Chapter 266: An Envoy from the Empire

A messenger from the Empire had arrived.

“Greetings to His Majesty, the King. I am Lindel Riner.”

And he was alone.

Despite the King’s openly displayed displeasure, Lindel bowed his head in greeting, unfazed. The King of Rweche, gazing down at him, slowly opened his mouth.

“Unexpected. To think you would actually come alone.”

Surely the Demon King’s army would have been wary.

“To evade the Demon King’s army, it was necessary to travel with a smaller escort.”

“Even so, there was no need to come alone.”

“In a position where we must apologize, how could we dare bring those who wield swords?”

Expected, yet still.

The King narrowed his eyes, the corner of his mouth lifting with a hint of coldness.

“You must have come with a proposal. Or perhaps a request.”

“…”

“Ah, no need to be nervous. The relationship between countries is inherently about bowing down or being brazen as needed, isn’t it? If the Empire, which has been silent, suddenly acts like this, the reason is obvious.”

Probably a request for re-alliance.

The envoy’s solitary journey here was likely to minimize troop expenditure and avoid offending us.

Indeed, bringing a force above a certain size would have been quite displeasing. My heart, already closed off to the Empire, would have shown displeasure even at a small number of troops.

“That’s not the case at all.”

A firm voice cut through his thoughts.

“Since his ascension, His Majesty the Emperor has wanted to contact Your Highness. However, due to unfavorable circumstances, it was delayed until now.”

Rweche had angrily discarded the communicators first, and at the time, the Empire was in internal and external turmoil. Without communicators, they had to send someone, but there was no time, so it was delayed.

…or so Lindel Riner claimed.

“Of course, we know that expressions of gratitude and apologies should be made as soon as possible. I have no excuse for that delay, but I dared to speak up because I was concerned that Your Highness’s misunderstanding might negatively affect relations between our two nations. I apologize.”

“…”

Audacious.

The King fell silent for a moment, scrutinizing Lindel Riner’s face.

It was his first time seeing him, yet the face was familiar. In the envoy’s features, he easily recognized a certain knight. A low chuckle escaped him.

“Family resemblance is quite striking.”

“…Do you remember my brother?”

“Remember him? More like unforgettable. He was a knight with an impression so strong it’s hard to forget.”

He even remembered his name.

Lien Riner, wasn’t it.

“If you were sending an envoy, your sister would have been more effective than you. I wonder why she wasn’t sent. Is she perhaps busy as a knight?”

“She is dead.”

“…”

The King paused again.

Another upright sibling had left this world… It seemed in these times, the righteous ones were the first to go.

He subtly lowered his gaze. Forcing down the bitter taste in his mouth, he offered belated words.

“My condolences.”

“…”

There was no reply.

Lindel Riner bowed his head once and then immediately changed the subject.

“By the way, do you really think my sister and I resemble each other?”

“Indeed.”

“People who see us siblings usually say we don’t look alike. I’m surprised you say so.”

“Daring to say everything on your mind, even at the risk of your life—that’s exactly alike.”

“…”

The atmosphere eased. Riding this momentum, the King asked with a gentle smile.

“She ultimately got what she wanted, but what about you?”

A question he couldn’t answer rashly. Lindel Riner remained silent.

Anticipating that someone who seemed thoughtful wouldn’t open his mouth carelessly, the King continued without concern.

“Tell me what you desire first. I’ll listen and then consider it.”

“…I am grateful for Your Highness’s generosity. However, my purpose is to deliver the Empire’s apology. How could I brazenly answer Your Highness’s question before fulfilling my mission?”

He hadn’t even delivered the Emperor’s letter of apology yet. It was tempting bait, but if he bit before a proper apology, things would likely fall apart.

Therefore, Lindel calmly took out the letter from his coat and raised it respectfully.

“This is His Majesty’s letter.”

“…You siblings really are alike.”

What kind of family raised their children to be so resolute? It was almost concerning they might break. …Ah, one already had.

The King received the letter through a retainer, glanced through its contents, and then turned his gaze back to Lindel.

“I’ve read it. Now, tell me what you desire.”

“…I propose an alliance to kill Deon Hart.”

“Deon Hart, you say…”

He understood what they were aiming for.

“Certainly, killing him would resolve some issues.”

“…Then.”

“I will consider it.”

The expectant light in Lindel’s eyes instantly died down. He pressed his lips shut, looking taken aback. The King, leaning back loosely on his throne, smiled faintly at him.

He said he would consider it, but in truth, his mind was already made up to accept. If asked why he responded this way,

‘Just a little pettiness.’

Of course, personal grudges regarding his sister and the full story of the late Emperor Eudoard’s death had been settled with his death. But that didn’t mean the emotions vanished cleanly, did it?

With a small act of pettiness, he cleared away the last bit of resentment and smiled broadly.

“Why are you still here? You must be busy; you should return.”

“…I have been impolite.”

***

The one he had been waiting for most had returned.

Upon hearing the news, Elpidius immediately arranged a meeting. He scanned Lindel Riner, who stood before him looking perfectly fine, and then spoke.

“Well, what was the answer?”

“He said he would consider it.”

“I see… It’s fortunate he didn’t flatly refuse.”

It meant there was room for persuasion.

Having braced himself for a vehement or cold reaction, such as being called brazen, Elpidius’s expression wasn’t too bad despite the ambiguous answer.

As if to say he wasn’t finished, Lindel added to his words.

“He only said that, but it seemed like his mind was already made up.”

