NOVEL NEXT Chapter 116: Hero King (4)
Peace had come to the Tesnoka territory.
After the battle Kim Hyunwoo participated in, the soldiers weren’t completely annihilated but scattered after losing their commander, and they no longer came to the Tesnoka territory.
Instead, most of them became migrants after discarding their weapons and armor, while a few became looters and dispersed.
Moreover, perhaps Landaron also found it difficult to move any further; locking the castle gates brought a somewhat uneasy peace to the Norba Kingdom.
During that brief period of peace, the Tesnoka territory quickly recovered from the damages.
And when the territory had swiftly mended, returning not entirely but sufficiently to its former state,
“I greet the emissary of the Holy Kingdom.”
“I greet the noble soul that has not succumbed to evil.”
Rania was able to meet the person from the Holy Kingdom who had come to the Tesnoka territory.
Seeing the blonde woman who bowed her head, wearing the pure white robes symbolizing sanctity, followed by a procession of paladins who appeared several times larger than an average person, Rania asked,“Could we go inside first to discuss matters in detail?”
And she soon ushered the emissary of the Holy Kingdom and a paladin to her office to thoroughly explain what had happened so far.
And.
“…The emergence of demons is quite troublesome, not to mention there are humans who have accepted the power of demons.”
Having heard all of Rania’s story, she erased her gentle expression and murmured with a grave look.
Agreeing with her, Rania nodded and responded.
“I think so too. If the Lord of Lartania hadn’t helped us, I wonder what would have happened…”
And.
Pause.
The emissary, who had been following the conversation until a moment ago, looked at Rania with a somewhat surprised expression.
“Did you, by any chance, say Lartania?”
She asked, and Rania nodded in response.
“Yes, that’s right…? …Why do you ask?”
Rania answered with a slightly awkward feeling to the emissary’s reaction, who then seemed to stare at her blankly for a while before.
“Excuse me for asking, but didn’t the Lartania territory decline and disappear a few years after its lord vanished ten years ago?”
Asked the emissary of the Holy Kingdom.
At that moment, Rania wondered how these people, who lived on a remote island in the eastern part of the continent and never appeared except when demons appeared, knew about Lartania, but she soon answered.
“That’s correct, but the Lord of Lartania has recently returned.”
“…Returned?”
“Yes. After the Lord of Lartania returned, the territory was revived. Of course, it’s not as it was ten years ago, but it’s recovering at a very fast pace.”
The emissary made a slightly dazed expression at Rania’s answer.
Rania, seeing the blue eyes momentarily containing a mix of emotions, looked puzzled.
“May I ask just one more thing?”
“Yes.”
“Is the name of the Lord of Lartania who has now returned, Kim Hyunwoo?”
She nodded.
And.
“……”
Rania could see.
The once gentle-looking emissary’s lips now bloomed into a bright smile.
And.
“…That’s indeed good news, isn’t it, Melan?”
“Indeed. Who would have thought he would return? Congratulations, Saintess.”
Following their exchange, Rania, momentarily stunned, unwittingly widened her eyes.
It was because an incredible name had just sprung from the mouth of the paladin.
The term ‘Saintess’, a title in the Holy Kingdom considered higher even than the Pope’s, effectively equivalent to a ‘king’ in terms of status within a kingdom.
Therefore.
“Saintess?”
“Oh, I apologize for not introducing myself properly.”
As Rania opened her mouth with a puzzled expression, the emissary of the Holy Kingdom, no, the Saintess, smiled back at her.
“I am Amelin, the 7th Saintess of the Holy Kingdom, also known as the Seeker permitted by the Heavens.”
She introduced herself.
Late at night, while Kim Hyunwoo was asleep.
A being infiltrated the airspace above Lartania.
An alert appeared before Kim Hyunwoo, but the cold weather recently made him burrow deeper into his warm blankets, pulling him further into a deep slumber, independent of the alert.
In other words, he continued to sleep without checking the alert.
While Kim Hyunwoo was asleep, Merilda, who had arrived at the Lord’s castle in an instant, entered the castle without hesitation.
