Episode 647
Daniel was sitting on a tree stump.
There was a wide open plain ahead, truly vast.
A plain so vast that its end cannot be seen, this is the Baizen Plains, located near the border of the Sagan Duchy.
It is named after a man named Baizen, who was a former general of the Cradle Kingdom, who stopped the great army of the Tulcan Empire on this plain.
Now Daniel was waiting. So what was he waiting for?
It was simple. First of all, there were two things. First, Daniel had to give Antonio Senna a job. Daniel had to check how far he could go, whether he could meet expectations, and how determined Antonio was now.
I was still determined to make Antonio the head of the Dojo. I just wanted to get to know him. That’s why I avoided his presence.
The time given to Antonio was exactly 3 hours.
He told me to gather all the subversive elements in the dojo within those three hours. That’s why I’m waiting.
And the other one is this.
I slowly turned my head.
Behind Daniel, mana gathered from the tree. Then, a portal appeared and two men emerged from it.
Both men had familiar faces.
“It’s been a while, junior.”
Jason Leopold, the eldest son of Marquis Leopold, an inspector in the Central Inspectorate’s Violent Crimes Division, and the other one.
“… … Long time no see, junior.”
Micah Elton, Inspector General, Anti-Corruption Investigation Support Division, Central Inspectorate.
Jason Leopold had previously worked with her on the Western Continent when they were hunting down the evaders, and Micah was familiar with her on the Eastern Continent.
Daniel, no, Melon smiled softly.
“Why do you both have such expressions?”
The expressions on the two men’s faces were different than before. They looked very complicated, as if they had something to think about.
The answer came from Jason.
“I guess it’s just because it’s been a long time since I’ve seen our junior.”
Leopold approached with an awkward smile and continued speaking.
“When I think about it, it’s really a shame. There’s no one like you in our Inspectorate, but you’ve been transferred to a position in the Do-gwan.”
“I personally feel sorry about this. But what can I do? The world just keeps going that way.”
“… … It seems to have changed a little.”
“Me?”
“Oh, I thought you were mature to begin with, but why did you suddenly become like an old man?”
Melon burst out laughing. Jason laughed too. The only person in the room who wasn’t laughing was Micah Elton.
He straightened his clothes. Then he let out a deep sigh and approached Melon.
“The director told me to pass this on.”
Micah was holding a file in her hand. There were about 14 sheets of paper inside.
“I haven’t looked at the contents. They said to be prepared if you look, but I’m scared so I can’t open it.”
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Daniel naturally accepted the file and silently checked the contents. He was satisfied. After putting the file back in the subspace, he looked at Micah.
“Junior, there’s a pretty interesting rumor going around the Western Continent right now. Do you know about it?”
“I don’t know.”
It was true. Melon had a job to do, and it wasn’t the kind of job that involved finding out about rumors going around the world. Myka continued.
“People in the world think that His Highness the Crown Prince didn’t go to the Academy. He started to be active in society when he was old enough to attend the Academy, and there are countless nobles who have actually seen His Highness the Crown Prince. But that’s not true. In fact, His Highness the Crown Prince… … No. Junior, how is it that you can do the work at the Taoist Temple?”
“Yes, it is possible.”
“… … It seems like something unusual is happening. Are you feeling okay?”
Melon burst into laughter when her true feelings were revealed.
“… … I’m not doing this because I really want to. This feeling doesn’t always go as planned. Do you understand?”
Jason put a hand on Micah’s shoulder, as if telling her to go that far. Jason didn’t seem to care much about the ‘rumor’.
“Now that we’re done running errands, let’s go.”
“… … What do you mean let’s go, I’m your senior… … .”
“What about the senior between us? Just open the portal. I have to go to work.”
Micah eventually nodded at Jason’s words.
So Micah opened the portal. Before Jason entered the portal, he spoke to Melon.
“Junior.”
“Yes, senior.”
“I don’t care what you are. That’s what I saw at the Academy.”
“… … .”
“No matter what your status is or what you become, you’re still just a melon to me.”
“Even if I were the emperor?”
“… … That’s a bit of a different matter. A public offering is a public offering, and a life is a life, right? You can be close to the Emperor, but what else is there in life? Let’s have a drink sometime.”
And so Jason disappeared through the portal.
Micah, who was following behind, stopped for a moment in front of the portal.
He locks eyes with Daniel and asks.
“… … You, right?”
“What are you talking about?”
