At the time Luke was in the midst of a conversation with Viscount Torvern, Bjorn was also welcoming guests to his room.
“… Warchief, what’s going on with my quarters?”
“I have something to say.”
After staring at Ragnar for a moment, Bjorn opened the door.
“Come in.”
“Thank you.”
“Would you like to quench your thirst before we talk?”
“It would be nice if there was honey wine.”
“I have wine.”
“Even that is fine.”
Bjorn smiled at Ragnar’s answer. Anyone who sees it will think that he is the owner of the ark and I am the guest.
Bjorn took a glass and wine from the shelf and sat down at the table.
“Eat.”
“… The cup is small.”
“Wine is originally drunk like this.”
“hmm.”
Ragnar sipped his wine while narrowing his brows at the unfamiliar technique. The taste was okay, but the distorted expression soon returned to normal.
“Not bad.”
“It is precious.”
“I guess so. It must have been brought from an affluent empire.”
“… … .”
Are you being sarcastic? Bjorn looked at Ragnar in silence. Ragnar’s face was calm, as if he had said it without thinking.
After a moment of silence, Ragnar opened his mouth after emptying his glass.
“Why did you save me?”
“Rescue?”
“Didn’t you push me when the dragon’s flames spewed out?”
“Was it better not to ask?”
At Bjorn’s words, Ragnar kept his mouth shut this time. Having said that, there was nothing else to say. Once again, Bjorn poured wine into each other’s glasses.
“What would have happened had I not saved the warchief in that situation?”
“… … .”
“The warchief would have died and his warriors would have been annihilated, so we would have had to deal with the dragon with only our remaining strength. Just thinking about it is terrifying.”
“But if I had been able to hold on for that moment, it would have been easier for me to work afterward.”
Ragnar’s true intentions came out at the principled answer.
“If I disappear, only you and Loghain will remain as Candidate Wang. Loghain is a good lieutenant and fighter, but a man who cannot be a good leader.”
The current unification of the barbarians is thanks to the existence of a masterpiece called Ragnar. If only Logain remained, the savages would most likely be noisy.
Loghain also lost his qualification as the barbarian’s representative, and naturally, Bjorn would have been the only candidate.
“I hate to admit it, but you have a king. Even if you were elected in a form close to a by-win, the nobles of the north would have put you on the throne without much complaint.”
“hahahaha, my evaluation is quite high.”
“Don’t think of passing it off as a laugh.”
Ragnar glared at Bjorn with a sharp gaze.
From noble mtl dot com
“Why did you save me? Even if you didn’t save me in that situation, no one would blame you. It was a golden opportunity to eliminate this Ragnar.”
The eyes of the two met. Bjorn, who had been looking at Ragnar for a while, sighed at that devouring gaze.
“It must be complicated.”
“What?”
“I thought it was too complicated.”
Bjorn spoke as if lamenting at Ragnar, who had a blank expression.
“Politics, gain, reward… There are not many things more important than that.”
“Is it important?”
“Like the lives of northerners who live beyond the snowfield.”
“… … !”
Without seeing Ragnar startled, Bjorn gulped down the wine. Bjorn’s face, as he put down his glass to make a thud, was extremely serious.
“I was the one who fought quite often with the people of the snowfield. How can you not know your current situation? Since they were always divided and quarreling, it must not have been easy to unite.”
It sounds good when you say integration, but in fact, it was just forced to stick together by the great thing called Ragnar.
In the coming decades, true integration will come naturally. But what if Ragnar disappeared before then?
“As the warchief said, a division will occur. And the process won’t be peaceful either. It is certain that blood will be shed by those who want to follow your will and those who want to go back to normal.”
“I guess so.”
Ragnar convolutedly agreed. Because I was more aware of that fact than anyone else.
“I didn’t want to see that. That’s all.”
“The blood is not the blood of your people. Aren’t they the ones who have to fight back in the event of an emergency?”
“Huh, what do you mean by the person who wants to be the king? Shouldn’t those who seek the king embrace all northerners as subjects?”
“… … !”
Ragnar’s eyes fluttered at Bjorn’s confident voice. And after a while, Ragnar gritted his teeth and glared at Bjorn.
