Episode 194
The wind is blowing.
Cardinal Vincenzo’s ashes were carried into the air by the wind.
Choi Hyun-seok let out a deep sigh as he watched the flying ashes.
“Ha, this old man is annoying me to the end.”
“why?”
Rachel approached, tilting her head.
“God is unrivaled by anyone. Just how strong is he?” “Hmm, isn’t he incredibly strong!?” “So, just how strong is incredibly strong?”
Where does the strong end?
A legend that stands above all others.
Among those legends, Park Hyun-ah is strong.
The Demon King’s Army commander may be stronger than Park Hyun-ah.
Among those legion commanders, Hemis boasts overwhelming power.
A demon lord who can be compared to, or perhaps surpass, that Hemis.
“Strength has no end. There may be strong people that an old man like Vincenzo doesn’t know about.”
I don’t support anyone.
This is a story told entirely from Cardinal Vincenzo’s perspective.
Does he really know the power of Hemis?
What is the Demon King’s power?
Can we really say that the Pope is stronger than them?
“Wouldn’t he be at least stronger than an average legion commander?”
“That must be true.”
“Then, since you’re going to get kicked anyway, you should keep trying.” “Speak more politely. What’s kicked? It’s kicked.”
Rachel snorted when Choi Hyun-seok scolded her.
“It really hits home when a warrior who always curses says that.” “f*ck. How could you not say a word?” “It’s all thanks to the great warrior!”
Rachel smiled brightly.
Choi Hyun-seok tried to give her a chestnut, but stopped.
I don’t have the energy left to play with Rachel anymore.
“Is it over already?”
Then a familiar voice was heard from above.
I looked up and saw Sarah Dunphy and the ultimate warrior, Liam.
“What’s going on? What are those things behind you?”
Liam has a huge chunk of armor on his shoulders.
Behind him, there were ten more such lumps of armor lined up.
“I brought some because they looked interesting.”
“fun…?”
“I will explain it to you little by little.”
Sarah Dunphy said with a smile.
“Anyway, it seems like the situation has been sorted out.” “Yes. The battle just ended.” “Where are the enemy’s bodies?”
Sarah Dunphy looked around and asked.
There were a few corpses that appeared to be the corpses of royal knights, but no corpses of enemies that Choi Hyeon-seok was believed to have fought were visible.
“That… is gone.”
“away?”
“I had something I wanted to ask about this anyway….”
Choi Hyun-seok explained about Cardinal Vincenzo.
A frail-looking old man suddenly grew large and displayed incredible strength.
In terms of brute force, he was overwhelmingly stronger than Choi Hyun-seok.
I felt like she was similar to Park Hyun-ah or had a slight advantage.
“How is that possible?” “Hmm, it certainly is strange. There must be a limit to the power of strengthening magic.” “I think so too.”
Even the plomot, which carries enormous risk, only exerts two to three times more power than before.
No matter how much life-threatening magic he used, he couldn’t turn a powerless old man into a monster like that.
“Couldn’t it be that he was hiding his power from the beginning?” “I thought about that too… but there are too many strange things about it to be true.”
Vincenzo failed to use his powers properly.
There are some awkward parts to the power he has built up through effort.
It’s not impossible that other possibilities exist, such as your judgment becoming clouded as you age.
To Choi Hyun-seok, it felt like a gap that arose because he had accepted too much power.
“I’ll have to think about this some more. I can’t think of anything right now.”
“All right.”
It was unfortunate that Sarah Dunphy couldn’t see him in person because she came right after Vincenzo had completely disappeared.
“I… Mr. Choi Hyun-seok.”
“Yes? What’s going on?”
At that time, Abelson called Choi Hyun-seok.
“Can I stay alone for a moment? I think you must be tired from overdoing it.” “Of course. Don’t go too far away, as there may be enemy remnants left.”
“thank you.”
Abelson nodded and turned around.
“Umm…”
Choi Hyun-seok groaned as he watched her back moving away.
“What’s wrong?” “I just… thought it might be hard.”
——————
faqwiki.us
Join our Discord for new chapter updates!
https://discord.com/invite/xr7SxG5T6V
——————
“Is it hard?”
Sarah Dunphy doesn’t know what happened to Abelson.
Choi Hyun-seok told her story briefly.
Death of a family member.
Even killing his own brother and cousin with his own hands.
Sarah Dunphy nodded after hearing the whole story.
“Don’t worry about it.”
“Would that be better?”
