Chapter 10 : Imperial Hearing (4)

Ugh, my head.

The first thing that hit him as soon as he opened his eyes was a terrible headache.

The pain felt like an axe chopping into his skull, causing Wolfgang to groan.

The familiar symptoms of a pounding head and nausea.

Soon, Wolfgang realized that this was a hangover.

It wasn’t hard to figure out.

He couldn’t not know it—hangovers had been his mortal enemy long before his possession.

And even now, after being possessed, the situation wasn’t much different.

Clutching his head that felt like it was about to shatter, Wolfgang tried to recall what had happened last night.

So, let’s see.

His plan to retire through the hearing fell apart.

The frustration drove him to grab some alcohol and drink.

Wine, beer, mead, and more.

He didn’t discriminate when it came to alcohol.

He drank everything, and after downing his sixth bottle in one shot, he lost consciousness.

In the end, all he got from it was this dreadful hangover.

“If I drink again, I’m no human.”

He made a resolution—one he had made countless times before—and tried to lift himself up with difficulty, but ultimately collapsed again.

Her ample chest bounced like waves.

It seemed that one of the drinks she had last night was particularly strong.

She usually got hangovers, but even so, she wouldn’t normally end up like this after just six bottles.

In the end, she had to lie in bed all day because of the hangover.

It wasn’t until after the sun had completely set that she finally managed to move, but even then, her condition wasn’t great.

Knock knock.

Just as she was staring blankly at the ceiling, resting, someone knocked on the door to announce their presence.

Soon, the door opened, and the person who entered was Galina.

“Commander, are you alright?”

“I still have a bit of a hangover.”

“I brought some honey tea.”

“Thanks. As expected, there’s no one like you.”

Galina wasn’t her deputy for nothing.

She knew well how Wolfgang always suffered from hangovers after drinking.

Wolfgang took a sip of the warm honey tea she had prepared.

Not bad.

Whether it was a placebo effect or thanks to the honey tea, Wolfgang felt the lingering hangover ease somewhat.

She finished off the rest of the honey tea in one gulp.

“The Emperor has invited you to dinner. What will you do?”

“The Emperor? You should say ‘His Majesty.’”

“Apologies. But the only person we serve with loyalty is you, Commander.”

“When others are around, at least maintain proper decorum.”

“I’ll try my best.”

Wolfgang was startled by Galina’s casual mention of the Emperor’s name. It was fortunate that they were alone here.

If there had been others, things could have gotten quite troublesome.

Anyway.

Dinner, huh?

She hadn’t thought about it much, but now that she heard it, her stomach, which hadn’t been fed all day, began to grumble, prompting her to naturally accept the Emperor’s invitation.

“Alright, we’ll stay at the palace tonight, and depart tomorrow.”

“Understood.”

“Where’s Black?”

“Here, Commander.”

Ah, damn it, that scared me.

Looking for Black, who wasn’t visible, Wolfgang was startled when a dark figure suddenly popped up.

It turned out Black had been standing guard by the door like a sentry.

“You’ve been guarding all day?”

“Yes, Commander.”

“Well, technically, I was helping too!”

“You didn’t have to go to such lengths.”

“What are you saying? We’re here to protect you, Commander!”

Galina and Black were notorious for bickering like cats and dogs whenever they were together, but when it came to work, they handled things efficiently.

After all, the reason they followed Commander Wolfgang was to escort her in case of any emergencies.

No one in Vendetta would be foolish enough to let personal feelings interfere with official duties.

“Honestly, I could’ve handled it all by myself.”

“What a coincidence. I was going to say the exact same thing.”

“Stop fighting and let’s go eat.”

The problem was that as soon as the official duties were over, they’d revert to being at each other’s throats.

After breaking up the fight between Galina and Black, Wolfgang headed straight to the dining room.

The dining room the Emperor had invited them to was located at the very top of the palace.

A grand chandelier hung from the ceiling, and a red carpet covered the floor.

The palace garden could be seen through the windows.

It really did feel like a modern restaurant, though there wasn’t a single piece of modern equipment like light bulbs.

Still, the atmosphere and the table arrangement resembled that of a restaurant.

“Welcome, Commander. It’s been a while, Galina and Black.”

The Emperor—or rather, Leiphen—was already seated and greeted Wolfgang warmly.

He seemed to have already started drinking, as a wine glass filled with wine was in his hand.

“Long time no see, Vice-Commander.”

“…”

Galina wasn’t particularly fond of most Vendetta members, but she still acknowledged the title of Vice-Commander.

Unlike her, Black was glaring fiercely at Leiphen.

“I didn’t know there was such a place in the palace. Impressive.”

“This used to be where the previous Emperor had secret meetings with his concubine. It’s been renovated to host dignitaries visiting the Empire.”

“… The first part wasn’t really necessary.”

“It’s all in the past now. Anyway, take a seat. The food will be served shortly.”