“Have you already become a king? Do you regard all those under my command as your people?”
“Do you look arrogant?”
“I mean that!”
Ragnar clenched his fists. I felt the urge to hit Bjorn in front of me. Bjorn smiled and nodded.
“It was definitely a little arrogant.”
“Of course… … !”
“But that’s not better. Rather than dividing the people into people who can be saved and those who can die, it is better to try to save everyone even if you are arrogant.”
Ragnar’s hair turned white. It felt like being hit in the head with a hammer. Suddenly, I remembered a soldier who had come to ask for help.
-Didn’t you want to be our king? Is it a king’s job to abandon his people?
What did he answer to him?
-You are not yet my people.
Ragnar closed his eyes. In that situation, his judgment was not wrong. But what kind of feelings do the listeners feel regardless of right or wrong?
Would you have thought you wanted to serve such a king? After a long silence, Ragnar opened his mouth heavily.
“… I drank well.”
“Are you going?”
“I heard what I wanted to hear.”
“Take a look.”
With Bjorn sending him off, Ragnar left the inn. His shoulders were heavy as if a heavy burden had been placed on them.
* * *
Viscount Torvern had no choice but to return at Luke’s unknown words, but other nobles continued to visit after that.
“Sir Luke, please think again!”
“There is no one who can claim the throne of the North but Awe!”
“Anyway, since he is an bastard, he cannot become the head of state… … .”
“Shh! Watch your words!”
From nobles who are trying to get a piece of cake through Luke to nobles who genuinely think that Luke is fit for the throne.
Considering that only some representatives came, it was like half of the northern nobility supported Luke. But Luke’s answer was firm.
“I’m sorry, but I have no intention of becoming king.”
“No, what is the reason?”
“If you come to know, there are some reasons why I was born in the East, and there are other reasons… … .”
The nobles were amazed at Luke’s answer. At first, it was said that he participated in the battle for the throne because he was of northern blood!
Everyone wanted to refute it like a chimney, but eventually gave up. Anyway, if you resign, what will you do?
“Let’s just start voting quickly.”
“That would be better. Since Sir Luke’s will is so firm, there’s no choice.”
The nobles sighed at the unexpected situation, but proceeded as they were. As expected, Luke’s resignation confused the northerners.
The northerners, who were preparing to pick up Luke right away, vomited their grievances.
“Why didn’t Sir Luke come out!?”
“Could this be the politics the samurai are talking about?”
“That’s not it, he resigned!”
No matter how eloquently the nobles uttered, the atmosphere was seldom believed. I had no choice but to go to Luke and ask him to speak to me directly.
Luke stood up in front of the Northerners and made his point.
“From the beginning, I had no interest in the Northern Throne. There was only a purpose to keep an eye on the unclean person to ascend the throne. However, now that only the true king is left, he is about to resign. You guys understand this.”
It was a mixture of half sincerity and half excuse. At that sound, some nobles looked at Luke as if they were full of energy.
‘There’s no way that kind of excuse will work now… … .’
“Hey! I never thought you would mean something like that!”
“I can’t help it. I can’t stop you from resigning with noble intentions… … .”
“Hey, I’m really sorry about that. He should be the king!”
“… … .”
does it work? why does this work? The nobles looked at the territories with absurd expressions. Luke grinned at the bewildered nobles.
‘Originally, everything a hero says seems right.’
In case the bean pods come off later, Luke was a living saint to the northerners.
Even if you grind the soil and make shaved ice, you’d believe it, but that’s a plausible excuse. Above all, the remaining candidates are also outstanding.
Although Luke’s resignation was regrettable, it did not mean that other candidates were not qualified to be king, so there was less dissatisfaction.
“If Sir Luke has resigned, there are only three left… … .”
“Two people, actually. A man named Logain is the warchief’s right-hand man?”
“Then hasn’t the throne already been decided?”
Among the people of the territory, those with knowledge also predicted the candidate for the king to be elected in advance. As the murmur grew, Viscount Thorburn stepped forward and shouted.
“Everyone be quiet! I will start voting for the candidates from now on!”
“… … !”