“… … No, it’s nothing. No, it’s not.”
Micah, who had been smiling awkwardly, eventually disappeared through the portal.
Daniel turned his gaze back toward the plains as if nothing had happened.
It’s all coming to an end.
He’s been like that for quite some time.
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——————
Daniel walks slowly. The time given to Antonio Senna has passed.
Now it’s time to wrap things up.
* * *
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In what situations do people feel the greatest fear?
Becoming an enemy of an emperor who has the power to rule the world? No. An unexpected enemy appearing just when you think the work you started is almost finished? No. That is just a threat without any modifiers. You can confront that level of threat with a weapon.
All you have to do is wage war, fight, and decide who wins.
If there is a misunderstanding, you should resolve it, and if you decide that you can survive by being humble, then the moment you become an enemy, you should go and slaughter the whale. There is a solution to everything. This is just a threat, nothing more, nothing less.
The most terrifying thing in the world is the moment when the blade of a threat touches your chin without any warning.
The situation itself is truly terrifying.
Dennis Gunnar, the adjutant of the consulate and one of the few dukes in the Milos Empire, felt goosebumps all over his body.
“… … You can’t contact the warriors?”
“Yes. Except for me, all the great warriors and the officials who stamped the ‘blood oath’ are unreachable.”
If it were only one or two people, it would have been understandable, but the word ‘blood oath’ that just appeared has the stamp of ‘134 people’.
If all 134 of them were unreachable, this would clearly be a huge threat. At an unexpected moment, when they should have been cheering and toasting, a knife was placed at the tip of their chin.
I didn’t even notice.
This is definitely not an ordinary thing.
I had a guess.
“… … Did the Emperor move?”
“No. The Emperor did not move.”
then.
“What about the Duke of Sheeran?”
I had to point out. Who is this guy having this conversation with Dennis Gunnar?
He was Edin Gunnar, the eldest son of Duke Dennis and one of the three warriors of the current Dogan.
He answered without hesitation.
“The Commander-in-Chief has not responded. He has not taken any action since raising the military in preparation for the recent events on the Eastern Continent.”
There are several people who played a major role in the founding of the Milos Empire.
The Marquis of Cierran became a duke the moment Ragnarok died and the Milos Empire came to rule the entire continent. He is the commander-in-chief who commands all the soldiers of the Milos Empire. In terms of his position, he is similar to a peddler.
There is only one person who can give him orders.
It’s a pity, but he doesn’t listen to the Prime Minister. He only listens to the Emperor. He only listens to the Emperor.
That’s why Duke Gunnar mentioned him just now. But it was meaningless.
“It’s not the Commander-in-Chief. It seems that the guy you were trying to use as a sword this time is attacking our dojo together with ‘someone’.”
“The guy you were trying to kill with a knife?”
“……yes.”
That was a very interesting statement.
The guy who tried to kill me with a knife.
These two people know who this means. No, these two people know.
“Could this be the work of that commoner named Melon?”
“… … It might be possible with the power he possesses, but there are too many questionable things.”
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“What is strange?”
“There are two things. One is why Carl Sagan doesn’t move, and the other is why the commander-in-chief, who was mentioned earlier, doesn’t move.”
In the case of Carl Sagan, there was a somewhat ambiguous feeling. To be exact, it would be more correct to say that he was almost ‘betrayed’.
“He already promised to cover up all his corruption, but he is currently working at the Central Inspection Office. There is no way he wouldn’t know that something like this has happened to the government. And yet he is keeping quiet.”
“… … That little rat bastard hit us in the back of the head?”
“Yes. And in the case of Duke Cierran, even if he is an honest man who only follows the orders of the Emperor, he cannot just ignore the situation where something unusual is happening in a large organization like the Taoist Temple. It is a matter related to the security of the country. It would be normal to act in some way, but he is not acting.”
Edin Gunnar is not stupid. He really is not stupid.
Edin put down the file he was holding and looked at Dennis with a serious expression.
“……father.”
“… … .”
“May I dare to share my personal opinion?”
“Try it.”
Edin Gunnar swallowed hard and continued.
“We were going to use a man named Melon as a sword. Given what he has done on the Eastern Continent, he is already a monster on par with Carl Sagan, the Director of the Central Inspectorate. We thought it would be a waste of talent to have a monster of that caliber in the Inspectorate at such a young age, so we covered up the information about him. After bringing him in as an official of the Dokan, we placed him in Sagan’s Special Investigation Team, Section 4.”
