Ch.367EP.77 – After He Left (2)

This kingdom, or rather the southern region, has been a powder keg for quite some time.

It all began with the Southern Unification War.

They recklessly waged a three-year war that devoured money like a bottomless pit. Fortunately, they won, but the victory yielded no benefits.

Expanding the territory was good, but Briton was too vast, and even three years after the war ended, the kingdom was still struggling to recover, unable to escape its deficit.

And in the midst of all this…

“There have already been dozens of incidents.”

The Blood Crusaders.

The remnants of defeated soldiers, united in their determination to destroy the kingdom, finally built up their strength and caused countless incidents.

Just to name the most notable ones…

– ‘Multiple illegal mages infiltrating the Academy.’

– ‘Summoning of numerous magical beasts, including the Demon King.’

– ‘Breeding half-demons and manufacturing Mother Worms in underground tunnels.’

– ‘Western assassins and the Sultan’s army invading the southern region.’

– ‘Conspiracy by the Tower Master, the Empire’s de facto ruler, to invade the capital.’

– ‘Half-demons and hellish beasts appearing at the Grand Temple.’

– ‘The Grand Temple’s collapse and the Great Fire.’

– ‘The Ophen rebellion and artificial demonization of knights.’

– ‘Multiple cell organizations existing within the kingdom.’

– ‘The vampire who tried to take control of Modred.’

– ‘The Great Archfiend sealed in Modred and an army of hundreds of thousands of magical beasts.’

– ‘The betrayal of Lohengrin and other noble houses.’

– ‘The sword saint-level expert and half-demons who took control of the central streets.’

This is just…

“What do you think?”

Simon recited the major incidents that occurred last year and asked, and the twins…

“…How did it not collapse?”

“How did they endure all this?”

Even the young twins couldn’t understand how the kingdom had survived after hearing about all these incidents.

Any single one of these events could have made the kingdom falter, yet they somehow overcame all of them…

“They never overcame them safely.”

“Huh?”

“?”

“All those incidents were resolved by one person directly.”

“…”

“…Santa Claus?”

“That’s right, Sir Ihan Turtle resolved them all by himself.”

Ironically, it was a single knight who prevented disasters that could have not only shaken the country but reduced it to ashes.

Of course, there were helpers, but they merely ‘assisted’ rather than ‘resolved’ anything.

It was the individual knight’s efforts that confronted and resolved all the impending disasters.

And yet…

“The kingdom did nothing.”

The kingdom clearly knew about the Blood Crusaders’ activities.

But did they ever seriously try to address and resolve the issue?

“No, not even once.”

“Then what did they do?”

“They didn’t work?”

“Oh, they worked. They worked at talking with their mouths and fighting among themselves.”

“…”

Empty discussions—just meetings without any attempt to resolve issues or take action themselves.

Nothing but circular meetings.

“Isn’t it surprising? These people never actually tried to resolve anything. That’s why things have gotten this bad.”

It’s simple logic.

The kingdom was always in turmoil.

Always in crisis, always facing incidents.

But there was a man who silently confronted these crises, incidents, and what could only be called disasters head-on.

A remarkably sturdy and strong man…

And yet.

“This kingdom banished that strong problem-solver. And for such a trivial reason—that he might become a threat to them.”

“…Wow.”

“Then?”

“That’s right. This incident isn’t sudden at all. It’s just an explosion in a powder keg that was already on fire, and they deliberately drove away the only person who could have prevented the explosion. In Sir Ihan’s words…”

They brought it upon themselves.

“Assaulting the king? That’s a trivial matter. What’s a king anyway? What’s wrong with assaulting an incompetent traitor? These things happen. But banishing Sir Ihan because of some king, because of their own authority—that’s no trivial matter.”

Yes, what’s a king anyway?

Simon simply couldn’t understand why they would banish him just for hitting a traitor.

Are they incapable of sound judgment?

“No, they probably don’t even try to make sound judgments.”

That’s why he considers the king and the noble council members to be fools.

They’ve never actually resolved anything themselves, yet they probably thought they prevented disasters because of their own greatness.

“Look at a clock—it has many gears. Some ignorant people think that losing one gear wouldn’t be a problem. But that’s truly ignorant thinking. A clock stops working if even a small gear breaks, yet they thought to remove the most important gear… There’s no solution here. If they did this out of pure malice, we could teach and persuade them, but when someone is not just ignorant but stupid, I don’t even know where to begin.”

“Then?”

“What are you going to do, mister?”

“What am I going to do?”

Simon shrugged and smiled wryly.

If a wise investor is convinced that his investment is beyond recovery, there’s only one thing to do.

“…Close up shop.”

Better to close before complete bankruptcy to salvage whatever remains.

“Is that okay?”

“You’re too negative.”

The twins reproached him.

Saying Simon’s approach was too extreme.

But.

“No, I’m making a rational judgment.”

“Huh?”

“How so?”

“Well, if my prediction about those cultists’ next plan is correct, this kingdom will naturally split apart anyway.”

