episode_0072

“Seo, your Majesty… !”

The military police guarding the entrance to Fiorene City were startled.

This is because the Archbishop of the Holy Church, Holy Emperor Johannes, came to visit.

The city guard was also surprised by the unexpected visit.

The Holy Emperor appeared at the entrance of the city, accompanied only by the leader of Rajuri.

He saw the military police watching the entrance and exit and got a rough idea of the city’s internal situation.

“It looks like there is a VIP inside.”

“Yes, it is. Prince Edipus… .”

Seonghwang nodded.

The Emperor personally came to track down the remnants of the Anti-Imperial Coalition.

That meant only one thing.

‘Succession to the throne… .’

The Emperor entered the city without delay.

In the distance, I could see Fiorene Castle.

*

“Have you already found a new member?”

Vivian asked after recording today’s expenses.

She has been steadily recording her income and expenses since Ian last bought her a notebook.

Kati (cat) was sitting on her lap, and Vivian was soon able to pet Kati naturally.

Of course, right now my hands were busy eating the meat skewers and baked bread I bought outside.

On the other side were Helena and Mercy sitting on her shoulder.

“It’s probably right. This is because Ian finds people so quickly.

Mercy answered the question.

“You also found Vivian very quickly?”

“Ne?”

Vivian and Helena paid attention.

When they think about it, they realized that they didn’t know Ian at all before they met.

They have only known Ian since he came to visit them.

“Was it a list of applicants? anyway. He looked through it carefully, found Vivian’s name, and took off right away.”

“… Really?”

“Yes, yes. Ian says that often. He stays still and then suddenly acts as if he remembers something. In most cases, there is a high probability that it is the correct solution.”

Just listening to Mercy’s words makes you wonder if it was an oracle given to Ian.

Helena asked while Vivian imagined Ian being obsessed with her name.

“Did I do that too?!”

“Umm… . Yep. It was like that. Among the people Ian first noticed was Helena.”

As I was chatting about Ian’s mysterious abilities, someone knocked on the door.

Vivian, who was closest to the door, came out.

Since the only person to come was Ian, I opened the door without asking who it was.

“… ?”

The thing on the other side of the door was a yellow girl like a chick.

Behind the girl was a knight dressed in solemn brass-colored armor.

“Ah.”

Vivian recognized her immediately.

“Hwa, meet the princess… .”

“Hmm.”

Afterwards, Helena came out and said hello.

Mercy, on the other hand, was not polite.

“Oh! Isn’t it a chick! Ian is somewhere else?”

“Mercy! I’m an adult now too! Could you please stop calling me a chick?!”

“Ugh.”

Grace, who had her hands on her hips, puffed out her breasts as if trying to look bigger, but for a girl the size of Helena, she was still a chick.

“Hmm. Well, anyway. Can I come in for a moment?”

It was a rare sight for Vivian and Helena to see someone as young as a princess carefully asking for permission.

“Yes… .”

“Excuse me then.”

Grace came in easily.

Although his short tongue, high-pitched voice, and childish behavior made him look like a child, his royal elegance was evident in every detail of his appearance.

Vivian looked at Grace as if she were looking at a boastful chick, then turned her gaze to the driver outside the door.

“Stir… . Aren’t you coming in?”

Leon, the leader of Aegis, answered briefly.

“It will be inconvenient for you. Also, you can trust Ian as a colleague.”

“Ah, ah, I see… .”

Vivian and Helena began to be confused about which of the two, the royal family and Ian, who was infinitely trusted by the royal family, they should be curious about.

Vivian was speechless when she saw Leon standing outside the door.

Can I close the door?

Isn’t that too rude?

Fortunately, Leon took care of that problem.

“Then, I will wait here.”

Leon closed the door first.

Vivian returned to her seat embarrassed.

The food that I had been eating just a moment ago was left in a bit of a mess on the table.

I thought the princess would be uncomfortable seeing that, but she didn’t seem to care.

Grace said as Vivian sat down.

“Are you two Ian’s new heroes?”

“Yes!”

“Yes.”

“Hmm. great. I would like to tell you something I couldn’t say before.”

Vivian felt that this slightly unruly princess was still a very polite person.

