Ch.357EP.75 – The Cogwheel Declares (5)

Just one meter.

That was the distance between the king and Ihan, close enough that a single large step would bring him directly to the king.

And in that moment of silence across that one meter, the soldiers, knights, and attendants all shouted at once.

“Insolence!”

“How dare you approach so boldly!”

“To insult His Majesty! I’ve never seen such an ill-mannered rogue—”

The king’s loyal subjects immediately threatened the knight, drawing spears and swords to surround him, eager to tear him apart.

But their intimidation…

“From now on—”

Whoosh…

Crack!

Crash!

“You should think carefully before opening your mouths.”

“……”

…quietly and quickly subsided.

No, they were forced to shut their mouths.

Why?

“……”

Trembling…

…they were overwhelmed.

The entire group that had been shouting loudly just moments ago now closed their mouths and trembled.

Not just them. Everyone who heard his voice froze in place, shaking uncontrollably with pale, rigid expressions.

“…Lion’s Roar, right?”

His disciples knew what their master had done.

But this was different from the usual Lion’s Roar.

Just yesterday, it had been a technique that subdued opponents with a thunderous voice, but now he had executed the Lion’s Roar simply by imbuing his voice with his aura.

And even without shouting, its power was extraordinary.

Glass cups shattered, walls cracked, and the air grew unbearably heavy…

It was truly a situation where one person’s presence dominated the entire banquet hall, and some nobles could barely breathe.

Whoosh-

In the next moment, the pressure vanished in the blink of an eye.

But rather than mercy, most felt it as a silent warning.

As if to prove this:

“There won’t be a second time.”

He stated clearly, and none among them dared to refute or oppose his words.

Having thus taken control of the entire surroundings in less than two minutes, he looked up at the king again.

The king still looked down at the knight from his throne, but somehow…

“From now on, I’ll be asking questions. And if you lie, my patience will disappear. So it would be best to answer well.”

“……”

“You didn’t answer. Fine, 10% of my patience is gone.”

“!!?”

…somehow, an optical illusion occurred where the knight looking up seemed to be in the superior position.

* * *

…King Edmund’s eyes trembled uncontrollably.

It was no exaggeration to call it an earthquake in his pupils, and his knees appeared to be shaking slightly as well.

No matter how well he had mastered martial techniques, he could not possibly stand against…

A knight who had surpassed the champion, officially recognized as a <Hero Class> on his status window, and reached Lv.8.

The gap between them was like that between a day-old puppy and a tank.

However…

“I-I don’t understand what you’re talking about…”

Edmund was a king.

Not just any king of a small country, but the monarch of Pendragon, the great nation that had seized hegemony over the southern continent!

As long as he had the dignity and pride, self-respect and responsibility of a king, Edmund had to remain dignified and show appropriate spirit.

Although he was considerably weaker than this knight, Edmund, with his kingly spirit, spoke boldly.

“Ihan Turtle. I don’t know what misunderstanding has led you to such disrespectful behavior, but what you’re doing now is nothing short of treason.”

Some might admire this.

To stand firm and speak boldly against someone far stronger than himself, challenging what needed to be challenged.

Even the knight would acknowledge this…

“First question. Do you admit to ‘sponsoring’ those fanatics, the Blood Crusaders, for 30 years?”

“……”

“I’m asking if you admit it.”

…far from acknowledging anything, the knight looked at the king as if he were filth, and while the king felt humiliated by such a gaze, there was something even more terrible than humiliation…

“W-what are you saying?!”

The Blood Crusaders.

An accusation of sponsoring forces that had attacked the royal capital multiple times, causing great damage.

The king shouted in bewilderment.

How dare he spread such strange rumors!

But despite such a reaction…

“I asked you. Is it true that you sponsored those bastards?”

The knight remained casual.

No, he was cold.

As if saying to answer only what was asked.

“Kuk!”

King Edmund felt humiliation and disgrace, but finally…

“…I did not sponsor them. I don’t know what nonsense you’re talking about.”

He answered.

