The King's Burden
“Your Highness! Look to the horizon! Another ship has appeared!”
A sail slowly rose from the distant horizon.
“Is it the enemy? Reinforcements for the orcs?”
“No! It bears Admiral Bahu’s insignia!”
“He’s coming!”
When Gemini had spoken of the dire news from Sinal Port, the letter had mentioned only that Admiral Bahu’s fleet had gone missing.
Dave swung his sword, cutting down the charging orcs and flinging them aside.
“Everyone, focus! Admiral Bahu’s reinforcements will arrive soon!”
The orcs panicked at the sight of Admiral Bahu’s ships.
The moment the fleet entered the harbor, their formation completely collapsed.
“Krrrrrrk!”
“Kararakarak!”
The orcs’ war horns blared in desperation. They fled toward their own ships without looking back.
Staying here any longer meant only death—either thrown into the sea or killed by cannon fire.
BOOM! BOOM!
As Admiral Bahu’s ships drew near, they opened fire on the fleeing orcs.
Iron shot splashed across the waves, sinking vessels.
Bahu’s fleet burned through the orc ships as it approached the harbor.
The orcs’ ragtag vessels went up in flames.
Amid black smoke and heat haze swirling over the sea, the admiral’s fleet sailed majestically into the port.
“Admiral Bahu! Are you safe?”
Dave called out at the top of his lungs.
Indeed, Admiral Bahu stood upon the flagship.
Clad in green armor, he was a middle-aged man with a splendid beard.
“Your Majesty! I, Bahu, have arrived! We clashed with a fleet carrying a powerful orc shaman on the open sea and have only now reached you!”
Bahu leapt ashore and ran toward Dave.
“The orcs are defeated. A great victory, Your Majesty!”
“Hahaha! Thanks to the reinforcements you sent at the perfect moment! Do you know how worried I was when I heard you had gone missing?”
“I am deeply sorry, Your Majesty. We were engaged at sea for so long that we could not return to port.”
“It is well. You have returned alive and achieved vengeance—that is enough.”
Dave turned and issued orders to the soldiers.
“Find every hidden orc and kill them. Gather the bodies and prepare funeral rites!”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
The soldiers scattered in all directions.
Dave watched them go, smiling with satisfaction.
Bahu tilted his head at the soldiers’ words.
Why were they addressing Dave as “Your Highness,” like a duke or feudal lord?
Had they not heard the title of a sovereign emperor?
Dave spoke to the puzzled admiral.
“I desperately hoped you were still alive. Do you know why?”
“I do not understand, Your Majesty.”
“Gemini’s grand spell succeeded.”
“What? Your Majesty, you approved that foolish plan to summon a hero?”
Bahu was aghast.
Dave shook his head.
“Of course not. But she said forgiveness is easier than permission. Thanks to her, the royal capital has changed remarkably.”
“A… aaaaah…? You permitted that madwoman’s magic…?”
“Haha, do not be so shocked. We summoned no mere hero—we accomplished something far greater.”
“……”
Dave clapped Bahu on the shoulder.
“Had you arrived just one week earlier, you would have witnessed all these changes.”
As a member of the royal bloodline, Bahu had seen firsthand what kind of woman Gemini was—the one who gave the kind, innocent king headaches.
Seeing Bahu’s stiff expression, Dave beamed.
“This will not do. We cannot discuss such matters without a drink. I trust there is still rum aboard the flagship?”
“Of course, Your Majesty. I shall have it prepared at once. Please board the flagship and return to the capital with us.”
“Traveling upstream will be faster. Very well. May I leave your men to handle the bodies? I shall send my own forces back to the capital by land.”
Even if the infantry could be managed, there was no way to load heavy equipment onto Bahu’s ships.
“Of course, Your Majesty. My army belongs to you.”
Dave laughed and struck Bahu’s armor with a resounding clang.
“Thank you. In any case, the capital now falls under the Emperor’s rule. Though I have become king of a vassal state, my people are better fed and safer than ever. Is that not enough?”
“…What?”
What on earth did that mean?
He had stepped down to the position of a vassal king?
No—how could any force in this era declare itself emperor and protect another nation?
“Bring the rum. We have much to discuss!”
“As you wish. Let us speak inside. I shall have my men recover the bodies of those hanged.”
“Excellent. That you are still alive… is a blessing. A true blessing!”
Dave entered the ship.
Bahu watched his retreating back and shook his head.
“A vassal king? An emperor?”
Grind.
“How naïve…”
He clenched his teeth.
He gave orders to the soldiers around him.
“Recover the townspeople’s bodies and hold funerals. Prepare a victory banquet aboard the ships—especially the strongest liquor…”
Bahu issued cold commands, then followed Dave who had already gone ahead.