I was a little attracted to the appearance that was completely different from the nobles and royal family I had imagined… .

“I am Ian’s fiancé.”

It came into existence and ended.

“So you should be careful!”

“… Yes?”

Helena answered in a dumb way.

Vivian and Kati glared at Grace silently.

Mercy, caught in the middle, was busy giggling and laughing.

“Well, that can’t be… !”

Helena stood up and denied it.

“… Helena?”

“Why do you assert it?”

“Well, that’s… . it… ! Because Ian is mine!”

“… !”

“Oh, isn’t it? I’m Ian’s… Ah, anyway! Ian said he was obsessed with me!”

It was a sudden departure from Helena, whom I had not seen in a long time.

Aside from that, Vivian saw Grace’s expression shake at Helena’s words.

‘That’s a lie.’

“Ian said that… ?”

Vivian interjected softly.

“That’s not important. Ammut… . I haven’t heard anything like that from Ian.”

“Of course! How can I say that I am engaged to this Grace?”

“Umm… . But, aren’t we Ian’s heroes? If there is such an important issue, we have a close relationship with an obligation to share and inform.”

“Sticky… ?!”

“Ma, that’s right!”

Grace, who was at a loss for words, just gaped.

Then, as if I couldn’t stand it anymore, I jumped up from my seat.

At that time, Vivian and Helena also felt a little intimidated.

I wondered if I had offended the princess too much.

“It… ! Well, Grace has nothing to do with that! That means you don’t have to know!”

Grace, shaking her fists, went outside, pounding the floor.

Helena snorted in victory as she looked at the closed door.

Vivian grinned.

The intensity with which Kati wags her tail has weakened slightly.

Aside from that victory, Grace left Vivian and Helena with one question.

‘… ‘What on earth does Ian do?’

Even though he was the former manager of the first party.

Is it possible to receive this much favor from the imperial family? ?

*

“Do you ever have any intention of becoming a hero?”

Lucia immediately understood Ian’s question.

“Is that a condition for helping me?”

“Hmm. When you say it that way, it somehow feels like a bleak deal. I won’t deny it.”

Ian admitted it obediently.

“I see great potential in you. No, honestly, even saying it’s big isn’t enough… .”

“Oh my, aren’t you flattering me too much?”

“… … .”

Ian was dumbfounded for a moment and closed his mouth.

Do you really not know your own talent? at all?

That honest reaction embarrassed Lucia.

“… Are you serious?”

“I am always sincere.”

“For someone who says that, I’ve never met a sincere person.”

“At least at this moment, I am unconditionally sincere.”

For some reason, it became a little difficult for Lucia to judge this man, who often joked around slyly.

I soon realized that I would have nothing to lose by believing in it.

Anyway, she had no place to retreat anymore.

“Good. Hero, I will do it. So are you leaving right away?”

“It probably won’t work right away… .”

I have to help the prince, so I can’t leave here right now.

Above all, considering what will happen to Lucia from now on, she needs to sleep well for at least today.

Ian took out a leather pouch from his arms and took out the items inside.

It was a bottle filled with an unusual liquid that sparkled bright purple.

Lucia lost her gaze for a moment, not knowing what it was.

“What is this?”

“Elixir.”

“… Yes?”

“For now, let’s just eat one-eighth of it. Eating too much at once is not good for your health.”

“Yes… ?”

First, Lucia’s physical condition had to be brought back to normal with the elixir.

“Eat.”

*

Ian gave Lucia 1/8 of the elixir and put her to sleep.

I thought about getting a massage today, but I had to stop.

Her skin lesions weren’t just on her face.

There was pus and blisters spread all over my body, including my arms and legs, so getting a massage could actually cause pain.

‘If you take a deep breath, wake up, check the progress, adjust the amount of elixir and feed it again, you will get better quickly.’

I am starting to look forward to seeing what she will look like after she has already regained her full condition.

The others seemed surprised that he had found his comrade before the duel competition even started.

‘Besides that, there was something strange about the way he looked at me… . Oh, is it because of the scene where Lucia was laid down and given a potion? Hey, even if someone explains it.’

