Chapter 51
Chapter 51
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: Emissary
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When we entered Kinalo City, the first thing we saw were mages lined up on both sides of the street.
“Ki-Kinalo City welcomes Count Lansen! Hurrah!”
“Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!”
It seemed as though every mage in the city had come out.
Not only the white-haired elder mages in their ornate robes, but also young mages in their early teens, their robes so long they draped over their arms.
All of them knelt before me.
“I-I am Tevek, the representative of Kinalo’s mages. I am in charge of guiding you and handling the transfer of authority.”
Tevek was a hunched old man.
Watching them assume such a subservient posture, I had many thoughts.
‘Harun must have really crushed them.’
Kinalo was a city of mages. The pride of its mages was so renowned it was the stuff of children’s storybooks.
For people like them to kneel on the dirt ground to welcome me?
I didn’t know the details, but this was a reaction that couldn't have come about unless Harun had dealt them a severe blow.
‘Plus, they’re quick to assess the situation.’
I was quite impressed that Kinalo’s mages were united under the one called Tevek.
No matter what anyone said, the ruling class of Kinalo was its mages. If they weren't organized, things would have been a headache for me.
I would have had to summon them one by one, interrogate them for information, and build my foundation of rule from scratch.
But with them organized under Tevek, it was a different story.
It meant that the entire organization of mages that had been Kinalo’s ruling class could become my subordinate structure.
It was a good thing for both sides—for us and for the mages of Kinalo.
It would greatly reduce our consumption of administrative resources, and the mages of Kinalo could protect their minimum standing.
Though their maneuvering was plain to see, I had no reason to refuse it.
*Smart, just like mages.*
“Alright. Tevek. A pleasure to meet you. Lead the way.”
Thus, the weight of my single sentence was by no means light.
Tevek had made an unspoken offer, and I had just accepted it.
His face brightening, Tevek led the mages to the front of the procession.
“Make way for the true ruler of Kinalo, Count Lansen! Everyone, greet him!”
At his command, the citizens of Kinalo who had come out to the streets erupted in cheers all at once.
“Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!”
An impromptu victory parade.
We marched toward Kinalo’s lord’s castle, welcomed by the citizens lined up on either side.
The thunderous sound of "Hurrah!" echoed from all directions.
But when I looked into the faces of my new subjects, I saw nothing but stiff tension.
‘They’re all having a hard time.’
Their mouths all uttered words of praise and their hands scattered flower petals, but in truth, they were all afraid.
I could tell for sure from the citizens’ whispers.
“Another new conqueror…”
“Will he levy a special tax again?”
“He’ll probably conscript us for labor too…”
“He said there's a victory banquet tonight, so everyone keep your evenings free. We'll have to go and serve food or something.”
“This is driving me crazy…”
They whispered, thinking I couldn't hear, but to the ears of a Sword Master, their words were perfectly clear.
My mouth felt gritty, as if I were chewing on sand.
‘Conquest…’
I am a conqueror.
And in the future, I would have to become an even greater one.
To succeed in Sea’s Three-Pronged Strategy, I would have to conquer at least ten more cities.
The conquest of Kinalo was a cornerstone that marked the beginning of that endeavor, a very meaningful and joyous achievement.
But… that didn't mean I had to like a scene like this.
There were no children on the streets.
The frightened adults must have locked them all inside their homes.
Not knowing what a fearsome conqueror might do, they would hide their precious ones first.
I hated this.
Hadn't I said it clearly to my siblings and retainers?
‘Let's win. So we never have to put up with things we hate seeing again.’
This was exactly what I hated seeing.
Adults terrified and children locked in their rooms.
A stifled silence.
And thus, a heavy heart.
Just as I was feeling endlessly stifled, some figures caught my eye like a refreshing autumn breeze.
‘So there are kids here after all?’
The cooped-up little ones must have been curious about what was happening outside.
Here and there, from the second and third-story houses along the main street, windows opened, and children peeked their heads out.
Little heads tilting with curiosity.
Seeing the children, I finally felt like I could breathe again.
The reality of having met the city of Kinalo finally set in.
“He's smiling?”
“He seems nicer than I thought.”
“Don't you think… he's kind of handsome?”
