Chapter 176 – 176 – Prince?
Although it is so absurd, it is not difficult to understand the point.
From now on, ‘aptitude’ will no longer be an individual’s inherent personality. I will give aptitude that is envied to good people, and aptitude that is despised by children who are less developed.
그러나 그것은 마왕의 파편들과 한통속인 개새끼의 말처럼 들리지 않는다. Rather, at first glance, it feels like a fair improvement plan.
···To me, who has lived with the so-called aptitude for rugs all my life, it honestly sounds tempting.
Perhaps satisfied with our bewildered expressions, a deeper smile spread across Danar’s face.
“I heard about that train accident in yesterday’s newsletter, Tan. I was unbearably proud.”
“···Hey. Wasn’t that an accident caused by the people you sent?”
“Do you know that a knight of Elan cannot use hardware that requires firewood to be processed as a weapon? It was a fragment of Edin that held the bomb that almost killed you and the passengers.”
And you were the one who handed it over to him. You’ve been laying lies from the beginning.
They seem confident that we won’t know anything. Conversely, he doesn’t seem to know about the power that Goddess Ishtar gave me.
Of course, Garam tried to refute with blood flashing in his eyeballs. I raised my hand to stop him. He said with his mouth that he wanted to come in first.
Even if he only tells treacherous lies, it’s okay. Because the purpose and intention of a trick can be guessed just like the trick.
In addition, I am very concerned about those blind-eyed elves lined up behind him, the ‘guardians of the royal capital.’
Evenna, who has faded skin and hair like them, is engaged in a close fight with Rod and holding him in one place at this very moment.
The probability of that happening may not be high, but if those elves called ‘Guardians of the Royal Capital’ are incredibly strong like Evenna…
During the confrontation, I secretly covered the sister who was trying to take care of Thena with my leg. Eshen, who understood what I meant, pretended to lean on the railing and helped with the curtains.
There is a big difference between a condition that is not life-threatening and a condition that allows combat. We will do our best to stop the sparks that will fly to Thena, but we must also be prepared just in case.
Meanwhile, Danar, who was absorbed in his own story, didn’t seem to notice our actions.
“Porters. Professional porters who are party mules, peddlers whose daily routine is door-to-door delivery, and stevedores who barely feed themselves with little money. Your neighbors despise you, spit on you, and drive you out to the outskirts because you are the ones carrying the burden. But you. “You jumped into the fire of tragedy for your neighbors. Even if you had turned away, who would have criticized you for being so helpless? This is proof of a very noble spirit.”
“I thought it was cool.”
“But what about them?”
Danar pointed his finger at the ceiling. Nidrogar looked up carefully and said sheepishly.
“Is there someone hanging there that I can’t see?”
“···I’m referring to a banquet hall somewhere upstairs. That hall is full of losers who waste opportunities with arrogance and chaffs who only pursue momentary desires without any sense of duty.”
“It would be disappointing to hear from the people who volunteered to respond to a high-risk request. They even called you in a hurry, saying you were on fire, and then criticized you in a place where they couldn’t hear?”
Danar frowned strangely. It seems to be an expression that says, ‘Please, let’s talk.’
I pretended to be as calm as possible. Conversely, I hoped that my intention to waste time would not be read on my face.
“There are few warriors among them who deserve respect. Stealing achievements with family power or personal connections is common, regardless of the adventurer’s level. Special parties are no exception. Just like you, they feel the duty of adventurers. “There are only a few heroes left in the world. The only difference is that they have succeeded in building their reputation. This is an era where gangsters and commoners like Adamantone Sunstorm are all over the world.”
“···Are we an exception? That’s surprising again.”
“Hey, Lennie. Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Let’s not ask questions knowingly. It means that we should reflect on ourselves.”
“So let me say this. Isn’t it unreasonable that aptitude is born with it? It should be received according to one’s nobility through acquired knowledge! Why should those who have proven their nobility have to live in the bottom because of their aptitude? “Are those who have proven their vulgarity supposed to live the life of a master based on their aptitude?”
Danar even raised his voice.
