104 – Azure Devil Tower (3)
It had been about a month since Randalon usurped the throne and took his seat.
A month is not a short time.
However, from Randalon’s perspective, this particular month felt exceptionally brief.
Considering Randalon’s current circumstances from the outset, it was inevitable.
He had seized the throne through a coup, and it was unjust.
Being unjust meant that there were several territories that did not recognize him, and from Randalon’s standpoint, he had to quickly subdue them.
By any means necessary, as quickly as possible.
In that regard, Randalon was relatively fortunate.
Immediately after usurping the throne, he still had numerous soldiers and monsters at his disposal.
However, naturally, there was also the risk commensurate with borrowing the power of the demons.
From the moment he used the power of the demons to usurp the throne, the Empire would undoubtedly be watching the situation closely, and establishing friendly relations with other countries would also be difficult.
In other words, from Randalon’s perspective, he needed to quickly subdue the territories rebelling against his actions.
Essentially, if Randalon could reach that point, there was practically nothing else left to do.
To be precise, from that point onward, most of the situations arising from Randalon’s alliance with the power of the demons were manageable.
As a result, Randalon diligently subdued the territories rebelling over the past month, successfully reclaiming about 30 out of a total of 54 territories.
Of course, before usurping the throne, around 10 territories had already sided with Randalon, contributing to the impressive number within just a month.
However, despite successfully reclaiming almost 30 territories at a very rapid pace in the past month, Randalon wore a dissatisfied expression.
The reason was the number of soldiers he had invested during the past month.
He gathered all the soldiers he could gather in this month and sent them all to war, in addition to the monsters that were constantly coming out of the underground of Yeongjuseong.
The number alone was already five times the number of soldiers he originally had.
In other words, considering only the number of soldiers, it meant that Randaron should have already subjugated all the territories a long time ago, and the sacrifices Kelba demanded should also be prepared in a short time.
However, the reason why Randaron couldn’t subjugate all the territories at the moment was–
“…The red-eyed and half-faced demons are killing the monsters as they please,” they said.
-It was because the red-eyed and half-faced demons were killing the monsters that Randaron intended to use for the subjugation of the territories.
In other words, thanks to their interference, Randaron had already failed to subjugate the guys he should have subjugated in the past, and–
“Ha.”
Kelba also spoke with an incredulous expression at Randaron’s words.
“So, those guys are causing trouble again, aren’t they?”
“Yes, what can we do about it?”
“…”
Kelba, who started to feel a headache at Randaron’s words, began to ponder.
“As you know, time is running out. If we don’t subjugate all the territories as quickly as possible and bring the legion here as you said… the situation could become dangerous.”
While looking at Randaron, who was speaking with an urgent expression, Kelba began to ponder for a long time.
Soon after.
“…There’s no other choice.”
As if he had made up his mind, Kelba muttered something.
“Listen carefully. Gather the monsters you can gather from now on and send them to one side of the territory after a few days, spreading rumors instead. Not too big, but naturally. If we gather them like that…”
He spoke with a serious expression.
“I’ll handle it as the current deity.”
“…Deity? You?”
“Yes.”
“Didn’t we talk about this last time? Manifesting in such an incomplete state permanently drains your power.”
“But if those guys keep interfering, there’s no choice. So get ready. I’ll prepare too.”
With those words, Kelba quietly moved away and disappeared.
####
Kim Hyunwoo is in his late twenties.
He hasn’t crossed into his forties yet, and he hasn’t even hit his thirties.
In other words, what he wants to say is precisely this.
To himself, not yet in his thirties, the fact that he has a daughter with a seemingly beautiful appearance is absurd, and he genuinely thinks so.
“…Dad, you say?”
“Yes, your dad.”
“…Me?”
“Yes.”
Even after asking three times for confirmation, as she continued to nod without any denial, Kim Hyunwoo began hastily recalling the hero roster from ten years ago, just like when dealing with the Nereid River.
But, of course, there was no woman with blue hair like Matapju in Kim Hyunwoo’s mind.
‘Even if I try to think of a similar case to River… there’s still none.’
At least among the 1-star heroes, he conversed with only a few, including River.
But among those heroes, there was no beautiful woman with blue hair and a playful smile like Matapju.
…because there was no hero there calling Kim Hyunwoo ‘dad.’
“…Uh, who are you?”
Kim Hyunwoo cautiously asked.
In truth, even if he was careful, Kim Hyunwoo was well aware that the question itself was a nuisance. If the other person knows me and feels affection, but I am forgetting the memories, it’s only natural to feel a bit sorry ethically.
However, dealing with someone who doesn’t remember properly but claims to remember was an impossible task. That’s why Kim Hyunwoo asked the question like that.