I heard the whispers.
But now, those voices didn't particularly bother me.
The important thing was that there were children here, too. And…
‘Huh?’
*Creek.*
It was a sound no one else here could have heard.
A single, small creak that escaped from between the people.
It latched onto my ear.
I reflexively looked toward where the sound had come from.
“Ah…!”
A little kid was losing their balance and falling from a terrace. It seemed they had leaned too far out to watch the scene below.
*Thwack—*
The moment I registered the situation, I threw myself forward.
Kicking off the building wall, I launched my body through the air and caught the child before they hit the ground.
“Uwah…! Huh?”
The child, nestled softly in my arms, stopped screaming and looked up at my face with wide, curious eyes.
Were they even five years old? The kid looked younger than Seon.
“I'm saved! Thank you, mister!”
The little one said, blinking their clear eyes.
“Delphina!”
A woman who appeared to be the child's mother screamed, her face ashen as if she were about to faint.
“I-I'm sorry, my lord. I'm so sorry!”
The woman rushed to my side but couldn't even bring herself to take the child, wringing her hands in distress.
The child, called Delphina, blinked.
“Huh? A high-ranking person? But you don't look like a mage…”
In the world of a five-year-old, a "high-ranking person" must have meant a mage.
“I am a high-ranking person.”
I said it playfully, and the child's eyes lit up.
“Really? Then can you build an academy?”
“An academy?”
“Yes! I want to become a mage! They say there are academies in the Empire. I saw it in a storybook! It said anyone can become a mage.”
A pretty bold kid.
The kid's mother turned completely pale.
“I-I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, my lord…”
I smiled.
Because this little one's thoughts aligned quite well with my own.
“I understand.”
I replied and handed the child to the frantic woman.
Everyone was looking at me.
Right. I felt my complicated thoughts finally clearing up.
My duty had been set from the very beginning.
The Three-Pronged Strategy was good, and revenge against the Empire was good, but first, I had to create a city where children could smile. To rule in such a way.
That's what I wanted.
And I believed that was the only way to build a truly powerful nation.
I met the eyes of the citizens watching me and made a promise.
“I know you are all afraid. But watch. This city will change. There will be no special taxes, no conscripted labor. We will hold our victory celebration modestly among ourselves, so you should all rest well. You have suffered much.”
Only then,
a faint glimmer of hope sparkled in the eyes of the murmuring citizens.
“This time… seems a little different?”
Someone's murmur made me feel good.
* * *
The victory banquet continued for several days.
As I had publicly declared to the citizens, no taxes were collected, nor was labor conscripted.
We legitimately spent gold coins to hire manpower and procure food and drink.
To maintain military discipline within the occupied territory, the victory banquet wasn't held all at once but in rotations by unit.
Thanks to this, the celebration lasted for over a week.
I slipped out of the noisy banquet hall and hid in a small lobby at the top of the lord's castle.
This was a space that I and a few of my siblings used as a sort of hideout.
I would sit there, spacing out while replaying the last battle in my mind, and Sea would always have her nose buried in documents.
“Brother.”
“Yeah?”
“You should go to the banquet hall. Katrina was looking for you.”
Sea nagged without even looking up from her papers.
“…I already showed my face earlier.”
“What's the point of just showing your face? You need to pour a drink for the warriors, catch up with key figures. That's all politics, you know?”
“I guess politics doesn't suit me.”
*Thump.*
Sea put down her documents and stared intently at me.
It was an intimidating gaze.
“How are you going to manage if that's hard for you? The real politics are just beginning.”
“Real politics?”
“Yes. The lords of Norverge, who were just watching and waiting, will all be sending emissaries, one after another.”
“Ah… just hearing about it is tiring.”
“Tiring or not, you have to do it. They'll be desperately digging for information. Whether you're really stronger than Harun. How overwhelmingly you won. What happened to Harun.”
“Right. They'll be racking their brains trying to figure out which side to back.”
“You get it.”
I got it. That's why it was even more tiring. I didn't have the luxury to worry about such trivial matters right now.
Honestly, my mind was currently filled with nothing but replaying my battle with Harun.
I said to Sea,
“Let's set a policy. We won't tell them anything.”
