Episode 231- Thank you.
The communication with Rick, which ended without me being able to talk at length, brought back many thoughts.
And Rick wasn’t the only one complicating Logan’s thoughts.
“Nothing wrong.”
“effort.”
“insect!”
As he was leaving the communication room while receiving a greeting from the driver, a face he hadn’t seen in a while approached him.
“Lord Heinkel?”
“Your Majesty, you are here. I still wanted to see you about the soldiers’ quarters.”
“Where are the soldiers?”
“Yes. So far, we have been using the confiscated mansions of nobles and the existing lodgings of the palace guards and royal guards, but there is no system in place and…”
Logan looked at Heinkel, who was speaking passionately.
A loyalist who lost his power and even his right arm after being loyal to his family his whole life.
Nevertheless, I was grateful and sorry to see him participate so passionately in the family’s affairs.
Did he feel those eyes staring at him so intently?
Heinkel tapped his free right shoulder and laughed.
“I’m used to it now. If you keep looking at me like that, I’ll be a little embarrassed.”
Logan thought it was rude to keep feeling sorry for a person who showed such generosity, so he smiled slightly and nodded.
“Ah, I’m sorry. As for your residence, do as you wish.”
“thank you.”
Thanks…d.
I could not help but be impressed by this passionate vassal.
That’s why I came up with an answer without even thinking about it.
“I am.”
“yes?”
“I ask you not to forget that my family and I are always grateful to you.”
“Haha. That’s too much to say. Still, I’m quite satisfied. The path of a knight is not the only way to live.”
“I know. I know, but still, Sir, what you have lost is too great.”
“…The frustration and desperation at that time were beyond words. Because I was a person who had followed a single path, I felt like my life itself had collapsed.”
“…I guess so.”
“But after I changed my mind, I saw many different paths. I am now at ease. Rather, I am a little worried about Confucius.”
“Me?”
Logan was puzzled by the somewhat strange story, but Heinkel’s next words made his complexion harden a little.
“You only see one path. You don’t mind taking on reckless challenges to achieve your goal.”
“….”
“To me, it seemed like he was running ahead, thinking that there was only one path, just like me in the past. Fortunately, Confucius achieved mostly good results, but if he failed even once, it was dangerous as if he would just collapse. “I saw it.”
I couldn’t just ignore those words.
In fact, since he returned, he has tried countless things that are no different from gambling, and if he had failed even once, he would have been completely destroyed.
‘But it was the best thing at the time.’
Even if I tried to wrap myself up like that, I couldn’t say anything because there were people in front of me who were harmed in the process of making that reckless choice.
“Now, more of Confucius’s life depends on him. I’m not asking you to give up on your goal, but I hope you’ll think about it one more time to see if you can take a different, safer path.”
“…Ha. Looks like I caused you a lot of worry.”
“But you have achieved so much. Now that I think about it, it was presumptuous of me to say that. I apologize.”
“No, no. Thank you for the advice, Lord Heinkel.”
The conversation that day ended like that, but Heinkel’s words lingered in Logan’s head for a long time.
also.
[The owner’s face doesn’t look good? Is there something you’re worried about? I don’t know what the problem was, but wasn’t the original owner someone who would do something if it was profitable and not do anything if it wasn’t? Simple, don’t you think?]
A concerned horse from a dwarf who runs a magic workshop in Taren.
[oh! So, does that mean I become the owner of a state-run commercial enterprise? Is it good? When will you ascend to the throne?]
Active support from merchants traveling in the empire.
[If you become king, wouldn’t you be able to find out more clearly about Ronian’s news? Please, please. Huh?]
Even a request from a stepmother who puts the safety of her child before the fate of her family.
All the voices around him kept coming back to him, whether he wanted them to or not, contributing to deepening his worries.
Even Padric, who came back from defeating Orlando Ferhi, heard something and immediately looked for him.
“Are you still thinking about it? The place you’re thinking about is… tsk.”
The two father and son faced each other in a spacious space in the royal palace, where no one was present.
The leisurely smiling face of his father brought a smile to Logan’s face for the first time in a long time.
“Isn’t it funny to worry about something that has already been done?”
“Not at all. The more important an issue is, the more carefully you have to decide.”
“…It looks like your father has already reached a conclusion?”
“of course!”
“Are you sure?”
Logan’s eyes suddenly widened at that confident answer.
As it was a matter related to the family, he was willing to accept the opinion of his father, the head of the family, as long as his opinion was clear.
but.
“I have come to the conclusion that I will unconditionally believe and support you no matter what you do.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at the words that followed.
“What is that….”
“It is true that since it is an important matter, we must think carefully and choose carefully. But if we have decided on a direction, isn’t it also important to move forward without hesitation? Now, which is it? Have you decided on a direction?”
“….”
Logan could not easily answer his father’s condescending words.
– Patriotism sucks, I just want revenge.
Memories of a past life that have not been erased.
Following that memory, I came here and changed many things.
He protected his clan and protected his family.
The revenge of my past life has lost its basis.
It should have been so.
but.
Logan could still feel the fire boiling within him.
‘That’s a stupid idea. ‘I know that.’
However, I could never forget the years I spent rolling in the mud and being trampled.
I wanted to kill the people who had given me a sense of despair by tearing them into a thousand pieces.
I wanted to go beyond simply preventing war and crush them.
As he was facing those feelings, he couldn’t believe his choice.
