novelVol. 2 - Ep. 12
| ← Ch.036 | Ch.038 → |
There was no maybe. He was an enemy that she had to defeat.
She was determined to fix her country from the inside while defeating the enemies from the outside. That was her duty. She should forget about him.
Sigh.
She got those bodies cremated.
She also stopped Seyzo II from kicking those people out of their houses to build his new hunting ground. And in that process, she was able to make some money to save her people next spring.
She was trying her best to support the king and to stop the king from making a huge mistake.
But what would Sungjin say if he saw her?
He was trying to build a country where the lowest level people could get treatment from hospitals and learn letters and mathematics, while she was living in a country where the extras couldn't even dream of going to a hospital.
Let's not compare...
Although he was not a great man, Seyzo II was still her king.
If the king was not as good as Sungjin, that also meant she would not be able to support him.
People couldn't change their family even if their family had a lot of flaws.
She had to support the flaws of the king.
But...
Sungjin had everything she wanted her king to have...
And maybe that was why she couldn't stop thinking about him.
Maybe...
She wouldn't be able to forget about him even after she killed him.
Maybe...
This is what people call love at first sight.
Although she couldn't admit it as a loyal servant of her king.
* * *
Chapter 8
A few days after Eustasia's visit, the Kingdom of Sevrantina received the declaration of war.
"Just like how the sky has to stay above the ground, the heroes have to stay above the extras. Only disaster will follow and turn the world upside down if we have an extra as a king."
Duke Lubrate, the ambassador of the three kingdoms, read the message in front of Sungjin and Ereka.
"Moreover, building schools and hospitals causes disorder among the classes, and the rights of the heroes to collect taxes and to use the extras as labor have been taken away. The heroes are suffering greatly."
Sungjin laughed at it as if he was watching a black comedy film.
"As a consequence, the three kingdoms are giving the queen of the Kingdom of Sevrantina one last chance to fix this mistake. Follow the decisions of your allies to punish the traitor and follow the old rule. If you refuse, the alliance of the three kingdoms will have no choice but to punish you to correct your mistakes."
It was Ereka who showed her rage.
"They didn't even care when the Blood Ruler killed hundreds of thousands of people for her magical sword, and now when they see a real hero who defeated her getting what he deserves, that infuriates them? For me, Sungjin is the real hero, " she stamped her spear on the ground and continued.
Sungjin scratched his cheek.
It could be awkward if I try to say such things.
But it sounded sincere when Ereka, who was usually calm, said it.
The ambassador cleared his throat.
"If you ignore this warning, I've been told to declare war, " said the ambassador showing another roll of declaration.
"Here's the answer. I, Queen Ereka of the Kingdom of Sevrantina will stand by Sungjin in life or death. If you attack him, that means you are attacking me, if you deny him any means, then you are denying me. If you point your sword toward me, I will stop you with my spear. This is my message to them."
"Hmm. You would leave the alliance of the four kingdoms to stay on the treacherous demidevil's side? Aren't you worried how history will judge you?"
"Don't be rude to Your Highness!"
Rittier shouted with rage but Ereka stopped him.
"We shouldn't punish the messenger. I will let you go, but tell them that it was not the alliance of the four kingdoms but Sungjin who saved this kingdom and its people from the Blood Ruler."
"Well, then I will leave a word as well, " said Sungjin with a grin.
"Tell the three kings. Enough barking, try your best to bite."
He lifted his index finger and made a gesture to call a dog to come.
"W... w... what did you say?"
"You heard it right the first time, so just tell them as it is."
"You... you worthless extra... ! How dare you talk like that to the kings!"
"Why can't you understand the situation? The kings have nowhere to step back, but you should be a little more careful if you want to keep your position after I conquer them all."
The duke suddenly didn't say anything.
In his head, a complicated calculation was going on.
But soon, he stopped.
It's a three on one fight, and the Kingdom of Sevrantina is not even united within. Sungjin has no chance to win. If I tried to please Sungjin, the kings would punish me for that. What if someone tells this to the kings?
"Shut up! I'm a loyal servant of my country, I will be the one who will punish you in the battle."
"Do it, if you can."
"Wait and see."
The duke went back, outraged and angry.
When it was just the two of them left, Ereka asked Sungjin with a careful voice, "But well, Sungjin. Will it be okay? Because it is clear that they are more powerful."
"Wasn't it the same when we had to fight against the Blood Ruler?"
"You are right, " Ereka said, putting her hands together as if she was praying.
"Don't worry. I provoked them on purpose. I want them to attack us out of anger."
"Oh, I remember what you told me when we were about to fight against the Blood Ruler. You told me we have a chance if we are defending side."
Although, they ended up attacking the Blood Ruler.
Now I know what it means for Sungjin to defend in this fight against Eustasia.
And she also knew that Sungjin had been constructing many different things in many battlefields.
It was clearly his way to prepare for this war.
"So Sungjin, you want to take this opportunity to expand our territory and free the people of the three kingdoms?"
"Well, I need to unify the whole continent. This is just the first step."
He had to go through the qualification stage if he wanted to go up to the final level.
Anyways, Sungjin was interested in a good fight and in becoming an Arc Master.
In this world, where the privilege of the heroes was a natural thing, having more rulers like Ereka would be a miracle.
But still, he wanted to take them down for the people.
Then, let's get it started.
He wanted to defeat them nicely enough to make Eustasia, who refused his offer, admit that he could actually achieve his goals.
...
The kings of the three kingdoms received Sungjin's answer.
They were furious.
"This..."
"We need to hack him to pieces."
Seyzo II smiled to the two other kings who were absolutely furious.
"Hahaha. Hahaha. You guys are way too generous."
