134 – The Crimson Merchant (5)
“What about Larthania?”
The once noisy conference room fell silent at the quiet muttering of the Hero King.
It was no wonder, as all the commanders present there knew that any discussion related to Larthania should never reach the ears of that Hero King.
No, not knowing about it in the first place was already suspicious.
From the very beginning, the commanders present here had all heard the story from the demon king they worshipped.
Therefore, the commanders here now were well aware of how unfavorable the current situation was.
“…”
Even Veor sighed briefly as he looked at the Hero King standing in front of the meeting room door.
It was understandable since Veor had never even imagined such a scene in the first place.
As far as he could remember, the Hero King had never attended a meeting ever since receiving the demon king’s favor and immediately being appointed as the First Commander, or – in fact, not once since arriving in this demon realm.
＜p class=”a”＞From Noble mtl dot comSo, he had his doubts about why the Hero King, who had never shown up at any meeting before, was here now.
“Ha-“
He quickly dismissed his doubts.
In reality, at this point, questions were not important anymore. What mattered now was how to solve this issue.
“The First Commander shouldn’t have known about this. Or – at least, not at this moment.”
Veor glanced at the commanders, all of them wearing a similarly puzzled expression, but he soon sighed and spoke.
“It’s his first time attending a meeting.”
“Forget about that, explain about Lartania.”
Veor thought about what would be the best course of action in this situation, looking at the Hero King asking without a hint of emotion.
At least from his understanding, things had gone awry ever since she grasped the truth.
With the key to resurrecting the demon king, the Hero King, in this situation, there were two things she could do.
Persuasion, or if not, suppression.
However, Veor coldly excluded the possibility of the former.
Once she heard the word ‘Lartania’ and understood the context of this meeting, trying to persuade her was meaningless.
So, there was only one option left.
“…It’s a straightforward story. We were discussing Lartania’s territory.”
“So, why suddenly bring that up in this meeting room?”
“Because the Lord of Lartania, ‘Outsider,’ has returned.”
“!”
Emotions were now visible in the Hero King’s eyes, emotions anyone could easily sense.
And-
Kwaaah-!
At that moment, with the Hero King’s judgment clouded, the commanders unleashed their magic and rushed towards the Hero King, subduing him in an instant.
The Third and Eighth Commanders restrained his arms.
The Fourth and Fifth Commanders his legs.
The Fourth and Seventh Commanders sealed his abilities, including his magic.
But that wasn’t all.
The Tenth Commander, who remained, poured all their strength into layering numerous spells on the already subdued Hero King’s body, expressing it as dozens of spells, to subdue him.
An event that happened in an instant.
Yet, despite being instantly subdued all over his body, the Hero King, as if it were nothing, stared intently at Veor and spoke.
“Outsider… He has returned?”
“Yes.”
“…To the Intermediate Realm?”
“That’s correct. And this meeting was to discuss which Legion Commander to manifest to kill the Outsiders and achieve our goal.”
Upon hearing Beor’s slightly tense words moments ago, calmness returned to her once again.
The reason being the hundreds of overlapping spells on her body in just that short time, along with the appearance of each Legion Commander.
Even if the Hero King was considered a powerful force beyond the norm, the eight Legion Commanders were powerful enough to be labeled as such.
Therefore, Beor, judging that the Hero King could no longer do anything, spoke with a relaxed expression.
“…”
The Hero King, upon hearing Beor’s words, said nothing, simply looking at him with eyes filled with swirling emotions.
And as he gazed at her like that, Beor began to speak.
“Hero King, I regret to inform you that you will not manifest on the surface. You are also an important key-“
Before she could finish her sentence, she could only stare blankly at the Hero King.
Understandably so.
“Ha-hahahaha-“
It was because at that moment, the Hero King, who was overpowering everyone in the meeting room and continuously suppressing his body in real-time, had a broad smile drawn on his lips.
Truly joyful.
…Truly happy.
With a thick smile on his lips, the Hero King laughed in that spot as if the gazes of the Legion Commanders around him meant nothing, even shedding tears.
“…”
The Legion Commanders fell silent.
Beor, too, stopped speaking and fell into silence.
What they felt was a slight confusion.
At least in their minds, the smile coming from the Hero King’s lips at that moment was of a kind that they could not quite understand why it was there.
However.
Kwaaang-!!!
At the next moment, with a sound of explosion ringing in the ears of the Legion Commanders, they all turned their gaze at once.
They could see it.
They could see how just a moment ago, the body of the 8th Legion Commander who was holding onto his right arm was being thrown out through the wall.
And how the hundreds of spells that were hanging on the Hero King just moments ago were being torn apart and vanishing like pieces of paper, as if they were nothing.
Realizing this, the Legion Commanders all shivered with a chilling sensation running through their bodies, a momentary fear, and averted their eyes.
“At last, I can ask for forgiveness…”
Beor could see it.
“At last-“
With a face beaming with intense joy, the Hero King was laughing with his lips split wide open.
####
“Yes, as you are now, you are unable to think properly from the start because there is a limit set on you.”
“…A limit?”
At Kim Hyunwoo’s question, the red merchant nodded, then spoke as if he had realized something.
“Ah, of course, just in case, but we have no connection to your limit.”
“Are you saying there’s no connection… no relation at all?”
“Exactly. It’s just that I have the ability to check your condition in detail because of my special eyes, but it has nothing to do with the limit you are under.”
The crimson merchant spoke, and Kim Hyun-woo threw a question.
“…So, what exactly is the limit that applies to me right now?”
“Well, strictly speaking, this can’t be called a limit. I’m just talking in a way that makes it easier for me to understand.”
“Then…?”
After a moment of contemplation, the crimson merchant responded to Kim Hyun-woo’s question.
“…Well… to be honest, I can’t say for sure if this is the right expression, but it feels like a restriction on a specific emotion.”
“A restriction on a specific emotion…?”
“Yes. More precisely, you could think of it as a restriction on ‘affection.’ It’s like trying to prevent thoughts like this from arising in the first place…”
As Kim Hyun-woo spoke, the crimson merchant, looking increasingly intrigued, nodded, and Kim Hyun-woo continued.
“So, would it be correct to say that there is a limit restricting feelings of affection towards me?”
“More accurately, rather than restricting, it’s more like redirected… Well, in a way, it may seem similar to a limit, but strictly speaking, it’s a bit different.”
“…Then who exactly?”
“Of course, it’s obvious that I don’t know either. One could speculate that the hero who brought you here might have taken such measures, don’t you think?”
“The hero who brought me here…”
At that moment, Kim Hyun-woo recalled the fifth thing the blue merchant had mentioned, but then he slightly shook his head and asked.
“Is there no way to lift this limit?”
Although this limit hadn’t caused Kim Hyun-woo any significant harm so far, he found it slightly discomforting, hence his question.
The crimson merchant immediately replied, “Not right now. Even if it were a bit simpler, this limit seems tougher than expected. If you were to touch it carelessly, you might end up in danger.”
“…Is that so?”
Kim Hyun-woo looked somewhat disappointed.
However, the crimson merchant, wearing a faint smile, reassured him, “Well, even so, there’s no need to worry too much. After all, the item I brought this time will be helpful to your current state.”
“The item you brought this time…?”
Nodding in response to Kim Hyun-woo’s question, the crimson merchant placed a box in front of Kim Hyun-woo’s study.
“There’s an item you purchased to meet me, right?”
“Ah.”
As the crimson merchant continued, Kim Hyun-woo recalled purchasing the ‘unidentifiable item’ and let out a soft sigh.
“That will likely be very helpful in lifting the limit that applies to you.”
The crimson merchant smiled and then spoke.