< Chapter 73 - Merit Ceremony #6 >
&
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“Are you guys okay? You were in a coma, right?”
As soon as they sat down next to each other on the sofa, Scarlett asked a question in return, and Cordelia answered in a dodgy manner.
“No, it wasn’t like I was in a coma or anything, I just slept for a couple of days.”
“Excuse me, sleeping for two days straight is abnormal, no matter how you look at it.”
Scarlett, who had spoken sharply, narrowed her eyes and began to look around Cordelia.
It seemed like he was checking to see if there was any pain anywhere.
And Cordelia started to laugh at Scarlett’s appearance.
“why?”
“No, I just thought Scarlett was worried about us.”
Cordelia giggled again and lightly slapped Scarlett’s shoulder, smiling with her eyes, and Scarlett frowned.
“No? I wasn’t really worried? I never really cared about it.”
“Wow, this classic reaction is really good, I like it. Scarlett is so cute.”
“What the heck?”
Whether Scarlett was disgusted or not, Cordelia hugged her arm and laughed heartily, and eventually Scarlett frowned and looked back at Uther.
“Hey, Black Cloak. What’s wrong with Pink Bomb? Is your head hurt or something?”
[What’s wrong with you? You’re still as pretty, cute, and lovable as usual.]
Scarlett shuddered at the reply that came back as a message magic instead of a voice, but there was no other way.
If I continued talking here, I would only end up feeling embarrassed.
“Anyway, as long as you’re safe, that’s fine.”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine with that as long as Scarlett is safe.”
When Cordelia spoke while rubbing her cheek against his shoulder, Scarlett flinched for a moment, but soon smiled brightly. This was because the expression on Uther’s face as he looked at her was truly amusing.
‘Should we tease each other a little more?’
But before Scarlett could do anything, Uther made his move first. He sat down across from Scarlett and immediately brought up a topic he couldn’t ignore.
“A match.”
“uh?”
“A showdown to decide who will be the Log Master. Isn’t it time we started discussing it?”
Scarlett frowned slightly as Uther spoke with a grin.
Although the competition itself to determine the Rogue Master was welcome, I was a bit displeased with the fact that Yuder was leading the flow of the story.
But it couldn’t be helped.
If you take a step back, you can see that in the end, it was Scarlett herself who was the one who was disappointed.
“Okay, let’s talk about it.”
“Let’s cut to the chase and get to the point… Do you agree that it’s impossible right now?”
“I agree. The royal road is a mess.”
Uder smiled again at the answer he had expected.
‘As expected from Scarlett.’
In the original, before she was bewitched by the magic sword, Scarlett was a very affectionate and rational person, an ideal companion.
I thought she would postpone the match now that the royal capital had suffered massive damage, but as expected, she reacted as expected.
‘Because it’s a matter of pride for the Log Master.’
Hundreds of years have passed since the first Log Master appeared on this land.
There have been many thieves between the past and present, some of whom have committed even greater thefts than the Log Master.
But none of them became a legend like the Log Master.
Why would that be?
Why was it that only the Log Master could become a legend?
‘Because it’s romantic.’
Send a notice to increase the difficulty of theft yourself.
It targets only the wicked rich.
Steal, but don’t take life.
He uses the money he earned by robbing the rich to help the underprivileged in society.
The so-called righteous thief.
Righteous thief.
It was all an illusion.
In the end, a thief is still a thief, and most of what he stole from the rich ended up in the pockets of the Log Master, not the poor.
But what mattered was the image.
‘The romantic thief.’
It was absurd that such a log master would use the royal road where so many people were killed or injured as a stage for theft.
“But that doesn’t mean we can’t compete at all, right? So let’s change the location.”
“Are you saying that we should have a match somewhere other than the royal road?”
“Oh, let’s have a match in the south instead of the center.”
At Uther’s words, Cordelia’s eyes lit up with a small exclamation of “Oh.”
Because I realized what Uder meant.
‘Are you taking Scarlett to the South too?’
‘The more power, the better.’
The Black Dragon Malekith was a formidable opponent in a different sense than the Guardian Prince. To deal with a literal giant monster, you needed at least one more useful card.
“Where is Nambu-myeon? The 7 Southern Clans?”
“Wouldn’t it be worth a shot?”
Scarlett’s eyes sharpened as Uther smiled and gave a seemingly positive answer.
Because when I saw Yuder’s sly smile, I felt alert.
‘Is there something else going on?’
Although the royal capital suffered significant damage, the entire center was not destroyed.
But, we had to leave the center and have the match in the south.
Even without that sly smile, the story had a suspicious smell.
‘Should we try to decide the outcome in the Empire?’
Scarlett’s own home ground.
But Scarlett soon gave up on the idea.
