202
capital
A place where bandages are scattered.
An old man was bowing his head.
Judging by his splendid attire and the imperial emblem emblazoned on his chest, the old man was clearly someone of high status.
But the old man kept bowing his head as if he had committed a sin.
It had to be that way.
The person in front was the owner of the sword.
The sword master looked down at my left hand with frowning eyes. What should have been there was not there. The baggy clothes were fluttering.
The sword’s master nodded.
“···Can it really end like this?”
The old man asked hesitantly. The sword’s owner nodded, holding back his hand from moving.
“Yes, I understand.”
The old man, who had bowed deeply, stepped back.
He could have healed his left arm, but the swordsman did not. He had lost his left arm, but he had gained something more.
‘Transcendence. What a funny name.’
The sword’s owner smiled rudely.
Transcendence was something entirely different from what he had imagined.
The guy who ended up emptying himself···.
‘It was just a bowl.’
He clenched his numb hands and muttered.
I could vaguely understand why I became stronger the more I erased the past.
The sword’s master continued to ruminate on that last sight.
Then, another question arose.
Even though he was fatally injured, the bastard was clearly possessed by a god.
That presence that makes sweat run down my back just thinking about it cannot be explained by anyone other than a god.
‘···But he was not easy.’
It was a monster with only instincts left.
He was not intelligent enough to be called a god.
‘Maybe he’s a special case.’
The appearance of the person without any reason was closer to a spirit than to transcendence.
Moreover, it was also questionable why the level was suddenly raised in that situation.
The sword’s master kept recalling that memory.
So the snow gradually deepened.
The sword’s owner, who had been like that for a while, let out a small sigh.
‘···You fed yourself to the predator.’
The sword master could tell how he had acted.
Because he was a genius who knew a hundred when he saw one.
Feeding yourself to a predator… It was truly an ignorant method. That was why it suited the old man so well.
However, the sword’s owner had no intention of becoming a monster like that.
The sword master shook his head slightly and recalled the strange power he had seen.
As the name Predatory suggests, it has the power to eat space itself.
Even the master of the sword could cut through space.
But that was nothing compared to his.
However, the master of the sword witnessed him.
How much time has passed like that?
The master of the sword looked down at my right hand.
There was nothing there, but when I grabbed it, I felt a clear presence.
However, there was no shape.
‘This was it.’
The sword’s master stared at the sword with indifferent eyes.
***
The capital was more shabby than before.
It certainly seemed as though the Empire wanted all the rebels to gather together.
‘The succession ceremony is in a week, and the enthronement ceremony is in two weeks.’
I collected my thoughts while striking the sword I had acquired at a cheap price.
“Wowaaaah-!! Wowaaaah!”
“······elegance.”
Beside him, Park Daegari and Kanna were constantly exclaiming in admiration. They were both holding buckets over their heads.
Kanna wrote it herself, and Park Daegari wrote it for me in case something happened because of her appearance.
As uncomfortable as it was, Park Dae-gari liked using things like Kanna.
‘···Return Kanna and Park’s head before the coronation ceremony.’
I muttered, looking at the two buckets.
He planned to urge Kuo Bao Rou to send them back before the coronation ceremony.
If the plan succeeds, the capital will become more noisy than ever, so they had to send the two before that.
“So how long does it take?”
“I can’t say exactly.”
Kuabarou, dressed in a luxurious robe, frowned and answered.
“Does the robe look good?”
“Ahem… It’s something given out at the White Tower. It’s only used to show your identity, so it doesn’t cost anything.”
When I asked casually, Kua Ba Rou shook his head repeatedly.
The five eldest sons and the rebels separated as soon as they entered the capital.
The abbot who asked Kkwobarou where to stay also disappeared, saying he would see him at dawn the next day.
Since the goal was to send them both off before the coronation, I was planning to focus on that for now.
I couldn’t completely trust Kwabarou, who had a criminal record, and I was also a bit reluctant to place Kanna and Park’s head in the magic tower filled with sinister magicians.
“······looks delicious!”
“No. I said I had to go to the rooftop.”
Park Dae-gari stopped in front of a meat skewer stand with a pungent smell.
Kanna shook her head and pulled him away, but Kanna’s bucket was also looking at the stall. I clicked my tongue and took out my pocket.
“How much?”
“Sixty Coopers each.”
The merchant spoke skillfully, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
I was sure he had raised the price, but I didn’t want to draw attention by making a fuss. So I took out the silver coin.
“five things.”
“Five is 3 silver, but this is 2 silver······ I’ll give it to you right away!”
