Chapter 51
Chapter 51
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: Absolute Ruler of Darkness (4)
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"Eh... Ah... Eh?"
The Absolute Ruler of Darkness's mind went completely blank.
For a moment, she couldn't even comprehend what she'd just heard.
No, she did comprehend it.
She just didn't want to accept it.
She simply refused to acknowledge that she'd heard such words.
"Ah..."
Her heart, pounding like it was about to burst, came to a screeching halt.
She couldn't breathe.
At the same time, a torrent of thoughts began flashing through her head.
What should I do? What did he say? He sold it? The Execution Sword? He did? My belonging? Why? No, before that, why was the Execution Sword even there? Didn't I destroy it? What the hell hap-
So many thoughts swirled through her mind that even Rin herself wasn't aware of them.
But those thoughts...
"I figured you just tossed it aside and sold it."
...shattered in an instant at his next words.
"Ah, no! I absolutely did not abandon your gift! Why would I ever throw away something you gave me!? Th-that's impossible. I-I have all your gifts-!"
Clatter!
Gifts began spilling out from the darkness cloaking Rin.
Swords first, followed by a cascade of weapons clanging onto the floor, quickly filling the office.
"L-Look! I, I didn't abandon your gifts. I kept every single one...! Th-the Execution Sword too, th-that must be it! I, I must've been mistaken...! Y-Yeah, that's right-!"
Finally, having dumped the gifts out like scrap metal, Rin spoke up.
"S-Sorry. I, I was just mistaken- Th-the reason I came here today... is to beg you, to beg for forgi-forgiveness-!"
By now, she couldn't even grasp what she herself was saying.
She was just blurting out whatever scraps of words lingered in her mind.
But.
"Huh...? Forgiveness for what?"
Unlike Rin, lost in full-blown panic, Kim Hyunwoo spoke to her with utter calm.
"D-Do I not owe you an apology?"
"Eh...?"
At Kim Hyunwoo's genuinely puzzled words, Rin unwittingly gaped—then snapped back and replied.
"W-Well, I knew you'd come, yet I didn't rush to the territory. And-"
"Eh... Isn't that just obvious? I never called for you in the first place."
"Ah?"
"Since I never summoned you, of course you didn't show up. No need to apologize—it was my call not to summon you."
Kim Hyunwoo even raised a hand, as if to emphasize it was truly no big deal.
In his eyes, Rin had burst into incoherent rambling amid sudden panic, so he'd spoken up to calm her, sensing no real conversation was possible yet.
But to Rin—already spiraling in the belief he'd come to hate her—that consideration twisted into pure mockery, like he was rubbing in her failure to appear.
"Ah- Uh, ah... N-No, it's my fault. I, I failed to come-"
The Absolute Ruler of Darkness desperately tried to deny it.
"That's what I'm saying—it's fine, since I didn't call you."
Kim Hyunwoo cut her off, then—as if struck by a sudden thought—let out an "Ah!" and began fiddling in the air, searching for something.
Soon, after some tinkering, a sheet of paper fluttered down before him.
Flap-!
Thud!
The paper hit the floor.
Kim Hyunwoo scooped it up and held it out to the Absolute Ruler of Darkness.
"Here."
"Th-this is...?"
She asked in a trembling voice.
Meeting her gaze, Kim Hyunwoo gave an awkward smile.
"Y-You know, it just hit me—I remembered you hated that title."
"...Ah?"
"This lets you change it, so take it. And like I said, no need to apologize—"
It felt a bit out of nowhere as a gift, but to him, it was something he'd planned to give her anyway. In fact, handing it over was his way of saying, 'I seriously hold no grudges.'
Yet to her, his actions brimmed with sarcasm. Soon, Kim Hyunwoo smiled and added,
"—It was me who didn't call you, after all."
And then.
"Ah."
The Absolute Ruler of Darkness felt something deep inside her shatter.
Truth be told, Kim Hyunwoo still hadn't fully grasped what was going on. From his perspective, his territory was just hitting its stride when this former hero he'd raised showed up out of nowhere, without a single warning. Even that alone would've been startling—but not incomprehensible. '...I thought she figured out I sold the Execution Sword and came demanding the money back.' Her blurted words left him utterly baffled as to why she was even here. At first, he'd assumed it was about the sword's sale price. But her sudden apologies only muddied the waters further. And with full-on panic symptoms kicking in, he'd tried light reassurance to calm her— even tossing in the title change voucher he'd meant to give her someday.
"Ah, uh-" "..."
She seemed even more panicked than before, staring at him in silence. 'No, seriously, what's her deal?' To be honest, the whole thing felt so abrupt that Kim Hyunwoo wore a baffled look—but only for a moment.
"I-I'm the one who messed up."
Once more, she bowed her head deeply and mumbled. Kim Hyunwoo stared, unable to fathom what she could've possibly done wrong. Because as far as he could tell, Rin hadn't wronged him in the slightest.
"No, really, what did you even-" This time, as he started to ask point-blank what she'd supposedly done...
"...Well, alright. If you get that, fine."
He steered the talk toward affirming her instead. He could've pressed for details on her "mistake," but her panicked state would've just looped them back here—he sensed that much instinctively. So, planning to settle her down first and chat calmly after, he went with that reply.
"Th-then... Will you take me back?"
As the Absolute Ruler of Darkness followed up.
[★★★★★☆ Would you like to recruit the hero 'Absolute Ruler of Darkness'? Y/N][※Caution: Recruiting this hero will spawn hostile territories, guilds, and nations.][Norba Kingdom Relations: –522][Eastern Alliance Clan Relations: –432][Magic Tower Relations: –172][Tesnok Territory Relations: –282][Malran Territory Relations: –222][Hairan Territory Relations: –338][Rolland Territory Relations: –458][Bloa Territory Relations: –311][Schlatia Territory Relations: –143][Mandea Territory Relations: –522][Mihalan Territory Relations: –374] ... [Norba Kingdom now regards you as a blood enemy!][Eastern Alliance may post a bounty to bury your territory!][Malran Territory-][Hairan-] ... [※Relations with Norba Kingdom may become blood enmity!][※Great Hero Sword God Arwen now harbors malice toward your territory!][※Great Hero Snow Ogre Ram now harbors malice toward your territory!][※Great Hero Grand Mage Raran now harbors malice toward your territory!][※Great Hero Underground Fist King Kalam now harbors malice toward your territory!]
※Caution
★★★★★☆ Recruiting the hero ‘Absolute Ruler of Darkness’ will reveal their truth, imposing penalties on territory immigration.
"Ugh."
Kim Hyunwoo let the sound slip out unwittingly.
What he was staring at was a relations window far worse than Merrillda's had been.
'...Even worse than Merrillda. And especially rotten with Norba Kingdom territories...?'
The raw numbers might've been a toss-up, but this hero's ties had tanked even with the great heroes.
'Great heroes—game lore says they're the 5-stars.'
Kim Hyunwoo eyed the dizzying popup with a grimace, thinking freely.
'This one's a hard pass...'
His territory was just starting to spread its wings in earnest—bringing her in would shatter it outright.
Immigration rates, freshly climbing, would crater. Mercenaries would scatter to the winds.
And that wasn't all. At this level, war declarations from other territories or kingdoms could drop any second.
"...That one's gonna be tough."
Kim Hyunwoo said as much.
Rin...
"...Ah."
...wore an expression of utter despair, as if the world itself had crumbled.