In the end, the one who was left disappointed was Scarlett herself.
‘It was a match that was possible thanks to Pink Bomb’s consideration in the first place.’
We weren’t in a position to say this or that.
‘Of course, Cordelia doesn’t seem to have any particular thoughts······.’
Perhaps he might even accept a fight in the empire.
But there was no way that Black Cloak, the incarnation of that serpent, would allow it.
Scarlett herself was probably going to make a run for it in the South, no matter what she said.
‘There’s no need to fight for nothing.’
It’s not like we’re going to see each other again after this match.
“Okay, let’s have a showdown in the South. When?”
“I wish I had set it a little more generously.”
“To what extent?”
“At least two months? The capital needs to be cleared up before we can go down south.”
“Hmm.”
Scarlett crossed her arms and looked thoughtful, but this time too, it didn’t take long for her to nod.
As Uder said, it would take quite some time to get out of the current royal road.
‘Two months seems a bit too long, though.’
But it wasn’t like there was any time left that I couldn’t wait at all.
Moreover, Scarlett herself needed time to research the South.
“Okay, let’s do that. We can discuss the specific dates and such later.”
“As expected from Scarlett. You’re saying it’s good to be angry?”
“I’m not saying this because I like you in particular, am I?”
“I guess so.”
“Uh-huh.”
The last added laugh was Cordelia’s.
The smile never left his face, as if he was so excited.
“Hey, why have you been acting so noisy since earlier?”
“Yeah, just. Because I like Scarlett?”
When Cordelia smiled again, Scarlett couldn’t help but laugh too.
Cordelia was too lovely to be blatantly rejected.
“Okay, anyway, let’s say we’re going to have a showdown in the South in two months-.”
“Hit?”
“Pink Bomb, come out with me for a bit.”
“huh?”
“I just wanted to talk while getting some fresh air. I also want to hear about what happened in the capital that night. Is that okay?”
“Well… there’s nothing that wouldn’t work.”
Cordelia, who had said that, looked back at Uther, and Uther looked at Scarlett, who was smiling brightly instead of Cordelia.
‘It’s so obvious.’
Scarlett’s true intentions.
Actually, it wasn’t anything special.
Just taking Cordelia out and preventing her from spending sweet time with Uther himself – what a one-dimensional idea.
‘Still annoying, right? Right?’
Uther responded to Scarlett’s gaze with a rotten smile and then looked back at Cordelia.
‘Yuderya?’
‘It’s okay if you do as Scarlett says. You’re just going to chat with a friend. It’s not like I have anything to say.’
‘Um… That’s true. Okay, I’ll be back soon.’
Cordelia, who smiled brightly, stood up from her seat as if she could pull out a bull’s horn in one go, and grabbed Scarlett’s arm. Scarlett gave Uther one last snicker before walking out with Cordelia.
And then another few seconds.
As the door closed, Yuder slumped his shoulders and let out a deep breath.
‘Anyway, it looks like Scarlett is completely on our side.’
No matter what the outcome of the match was, it seemed like we could continue to be together.
‘It’s a bit annoying that you keep interrupting me here and there, but······.’
Well, I didn’t really hate it.
It was at a level where I could just laugh it off.
Moreover, it was Scarlett’s interference that actually helped in the short term.
‘I guess it’s a bit hard to concentrate when Cordelia is around.’
At least for now.
‘While Cordelia is out, let’s make sure to sort things out.’
Something I couldn’t do last night because I didn’t have the mental space to even think about it.
Uther closed his eyes and took a slow breath.
I slowly lowered myself below the surface of consciousness to examine the state of my body and soul.
And then I realized.
‘I guess it was impossible.’
Failed to open the meat door properly.
The sixth door was created, but it was barely a formal structure.
If we really want to be specific, should we say that the bowl itself has been expanded, but its contents are barely filled?
‘I need time.’
It’s time to properly service the meat shop.
It was time for Yuder to grow his own abilities to match the suddenly larger vessel.
‘But let’s not be too impatient.’
As I had already told Cordelia, the demon followers would not dare attack them for the time being.
The southern attack by the Black Dragon Malekith was also something that would have happened a few months in the future based on the original story, so there was no need to become stronger right away.
‘Let’s make the most of our time.’
Let’s recover our bodies and build our abilities.
Don’t rely too much on the nine heavenly gates, but develop other strengths as well.
‘Ultimate Seven.’
The ultimate seven swords created by the ancient dwarves, obtainable through the Key Sword.
As expected, Yuder knew all seven of them, and had used them at least once in Heroes Chronicles 2.
And that’s why I could be sure.
‘I need the Ultimate One.’
The most heterogeneous sword among the seven ultimate swords.
