episode_0134

Hogu clapped once as if to lighten the mood and spoke.

Sepia looked at Loki with eyes steeled with resolve.

She had been curious from the start. Who knew Betzdo’s location, a place she hadn’t been able to find no matter how hard she searched?

“I know you’re very worried. But now, Sepia-ssi also needs to be happy. I know you’re worried, but I’m here too. Even if Sepia-ssi is in danger, I will protect you.”

Sepia initially thought he was talking to her, but…

“So you don’t have to worry too much.”

As she continued listening, she realized he wasn’t talking to her.

“Sepia-ssi has already steeled her resolve. You’ve been watching all along, seeing how much effort Sepia has put in.”

However, since Loki and herself were the only people present, Sepia spoke with unconcealed bewilderment.

“Hogu, who are you talking to right now…?”

“So now,”

Loki interrupted Sepia and spoke to the only being capable of tracking Betzdo’s current location, who had witnessed all the tragedies that occurred in the village.

“Please tell me. Where is Betzdo currently located?”

Loki’s gaze was fixed on the spirits from beginning to end.

.

A nation that all kingdoms on the continent combined could not defeat.

Universally acknowledged as the sole empire on the continent, the Croa Empire.

And within that Croa Empire, the one who stood at the very apex.

Therefore, the one who stood at the very apex of the continent.

The one who had cleaned up the vast mess left by the previous Emperor, who had almost fallen into decline—no, had already declined—by beheading him and further developing the empire.

The one who commanded the renowned Freya Duchy of Swordsmanship and the Adelian Duchy of Magic.

The Emperor of the Croa Empire.

Karsten Leonhart.

That magnificent Emperor frowned at the mountain of documents piled high on his desk.

When would he finish all of this? Even if he focused completely, it would take at least three hours.

“Haa…”

Normally, he would hand these documents over to the Chancellor and be spending time idly chatting with the Empress, but the Chancellor hadn’t come to work for two days now.

“I shouldn’t have given the Chancellor a vacation. Should I call him back now?”

The Emperor’s eyes and hands quickly processed the documents, but his mind was regretting the decision to give the Chancellor a vacation.

Two days ago, the Chancellor had said that if he wasn’t going to be retired, he at least wanted a vacation.

Normally, the Emperor would have said something that Loki, if he heard it, would consider indicative of a black company—something like, ‘I’m also having a tough time, so just bear with it and work a little harder’—but…

Recently, the Chancellor had gained a weapon to use in negotiations.

Loki, who had initially been called in because of the movements he displayed at the entrance ceremony, somehow officially became the Emperor’s true disciple.

‘That caused a lot of trouble.’

Loki wasn’t the only one who became troubled after becoming the Emperor’s disciple.

The Emperor, too, had experienced troublesome situations.

From questions about when he started teaching, to subtly bringing up their own children.

No one directly said things like ‘My child wields a sword well,’ or ‘They’re smart,’ or ‘They’re already catching magic beasts,’ but the desire to have their own children taken on as disciples was evident.

Among those who talked the most after learning about the disciple was the Chancellor.

The Chancellor hadn’t asked for his own child to be taken as a disciple.

‘It would have been better if he had…’

‘Did Your Majesty push all this work onto me because you were busy teaching a disciple? You wouldn’t allow my retirement! I’d rather raise a young disciple myself! Wouldn’t a disciple I raise be more useful than an old man like me?’

Judging by his booming voice at the time, he could probably work for another 10, no, 20 years.

A blessing for the Empire, indeed.

And it seemed the Chancellor had misunderstood.

He hadn’t specifically pushed work onto the Chancellor because he was teaching Loki.

He had often pushed work onto the Chancellor even before teaching Loki.

‘I did send him on vacation for now, but…’

Just trying to handle the Chancellor’s work made his head throb.

It wasn’t particularly difficult. It was just annoying because the sheer quantity was immense.

And he couldn’t simply delegate the work to other officials because some documents couldn’t be casually handed over due to security.

“Next time, instead of vacation, I should give him money. And more health tonics.”

‘Your Majesty! What I want is not money or honor, but retirement!’

Ignoring the Chancellor’s cries ringing in his mind, the Emperor continued to process the documents.

While considering the Chancellor’s health, that is.

“Perhaps if he rests well during this vacation, he can work a little longer.”

Because even machines last longer if they’re occasionally oiled.

Thinking words that would make the Chancellor wail, the Emperor processed the documents as if it were nothing.

