Chapter 312 |
Chapter 312
Honestly speaking, the Queen looked so delicate and innocent that it made the expression 'fighting' seem meaningless.
Unlike the typical image of a queen, she wore minimal jewelry, and even that was only non-lustrous coral or pearls.
Her clothes also didn't cinch the waist or greatly puff out the hem like others,
And seeing that reminded him of what Dardin had told him about the Queen being pregnant.
Most of the fabric was white, and with blue ornaments and accessories for emphasis, her white, soft skin and fragile impression stood out even more.
Yet that will circling in her eyes, if he wasn't mistaken, was definitely thinking of devouring him bones and all.
It wasn't like he was receiving such gazes for the first or second time.
The Queen made the first move.
"At that time, I was indebted through the 3rd Prince. Thanks to that, I was able to safely visit Asgard."
"If you're a mage, I thought your impression would be quite different. It's unexpected."
"I only take the necessary attitude when needed."
The Queen would probably know about his appearance and attire. Red hair like this wasn't common either.
It was better to boldly acknowledge such things rather than avoid them.
The Queen smiled faintly as if to show off.
"This is the heart of the venerable Kingdom of Aquilonia, where the spirits of noble royal families throughout history sleep. Yet coming to such a place and causing trouble is improper. No matter how great a mage you may be."
"If you call it causing trouble, shouldn't you call your theft of what is mine trouble rather than my destroying the tower?"
"Theft? They are criminals who disturbed Aquilonia's political situation and caused cities and villages to disappear."
"Yes. It would be because of that 'ominous star' that fell on Aquilonia."
"It seems you know something about this."
"Because I made it fall."
"We must properly investigate exactly why you caused such damage to a country. If not, regrettably we'll have to hold the esteemed mage accountable for that crime."
"You're holding me accountable for crimes?"
He deliberately snorted irritably.
The Queen was still smiling demurely while probing him.
"No, this small country should rather be grateful to me. What you call an ominous star was to eliminate the disaster that had befallen this country. Thanks to whom have you been able to live without seeing such things until now?"
"Such things. I don't know what you're talking about."
"At the beginning of this planet, before humans appeared on the surface, there were beings called gods. They were more venomous variants than what Acheron's founding Emperor had confined to the Leng Plateau. You mortals who live briefly and die wouldn't have such things remaining even in oral traditions."
"Gods?"
"Gods eat human faith, and humans achieve what they want from gods. You can't imagine how many humans died from this transaction."
When he stood up from his seat, the thick cloak he hadn't had time to change out of in Asgard flowed down.
The Queen's persistent gaze continued to follow.
"I tried to kill gods for the sake of humans. My disciple Eibon also inherited my work. But too much time has passed... far too much time. While Eibon and I were absent, a god awakened in a corner of your small, cute country."
Eibon! He was sorry! It wasn't like he wanted to drag her into this kind of fraud!
But being condescending and putting on airs while treating her poorly seemed to work best, so what could he do!
While screaming internally, he continued to walk around the sofa area.
"Before killing it, I needed to go to Acheron's capital. Entirely out of goodwill. Whether a kingdom like this gets erased from the map or not doesn't matter to me."
"You call it goodwill, but it caused harm to this country. You must know that."
"Harm? Then let me ask. Isn't it harm when all the people of this small kingdom go mad and devour the flesh of family and friends, cultivated fields become desolate from neglect, corpses float in rivers, and people gouge out their own eyes to offer them to something called a god?"
"That's just your claim. The existence of gods has neither been proven, nor has anyone witnessed them."
"You think I'm lying."
The Queen who met his eyes smiled elegantly and very apologetically.
"The reality is that I have no choice but to deny your claims from the start. Even if there were such things as gods, how could we know if they actually appeared?"
"Are you asking for proof?"
"If you're truly a great mage, that's what you must do."
From here on, it wasn't a section that could pass with bluster.
Unfortunately for him, the Queen was a politician who had experienced all kinds of hardships,
And was one of the reasons there was no chaos in the royal castle even when the King, the country's strongest pillar, didn't show himself.
He didn't fail to understand why she was demanding evidence from him.
It seemed she wanted to confirm whether he was really a mage,
And separately from that, she seemed to want to gauge what kind of 'weapon' he might be for Yurik.
Normally he would have slipped away subtly at times like this.
But perhaps thanks to the book that Aphoom-Zhah and Eibon had reinforced, he felt inclined for once.
"I'll provide two proofs."
"Two?"
"First, the god I killed was born in some mountain of Aquilonia. Check the mountain villages within three to four days' distance from where the ominous star fell. Since the damage from the ominous star would be minimal there, the scene would be preserved."
"Good. I'll order it immediately. What's the second?"
"I'll give you one prophecy, pitiful one."
Prophecy seemed like a rather overused cliché device,
But to display his false dignity, this seemed to be the only method.
Wait, but did mages of this era also give prophecies?
He slightly lifted the heavy staff then put it down.
The sound of the staff hitting the hard floor rang out with a thud.
"The 'Leng Plateau' will open."
At those words, the Queen slowly stood up. Her mouth was tightly shut, but her eyes were wide with surprise.
But the Queen wasn't the only one who stood up. Yurik also stood up with bewilderment and was looking at him.
