episode_0023

When the Emperor heard that Ian had been kicked out by a man named Penny, he quietly fled.

When I heard that Ian had returned to the capital without saying anything and was starting a new party, I was shocked.

Is it shameless or insensitive?

Probably both.

Ian’s shameless and insensitive attitude disturbed the emperor.

I couldn’t ask Penny or the first warrior party for the inside story.

The fact that Ian is the legendary Philip is a secret that only a few people know, so it had to be heard only through Ian’s mouth.

“Ian.”

Although he was embarrassed and his sudden behavior seemed absurd, the emperor was not angry.

Anger only flows upward.

Therefore, the emperor who reigned over all people was a person who did not get angry.

“… Yes.”

He simply listens, understands, and instructs.

Emotions were unnecessary in deciding the course of the empire.

“Explain.”

What happened to the first party?

Why didn’t you tell yourself?

What are you going to do next?

It was a question that contained several questions.

To the short question, Ian also gave a short answer.

“Kicked out.”

A little explanation was added.

“I don’t know the detailed reason. Many misunderstandings and frictions that inevitably arise between people have accumulated. However, I am certain that a woman named Penny framed me without my knowledge.”

penny.

It was the name of a woman who sent a very strange reply to a letter sent to Ian.

“Prophet, I believed that the trust between you and the warriors was solid.”

“I was like that too, but the inside of a person is deeper than the sea and cannot be known.”

“Hmm… .”

Sylvia, Aria, Beatrice, Kylie.

The emperor clearly remembers how Ian took the four and raised them.

It was a time when the first party didn’t have the status it had before, and Ian wasn’t a very great person either.

Even though we were only a short age apart, it was hard to believe that they kicked out Ian, who was like a parent to me, but I understood it.

It is human to stick a knife in the back of a benefactor.

It is human to steal the pockets of saints.

There was nothing new about this aspect of humanity for the emperor.

I didn’t criticize him for going back and persuading him now.

Trust between people is the most important factor than anything else.

It is close to impossible to restore broken trust.

Trust, which is so important, can be broken for very trivial or incomprehensible reasons and misunderstandings.

“Is it okay?”

I didn’t specifically ask what was okay.

Ian explained it himself.

“The wide front line in the border area has been stabilized. The soldiers stationed at the wall will be able to wipe out any minor unrest that may occur until the demons’ major advance in the winter. Or, depending on the need, it is enough to request a request from a formal hero party.”

The emperor expected Ian to say something like ‘I’m fine.’

However, Ian only spoke about public matters.

I even wondered if he had no feelings.

If someone else had said what Ian said, it would have been considered an excuse.

However, the prophet’s words contained a weight that could never be ignored.

“Yes, if you say so, that’s what it means… . But was the deportation also foreseen?”

“No. I only see what I see.”

True to his name as a prophet, he does not say that he ‘knows’ the future, but only that he ‘sees’ it.

They only talk about certain results in the flow of cause and effect, and claim that they do not know what they do not know.

It was a really simple excuse for Ian, but those who don’t know the inside story have no choice but to believe it.

“The reason why we were unable to inform His Majesty earlier is also consistent with that. My exile is a future I did not see coming. It would be presumptuous to say that there was no panic. I decided that I needed to quickly form a party to be commanded by me for future war.”

To put it simply, I couldn’t tell you because I was busy.

It was true.

Ian never thought he would become like that, and he had to quickly find a new talent to kill the Demon King.

‘I had the thought that if I found out naturally, I would summon him then.’

The arrogance went too far, but even the emperor could not scold a prophet who predicted the future.

Thanks to his prophecy, the empire has already avoided several major and frightening misfortunes.

“If so, what do you plan to do in the future?”

“You will grow your new party. No matter how powerful the first party is, there are only 4 people. It is clear that when war becomes visible, it will be difficult for the four of us to handle such a wide front. Therefore, we are looking for other talented people.”

“Can you find talent equal to the first party?”

