Episode 111: The Big Gift
‘Not bad.’
Although he had been restrained since coming north, Galahad originally emptied his mana every day.
It was a kind of obsession with many things overlapping.
At first, I used magic to the limit because it was so crazy fun. Although the method was ignorant, I realized that it was effective in increasing my magic, and soon it became a habit.
Moreover, anything had to be done to prevent the impending destruction.
Emptying mana was a compulsive disorder mixed with such things.
But things changed when he came to the North. Galahad found a more efficient way to drain mana than in the North.
‘The blood of the demon tribe.’
The mana concentrated in the blood of the demon was shocking. From then on, Galahad focused on the blood of the demon.
And now-.
‘Hand it over.’
Galahad gave a soft command.
Thump, thump-. The pain that I would have resisted in the past suddenly burst out with life.
‘It’s a little lacking. It’s not fun like this.’
Thump. Thump. The egg of pain shook its head slightly. Galahad clicked his tongue slightly.
Since the last incident, the Egg of Pain has become considerably more brittle. This is because it has had all of its life force taken away.
Even after seeing that sight, he still couldn’t give up his ambition, so he stole it little by little. It was a really small amount, like something stolen by a baby’s hand.
‘Are you kidding me again?’
The egg of pain throbbed urgently. It pressed hard against its heart. It seemed to say that it was innocent. At that, Galahad clicked his tongue slightly.
It was Galahad who took out all the life force from the Egg of Pain last time.
Galahad roughly calculated the life force from the blood of the demon based on him. It wasn’t that difficult. It was a simple calculation.
‘Shouldn’t there be more to it than this?’
The egg of pain stopped right there. It was like a small shiver.
‘This won’t work. I’ll have to ask Adrianna to touch me.’
As Galahad rose from his seat, the Egg of Pain clutched its heart in panic.
‘Didn’t I tell you? I’m going to decide how much you take. And yet you’re already fooling around like this- Is this all our relationship has become? How sad.’
The egg of pain shook urgently.
‘This is your last chance.’
I meant it. I kept it because it was useful, but if it wasn’t under control, there was no need to keep it.
Thump! Thump! Thump! The egg of pain burst into life again. It was desperate, as if trying to prove that it was reflecting.
‘This is enough. You can take the rest.’
It was half the amount originally promised to the Egg of Pain, but the Egg of Pain trembled slightly. It seemed touched.
‘I’ve forgiven you out of respect for me so far. If you do this again, I can’t stand to watch any longer.’
Thump! Thump! The pain of pain pressed hard against my heart.
Galahad concentrated on his vitality. He compressed his mana to its limit and -. The magic circle on his right arm emitted light. The compressed mana mixed with his blood along with his vitality.
A strange heaviness spread through my heart.
‘It worked.’
Galahad slowly opened his eyes. A strange chill spread over his body.
Mixing high concentrations of mana into blood felt quite strange. It wasn’t just the mana becoming thicker.
This-.
‘It seems like I’ve gotten closer to Mana.’
Galahad moved his body lightly. His body was filled with strength. He felt lighter.
Then I moved the mana. The flow of mana, which was already fast, became smooth.
‘Managing mana has become easier.’
It wasn’t a big difference since he had only just started mana infusion. Galahad could clearly feel that mana handling had become easier.
‘This is a strange feeling.’
Galahad pushed back his messy hair. A cool smile spread across his face.
Galahad, who finished inserting mana, immediately looked at the report.
The engagement ceremony was approaching even at this time. There was no time to rest.
The report was a study of Adrianna’s temperament.
It was the result of inflicting more than a hundred divine punishments on Adrianna.
The reason for using the celestial punishment was that it was easy to see and the concentration could be easily adjusted as desired.
Adrianna’s temperament was truly amazing. Just when I thought I knew something, something new and interesting came out.
It was a never-ending feast of puzzles.
The results of using the Heavenly Punishment over a hundred times were surprisingly simple.