Strictly speaking, it was Jack Milos who ordered Daniel Milos to clear the conduit, but even before that, Dennis Gunnar had been making persistent requests.
Ask that ‘Inspector Melon’ be called as an official of the Do-Gwan.
I’ll try to raise him.
That’s just the overlap. Unless you know that Daniel Milos is Melon, there’s bound to be a gap.
And Edin Gunnar noticed a piece of that disconnect.
“… … No matter how much I think about it, this Melon guy is suspicious.”
“Suspicious?”
“Yes. I dug up as much information as I could about him, but I didn’t find anything unusual. Is that really possible?”
“… … .”
“It was perfect. He was a commoner himself, and there were no nobles involved in his appearance. He was so clean, so refined. It was as if he had been created.”
Duke Dennis swallowed hard.
“Carl Sagan takes orders from the Emperor and the Chancellor. Duke Cierran takes orders only from the Emperor. The common denominator is the Emperor. If we look at it another way, it also means that we do not intervene in matters related to the Emperor. If the Emperor expresses his will to eliminate Gunnar, at least he will not do it this way.”
so.
“What on earth are you trying to say?”
Edin Gunnar tapped a corner of the file with his left index finger.
There was a picture of a melon there.
“Inspector Melon, this man is the key. This man is very closely related to the Emperor, and he is clearly in a position that even Duke Carl Sagan and Duke Cierran would not dare to step forward. The power he had before we suppressed the information, the position he held on the Eastern Continent. Considering all of this, this man.”
Edin Gunnar swallowed hard.
Once I say this, there’s no going back. But there’s nothing I can do about it in this situation.
Samjeonsa Edin continues speaking.
“Daniel Milos, there is a very good chance that he is the Crown Prince.”
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After that, there was silence between the two.
to be honest.
To be completely honest, it’s not that I’ve never had any doubts.
I used to think exactly once a month that that crazy guy named Melon from the Eastern Continent was the crown prince.
But at the official event, the ‘Crown Prince’ was already active.
It wasn’t a huge role, but he would go to the Supply Office to check on the overall supply situation once or twice, and he would learn general military strategy from Duke Cierran, the commander-in-chief of the Milos Empire, for more than half a month, and when the Emperor would gather nobles for a banquet, the Crown Prince would always be by the Emperor’s side and interact with numerous nobles.
Naturally, Denis Gunnar also met with Crown Prince Daniel Milos.
As they kept meeting like that, the possibility that Melon was Daniel Milos naturally diminished again.
Because there can’t be more than two people in one space.
The reason he couldn’t completely shake off his doubts was because of the power he possessed.
And somehow it felt too cheap.
Should I say that it felt like I found out something I had been missing?
At least I thought Edin Gunnar was cheap.
Just as the Gunnar Dukes, who occupy a large part of the Dojo, distorted information about Melon and spread it throughout the Western Continent, the same thing could happen to our Gunnar Dukes.
therefore.
“He was the crown prince, and the crown prince who had been with the emperor until now was his clone? Okay. Let’s assume that’s all true. Then predict what will happen next.”
Edin Gunnar couldn’t answer. He couldn’t predict it. But Duke Dennis didn’t. The blade of the threat was still at his chin, but he could still handle it.
It’s not over yet.
Dennis Gunnar continued.
“Listen, son. It is true that we wanted to rule the Taoist temple. But that was the limit. We did not dare to look down on the imperial authority. I am the maternal uncle of the current emperor. But he told me. He will no longer call me maternal uncle. That was a clear line.”
This is a clear fact.
It is true that Dennis Gunnar is the maternal uncle of the current Emperor, Jack Milos. But Jack draws the line.
Now they are not family. They are just related by blood.
“It was a warning not to overtake the imperial power, and we never overtook the imperial power for even a moment. Dominating the Taoist temple and overtaking the imperial power are two different things. To solidify our position as the Duke of the Milos Empire, and to solidify it, we need our own power. The power to protect the imperial power from the closest place. Since we wanted that, the emperor is likely to be lenient.”
Duke Dennis was thinking leisurely. Like a man at ease.
“The reason why we can’t contact them is obvious. The crown prince, who travels between the Eastern and Western Continents under the false name of Melon, is asking them for the truth. What other reason could there be?”
Edin Gunnar thought, “I think my father is right,” or, thinking about it, “I think my father is not wrong,” and wondered which of these two sentences to bring out.