And…
“He- I thought Dad wouldn’t remember. Still, if you hear this, will you remember? Well, we always talked a lot at the orphanage.”
She smiled as if expecting something, with a slightly melancholic expression between her bright faces. However, not long after, she recovered her expression and continued.
“…Orphanage?”
“Yes, an orphanage. You’ve always supported me, haven’t you?”
He tilted his head for a moment with a questioning look at her words. In Arteil’s territory, there was no orphanage. As he pondered, suddenly, one memory flashed through his mind, and without realizing it, he looked at the girl.
Thinking about the hints she gave, there was one thing that came to Kim Hyunwoo’s mind. That’s why.
“Could it be, Shadra?”
In a moment of curiosity, Kim Hyunwoo called out that name unintentionally. Hearing those words, Matapju, with a bright smile, responded.
Pok!
“!”
“Dad, as expected! Do you remember right away!?”
In an instant, Elena wrapped her arms around Kim Hyunwoo’s neck and hugged him tightly.
With a surprised expression, River, who had previously looked shocked, now opened his mouth with a dumbfounded expression.
However, since Elena and River were behind him, Kim Hyunwoo, who couldn’t see their facial expressions, was truly surprised as he spoke.
“No, really?”
“Yes! It’s true, Dad!”
In response to Kim Hyunwoo’s bewildered words, Matapju answered with a teasing laughter, and Kim Hyunwoo, without realizing it, opened his mouth.
It was because, right now, Kim Hyunwoo had clearly remembered where he had a connection with her ten years ago.
‘…Clearly, she was a character in the orphanage mini-game?’
Orphanage mini-game.
…Just by its name, it might seem like a very strange game, but in fact, this orphanage mini-game was one of the daily quests in Arteal where you could gain honor by sponsoring an orphanage and playing a simple mini-game.
And Shadra, the character in the orphanage Kim Hyunwoo sponsored, was a very grateful presence to the former Kim Hyunwoo.
The orphanage mini-game not only allowed you to gain honor by sponsoring an orphanage and playing a simple mini-game but also, if you talked to the characters in the orphanage for a certain amount of time or if your affection was very high, you could earn honor every day.
However, since the orphanages were usually randomly assigned, sometimes, if the children in the orphanage were not easily approachable, you couldn’t easily gain honor.
But in Kim Hyunwoo’s case, thanks to Shadra, he could earn 100 or more honor points a day by talking to her for about 10 minutes.
Although she didn’t know at first, later on, she liked talking to Kim Hyunwoo more than playing with her friends, which was so peculiar.
Anyway, thanks to that, Kim Hyunwoo had a vivid memory of raising honor diligently, converting it into red stones, and buying gifts from 5-star heroes. Therefore, when he saw the keyword “orphanage” and the blue hair, he could recall the name.
So, when Kim Hyunwoo made a surprised and puzzled expression.
On the other hill.
Lorel and Giral, instead of embarking on a demon hunt to erase their notorious reputation, were gazing at the Lord’s Castle according to orders.
“…”
“…”
Looking at Shardra, who was tightly embraced by Kim Hyun-woo, they unconsciously exchanged bewildered expressions.
“…”
Lorel and Giral realized that they shared the same expression.
In reality, they were well aware that, strictly speaking, they held somewhat antagonistic positions toward each other.
However, beyond the clearly antagonistic stance, a subtle sense of camaraderie had grown between them, enough to engage in a few words of conversation between meals and endless gazing at the Lord’s Castle, as there was nothing disgustingly vacant between them.
“…When you say ‘dad,’ don’t you naturally wrap your arms around your waist?”
“I agree.”
They spoke absentmindedly, discussing matters while looking out of the window.
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“A fox, isn’t it?”
“That’s right.”
“Do you see it? Intentionally embracing with the neck to press the chest tightly.”
“The leader can’t perform such actions.”
“Unfortunately, it seems our master will have a harder time. Ah, I misspoke.”
“…Indeed, I also made a mistake.”
“Let’s forget about each other.”
“Let’s do that.”
They continued to gaze at the Castle of the Azure Lord.
The Blue Tower’s aura, Shard, remained close to Kim Hyunwoo, not letting go.
“…If we tell the master about this, he’ll probably be quite melancholic, don’t you think?”
“Rather than being melancholic… well, maybe a bit tormented. Mostly by us watching from the sidelines.”
“…Right?”
“…Yeah.”
They fell into silence.
After a short while.
“Still, we should let him know, right?”
“We have to.”
“…It wasn’t like this before, but these days, it’s a bit tough.”
“…I’m going to face difficulties soon too.”
With those words, the two turned their bodies quietly with a somewhat self-deprecating smile.