The four members of the first party are strong people whose future the prophet predicted.

The question was whether something like that was possible again.

“Yes.”

Although he wasn’t sure, Ian answered that way.

No one could understand the true intention.

‘Anyway, there are very few things I’ve done in my life because I could. There are more things I did because I had to.’

The emperor shook his head, and the secretary diligently wrote down Ian’s words.

“Will the first party be left as is?”

“I thought about it for a while… .”

After thinking for a moment, Ian answered with a question instead.

“Have any of you been recently hired by the Imperial Wizardry?”

Not all superhumans become warriors.

Among them, there are two options for superhumans who are born with the qualities to become a wizard, excluding warriors.

Either stay in the magic tower and focus on personal research, or join the Imperial Wizardry and dedicate yourself to the empire and humanity.

In addition, there are people who study alone or wander around, but it is rare.

Instead of answering, the emperor looked at the wizard leader present.

The leader answered.

“… Yes.”

Ian nodded and continued speaking.

“Among them, there will be a woman named ‘Iris’.”

The wizard leader got goosebumps for a moment.

In fact, among those who joined this time, there was a woman named Iris.

However, Ian was never provided with information about Iris or the hiring of a new employee in the first place.

His attitude of taking everything for granted was creepy.

How much do you know?

There are times when the words of a prophet are creepy even when they are not evil.

“Please fully support that wizard.”

“Why?”

“He will invent a new magic called ‘Warp Portal’.”

“Warp Portal… ? Isn’t that the one in the dungeon?”

The emperor cast his gaze at the wizard leader.

The leader just looked at me as if he wasn’t sure.

The identity of the dungeon portal was not revealed.

However, only the superficial fact is known that it is a mana aggregate that produces or moves demons.

Even in academic circles, opinions are still divided on whether it is produced or moved.

After checking their reactions, Ian calmly explained.

“I don’t know the detailed principle, but it is true that it functions the same as a dungeon portal. This involves installing a ‘door’ made of mana that connects random spaces.”

In the second episode, there was a magic that was invented too late and everyone was disappointed.

There was also a wizard who alone discovered the principle of portals that many people, including Ian, could not figure out.

She did not completely discover the identity of the portal.

I just understood the principle and invented magic that worked similarly.

“If you use that door, you can go to and from any place where the door is installed.”

Ian also had little information about the wizard named ‘Iris’, so he couldn’t tell her in advance.

However, when I entered the palace earlier, there were a few imperial wizards I saw in the second episode.

Iris was there when I overheard their conversation.

I can only say that I was lucky to have come to meet the emperor today.

“For example, from the entrance to this imperial palace, you can even travel to the first barrier of the Northern Front in one step.”

One of the most important elements in this third round.

The magic that everyone said in unison about how the war might have turned out if it had been invented a little earlier.

Ian wanted to invent the ‘warp portal’ before the war.

‘It’s not something I would do.’

*

While Ian meets the Emperor.

After dinner, Kati went out to the backyard of the monastery.

It was a large meadow with wild flowers blooming haphazardly.

It was also a place where children would occasionally come out and play.

There hasn’t been any contact from Ian yet, and there hasn’t been any contact from Kati.

Still, Kati looked at the ring every chance she got.

Then, because the ring was burdensome, he decided to run away and didn’t care even when Mercy scolded him.

“… !”

Kati stretched out her arms toward the high moon and trembled.

The black ring glowed softly in the moonlight.

What is Ian doing?

I felt ironic that her owner was always busy.

Even when he was a member of the first party, he split his time between sleeping.

I wondered if we could spend some time together after leaving there.

I immediately started looking for other warriors and forming a party.

What is it that makes him so busy?

When I see him living as if he is being chased by life, I want to let him rest.

I had neither the strength nor the qualifications to do so.

Like the name of the ring, she is nothing but an object subordinate to him.

Although he has been training for a long time, he is not strong enough to protect him from the first party.

Above all, she is a mine.

Ian, a human, and himself, a demon.

