208
Unanimous
“The fear among the residents is growing because of the soldiers gathered in front. It’s okay now, but if it continues like this, there could be problems.”
Pulpouts nodded at the sheriff’s report.
‘Everyone’s already gathered. You must have been in a hurry.’
The atmosphere on the continent was tense, so everyone seemed to have rushed over.
The nobles may not know about anything else, but they value their lives terribly.
“Thank you for your help.”
Fullputs spoke to the guild leader sitting at the end.
“Thanks to Baron Fullfoot’s wisdom, things can proceed quickly, which is fortunate.”
At first glance, it seemed like a soft voice, but there was quite a sharp bone in it.
“Thank you for being so kind.”
Fullfoot pretended not to understand and just let it slide.
The guild leader’s brow furrowed slightly, but the action had already begun.
The area around the castle was filled with knights and soldiers holding different flags, so we were trapped together.
“My lord, what do you plan to do?”
The sheriff asked in a low voice.
It seemed like the pressure was great.
“It’s okay. They’re just going to do it for show anyway. Just leave them outside for a while and let a few people in as if you were negotiating.”
Pulpouts shook his head slightly on purpose.
Eastern nobles led their knights and men to Castle Cassadic, but none of them brought siege equipment.
The walls of Cassidy were somewhat of a burden to look at, but their sturdiness was real. They actually received help from the dwarves.
Even with siege equipment, it would be difficult, and no matter how many knights gathered, it would not fall easily.
Of course, there are quite a lot of knights, so if they join forces, a solution might be found…
‘Are nobles who can’t even trust their own children joining forces? That’s impossible.’
It was an inevitable habit of the nobles.
Pulpouts laughed bitterly.
The weather is chilly, so I don’t think I’ll be able to last very long.
Pulpouts planned to keep them outside and call them in at the appropriate time to talk.
Maybe they’re just putting on a show for him.
‘···The sword is mine.’
What if Pulphus sent their personal letter to the capital along with a letter of complaint against the Empire?
In fact, he even turned a few people out for him.
Fullfoot didn’t think his judgment would always be right.
The reason he turned some out was to prepare for the case where his prediction was wrong.
After taking a deep breath for a moment, Pulpouts slowly opened his mouth.
“Deploy more troops to the border. And provide food and alcohol to the residents. If anyone causes trouble, send them straight to the execution grounds.”
The sheriff nodded deeply at him.
“Secretary Nova, are you supplied with sufficient supplies?”
Pulpouts then looked towards Nova and asked.
It was definitely a question I had asked earlier. There couldn’t have been any problems with the supplies in the meantime, but it was a question that had become a habit for Fullfoot.
“Yes, we have already prepared the top, and thanks to the help from Frederick Guild, we have enough. The planned period is sufficient.”
“Yeah, but keep checking on the supplies. Are you keeping the article as a guard? Are there any complaints?”
“Yes, there doesn’t seem to be any particular complaints. I heard that he received some kind of training from Aaron. In addition, the personnel from Aaron’s upper ranks were deployed towards the wall, and they are said to pose quite a threat.”
Pulpouts let out a low sigh at Nova’s answer.
‘Aaron.’
My thoughts naturally flowed in that direction.
‘···Is that kid okay?’
Pulpouts muttered softly and stared out the window. The sun was hidden behind dark clouds.
The sky was dark, as if it would rain soon.
Looking at that dark sky, my heart started to feel uneasy for no reason. Pulpouts muttered for a moment and then shook his head.
His wife was worried that the kind and pure Vivian might get involved in something wrong-.
‘Vivian is the one who protects me. And Aaron······.’
Pullputs, who thought of him, coughed slightly.
He was a man whose thoughts and abilities were completely unknown.
However, contrary to his fierce appearance and the rumor that he was a scoundrel, he was surprisingly well-behaved.
If Aaron had harbored ill will toward Vivian, trouble would have arisen long ago.
And then he would have accepted the position of Vivian escort that Pulpouts had offered.
Thinking of him, another question occurred to Pulpouts.
‘How could you refuse such a kind and pretty girl?’
There were many things about Aaron that I couldn’t understand, but the biggest one was his rejection of Vivian.
How could you turn down a child who was so pretty, kind, and energetic that she had absolutely no flaws?
Even Aaron, who had received the offer, had his face crumpled as if he had been insulted.
Pullputs smiled slightly as he thought of him.
In any case, nothing his wife is worried about will happen.
***
“Here! Aaron! Right there! Right there! Here! Right here!! Right here!”
I winked and slowly approached her.
As I looked at the tattoo, which seemed to have been created with great care and was close to real life, I felt momentarily confused.
