Chapter 216
Chapter 216
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 216
Chapter Title: Part 2, Chapter 6: Destination (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Cheok Jun-kyung.
He had forgotten that name for far too long.
Every time he trained with the sword, the man's words had been a great help, yet he couldn't remember the name itself. It was regrettable.
'To think I'd recall it in a place like this.'
The strongest swordsman Diablo Volpir had ever met.
A man who hadn't been easily defeated even when clashing swords against his magic.
A man who always talked about the sword and one's mindset.
Back then, he had no interest in the sword, so he'd let the words go in one ear and out the other.
'But... has Mr. Cheok survived all this time?'
The era when Cheok Jun-kyung lived was the same as Diablo Volpir's.
In other words, it was over 60,000 years ago.
For someone from that time to have descendants continuing the line was practically impossible.
The world had been turned upside down several times over since then.
Just in case, he asked Jin.
"Is the surname Cheok common?"
"It's rare, but not nonexistent."
"Are they all strong?"
"Of course not. Even in , there are people with rare surnames, but not all of them are strong, right?"
"The Weltons are strong, though."
"...Now that I think about it, the structure here is a bit unique. In Rye, surnames aren't that diverse. They're not like here, where each territory or family has different ones, so surnames aren't that important. Anyway, not all Cheoks live together or anything; they're scattered everywhere, so talking about their strength doesn't mean much."
It didn't mean every Cheok was strong.
Sharing the same surname was just a coincidence, it seemed.
Even so, recalling a past connection brought a sense of gratitude.
"Thanks. I learned something good. If the chance arises, I'd like to visit Rye someday."
"Once the world regains its peace, I'll guide you there. Which brings me to something..."
"Hm?"
"Why don't you come with me?"
Jamie furrowed one eyebrow at Jin's sudden proposal.
"To Rye?"
"No. I just said if the world stabilizes, I'll take you there."
"Then where... Don't tell me it's a recruitment offer from Frontier? I turned that down once before."
"You're talking about Baylor."
The swordsman of gales, Baylor Onix, had once invited Jamie to join Frontier.
Jamie had clearly refused back then.
"It's not recruitment."
"Then?"
"I have a feeling you'd benefit from meeting Isis."
He didn't know exactly why they should meet, but it felt necessary.
It was a kind of intuition.
Jin wasn't one to trust hunches outside of battle, but this time, he strongly felt their meeting needed to happen.
"You mean come with you to Frontier's headquarters?"
"Yes."
"...That's a bit out of the blue."
As he said, Jin's offer was quite abrupt.
Jamie had planned to visit Frontier's headquarters someday, but not right now.
"Do I need the king's permission? Baylor seemed to come and go freely between the two places."
"No permission needed."
The master of Seldam had many privileges, one of which was freedom to travel abroad.
A brief report to the royal castle was all it took, so sending a letter would solve everything.
The issue was mindset.
Surprisingly, this was Jamie's first time leaving the country since reincarnating.
Frontier's headquarters were quite far from here, and it felt a bit burdensome still.
"Hmm."
"Not interested?"
"Well, I do want to meet this Isis person..."
Originally, Behemoth should have been gathering intel there.
But that dumb elephant must have had its brains scrambled while asleep; it sent no info on Frontier, just pages of its own diary.
Mostly about apples.
"...I heard they have all kinds of apples there."
"Apples? Yeah, lots of varieties. Not just the human-bred ones, either. Do you like apples?"
"Not particularly."
"You don't have to answer right away. Just let me know before we leave."
"When are we leaving?"
"Around a week from now. The mission in Harmonia is done."
"I'll think about it."
"I hope for a positive answer."
Jin left those words behind as he exited the hospital room.
Left alone, Jamie gazed at the darkening sky.
"Frontier, huh..."
There was nothing urgent waiting back home anyway, so traveling the world sounded fine.
'Nothing more to gain in Seldam, either.'
Jamie had nearly perfectly mastered all the magical knowledge in Seldam. 'Nearly' because he'd skipped the useless bits.
Anyway, returning to the mage world wouldn't raise his realm further, so touring the world for experience was a solid option.
Jamie fell deep into thought, staring at the rising moon.
"Harmonia's revolution has ended successfully. Corrupt officials have all been executed, and inspection teams will scour the former territories to root out embezzlers. The incompetent king has been exiled, and Count Neo Fatal is temporarily managing state affairs."
"Fatal, eh. An old noble house."
King Friedmoor scribbled notes diligently while listening to his subordinate's report.
"They say the Fatal family has always been just. They achieved much during Harmonia's golden age."
"Yes."
"Perfect for the first king of the new nation."
"Yes."
"What of the Drian Order?"
The king fixed his golden eyes on the subordinate.
The man bowed and replied.
"No notable response yet. But the other orders will pressure them soon, so we needn't concern ourselves."
"Right. This violated the rules among the 12 Orders."
The 12 Orders could indirectly influence nations where they were the state religion, but direct intervention was tacitly forbidden.
They operated in the shadows, never openly manipulating countries in the light.
But the Drian Order possessed the body of Helm, a prestigious Harmonian noble, and ruined King Kiphus.
Then they ran the country as they pleased, fostering corruption and drowning the people in suffering.
This went beyond direct intervention—it was tantamount to destroying a nation. And in this incident, they even summoned their divine beast.