The ‘answer’ came from a completely unexpected place.
“Why would you think there wouldn’t be another reason?”
Gunnar and his father turned their heads at the same time.
This is the main building of the Gunnar Duke’s residence, and it is also the office where the Gunnar Duke works. Two men were entering the office entrance.
Both of them were men known to Gunnar the Rich.
“… …Your Highness the Crown Prince.”
Daniel Milos.
And then there’s the man dragging a bundle soaked in blood.
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“… … Antonio, Senna?”
He was the former vice-captain of a long-retired Taoist temple.
My eyebrows furrow.
A question arose. Why are these two men coming together? No, even if it is Antonio Senna, why is the Crown Prince here now?
The crown prince continues speaking.
“I moved to ask the officials of the Taoist temple for the truth? Do you really think that’s all there is to it?”
“… …Your Highness, I am very embarrassed right now.”
“Embarrassed?”
“Yes. I think there’s some misunderstanding, so let me just make it clear.”
“Let me give it a listen.”
Duke Gunnar took a confident step forward and continued speaking.
“We have never threatened the imperial power.”
“okay?”
“yes.”
“Then why did I minimize what I did on the Eastern Continent and spread it to the Western Continent?”
I’m not stupid, the situation has already been revealed.
Melon is Daniel Milos. The things Melon did on the Eastern Continent were definitely passed on to the Western Continent through word of mouth from merchants.
No, that was fine.
There was certainly a time when Melon was revered as a hero in the Western Continent.
It all died down quickly. The reason was simple. A huge organization called the Do-Gwan spread rumors that it wasn’t actually Melon who did it, but the heroes of the Western Continent.
All the things the Crown Prince did on the Eastern Continent have been minimized, and it could soon become something that touches the emotions of the Eastern and Western Continents.
In the Eastern Continent, it is known that Melon did everything, but why is it known that in the Western Continent, people like Dragon Lord, Thanos, the head of the Taoist temple, and others took care of everything, while Melon was just left behind?
Two truths have emerged on two different continents.
As is the case with people, when they are denied what they know, they get angry. What I know is not this, but why do they know it like that? That’s how it starts. That’s how the fight starts.
“… … I want to make this clear. We did not know that the Inspector of the Eastern Continent, Melon, was His Highness the Crown Prince. From our perspective, we judged Melon to be a potential enemy who could threaten His Majesty’s authority.”
Clearly, Duke Gunnar was proud.
“That’s why I restrained him. That’s all. Now, belatedly, I have learned that His Highness the Crown Prince and Inspector Melon are the same person, so I must once again announce to the world the ‘fact that he was discharged.’ First of all, it was my fault. I apologize for causing concern to His Highness the Crown Prince.”
It was reasonable. There seemed to be nothing wrong with it.
It is true that information was distorted, but it was also necessary to consider that the crown prince had been hiding his identity. It was a battle between truth and truth.
Antonio Senna turned his head and looked at the Crown Prince.
The work has already been done. What’s in this huge bundle right now can’t possibly be strawberry jam.
In the end, politics is a battle of justifications. Even if you want to purge, you need a justification. If you do something without a justification, no matter who it is, you will eventually be criticized. No, it would be fortunate if there was only criticism.
The foundation of the country is shaken.
In the end, it is true that power rules the world, but the Gunnar family is a ducal family.
If the Duke’s family is purged without justification, no matter how much force is used to suppress it, it will become a seed of division.
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It was simple.
Daniel has a justification now. Gunnar still has a justification.
If you don’t know, what can you do?
If things go this way, Daniel will just be crazy. A crazy man will do crazy things, and the future of the Milos Empire will be clouded. That’s how it will be.
But if you have evidence, that’s fine.
Antonio met Daniel’s eyes, who was smiling. Daniel nodded.
Antonio turned the bundle over without hesitation. What fell out was a neck.
A severed human neck.
“… … Your Highness the Crown Prince… … !”
Dennis Gunnar was furious for a moment. He knew the owners of the necks that came out of there.
These are the warriors of the Do-Gwan. Those warriors who have stamped their names in blood.
Daniel continued.
“You didn’t know? That’s funny.”
Daniel was genuinely amused by the current situation.
“Yes, I am also a crown prince and I have a firm intention of eradicating the Gunnar family from the world today. Alright. I will fulfill that purpose. Think of it as your last gift.”
Daniel continued, carrying his luggage on his back.