It’s not just because we’re extremely distracted that we stop talking. The battle between Lord and Evenna, a good kilometres away, was becoming increasingly violent. It will probably be difficult to hear the sound of a glacier breaking in the air above the water again in the future.
Nidrogar glanced at me and exchanged an ominous look. Perhaps the reason the Lord does not come to his daughter and colleagues who are now in trouble is because he is caught up in that fearsome battle.
I don’t even want to think about that possibility, but what if you lose?
I kicked the toes of Erina, who was standing behind me. She must have understood my intention, as Erina slipped out to the back of her group.
Erina has the ‘Dawn Dream Curtain’, an artifact of hiding that was handed over to her from the residents of the Demon World.
It emits a subtle invisibility gas that hides allies from the eyes of enemies. The artificial fog, which was not properly visible in the pollution-filled demon world, will still be invisible now that the crumbly snow particles and stone dust are scattered.
There are two options. Either we can use the fog to attack in an instant and take Danar hostage, or we can all suddenly disappear before Danar’s eyes.
I don’t know which way my colleagues behind me will decide, but I need to keep Danar’s gaze until I activate the device.
Would it be enough to pretend to go along with his bullshit philosophy?
“Giving great aptitudes only to people who have great aptitudes? Assuming that’s possible, it’s an innovative idea.”
“I am so happy that you agree. It is possible.”
“How?”
“I will use the power of the Demon God emanating from the World Shrine. I will let you know about the rest if you willingly cooperate with me.”
Thanks for the good information.
“No, what I’m saying is, how are you going to judge qualifications? They say you know ten ways, but you don’t know one person’s heart. Who in the world can accurately judge which person is a real person and which person is a loser?”
“Even the wisest judges make mistakes, but isn’t it better to have laws than for the world to become a murky hell? This is the same.
Do you know Emperor Clebus, the strongest hero in Armatam, who was obsessed with hunting people through sword fighting and led the country to tilt? The hero of the East, ‘Hell Sword Obu’, wandered around looking for the strong, killing thousands of people and disappearing for fifty years. If he were still alive and in his sixties, he would have killed hundreds more. “Your former comrade Adamantone Sunstorm’s foolish actions are nothing more than child’s play compared to that.”
“···Yes. There are a lot of trash warriors who are just strong and have no sense of responsibility.”
Adamantone, who was dead, answered. Danar continued talking, ignoring it as if he didn’t hear it.
“If they, who were born evil, had not even been given the birth of a hero, the scale of the tragedy would not have become so great! Power is responsibility. Shouldn’t someone accept the role of watchdog?”
“But do you really have to be the watcher? Are you going to decide that without discussing it with anyone?”
“You don’t trust me? I can see the distrust in your eyes. Thanks to you, I can get to the point naturally.”
Danar approached and tried to reach for my shoulder. However, even though they were a few meters away, the party members quickly stepped forward and stood guard. The king quietly retreated and looked at me with anxious eyes.
“Then you decide.”
“···What?”
“I am asking you to fulfill the role of judge with me. Only those who love can melt hatred, and the world can only be changed by those who act. Pain and sacrifice will certainly follow, but the total amount can be left to natural time. It won’t be long compared to that. In that changing world, prince.”
The tone of voice filled with earnest wishes is earnest, like an actor reading a script.
If that appeal is the result of practice, it must have been mastered over a very long period of time.
···Wait a minute, what? Prince?
“With the righteousness you showed before the overturned transcontinental train, you will become a warrior who plants the seeds of worthy warriors.”
“Wait a minute, I…”
“You receive the aptitude of a warrior as an example, and you give the aptitude of a warrior to those who are worthy. You will command the warrior army of the new era that has been formed! Didn’t you think that at least once? That you could do better. “Rather than those who hold their necks high and show off their patheticness just because they were born warriors, you, who have lived a healthy life thanks to your aptitude as a porter, will be able to use such a gift better!”
Was it so?
No, it definitely was. ‘It would be better if I had been born a warrior.’ It’s a thought that used to float around in my mind, vaguely somewhere between jealousy and confidence.