When I made the impression, the guy lowered his eyes and moved hurriedly. It was a successful bargain.
After a while, the guy held out a skewer with trembling hands.
Park Head and Kanna, who were very excited, received him. Park Head, who had handed them out one by one, put the skewers under the bucket.
The sight was unsettling.
“Ouch- it stings!”
Before he could even speak, Park Dae-gari let out a small scream.
After a few more attempts, Park Dae-gari tried to throw my bucket back. I hurriedly pressed down on the bucket.
It was only for a moment, but the eyes of the guy in front of me widened. I glared at him and spoke to Park Dae-gari.
“You must not take off your bucket.”
“But isn’t this hard to eat?”
“If you keep doing it, you’ll get used to it.”
“This is how you do it.”
Kanna demonstrated how to use a bucket and eat with her tiny hands. She was so skilled that the bucket looked like her body.
Park Dae-gari, who was impressed by him, followed suit. It was a stupid sight, but he was now quite used to it.
“It would be better to forget it. Huh?”
The weasel, who had already turned around behind the bastard, was whispering in his ear.
The weasel licking my lips with its tongue was a typical assassin, horrible and perverted.
The terrified man nodded his head repeatedly.
“Why are you eating?”
“···.”
Guobarou, who had been quietly eating his skewers, avoided my gaze.
Kuobarou, with an embarrassed expression, skillfully guided the way.
There were many people on the street, but since Guobarou, dressed as a wizard, was in the lead, people avoided him on their own. Some of them even screamed softly.
Here, wizards were considered crazy, so this was a common reaction to wizards.
Additionally, the large white Matop emblem engraved on his luxurious robe seemed to indicate that he was no ordinary lunatic.
I also asked him to do some cleansing magic, and when he screamed, the crowd became even more divided.
Thanks to that, I was able to move around comfortably.
Soon we arrived at the White Tower. The tall and slender tower seemed to reach the sky, and it felt like it was from a different era than its surroundings.
The pure white walls were engraved with magic circles, so anyone could tell that it was a magic tower. It had the kind of atmosphere where it looked like a red eye would appear at any moment at the top.
Exclamations erupted from both sides. Even though their faces were not visible because of the buckets, their expressions seemed to be visible. Even Kanna’s bucket kept rattling.
‘It was good that I brought you.’
To me, it just looked like a poorly constructed building that could easily be torn down.
“Brother, if I take that off and sell it, don’t you think I can get some money for it?”
“From here on out, don’t move without permission. They’re quite tricky, so you might get into trouble.”
As the weasel gulped, Guobarou spoke in a somewhat harsh tone.
The two buckets bobbed up and down stupidly. The weasel grumbled, calling the little cub a mere squirm.
‘Meddling······.’
I clicked my tongue and stroked the hilt of the knife.
I felt a physiological aversion to entering the magic tower where the wizards gathered.
In front of the tower were four men who appeared to be knights and two young magicians.
Among them, a strange-looking male wizard blocked Kuabarou’s path.
“Please identify yourself.”
In response, Kuo Bao Rou held out something to him without answering. It looked like a small card, probably an identification card.
The wizard who had confirmed him straightened his posture.
Judging from the fact that the magician yawning next to him also stiffened, it seemed that Kuabarou’s status was quite high.
‘Why did a guy like that go all the way to the border…’
“The back is my group.”
Kuobarou pointed at us and said.
“Even if it’s Swallows-nim’s group, their status······.”
As the man spoke cautiously, Kuo Bao Rou’s face wrinkled. He looked like a gangster. Or maybe a security guard.
“Put your contacts above.”
“Quobarou spoke coldly, his voice mixed with irritation.
It was an awkward imitation, but it seemed that the wizards didn’t care, and the two quickly stepped aside.
After glancing at the two, Kuobarou went inside.
“I’m Vivian! Over there at the east end-.”
Kanna grabbed the hand of Park Daegari, who was suddenly introducing himself, and pulled him inside.
‘The level is not bad. Maybe because it’s the capital.’
I habitually glanced at the knights. They were thick armored men with leather stitched into the seams. They were clearly skilled in combat.
I went inside, thinking that if I were to swing my sword at them, I would have to use more force.
The inside of the tower was even more splendid than the outside.
It was so bright that it didn’t feel like it was indoors, and the walls were lined with books, as if it were a huge library. The books were flying around here and there, adding to the unique atmosphere.
“wow-.”
Kanna’s excited exclamation echoed through the bucket. Kanna’s bucket shook repeatedly.
