Ch.147147. Entrance

The Hero is coming.

The Hero is coming.

‘But I don’t know why the Cordana Exchange suddenly comes to mind.’

The First Prince Simon, who was standing beside the Emperor, muttered with a vacant expression.

He was now at the grand banquet hall of the imperial palace. It was a space that could comfortably accommodate more than two thousand people.

It wasn’t just spacious; its structure was incomparably magnificent.

Two hundred sculptural pillars that were closer to works of art, twenty murals painted on the high ceiling. It was a space where money had been slathered on thickly, with no regard for restraint.

The Cordana Exchange, which had now become a lottery sales office, was a fairly decent building in its own right, but it couldn’t even be compared to this place. There wasn’t much basis to connect the two.

Yet the reason Simon recalled that vicious institution was simple:

“The Hero’s greed has gone too far…! At this rate, the Hero will be executing funds worth hundreds of billions annually at his own discretion!”

“He says the lottery funds will be used for public welfare. Reservoirs and fertilizer factories? That’s all well and good, but why must the Hero decide their locations? Can’t the nobles pool their wisdom to decide?”

“You must contact the Hero and warn him now, Your Majesty!”

It was because of those nobles who were incessantly raising hell.

It was only natural that he was reminded of the old days when nobles of high standing would jostle for position just to get their hands on a single coin.

‘Warn the Hero?’

To say such things while thinking the Hero’s party was in the Demonic Land.

Distance aside, the Demonic Land was a place where inexplicable magical phenomena occurred frequently, making communication impossible even with a crystal ball.

The demons somehow managed it, but it wasn’t as if they could suddenly summon a succubus who had been working in a brothel.

Simon felt a wave of fatigue washing over him as he opened his mouth. Since the Emperor had his eyes closed, he had no choice but to step in.

“Baron Widen?”

“I’m a Viscount.”

He was the lord of a region once famous for its jewelry workshops.

“…Right. What warning do you want to give?”

“The acquisition of spoils is not something the Hero can decide arbitrarily. The war against the Demon Lord’s army is still a war, so how can he say he will leave the spoils behind without the imperial family’s permission?”

“I don’t know when looting the Demon Lord’s castle became the norm. Is that your judgment, Viscount Widen?”

“No, Your Highness. Are you saying we should just leave all that gold behind… oh my.”

Raised voices, sighs, lamentations.

It was not an attitude a mere viscount should dare show before the First Prince. He could be arrested by the Royal Order right now and have no grounds for complaint.

However, not a single person was pointing out his rudeness now.

Because the behavior of the other nobles wasn’t much different.

Nobles who might be inclined to obey the Hero didn’t even attend the banquet, and those attendees who were cautious had been sorted and moved to the balcony.

‘Perhaps they’re mistaking this for loyal counsel in their own way.’

It was clear that these nobles believed that checking the Hero’s increasingly bloated power was necessary to maintain imperial authority. It would be difficult to think that the imperial family would abandon the ruling class that formed the foundation of the Empire and take the Hero’s side.

But the nobles didn’t just keep complaining.

Before long, a figure who could be considered their leader stepped forward.

A man in his fifties with a dignified appearance, Duke Arknight.

The Arknight ducal family was the one that suffered the greatest damage when Cordana was at its peak. Combining direct and collateral lines, they had lost hundreds of billions. They were also the family that took on the most when the Hero disposed of the 108 Cordanas.

While many families declined due to losses of just 20-30 billion, the ducal family remained strong. It was thanks to their nation-level power base.

A powerful foundation, and dozens of nobles who supported him.

Perhaps trusting in these two assets, Duke Arknight dared to propose a deal to the Emperor. The Emperor, perhaps finding it difficult to ignore someone of his stature, opened his eyes.

“Your Majesty. The Hero, Marquis Wellesley, is indeed somewhat of a burden. He has contributed much to the Empire so far, and his rank has risen as high as it can go. If he succeeds in subjugating the Demon Lord, he will also have public support behind him.”

“…What are you getting at?”

“We are not suggesting that we treat the Hero coldly. We cannot risk incurring the Goddess’s wrath by persecuting the Hero.”

“……”

“So I have a solution.”

“…Speak.”

Having received the Emperor’s permission, Duke Arknight began to explain his so-called solution.

“First, we must reclaim authority over the Demon Lord’s castle spoils and lottery funds from the Hero.”

“……”

“The Hero may be displeased at having his authority taken away, but there is a way to appease him. Namely, a promotion. Ah, I don’t simply mean raising him to duke.”

“Then?”

“What about making him a Prince-Duke?”

Prince-Duke.