He had no intention of letting the Chancellor retire yet.

One Chancellor was far more useful than several mediocre officials.

‘As long as I’m on the throne, he won’t even dream of retirement. Of course not.’

As the Emperor’s hands moved, the documents on his desk dwindled.

And just as the overwhelming mountain of documents was steadily decreasing,

—Clunk.

Someone opened the door and entered without permission.

Entering the Emperor’s room without permission—if it had been any other attendant, they would have been fired at least.

But the corners of the Emperor’s lips, which had been expressionlessly staring at the documents, rose as he recognized the person who entered.

“Empress.”

His eyes, which had been continuously looking at the documents, now turned towards the Empress.

The Empress smiled gently, looking back at the Emperor’s eyes that were gazing at her.

“Your Majesty, have I interrupted you?”

“No, of course not. I was about to take a short break anyway.”

The Empress looked at the quantity of documents the Emperor had processed and the quantity that remained. While the processed amount was much larger than the remaining, there was still a lot left.

“It seems Your Majesty is suffering because the Chancellor is on vacation. Hehe, didn’t I tell you to delegate in moderation? Even if I love you, you shouldn’t overdo it.”

“If I hadn’t announced him as my disciple, I could have worked diligently.”

“But you liked him, so didn’t you take this opportunity to call him your disciple?”

He had discovered her secret, possessed talent, and even had the skill to capture a necromancer alone.

If he had been an ordinary disciple, the Emperor would have nonchalantly replied, ‘That’s true,’ to the Empress’s words, but…

“What’s more, Yerika likes him too. I saw her on my way here; it looked like she’s been talking to him this whole time.”

The corners of the Emperor’s lips, which had been turned up while looking at the Empress, began to tremble.

The Empress chuckled, seeing the Emperor like that.

Her loving husband always showed such amusing reactions when it came to their daughter.

“How cute. Honestly, there’s no one else you’d like besides that child, is there?”

“………….”

The Emperor remained silent, saying nothing.

Because the Empress’s words were true.

She was a precious, cute, kind, and beautiful daughter.

Compared to their perfect daughter, no man was satisfactory, but…

If he had to choose one, he would choose Loki.

Of course, he was still far from enough.

To the Emperor, who was trying so hard to deny it, the Empress said,

“Besides, Your Majesty was surprised too, seeing the artifacts that child gave to Yerika, weren’t you?”

That day, when Loki was announced as his disciple at the disciplinary committee.

His daughter, who had come home late at night, beamed as she showed them off.

‘Father, Mother, look at this! These are all gifts from the Clown-nim! Hehe!’

The daughter, grinning like that, pulled out numerous artifacts.

And among those artifacts were some that were priceless.

More than how he possessed such artifacts, the fact that he gave them all to his daughter without receiving any compensation was certainly very surprising.

There wasn’t a single identical artifact, but things like shields and evasion items showed that he could tell what kind of sentiment was behind the gifts for his daughter.

“Now that he’s known as Your Majesty’s disciple, there will definitely be families trying to propose marriage. Wouldn’t Yerika be sad then?”

Just as the Emperor was pondering the Empress’s words,

—Ring. Trill.

The communication orb rang.

He checked, and it wasn’t the communication orb used for work, but his personal one.

Excluding his family, only a handful of people were connected to this communication orb.

“The timing is impeccable.”

The Empress tilted her head at the Emperor’s reaction.

“Who is it?”

“My disciple. Come to think of it, Empress, you’ve never met him. Would you like to hear his voice now?”

The Empress shook her head at the Emperor’s suggestion.

“No. For the first time, I want to see his face properly, not just hear his voice through a communication orb.”

Saying that, the Empress placed a light kiss on the Emperor’s cheek and left. After the Empress departed, the Emperor accepted the call.

[Greetings, Your Majesty, the Great Sun of the Empire. Thanks to Your Majesty’s grace today…]

“Haa…”

The guy who usually only offered a simple greeting was saying such things, and suddenly, an unsettling feeling arose.

“Any contact from other kingdoms?”

[None anymore. Perhaps I’m past my prime.]

“Tomorrow’s the weekend, so stop by. I’ll teach you a thing or two for the first time in a while.”

[I’m busy tomorrow.]

“Doing what?”

[I’m going to catch a necromancer.]

His voice was as calm as if he were simply going out for a meal.

The Emperor’s eyes turned to the almost-processed documents.

“………….”

Should I just call the Chancellor back?