It is a cider that cannot be mixed by nature.

Because they are humans and demons.

Because the relationship is just that of a master and servant.

I thought all she was allowed to do was whine a little too much sometimes.

Sensing that he was being watched, Kati looked back.

There was a girl standing there hesitantly.

It was a girl named Emma.

“Um, er… . Kati?”

Emma somehow found it difficult to deal with Kati.

Because his eyes were basically covered with black cloth, I couldn’t tell what kind of expression he was making.

I wonder how he sees ahead, but I don’t even have the courage to ask.

“Yes.”

The voice, which did not contain much emotion, was even cold.

However, Vivian was evaluated as a good person, so he was probably not a bad person.

“Well, that’s… .”

Emma, who was approaching, suddenly saw Katy’s appearance.

Without realizing it, my eyes were drawn to Kati and my steps stopped.

Under the pale moonlight, the cool night breeze blew Katy’s silver hair dazzlingly.

Even the word artistic was not enough.

It was a beauty that transcended anything like rational attraction.

As Emma just watched in silence, Kati tilted her head.

“Ah, that’s… . Katy is strong, right?”

In response to that question, Katy looked up at the sky and shook her head.

“No.”

It may be strong to some, but it may be strong.

At least Kati couldn’t be satisfied with herself.

Emma was taken aback because it was an unexpected denial.

“Oh, that’s right… . I saw you taking down the guard last time. You will be much stronger than me.”

I answered those words without any hesitation.

“Yes.”

The response was simply to affirm the facts as they are.

“I heard that you will be staying for a day or two. So… Please train me. Please do me a favor!”

Emma begged, bending her waist at a right angle.

On the other hand, Kati’s answer was dry.

“Why me?”

It wasn’t an expression of annoyance or contempt.

I was asking for a genuine reason.

Emma answered with clenched fists.

“A precious person… I want to protect it.”

Important person.

Those words lingered in Kati’s mind.

“Vivian is now… You must be strong enough that you don’t need my help. But still, I want to become stronger. Vivian doesn’t have to worry, and I can protect the other children with my own hands… . It’s so hard now to just get taken away because I’m weak… .”

Kati saw Emma’s fists shaking.

I could feel the resentment and resentment that had built up inside, even if only slightly.

Kati sensed Vivian’s presence inside.

Emma’s significant other.

And, although they are far away now, Katy’s significant other is connected with a ring.

When I first met Ian.

Kati was exactly the same age as Emma is now.

After killing all the other demon companions he was with with his own hands, he also killed all the researchers, the wizard and the alchemist.

Ian found her sitting alone in the underground laboratory.

Ian’s original target was the subspace pocket owned by the lab director.

Ian couldn’t leave the young girl alone.

I tried to take her with me on my way out and leave her somewhere, but since she was a demon, there was no place that would accept her, so I ended up accompanying her all the way.

In the past, there was no name called Kati.

‘It’s number 13… .’

Number 13. That’s Kati’s former name.

Ian muttered bitterly when he heard that name.

Afterwards, Ian gave it the simple name ‘Catty’ because it resembled a cat and could transform into a cat.

It was a name that was a combination of Cat and Kitty.

Ian was embarrassed, saying he had chosen the name too roughly, but Kati liked her name.

Because it was a name given to me by a precious person.

“If you don’t like it… .”

“I will do it.”

“Uh, yes?”

“Training. I’ll help you.”

Kati very calmly agreed to the request.

I have never trained others myself, but I have helped or received training a few times.

I also received training from Ian from time to time.

He also became the target of the first party’s sparring match.

In other words, she experienced first-hand the first party’s fighting style.

The fact that I never won was a bitter limitation.

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Carty recalled Ian’s education and did the same to Emma.

Of course, it was a level that Emma couldn’t keep up with.

Emma kept falling and losing her weapon.

“I’ll try again… !”

I kept challenging myself.

Carty thought about Ian’s voice constantly.

Helping with this training was also one of the ways to draw him who was not by my side.