Everyone fell silent at the Viscount’s declaration. Suddenly, it was quiet enough that even the sound of a needle dropping could be heard, and the viscount shouted again.
“Candidate Loghain, come up here and make your point.”
“hmm.”
Loghain nodded without hesitation and climbed onto the high podium. Loghain, who cleared his throat at the sight of the crowded villagers, exclaimed loudly.
“I came out as a candidate for the king, but I was acutely aware of my shortcomings. Therefore, instead of ascending the throne himself, I support Warchief Ragnar as the true King of the North!”
Again, it was an unprecedented decision. Everyone nodded as if they knew that.
“For a long time, the North has been weak. The glory of the past was fading, and he was just desperate to survive. How much blood was shed as we fought among ourselves? A powerful king is needed to solve this horror! There is no one suitable except for Ragnar!”
Loghain’s short and bold speech made many of the territories nod. strong king. As a symbol of unifying the entire North, there was no one like Ragnar.
I don’t know what politics to play. But at least there won’t be bloodshed with barbarians. The northern nobles frowned at the atmosphere.
‘Look at that little boy. The warchief doesn’t mention anything about going to war with the Empire.’
‘I’m not going to fight you guys. But what use is it if a great war breaks out?’
‘You didn’t lie, did you? They say they are warriors, but there are no foxes.’
Despite the stinging stares of the aristocrats, Logaine smiled contentedly at the atmosphere she had captured.
“I made my point clear. Just go down.”
“Okay, next… … .”
Viscount Thorvern looked at Bjorn. Bjorn climbed onto the podium following Loghain, who silently descended.
As everyone’s eyes gathered at once, Bjorn spoke in a quiet yet loud voice.
“I want to ascend the throne myself, so I will support myself.”
This, too, was expected. Bjorn, like Loghain, looked at the people and calmly opened his mouth.
“In the previous battle, we relived the glory of the past. It was a time that was brighter than ever, and there was an ancient, brilliant light that the North had lost. There is no one who is not fascinated by him.”
Many Northerners nodded vigorously. Anyone with a northern heart will agree. The thrill of seeing the protagonist of the epic right in front of you.
And the excitement of seeing the great battles of yesteryear relive right in front of your eyes. Bjorn said to the northerners who recalled the previous battle.
“But the glory is short-lived, and we must return to life. We are not heroes, but human beings desperately living each day.”
“… … .”
Everyone was silent. At first glance, it sounds like breaking colic. However, it was also a sound that awakened the reality more than ever.
“Sons of the North, I know the beating in your hearts. But before we are men dreaming of glory, we are fathers of a family. Do you want to join in the great glory and die with honor? Or do you want to be a good father who feeds your children well?”
Bjorn stopped speaking for a moment in silence.
“I want to be the latter. I support myself because I want to see abundance rather than glory, children with a full stomach rather than an honorable death. Because there is no one but me who dreams like me.”
After a longer speech than Loghain, Bjorn looked at the northerners again. Everyone was quietly looking up at the podium with solemn expressions.
The excitement in my heart cooled down before I knew it, and I threw my eyes at the family next to me. Everyone seemed to have woken up from a long dream.
“Ahh.”
Some of them shed tears. Drunk with glory, she was the wife of someone who had died in battle. The traces of years of hard work to feed his family were evident on his face.
She looked at Bjorn and silently thanked him.
‘thank you.’
I wanted someone to speak for me. I wanted to give a job to the dreaming men. Rather than live in glory, look at your family by your side.
Her long-held wish has now come true. Bjorn smiled lightly and went down the podium. In silence, the Viscount looked at the only remaining candidate.
“… Warchief.”
“i get it.”
Conversation was short. The two passed by and looked at each other.
‘What will you do?’
I had the illusion that Bjorn had asked that question. Ragnar, who came up to the podium without a word, closed his eyes for a moment.
You can vote for yourself here. Then Ragnar will become the true King of the North. Who would not dare to acknowledge him?
Although less than Luke, he has shown feats better than other candidates. Qualifications are more than sufficient.
“I am… … .”
After thinking, Ragnar slowly opened his eyes and said.
“… I will support Bjorn Veldain as king.”