“No, fuck, give me some clothes…”
“Why! Look! Aaron’s here! Here!”
Park Dae-gari was smiling brightly, but the corners of his mouth were trembling slightly. His voice was also sharper than usual.
‘···crazy.’
Then, perhaps because she thought she had lost my attention, Kanna put her head between Park Daegari and me and wrinkled her nose.
“Did I do well? Normally, to transform a magic circle, you have to change the spell and change the mana value······ Anyway, it was incredibly hard, but I did it! If you look over there, Aaron’s head is the part that controls the flow of mana······.”
“Yeah, you did a great job. But if it’s hard, you don’t have to do it next time.”
“lol,”
Judging from the way he smiled brightly, it seemed like he didn’t understand what I said.
He tried to pull himself together and speak as best he could.
“Aaron! Doesn’t this make it look like you’re saying hello?! Hello! Hello!”
“···Oh my god. Please put some clothes on.”
“But it feels hot when you wear it! Especially around Aaron’s eyes-.”
I washed my face again with a dry cloth, grinning like a fool.
What should I do with that?
Kanna, who had actually done the work, was smiling brightly at the thought of being praised.
The person in question, Mr. Park, said…
“Hello! Hello! Hello!!!”
It felt like a mixture of bright stupidity and a hint of madness.
‘But it seems like they’re really saying hello.’
I gave a small exclamation and then quickly shook my head.
“First of all, please put on some clothes. You might catch a cold.”
“Ah! I got it! Don’t catch a cold! Don’t!”
Park Dae-gari, who was smiling brightly, adjusted his clothes.
Finally, the winking me disappeared.
Only then could I breathe comfortably.
Kanna must have been very tired because she was dozing off while clinging to me. When I grabbed the back of her neck and placed her on my lap, she snored quietly.
Park Dae-gari, sitting across from me, stared at me with sparkling eyes.
I sighed softly at those eyes that were so sparkling that it was almost burdensome.
“So, are you feeling okay?”
“Yes! … Yes. I feel a little more stable now!”
Park Dae-gari, who had answered loudly, glanced at Kanna and lowered his voice. It was amazing how he could be so energetic even when he spoke softly.
I sighed as I looked at that bright smiling face.
“Probably, because of that symbol or something, Kanna couldn’t help it. I heard that if you take my form, your concentration or something will increase.”
“Aha! That’s okay! I really like it?”
Park Dae-gari, who had returned to his usual stupid face, smiled brightly. The end of his words were so pointed that it sounded like a question.
“···Anyway, you shouldn’t show that anywhere.”
Park Daegari tilted his head.
“why?”
When asked why it shouldn’t be visible, I hesitated for a moment.
“Strange rumors may spread.”
“A strange rumor? It’s okay!”
Park Daegari laughed heartily.
I scratched my beard and answered him.
“I’m not okay.”
Park Daegari’s eyebrows gathered at one point at my answer.
“Then I should say hello again······.”
The head of the park, which was dizzy, moved around a bit.
“Come to think of it, it’s okay.”
I nodded hurriedly.
***
“hey.”
Swallows opened his eyes at the soft voice.
A huge man sat in the corner of a dark room.
On the table, only the bottom candle was left, casting a light that seemed about to go out.
Swallows exhaled at the thick lower body revealed to him.
Although I couldn’t tell how much time had passed, it felt like quite a bit of time had passed and my hazy mind was starting to recover.
Swallows turned his gaze to Aaron, who was sitting calmly as if he were in his own room.
‘I clearly put a spell on it.’
“I knocked, but there was no response.”
It seemed that his knocking was different from that of a normal person.
Swallows clicked his tongue at the completely torn door. He didn’t know it, but the center of the magic he had placed there was the handle.
But when I tore him apart whole, it didn’t seem to activate.
‘Come to think of it, there might be cases like this.’
A normal person would never think of tearing down a thick door, but there are some people like Aaron in this world.
Those ignorant bastards who tear down a door if there is no response to knocking.
Swallows nodded, thinking back on the points that needed to be improved.
Since my vision of the magic circle had been stripped away after the succession ceremony, I quickly thought of how to supplement it.
“The magic circle pattern engraved on Vivian is unusual?”
The voice was scratchier than usual.
It was clear that he was very uncomfortable.
“That’s right. In Vivian’s case, it was essential to change the shape and properties of the magic circle to suit humans. In the first place, even changing the shape of the magic circle is impossible with ordinary knowledge and application skills·········.”
Swallows spoke at length about Kanna, the genius among geniuses.
Then suddenly, I realized that the other person was Aaron and changed the words to make them easier to understand.
