Chapter 263
Chapter 263
Iron Emperor — Chapter 263
Gerard, who had been joining in with Jin-cheon's muttering, let out a scream, and Risel joined in. What Gerard saw was Jin-cheon opening the second remaining bottle of the Palasium wine Pale had originally brought—and drinking straight from the bottle.
Unlike Jin-cheon, who was smacking his lips, Gerard and Risel wore expressions as if the world had collapsed, staring at the half-empty bottle of Palasium wine.
"If it was expensive, you should've said it was expensive."
"Ack, this stuff is worth whatever anyone asks for it. The only things left now are empty bottles!"
"Something this precious, and he downs half in one go...."
Gerard and Risel, their eyes gone wild over wealth, gaped and gazed pitifully at the half-empty bottle of the legendary wine.
"Anyway, since it's already opened, might as well finish the rest...."
"Absolutely not!"
"Your Majesty, please reconsider!"
"Do you have any idea what kind of liquor this is! Absolutely not!"
As Jin-cheon smacked his lips and reached for the remaining wine, Gerard and Risel threw their bodies in front of him to block his hand. In a way, their reaction was only natural. As Gerard had said, the wine was worth whatever anyone asked for it—even an empty bottle traded for an astronomical sum. Of course they would convulse like this when Jin-cheon just swigged it down.
"Any liquor that exists is meant to be drunk."
Jin-cheon, undaunted by their desperate defense, kept reaching out.
"This is a wine that, records say, even the emperors of empires tasted only on occasions of national celebration!"
Gerard desperately tried to change Jin-cheon's mind. But this was not someone on whom that would work.
"I am the Yeolje of the Great Gauri, and I have visited this place, so it is a celebration. So hand it over."
"Th-that's...."
At Jin-cheon's firm stance, the color gradually drained from both their faces. Pale, who had been silently watching their standoff, sighed.
-Master, there is more. Just enjoy the wine.
"What!"
The words meant to calm them only ignited a fire. Even Jin-cheon stared at Pale with startled eyes.
"There's more? Is it true there's more of this precious wine?"
-It is.
When Risel asked as if confirming, Pale nodded and answered. As if finding it too exhausting to be any more shocked, Gerard sat down heavily in a chair and scrutinized the bottle again. He wondered if he had seen it wrong. But no matter how many times he examined it, it was unmistakably genuine.
"There is more of this, even though none is left on the continent...."
-There was quite a lot. If you wish, I can bring out a few more bottles.
"A lot?"
Gerard reconfirmed Pale's words. When Pale nodded, Gerard's body shivered.
"Th-then, shall I just have a taste?"
Gerard extended a trembling hand toward the wine.
Pop.
The cheerful sound rang out the moment Gerard's hand touched the bottle.
Gerard and Risel turned their heads toward the source of the sound, praying it wasn't true.
"Plenty more, you say? Good news."
"......."
"......."
While their attention had been stolen by the half-empty bottle, Jin-cheon had popped the cork on the other one as well.
Gerard and Risel closed their eyes and savored the fragrance of a thousand years past.
Go Jin-cheon's bold and unhesitating action had cost them an immense fortune, but as the saying goes—if you can't avoid it, enjoy it—they savored the thousand-year taste.
They had also deduced that if they left it alone, Jin-cheon would drink it all anyway....
"Hoo, now I see why this is legendary."
"Heh heh, what we just drank could cover a kingdom's annual budget."
"Pfft, you can't even put a price on it, really."
Having indulged in a luxury they'd never experience again in their lives, the two briefly scowled as they watched Jin-cheon tip the bottle to drain the very last drop. But only for a moment; they soon turned to Pale to lavish praise on the wine.
"You brought truly incredible wine, brother-in-law."
-Master, I am Pale, not brother-in-law.
"Soon you will be. Brother-in-law."
At Gerard's unshakable conviction, Pale briefly shook his head, regretting what he had said.
"By the way, how did you get this?"
As if curious, Jin-cheon turned the empty bottle over in his hands and asked. Gerard and Risel also looked to Pale, equally curious. Instead of answering, Pale raised a finger and pointed at the floor.
"Underground? Did you find a dungeon or something?"
Being a treasure hunter, he naturally associated it with a dungeon. But the story that followed was entirely different.
-Shipwrecks.
"What?"
-It was among the shipwrecks.
At Pale's words, the three shared the same thought at once.
'We've hit the jackpot!'
Before Gerard seized control, the Central Sea had been a pirates' den. Of course, small-scale pirates still roamed, but the clear fact was that this place had once been a lawless zone.
Unlike the continent, the sea had become a lawless zone largely because of the power struggle among the Three Great Empires. Unlike on land, holding and defending a fixed position at sea was difficult, which allowed pirates to proliferate wherever the empires' spheres of influence met. When the Maritime Empire pursued them, they fled toward the Federal or Holy Empire, and the reverse happened just as often.
Of course, the empires had also deliberately left some pirates alone so they could use them as privateers.
The nation that exploited this point the most was, naturally, the Maritime Empire.
But the greatest reason was the existence of the Sirens.
Sirens have practically no combat power worth mentioning. Their sole means of attack is their singing. But as that singing turned many merchant ships into ghost ships and countless vessels were lost to uncharted reefs, ships gradually began to detour around this area.