* * *
“I will now announce the bidding qualifications for artisan-grade tools numbered 1 through 67.”
The auction had begun!
Kim Hwang-je stared, entranced, at the auction scene unfolding before him.
“From this point forward, bidding rights for these artisan-grade tools are restricted to hunters of 1st Class or higher, PMCs with 300 or more employees, government-designated crisis-response priority organizations, guilds composed of 40 or more hunters, and religious foundations not established with personal assets.”
The very idea that one needed qualifications rather than mere money to own such items made his heart race.
Yet all Kim Hwang-je currently possessed was a 3rd Class Hunter license.
As if reading his mind, Seo Jun-seo spoke.
“Sir, you may purchase as much as you like.”
“What? How?”
There were no 1st Class hunters, no PMCs, no government designation, and certainly no hunters… unless…?
“Indeed. We have acquired a religious foundation. We purchased the legal entities of several small abandoned churches, temples, and volunteer organizations near the quarantine zone and prepared the acquisition method through the foundation.”
“But you said it cannot be purchased with personal assets?”
“Yes. We took control through a foundation prepared specifically for this purpose.”
“Aha?”
Kim Hwang-je looked at Seo Jun-seo with sparkling eyes.
He had known the man was competent, but never imagined he was this capable.
And after delivering such a cool line, there was not a trace of arrogance in his demeanor.
“Then let’s see what comes up.”
But the first items to appear were bizarre modern art pieces.
The starting bid for a painting that looked as though someone had wildly scribbled with a brush was 1.35 billion won.
“What would anyone even use something like that for?”
“First, it holds artistic value. Its purpose is asset preservation.”
“And second?”
“A mage has placed protective spells on it. Keeping it in your home benefits defensive magic.”
“Ah…”
But Kim Hwang-je shook his head.
This was far too much of a VVIP auction for his tastes.
“It is also a strategy.”
“A strategy?”
“When items like this appear first, hunter goods feel cheaper by comparison. The chaebols will soon bid for asset management purposes. Right after this will come the hunters’ strategic consumables.”
Oh, was that how it worked?
Like selling neckties right after suits.
Kim Hwang-je scratched his head.
Still, he had no intention of buying art like the rich just because he had come this far.
The only places he had to hang anything were a hotel room or his studio apartment.
Neither mattered.
“Mr. Seo Jun-seo, if any holy relics appear, please let me know. I’m going to check my status window for a moment.”
“Understood.”
Kim Hwang-je activated World Observation.
“Huh?”
When had the battle ended?
Four pieces of heavy equipment that could not possibly be loaded onto ships, along with most of the soldiers, were marching back to the capital on foot.
Instead, Dave and a small number of royal guards were aboard a ship belonging to a man Kim Hwang-je had never seen before, enjoying a banquet.
“He really loves his drink. Was he originally from the navy?”
But the man standing before Dave did not give a good impression.
“Still, he must be someone Dave knows. At least he’s not an orc.”
Humans did not eat other humans as meat.
Just then, an alarm sounded.
Resident Summon (Lv.2)
The Hunter signals.
“Jun-seo.”
“Yes.”
“If any holy relics appear, buy them without worrying about the budget.”
“Understood.”
Kim Hwang-je left the task to Jun-seo and stepped out into the corridor.
After confirming no one was around, he summoned the Hunter.
“Your Majesty.”
The Hunter immediately knelt upon seeing Kim Hwang-je.
He had ordered the Hunter to find the rebels—had he already discovered some trace?
The Hunter pleaded.
“Your Majesty! I have found signs of rebellion. People are being held captive in the homes of the royal guards.”
“What?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. Open the window and see the thieves for yourself.”
After Resident Summon leveled up, he could now see what the summoned individuals were doing.
When Kim Hwang-je checked World Observation, the thief was shaking awake people who had been tied up and unconscious inside a royal guard’s house.
“Then who are the knights Dave took with him?”
“It appears some of the royal guards have been replaced.”
Kim Hwang-je examined Dave again through World Observation.
He was still enjoying the banquet with a small number of royal guards.
The unknown man was pouring drink after drink into Dave while remaining sober himself.
His eyes had gone cold—he looked ready to strike.
“Ah, don’t tell me he’s fallen into a trap? No way—Dave has fought on the battlefield for years.”
Kim Hwang-je recalled the dramas he had watched and felt his heart race.
In games like Iron Throne, they always killed without mercy at times like this!
“Hunter, go back and interrogate the thief and the captives.”
“Yes, sire.”
The Hunter vanished.
