Episode 63
Episode 31. To Joheim (1)
It had only been a few days since the banquet, but Evan had changed beyond recognition.
Cog and Cindy took great care of him and fed him all kinds of nutritious food, but it was only possible because he had great muscles and bones.
Of course, not all muscles and bones returned to normal. Yuma wanted to give Evan time to build up.
“Why don’t we take a little more rest and start?”
“Yuma-sama, I’m sorry for bothering you about asking for help. However, it is certain that several innocent people in the Yochaim estate are dying every day. Please help me.”
Joachim looked at Yuma with trembling eyes.
That was right.
Yuma nodded as if he understood and left Evan’s room.
‘I don’t feel good going to Joheim this time.’
Yuma felt a sense of incongruity.
The fact that all the letters from Yoheim were intercepted in the imperial castle, and phenomena coincided with Baron Secron’s tyrannical demon possession, which he had never heard of even when he was a eunuch in the return.
Secron Wolf Asher was a name he had heard as a eunuch. The Wolf Asel family was the royal family of the Kingdom of Joheim until it was conquered by the Empire.
He was not a person who needed to be looked at particularly carefully. Yoheim was a land with more losses than gains due to the harsh climate and rampant monsters.
That’s why the empress at the time recognized the family of Wolf Asher, who was the kingdom of Joachim, as the nobility of the empire and granted them their own autonomy.
In a good way, it was autonomy, which meant conquering the land but not investing in it.
The Wolf Asher family also accepted this and sent a certain amount of tribute to the imperial castle every year.
‘The tribute was probably a magic stone, right?’
It was natural.
A monster that can be seen infrequently in a harsh climate with no special products to speak of.
That meant that there were many small and medium-sized demon caves, so the only thing worth offering to the imperial castle was the magic crystal.
Yuma was well aware of the influence of the natural environment on human character. Right now, all the people could tell just by looking at Matan, who was famous for being tough and strong.
It was not right that Baron Secron, who took responsibility for the loss of his country in the harsh environment of Joachim, went crazy one day, but it was an understandable phenomenon.
But a demon possessed?
Until the Dragon Horse War broke out, possessing demons was an extremely rare phenomenon.
There were many people stronger and crazier than Baron Secron. Yuma wondered why he was a Secron.
and blood rituals.
If that were true, the ritual symbolized only one thing. Forbidden magic called black magic in the West and blood magic in the East.
Black magic was only handed down as a vicious legend. Like many folk beliefs or folklore myths. There were few documents left about black magic.
Some remained in history books, but only a few lines were described.
It even made me feel as if I was not forced to record it because I was reluctant to even mention it.
Even during the Dragon Horse War, there were no wizards who used black magic.
Considering the destructive power of the black magic passed down in legend, it really meant that there was no winner.
Of course, we couldn’t rule out the fact that Secron might just be mad and committing a bloody ritual. Rather, it was much better that way.
In any case, I had a very dangerous premonition.
Originally, Yuma planned to prepare for the next Demon Cave subjugation with the Cellove troops. However, it was burdensome to blindly take him to Yoheim.
After completing the first subjugation perfectly, the morale of the Shelob troops was skyrocketing.
It was Yuma who actually killed hundreds of orcs, but they also realized that their training was not in vain.
The main goal of the trip to Yoheim was not to subdue demons, but to investigate and punish Baron Secron’s tyranny.
If you take the cellove unit, it doesn’t look good.
Yuma waited for someone to arrive, fiddling with the seal bestowed by the empress. The companions Yuma had planned to be with this time were Jeka and Natalie.
Marlon could not be taken with him because he was under Hugo’s training and was on a mission with the Worgs.
Also, if Hugo added someone like Yugire or Kagor besides Marlon, there was a risk that Joachim’s work would spread to Matan.
It’s unlikely that it would cause a major problem, but it was unpleasant.
Because Matan is one of the countries that hate the Empire the most.
Just because the Black Wolves were friendly to Yuma didn’t mean they liked Kyle’s empire as well.
As soon as Yuma received Evan’s letter, he had sent a letter to Haseo-guk Rose Society. It’s time to come soon.
“Yuma-sama! Miss Yuma!”
Puang ran into Yuma’s room in a huff.
“Natalie-sama came to visit us. By the way…
“What’s going on?”
“He has overpowered the gatekeepers and is standing in the garden. You look very angry.”
When I went out into the garden, there stood a beautiful black-haired woman dressed in voluptuous clothes. It was Natalie.
The upper body guard surrounded her, her arms shaking.
“It’s been a while, honey. The arrogance is still there. How dare you ask me to come and go with just one letter?”
She had entered the Empire without an attendant. The fake ID that Yuma had enclosed was torn and held in her hand.
“Natalie, long time no see.”
Yuma bit the bodyguard and Cindy Cog.
Cindy was very curious about the identity of Natalie who blindly came to the guild and turned it into a bamboo field, but could not reveal it.
“Why don’t you go and have a cup of tea with Cindy?”
Poin nodded and followed Cindy.
Cindy thought she was right, so she could ask Poin about the identity of the woman. It was simply because he was a human being who responded with a smile on his lips.
However, Puang was a human being who valued life.
No matter how much Cindy asked, there was nothing to brag about the fact that she was a rose owner.
