With the knight families acting like this, there was nothing Oliver Apple could do.
He could conscript forces by royal decree, but as the king had said, such support would only tarnish Oliver Apple’s reputation further.
“W-what do we do? If we can’t even start the subjugation like this…”
Oliver Apple’s face turned pale. He already seemed terrified of the mockery.
“Nothing to be done.”
“R-right… It can’t be helped.”
“No choice but to sell my name.”
“Pardon?”
Demian said it casually.
“Add my name to the notice. ‘Recruiting forces to subjugate orcs alongside Demian Haksen.’”
And so, one line was added to the notice.
Less than two days after Demian’s name was posted, a knight arrived leading troops.
“Brother! I’m here!”
Michael Ryanbloom.
The eldest son of the Ryanbloom Marquis Family.
The future Swordmaster had arrived.