But that is why it is the sword that best suits Yuder himself these days.
Fortunately, what Uther wanted – the ‘Ultimate One’ and what Cordelia wanted – the ‘Ultimate Four – Magic Blaster’, the magic sword of the tyranny, were located in the Kingdom of Cailun.
‘It would be the icing on the cake if we could secure the Ultimate Three – Dragonslayer Ascalon to use in the Battle of Malekith.’
Yuder, who had been drawing a route in his head for a moment, soon chuckled and slumped his shoulders.
As I was thinking about getting the item, I suddenly thought of Hero Chronicles 2.
‘It’s not a game now, it’s reality.’
With a faint smile, Yuder closed his eyes again and focused his consciousness.
He started to use the Ultimate Sun God Art, which was created by adding the nine heavenly gates to the nine heavenly gates, and the black sun that was created as a result.
&
A small garden attached to the villa.
Scarlett, who was sitting in a sunny spot and getting some fresh air, asked with wide eyes.
“The Guardian of the Nation? You defeated the Guardian of the Nation?”
“Yeah. It seems like it’s still a secret, so don’t go around talking about it.”
Cordelia looked around and spoke softly, but instead of being careful, Scarlett grabbed Cordelia’s shoulders and shouted.
“how?!”
Scarlett had already figured out that the Guardian had betrayed her.
As Cordelia said, everyone was keeping quiet, but it had already been three days since the battle in the capital, so everyone who needed to know already knew that the Duke of Guk had betrayed them.
But who would have thought that Uther and Cordelia would have defeated the Guardian King?
“That… with all your heart and soul? The Crown Princess and the Prince also helped.”
As Cordelia mumbled, Scarlett shook her shoulder again as if to ask what she was talking about.
Because he was not a patriotic hero who could be defeated just by adding a few children.
“Anyway, I defeated him. I can’t tell you how I defeated him because it involves the secrets of the kingdom.”
The existence of the Holy Sword Claw Solas, which maintains a protective circle in the palace’s basement, was truly a top secret.
Count Bayer and Count Chase already knew about the existence of the Holy Sword, so they spoke about it openly, but it was something they couldn’t say to Scarlett, who was a citizen of the Empire.
“Tch, this is fatal.”
“sorry······.”
Scarlett soon sighed as Cordelia’s face became gloomy, as if she was truly sorry.
“Well… I guess there’s nothing I can do. Anyway, you didn’t win just by skill, right?”
“Yeah, there were a few things that added up… and more than anything, I was lucky.”
“I was lucky······.”
Scarlett smiled bitterly and shook her head.
No matter how old and weak he was, he was a patriotic man and a member of the Ten Swordsmen.
He wasn’t a strong man who could be defeated with just a little luck.
However, Uder and Cordelia defeated that patriotic hero.
‘This may sound like a new story, but… these guys are total monsters too.’
The two of them were now only seventeen years old.
But what exactly is this strength?
‘God’s mistake······.’
A reference to Maximilian de Avis.
But maybe Uther and Cordelia were also God’s mistakes?
“Scarlett?”
“Huh? Yeah, well… I understand. Anyway, I hope you’re okay.”
Scarlett, who had been vaguely confused, stood up from where she was sitting.
Cordelia, who had gotten up along with him, asked.
“Are you going to go?”
“Oh, I guess I should go now.”
The purpose of infiltrating the palace has almost been accomplished.
If we just checked on Lucas’ condition on the way back, it would have been perfect.
“Then let’s see each other at the ceremony.”
“Huh? You want to come to the ceremony?”
“Since it’s a rare opportunity, I’ll at least give you a round of applause.”
Scarlett shrugged her shoulders and spoke blandly, then nodded to Cordelia, who was smiling brightly, and took a step back.
“See you next time then.”
“Yeah, next time.”
Unlike Cordelia, who waved her hand vigorously, Scarlett turned around quite proudly and took a few steps before blending into the surrounding scenery and disappearing from sight.
“all.”
As expected, the log master.
Cordelia, who was slightly impressed once again, clapped her hands, shook her butt, and looked back toward the villa.
Cordelia herself had to go back.
But before taking a step forward, Cordelia looked back at the garden and the view of the palace beyond.
It wasn’t perfect.
There were signs of brokenness and damage here and there.
Although it was not immediately noticeable, there were quite a few people who died or were injured.
But, but even so,
‘You were not wrong.’
What Cordelia and Uther did.
All the times we worked hard to protect the royal family and the royal road.
“let’s go.”
Cordelia spoke to herself and turned back towards the villa.
I took a step forward, picturing Yuder’s face naturally in my mind.
And five days later in the afternoon.
The award ceremony has begun.
&
< Chapter 73 - Merit Ceremony #6 > End