Judged as a plan to shatter the world's balance, the 12 Orders would punish them harshly.
'That doesn't sit right with me.'
Why should human world issues be handled by the 12 Gods' laws?
No matter that the 12 Gods ruled this land, humans deserved a chance at judgment.
But he knew.
Unless demons intervened like with the Zenith Church, they would strictly prohibit human involvement.
He ground his teeth.
What were humans, anyway?
King Friedmoor suppressed his growing disillusionment.
He set aside dark thoughts and brought up a pleasing topic.
"Jamie Welton did splendidly. I delegated much authority to him, but I didn't expect such perfect handling."
"Word is, he took down the Drian Order's core forces."
"Impressive kid."
He defeated the Drian high priest disguised as Marquis Helm and, though not completely, obliterated the divine beast Basilisk descended from the heavens.
No one knew how, but many eyes witnessed it, so none could deny it.
"I wondered what he was up to during those five silent years, but what a debut performance."
It was thrilling.
He regretted not being involved in punishing the Drian Order, but they'd taken a massive hit from this.
All thanks to Jamie Welton.
And they'd gained ally Harmonia to boot.
Harmonia needed time to function as an ally, but securing a foothold for western expansion was enough.
All of it a means to further pressure the Zenith Church.
"Your Majesty."
Then, a waiting subordinate spoke up.
"A letter from Junior Lord Welton has arrived."
"A letter?"
The subordinate carefully handed over the missive.
The king unfolded it and read.
He squinted at the subordinate with one eye.
"He says he's going on a short trip? That's all?"
"I apologize, but that's everything I received."
"Hah."
King Friedmoor let out an incredulous laugh.
He reread the letter.
[Your Majesty. Your servant Jamie Welton shall wander the world to broaden his horizons. If urgent matters arise, summon me through this.]
The king eyed the small magic circle drawn below.
Touching it with his fingertip, a bluebird popped into the air with a pwing!
The bluebird gazed into the air, chattering like a parrot.
"......"
"......"
King Friedmoor and the subordinate stared at it, speechless.
[P.S. Tell it to be quiet, and it will. Haha.]
Reading the postscript, King Friedmoor told the bird,
"Be quiet."
It really went quiet.
Harmonia swiftly regained stability.
Rotten nobles were executed, meaningless ornaments discarded.
Confiscated wealth from corrupt officials poured into reviving the populace.
Starving people slowly revived, former slaves returned to their lands.
Still faint, but the hellish world changed rapidly.
In just a week.
"Feels like a different country."
"And it's only been a week..."
Ann and Lennon watched the bustling capital folk in disbelief.
As the kids said, people once wearing false smiles now worked diligently with genuine ones.
"Mr. Fatal's barely sleeping, just working."
"Busy times."
"But he must be happy. The abnormal nation is normalizing."
Ann and Lennon smiled at Hera's words.
Then Ann spotted Hawks afar and waved, calling him.
"Oh? Mr. Hawks! Mr. Hawks!"
"Hm?"
Hawks fiddled uncomfortably with his iron armor, then turned at the voice.
Seeing familiar faces, he greeted them brightly.
"Oh, kids! Lady Hera!"
He dashed over in an instant.
Clanking loudly, but no one scolded him.
Lennon playfully tapped his chest.
"Captain, you look sharp as a tack?"
"Brat, teasing an adult?"
Hawks swung his arm for a knuckle rap, but Lennon dodged faster than wind.
He clicked his tongue in mock exasperation, then chuckled.
"Still not used to it."
Four days ago, Hawks was appointed capital guard captain for his revolutionary merits.
A village hammer-swinger, no less.
At first, he was so stunned he thought it a dream.
He still half-suspected as much.
A bumpkin from the sticks rising like this—realistic?
"Suits you."
"Yeah?"
"Yes. Perfectly."
Ann and Hera's praise embarrassed Hawks.
Unlike his beastly past look, neatly trimmed hair and beard transformed him.
"How's the job?"
"Not sure yet. Too busy. Might sink in once it calms."
"Captain!"
A soldier called from behind.
"Gotta go. Take care, all. See you when chance arises."
"You too, Mr. Hawks. We'll visit again."
"Until next time."
Hawks smiled and headed off, but Lennon was suddenly beside him.
"See you next time, Captain Sir."
"You little...?"
"Hahaha!"
"Incorrigible rascal. Hahaha!"
Hawks departed.
The trio, with nothing else, headed back to lodging when someone appeared behind them.
"Whoa, you scared me! Master?"
It was Jamie.
Jamie flicked Lennon's forehead nonchalantly.
"Ow!"
"Why act like you saw a ghost?"
Lennon rolled on the ground clutching his forehead.
Ignoring him, Jamie approached Ann and Hera.
"What are you doing here?"
"Just walking, seeing what folks are up to."
"Big changes in a week."
Jamie surveyed the surroundings with satisfaction.
Hera asked,
"Shouldn't Elder be at the royal castle? How'd you know we were here...?"
"Oh. Had something to say."
"Something to say?"
Ann tilted her head curiously. Jamie scratched his nose awkwardly.
"Next destination's set."
"Next?"
"Yeah. I'm going to Frontier with Jin. So, a brief farewell."
Silence fell briefly. Lennon broke it from the ground.
"Eeeeek?"
Jamie's Frontier trip was confirmed.