Self-preservation seemed the best course now…

“That’s a lie.”

“!!”

“Then next question. Did you kill the Military God?”

“What are you saying now!!!!”

A shout incomparably louder than before rang out.

The Military God, Edmund’s brother and the only monarch comparable to the great Knight King.

And he was asking if Edmund had killed him?

“There are things that can be said and things that cannot! How dare you say such things!!”

“……”

“You! Deceiving me…”

“I see, you didn’t kill the Military God. But strangely, you’re not telling the complete truth either. You didn’t contribute to the Military God’s death, but you know some hidden circumstances.”

“……”

“Then, next question. Did you cooperate with the Brass Knights?”

“……”

“No, not cooperation—did you give orders? Are you perhaps Torn Wings?”

“…Say whatever you want!”

King Edmund merely slumped back on his throne, as if he would no longer respond to such nonsense.

As if saying to prattle on as he wished.

He looked tired and weary of even responding.

To others, it appeared as though the king was being unilaterally persecuted, and sympathetic gazes toward the king began to spread when…

“…Well, your capacity isn’t that of a king. That’s why you need to resort to tricks just to barely manage to play the role of king.”

“……”

…King Edmund’s expression hardened remarkably.

Despite clearly seeing this, Ihan continued with words that were ambiguously between assessment and question.

“I saw you for the first time today and evaluated you like this: Not bad, ordinary in appearance but a person with backbone. Someone who knows how to perform adequately and control the atmosphere. You must have worked hard… But ‘that’s’ all there is to it. Your capacity, to put it kindly, is barely enough to govern an earldom. If I were to underestimate you further, you’d be perfectly suited as a village chief in the countryside.”

Grind…

“Ah, I’m saying this so you don’t misunderstand—I’m not saying this to look down on village chiefs. Rural areas have so many tasks and mediations to handle, and governing them is difficult too. So I’m actually evaluating you quite highly. I’m just saying you don’t have the capacity to govern a nation.”

“…Stop.”

“The Pendragon bloodline lives long, so you might compensate for your insufficient capacity with experience. But you still can’t govern a great nation of this size. Your approach is that of a medium-sized merchant guild leader.”

“I said shut up!”

“They say the position makes the person, but only to a certain extent. There are positions one simply cannot handle. In other words…”

BANG!!

“I told you to stop!!”

King Edmund shouted in anger.

His face turned bright red with rage, and his eyes revealed a hateful glare that seemed to expose murderous intent.

A terrifying expression of malice, but the knight merely shrugged his shoulders.

“I pity you, King Edmund. But that doesn’t mean I forgive you. You’re ultimately the one who sponsored and revived the subversive forces that your brother, the Military God, had destroyed, and you’re the one who put my people in danger.”

“No! Didn’t I say no! Why do you keep slandering me?!!!”

“Right. Certainly, one shouldn’t slander without evidence.”

“Finally you speak sensibly! Without any evidence, how dare…”

“What if I have it?”

“…What?”

“What would you do if I have evidence?”

“……”

“I’m asking what you would do.”

“……”

…King Edmund suddenly fell silent.

As if overwhelmed by the knight’s gaze, which was not just confident but provocative.

No, beyond being overwhelmed, it was more like…

“…It feels like watching a child caught in a lie.”

Someone’s murmur.

Strangely, it resonated in everyone’s ears, and all heard it clearly—a sentiment they couldn’t help but agree with.

Though he had composed his expression, they had all seen it for an instant when evidence was mentioned.

There had been a ‘crack’ in King Edmund’s expression.

The look of someone who had been brazenly lying and suddenly realized they’d been caught.

…For nobles, lacking perception was unacceptable, and even a small crack was enough to arouse suspicion.

* * *

‘I can hear it clearly, very clearly.’

Others might not hear it, but Ihan was listening to what Edmund’s body revealed with every word he spoke.

He heard the king’s heartbeat and smelled the scent of truth and lies that he emitted.

Truly…

‘He’s an honest fellow.’

The people he knew wouldn’t have been like this.