“?”

“??”

The twin beastfolk blinked, wondering how he could predict such a thing.

But Simon tilted his head.

Rather:

“After experiencing all this, shouldn’t it be obvious to understand the cultists’ behavior patterns and psychology? Looking at their objectives, operating principles, and current events in the kingdom, it’s possible to calculate what they’ll do next. I don’t understand why this simple task is so difficult, really.”

“…”

“…”

“Hmm? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“…You’re annoying.”

“Geniuses, hate them.”

“??”

Simon couldn’t understand why he was being insulted.

*

*

*

Clatter, clatter.

Swish, swish.

The sound of moving plates and silverware.

“…”

Tap, tap.

The sound of dusting and wiping.

But these were such cautious movements that they could hardly be called sounds.

It was undoubtedly consideration to avoid disturbing the other person, but…

“N-noisy!”

“!!”

“Y-Your Majesty…”

“W-we apologize.”

“S-shut up! B-be q-quiet, I said!”

Crack!!

“Aaaaargh!”

“Y-Your Majesty!?”

“B-bring medicine!”

“Where is the pharmacist!!”

But the one who shouted, the king, let out a painful cry at the sound of his own voice.

-It hurts!

It hurts terribly!

Even the faintest sound felt like an awl piercing his ears, and every time he spoke, his throat burned as if flames were rising from it.

Every breath brought a stinging pain like a cactus lodged in his nostrils, and every blink made his entire face feel beaten and swollen.

…Everything was pain.

It was painful, agonizing, and unbearable.

This pain attacked him constantly, even while sleeping, eating away at his mind and gradually making him desolate.

He wanted to go mad!

If he could just lose his mind, he might somehow endure it, but ironically, the pain kept his mind clear.

He…

“Aaaaargh!”

Edmund, the current king of Pendragon, wailed like a child.

Because it was too painful.

“Your Majesty…”

The royal servants couldn’t hide their devastation.

Neither holy magic, potions, nor even magic or alchemy could heal the king.

Only the person who inflicted this “curse-like” pain could cure him, but that person had been banished.

No, even if he hadn’t been banished, he would never lift this curse.

Because to that man, the king wasn’t a king, but merely a mortal enemy…

“In that case…”

The servants looked at a certain medicine.

A remedy the pharmacist had provided just in case.

Well, not exactly medicine, but still…

“-Stop. If you use that, there will be no turning back.”

“!!”

“Pathetic fools. Would you ruin your own monarch with your own hands? While that would be amusing, save it for later. I have something to ask him personally right now.”

“Ah, uh…”

The servants stammered as they looked at the intruder who suddenly appeared in the king’s bedroom.

Their faces turned pale and their eyes trembled.

Shing.

“Shall I cut off those irreverent legs that dare not kneel before His Majesty? Or perhaps sever that stiff neck of yours?”

“!!!”

The servants were shocked again as they noticed knights pointing blades at their necks and legs.

When did so many of them…

“That’s enough, Lac. They’re just confused.”

“Your Highness…”

“I said enough.”

The man with overwhelming presence calmed his loyal subordinates as he walked past them to reach Edmund.

They should have stopped him, but no one dared block his path.

Because that person, no, that lord was-

“It’s been a while, Your Majesty, my brother. …No, my uncle.”

“…Bl-Blake.”

“Yes, it’s me. Your nephew. The son of your brother.”

“B-Blake…”

Edmund struggled to open his eyes and glared at him.

The man looking down at him…

Blake the Duke’s eyes were as calm as a still lake, but.

“Uncle, seeing each other must be difficult for both of us. You dislike me, and I don’t particularly enjoy your company either. But this is inevitable. You’ve disliked me one-sidedly since I was young. Even after you became king, it was the same.”

Blake spoke in a calm voice.

A quiet voice, but one that everyone could hear clearly.

Gulp…

The royal servants suddenly thought of the phrase “calm before the storm.”

That quiet voice was somehow, no, clearly terrifying.

Enough to make their bodies shrink involuntarily.

They trembled, hoping their fear was just an illusion, but…

“But you know, uncle. Even knowing you disliked me, I didn’t have much feeling toward you. To me, you were just an uncle… But that wasn’t the case.”

…Unfortunately, their fear and anxiety were not unfounded.

Whoosh!

Flames erupted.

Flames from Galahad’s magic sword.

The unquenchable flames of the magic sword.

As if they could burn King Edmund at any moment!

“Uncle, you were my enemy. I was just too foolish to realize it. I only learned this recently.”

Shing.

Blake’s magic sword pointed between Edmund’s eyebrows, and Edmund glared back at him with eyes clouded by fear, terror, and hatred.

In that moment when the gazes of the two rulers crossed, Blake…

“Why did you do it?”

“…”

“-Why.”

Stab!

He thrust his magic sword between Edmund’s eyebrows and shouted.

“Why did you kill my wife, you goddamn bastard!!!”

Whoosh!

The flames of the magic sword finally engulfed the entire royal palace.