Lucia is currently sleeping, so the formal introduction has been postponed until later.

anyway.

Now Ian was moving along with a member of the military police.

Around the time Lucia drank the elixir, the military police came and reported their business.

The prince is looking for you.

‘What on earth is going on…? .’

Following the guidance of the military police, we arrived at a banquet room hidden in the basement of the castle.

A long square table covered with a white tablecloth.

Again, a red cloth was spread vertically on it.

Compared to the grand table, the only things that went up were simple refreshments and tea.

At the end, Emperor Edipus was sitting.

Lorenzo was sitting next to him, and a noble young man was sitting opposite him.

The prince was the first to raise his hand and say hello.

“Ian. Welcome.”

Lorenzo only pretended to know with a glance, and the nobleman seemed to have no intention of doing so.

“Sit down.”

While Ian sat down, the prince pointed to a noble man.

“This guy said something very interesting.”

“This is a place where even the prince can have fun conversations. I can’t leave it out.”

The noble man trembled harder.

Although I was surprised by the prince’s words.

I couldn’t figure out the identity of the man who dared make such a harsh joke in front of the Emperor.

“Ian. Let me introduce you. This is Henry Somerset. Somerset, this is Ian.”

The two nodded lightly in greeting.

Ian immediately remembered where he had heard that name before.

‘Anti-Imperial Coalition… .’

The prince even introduced Ian.

“He is the former manager of the first hero party.”

Only after hearing that explanation did Henry remember where he heard Ian’s name.

He was clearly the man Edgar was looking for.

“Okay, can you repeat what you just said?”

“What is that?”

“Kylie, Beatrice, Aria, Sylvia. I’m talking about those four joining your cause.”

At those words, Ian raised an eyebrow and looked puzzled, then realized what was going on.

At the same time, he also wondered why the prince had called him here.

‘It’s such an obvious lie, but… You’re trying to be cautious. And, if the situation arises, you might want to find a reason to control the first hero party. ‘I’ve heard rumors that things are out of control these days.’

Ian also heard the rumor.

What about the dark beer at the first party, and how Kylie stabbed someone… .

I just didn’t pay attention to taking care of Vivian and Helena.

‘But I’m not sure if it’s possible. I guess that lie is not without foundation. If the basis is direct, it may be legally binding. Or, there are more accidents… . If it’s both of those things, there’s nothing better.’

Right after Ian gathered his thoughts.

The door to the banquet room was opened carefully, and one of the attendants came in shaking.

Everyone’s eyes were focused on him.

Next, an old man dressed in a neat priest’s uniform and a paladin wearing platinum armor and a red cape came in.

He was the leader of the prosperous Johannes and Lazuli.

“With the flames cooling down, Johannes meets the Crown Prince.”

Seonghwang smiled softly and approached.

Although they were surprised, the prince and Ian immediately realized the purpose of his coming here.

At the same time, I thought the timing was truly amazing.

“Your Majesty, I am always grateful that the blessing of light is with the empire.”

The prince greeted politely.

On the other hand, Henry felt that things were going increasingly wrong.

“Everyone who is suitable for this position has gathered.”

Lorenzo also slowly noticed something strange.

“Let’s continue what we were talking about earlier.”

The first prince of the Imperial Family of the Pride Empire.

The prosperity of Seonghwagyo.

And the leader of Lazuli, a companion of Seonghwang.

The captain of the military police, the prince’s companion.

Former manager of the 1st Hero Party.

Just listing them made the intimidating people gather in one place and look at Henry.

*

“Kruk… .”

A man made a boiling sound and vomited blood.

There was a large hole in the center of his torso, and his right and left arms were hanging out, holding a sword and a shield, respectively.

-thud.

Finally the man collapsed.

Around the man, his colleagues fell.

He was better than his peers.

The wizard’s upper body completely disappeared.

The priest lost the left side of his body.

Only the archer’s body and head remained, but even that had a hole in the head.

Four of the Empire’s leading forces, a party of SS-class warriors, have just passed away.

The person who caused that situation.

Beatrice, archer of the 1st hero party.

“Mr. .”

She scratched her head in annoyance and looked at the corpses.

“What should I do… ?”