“She is now the queen of this country.”
Sarah Dunphy’s gaze turned to Abelson’s back as he disappeared into the palace.
“A king is someone who carries everything on his shoulders alone. That’s why he is bound to be lonelier than anyone else.”
“…”
“This is her first step as a queen.”
Sarah Dunphy looked away from Abelson.
“Can one be called a king if he cannot walk on his own?”
***
The palace was on the verge of collapse in the aftermath of the battle.
Abelson walked around inside with an indifferent expression.
Knock… knock…
Droplets of blood fall from the tip of her mace, one by one.
Some of these drops of blood will belong to Labrun Marriott.
As if trying to leave his mark.
Repeated red dots appeared on the broken palace floor.
“…”
Abelson continued walking in silence.
Each broken place holds her memories.
Abelson looked at them and finally stopped at a certain place.
It was the room he used to stay in.
‘Nothing has changed here…’
Before he left the palace, the bed he had been using was still there.
Abelson sat down on the bed.
Then he took a box out of his bosom.
It was a box containing the records of her younger brother, Lace Marriott, who was killed by her own hands.
“…”
Abelson, who had been staring at the box silently, reached out his hand.
Click-
The lock on the box opens.
She saw notes left by her siblings when she was young.
She unfolded the note at the very front.
“Please make my family happy.”
-Creer Marriott-
First, it was a note from Creer Marriott.
She had a kind personality since childhood, and she married a prince from a foreign country and started a family.
‘You were the same at that time too, Sister.’
I decided to leave a story about ‘with what kind of mindset one should lead the country’, but I ended up writing something like this.
I thought it was a really cool idea.
Abelson smiled and opened the next note.
“I will become a king greater than anyone else. I will lead the prosperity of the Mariott Kingdom together with the people.”
-Hog Marriott-
It was the second Hog’s note.
‘At this time, was my brother about ten years old?’
Hog was also young, but he seemed to have his own ambitions.
Abelson checked the following note.
It was a note he had written himself.
“Maybe the king will be Hog Oppa? I hope he creates a world where everyone is happy!”
-Abelson Marriott-
Unlike his cold present, Abelson had a bright personality as a child.
The note clearly revealed her personality at that time.
“A world where everyone is happy…”
Now that I’m an adult, I know that’s impossible.
That’s why my mouth was bitter.
Abelson picked up the last remaining note.
“This is what Race wrote…”
A piece of paper that is particularly wrinkled.
Upon closer inspection, I saw that it had been opened and closed several times.
It seemed like Race had read the note over and over again.
“…”
Abelson bit his lip.
What on earth did he say?
What kind of ambition did he have that led him to make the decision to kill his family and sell out his country?
She opened the note with trembling hands.
The content written inside is completely unexpected.
“We will create a strong country that will no longer be swayed by Gatren.”
-Race Marriott-
Abelson laughed after reading the contents.
“ha ha ha…”
The laughter that flowed out like the wind gradually grew louder.
“Hahahahahaha!”
Abelson held his stomach and laughed.
As if it were really fun.
We laughed for a long time.
“Haha… haa, ha…”
The laughter soon subsided.
She muttered to herself.
“Race. What did you think when you saw this note?”
The Kingdom of Mariott is just one of those minor kingdoms.
However, because of its geographical proximity to the superpower, Gatlen, it suffered many hardships.
It made sense why Race wrote such words.
‘Creating a strong nation that is not swayed by Gatren…’
While writing these words, his younger brother Race Mariott actually overthrew the country by borrowing Gatren’s power.
What must he have thought as he looked at this note countless times?
Could he have been pessimistic about his situation?
Maybe I just gave up and accepted reality.
“Race… you idiot…”
Tears welled up in Abelson’s eyes.
“Why is that… Why on earth…”
No matter how much I ask, the only brother who can answer is already dead.
Only Abelson’s cries echoed quietly in the ruined room.
***
A few days passed.
During that time, every day in the Kingdom of Mariott was like a storm.
Death of King Labrun Mariott.
Betrayal of the Deusis doctrine that I believed in.
The atrocities committed by Race Marriott.
At this time, Abelson Marriott suddenly appeared and declared himself the new king.
Some people cheered that a new era had begun.
Some people called this story unbelievable and treated Abelson as a traitor.
There were riots everywhere.
In some territories, rebellions even broke out.
On the surface, it was because they could not recognize Abelson as king, but the reality was different.
Dark and ugly conflicts of interest.
