episode_0238

* * *

The royal castle of Alkanwood Castle.

Chell, who was sitting in the seat of the castle owner, had a smile on her face for the first time in a long time and looked satisfied.

“Really? You mean you succeeded in defeating it?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Well done.”

The painful experience of defeat at Balharat Castle, which brought great humiliation to oneself.

Chell did not forget that incident even for a moment.

‘Now that I think about it, Irene was there.’

Looking back, the Brans army began to collapse from the moment Irene betrayed.

It was at that point that he started to lose interest in his intelligent younger sister.

I heard through the grapevine that she doesn’t belong there anymore… … However, I couldn’t stay under the same sky with Acious forever.

In the end, it was just a matter of timing.

At some point, he had to cross swords with Acious.

Of course, at this point, their personal resentment wasn’t that strong.

If you think about it, isn’t it because I liked Rin that I was promoted to the position I deserved – the position of monarch?

A life of risking everything only on fighting wasn’t bad, but after holding on to a little bit of power, I felt like I could understand why people are so obsessed with power.

“Good. What is the condition of the captive?”

“Because it was so powerful, it took time to suppress it… … Somehow we succeeded in capturing him.”

Indeed, did you say it was Hernandorf Arisian?

Even Chell could not have imagined that he would be able to capture such a large figure.

Of course, Chell also knew that name early on. A man who proudly occupies one of the heroes of the Acious Army – Epinel, Emma, Hernandorf, Anima, and Yuuri.

Ever since I heard that he was a man with tremendous strength, I had been thinking about meeting him for a while, but I never thought it would end up like this.

“Bring it to me right away. Because we can’t just hold them captive.”

The soldier, who realized the meaning behind the sentence, ‘You can’t just hold him back,’ swallowed his saliva, bowed, and spoke.

“… … Yes!”

* * *

“… … .”

Inside the throne room, there was a very strange atmosphere.

Soldiers lined up on both sides, and Chelbrans, a handsome man with rough lines and blue hair, sitting in the seat of the castle lord with his chin resting.

And, in front of that… … Hernandov, who had numerous wounds all over his body, was kneeling with his head down.

“Raise your head, Hernandorf Arisian.”

“… … !”

Hernandov slowly raises his head and meets Chell’s eyes.

No, it’s not about facing. With a gaze full of obvious hostility, it glares at him as if it is going to eat him.

Chell laughs as if it’s fun to be like that.

“Even if I stare at it like that for a hundred days, I can’t defeat this body with just my gaze. Aren’t you so stupid that you don’t know such simple common sense?”

“Shut up, Chell Brans.”

As soon as Chell heard those words, she laughed so hard that the throne room left.

In this quiet throne room, where no sound could be heard except Chell’s laughter, the soldiers could only look at each other with their heads slightly lowered.

“You understand what it means to be called here instead of prison, right?”

There was no specific answer from Hernandov, but Chell just blurted out what he had to say as if he didn’t really care.

“Okay. Hernandov. It means that your fate is determined by your choice.”

“… … .”

“Help me rebuild Brans County, Hernandov. I highly value your talents. If you use that power for me in the future, I will make sure not to blame the petty resentment between us. No, Hernandov. Let’s make you the commander-in-chief of our army. I promise to give you the best treatment, including him, on the honor of the Brans family. Will we survive and write a new legend together, or will our life’s journey end here? … The choice is entirely yours.”

Chell’s proposal was certainly mouth-watering from a casual perspective.

A person who treats prisoners in such an unconventional way when hiring prisoners is a bad thing.

Even though Hernandorf was an S-class general, from Brans’s point of view, they had been clashing swords with each other not long ago.

Even though Chell County had become an independent country unrelated to the existing Brans County, it was impossible to control the emotions of its members.

From his perspective, it was a proposal made with the intention of suppressing internal opposition.

“… … Is that the end of what I have to say?”

“Yes.”

“… … .”

Hernandov slowly closes his eyes.

And, I think over what Chell said last time.

‘Either survive and write a legend together, or… … Life’s journey-‘

―Shall we end here?

Hernandov had a wry smile on his face.

If your soulmates see you as you are now, they will be shocked and freaked out. As he usually didn’t change his expression.

In particular, Emma, who I was closest to, would make a fuss for about half a day. That guy also makes that kind of expression, saying something sarcastic like that.

Yuuri. Epinel. Nope. and… … Emma.

Sorry.

I really wanted to see the Acious flag waving from every castle on the continent, all five of us together.

“… … .”

Chell doesn’t respond, but instead looks at Hernandov’s face once more.