“There is something called a magic circle. It is used to store magic or to create a spell in advance. Ah, what does it’s purpose mean······.”
In the middle of my sentence, the guy cut me off by waving his hand.
“So, you’re saying that because Kanna is a genius, she carved a magic circle of my image onto Vivian’s chest?”
Swallows nodded as Aaron finally seemed to understand.
“Oh, are you concerned about your image being engraved? That’s a symbol. Symbols are supposed to progress the most when they’re broken, but Kanna went the unusual route of engraving your pattern. That’s why she was able to pull off this magic circle.”
Swallows coughed loudly and clenched his throat. He was so excited that he even started drooling.
Anyway, the achievements that Kanna achieved this time were worthy of being recorded in history books.
Thanks to that, Swallows was also able to create his own magic circle during the succession ceremony.
‘Oh, yeah, I became a magician.’
Swallows sighed softly as he thought of him.
Yes, he completed the succession ceremony safely.
Of course, he eventually collapsed from exhaustion, but in the end, he became the White Tower Lord.
It was the result of a combination of several factors.
Since the factions were divided in the first place, many did not attend to express their dissatisfaction with Babat’s succession, and there were also many magicians who could not be contacted during the suddenly arranged succession ceremony.
Since the elders were automatically excluded, Swallows were ranked 5th.
‘···All the guys above have gone missing.’
It must have something to do with that guy scratching my cheek annoyingly in front.
“······Yes, success is important.”
The man who exhaled deeply nodded.
Why did he put himself on the roof, and what happened to the missing people?
Various questions came to mind, but looking at the bastard’s indifferent face, the thought of asking disappeared.
“Anyway, that’s fine. Do you remember our promise?”
“······promise?”
Aaron spoke as if he were a debt collector who had come to collect money. Swallows asked back, searching his memory.
“Oh, are you trying to avoid it?”
“No, what are you talking about?”
“Dragon’s snot.”
“Dragon’s snot? What is that weird… Ah, you mean dragon’s breath.”
Swallows gulped as he watched the guy nod calmly.
‘How did the dragon’s breath turn into the dragon’s snot… Ah, it’s Aaron.’
Since I have become the Magic Tower Master as he said, I should be able to lend him as much as he wants, even the mid-level magic tool Dragon’s Breath.
The problem is···.
“I told you to write it cleanly and give it to me?”
Aaron was talking just like the delinquents who had bullied him during his academy days.
At that time, Swallows lent me the magic book as if it had been stolen.
I didn’t get it back.
“······What are you going to use that much dragon’s breath for? Of course, its firepower is comparable to that of a high-level magic tool, but its stability is inferior to that of a lower-level tool, and it easily explodes······. Oh, my goodness.”
Speaking of the stability that was worse than the lower class, Aaron’s thick lips, revealed in the dim candlelight, rose.
With the corners of his lips curled in a sullen manner, Swallows reflected on the situation.
Aaron, who brings trouble wherever he goes. The dragon’s nose that he wants… no, its breath was an unstable magical tool focused solely on explosions.
How many times had he urged me to finish the transplant before the coronation ceremony?
When we put the facts together, a big picture emerged.
‘No-, even if it’s Aaron···.’
Swallows hastily shook his head at the absurd imagination.
But the scars on his face, visible in the dim candlelight, seemed to answer the question.
That’s correct-.
“······I have to give it back.”
It was the same words as when the old magic book was stolen, but it felt strangely different.
“I’ll try my best.”
The strangely vague answer did not suit him.
‘···I guess I won’t be able to get it back.’
Swallows let out a long sigh.
As for the price of the rooftop terrace, it was quite cheap.
Or it’s extremely expensive.
***
“You look tired.”
The five elders wearing black masks asked softly.
‘I hear that a lot.’
I shook my head and clicked my tongue.
“I have a lot of work to do.”
At that moment, the carriage rattled.
I was startled and felt my inner pocket.
There was a pouch there that he had received from Kuobarou. It was a very vicious pouch filled with dragon snot.
‘···It looks like there’s a bomb in the bag.’
Kuo Bao Rou explained that it wouldn’t explode unless you deliberately hit it on the ground, but he couldn’t help feeling uneasy.
But I couldn’t just leave this precious thing behind, so I carried it around with me for the time being.
I gently patted the pocket as if I was soothing a baby.
Just in case, I sang a lullaby.
And when I raised my head, the five elders with their masks up were looking at me with frowning faces.
My face crumpled as I looked at the fork in his hand and the cake in front of him.
“So first, what’s that kid? He looks like the sword’s owner.”