Soon, she reached the office in the Lord’s castle, where nobody else was present.
“Sigh-”
Merilda let out a very light sigh and turned the doorknob as it was.
And.
“Huh?”
“Eh?”
She saw.
Rin, who had arrived earlier than her, was trying to pick up a Teleportation scroll placed on the desk of the office.
“……”
“……”
There was a momentary pause.
Merilda’s gaze shifted from Rin to the scroll, and conversely, Rin’s gaze moved from Merilda to the scroll.
And.
Swoosh-!
Their silent struggle began.
Merilda’s hand swiftly swatted Rin’s hand, which was about to grab the Teleportation scroll.
The scroll floated in the air, freed from Rin’s grasp.
Not missing that moment, Merilda immediately jumped lightly, trying to grab the scroll.
“Nu-uh-!?”
As if it were futile, Rin grabbed Merilda’s tail and pulled her back, then dashed towards the scroll.
“Ugh!”
Merilda, grimacing in pain, grabbed Rin’s leg.
They started a silent battle within the Lord’s castle.
After a short amount of time had passed.
“Let go of this!”
“You let go first…!”
Merilda and Rin were glaring at each other, each grabbing the other’s hair.
“I said let go!?”
“I told you to let go first!”
The two argued in very soft voices, in case Kim Hyunwoo might hear them.
However, Merilda and Rin were determined not to let go of each other’s hair, gripping firmly.
Eventually, after having held onto each other’s hair for a while, they…
“…Let’s call a truce.”
“A truce?”
“Yes, on the count of three, we’ll both let go of each other’s hair, got it? Then we can calmly discuss this.”
It seemed like a change was about to happen due to Merilda accepting Rin’s suggestion, but-
“One.”
“Two.”
“Three-! Aaagh-”
As if they had never intended to let go, Merilda and Rin pulled each other’s hair even harder.
They glared at each other,
“Eugh-!”
And with a let-it-be attitude, they threw themselves towards the Teleportation scroll on the floor, still clutching each other’s hair.
Thinking they each had grabbed the scroll, Merilda and Rin moved their hands without hesitation,
Rip-!
“Ah.”
“Ah.”
The Teleportation scroll was torn.
“Dragon Lord, the Lord of Lartania will be moving to your location soon.”
The Crimson Dragon thought it was going to faint when it first heard Adria’s words.
That was because, when Adria first asked the Crimson Dragon to make this scroll, it was purely intended to be used in case their Master was in danger.
In other words, the Crimson Dragon couldn’t even imagine that Adria had tampered with the Teleportation scroll so that their Master would end up inside its lair within two weeks.
But since Adria had already handed over the Teleportation scroll in front of the Crimson Dragon, making it impossible to back out, she immediately began preparations.
The dragon quickly covered all the pictures plastered on the lair’s walls with magic, then started decorating the cold, cave-like scenery with various magics and treasures.
Furthermore, Adria had been advising the dragon for about two weeks on what to say and how to apologize when facing Kim Hyunwoo, going so far as to analyze his possible reactions like data to create a guide(?) on how to respond based on his actions.
As a result.
About a week later, the lair had completely transformed.
The pictures of Kim Hyunwoo that had been plastered all over the room were all covered up, and instead, an interior that anyone could see was quite stable and peaceful had been created.
Moreover, thinking it might lose its speech, the dragon made an additional contract this time for Adria to be able to see its situation.
In other words, all preparations were completed.
Therefore, with a heart half full of fear and half full of excitement, the dragon felt her heart pounding as she looked at the space where Kim Hyunwoo would appear.
Soon, after some time had passed.
Wooong-!
Seeing the clearly visible waves of magical power.
“Oh, he’s coming…!”
[Uh…it’s not time yet, is it?]
The dragon and Adria exchanged conflicting opinions as they looked at the spot, and the next moment, she could see.
“Ah.”
“Ah.”
“Ah.”
[Ah.]
Merilda and Rin, appearing from the Teleportation scroll, holding each other’s hair.
“……”
…The dragon’s heart was shattered.