At his gaze, he pulled up the corners of his mouth.
Yes, Yurik. It's fine. He was good at handling such things.
"The demons that have been confined for a long time will pour out, and Aquilonia will burn. Everything you've built will be destroyed. ...Only the humans you've neglected, my humans whom you've persecuted, and the 3rd Prince here will be able to prevent the disaster that befalls Aquilonia."
* * *
"What if a theater troupe wants to recruit me after this?"
"Just refuse."
Having returned to Yurik's bedroom, he was seriously pondering.
Ah, even he thought he had acted somewhat frighteningly well.
Having drawn that trash bastard villain Yurik so much in his mind, he felt like he had half-assimilated with him.
Even while he was deeply absorbed in self-admiration, Yurik looked at him pitifully while helping him remove his cloak.
"I can't even imagine what Yesung will do going forward."
"You really can't imagine? Should I tell you with my own mouth?"
"No. I was indirectly saying I don't want to imagine, so I'd appreciate it if you understood."
"Anyway, we achieved the initial objective. So that's good."
"I didn't know you'd turn us into prophetic figures to achieve that initial objective."
Actually, he hadn't intended to go on so elaborately either.
It was just that the Queen desperately wanted proof of a mage from him,
And... anyway, he had to repay Cellinne, Eva, and Valter for treating him well.
No matter how much they had volunteered, he disliked them being seen as insignificant people who were the 3rd Prince's associates while being pushed around here and there.
If they were at least the protagonists in content prophesied by a Grand Mage's teacher, wouldn't the treatment be somewhat different?
Moreover, anyway, the only people who could open the Leng Plateau were at most Yurik and himself.
Even talking about destruction and those who would prevent destruction, it was ultimately a rigged game between the two of them.
If they handled this matter well, it seemed the reputation of the three people would rise greatly within the kingdom.
Then ultimately Yurik's position would become solid.
If they gathered power like that, Yurik could also have enough strength to have a proper confrontation with the Queen.
Ah, if possible, he hoped people with military power would come over to their side. Except mages. Mages might notice that he was committing fraud.
"Come to think of it, what happened to Cellinne, Eva, and Valter?"
"It seems they were moved from death row standby to the medical room inside the royal castle. They'll receive treatment and then observe the situation afterward."
That was fortunate. The bugs would be spread out under the royal castle by now to watch over the three people.
He'd have to give them generous compensation later.
"I'm anxious. Can't we have them stay in the 3rd Prince's palace for now?"
"As soon as treatment is finished, they'll be moved over immediately."
"The recovery of the three people comes first. It won't be too late to make concrete plans after that."
"Yes."
"Since you're also included in the prophecy I made, rest for a while and replenish your strength."
"I will."
"And keep doing anything that can protect your body consistently... No, what? Why are you laughing like that?"
Apart from combing and braiding his hair, he kept hearing giggling laughter from behind.
Whether the hair being braided came undone or not, when he whipped his head around, he could see Yurik grinning.
Why? What was the problem?
"It's the first time I've seen hyung so enthusiastic."
"Me?"
"Hyung always had many thoughts. Apart from that, you're so earnestly immersed like this."
"That's because it's just the beginning from now on. Get your head straight. Since I got the book, we're going to build up step by step from now until the enthronement."
"I understand. But it's still a bit funny."
"What's funny?"
"You're like a dad hiring a tutor so his kid brings home good grades from the academy."
Huh. If there were a tutor who could teach 100 ways to become a good king, he would have already recruited them if it were up to him.
If there were a method to advance to the throne at super high speed, he would have already looked into it.
He had to solve this first before he could save Leandros, see this world's ending, and find a way to return with his younger sibling!
As he just sighed while beating his chest, Yurik caressed his completely undone hair and spoke in a low, song-like manner.
"Still, you were cool earlier."
"Earlier? In front of the Queen?"
"Yes. The coolest I've ever seen."
He was glad that Yurik liked the trash bastard villain version of himself from another timeline.
If he had disliked it, it would have become self-hatred.
"Huh. So you liked that."
"I liked that you didn't lose to what the Queen was saying. You looked stronger than Eva when she argued with Dardin."
"Ah. Since it came up, where is Dardin? Didn't he return to the royal castle before us?"
No sooner had he finished speaking than a servant reported from beyond the door with a very small knock.
"Your Highness, Baronet Hessen has returned with urgent business."
"Let him in."
Yurik answered with the ribbon for tying his hair still in his mouth.
As soon as his permission fell, the door opened and Dardin rolled in almost like he was doing a forward roll.
He flinched in surprise, but Yurik didn't move at all.
Since Dardin came to a stop with his forehead touching the floor, he even thought for a moment that he might have fainted from excessive shock.
"Dardin?"
If Dardin had fainted, should he call a servant to show him to a physician? It would be best if Eva regained consciousness to help, but that wasn't the situation.
But as soon as he called him, Dardin sprang up and knelt in front of him.
Why was he like this? Why was he sitting on the floor when there were perfectly good chairs?
Before he could ask that, Dardin shouted loudly.
"I believe in you, Yesung! I believe in you!"
...What? Had Dardin finally lost his mind too?