Sure enough, as soon as Leiphen finished speaking, the special dishes prepared for the evening arrived.

Wine and fruit salad.

The main course was foie gras, and even dessert followed.

“It’s from a goose that was hunted by the royal hunter half a year ago. People say the taste is exquisite.”

“How did you manage to store such ingredients for so long?”

“The Winter of Doom affected food as well. Thanks to that, the Empire’s food preservation magic is now the best on the continent, though I’m not exactly thankful for that.”

Due to the influence of the Winter of the End, the Empire retained a culture of cherishing food, and naturally, with the royal family’s lead, magic and facilities were developed to preserve food for as long as possible.

Thanks to that, even the goose liver caught six months ago was as fresh and delicious as if it had just been caught.

Surprisingly, the atmosphere during dinner wasn’t bad.

Reifen was curious about Vendetta’s recent news.

In response, Wolfgang told Reifen a recent story, and Galina joined in, nodding appropriately.

However, the good atmosphere did not last long.

“Reifen von Bahamut.”

Black, who hadn’t spoken a word and hadn’t even touched his food, finally opened his mouth.

Without even using the title of Emperor, he directly uttered the Emperor’s name.

“Black, didn’t I tell you? At least show some respect.”

“It’s fine, Captain. It seems Black has something he wants to say, and as the ‘vice-commander,’ I suppose I can listen.”

Emphasizing his own position as vice-commander, Reifen’s words made Black bite his lip.

He couldn’t accept it.

Of all people, someone like him was the closest to the Captain.

He wanted nothing more than to tear him apart right this moment.

But with the Captain watching, he could no longer afford to show any disgrace.

Thus, he forced himself to bow his head to the Emperor.

“Your Majesty, forgive me, but aren’t you quite busy with state affairs?”

“I can’t deny that.”

“On top of that, taking on the role of vice-commander for the Vendetta Legion, I fear your health might suffer.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“Naturally, when someone takes on a task beyond their capacity, they tend to have a short life. Wouldn’t it be best to relinquish the position of vice-commander?”

In simpler terms, he was saying, “You lack the ability, so give up the position.”

Even though he spoke politely, it was essentially a blatant insult, and Reifen’s face hardened in real time.

“…I see. First of all, thank you for your concern.”

“This is nothing, Your Majesty.”

“But it seems you’ve forgotten something. The hierarchy in Vendetta is determined not by status, but purely by the logic of strength and skill.”

“……”

“You haven’t forgotten why you are ranked third, have you?”

Now, Black’s once mocking expression hardened.

The tense atmosphere between the two, with their fierce gazes locked on each other, felt like sparks were flying.

Reifen snapped his fingers.

As soon as he did, the world began to turn black and white.

Reifen smiled and said,

“Though I can’t match Vendetta’s strength, my Cheoruk order is composed of highly skilled individuals.”

“What have you done?”

“I’ve fixed the space. At least within this area, no matter what happens, there will be no destruction, and no damage will spread outside.”

“Is that so? Then…”

“Oh, I’d prefer if the Captain stayed quiet. It’s not powerful enough to withstand the Captain’s strength.”

Wolfgang, who had been planning to intervene in their fight and relieve some stress, was immediately stopped by Reifen and made a sullen face.

Reifen, who had prevented the Captain from joining, now turned his gaze towards Black.

Black understood the meaning right away.

Without any further hesitation, both men simultaneously rose from their seats.

“I’ll be taking the position of vice-commander for sure this time.”

“It’s about time we sorted out the ranks.”

The two men faced off without yielding an inch over the position of vice-commander.

Watching their confrontation, Galina turned her head away and clung to Wolfgang’s arm.

“Captain! Forget about those dark men’s fights, why don’t we go take a bath together!”

” Bath…”

” …A bath?”

One word. 

That one word instantly quelled the fiery tension between the two men.

It was almost instinctual.

Though they’d never seen her naked, they were aware of her figure.

Even now, her military uniform, enchanted with magic, could barely conceal her ample chest, but during the Winter War, she used bandages, and even those were often unavailable due to the lack of medical supplies.

And with their instincts running wild, their imaginations naturally filled in the blanks.

As a result, their burning determination was quickly extinguished.

They both sat back down.

“We’ll postpone the fight for next time.”

“…It seems that would be best.”

Thus, the dinner, which had been heated to the point of almost exploding, fizzled out anticlimactically.

Clicking his tongue, Reifen scratched his head in frustration.

‘Thanks to Black, I missed the right moment to say it. I really should stop indulging my competitive side now that I’m the Emperor.’

In truth, there was a different reason he had invited Wolfgang to dinner this time.

Without a word, he pulled out a letter from his breast pocket.

At first glance, it seemed like an ordinary letter.

And indeed, it was just an ordinary letter.

The problem was that the seal on the letter bore the lion emblem symbolizing the Kingdom of Mines.