It was a natural story. Since Adrianna was studying magic by burning mana, there was no choice but to foolishly compete with a large number of samples.
It’s not like there was no income at all.
‘Adrianna’s temper becomes exponentially stronger as it becomes more concentrated.’
It wasn’t simply proportional to the concentration. Beyond a certain concentration, the property became exponentially stronger.
This may be the reason why Adrianna went berserk when she faced the ruler.
‘It would take a thousand times to create enough information to use as bait.’
Fortunately, it seemed like we could just barely make it to the engagement ceremony.
A thousand repetitions might seem like a simple task, but for Galahad it was anything but.
There was no time to be bored. If Gwen hadn’t gotten exhausted, we could have done it all in one go.
Even now, I feel like my body is itching to do it.
Then suddenly-.
‘This is a funny situation.’
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Galahad was steadily increasing the concentration of his blood mana every day.
In contrast, Adrianna’s temper grew exponentially stronger the more concentrated it became.
Those two promised to get married.
‘It sounds like a story that would come out of a cheap melodrama.’
It was a relationship where the answer was not in sight-.
The more difficult it was, the better for Galahad.
‘That’s interesting.’
Galahad laughed, biting into his mouth.
****
Marriage was a major event here. It was only natural, since blood ties were the strongest of all alliances.
Even the events of nobles with even a single castle were a scene of chaos. It goes without saying that it was even worse when the target was the Northern Grand Duke.
This engagement ceremony between Galahad and Adrianna was going to be a grand one. You could tell just by looking at the bustling Grand Duke’s castle and the invitation list.
The princess, the magic tower, the union of kingdoms, other nobles, and······.
‘The Third Prince is coming?’
Galahad frowned at the belated addition to the list.
Galahad and the Third Prince did not get along very well.
No, to be exact-.
‘He’s a guy who tried to kill someone but failed.’
The third prince was a cruel man. He hated peace because he had earned his fame through bloodshed on the battlefield. He was a man who could not stand to create trouble.
That Third Prince was a person who was of no help at all in stopping the Demon King. No, rather, he was clearly a person who would get in the way.
I tried to deal with him, but failed.
The third prince came to the North, and to Galahad’s engagement party at that.
‘That’s the princess’ doing.’
Galahad muttered rudely.
Since Galahad didn’t come over with the last gift, it seemed like he had prepared a new gift.
‘Then the story changes.’
Galahad’s eyes sunk deep. He looked inside his pockets. He took out a wrapped box from the deepest pocket.
In the box was the finger that the princess had given him as a gift. It was a weapon that could catch the third prince.
Of course, there was no way he would admit to handing this over to the Third Prince. It would be difficult to even prove it in the first place.
However, that was not Galahad’s job.
The imperial palace was a silent battlefield. Every day, people died without even being able to scream, and before the place cooled down, new people came in, a hell.
There were many who were after the Third Prince’s head. There will even be those who are after the Third Prince’s personnel affairs.
Galahad snapped his fingers habitually. The calculations had been disrupted by the introduction of a very powerful variable. A new calculation was needed to match it.
His head spun quickly. It had been quite some time since he left the imperial palace, so he didn’t know what was going on.
If you think back in the old days, there were two ways to use those fingers most effectively.
‘Second Prince or Fourth Prince.’
Whoever you give it to will use it neatly.
However, Galahad was in the north.
There was no way to approach them right away.
‘No, it’s here.’
Galahad looked over the engagement invitation list in his hand.
‘A union of kingdoms? Sounds plausible, but somewhat inadequate.’
Rather, if it fell into their hands, there was a possibility that it would be used carelessly.
That’s not what the princess suggested.
then······.
‘This is Count Ambertan.’
Count Ambertan was the fourth prince’s son.
I was wondering why Count Ambertan was coming to the engagement ceremony.
‘It was the princess’s doing.’
Galahad let out a small breath.