It was somewhat unexpected that the eldest son showed up at the meeting. However, it was a good opportunity to check on the eldest son in advance.
‘He resembled the eldest son of the sword.’
Although it had fewer wrinkles than the sword’s master, it definitely resembled him.
It was clear that something was up.
‘Are you trying to hit me?’
I couldn’t help but think that the owner of the sword known as the Sword of the Empire and the eldest son, the leader of the demons, looked similar.
The fifth eldest son was a man of considerable weight. After all, he knew more about his brothers than I did. I was quite anxious when eating cake, though…
If you were one of the five rich men, you might know about it.
If not, any other information···.
However, his answer was quite different from what I expected.
“Yeah, they do look alike.”
The five elders put the cake in their mouths.
That sight was extremely annoying.
“······I know?”
I ground my teeth at that shameless answer for no reason.
“He was a person who never showed himself. Even if he did show up, he would be covered by a mask. This was the first time I actually saw his face.”
Ignorance is not a sin, but I couldn’t help but feel an itch in my hand at the guy’s overly confident answer.
“I did some research and found a pretty interesting story.”
The guy who finished every last piece of cake wiped his mouth.
Unlike his neat personality, the handkerchief was somewhat tattered. I looked at him and asked.
“what.”
“It’s a pretty old story, but the sword master had a younger brother. He was also called a genius, but because the sword master was so overwhelming, there are almost no stories left about him. It’s so strange. It’s like he entered the royal family…”
I lowered my raised fist and nodded.
“Is it some cliche story about feeling inferior to my brother’s talent and making a deal with the devil?”
I threw it roughly, but judging by the five elders’ slightly widened eyes, I thought I had hit the target roughly.
“So what about him?”
“There is no record after that. It’s as if he entered the royal family.”
I nodded at the bastard’s answer.
The information guilds didn’t usually go near the imperial palace. If they got caught in the wrong place, the entire guild building would be blown away. That was why I used crows even though they were a little more expensive.
Anyway, that’s why the lack of information on such a big figure was also information.
‘Then where did you get the information about Avery?’
As I thought about him, a question suddenly occurred to me.
Yahoo was pretty smart, but not good enough to extract information about the people in the administration.
If Yahoo got the information about Avery, then someone must have leaked it.
Of course, it could have been me who wasn’t targeted, but the timing was too opportune to be.
As if you were calling me.
‘···Is that Selena?’
I sighed softly at the name.
There was a high chance that it was her.
To this extent, it is simple and easy for her.
If that’s what she did, the reason is…
“We’ve arrived.”
My thoughts were broken by the voices of the five elders.
I stopped myself from putting on the mask lying next to me.
The mask placed next to him was a featureless black mask. An ordinary mask, just like the five generals.
I remembered that at the last meeting, only the eldest son came wearing a different mask.
‘I can’t lose.’
It was the place to become the king of demons.
There was a need to make a distinctive impression.
‘Oh, there it was.’
I carefully opened my pocket and took out the mask I had placed inside.
The colors were quite flashy, so I paused for a moment.
‘Isn’t this too different?’
After thinking about it for a moment, I put on the mask.
“······It’s horrible.”
The five eldest sons’ trembling voices were ignored.
“Tch, from the guard leader to the Demon King. I succeeded.”
I got out of the carriage, muttering softly.
“The man is pink···.”
Five elders, clicking their tongues loudly, followed me.
It definitely looked like he was being escorted.
***
“No, are you really going to admit that he is the king of demons?”
The fourth eldest son, Baketta, asked in a panic.
What does the king of demons mean?
It was the legend they had been waiting for for so long.
But then, a guy suddenly appeared and declared himself the king of demons. There wasn’t even any opposition to him.
“Yeah, I don’t know why, but he just smells really strong.”
The second eldest son, whose thoughts were usually unknown, answered lightly. It was the second eldest son who strangely took the third son’s side last time.
At that, Bacchetta hurriedly turned his head.
“Say something. Why isn’t the eldest son coming?”
“···,”
I urged him several times, but the first one just sat there without answering.
Baketta felt suffocated by the incomprehensible response.
Baketta felt really dizzy in the strangely flowing situation.
‘The road is finally open···.’
The Pope immediately approved the petition for excommunication, which was submitted simply to put pressure on him.
That was one third of the entire religious order who were dismissed.
I don’t know what he was thinking, but the Pope approved him. The whole church was shaken by it.
With most of the cardinals having come over, it was clear that a new era would begin for the church.
In such chaos, it was clear that Bacchetta, who had been steadily working on the groundwork, would take on an executive role.
If the brothers caused trouble at a time like this, there was a high possibility that the well-planned arrangement would fall apart.
