123 – Legitimate Visit (3)
The King of the Kalan Kingdom, Shasha Kalan, had been treating each other as business partners for quite some time.
Shasha Kalan, the King of the Kalan Kingdom, utilized the Absolute Master of Darkness as a sword.
The Absolute Master of Darkness used Shasha Kalan as a means to gather gifts comfortably.
Of course, the relationship was not entirely equal, as the Absolute Master of Darkness had been unilaterally raised by Shasha Kalan. Despite being aware of this fact, their business relationship had persisted for a long time.
In this business relationship, Shasha Kalan had never seen the Absolute Master of Darkness display genuine emotions even once.
As a business partner, her face was always expressionless.
Whether things were going well due to some fortunate event or going awry unexpectedly, the Absolute Master of Darkness remained emotionally detached by default.
Therefore, Shasha Kalan had never once imagined that the Absolute Master of Darkness would show a different emotion in front of her.
However.
“…Huff, huff…”
“…”
Upon entering Lartania, Shasha Kalan observed the Absolute Master of Darkness, who seemed to be excessively inhaling air and taking deep breaths to calm down.
Even though they hadn’t met the lord or exchanged words yet, the face was flushed, and the ears, which had never reddened even in the cold northern regions, were now a shade of crimson.
Additionally, the corners of the mouth displayed a mix of confusion, switching between a smile and sadness in a matter of seconds. Due to this rapid change in emotions, the area around the eyes was moist.
“…”
Watching that scene, Shasha unconsciously opened her mouth.
At least she had never seen the Absolute Master of Darkness in such a state before.
No, it was not just ‘such a state,’ but the fact that someone capable of effortlessly demolishing the walls of a territory with a single strike could exhibit such a cute expression was beyond belief.
Therefore, as she gazed at her absentmindedly, she soon exhaled lightly as she approached the looming Lord’s Castle.
Naturally, she was here not because she wanted to but because she was fulfilling her business partner’s request.
In other words, there should be no shortcomings in handling the business.
“…Meeting the Lord of Lartania shouldn’t make me that nervous.”
Because it was the demand of the Absolute Ruler of Darkness, Shasha, with a slight tension, fortified her resolve and entered the lordship’s residence.
And when she saw Kim Hyunwoo’s face after a while, Shasha instinctively adjusted her mask, revealing a smile.
At least at this moment, Shashakalan had to wear a smile to faithfully fulfill her demand.
Had to wear a smile—
“Long time no see, my lo-.”
“Oops-“
“-rd…”
-Seeing the Lord of Lartania, Shashakalan sensed that her mask had slightly slipped off, hearing the cute giggles from the side.
Kim Hyunwoo was initially quite puzzled by the situation.
Because the situation itself seemed very peculiar.
However, after some time had passed, Kim Hyunwoo could figure out why the Absolute Ruler of Darkness and Shashakalan had come together to the territory of Lartania.
“…So, you’re saying she’s the great hero who raised the Kalan Kingdom.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Watching Shasha speak with a smile, Kim Hyunwoo looked at the Absolute Ruler of Darkness.
For some reason, without even meeting her eyes properly, he subtly turned his gaze elsewhere, then soon asked,
“I understand that part, but…”
Without explicitly saying “So what?” Kim Hyunwoo looked at Shasha.
Up to now, Kim Hyunwoo had gained two pieces of information from the conversation.
One was that the Absolute Ruler of Darkness had helped the Kalan Kingdom.
The other was that the Absolute Ruler of Darkness no longer needed to stay hidden in the dark and would reveal herself externally.
And from these two pieces of information, Kim Hyunwoo couldn’t find any connection to the territory of Lartania.
Therefore, looking perplexed, Shasha naturally smiled and continued,
“I was about to get to the point, is that okay?”
“Yes, go ahead…”
“As you may already know, the Norba Kingdom is currently under occupation by the demons. More precisely, by the dirty lackeys and the demons themselves. That’s why there’s quite a high level of unrest within the Kalan Kingdom.”
Nodding at Shasha’s words, Kim Hyunwoo asked,
“…Is the situation really that tense? As far as I know, the Kalan Kingdom hasn’t suffered any significant losses.”
“That’s correct. The Kalan Kingdom hasn’t suffered any losses yet. But as you know, Your Lordship, unrest doesn’t necessarily stem from actual events, right?”
Nodding in agreement with Shasha’s words, Kim Hyunwoo acknowledged.
As she said, unrest didn’t always arise from unfortunate events happening.
