NOVEL NEXT Chapter 95.2
To everyone’s surprise, the blonde Emperor and the black-haired Crown Prince following behind him appeared.
Everyone paid their respects. Just their appearance instantly changed the atmosphere.
“This year’s Gold Pentagon final evaluation results will be announced by His Majesty himself, to our great honor.”
Everyone’s hearts swelled with pride.
‘I hadn’t even heard that His Majesty would be coming!’
While the Pentagon was important, it was merely an exam for apprentices. Normally, a member of the imperial family would attend, and that would be the end of it.
However.
“Raise your heads.”
“!”
“In this Gold Pentagon, there are those who have rendered great service to the Empire, so I have come to express my gratitude.”
The Gold apprentices inwardly cheered.
Great service to the Empire!
He must be talking about them!
At the same time, the senior Gold priests looked immensely proud of their juniors. As expected, if they were their own juniors, they should at least match the level of the Emperor.
“It seems even the Emperor had to consider the Pope’s influence.”
“Yeah, it seems so.”
Maintaining composure, yet unable to hide the joy at the Emperor’s arrival.
Soon the final evaluation was about to begin, and the spoils that each team had brought back were revealed. It ranged from teams directly affiliated with faiths to teams composed of others.
“The White team has brought back scattered ancient books.”
“Oh, quite impressive. Studying them will be valuable.”
“The Red team has brought back the holy sword made 300 years ago by the genius craftsman Arte.”
“Oh, that craftsman’s works still fetch quite a high price these days.”
“The Black team has brought back a newly discovered sacred relic.”
“Oh, if it’s the first discovery, it will help with the Empire’s reputation.”
“The apprentices did well this year. This caliber of items didn’t come out last year.”
As the priests continued their praise, the Gold priests couldn’t hide their rising smirks.
Insignificant. It’s all insignificant!
Compared to their own, it’s mere child’s play!
“And the Gold team. They’ve brought back the imperial treasures of Hella Empire that were stolen hundreds of years ago.”
Gasp…!
The imperial treasures?
The Gold apprentices placed an ornate men’s necklace on the table. The priests stirred. That was no ordinary item.
“The treasure passed down through the imperial family for generations.”
“The one the barbarians stole…!”
Even the Emperor was amazed.
“It’s the item inherited at weddings by our virtuous grandfather’s line that was stolen. A precious gift received from the benefactor Empire of Hella, its theft caused great heartbreak. To retrieve it is an admirable feat.”
Ah, as expected of Kina.
It perfectly fits the
Well, to be honest with my greed… retrieving something from the enemy Magic Empire would have been the ultimate, but that was probably too much to ask for an apprentice.
Right. For an apprentice, that was a top-tier item.
‘If anyone has achieved more than us, let them come forward.’
‘Even His Majesty came in person knowing about this.’
The other teams already seemed to sense the Gold team’s victory, holding their foreheads. As expected, there would be no upset.
“And lastly, the Blue team.”
“!”
Everyone’s gaze turned to Isaac.
“The Blue team impressively rescued all the paladins who were kidnapped by the demons in Krasandia.”
“Oh, from the land of magicians? That alone is remarkable!”
“As expected of the Blue!”
The priests of other faiths were purely amazed. They seemed to highly evaluate the courage of simply entering the land of magicians.
However, the Gold apprentices lightly laughed.
‘Just bringing back survivors isn’t…’
But then the priests placed a demon’s head as they spoke.
“The Blue team also dealt with the demon that drove the priests to their deaths 14 years ago. They directly handled the one even the magicians were after, and brought back the survivors, washing away Hella’s pain from 14 years ago.”
Soon after they brought out a magic core, the hall was in an uproar.
“They directly caught that demon?!”
“The Blue?”
The faces of the Gold team hardened.
No, wait a minute.
They caught a demon? Who? Him?
It can’t be fake… not with the magic core there.
‘More importantly, how did they bring back those items?’
‘Wasn’t Molech supposed to definitively take care of it?!’
But soon they calmed their chests.
No. It’s still okay.
The demon was surprising, but at best it only matched a fraction of their own achievement.
In terms of value alone, the imperial treasure was…
“Moreover, the Blue team rescued Hiberius Rom Britannia, the prince of the Magic Empire.”
…The fuck, what did he say?
What else did they rescue?
The prince of the Magic Empire?
Not just the Gold priests, but even Count Molech, who had been confidently sitting in the Gold section, his face rapidly hardened.
This was bad news.
Very bad news.
As if it couldn’t be helped, Isaac gave a sly smile, indicating this was the main point.
“We requested compensation from prince Hiberius Britannia for saving his life. The return of one of the items the enemy Magic Empire took from Hella 200 years ago, and the withdrawal of the outrageous toll Krasandia had been demanding. The Magic Empire accepted this as well.”
“!!”
Krasandia.
One of the diplomatic issues the Holy Empire had been troubled by.
The Magic Empire had imposed an excessive toll on Krasandia, Hella’s crucial trade route, in an attempt to harm Hella’s exports and imports.
Simultaneously, the stunned priests quickly made estimations.
It was huge. No matter how you looked at it, the Magic Empire was too big.
As expected, the Emperor smiled.
“Not only did they greatly elevate Hella’s reputation from its past troubles, but the retrieved item is also substantially helpful in the present.”
The Papal reception hall was in an uproar.
The Emperor, who seemed to have come in person because of the Blue team’s achievement, let out a hearty laugh.
“Of course, the imperial treasure the Gold team brought back is also a precious item that elevates the imperial honor. But in my opinion, the lives of my imperial citizens are more precious than imperial honor.”
“…!”
“The Blue team not only saved the lives of the captured paladins, but countless imperial citizens as well. Exports and imports affect the lives of common imperial citizens. They saved the lives of the many imperial citizens who were suffering needless harm. I want to highly commend that achievement.”
“…!”
The Gold priests were drenched in sweat. Something was going wrong.
“Of course, the evaluation results don’t seem too different from my own thoughts.”
The Emperor looked at the judges. From the judges’ expressions, the Gold priests’ mouths fell open.
…Wait, wha-what?!