Since I can’t be reborn, it was a delusion until now…
“Do not accept the fate that the gods have arbitrarily written into your soul. Raise the whip and sound the alarm in a world that uses differences as a basis for hatred! Don’t you deserve it, having walked into the fire for all human beings in that role? ?”
“···Isn’t it poisonous to say words that are too tempting? You acknowledge a human son and bring him under your command? The ‘King of Thorns’?”
While I hesitated for a moment, Lennie said in disbelief.
“Do you know that Tan is human?”
“I know it when I see it.”
“Of course, you can tell when you see it. There are no scars on Tannhäuser Bantais’ ears.”
There is anger in his voice.
The temperature was now chillingly cold, with pieces of ice occasionally crackling under my feet. And thanks to this, Lennie’s ears are red like the collar of the legendary gift old man.
It would have been very cute. If only the crooked healed scar along the shell of the ear wasn’t clearly visible.
“It doesn’t matter if he grew up later than his peers. His childhood friend, Thena Everlight, can testify. In other words, he is an ordinary human being who doesn’t live long. Are you really trying to inherit Tan like that? Tan, what kind of trick is this? “Even if you don’t know, it’s a lie. Don’t make a harsh face!”
“So are you angry, child of the forest, who wasn’t allowed to live as an elf?”
Lennie’s expression did not change, but her shoulders flinched significantly. Danar looked at Leni with a sad expression.
“The one who sits at the top of Elan society, trampling on half-bloods, the most extreme discriminator, Danar Numen Evennarsson. Was it unbearable to see such a person accept an illegitimate human child? Your bloodline that was exiled, your life that had its ears shaved off. Do you feel like you are being completely denied?”
“···You···!”
The reason in the dangerously shaking eyes collapses. Leni gripped the hilt of her sword with a deadly ferocity in her grip.
Then, the ‘Guardians of the Royal Capital’, who had been flinching to find a loophole in the party, took a step forward. In the midst of the immediate tension, Danar sighed.
“But I also know the sorrow. Her mother is the only half elf.”
“Shut up!”
“Those who stand in the middle ground are always forced to take harsh extremes. The wrong people were aiming for the throne of power that was my mother’s, so I had no other choice. If I were to become the ruler of Jeokseong, it would be the situation of the people of Little Elan like you. It might get better.”
“How?”
“Isn’t it obvious, Tan? If we become a world that doesn’t discriminate between people based on their aptitude, we will naturally be able to persuade them. Birth of a race is also not the basis for absolute evaluation. I intend to entrust such an important task to you. “It’s a difficult request. Still, will you be with me?”
“Lenny is right. I won’t outlive you. If you want an heir, wouldn’t it be better to take a new wife?”
“There is no other woman in my life but Calais.”
For a split second, Eshen and Nidroga’s eyes glanced at me.
A corner of my chest suddenly throbs. I guess that’s the part that handles my conscience.
“And what I want is not a successor, but a helper. An advisor who can lend me, trapped in the narrow Elan Forest, the wise perspective of an adventurer who has wandered the world. A friend who is like my other half and understands my intentions, but who is different from my other half and can scold me for my shortcomings. “
I’m in big trouble. The voice of the author, who almost had his balls cut off by Eshen, sounds like the speech of a famous soldier.
And it really sounds like my father desperately wants reconciliation with me.
“And…Sometimes, my flesh and blood that reminds me of Calais, who left for a place I can’t see.”
“I kind of understand. Why did the Lord say he didn’t want to hear it from the beginning?”
“···Hmm?”
And in the meantime, Erina reached the ceiling 2 meters above the guy’s head.
Although it is surrounded by a smoke screen from the artifact ‘Dawn Dream Curtain’, it appears to be visible to the user’s allies.
In fact, it is natural to identify enemies. If the group of survivors from the Demon World that were the original owners had scattered because they couldn’t see each other, they wouldn’t have been able to attack us properly.
Erina is climbing the stalactites as if she were rock climbing. Florica is hanging precariously, holding on to the strap around her waist.
I deliberately didn’t even squint and checked with the edge of my vision. Ready for raid. Let’s hold our gaze just a little longer.
