novelEvan D. Sherden, Preparing for the Next Scenario (1)
| โ Ch.368 | Ch.370 โ |
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The next evening after the end of the Great Backflow, in a secret party hall of the Marquis' residence, the 'participants' gathered.
Evan yelled after picking up a glass of wine.
"To the great success of this scenario, cheers!"
"Cheers!"
"But can we call it a success?"
"Cheers!"
Everyone who contributed to the scenario raised their glasses and drank to a toast. Unsatisfied voices were heard but summarily ignored. Anyways, this meant that Gnar was accepted as part of the Dungeon Knights, and all possible evils in Sherden (including two of the Four Heavenly Kings) were eliminated!
"I was really worried about how things would turn out when the unprecedented Great Backflow happened."
"I didn't expect Master to fend it off all by himself."
"Not by himself, no. Others also went through hell in it."
The power of Annihilation, which Evan acquired, was immense, but he couldn't fully control it. Specifically, there was one monster out of every hundred that escaped from this skill. Anyone would be dumbfounded, but if the Ironwall Knights and the soldiers weren't there, such petty mistakes could have led to considerable bloodshed amongst the civilians.
"Some were left unfinished. I personally wanted to gain more attention, though."
Redine, Evan's mother and the first wife of Marquis Soline, wasn't happy with her small contribution, but that couldn't be helped. Her role was an assistant who strengthened the bond amongst allies.
"There were too many regrettable scenes. I can do better next time."
"No, I don't plan on executing such a plan twice."
Meanwhile, the second wife, Miriam, was speaking nonsense as if her acting spirit was fired up by this scenario.
"But who knows? If there's another chance, then I want you to give an appropriate role to our Liz."
"I'll consider it when she grows older."
Evan averted his eyes after smiling bitterly. Serpina, who did her best in her role as a villain like Miriam, was in Raihan's arms holding a glass of juice instead of wine.
"You've done great as well, Noona."
"A lot of good things happened to me ways. I was able to influence my powers not just in the Sherden parish but also in all of the Great Mother parishes!"
"Anyways, I'm glad that the wedding went on before Serpina became big with her child."
Raihan laughed quietly as he embraced Serpina just in case she tripped and fell. Serpina giggled at his words and started acting charming to him. It was better not to bother that couple. Evan shrugged and turned his head towards the protagonist, who did her job well as a role of a good person in this scenario.
"Louise, once again, thank you so much. It's because of you that we were able to come up with the ending."
"No, no. I just did what you instructed me to do."
She earned her right to stand next to Evan as the first person of merit, but she was sipping on wine with a worried expression as if she weren't used to a situation where she stood in the spotlight.
"But your scenario doesn't end here yet. Rather, it's the beginning."
"..."
Her expression stiffened. She understood what Evan was trying to say because she knew the reason why the 'Louise' party had to become the protagonist of this scenario in the first place.
"What happened in Sherden this time will quickly spread and be known to the world. Two of the Four Heavenly Kings were involved, and a dragon appeared in the end."
"And Master stopped the Great Backflow all by himself."
"Shine, stop it."
Things like that often happened in Sherden. Although it was just a small part of the world, the most important events were happening there. And since the events were all of high importance, attention was drawn as well. So, even the current events would catch attention all over the world.
"People will take an interest in me and my dungeon knights, but that has already been happening, so nothing's different now. What's important is that your party left a huge impression through this event."
Those who defeated the Four Heavenly Kings (although it was the unidentified Succubus Queen and Serpina, who was now officially recognized as the Saint of the religious order, who defeated them) and the dragon, could be considered as the Hero's party. And what mattered was that Louise, the party leader, was the survivor of Merdin, a city sealed by the Demon tribe, as well as the rightful heir to the city. Actually, that was the most important fact. Perhaps even more important than having Save get the spotlight of the world.
"With this, we are now able to officially make a request to Beifeka. The right to attack and reclaim Merdin."
"I share a connection with you, Master, so you can naturally participate in the conquest of Merdin..."
Louise's cheeks reddened with delight by the word 'connection' although she was the one who said it. Serena, who held Evan's arm opposite to her, sneered at what she heard.
"Oppa, then are you getting engaged with Louise too?"
"Acccck!"
"Hmm."
Louise was so surprised by Serena's words that her glass slipped. Evan manipulated his mana to catch the glass before it hit the ground, letting out a huge sigh. How could she say such provocative things while seeing how insecure Louise was!? Or, perhaps, she intended to calm her down since she knew about it...Evan put the glass on the table and glanced at Louise with a slightly tensed expression. Her own expression was the one she made whenever Evan told her that he'd reward her.
"What's your response to this, Louise?"
"It's an honor! It would be for the sake of conquering Merdin smoothly, but if I can have a firmer connection with the Master whom I love...!"
"Trying to hide an obvious love...cunning woman."
Belois murmured quietly from behind. Evan opened his mouth after letting out another sigh in his mind.
"If we are officially engaged, then I can take a bolder approach. If you are okay with it, Louise, shall we?"
"Hehe..."