"Huh?"
"Why would you give such a generous punishment to this guy."
The two kings flinched at his cold, creepy smile. They were on the same side for all the benefits, but still, they didn't feel comfortable with Seyzo II.
"Him and the stupid bitch. We need to punish both of them for trying to turn the world upside down."
"Oh, do you have an idea on how to punish them?"
"Of course. I will make them beg me to kill them. I will make them want to commit suicide."
Seyzo II's hands trembled with excitement.
"I will make the best healers heal them while punishing them with all 365 forms of punishment."
"Oh... okay."
"Pull out their nails and toenails, make ants bite them, make them drink acid, stick them with poisonous pins, skin them, and push poisonous ticks into their skin."
"Oh, well... then we will let the Kingdom of Cariana take care of the punishment."
The other two quickly agreed.
They didn't have a plan to keep Sungjin alive, but what Seyzo II was saying was unappetizing.
"We should talk about how to attack the Kingdom of Sevrantina first."
"That is a good idea."
"Hmm. About that, why don't you tell us, Eustasia?"
Seyzo II was disappointed that he had to stop, and he wasn't as excited anymore.
"Yes, Your Highness. If I may, I would suggest attacking them from all three directions."
Eustasia prostrated and reported her plan; it was a simultaneous war from three directions.
She suggested that the three kingdoms take one side each to attack the Kingdom of Sevrantina. Then the three heroes from the Kingdom of Sevrantina would have to take one side each as well.
"Our enemy also has good heroes, including Queen Ereka."
Eustasia didn't say that Sungjin was the best out of all of them to please her listeners.
"But those heroes can only take one each, so the rest will be protected by low-level heroes."
This was the best plan to beat the Kingdom of Sevrantina overnight in a 3:0. In the worst case, the alliance would win by 2:0.
This was a plan to win before they could even start to fight with their overwhelming forces.
"And I have an idea to stop any cheap tricks from the extra. If we keep that in mind, we will win for sure."
"Wow, you already thought of that?"
"Yes. Although I know that you will win without it, but I just wanted to be loyal and support you with my mere power."
"I will listen to you."
"Then..."
Eustasia shared her plan that she got by paying her holy sword as a price.
I admit that you are better with military intelligence.
But that didn't mean anything when one had dominant force. Since they had the clear upper hand with their military force, Eustasia could stop him without much risk.
Just like when you play chess, you can overcome your skills if you have more pieces.
If I can't stop this war, I will win an overwhelming victory.
So that she could protect her country from the other forces on the outside.
I will lead this war and win it.
Then maybe she could give a merciful death to Sungjin and Ereka. That was the only thing she could do for her friend while staying loyal to her king.
The three kingdoms declared war on the Kingdom of Sevrantina at the same time.
They decided to take the east, west, and center points of the kingdom and bet the same amount of their own land.
Sungjin and Ereka had to stop all of them on the same day. But since only one person could fight on one battlefield, their kingdom was under great danger.
The news spread quickly to the people of the kingdom. The people gathered at the hospital to get their medicine whispered to each other in fear.
"The other kingdoms are about to attack us."
"They will get rid of the bills that our queen made for us."
"I heard that they will get rid of the hospitals as well."
"Oh... no!"
They knew that their country was abnormally generous to them. They thought it was too much for them to enjoy such generosity.
"So... we will go back to our lives back in the days of the Blood Ruler."
"Sigh. Why they are trying to take charge of what we do in our country?"
"We didn't have this problem when we still had the late king."
"The rumor says they don't want an extra to be king."
"Don't say that! He saved us!"
"No, I was not blaming him. I was just saying that was the reason why they decided to attack us."
"We have to support Sungjin."
"We should..."
No one was able to say what they were thinking... if Sungjin could defeat all three kingdoms at once...
The extras of the Kingdom of Sevrantina felt sad. They felt even more miserable that they were about to lose the happiness they were able to have for a very short amount of time. A bitter taste felt more bitter when one tasted it after eating something sweet. They were high for a second, and now, they were about to fall deep into despair.
Lute, who was studying letters to become a healer, lost his motivation and asked Nania who was a nurse's aide.
"If we lose... I can't learn letters anymore?"
Nania hugged the poor kid. But she was equally terrified of the future to come.
"Lute... listen. If we lose, you can't tell anyone that you know letters."
"Why? I've already studied them."
"You can't. There's a caste system due to our levels. Our level is not supposed to know letters or try to have a noble job. We need to know what we are."
The child of a hero would get the job of a hero, while the bastard of a hero would get an average job. But an extra would get the lowest-level job.
That was the rule of this world.
They shouldn't try to overcome that limit.
"But... the king built schools!"
"Yes, that was Sungjin. But that time is coming to its end."
"No! I want to become a healer and fix my mom!"
Lute stamped his feet, refusing to accept the reality.
Nania felt something heavy on her chest.
What should I do... ? The heroes from the other countries might kill him for this...
She had to make Lute learn their limit. There were things they shouldn't do.
"Lute. Listen."
She decided to help Lute with tough love.
"Even if you become a healer, your mom's condition can't be fixed."
So give up your impossible dream.
"I know!"
Lute's answer sounded like a scream.
"What?"
"I know it will be difficult to fix my mom. But... but... I... still want to try, " Lute answered with tears in his eyes.
Nania couldn't find her answer. This kid knew that reality was harsh, but he still wanted to try to help his mom. She couldn't find her words to stop him.
Should I tell him not to have hope?
Oh, God. Please let him win.
All she was able to do was keep praying so that this kid could keep his dream to help his mother.
She was not asking for a miracle; she was just asking for a chance.
| ← Ch. 036 | Ch. 038 → |