Chapter 358 – 31. Maintenance Time
“Yes. Thank you for letting me know.”
-You’re welcome. “I have received so much from Soyoung.”
“Oh my. I told you to call me Mother, not Soyoung.”
-… Oh, mother.
“Hehe. Yes♡”
Han So-young smiled happily at the words of her adoptive son’s fiancée, Iron Blood Princess Helena Glazer.
She felt sorry for the other children of her clan, with whom she had developed a bond over the past few months, but the one who cared and liked her the most was Helena, who was still in the Glazer Empire. It can’t be helped because the density of the time spent together is different.
She is an old lover whom So-young knew for several years before she got to know Si-woo.
Therefore, Helena’s presence made Soyoung happy.
But the news Helena delivered was not like that.
“Then I’ll see you next time.”
-Uh, um. Yes. I’ll see you in the near future. … Oh, … Mr.
“Yes. I guess so.
-Oh, yes. Then…
After a conversation that could have been unnecessarily long, like ping-pong, the rally ended.
As Helena’s face and voice disappeared from her communication crystal sphere, Soyoung Han immediately fell into her thoughts.
It was none other than what she said.
‘Okay. It’s time for the empire to start paying attention.’
What Helena said was the kind I had expected.
It’s about her strangely long vacation.
And she wonders why she doesn’t return to the empire.
These are all complaints that Glaser had been anticipating since he came to the Kingdom of Palania.
‘It’s still rather quiet.’
There’s something uneasy about the Glazer Empire, but they won’t be able to show it.
Not only would no country be foolish enough to reveal to the outside world that it had a feud with its own SS-level hero, but it was still a little longer than the planned vacation. Also, there is too much attention now on the Kingdom of Palania.
Of course, it’s all because of Han Si-woo.
Completing one of the four major dungeons had such a big impact.
Not only does it end there, but there is even news of promotion to S class.
‘They’ll just be watching with suspicion for a while, right?’
Han So-young decided to ignore it.
Anyway, as previously thought, there is little that can be done in the empire.
The Glazer Empire, like the continent’s most powerful nation, will move secretly to protect its own prestige.
There’s nothing certain yet, just heartache.
And if you make careful decisions and move, various incidents will occur all over the continent.
For example, Futashima, which Han Si-woo plans to visit soon.
“I guess this is the part that is at least helpful.”
Of course, it would be better if there were no accidents caused by demons.
Especially timing is a problem.
The at least three weeks that Shiu was on Futashima spanned a period of important days.
That important day was none other than her due date.
As time passed, we got closer to that point.
So, until now, I had tried hard to cover up my swollen belly with magic, but I had no intention of doing so in the future. Since there was no need to hide the existence of the child after birth anyway, it was time to slowly turn the surrounding doubts into certainty.
‘Anyway, I can stop everything that happens here. What I’m worried about is…’
Helena.
It was her.
It is a self-evident fact that this incident is related to Han Si-woo.
Unless she’s a fool, she can’t know.
If so, the Glazer imperial family would naturally put pressure on Helena.
She has so many competitors, not necessarily her entire royal family.
These are not other princes or princesses who will miss the opportunity to discredit Helena, who has already been raising her stock price recently.
Since she has established herself so stably and is leading the way, it is unlikely that she will be defeated in the race to succeed her just because of her curiosity, but there will be a blow. Isn’t it political to increase damage dozens of times when there was no damage to begin with?
If she’s a competent Helena, she can handle it on her own.
But Soyoung didn’t just want to believe her.
‘I want to do whatever I can…’
She racked her brain, but she couldn’t come up with a good idea.
Han So-young was a wise and wise person, but she had no talent for politics.
Even if there was a solution that came to mind right away, she wasn’t sure if it would really help Helena.
You never know how the situation may change depending on how you use politics.
“… Good.”
After finishing her thoughts, Soyoung got up from her chair.
She is well aware of her own shortcomings, so why should she suffer alone?
She has many people around her who can make up for her shortcomings.
“So what do you think, son?”
“Ah. You came because of that problem.”
And what Soyoung found was none other than her son Siwoo.
Helena would be reluctant to receive help from her fiancé even in this area.
Because she has already gained a lot just by being engaged to him.
But in her opinion, the person who could best solve this problem was her son Han Si-woo.
“Yes. Is there any way?”
“Hmm. Honestly… Not right now.”
“Ah…”
A sigh flowed from Soyoung’s mouth, but Siwoo had nothing to do.
From the beginning, I took all of this into consideration when I talked to Helena.
Perhaps because she knows that, she has considered ways to reduce the damage.
“I see.”
“Yes. There is also a second prince, so any number of moves could be counterproductive.”
“Second Prince… Ha, that’s right.”
Han So-young frowns with a deep sigh.
I forgot.
Although others thought it was a nonsensical concern, the 2nd prince coincidentally coincided with their plan and slandered Helena and Han So-young by slandering them. It is obvious that he will probably get excited about this and belittle Helena.
“The twin princesses will step in to help with this matter. So don’t worry too much.”
“Yeah… Okay.”
She becomes sullen and tries to leave Si-woo’s office with her shoulders slumped.
Siwoo felt somewhat sorry for that sight, so he talked about his plans after visiting Futashima, which he was still thinking about.
“I will go to the Empire again in the fall.”
“Huh?”
Soyoung turned her body at the sudden words that came from behind her.
And she asked back.
“Going to Glazer? In the fall?”
