NOVEL NEXT Episode 63 - The Speech (1)
Episode 63: The Speech (1)
“……?”
The princess and I turned to look at Hyude with puzzled expressions.
Hyude, who had shouted with his chest puffed out and face held high. He didn’t realize what he had done wrong at first, but soon became flustered.
“I-I’m sorry, Your Majesty… I didn’t mean to…”
Hyude quickly bowed at the waist.
While the title of Demon King wasn’t an issue, I had cautioned against this kind of behavior. It seems he got caught up in the atmosphere of the castle and reverted to his old habits.
“It’s fine.”
“Y-yes…”
It wasn’t particularly hard to understand. After all, it would be impossible for the formality ingrained over such a long period to disappear after barely three months of living here.
“…I’ve come as requested.”
A moment later, in response to Hyude’s grand announcement, the King of England opened the door and came out in person.
The King looked somewhat bewildered.
“Well, don’t worry about that. Let’s go inside.”
“…Oh, yes.”
We entered the room. As expected, the guest room was also filled with antique furniture.
The King and I sat down in noble red chairs. The King took a light sip of the tea on the table and began to speak.
“First of all, I’d like to thank you for protecting our United Kingdom. I’m quite amazed at how a Korean person arrived even earlier than our British hunters…”
As for that, I could only say it was good luck.
Although I had been prepared, if I hadn’t been able to use [Magic Path] through Jeong Ye-rin, I would have certainly arrived after London had been completely destroyed.
In fact, thanks to my early arrival, only the center of the clock tower and beyond were destroyed, while this direction towards the palace was relatively intact.
“It was nothing.”
Of course, that didn’t mean I needed to unnecessarily lower my own value.
“I-I see… And thank you also for saving me from Iris before.”
The King had realized today, upon seeing Shayen, that the being who had saved him then was under my command.
“Indeed.”
“But… Mr. Seo, did you send your subordinate to me in advance knowing that Iris would do such a thing?”
How could that be possible? I had simply assigned Shayen because Iris had disappeared, and it had luckily worked out.
“It’s a bit awkward for me to say that with my own mouth.”
Of course, there was no reason to tell the truth about that either.
England was still one of the world’s major powers even after the Great Cataclysm. So, building up goodwill with its leader would surely be helpful.
“Ah… To think you were concerned even for my well-being on the opposite side of the globe…”
The King seemed deeply moved by my words.
“To be honest, when I first heard that Mr. Lee Seo-jun was associated with demon-kind, I viewed it somewhat negatively, but now I see you’re an incredibly benevolent person…”
“You’re making me blush with such words.”
“I truly thank you…”
The King’s eyes trembled as he gently grasped the tip of my hand. Beside him, the princess was wiping away tears with a handkerchief.
Having composed himself, the King asked me:
“So, is there anything you might want from us? We’ll do anything we can for you.”
I hid a smile at the long-awaited bite.
Originally, I had planned to accept this invitation for diplomatic reasons.
But now that I was here, it seemed I might be able to gain some unexpected benefits, so I showed them my value.
However, it wouldn’t be like me to jump at this immediately.
“Want something…? I didn’t act with the expectation of gaining anything from you. The gratitude you’ve shown me is enough.”
Here, I cast out another piece of bait.
From my vast experience, they wouldn’t be satisfied with just this. They would value me even more highly and want to give me a better reward.
Usually, this method doesn’t work on evil people, but these folks didn’t seem to be that kind of unreasonable bunch.
Indeed.
“Ah…!”
They were moved by my generosity, taking in a sharp breath.
With this, they wouldn’t do anything to harm me. If anything, they might try even harder to look good in my eyes.
However…
“As expected, the Your Majesty’s lofty dignity remains unchanged even after all these years… I, Hyude, am overwhelmed with emotion…”
Why are you crying along with them? Even after all this time, I still couldn’t understand his emotional responses.
A moment later, the King wiped away his tears and raised his head.
“But Mr. Lee Seo-jun, this doesn’t sit right with us. Please, allow us to express our gratitude.”
“Hmm… If you insist, I suppose I have no choice.”
“You’ve made the right decision. Then, is there anything in particular you’d like…?”
From the start, there was only one thing I wanted from them.
“Something I want…”
Pretending to think for a moment, I shifted my gaze behind the King.
The princess standing respectfully. I pointed at her.
“Then, give me your daughter’s blood.”
I intend to fill the blank space in my newly acquired [Predation] with the [Translation] ability possessed by that young princess.
Using [Translation], I could understand the language of others while my own words were automatically translated into their language.
Perhaps misunderstanding my words, the princess’s pale cheeks turned slightly red, and the King stammered severely.
“D-d-d-do you mean to m-marry my youngest daughter─”
“Ah, I misspoke.”
I quickly corrected myself. Without going into detail, I explained that I needed about 5ml of blood.
“Phew… So that’s what you meant. We can certainly provide that much.”
As the misunderstanding cleared up, the King breathed a deep sigh of relief.