Although Baketta was struggling to stop him, the reactions of the other elders were subtle.
At this rate, that weird guy was really going to be recognized as the king of demons.
‘In the first place, the king of demons isn’t even a title or anything······.’
bang!
At that moment, the door broke open with a loud noise.
A huge door, so large it reached the high ceiling, rolled awkwardly across the floor.
“How presumptuous of you to block the king’s path.”
A murmur mixed with laughter.
What you see beyond that is-.
It was a huge man wearing a pink mask over his head.
A fear of a kind he had never experienced before came over Bachetta at the sight of that unpleasant combination.
The second one laughed heartily and even clapped his hands, and the first one turned his head. The five eldest sons were already behind him.
The guy who showed up late immediately stole the mood.
Baketta’s mouth went dry in impatience.
‘This can’t go on!’
Bacchetta jumped up and summoned his divine power.
A swamp-like, sticky shadow rose around the bucket, gaining momentum.
When I wrapped myself in divine power, I felt overflowing with strength.
My tense mind was relieved.
“How dare you say that anyone is king. I have never acknowledged it.”
He was so excited that the air around him became so sticky that it seemed like it was going to melt.
Bacchetta was confident because his power had recently risen to a higher level after receiving the title of eldest son.
Maybe he was also confused···.
“Okay, is there anyone else who objects?”
Contrary to Bacchetta’s thoughts, the guy looked around nonchalantly and asked.
The tone of voice was light, as if it had been expected.
However, no one raised an objection to his question.
The strange silence made Bachetta uneasy.
“No, that’s not how you become the king of demons in the first place······.”
Baketta continued speaking hurriedly at the unexpected turn of events.
He was the king of demons mentioned in the prophecy. It wasn’t something that could be done just by someone doing it.
Even though they were brothers, they did not represent the entire devil.
Even if you are recognized among them…
“Okay, so what happens then?”
He asked as he took a step forward.
Although they had only gotten one step closer, an unprecedented sense of pressure was upon Bachetta.
The yellow eyes visible behind the bright pink mask that did not match his size were calm and heartless.
“That··· That···.”
My mouth was shut at the bastard’s question.
Who knows that?
If they had known that from the beginning, would they have waited all these years?
“Yes… because it’s a prophecy. Anyone can see that he’s a king….”
In the heavy atmosphere that seemed to be weighing him down, Bacchetta answered desperately.
“Anyone can see that he is a king···.”
The bastard took another step closer.
Then the air felt even heavier.
Sweat formed on Bacchetta’s forehead.
“So you see, I am not a king. I am a tyrant.”
“That’s not it. The King of Demons is….”
“It’s okay. Just get rid of your complaints. Hey, soundproof.”
“What did you call me… Tsk.”
“Wait a minute…, relief?”
The fifth eldest son, who grumbles but generates divine power, and the third son, who is familiar with stretching his body.
Feeling uneasy, Baketta hurriedly covered his path with his divine power.
Shadows responded to his will and rose up all at once, blocking the view ahead.
The shadows grew stronger because there was little light in the first place. A shield so strong that even a sound could not be heard blocked the way.
When you feel a small sense of relief at the solidity that comes naturally-.
Crackling.
A very disturbing sound was heard from somewhere.
Let us listen to him-.
A very small crack appeared in the front.
‘···Crack?’
As I muttered softly, the crack quickly grew larger.
The shadow that was being torn apart viciously was screaming.
Soon, a bright pink mask appeared, pushing away the darkness.
“Raise your hand if you have no complaints.”
What is that-.
The question of Bacchetta’s giant fist had no form.
***
‘Oh, you raised your hand.’
I looked at the fourth eldest son who raised both hands and shook his fist.
“I need to listen more carefully.”
Maybe it’s because I’m the eldest son, but my hands were quite busy.
However, the shadow he uses is something I had already experienced when I was a raccoon.
Besides, anyone who wasn’t as skilled as a raccoon was no match for me.
He felt weaker than the eldest son, who wasn’t even the eldest son.
‘It’s getting crazy again. Hey.’
– Isn’t it cool?
I clenched my fist and clicked my tongue at the tenant’s answer. The erosion that had occurred was not going away at all.
‘This is a variable.’
I’m sure I’ll have to use more force than this during the coronation ceremony, so I wonder how I should press it then…
I took a moment to catch my breath and look around.
Beyond the mask, many eyes were watching me.
I shook my right hand and asked them.
“Anyone else have complaints?”
There was no answer.
Of course, it may be a result of the entanglement of different interests.
“It’s unanimous.”
I sat down at the head of the table, smiling broadly.