If it were Isis, Duke Blake, or Grand Duke Magnus…

If those rulers had been his opponents, they wouldn’t have been so flustered by such a simple trap, nor would they have revealed their emotions.

Even if evidence was mentioned, absolutely not.

That’s why Ihan found it amusing.

What confidence made him lie so brazenly?

Swoosh!

“Getting flustered over mere evidence, yet still causing trouble.”

What Ihan pulled out and casually spread on the floor was none other than a ledger.

A ledger filled with countless records.

“This ledger shows how the money you secretly distributed over the past 30 years flowed to the Blood Crusaders, and following these records, it wouldn’t be difficult to uncover the relationship between you and the Blood Crusaders.”

“……”

“I have several other pieces of evidence too.”

“……”

“Still confident? That’s not bad either. I’ll give you a chance.”

Swish-

As if offering an escape route, as if showing mercy, Ihan pointed to something behind the king.

There was…

“Swear by the Silver Dragon, the Knight King, Avalon, the fairies, and all mysteries. Say ‘I have never spoken falsehood.'”

A painting.

A sacred and noble image depicting the Silver Dragon and fairies heading toward Avalon with the Knight King.

Not simply representing legends or myths, but beings who existed and might still exist.

And swearing by them with impurity would mean eternal suffering even after death…

“-Damn this annoying [Mystery]…!”

Riiip!

King Edmund violently threw his staff at the painting behind him.

“!!!”

People were horrified.

The painting was damaged by King Edmund’s staff.

But King Edmund paid no attention to any of it.

He just…

“If you were going to do this, you should have made me swear by Mystery from the beginning… Why subject me to such humiliation…!”

“Mystery isn’t omnipotent. There are plenty of ways to escape it. Also, for Mystery to exert its power, there needs to be a ‘process’ to support the ‘truth.’ In other words, a performance is needed, just like you did.”

“…Hmph, you’re more cunning than you look.”

“And you’re playing exactly as you look.”

“……”

Crunch!

King Edmund bit his lip hard as he glared at Ihan, who met his gaze with indifference.

And then King Edmund…

“…Yes, I did it.”

Stomp!

King Edmund stepped forward.

“I sponsored them! I sponsored the forces my respected brother had destroyed! I revived them! And I cooperated with them!!”

Like spewing vitriol, Edmund approached right up to Ihan’s face and vented his anger.

Toward the ‘disrespectful traitor’ who had revealed his ‘truth.’

“You disrespectful one! You traitor! While being my knight! While being a subject of the kingdom I rule, you commit such acts! Why? Do you think you’re truly a hero because people call you one? Were you trying to act like a hero?!!!”

Tap tap!

Edmund tapped Ihan’s chest, provoking him.

“And yet do you think you can punish me?! I am a Pendragon! The king of Pendragon! Do you think someone like you! A mere knight can punish me just because you revealed the truth?”

Yes, he is Edmund Julian de Pendragon.

The 31st monarch of Pendragon.

Though he may be guilty, there is no judge who can punish him.

All nobles might condemn him, but would they put him in prison?

“That is reality! There is nowhere that can punish me!!”

Edmund shouted confidently and looked at the knight with a provocative gaze.

The knight who would stand there powerlessly, unable to do anything…

“-When did I say I would judge you by law?”

“…?”

“I told you from the beginning.”

Tap.

“I could start by ripping out your tongue.”

…He showed no anger, nor did he look wronged.

He simply looked at Edmund as if watching a rabid dog barking, and gently grabbed Edmund’s collar.

Grip!

“But since the tongue should be saved for last, let’s start lightly with the molars.”

“???”

“Don’t clench your teeth. They’ll be pulled out anyway.”

Edmund’s body floated slightly in the air as he struggled.

Though it seemed like a gentle grip, no amount of struggling would free him, and so he…

Whoosh!

“W-wait…”

SLAP!

…was struck precisely on the cheek.

Plop-

A molar fell out pathetically and rolled on the floor.

But.

“Still 31 left.”

“…!!?!!”

There were still many teeth to be pulled.