“Of course, as I mentioned to Your Lordship, with the Absolute Ruler of Darkness stepping out externally, the immediate unrest has significantly decreased. But that’s only around the kingdom’s territory, not the surrounding territories. Especially the outlying areas.”
“I see.”
“So, I’ve come to make a proposal regarding this matter.”
“…A proposal?”
At Kim Hyunwoo’s question, Shasha, as if waiting, spoke,
“As far as I know, Your Lordship has twice blocked the demons’ forces with a large-scale magic that doesn’t respond to dispelling.”
“…Is this about providing a technology for large-scale magic that doesn’t respond to dispelling?”
Kim Hyunwoo, fearing that Shasha might mention missiles, stared at her fixedly, ready to reject her if she even hinted at it. For him, even landmines were fine, but missiles must never be disclosed to other territories.
However, contrary to Kim Hyun-woo’s thoughts, Shasha spoke up.
“If you would do that, I would truly appreciate it, but of course, I’m not expecting such an unreasonable demand.”
“Then…?”
“Could you provide some ‘pretend’ level of technical support? Specifically, I need it for the ‘appearance.'”
“…Are you talking about appearance?”
“Yes. If you could also add a bit of skill to make it look convincing, it would be perfect.”
Kim Hyun-woo immediately understood why she was making such a request.
“You simply want to calm their anxiety, don’t you?”
“That’s right. As you know, currently, with the people from the Holy Empire heading towards the Kallan Territory, the likelihood of an attack from the Calan Kingdom side is low.”
Think of it as a way to alleviate the anxiety of the Lord and the people of the Territory. With those words, Shasha finished speaking, and Kim Hyun-woo unknowingly nodded his head.
For Kim Hyun-woo, providing a way to launch without using an appearance or a fuel cell wasn’t a significant loss.
“If you can provide that level of support…”
After pondering for a while, as Kim Hyun-woo subtly hinted at wanting compensation, Shasha continued.
“As far as I know, there aren’t many heroes in Lartania, is that correct?”
“That’s right.”
After Kim Hyun-woo’s words, Shasha let out a small sigh as if overcoming something and then said, “So, I was thinking, if it’s alright with you, we could offer some support for the heroes.”
“If you support the heroes…?”
“Of course, it’s not just supporting the heroes. Naturally, we plan to provide resources needed in the Lartania Territory within reasonable limits. And-“
“We also intend to support not just any hero but the absolute ruler of darkness in this Territory, how does that sound?”
“…”
At Shasha’s words, Kim Hyun-woo subtly turned his gaze to look at the absolute ruler of darkness.
“Uh-“
Making a peculiar sound, the ruler of darkness, who was about to turn away while looking at Kim Hyun-woo, suddenly fixed his head facing forward and said, “Didn’t I mention before? That… my infamous reputation is too much to handle…? But if I were to stay in Lartania while being affiliated with the Calan Kingdom, wouldn’t that, well, be acceptable?”
He continued, “In this way, my reputation wouldn’t necessarily spread to the Territory, right? There are many things I can do… like battles or various other tasks, as you know, there are many things I can do, right?”
He went on, “I’ve been quite good at various things for a long time… cooking as well. Furthermore, with my darkness, I can flawlessly maintain the Lordship, and as for cooking, oh, did I mention that…?”
“…The absolute ruler of darkness?”
Initially hesitant, but as time passed and Lin’s rambling became apparent to Kim Hyun-woo, Shasha’s expression turned bewildered.
To anyone looking, Lin didn’t seem to inspire much confidence.
However, naturally, Shasha couldn’t outright stop the ruler of darkness.
“Well, uh? So – if you just give me the order, I can do everything! Yes, that’s right. I – surprisingly, there is nothing I can’t do…!”
Shasha looked at the rambling ruler of darkness with an expression that said, ‘Oh no, we’re in trouble.’
Kim Hyun-woo, watching the ruler of darkness, made a peculiar expression and said, “…That’s all well and good.”
As if having found enlightenment, the absolute ruler of darkness spoke with a bright smile.
“…I might not know much about it, but… no matter how much of a hero you are, staying in a territory for a long time… inevitably raises the level of unrest.”
“…Huh?”
It was when Kim Hyun-woo, with a slightly awkward smile, brought up such a topic.
In the forest, about two days away from the Larutania territory, where the red eyes were.
“Hey, meow… like this?”
“…Leader, the cat race should roll their fists a bit thinner. If you leave it like that… it becomes a punch, you know…?”
“…Ugh.”
“Let’s try it again. Roll your hand thinner. Meow.”
＜p class=”a”＞From Noble mtl dot com“…Hey, meow…”
A strange thing was happening.