As the weasel snatched the book from his hand, an alarm sounded. The one who had hurriedly put it down calmly turned his head.
Unlike them, I looked for an escape route.
It was an unavoidable occupational disease.
‘It’s bigger inside than it looks from the outside. Did they put some magic on it? There must be reinforcements on the walls. If that’s the case, rather than destroying it…’
The only door we could see was the large one we had entered through. However, judging from the number of people going inside, there seemed to be a back door as well.
‘Five people who look like knights. Three magicians who look like guards. Four people who pretend to read books but are just nodding their heads. They’re strict.’
I stuck my tongue out slightly and planned a route in case something happened.
At that moment, Kua Bao Rou moved again.
When I arrived at the place he had followed, there was something that looked like an elevator. It looked like it had been decorated, but unlike what I had seen in the basement of the palace, it was crude.
“···Huh? Swallows?”
“He killed his parents···.”
He was quite famous among the wizards, and several of them muttered the name of Kuabarou. However, no one came up to greet him.
No, they actually distanced themselves. It seemed like Kuo Bao Rou didn’t have good relationships with his friends. It was understandable since he had such a quirky personality.
Then the elevator arrived. There were quite a few people waiting, but everyone gave up their seats.
We were the only ones in the elevator.
It was Assa’s natural function.
“Cheer up. Let’s just say you’re the one being bullied.”
“···What are you saying?”
Guobarou, who had a wrinkled face, put his hand on the elevator and made a small “squeak-.” Then the elevator slowly started moving.
The elevator shook violently as Park’s head jumped slightly in surprise. Then, I hurriedly grabbed the back of the guy’s neck.
Then Kanna nudged the back of my neck. I didn’t know why, but she listened to me.
Then the weasel, who was rubbing it slightly, kicked it with his foot.
The place we arrived at was obviously a wizard’s laboratory. Even to me, who didn’t know much about it, it was full of valuable items.
Seeing him, I understood why Kuo Bao Rou had been complaining about the lack of equipment.
“Thank goodness I didn’t touch it.”
Guobarou swung his cane after checking around the door.
Then the dust gathered itself and disappeared behind.
Kanna was jumping around, checking out different things.
“You can take it off now.”
“Huh? Oh! Yes!”
As I spoke, Park Dae-gari threw the bucket back.
There was a lot of oil around his mouth.
By then, the cleaning was finished.
“Sit over here.”
Kuobarou pointed to the chair.
Park Dae-gari ran up to him and sat down.
Then Kanna joined in, and the three of them started doing something.
I looked at him and checked the plan.
‘Crows, devil candy, succession, sect, coronation…’
I reviewed the things that can be handled in the capital one by one. If I just fit the seams well, I will get a pretty good result.
At that moment, the door opened and a middle-aged man came in. He seemed to be of high status, as he was wearing a robe that was similar to Kuo Bao Rou’s but slightly more luxurious.
“···Swallows! You came earlier than expected.”
The man greeted Kuobarou in an uncomfortable voice, as if he were greeting an awkward friend who had arrived early.
“Babat. I heard the news.”
Kuobarou answered lightly.
“Yes, he passed away while I was sleeping and passed away without any pain. It’s still sad, though… What about this side?”
The voice, unlike the content, showed no sign of sadness at all. The man nodded and asked.
Park Daegari’s appearance seemed like it would cause trouble, so he fiddled with the handle of his sword. However, his reaction was weaker than expected.
“He is loved by Mana. I brought him here to conduct research. However, there are limitations in the remote areas.”
“Oh, that research you were in charge of… So, it really happened?”
The man asked in a strange voice. It was a raspy voice, but Kuo Bao Rou didn’t seem to mind.
Things seemed to be going more smoothly than expected.
No, that’s what I thought.
“oh-.”
Until the guy let out a small gasp as he looked at Kanna.
‘Things are getting complicated.’
I touched the hilt of the knife with a strange sense of discomfort.
***
“Oh, that guy just now? It’s Babat. He came in before me. He’s not that different, but he’s so talented that he’s called a genius. Wizards have such strong pride that they don’t usually acknowledge others. But he was still called a genius. He caught the eye of the previous magic tower master and was chosen as the next magic tower master at a young age… But the previous magic tower master was so upright….”
Kuobarou answered while fiddling with his tools.
“That was decades ago already. Time really flies.”
After hesitating for a moment, Kuobarou moved his hand again.
The reaction he showed to Kanna was only for a split second. Of course, it was more likely that he was surprised by Kanna’s cuteness, but assuming the worst was a chronic disease of mine.