“…Really?”

Was it still a rejection?

Golden eyes dimmed with a hint of disappointment.

“Yes, it seems like they will send support.”

“They will… wait, send support?”

“Yes.”

…Why?

He swallowed the foolish question that almost escaped his lips. It seemed he wasn’t the only one who found it unexpected; Aletea, who had been listening quietly, also widened her eyes.

“There was no sense of rejection in his demeanor or expression.”

So, why?

“…Well… if that’s the case, it’s fortunate.”

Good news is good news. He forced his expression to smooth out.

If what Lindel Riner said was true, then Rweche had practically joined the alliance. Now there were only a few things left to worry about. Elpidius propped his chin on his hand and picked up a pen.

“First, we need to call back the Heroes from the border.”

In the Human Realm, the only ones who could contend with a Heroic Spirit were ‘Heroes’.

As fragments gathered, eventually one, or more, would emerge. Therefore, they had to gather as many of those who possessed fragments of the Hero’s power—Heroes—as possible.

Long-forgotten individuals, practically forgotten, resurfaced. Aletea frowned briefly, then, recalling memories, gasped in realization.

“Ah, them… those who have been stationed there since the late Emperor’s time. Will they still be there?”

“They aren’t fighting battles every day, so it’s unlikely they’ve been completely annihilated. If they were, a report would have come in. Besides, the situation has solidified into a stalemate.”

“Even so, their numbers must have dwindled significantly. Would summoning them alone be enough…?”

“That’s why we’re bringing in Esperance.”

Summoning the Heroes alone wasn’t enough.

The opportunity to kill Deon Hart was practically once in a lifetime. They had to gather as many troops as possible from the maximum available options.

“Fortunately, we already have a contract with them, so we just need to extend the term.”

Breaking a contract is difficult, but extending it is usually not too hard.

They had already extended it once before, and whether the plan succeeded or failed, they wouldn’t need troops anymore after this, so the term they would propose wouldn’t be long. Elpidius was confident.

“We just need to talk to the commander of the mercenaries stationed in the nearby annex.”

The commander included in the mercenaries stationed here had the authority to arbitrarily extend and terminate contracts.

“Now that we’re on the topic, should we proceed now?”

“Are you going to visit them yourself?”

“We are the ones in a hurry, after all. Ah, Sir Riner, you may return now. Thank you for your hard work.”

He put down the pen and stood up from his seat.

As he stepped towards the door, Aletea naturally fell into step beside him.

***

“Um… are you really just going to send troops without any plan?”

Sareen asked with a dubious expression. Yeonhwa chuckled at her reluctant face.

“It’s not like we’re sending them without any preparation. We gave them magic prevention charms, didn’t we?”

“But the effective range isn’t very long. If they create a bit of distance, magic will be usable again.”

“We plan to ambush them, so it shouldn’t be too much of a problem.”

“But still.”

“More importantly.”

A resolute voice rang out. Sareen, cut off mid-sentence, closed her mouth.

Yeonhwa coldly sneered, recalling her conversation with Deon Hart. A voice as frigid as her expression settled between them.

“If they truly want Commander of the 10th Corps dead, they would have taken some measures.”

“…”

“Surely, they wouldn’t have done nothing.”

They couldn’t possibly be unaware that with Sanguo’s current capabilities, it would be difficult to ‘definitely’ kill the Commander of the 10th Corps.

The prepared force wasn’t bad, but the probability of failing to kill him and letting him escape was high. Furthermore, demons possessed ‘magic’, so if they failed to kill him instantly and gave him an opening, they had to be prepared to be defeated instead.

“Is there a possibility that it’s a trap set by Deon Hart…?”

“Overflowing. No, in the first place, he’s in a checkmate situation. What more needs to be said?”

It was a trap, indeed. The bastard openly revealed it.

Since he was going to die anyway if left alone, he was just clinging to the hint Deon gave him, thinking it was better to struggle.

“Are you still opposed?”

“…No. There’s no more time to think anyway, and it’s not like thinking would produce some amazing plan.”

“Good.”

Without preparing anything further, the King of Sanguo immediately issued orders.

Immediately, the troops on standby moved out.

***

How did they find out about this place? Sanguo launched a surprise attack.

Commander of the 10th Corps Gaisitel, who was caught off guard and fighting back, sensed himself being pushed back and retreated without hesitation. Cursing the body bound by all sorts of restrictions in the Human Realm was a bonus.

“Damn it, damn it. I should have made a contract before coming…!”

It wasn’t like he could just do it because he wanted to.

“No, I shouldn’t have come at all!”

…No, if he had refused Sir Deon’s proposal, he might have been killed there instead.

“…Damn it!”

Curses burst out.

With Milan and Kleter tucked under his arms, he frantically flapped his wings and kicked off the ground. Due to the weight, he couldn’t fully take flight, and the reality of only briefly lifting off the ground with each kick before sinking back down made the veins on his forehead bulge.

That alone was enough to make him furious.

“Oh, he’s flying, he’s flying… Ah, no, he’s landing again. Disappointing.”

“Shush. Or you’ll get thrown away.”

“Both of you, shut up!”

The two human bastards further fueled his skyrocketing blood pressure.

He couldn’t just toss these things away. Gaisitel yelled, frantically moving his feet to stay outside the magic suppression array’s range.

“Why are you two so heavy?!”

If it weren’t for Sir Deon’s words, he would have ditched them long ago, whether they lived or died!