Chapter 211
Chapter 211
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 211
Chapter Title: 84. Game of Thrones (2)
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To help the conflicted Luther make up his mind, Yuri picked one decisively.
"Picking something lame would just make it boring. Let's go big. You're a murderer. You stabbed some guy to death with a sharp blade."
"Are you fucking insane?"
Once things had gone this far, Luther dropped all pretenses of formality with Yuri.
"You crazy bastard from Brioll..."
"Yeah, that's more like it. We're about the same age, so let's keep it casual. A guy who's gonna be king can't be talking formally to me. Feels natural. I can already sense the king's dignity, man."
"What kind of guy..."
"When you were acting all normal, it felt distant and off-putting. Now you smell like a real person. So why pretend to be fine? In a one-eyed world, trying to pass as two-eyed is how you get caught by a guy like me."
Luther had taken saint training at the temple long ago, which included studies on the human psyche.
To him, Yuri Brioll was anything but normal.
If you compared a person's mind to a room, Yuri's was a total disaster zone.
"He's completely nuts..."
As Luther muttered, Yuri smacked the back of his head.
"I'm making you king, and you're calling me crazy like an ungrateful jerk?"
"Who asked you to?"
"You said you would."
"When?"
"I said I'd count to three, answer me. You said you'd be king."
"No, you forced me into..."
"You gotta stand by your word. So, Luther, let's do this. Got it?"
"Argh!"
"There we go."
Yuri thumped Luther's chest and grinned.
"Now we need to find someone to kill. But randomly offing some nobody, even as a murderer, lacks style. Gotta pick the right one and do it proper."
"Who?"
"The perfect guy."
Yuri clapped toward the outside.
"Bring him in."
The door opened, and Jared dragged in a short someone by the collar.
It was Gultenstein.
Gagged, he could only thrash silently before being dumped on the floor. Simon and Guinness held his arms to keep him from resisting.
Yuri spoke.
"You know who this is, right?"
"That..."
Luther swallowed his words.
Unspoken was the fact that this was the dwarf who had tried to marry Sibylla. But since he too had been a bystander in the end, Luther couldn't bring himself to say it in front of Yuri.
Yuri stood before Gultenstein.
"This guy's the one who killed Sibylla."
"What?"
Those in the Holy Kingdom who witnessed Sibylla's rampage weren't shocked she had been murdered. Her actions lately made it seem like anyone might target her life.
But her killer's identity remained unknown.
Yuri was about to provide the answer.
"Of course, I killed Sibylla. But that's not the point."
Yuri placed his foot on the trembling dwarf's head and ground it into the floor with his weight.
"If you think about it, this bastard's the reason Larson tried to sell Sibylla off, leading her to make the wrong choice. So yeah, he's the one who got her killed by me, right?"
Luther nodded.
"Makes sense."
As someone who hadn't stepped up for Sibylla but at least felt pity for her, Luther could relate to Yuri's story.
"Like you said, Yuri, it all went wrong because of that dwarf bastard."
Getting swept into Yuri's madness had started to shatter Luther's inner shackles, letting curses fly freely now.
"This fucking prick turned the Holy Kingdom into a shitshow!"
"See?"
Yuri held up his palm. Luther high-fived him.
"Told you—put a blade to someone's throat, and they snap back to human."
"Nah, seems more like the opposite of normal to me..."
"Luther, you know what they call poking out a two-eyed guy's eye in a one-eyed world to make him one-eyed?"
"What?"
"Normalization."
Yuri handed Luther the knife.
"Congrats on becoming normal, Luther Arsaint."
"Wow..."
Luther let out a hollow laugh and shook his head.
The nonsense kept coming, yet he was inexplicably convinced. If even a saint like him was falling for it, what about everyone else?
This guy was clearly about to turn the world upside down.
"But..."
Luther looked down at Gultenstein and said,
"I still can't kill him. Just say I did it, so you handle it, Yuri..."
"Got it."
Yuri nodded and immediately plunged the knife into Gultenstein's head.
Bright red blood sprayed.
Luther paled and staggered back.
"No, not, not here..."
"Should've said that sooner?"
Gultenstein, who had been bowing his head, slumped lifeless in that pose.
Yuri kicked the corpse to pull out the sword.
"Yeah, he didn't feel a thing, so it's more than this scum deserved."
"That's not..."
"But he's not worth the effort anyway. Alright, Luther. Tomorrow, take his body and announce you avenged Sibylla yourself."
"Me? Myself?"
"Yeah. We'll back you from the shadows. Ride the momentum to the Holy Kingdom's throne, become Brioll's steadfast ally, and stand together against the Empire."
Luther let out a long sigh.
"Fine..."
Working with the secret society had exposed him to info confirming they'd ultimately have to fight the Empire.
But imagining himself as king leading a war felt dizzyingly daunting.
Yuri threw an arm around his shoulders.
"Hey, don't sweat it too much. I'll be the one swinging the sword up front—why's your face souring? It'll be fine."
"Yeah, a lunatic who could get a hole punched in his chest any second is comforting me."