“Anything?”
“Yeah. We can't stop the rumors spreading from the soldiers, but officially, we won't confirm anything and will maintain a solemn atmosphere.”
“Brother, don't tell me…”
“So they can't figure out whether we had a great victory or not. Yes. It would be better if I don't even show my face.”
“You won't show your face?”
“Yeah. It would be even better if they thought I was injured. Let's make it very confusing. So the lords of Norverge can't grasp the situation.”
“Alright. Confusing the lords of Norverge. That will allow us to move more freely, so that's good. But…”
Sea stared at me intently.
“Isn't that just a declaration that you're not going to work?”
She was sharp, alright.
“Sea.”
I approached her side with a bright smile.
“What.”
Sea watched me as if observing me.
I quickly placed my aura-infused hand on her small shoulder.
“Oh my. Look how tense your shoulders are. Do you even rest?”
“I'm fine. That's not the problem right now…”
“No. You're not fine. Your shoulders are as hard as a rock!”
I diligently massaged Sea's stiff shoulders with my aura-filled hands.
“Ugh! Wait. Brother. Mmm…”
Sea tried to resist. But as her knotted muscles loosened one by one under my fingertips, her resistance grew weaker and weaker.
“No… I can't… Mmm. Mmm… Just because you're doing this… Zzz…”
She must have been truly exhausted. As I gave her a refreshing shoulder massage, Sea slumped onto the desk and fell asleep.
I grinned and laid Sea on a field cot I had brought to one side.
I stroked her sleeping head once.
“Sorry… I'll be counting on you for a while longer.”
I figured Sea would have understood what I meant by that.
The fact that I had pawned off the duty of meeting emissaries onto her.
It was shameless, but I couldn't help it.
‘No matter how I think about it, it's a waste of time.’
Right now, I didn't have time to spend meeting with emissaries from other cities who were like jackals. I really didn't.
* * *
I thought I would never have to meet an emissary.
But the world isn't so easy, and expectations are always wildly off the mark.
It was four weeks after the fall of Kinalo.
Four weeks. A short time or a long time, depending on how you look at it, but for me, there had been a tremendous change.
It was all thanks to Sea.
Solidifying our rule over Kashu and Kinalo, replenishing our forces, receiving the emissaries sent by other lords of Norverge…
Thanks to Sea taking on all the work I was supposed to do, I was able to comfortably organize the enlightenment I had gained from fighting Harun.
By the time I returned from my training, the emissaries had all departed, and the urgent matters were mostly handled, so there was nothing much for me to do.
‘Should I try using the Book of Fate soon?’
I was that relaxed. It was at that exact moment that an emissary arrived without any warning.
The final emissary, whom no one had expected.
“Who goes there!”
“Stop right th—! Guk…”
“Ugh…”
I was in the audience chamber for the first time in a while, receiving various reports, when suddenly a loud commotion erupted outside, followed by an abrupt silence.
*Chills—*
Goosebumps rose on my skin.
An absurd amount of aura was churning outside the door.
*Thud— thud.*
The sound of unrestrained footsteps echoed in the silence.
And then,
*Creeak! Thump!*
A man entered, having opened the large audience chamber doors all by himself.
He wore loose-fitting clothes with wide sleeves, had ash-gray hair, and ash-gray eyes.
As he strode brazenly to the center of the audience chamber, no one could stop him.
Not even the high-level Experts, nor even the top-tier ones like Rivera or Katrina.
The best they could manage was to place a trembling hand on their sword hilt.
*Thud.*
The man finally reached the center of the room and gave a lazy wave of his hand toward me in greeting.
“Nice to meet you… I am Kain Manus, sent by His Majesty, the great Emperor.”
His every action lacked sincerity.
His walk, his greeting,
even his languid voice.
Everything about him just seemed… bothersome.
But considering the name he gave, such an attitude was perfectly understandable.
Kain Manus.
The Captain of the Gallotti Empire's Imperial Guard, who had destroyed the Kingdom of Vanroah.
The Emperor's Sword, who stands closest to the Emperor of the Empire, Lokstehlen Gallotti.
In other words, he was our mortal enemy.
And a man known to be a Grand Master.