It goes without saying that the pirates exploited this point thoroughly. Of course, many pirates fell victim as well, but over time the number of wrecks steadily decreased. They were beginning to grasp the sea routes.
The Gauri navy was another matter. By then its people had become friendly enough with the Sirens that some even formed families with them, turning those waters into a natural fortress.
In the end, the ships that had sunk over the long years were mostly merchant vessels, and a considerable number besides were pirate ships laden with treasures.
Where would that treasure go?
Who would find it?
The answer was simple.
With Risel's reasoning joined by Pale's testimony, Go Jin-cheon and Gerard's faces brightened like parched earth receiving sweet rain during a drought. For Gerard, whose original profession this was, his delight was natural; for Jin-cheon, since the reason he'd set Gerard to piracy was to fill the national coffers, his delight was equally natural.
"This is fortunate."
Relief flickered across Jin-cheon's face.
"We'll have to examine it to be sure, but from what Pale says, we're essentially sitting on a mountain of gold."
Gerard, his face blissful, looked dazed.
"For now, mobilize some troops and begin investigating little by little. Naturally, only mobilize soldiers who have Siren families. Pale will take charge of that task for the time being."
"What about me!"
At Jin-cheon's command, Gerard's face crumpled.
It was tantamount to telling a sparrow not to visit the mill. But even in the face of Gerard's vehement reaction, Jin-cheon simply maintained a quiet silence. Gerard, who had flared up for a moment, soon sensed the gravity of the situation and sat back down, beginning to gauge the mood.
"You've heard already, so you'll know."
"Not in detail, but I heard."
Gerard knew that war with the Holy Empire might come sooner or later.
"What I'm concerned about is not just the Holy Empire. There is a possibility, however remote, that the other empires may intervene."
Gerard's eyes widened.
"Looking back at the history of the continent so far, it has been a history of thorough mutual checks. But that balance has begun to waver with the emergence of our Gauri. It's only natural that all three empires would draw their swords against us. From their standpoint, we are a perversion of nature obstructing the natural order."
As Jin-cheon's voice continued, Gerard's face only grew more somber.
"Gerard."
"Yes, Your Majesty?"
This was nothing like the grumbling, rebellious attitude he had shown before.
"There will be a great war before long. Do you remember the first words I spoke?"
"I remember."
Jin-cheon's words—that he would let Gerard run wild across the plains against the overlords of the continent. How could Gerard ever forget?
"To make that happen, first seize control of the sea and wait. I will call on you without fail. I came here to tell you that."
"......."
Gerard raised his head and looked at Jin-cheon.
"Challenge the strongest on the continent."
As Jin-cheon let out a chuckle, Gerard nodded, a deep smile spreading across his face.
"Someday, I will challenge you again."
"Whenever you wish."
Gerard's other nature—the blood of a warrior—was beginning to boil.
Afterward, the materials Risel handed over contained recent trends and intelligence shared with each kingdom. Gerard would use that as a foundation to prepare for carrying out war alongside the homeland.
"Will you receive Pale's report directly?"
"Since I'm here, let's hear it together."
Gerard turned his gaze to Pale. They had been distracted by joy and by the staggering treasure, but the most important matter right now was where the Holy Empire's fleet had gone.
-First, regarding the scale of the Holy Empire fleet: there were 821 warships and 1,302 transport ships.
"No significant error from the initial estimate... What about its heading?"
-It was the Maritime Empire.
"What?"
"The Maritime Empire?"
At Pale's answer, Jin-cheon and Gerard could not help but voice their puzzlement. Why had the Grand Fleet of the Holy Empire gone to the Maritime Empire?
The two empires were in a situation where relations had soured thanks to Gerard's scheming. For the fleet to go to the Maritime Empire suggested some kind of secret pact; nothing else made sense. Moreover, given that even the various kingdoms had caught wind of it despite it supposedly being top secret, there had to be another intention.
That meant the move toward the Maritime Empire was probably deliberate as well. Jin-cheon and Gerard racked their brains trying to deduce the fleet's purpose, but the more they thought about it, the less sense it made.
"Can we learn nothing beyond that?"
When Jin-cheon asked, Pale slowly shook his head.
-I could not find out.
Infiltrating the Maritime Empire by sea was difficult. Because its people lived entirely at sea, sea monsters were a greater threat to them than land monsters, so their underwater surveillance was naturally thorough.
Hearing this information, Gerard, though disappointed, commended Pale for his hard work. Without him, they could not have grasped even the slightest clue.
Having received the fragmentary but precious reconnaissance data, Jin-cheon expressed lingering regret over the thousand-year-aged wine before being dragged away by Risel.
* * *
-Master, what are you thinking about?
"War."
-I cannot understand that aspect of humans.
Human war, so different from the laws of nature. But Pale had nothing else to say. Gerard gazed out over the blue sea.
"Trying to make sense of war is madness to begin with."
-Is that so?
"Yeah. So don't try to understand it. Thinking about such things is enough for humans."
With those final words, Gerard turned his gaze back toward the sea.
-At any rate, before long, the Giant Crabs will go extinct.
"Heh heh, you're telling me."
It was because Jin-cheon, upon seeing the Turtle Dragons—their turtle ships—had swept his hand over the shells as if fascinated. And then, as if seized by even greater greed, he had instructed them to send every shell captured from now on.
-For us, the elimination of a natural predator is welcome, but....
Pale trailed off and tilted his head.