"Not bad, huh? That'd work on Brioll knights. They'd be cracking up."
"Cracking up..."
He had no idea what that meant, but one thing was clear.
The Luther who lived carefree without real worries was gone.
His life from here...
"Is totally fucked."
The next day, the Holy Kingdom was in an uproar.
Luther Arsaint, who had entered the temple long ago, suddenly dragged a dwarf's corpse to the palace gates.
He was covered in blood, eyes bloodshot, clutching a blade no saint should touch.
"I've avenged Sister Sibylla."
The Holy Kingdom's royal family tree was messy, but technically, they were cousins.
"This dwarf bastard murdered Sister Sibylla, and I've taken his life in revenge."
The news rocked the Holy Kingdom.
If he were just some ordinary royal, it wouldn't have mattered much.
But he was a saint, prime candidate for next pope.
It didn't end there. The long-absent Holy Knights declared support for Luther. Nobles tied to the secret society backed him too.
Above all, braving excommunication to avenge her won the masses' wild enthusiasm.
In the chaotic politics, Luther Arsaint emerged as a top throne contender.
Not everyone accepted him quietly, though. Greed for power can blind reason.
A royal named Liroi, cozy with various nobles, opposed Luther.
"Sibylla was a tyrant dragging the Holy Kingdom to ruin. Gultenstein was a hero by contrast. Luther, murderer of the innocent, has no right to the throne—and an excommunicated man ascending it is absurd."
He shouted it everywhere.
By calling Sibylla a tyrant to undermine Luther, Liroi caught Yuri's eye.
"Yuri, you're not gonna do that guy, right?"
"Who knows?"
"Hold back..."
Luther worried for Liroi.
Francesco had confessed that even regaining mana, he had no confidence against Yuri. A monster who'd surpassed his father in youth. Liroi's knights couldn't stop him.
To Luther, Liroi was one sleep away from a knife in the skull. To protect his kin, he stepped up himself.
Luther deliberately confronted Liroi in the palace courtyard.
"Long time no see, Brother Liroi."
"Yeah, Luther."
They stared each other down.
Each led factions, so their noble followers glared too, tails wagging like chained dogs.
Liroi spoke first.
"Luther, why'd you do it?"
"What're you getting at?"
"Why parade that corpse around? That desperate to be king?"
"Ha. You kept your shell shut like a clam, but now that the field's clear, you're all cocky?"
"What?"
"Am I wrong? Brother Larson tormented Sister Sibylla, you said nothing. She became queen and ruled poorly, you turned a blind eye. Now that you smell the throne, you trash her like some patriot?"
"Sibylla was a tyrant. Everyone knows."
"And whose fault was that?"
"No one's. Her choices."
"You serious?"
"When they pushed that dwarf marriage, she could've just gone along—instead she flipped out and caused all this. Think everyone else lives free? She could've married the dwarf, lived happily."
"You call that talk..."
"You're the same. Stick to being a saint. Why stir shit now..."
Luther couldn't hold back the curses.
"Fuck, shit... Brother Liroi!"
Genuine rage boiled in Luther.
Yuri was probably listening somewhere. He was busting his ass to save this guy's skin, but the idiot was digging his own grave. Frustrating as hell.
Luther roared.
"You know why your life's such a mess? I'm busting my ass here, and you're kicking it away! Coward with a shit brain—can't tell friend from foe till someone drills a hole in your skull!"
Luther's uncharacteristic outburst flustered Liroi.
The accusations were odd, but the insults piled on, fueling his anger.
"What? You insulting me now? Huh?!"
"Yeah, I am. What're you gonna do?!"
"You little shit!"
"Duel it out."
"What?"
"Oh, you're a coward, so you'll refuse. Fine, champion duel then. You won't chicken out on that too, right?"
"You bastard..."
Liroi ground his teeth but thought fast.
One noble in his camp had a top knight. Luther's allies? Holy Knights at best, but everyone knew he couldn't use mana anymore.
No other real champion for Luther.
Liroi smirked.
"Fine."
If things went smooth, Luther would've taken the throne anyway.
Fearing he'd back out, Liroi scanned around and announced,
"I, Liroi Arsaint, and Luther Arsaint shall hold a champion duel! Loser forfeits throne rights. That's it!"
Seeing Liroi's smug grin, Luther just looked skyward.
Excommunicated or not, his faith burned strong.
He muttered alone.
"God, are you watching? I saved another one."
On duel day, Liroi and his nobles were dumbfounded, speechless.
Luther's champion was utterly unexpected.
"N-no..."
Liroi stammered.
"Why... why him..."
It felt unreal.
The Allied Forces' hero, swordmaster who massacred knights at Bezos and terrified the Empire.
Everyone who knew praised his genius to no end—the prodigy now floated as next Ten Strong now that Fiore Brioll was missing. Brioll's royal prince.
Yuri Brioll.
Sword over his shoulder, chin up, he glared at Liroi.
"What're you staring at?"
You're the one staring.
Unable to say it, Liroi looked away.