“But if that’s what you want, feel free to say so anytime. Actually, my youngest daughter is a fan of Mr. Seo-jun. The reason she was assigned to guide you this time is because—”
“Oh, Father…!”
“Haha, look at how shy she’s being. Isn’t it cute?”
I let them chatter among themselves.
When the commotion had died down a bit, I spoke.
“Well, let’s talk about compensation and such later. What’s the real reason you called me here?”
“…You knew?”
I nodded.
Though not in detail, I could tell there was something going on thanks to [Regie’s Insight].
“As expected, we can’t fool you, Mr. Seo-jun.”
I quietly waited for the King to continue.
“I was hoping that Mr. Seo-jun would make an appearance before the British people. From the balcony of this palace.”
One of the most famous balconies in the world, the balcony of Buckingham Palace.
Normally, it’s only used for important events like royal weddings, so asking me to stand there held considerable significance for them.
But I looked at the King with heavy eyes.
“Is that really all?”
The King flinched at the sudden change in atmosphere.
“…No, that’s not all. It really feels like I’m being stripped naked in front of you, Mr. Seo-jun.”
No, that comparison is extremely unpleasant.
Well, I used [Regie’s Insight] without their consent, so let’s move on.
“You must be well aware that our country, the UK, is one of the countries with severe racial discrimination.”
“You’re quite objective about it.”
“Haha… Not all citizens are like that, but as always, it’s a problem with some. And for us, that ‘some’ is particularly large.”
“Are you saying that if it weren’t for that, I’d be discriminated against because I’m Asian?”
“No, Mr. Seo-jun is, how should I put it… Your very existence is so lofty that there will be almost no discrimination. Above all, you’re the one who protected our country.”
“Then if not me, you mean…”
As I turned to look, Hyude bowed his head slightly.
Seeing this, the King spoke in a careful voice.
“Yes, the demon folk following Mr. Seo-jun will face discrimination.”
“…But they should already know that these demons also protected this country, right?”
“This is completely different from your situation, Mr. Seo-jun. You fall into the category of ‘human’, but they belong to the category of ‘demon’.”
The King glanced at Hyude and then fixed his gaze on me.
“Of course, I see them as individuals, but most people won’t. Our country has lost many to demons, and above all, it was demons who attacked London this time. Some are even saying that your appearance was so quick that it might have been staged.”
“…I see.”
Taking a deep breath, I tapped the armrest with my index finger.
I knew it, but it’s truly not easy. I thought we had gotten a bit closer, but it’s still so far away.
“But what does that have to do with me standing on the balcony?”
“Ah, that’s why I was hoping Mr. Seo-jun could give a speech that would move their hearts.”
A speech, huh…
Certainly, if it’s that, we might be able to change the perception of those Solomon folks. Maybe not completely, but we could probably make a small change.
The King, watching me lost in thought, said:
“We still have some time left, so if you need a script, I can have someone—”
“No, that won’t be necessary.”
“…Pardon?”
Ignoring the King’s bewildered look, I slowly rose from my seat.
A script written by someone else?
I didn’t think that would bring about any change, and I didn’t need such a thing to begin with.
“I’ll go with my own instincts.”
They have no idea how many ‘speeches’ I’ve given over the past 6666 years.
“B-but what if the situation gets worse…? As someone who has given speeches for a long time as the king of a country, let me tell you, it’s not easy to elicit a positive response from the public.”
“I’m well aware of that.”
“…Excuse me?”
“How long have you been serving as king?”
“A-about 21 years…”
“Then you still have a long way to go.”
“Y-yes…? What do you mean…?”
I gave a faint smile at the King’s bewilderment. I was about to tell him to come back after 100 years, but I held back.
I turned, my cloak fluttering.
“Well, don’t worry and just watch.”
I didn’t rule the Solomon demon realm with mere force alone.
In the early days, I was weaker than them, and force alone couldn’t have allowed me to rule them for such a long time.
“I’ll show you something special.”
Besides force, there were other virtues a king should possess. One of them was unwavering conviction.
“What a true speech is.”
After all, a king is one whom others wish to follow.
===
**
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The central balcony of Buckingham Palace, bathed in the intense midday sun.
In front of the majestic palace, countless people had gathered, looking up at the balcony. Everyone had taken their places to see just one man.
────!
Soon, the sound of trumpets filled the streets.
Despite some musicians being bandaged, they played with all their might for the foreign man who had saved London.
The melody, deeply imbued with reverence, continued for a moment before suddenly stopping.
A gentle silence suddenly fell over the crowd.
Boom───!
Breaking the silence, a powerful drumbeat resonated.
The grandeur, as if striking the heart directly, was enough to draw out people’s anticipation.
Boom───!
The drumbeat intermittently pounded the space, and its sound waves gradually faded away.
Feeling the trembling aftereffects in their flesh, people quietly looked up at the balcony.
A noble darkness gradually cast over the balcony. He appeared, swallowing the rays of sunlight.
At last, with the appearance of the man everyone had been waiting for.
Waaah───!!
The crowd’s fervent cheers spread in all directions.
(To be continued in the next episode)