The princess was preparing a very fancy meal and holding out a fork to Galahad.
Come and have a bite-.
Let’s return to the palace on good terms.
It was such a splendid table that it instantly piqued Galahad’s interest.
‘This is f*cking crazy.’
The corners of Galahad’s mouth twisted.
but-.
‘You still don’t understand what I’m saying.’
Even adding all that up, it was still inferior to Adriana.
The empire, the royal family, and power were important, but they were also one of the means to stop the king of the demon tribe.
The most important thing is-.
Knock knock. Just then, someone knocked on the door. The knock was so honest that it showed character.
‘You’re here at just the right time.’
As expected, Adrianna appeared when I opened the door. Adrianna was wearing slightly lighter armor. Her outfit had changed after a few days of experimentation.
Adrianna’s eyebrows rose slightly as she faced Galahad.
“Oh, it’s the appointed time but you didn’t come, so I was wondering what happened.”
Adrianna said, bowing her head.
‘What matters is Adrianna.’
The more I studied Adrianna, the more convinced I became.
Everything else was secondary. However, that doesn’t mean secondary things weren’t important.
“Sorry, I have work to do today.”
“······Yes? Oh, I understand.”
“Thank you.”
Adriana gaped at the closed door.
I thought it was a joke, but the tightly closed door did not open.
Until yesterday, I was saying a lot of embarrassing things, but today I was treated rudely.
He was a man I had no idea about.
‘You must be very busy.’
Adrianna stood a little longer and then turned around.
****
“You’re alone today.”
Galahad nodded to First’s question.
“Because it’s a sensitive matter.”
At Galahad’s answer, the First, who had been slanting, straightened his back. His face became serious.
“Move over, Pumpkin. This is a guys’ conversation.”
First said with a serious face. When Pumpkin tried to get up from his seat, Galahad shook his head.
“There’s no need for that.”
“Hmm? Weren’t you going to discuss the bachelor’s party?”
“A bachelor’s party?”
“A sensitive topic that I can’t hear with Adrianna. Of course it’s a bachelor’s party, right?”
“Well, I’m sorry if you expected it, but it’s the wrong answer.”
“Right.”
Pumpkin’s face turned red instead of the calm First who had done the dirty deduction.
“Did you get the engagement list?”
First nodded his head at Galahad’s question. There was silence for a moment.
First opened his mouth first.
“You’re acting so strangely.”
First had a very excited expression on his face. He seemed to sense something from Galahad’s hesitation.
“Do you know what the biggest mission I’ve ever been given is?”
First nodded before Galahad finished speaking.
“It was to save the princess.”
To the confident affirmation of the first-.
‘You shouldn’t say you know that!’
Pumpkin hit his forehead!
In principle, the agent’s mission was top secret. Even other agents could never access it. Galahad was a top-level agent.
It was said that Galahad’s mission was the most secret of all secrets.
Knowing him meant confessing to Director Avi that he had received information about Galahad. Why was he so confident?
“Then it will be easy to explain.”
Fortunately, Galahad didn’t point it out and just nodded.
“I also once served as the Crown Prince’s escort.”
“Oh, that’s great. Back to the topic at hand-. The goal of saving the princess was literally to save the princess.”
First nodded at Galahad’s calm explanation.
“It didn’t take long to physically rescue them. The problem was that they were all dead after all. The royal family is a torrent that can be swept away without a string.”
Galahad exhaled a long puff of tobacco smoke.
“There was a lot of investment to make sure that we wouldn’t get swept away by the torrent. The intelligence agency’s thinking changed in the process.”
“I guess you’re greedy. Investments need to be followed by results.”
“Yes, by elevating the princess to the position of real power, the power of the Information Agency would be strengthened. Or it would rise even higher.”
‘Higher-?’
There were few places higher than the princess. Pumpkin’s eyes shook slightly.
Galahad and First were having a casual conversation, but the content was anything but light.
‘······The intelligence agency planned a rebellion?’