This time, the face was not particularly hostile. Instead, the emotion he puts on his face is – indifference.

A bored expression, as if asking what kind of answer you think you will get from me.

“… … Ha.”

Naturally, Chell was able to accurately understand the meaning of Hernandov’s nonverbal expression.

I thought it wouldn’t work, but guess what?

I tried to persuade Hernandov with great determination, thinking that if he joined our army, maybe we could liquidate Kalinz Brans… … Chell could tell.

His eyes are the eyes of a warrior.

The eyes of a loyal hunting dog that would never betray any monarch.

If I had someone like that under me, I would be more confident than anyone else…

On the contrary, it was not good at all for this side to have such a person under the person who would become my enemy.

‘It’s a shame, but that’s it.’

If Chell had been seriously educated about politics rather than being a warrior to the core, he would have used a very salty bait called Hernandov in a different way, like Serpina, and calculated the maximum benefit and ripped it off –

Until recently, he was also a warrior who put his whole soul into the battlefield.

If we meet on the battlefield, the one who wins gets the glory. The loser faces death.

“There, you. Come out this way.”

“Yes, four!”

A soldier under Chell’s instructions slowly took his place next to the bound Hernandov.

“So that I can cut off this man’s head and hang it on the wall.”

“Old!”

Hernandov sighed briefly, not at all shocked after hearing those words.

The feeling I have now is not one of fear or fear, but just a feeling of regret.

A feeling of regret that we couldn’t be together until the end.

But, if you think about it, it was fortunate.

Because out of the five, he was the one with the lowest value.

Compared to the brainy Anima, the multi-talented Emma and Epinel, and the monarch Yuuri, he was just a general with a bit more strength.

There is only one thing I wish for.

please please… … Yuuri does not make wrong decisions for revenge.

In this regard, there was nothing he could do other than just hope.

‘… … ‘I’ll take care of the rest, Yuuri.’

Hernandov is led by the soldier’s hand and walks somewhere.

A dark place without light, once you go, you can’t come back –

―He accepts his fate calmly.

One of the five stars of Acious County fell to the ground that day.

* * *

The royal castle of Zelin Castle.

“How about it? Do you think 8,000 gold will be enough? Wouldn’t it be possible to get it back more safely if I give at least 10,000 gold?”

“That will be fine. Unlike Serpina, gold is bound to be very precious to Chell.”

Yuuri and Anima were, quite naturally, preparing to negotiate for the repatriation of prisoners.

Yeah, I’ve never thought about it before. Something like one in five deaths.

So I naturally thought that he would be captured and imprisoned. It was natural to think that I needed to get him back as soon as possible.

Anima thought that Chell didn’t have a hot-tempered tendency to act a little recklessly, but-

I figured I wouldn’t have killed him because there were a lot more ways to use it than simply killing him.

If you look at it rationally, Anima’s thoughts may have been right, but-

“Then I’ll send it to you like this. Who do you think would be a good lion?”

“If Schultz and Elysia both say it’s difficult, I don’t think it would matter if I go.”

Around the time we were talking about the future situation.

“State… … My lord!”

A soldier came into the castle with an urgent look on his face.

‘what? Could it be that they invaded again right away?’

No matter how reckless Chell was, I didn’t think he would immediately invade Zelin Castle, but then it occurred to me.

“That… … .”

From the soldier’s shocked expression, I notice an emotion that is different from usual.

okay. This feeling. The moment they met the soldier’s face, both Anima and Yuuri felt this uneasy feeling.

It was not a rational judgment based on intellect, but something more rooted in human origins – instinct.

“… … What’s going on?”

After hearing Yuuri’s question, the soldier hesitated for a while and finally managed to squeeze out an answer in a hushed voice.

“General Hernandov… … .”

“Why Hernandorf? What’s going on?… … Please speak quickly.”

“… … .”

The soldier lowered his head without saying anything and shed tears.

And, at the same time… …

Yuuri and Anima’s eyes widen as they realize what it means to not be able to say anything.

“… … !!!!!”

… … no way.

Yuuri jumps up from his seat, runs to the soldier, puts his hand on his shoulder, and asks him an accusatory question.

“What happened? Speak properly! I, the monarch, tell you to speak!”

“Well, that’s… … Now, General… … .”

Anima barely holds back the welling up tears, closes her eyes and looks up at the sky.

… … ah.

that day. On the day when I was brutally beaten by Serpina due to my own wrong judgment, the sight of Hernandov fighting alone against numerous soldiers of Serpina’s army to save me… …

To Anima too.

And to Yuuri.

The very cruel truth… … It came without any warning.

“… … Passed away.”