It meant essentially elevating Erick Wellesley to the head of an independent state.

If he were to be called a Prince-Duke while keeping his current territory, it would be little more than child’s play, but Duke Arknight had a more concrete plan.

That plan was…

“There’s the Kingdom of Microssia. The place the Hero himself destroyed. Even now, the kingdom is in extreme chaos.”

“You’re suggesting we send the Hero there?”

“Yes. Bestow the entire Kingdom of Microssia upon the Hero. The people of the kingdom would not refuse any form of incorporation into the Empire anyway.”

“……”

“Wouldn’t this satisfy the Hero as well?”

At these words, exclamations erupted from all around, as if on cue.

The idea of handing over to the Hero a kingdom teeming with people who were barely managing to survive day by day.

Even the First Prince showed surprise on his face at this proposal.

Not because it was an excellent strategy, but because he realized how much the nobles, including the Duke, had been obsessing over the “Hero.”

He couldn’t even guess how much they had agonized to find a way to receive the Hero’s authority in a presentable package without going against his wishes.

“This is the best solution, Your Majesty.”

The nobles began to raise their voices in unison, as if they intended to receive an imperial decree right then and there.

Let’s elevate the Hero to Prince-Duke, please approve it, make a decision, this is the only way for the Hero and us to coexist!

“Listen, my lords… No, never mind.”

When the Emperor raised his hand to restrain the nobles but then gave up, their voices grew even louder.

They probably thought they had won the battle of wills with the Emperor. They seemed determined to push a little more and send the Hero to the kingdom as soon as he returned. That would open a blessed era where they could run wild to their hearts’ content.

However, there was another reason why the Emperor and the First Prince were watching helplessly. They had received news through a servant that the Hero had already arrived at the banquet hall.

‘Of course, they know nothing about it.’

The First Prince stared blankly at the excited nobles. Their desperate struggles, unaware of what was about to happen, seemed somewhat eerie.

***

“The sorting is complete, Lord Hero.”

News that the ones to be killed had been identified.

I rushed to the imperial palace alone as soon as I received this report.

I didn’t bring my party members. Since I could handle this on my own, there was no need to make them witness a spectacle of blood and flesh.

…For the same reason, I told Ember to stay away. Her role was finished just by throwing bait to the nobles.

‘That aside, Prince-Duke, huh.’

I let out a small laugh after hearing the sounds leaking from the banquet hall. I couldn’t tell whose idea it was, but I could guess their intentions.

They probably thought it would be better to treat me as “His Highness the Prince-Duke” rather than living in constant fear of having their heads smashed in.

In reality, they wanted to put me somewhere out of sight, but it was certainly an extraordinary promotion. For someone born as a commoner, being addressed as “Your Highness” was a level of success that defied common sense.

And to be honest, I found the proposal somewhat appealing.

Controlling the terrified people of the kingdom and helping them return to normal life, assisting the beastkin to adapt—it could be a fulfilling life in its own way. Since the country had already hit rock bottom, the process of rebuilding might even be relatively simple.

However, that shallow contemplation was soon shattered.

“We must send the Hero to the kingdom!!”

It was because of this outburst from the banquet hall.

If I ignored them and left for the kingdom, what would happen was all too clear. In just a few years, the Empire might become something that could hardly be called a country. I couldn’t let that happen.

I shook off the last piece of hesitation and gave a slight nod to the guards standing in front of the banquet hall.

The doors slowly opened.

Two of the nobles who had been yelling at the Emperor glanced in my direction. Immediately after, as they tugged at the collars of nearby nobles saying, “Th-th-there!” the attention of the rest turned toward me as well. They all wore expressions of shock.

A moment of silence fell, but it didn’t last long.

“H-Hero?”

A dumbfounded voice escaped someone’s lips.

They must be puzzled. Why I suddenly appeared when I should have been in the Demonic Land, and why I was looking at them so indifferently—they couldn’t make sense of it. Even the more composed individuals were just pointing and going “uh, uh.”

I ignored their gazes and stepped forward.

“Prince-Duke, not a bad idea. I’ll gladly accept it.”

This was sincere. I needed authority to put my plans into action anyway. While I wouldn’t go to the kingdom directly, taking the position wasn’t a bad idea.

Only then did the nobles’ pupils begin to dart back and forth.

The Emperor and Prince who remained calm despite my intrusion, the well-behaved nobles who had been guided by servants to the balcony of the banquet hall, and the firmly closed entrance doors to the hall. The implications of all these circumstances were all too clear.

But it was already too late to realize now.

“Lord Hero… What is this?”

Because they were all scheduled to die soon anyway.