That was also my secret to surviving in that shitty place.
“But you gave me support right away… How strange. You were definitely a stingy guy. Did you grow bigger after climbing the magic tower?”
Kuobarou seemed pleased with the many tools he had gathered and gave a long explanation.
He promised to support Kkwobarou’s research. He seems to be a man who keeps his promises, and as soon as he went down, people carrying tools came up.
Since it was so impressive that even Kuo Bao Rou could tell, it was clear that the support was not as light as he had thought.
I tapped the handle of my knife and examined them.
“Is this mana converter really using the twist of mana?”
“Oh my, isn’t it already Mana’s turn?”
“That’s ridiculous…. At that age, you know about Mana’s bitterness?”
Kanna was surrounded by wizards.
The wizards had a twisted expression, but their expressions quickly relaxed after a few questions from Kanna. Now, they looked like graduate students who had met a prodigy.
“As expected, Kanna is amazing!”
Park Dae-gari, wearing a bucket again, muttered.
A voice echoed in the bucket.
Park Dae-gari touched the bucket as if he was uncomfortable. It was quite scary to see the shape of the bucket change in his thin fingers.
“Please bear with me. I’ll get you a better bucket later.”
Through the hole made by the drilling, the large eyes of the head of the park could be seen.
After a moment of silence-.
“······Instead of a bucket, how about something like a mask or a hat?”
Park Daegari asked cautiously.
‘aha.’
I nodded to him.
Park Dae-gari’s sigh hit the bucket and made a hum.
Preparations were completed faster than expected. It seemed to be thanks to Kuo Bao Rou contacting me.
Park Daegari sat in the center.
As the big guy tried to stick a skewer in, Park Head quickly waved his hand.
“Wait a minute! Wait a minute!”
Then the stupid bucket of Park’s head stared at me.
‘···Please make it fit the standard.’
I clicked my tongue slightly and stepped forward.
“Everyone, back off. This guy specializes in this kind of thing. He’s really good at stabbing people, so everyone, focus.”
The wizards’ eyes became somewhat strange at Kuobarou’s strange explanation.
I looked back and forth between the skewer and the bucket in my hand. The skewer was thicker than before. It looked like it would hurt quite a bit.
It reminded him of a hospital method from long ago.
How to redirect your attention to reduce pain.
“Stinging.”
He stuck the skewer in while tapping the bucket with his left hand.
Kkaang-. The bucket shook violently, and the skewer went in easily.
“Hey······ This hurts more?!”
Tears welled up in Park Dae-gari’s eyes, visible through the buckets.
***
“It’s going to take longer than I thought.”
Kua Bao Rou started spewing words that he didn’t want to hear.
“It must be finished before the coronation ceremony.”
“Research isn’t something that can be done over a specific period of time.”
When I tapped the hilt of the sword, Kuabarou reluctantly nodded.
The exhausted Park Daegari and Kanna were resting on one side, and the weasel was wiping the sweat off Kanna with a cloth.
After looking at him, I turned my gaze back to Kuabarou.
“That guy from earlier. Burberry, if that guy dies, what will happen to the succession?”
At my question, Kuabarou turned his head towards me.
“···Are you talking about Babat?”
“Yeah, what happens if he dies?”
“······Why are you curious about that?”
“Just in case.”
“······We will move on to the next person in line. The succession ceremony is an imperial event, so it cannot be canceled.”
Kuobarou answered with a worried expression.
I tapped the handle of the knife to collect my thoughts.
“Then what number are you? It seems pretty high.”
“···Why are you curious?”
“Is it daytime? This is fucking food.”
“······Elders cannot become the Tower Masters, so if you exclude the elders and those who cannot come to the capital for the sudden succession ceremony······. That would be around the third. One of them is his disciple.”
When I provoked him slightly, Kuo Bao Rou explained my position in detail. It seemed like there were a lot of conditions, but the order was higher than I thought.
“······Why are you laughing?”
Swallows was very uneasy seeing Aaron laughing without answering.
Feeling strangely uneasy, Swallows asked Aaron several times why, but the bastard simply grinned without answering.
“If you succeed, be sure to repay me.”
Swallows, whose head was complicated by the bastard’s strange words, had trouble sleeping at night.
***
Caw-.
“Shut those things up.”
I grumbled as I looked at the king of the crows.
Every time I came here, I would grimace at the smell of black fur and bird droppings flying everywhere.
“The youngest, Aaron.”
He waved his hands and muttered an unpleasant nickname. It was a strange grab.