“Yes. After returning from Futashima and spending some time in Palania. It will probably be early fall by then.”
“For what reason?”
“It’s nothing special…”
Si-woo called So-young to his side with a gesture and whispered in her ear.
In fact, there is no need to do that.
The security in his office is comparable to that of a royal castle, and there are only two hats in place.
It’s a secret that isn’t that important, except that the schedule hasn’t been confirmed yet.
Soyoung’s eyes widened when she heard Siwoo’s whisper.
“Really?”
“Then it must be a joke.”
Soyoung was embarrassed by her son’s grinning smile.
She knows full well that her Si-woo wouldn’t say something like this, even if it was just a joke. Siwoo is usually very playful, but he also tends to be like a sword. He is good at distinguishing between what is okay to joke about and what is not.
“Well, I guess not. But…”
“I understand. But there’s a way to it all. It’s…”
Siwoo whispers in her ear again.
Soyoung unconsciously flinched at her tickling breath.
Aside from that, what Siwoo said was quite plausible.
It looks like the Glazer Empire will definitely accept the offer.
“Good. He’s our son, after all.”
“I’m glad you liked it.”
“Hehe, yes.”
Siwoo smiled at her and pushed her chair back slightly.
The chair on wheels he bought at the store of a former Hero merchant moves smoothly, and his thighs come out from inside the desk. Soyoung smiled at the sight of how easily one person could sit down and sat on it.
And she asked bluntly.
“Are you trying to tempt Maman?”
“What if it’s true?”
“Then… You have to deal with it♡”
Han So-young cutely sticks out her lips and closes her eyes.
Siwoo kissed her and wrapped his arms around her waist.
Soon, his office was filled with strange moans instead of the crunching sound of the fountain pen.
“Each!”
“…? Are you cold?”
“What? You idiot! That can’t be possible!”
Kismega Adlen became angry at the words of the half-orc monk, Otan.
“Who do you think I am? I’m an SS-class hero, one of only four on the continent. But a cold? That’s nonsense.”
She grumbled and wiped the area around her nose with the back of her hand.
It wasn’t because I was embarrassed, it really wasn’t a cold.
I never got chills, I just suddenly got an itchy nose and sneezed.
“I guess so.”
Otan also agreed and nodded her head.
“Rather than being cold, this place is… Hot.”
He looked around and groaned at the endless sandy desert.
Although he has some shortcomings compared to other party members, he is still a monk who has reached a fairly high level. Although he was armed with a body and mind that had been trained through trials, the beating down on him was still difficult.
“Hmph. It’s hot. This is all I have. Poor orc.”
“Haha. It looks like frequency training is still lacking.”
“Even if it’s not enough, it’s still not enough! So use this!”
Adlen walks ahead, grumbling incessantly.
Otan looked at her happily from behind.
She has a bad reputation because of her very bitter personality and her foul mouth.
But he knew well that Adlen was not mean-spirited.
Even now, don’t you give yourself a heat dissipation artifact by sweating behind your neck?
A truly dishonest woman.
That was Otan’s assessment of Adlen.
“Hmm. Come to think of it, I’ve heard that rumor before.”
“Huh? What are you saying all of a sudden? Be quiet because it’s hot, no, it’s noisy so stay still.”
“They say that when you talk about someone in an unattended place, your ears get itchy, or you start to sneeze.”
“Hah? That’s a story from a certain country and a certain level. If you collect things like that, there’s no end to it, right?”
“Haha. That’s true.”
“Tsk. It’s so plausible that it’s annoying.”
Is it a coincidence?
For some reason, the faces of two people came to mind after I sneezed.
Han So-young and Han Si-woo.
The benefactor she really likes, and the vicious man who took that benefactor away from her.
“Damn. This doesn’t make sense.”
Her son, Ren, gritted his teeth and walked roughly through the sandy desert.
“… I’m sorry.”
“What? What are you saying all of a sudden again?”
“For no reason, Bindo asked me to go this way…”
“Stop being so stupid!”
Her son, Ren, turns her body and shouts at Otan, who is slightly intimidated.
Unlike before, her expression was truly irritated.
“It’s not your responsibility! It’s mine!”
“Miss Adelene…”
“I’m the one who asked you to come to this dungeon! I’m the one who told you to choose your path! And I’m the leader of the party! So it’s all my fault, you idiot!”
Adlen shouted loudly and collapsed in his seat, exhausted.
Perhaps because she continued to get angry, her body suddenly lost strength.
What she said just now was sincere.
A leader and a warrior are in a position of responsibility.
That’s why she regretted it.
Why did she bring her colleagues to this place without proper preparation?
‘Damn… It’s really strange. How can there be such a large desert inside a dungeon?’
One of the four major dungeons, Dolumuz Dungeon located in the southern part of the Glazer Empire.
This is where the empire has been gathering information and preparing for an attack for several years.
So I thought it would be okay.
You and your fellow members are strong.
The Han Si-woo clan had only conquered the four similar dungeons, and since they had information about the dungeons, they believed they could do it in a month.
But it wasn’t.
The four major dungeons had a level of difficulty that made one understand why they had not been conquered for hundreds of years. It is through the mysterious characteristic of a vast area that cannot be understood.
The Adlen Party, which overlooked that, ended up in this situation.
The members were scattered.
When will they be able to meet again?
I wonder if anyone will have a problem before we reunite.
Adlen desperately hoped.
I hope the members can hold out until the rescue team arrives in a month.