Kim Hwang-je rushed onto the terrace and spoke to Seo Jun-seo.
“Jun-seo, is there anywhere we can get potions or anything like that right now?”
“Potions, sir?”
Seo Jun-seo glanced down at the stage.
Only then did the auction stage come into Kim Hwang-je’s view.
Bundles of mana potions sat inside what looked like U.S. military ammunition crates, displayed on the stage.
These were strategic supplies.
Kim Hwang-je immediately raised his hand.
“Double!”
Every eye in the auction hall turned toward him.
“Bundle of 30 mana potions, 170 million won! Third floor, Mr. Kim Hwang-je!”
The auctioneer shouted excitedly.
But Kim Hwang-je’s attention was fixed on the status window flashing with the words Raising Dave.
What the hell was this?
Marine Raising?
***
Admiral Bahu’s fleet was sailing upstream toward the capital.
Several warships lined the middle of the blue sea, and aboard the flagship at their center, a simple banquet was underway.
Dave spoke while drinking rum.
“My comrade who fought alongside me through countless battles… tell me your story. What did you fight on the distant seas?”
“We fought to survive. We raided the orc ships that were plundering elven merchant vessels.”
“That must have been entertaining. How are the elves? Still as arrogant as ever?”
“Indeed. They still held their noses high, believing themselves safe unlike us lowly humans.”
“Haha, that is why I like the elves. They have courage…”
Dave laughed as if he could not help himself.
Then he set down his cup and asked,
“What do you think of our race’s future?”
Bahu did not answer immediately.
He lifted a wine bottle.
Silver Ule, vintage 142—an elven wine.
“I think it is like this wine.”
“Wine?”
“Once the cork is removed… with time, the wine will sour and become undrinkable. We must drink it while it still holds value.”
It was a tragic prophecy.
“Admiral Bahu. I never thought a patriot like you would view humanity’s future in such terms.”
“Your Majesty, but it is the truth. We lost the war.”
Bahu gazed at the distant sunset.
A thick sea fog carrying a fishy scent rolled in.
The pale light of the sunset filtering through the mist looked like tears soaked into cream-colored paper.
“I have led my fleet across the continent. Yet every wheat field was burned, every castle crumbled, and the nobles drank the blood of the dead commoners.”
“Then what is your alternative?”
“……”
Bahu was startled.
Dave’s face showed no sign of intoxication.
“You were pretending to be drunk, Your Majesty.”
“Indeed. I noticed the moment your men attacked my royal guards. I had them all bound and came here with the kingdom’s finest knights.”
Dave gestured to the royal guards around him.
Their faces were hidden beneath thick helmets.
Each one was the kingdom’s strongest knight.
“You mean to say you came personally to strike at the serpent’s head.”
Bahu was impressed.
Dave’s tactical acumen could be absurd at times, yet it was equally brilliant.
This was the flagship in the middle of the sea—the perfect place to behead Admiral Bahu.
Dave spoke.
“Still, I am curious. What was the alternative you had in mind?”
“…Accepting the Demon King’s rule.”
“As I thought? So you would gradually feed our people to the monsters?”
“Whether all die, or a few are sacrificed, Your Majesty. The latter is obviously the correct choice.”
“Why is that?”
“Because there is no other way to survive, Your Majesty. You should have done so long ago.”
Dave did not move an inch.
“How unfortunate. Had you come to me just one week earlier, your thoughts might have changed.”
“It is impossible, Your Majesty. The war is already over. You are the only one who does not realize it.”
“So now you intend to personally bear the burden of kingship?”
“Yes.”
Dave rose from his seat, holding the holy sword.
“Interesting. I had the same thought while coming here.”
“What thought could you have had, knowing of the betrayal yet still bringing your army? Do you truly believe you can face our entire force with only a handful of royal guards?”
“I already told you. I had the same thought as you.”
Dave slowly drew his sword.
“An admiral who was once a hero will die today as a traitor. It is enough that I and the royal guards know this fact. That is the burden of kingship I must bear.”
Dave looked up at the sky.
“In my heart, I wish even the Emperor did not know, but that will be difficult. He will aid us in this battle as well. Yet that too shall be a burden the Emperor must carry.”
The royal guards standing beside the king drew their swords and stood with Dave.
“Have you gone mad, Your Majesty? What emperor could possibly help you in the middle of this sea?”
Bahu looked around.
The fleet carrying Dave and the royal guards was sailing toward the river leading to the capital.
Only the endless ocean stretched in every direction.
“Admiral. Please disappear quietly, as a hero of the sea. That is the final loyalty you can show your people.”
And this is the burden of kingship I must bear.
Dave’s holy sword shone brilliantly.