Yuma took Cindy to the VIP room inside the mansion.
“Am I your dog? I am Haseo’s jangmihoeju.”
said Natalie, who was sitting on the couch, growling. He was ready to pull out the chainsword hidden in his chest at any moment.
“Sorry sorry. I called because I wanted to see you. And it’s not a puppy, but if it comes, does it really come?”
Yuma was also thinking about Natalie not responding to her request. The reason he insisted on taking her was because he was such a trustworthy person.
In terms of transactions, the Rose Society was as trustworthy as the Black Wolf.
More than anything, if Baron Secron was really conducting a black magic ritual, there was a lot of help he could get from Natalie.
Haseo’s forerunner, Kartaizenga.
That ancient nation was the origin of black magic.
It was highly likely that Haseo’s secret documents contained at least a little record of black magic.
“Stop the bullshit.”
It was a softer tone.
Deep down, she was waiting for Yuma’s call. However, he was angry because the contents of the letter were full of nuances of a public relationship rather than a private one.
“We were probably lovers, right?”
Yuma looked at Natalie and said.
“Heung, didn’t you talk about my subordinate as a mistress?”
It was what Yuma said to the gatekeeper of the rose society in Haseo.
“Relationships change from time to time. This time, I want to get some help from my lover. Let’s go to Joachim together.”
“Joachim?”
Natalie knew where Joachim was.
“I need to find out something.”
“If it’s not our honeymoon, you and I won’t go anywhere to play.”
“Doesn’t the fact that you’ve come this far mean that you’re already willing to do my favor? Don’t be too strict.”
Natalie’s eyes narrowed.
“What is the price?”
“Can’t it be love?”
“There are many different ways to say that you want to die.”
“I’m serious. It’s still too much for love, but let’s start with camaraderie.”
As soon as Natalie was about to get up and leave, Yuma continued.
“The kingdom of Haseo will perish within ten years.”
“what?”
“It is literally. Must within ten years.”
“You mean the Empire invades?”
“Not similar.”
That was a half-correct answer.
The Empire had long been looking for an opportunity to invade Haseo and make it a vassal state. In terms of strength, it was possible to destroy Haseo within two years even if it was implemented immediately.
However, war has always been the most important cause. From the Empire’s point of view, it was a situation where it needed a justification to accept the noble knights and their families rather than a justification to invade Haseo.
Haseo was a country with potential like Matan, so it was a war that would inevitably result in numerous casualties.
Before Yuma returned, the empire could not defeat Haseo in the end. This is because the Dragon Horse War happened before that.
Haseo was the first country to perish after the Yongma War began. It was because it was used as a passage for demons.
Kalam No. 3 Demon Cave, where Yuma killed Selove, was representative.
There was no need to talk that far.
Even if the dragon horse war doesn’t happen, it won’t change the fact that Haseo is destroyed.
“It is a fact that everyone knows that the Empire is targeting Haseo.”
“If Haseo-guk perishes, the rose society will also end. You know the situation of Haseoguk better than I do.”
Natalie, who is more sensitive to information than anyone else, was seriously contemplating the war clouds over Haseo.
Haseo-guk’s national luck was literally a candle in front of the wind.
In addition to the Kyle Empire in the West, the strongest country, Kantra, who calls itself an empire in the East, was also aiming for Haseo.
“So what? You said you were going to Yoheim, so why are you suddenly bringing up that story?”
“Come under me. Bring the entire rose society.”
At the sudden development, Natalie shut her mouth and glared at Yuma.
“I am saying this because I like you. I don’t want to see you trampled by the knights of the Empire. No matter when it happened.”
As the past continues to change due to regression, it was not a story without possibility that the empire hastened the invasion of Haseo.
After forming a relationship with Natalie, the master of roses, Yuma planned to absorb them one day.
“Do you think I would be afraid of death?”
“Then use poison.”
“It is not that simple.
The Rose Society…
“Of course, it doesn’t mean that I want to use you like limbs. I apologize if the expression to come downstairs was excessive. It’s about making the relationship a little clearer. Let’s move forward as an alliance, not cooperation.”
“You still have a dazzling snout.”
‘That guy doesn’t talk empty words.’
Although the time they spent together was extremely short, Natalie instinctively grasped the human personality of Yuma.
The rose society was also aware that Yuma was currently exerting various influences in the empire.
Rose society spies planted in the empire frequently reported on Yuma. It was also reported that he had an affair with the empress.
Natalie put the long, thin pipe in her mouth and closed her eyes.
“Let’s go to Yoheim together. It may be a matter of life and death, and I have chosen you and another friend of mine to be my companions there.”
It was not nonsense to say that life and death may have to be risked.
If a high-ranking demon was really possessed in Baron Secron’s body and the black magic ritual was in progress, the enemy was like a mighty darkness.
There was no correlation between the fall of her country and her trip to Joachim.
However, as Haseo’s national power declines, the future of the rose society becomes more uncertain.
Natalie pondered over the word ‘alliance’ that Yuma said.
“Let’s go to Joachim together.
Give me time to think about the problems that go under you.”
“I’m sorry for expressing too much.
An alliance, not a base.”
“Isn’t it actually below? As the rose society is gradually absorbed into your faction, my right to speak will gradually diminish. I’m not stupid. At best, I’ll be your mistress.”
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