Some territories had close ties to the Deusis Church, while others rebelled at the instigation of the Deusis Church.
Moreover, there were a considerable number of forces that had been preparing a coup d’état to seize the throne from the beginning.
“I’m back.”
Choi Hyun-seok waved as he entered the office.
Abelson greeted him with a slight bow.
“I’m sorry every time.”
“No. I find this job quite fun.”
Choi Hyun-seok, who had created a peaceful cooperative relationship with a certain lord, lay down on the sofa today.
The Yeongju family shed tears of blood during the process, but so what.
As a result, peace was achieved, so that’s good enough.
“How is your work, Your Majesty?” “There is so much to do. How did the country end up in such a state…”
Abelson devoted himself to his work, even cutting back on sleep at night.
However, no matter how much I do, it feels like the workload is increasing rather than decreasing.
It would have been impossible to endure this without Maxwin Gordon, who previously worked in the same field.
“Still, I’m glad that your expression seems to have brightened.”
“Is that so?”
“Until a few days ago, I was acting like I was going to die. To be honest, I was worried.”
Abelson smiled faintly.
For some reason, I felt happy when Choi Hyun-seok said he was worried.
“By the way, it’s already the coronation ceremony.”
Tomorrow afternoon.
The coronation ceremony of King Abelson Marriot takes place.
He will officially take the throne as king.
The enthronement ceremony has been postponed due to the unstable situation, but now the time has truly come.
“Mr. Abelson.”
Abelson turned around at Choi Hyun-seok’s call.
For some reason he was looking out the window.
“If Mr. Abelson becomes king, it will be difficult to travel together from now on, right?”
“that…”
Abelson closed his eyes.
As if she had thought about something for a moment, she opened her closed eyes and continued speaking.
“No. I have no intention of stopping my journey.” “Can His Majesty leave?” “It will be difficult for a while. But I will join you as soon as the situation stabilizes.”
Choi Hyun-seok chuckled at her words.
“Can I trust you?”
“Of course. That makes sense…”
Abelson smiled brightly.
“We have to save the world, right?”
A journey that began to create a world where everyone is happy.
Abelson had no intention of ending his journey just yet.
***
“The coronation ceremony will now begin.”
A voice amplified by magic resonates.
A thunderous cheer echoes through the square.
Waaaaaaaah-!
The central square of the capital city of Skolborn was packed with people.
Choi Hyun-seok looked exhausted as the crowd of tens of thousands of people cheered.
“That’s amazing.”
“Is this the first time you’ve seen such a sight?” “Other than war, this is the first time so many people have gathered together.”
Sarah Dunphy smiled brightly at Choi Hyun-seok’s words.
“You have truly lived a difficult life.”
While the two were talking.
Abelson appeared, ornately adorned, on top of the central spire.
Waaaa …
The cheers were even louder than before.
Sarah Dunphy stared blankly at the sight.
“Do you remember the old days?”
Choi Hyun-seok asked.
During my time with Sarah Dunphy, I learned that she was the queen of a country.
I thought that perhaps this sight was bringing back memories of my past.
“Why do you think so?” “Your eyes look hazy.” “Hahaha. You look embarrassed.”
Sarah Dunphy smiled awkwardly.
Choi Hyun-seok shook his head as if to say not to worry.
“That could be true. Sarah Dunphy must have had times like that, too.” “Yes. I certainly remember that. I had times like that, too. But…”
Sarah Dunphy’s brightly smiling expression suddenly turned cold.
“Was I the same person back then as I am now?”
“yes?”
“I, who reigned as the king of all, am dead. My soul must have left this world long ago with him. Then what am I now, a thousand years later?”
“…”
“Have you captured a departed soul? Or are you just a soulless, empty creature, moved by magically created memories?”
Choi Hyun-seok couldn’t say anything.
Because I don’t know what mechanism she uses to move as an undead.
No, even if I knew that, it was a topic I couldn’t talk about carelessly.
“Oh, I’ve upset you. It’s just a personal thought, so don’t worry about it.”
It was when Sarah Dunphy snickered.
Peeeeeing! Pfft!
Firecrackers made with magic light up the sky.
Finally, we reach the finale of the coronation ceremony.
Abelson waved along with everyone’s cheers.
‘It’s strange…’
A past king who is already dead.
And the new king is born.
It feels like two people have crossed paths across 1,500 years.
For some reason, a corner of Choi Hyun-seok’s heart felt heavy.