Is that choice really a reasonable answer considering the future, or is it just my greed driven by a desire for revenge?
Because he himself didn’t know.
However, as if his father guessed what he was thinking, he smiled and tapped his shoulder.
“You saved the family and brought everyone here. If it weren’t for you, it would have already been ruined several times, and even if it died, it would have died several times. That’s the case for everyone in the family.”
“….”
“So this time too, follow the path you have in mind. Don’t hesitate and move forward!”
Words that seem to guess what choice has already been made.
The sight of his father turning around after saying those words added a heavy burden to his shoulders.
In the end, the essence of what most of my close associates, including my father, said was the same.
– I believe it.
So it felt heavier.
‘Maybe it’s all just my greed.’
Because I couldn’t bear to say that.
But we cannot postpone judgment forever.
The time to make a decision was getting closer and closer.
Daejeon in the royal palace with no one around.
Logan’s gaze looking up at the throne was difficult to find.
* * * Another great conference was held in Daejeon of the kingdom.
“…This is it. We gather the will of everyone who holds territory in the kingdom and convey it to His Excellency Logan McLane. We ask that you willingly accept our will and open a new dynasty and a new era!”
With those words, Adam Morgan held out a large wooden board made of black ironwood.
On it, the names of noble families and their seals were engraved in white.
Some may say it was just a formality, but the Yeonpanjang, which gathered the will of all nobles with territory and power, was a symbol of enormous power that could do everything in this country as it wished.
That wasn’t all.
Six people appeared next.
Clayton, who had the owners of the five great magic towers at his back, came to the front of Daejeon and bowed his head to Logan.
“The tower owners of the five great magic towers, including Mage Clayton, the owner of the Golem Tower, have gathered their support for His Excellency Logan. All the magic towers in the kingdom will also follow our decision and support His Excellency. A decision for a new era. Please get off.”
With those words, Clayton lowered his head, and the nobles watching him brightened their eyes.
‘Now all the red tape is over.’
Territory nobles and the magic tower.
Virtually all the armed forces in the kingdom chose to submit to McLane. And all decision-making authority was handed over.
The cause-building has already been completed.
Really a new dynasty?
Or perhaps the most powerful regent the world has ever seen?
No matter what you choose, as long as Logan McLane lives, there will be no one in this kingdom who will disobey his words.
Count Roberts Floyd, right below Logan in the regent’s seat, was smiling brightly and continuously nodding.
Logan, who was actually the party to that declaration, closed his eyes and did not move a muscle.
‘It must be a new dynasty after all.’
The thoughts in the minds of most nobles.
‘Still, it’s a kingdom that’s been around for a thousand years, so wouldn’t it be okay to leave at least some name?’
The expectations of some nobles.
Even though all eyes were on Logan, his silence continued.
‘hmm? ‘Why is it like that?’
The nobles who were watching the situation nervously at first were soon busy looking at each other and observing the situation.
OK.
“Your Excellency Logan, please make a decision.”
Roberts Floyd, still with a smile on his face, bowed his head towards Logan under the robe.
Then Logan finally responded.
My eyes, opened for the first time since the Daejeon conference began, were still looking a bit far away, but now it was time to make a choice.
It was the moment when Logan opened his mouth, receiving the expectant gaze of the audience.
“Hmm… I am…”
– Geogeomgong. Bring on the Archduke Felix Esperanza!
The driver’s bewildered voice was heard outside the gate of Daejeon.
“what?”
“who?”
“Why is the swordsman here…?!”
Murmur.
Daejeon, which had been trying to maintain silence, suddenly becomes noisy.
Okay.
The locked door of Daejeon opened and a person began to walk inside.
More than half of her shiny blonde hair had turned completely white, and deep wrinkles had already formed on her skin, which had been plump for her age.
Moreover, his unsteady steps and slightly pale complexion seemed to advertise to the world that his body was not yet complete.
but.
Even so, who could ignore this old man?
“A real swordsman?”
“It’s true…?”
“What the hell is this…?”
The eyes of the nobles gathered in Daejeon are focused on the old knight who symbolized the kingdom.
Logan also jumped up from his seat and looked at his teacher with shaking eyes.
The swordsman looked straight into Logan’s eyes and walked step by step toward the head of the table.
Rumble.
Nobles who naturally step back every time the swordsman takes a step.
The movement was not voluntary.
“Ugh?!”
“What is this?!”
As the bloody momentum that bloomed with every stumbling step of the old knight began to suppress the battle, the weak nobles had no choice but to rush to the walls on all sides.
“What? Isn’t this really going to be a big problem?”
“No way…”
“What are the knights doing?”
Loud voices.
And as if he had heard that voice, the swordsman, who was getting closer to the head of the table step by step, finally pulled out his sword from his belt.
Slurp.
“this…!”
“Swordsmith! Stop!”
“Protect Your Excellency!”
The knights who were standing in the corner of Daejeon quickly rushed out and blocked Logan’s path.
The swordsmith and Logan’s eyes met across the suddenly created barrier of knights.
Daejeon fell into silence for a moment.
Deep and serene blue eyes and chaotically shaking red eyes look at each other.
Calm blue eyes soon lowered their heads.
Phew.
thud.
The swordsman who put his sword on the floor of the daejeon knelt on one knee.
“God Felix Esperanza. I swear allegiance to the monarch of the new kingdom.”
The atmosphere of Daejeon changed completely with words that no one expected.