Louise looked clumsy. Surely, she wasn't the type of character who would act like this, so where did it go wrong? Or was she under immense pressure under Save's party? Evan reflected lightly on himself.
"But invading Merdin will be after you complete the 100th floor of the dungeon. Originally, I wanted you to clear the dungeon first before this scenario ended, but well, now that we've come so far, it actually turned out great. Train yourself harder before entering the dungeon."
"Yes! I'll do my best to be the girl that suits you, Master!"
Louise smiled gorgeously like a cherry blossom blooming while somewhat weirdly replying to his words. Hmm, it seemed that she couldn't properly hear him for now. Evan turned his head as he decided to tell her once more when she calmed down. In this scenario, there were others beside her that did their jobs well. Especially, there was a person who contributed from the shadows.
"Ctheasil, you've done amazing work. It would have been a hassle adjusting the magic circle without the enemies noticing it."
"It was nothing worthy of thanks. I just hope this helped me fix my mistake."
Ctheasil winked at Evan as she looked into her glass, standing in the corner of the hall amongst the witches. If it weren't for her, who had superb abilities in all magic, fooling the Demon tribe would have been impossible.
"But if you want to reward me, how about coming to my room tonight...Aaaack!?"
"Master Evan! Why won't you get engaged to me while you do it with that woman? I've tried so hard this time! And my love has always been for you only!"
"Me too! Me too!"
It was that moment when Ctheasil tried to make a bold approach, the young witches with Selune pushed her away and approached Evan! Belois cast a barrier in a hurry to protect Evan, but those witches with exceptional magic abilities were tough. Evan couldn't possibly use Annihilation on them, so he had to go through some more troubles.
"We want our rewards as well!"
"Yeah, we've waited for so long!"
"Move aside, Ctheasil; get along with your sibling instead!"
"Ack, the smell of booze! Who let Selune drink!?"
Evan made a great effort in calming down Selune, who went wild with liquor, although she was the Witch of the Water. Redine was observing the situation with a smile, although her son's chastity was at risk.
"I think I will soon see my grandchildren."
"Is that regardless of who becomes the mother, Eonni?"
Redine replied that it wasn't the case to Miriam, who was dumbfounded.
"I hope Belois will be the first one, but other witches are fine, aren't they? A child between Evan and a witch will become a witch...perhaps Evan was created by God to revive the witch race after all?"
"Woah...what is his stamina like?"
"Ahem, since he received both mine and his father's, so it would probably...whisper..."
"Wooooah..."
"Don't talk about sensitive things, mothers! These witches, they are wilder now! Hey, calm down!"
And it took quite some time for Evan and Belois to calm the witches and get away from them. Precisely, it was the angry Belois who dragged all witches out. She didn't want Evan to see herself lose her temper, but it was too late.
"Whew..."
"Oh, your glass is empty."
Evan was breathing heavily after becoming a free man at last, and a person who approached him filled his glass with alcohol.
"You've done a lot, Master."
"You don't say...ah, Maybell."
The last runner in this scenario was Maybell, whose contribution outranked everyone. She had done a remarkable job in gathering the Demon tribe into Sherden, and she also got rid of the person who dared to twist the scenario...and if there was something to be added to that.
"How's Name?"
"He is still dazed. Being under a charm for a long period of time isn't good on the psyche."
After everything ended, the survivors of the Sacred Guild and Name's party were isolated after their charms were undone. Despite the fact that their charms were completely removed, they weren't able to regain their senses. Maybell mentioned that it wouldn't take long, though.
"Their levels are high so that they would have resistances. A few days later, you will be able to have a normal conversation with them."
"Conversation...yeah, I need to talk to them."
Evan felt a sense of discomfort when he thought about Name. What was the difference between the children of god race, who the Incubus King manipulated, and those who he raised? Such questions kept on haunting him. Of course, he knew the difference. He didn't lie to the children when he adopted them, neither did he use methods like charming them, and he ensured their freedom as much as possible. But aside from those? He didn't restrain them directly, but wasn't he the same as the Incubus King who utilized them with the fact that they were young and created a background wherein the children couldn't escape from him? were the children who blindly followed Evan different from those under the charm of the Incubus King?
'I knew about it. '
Evan knew the meaning of manipulating people, and he was ready to take responsibility from the moment he decided to create the Astray Knights. At that time, he was desperate to form a group that would protect him and the city. But as he saw Name's party, he started to reconsider his thoughts. Could he proudly say that he was innocent? Could he say that his attitude towards the god race was different from the Incubus King?
"Master. Master?"
"Ah...yes?"
"This won't work. You've got fog in your mind."
Maybell smiled bitterly and carefully tried to read the mood. Then, her lips got close to his ear, and she whispered to him in a voice that only he could hear.
"I'll clear your mind thoroughly, so you have to sleep alone tonight. Got that?"
"Well..."
"It's a must."
Maybell put distance between herself and Evan, giving him a wink before she left. Evan felt his heart pounding and bit his lip. It was quite a bold move from Maybell.
| โ Ch. 368 | Ch. 370 โ |