It was too big of a deal to just pass over.
“I was on the verge of success. I wasn’t quite there, but I was able to get to the point where I could take the steps toward it.”
If the emperor is the chair, the stairs would be the order of succession. In fact, the princess climbed quite high.
Not anymore, though-.
“Why did it fail?”
First asked in an indifferent voice.
He pretended to know, but there was no way he would have left any information about the rebellion.
“The princess was scared. She gave up right before her eyes.”
Galahad’s answer was calm. It was surprising how he could talk about the rebellion so calmly.
“That’s strange. You don’t seem like a timid woman.”
Instead of answering, Galahad twitched the corners of his mouth.
“So the director has changed.”
Galahad’s eyebrows furrowed slightly. The atmosphere became tense for a moment. First shook his head as if he had made a mistake.
“So what’s the point of telling that story? Is it bragging? I was once the Crown Prince’s bodyguard.”
Instead of answering, Galahad asked a question.
“Do you know why the relationship between the Kingdoms Alliance and the Empire has recently become strained?”
“Because the princess’s fiancé was murdered.”
“That is correct. Who killed the prince?”
A greater silence than before has settled in.
First’s eyes deepened. Pumpkin wanted to cover his ears. He didn’t want to hear.
“I guess he’s the third prince.”
“That is correct.”
3rd Prince-. Pumpkin almost screamed softly.
First, instead, raised the corners of his mouth. Just like a beast that has seen delicious food.
“I see you have a weapon to catch the Third Prince.”
Galahad nodded quietly.
“It’s also a means to turn around the relationship with the Kingdom Alliance.”
Galahad took something out of his bosom. It was a small box. It was clearly filled with something very valuable.
What was in the box wasn’t treasure. It was someone’s finger. It had been processed so that it didn’t rot.
“this.”
First sighed softly. The corners of his mouth went up fiercely.
“The royal shit-sack.”
Pumpkin winced at First’s harsh insult. It was just a finger, so why the strong reaction?
“Yeah, he really is a piece of shit.”
At that, Galahad closed the box with a grin.
“No matter what, shouldn’t we stop poop from becoming emperor?”
First nodded in response to Galahad’s question.
“I can’t deal with the Third Prince directly, but I can push him a little. That might increase the influence of the Information Agency.”
Galahad nodded. First smiled with satisfaction.
It was a warm atmosphere that didn’t match the content of the conversation at all.
“But, I am bound to the North.”
“Hmm? Weren’t you planning on going back to the intelligence agency with this?”
“What are you talking about? I’m about to get engaged.”
Galahad raised one corner of his mouth.
“I see. What’s the price?”
“Let’s work together later.”
First raised the corners of his mouth.
“However much.”
“Good.”
The two lightly held hands. Galahad sipped his tea as if the conversation just now had nothing to do with it.
Only the pumpkin was trembling sweetly.
“But you speak as if the emperor is going to die.”
First asked, nodding.
“You never know what happens to people.”
“yes.”
First nodded, but Pumpkin felt uneasy for some reason. More than anything, he was anxious about the request.
First was a man who was crazy about Galahad. He was crazy enough to have a hole in his head. No matter what Galahad asked of him, he would do it, saying it was a competition.
Why would you ask such a favor of someone like that?
It felt cold for no reason.
“Was there a ring on it originally? Oh, and it had a ribbon on it too.”
First asked, looking around with his fingers.
OK-.
“Ah, a ring.”
Galahad dropped the tobacco.
****
“Father, can you help me with this?”
Count Ambertan bit his lip as the princess smiled brightly.
What the princess was holding in her hand was a fine cloth.
Are you telling me to hang myself now?
‘He will not forgive.’
Count Ambertan chewed his lip.
At that moment, the princess moved her hand gently.
“like this.”
Ambertan winked at my chest.
Why give yourself a ribbon-?
“Wow, it suits you.”
Fantasy, Fusion,