“It’s wrong for the world to discriminate against porters. I’m tired of warriors who lack spirit showing off. We all need to be evaluated based on our character, not our aptitude, and have our aptitude redistributed accordingly. Is that what you mean? Distributive justice by taking away a part of our destiny. Are you going to hand it over to ‘s share?”
“Wasn’t it tempting to you just a little while ago? Why suddenly-“
“Because it all sounds like nonsense. The truth is, you don’t care about that at all.”
10cm forward to the top of his head. Erina does her best to move slowly. If she moves rashly and drops even a single stone dust, she will be caught.
“Let me tell you what I think. You are either completely crazy, or you have very sinister intentions and are doing your best to lie.”
“Why do you think so?”
“For example, my beloved mother… See, that’s it.”
“What do you mean by continuing without saying anything?”
“As soon as you say ‘my mother,’ your expression changes. I know because I sometimes make that expression when I look in the mirror.”
But mine isn’t as dramatic as that guy’s.
Do you know what? If you practice moving your facial muscles, you can change your appearance to some extent.
It may sound absurd, but it happens more often than you might think. It’s the same principle as looking in the mirror and practicing your facial expressions to make a good impression.
Actors from well-known theater companies go one step further and portray faces that are more handsome or uglier than the original. According to the script, if we are blood relatives, we practice making similar facial expressions.
There are only two moments where we can see their original faces. When the role has been completed. Or when an audience member invades the stage and their composure is broken.
This is something I learned thanks to Adamantone. While drunk, he bought tickets with money for the party and went to see a play as a group, but the bastard pulled out a knife and started a fight. This is because the content of the play is the conversion of a crazy warrior.
And now, his face…
At first I thought they looked similar, but not anymore. There is a big difference in the appearance of the facial muscles. If it’s true that the initial resemblance was created by practicing, it would give me goosebumps. What am I to this guy?
You can guess it.
“The regret and pain of what you don’t have.”
“···What do you mean, son?”
“Your initial point is still valid. No matter how well you present it, your plan is ultimately a massacre project. The only difference is whether the born porters will be killed or the people you decided to be porters will be killed. My mother really loved you like that. ?”
“Burnt.”
“Do you really think I’m your son? Or do you just want to rewrite reality?”
I laughed at the guy’s core that was gradually coming to the surface.
“Do you want me to become living proof and join in on your delusion that you are connected to your mother?”
I often get goosebumps when I see babies whose expressions change completely. This is because it reminds us that animals that can wear masks are dangerous.
Danar twitched his eyes viciously and drew his sword. The force is too sharp to be considered as something he wielded to discipline his own son. It looks like he got very heated.
To the point where you don’t even know that a third force has appeared behind you.
···Third force?
“Lay down your weapons and surrender, Danar Numen Evennarson! If you do not obey, I will kill your vassals one by one.”
Danar looked behind him, his jaw twitching and chewing in anger. Our party members also stood on tiptoe and looked over Danar’s shoulder.
Danar and the royal capital’s guardians on the railing connected in a row were now surrounded. This is because knights wearing armor appeared behind them.
Practical ruggedness. Armor straps worn slightly loosely to absorb shock. It somehow resembles Lennie.
It’s a little different in that he’s carrying a brooding elf hostage, one by one, at his side. Could it be that Soelan’s rebel friends that Lenny was talking about?
Danar tilted his head.
“···What?”
“Didn’t you hear, dethroned king? He said he took his vassals hostage!”
A cold voice, and what follows next…
“Hey, guys? Are you there? I can’t see!”
“And your kingdom’s greatest strength, the grassroots guardians!”
“···Is that you?”
“Tan? Tan? Black, Huh, Huhhhhh!
“···Stop struggling, grassroots guardian! We can take you down first!”
“Now, wait a minute! Everyone! I don’t know who you are, but let’s say it in our own language! Nanya, why are you there?!”
“Aaaaah! These bastards are really pulling out their swords! Lenny! Tena! Monica! Go Nidro! Ehhhhh!”
“Why is everyone picking on me every time that shit happens and looking for me last? Isn’t my help really urgent?”
Eshen muttered helplessly.
“And how on earth is this going?”