At his beckoning, the crows lined up and flew out in an orderly fashion. It was quite a sight.
‘···Was the last one that tasty?’
He was a man with an extraordinary obsession with crows. For such a man to be able to slaughter crows… It seemed that he had a great crush on him.
“It’s not as clean as it could be for the price.”
“···What price?”
“The price paid to the sword’s master. He must have earned quite a lot.”
I could understand the situation from his answer.
‘He spread the rumor about the sword’s owner.’
It seemed like a crow had been attached to me.
Then I saw the sword’s owner running away – and I thought I was involved in it.
I don’t know about anything else, but he’s a very thorough guy when it comes to accounting, so he’s thinking about the price for it.
‘Not bad.’
It was an unexpected harvest.
He nodded his head without denying it.
And then I re-planned it to fit that value.
The Crows played a similar role to the Information Guild, but dealt with slightly more illegal matters.
In addition, unlike the Information Guild, which was concerned with the imperial family’s feelings, Sari was less concerned with the imperial family’s feelings.
It was expensive, but it was worth it.
Its performance was so good that even though it destroyed the palace last time, there was no pursuit.
‘···The sword’s master has been captured.’
I looked at the guy. He was a thorough guy.
The reason the sword master became attached to me was probably not because information was leaked.
Anyway, if he was hesitating about the price, it meant that he had gained a lot from the sword’s owner.
I looked at him. His shoulders were strangely tense compared to when I saw him before. Also, his dead eyes were more distinct.
Those were the eyes that tasted meat.
It seemed like the bastard had grown bolder.
“I will pay in crows.”
The bastard’s eyes sparkled.
It was a familiar look to me.
The eyes often seen among gamblers when playing dice.
Those with eyes like that are bound to eventually lose everything.
I laughed bitterly at him.
The crow’s method of use was simple.
If you give it useful food, it will move accordingly.
Since you’ve already fed it thick food, you’ll be able to use it in a bigger way than ever before.
I took a moment to collect my thoughts, looking at the bastard’s sparkling eyes.
I went back over the plan and checked it one last time.
And then slowly opened his mouth.
“There will be a rebellion during the coronation.”
It was natural for a rebellion to occur during the coronation, but there was one reason I told him separately.
“···The price is roughly right.”
The king of the crows nodded.
Now, at the time of the coronation, a rebellion will definitely occur.
No, everyone knows that. If nothing else, crows spread their news faster than anyone else.
This week was an appropriate period of time. It was short enough to think deeply, but not so short that I couldn’t react.
“The fools will come from all sides! This will go down in history.”
The bastard held his stomach and laughed. Spit flew out of his mouth and a foul smell spread everywhere.
Caw- caw-.
From afar, the laughing cry of a crow was heard repeatedly.
I stared at the disgusting sight for a moment and then opened my mouth.
“Oh, and would you also like to give me information on the next White Tower Lord and his candidates? As a service.”
The guy whose face had been frozen for a moment rolled his eyes. The guy who finished his short calculation nodded.
“You are a valuable customer, so of course I should give you something.”
I swallowed thick saliva and forced the corners of my lips to rise.
***
“Rumors of a rebellion at the coronation are spreading at a rapid pace. With the defeat of the Master of the Sword and the current state of the Imperial Family, the prevailing opinion is that it will be possible this time. The speed at which it is spreading is so freakishly fast that it is difficult to stop it.”
The five elders closed their eyes tightly.
The intention to spread rumors of a rebellion was clear.
‘···They are gathering.’
It was like applying honey to the capital. The sweet honey that anyone who was dissatisfied with the empire could not help but come to.
It was impossible to even guess how many people would be sacrificed to him.
It was truly a cruel and merciless act.
“The royal family?”
“We will proceed as planned.”
The five elders let out a low, sullen cry.
It was not the imperial family that could not have predicted this.
But the fact that it was going ahead was proof that what he said was true.
At that moment, it became noisy outside.
Then came the sound of a fall, accompanied by a small scream.
There was only one person with such a rough temper.
bang!
“What kind of thing is this?”
A beautiful woman with long, flowing gray hair came in, her pale hands dripping with red blood.
“You did this without consulting me? Because I treated you like the eldest son. Did you think we looked similar? Huh?”
The second eldest son, Harmina, was the Archduke’s mother and wife.
Anger took form and ignited like fire around her.
A deep-rooted anger seemed to burn the space.
In the midst of the tense tension, the five elders-.
‘···Why are you doing that to me?’
It was unfair.
