“By the way.”

After Ulla returns from her report in the suffocating air.

Finally, in the place where only the monarchs of one country remained, Antares floated his luck as if he was curious.

“How strong is Spellage now? Do you have the strength to defend the country from invasion by foreign enemies?”

It might have been a rude question.

And at the same time, it was blatant.

It is probably a question that corresponds to the purpose of their gathering.

Salem rather smiled at the question and declared arrogantly.

“Yes. it wouldn’t be natural Because it is the country I am ruling over now.”

“Ohh… … . That’s fortunate.”

Antares made a deal with the ‘outside beings’. In exchange for some information, he brought his existence into the Empire, and decided to release something he might be curious about.

Delade looked at Antares, who was smiling greedily, and stuck his tongue out.

‘Crazy old man. He’s about to give up the world for his own greed.’

Antares, like most people in power, dreamed of immortality.

Of course, he knows that’s not realistic.

That is why he has designated a successor and is preparing to step down. But that doesn’t mean I decided to accept death.

Isn’t the monster that appears right in front of you devouring people and sustaining its life endlessly?

That’s why Antares traded with Delade. Who would look stupidly at the opportunity?

‘Even though he must have known that I was an aggressor, he had no hesitation.’

Information about their eternal life and their front-line power.

Delade and Antares agreed to trade those things… … . Antares accepted the deal without even bargaining.

It was the Delay side who stuck out their tongue at that hesitant behavior.

He tried to trick him with all kinds of flattery, so he couldn’t have thought that the deal would be so simple. That’s why it’s embarrassing.

‘An old man like a snake.’

It is difficult to grasp its intentions.

Delade guessed that there was a high probability that Antares had a different mind from the deal.

‘It won’t matter. In the first place, even this body was created temporarily. If it’s just one case, it’s enough to throw it away.’

Then, who understands each other’s intentions? that would be important

‘By the way.’

The problem is that someone completely unexpected saw through Antares and the Delaid.

Originally, I wondered how much power ＜Spellage＞ had, which borders ＜Chrysos＞.

But now I have more questions than that.

‘I’m the king of magic… … ?’

As the vanguard of the invaders, he couldn’t help but wonder.

“Emperor. You don’t have to say it back. Was the author curious about that? Will he be able to break through Spellage’s power? Would you like to check it out?”

That monster who knows who it is, who knows what it’s purpose is, and who doesn’t even blink an eye.

I was so concerned.

How could you be so aloof? There is not the slightest sense of bewilderment.

Through that attitude, Delade could guess something.

“Twist… … . If you know, it’s faster to talk. How are you? Are you trying to do sparring at this point? Is there anything more powerful than the power of the King of Darkness to show that it is Spellage’s strength?”

He’s confident enough to take it all on.

It’s an arrogant attitude of not caring about invaders.

“What is the price for fitting in your entertainment?”

“How about adjusting the tariff rate for three years?”

“It’s okay.”

The work went smoothly.

Delay didn’t even say anything yet, but it seemed like the two of them were fighting.

While Delade was absent-mindedly, Salem stood up and looked down at him with cold eyes.

“How long do you plan on hanging around? don’t you want to do it? Then what did you come all the way here to do?”

“hahahaha… … .”

Delade laughed at Salem’s blatant attitude of looking down at him.

In fact, it’s not even funny.

At most one of the colonies they chose to conquer.

Among them, he is not even the strongest, but he is looking down at him as the king of a small country.

“Yeah, that would be nice. It would be a lot easier if I broke you here at this point.”

Rather, it is a good thing. Even if he loses in Dalian, if he can confirm his strength here, it will be an unconditional gain.

Delade no longer hid his purpose.

After all, everyone present here has long understood his purpose.

Even so, the situation itself, that I was sitting in the same seat and having a conversation with him, was just infinitely bizarre.

“Emperor Antares. Will you prepare a seat for me?”

“Cancer, of course.”

* * *

The result of a skirmish carried out under the guise of sparring.

“… … This is another absurd result.”

Delade could understand why the emperor had brought him into the imperial domain as if nothing had happened.

I could understand why Salem had been looking down at him with such an arrogant attitude.

It’s all about confidence.

It was an overwhelming confidence that showed that no matter what he did, there was no problem. Although it looked like that… … .

Indeed, it was absurd.

The delay was lost.

It would be safe to say that it was also horribly, literally trampled on.

And the opponent who trampled on him did not even show signs of fatigue.

The existence of the [King of Darkness] was a monster beyond his imagination.

He overpowered Delay without moving from his place.

“Were you a member of the Dragon race?”

If there was one entity that Delade struggled with the most while obtaining information about this world, it was the five dragons.

That’s right.

He had seen the dragon lord named Tiara once.

I was honestly perplexed. It was hard to believe that there could be a being equal to the king he served.

But I could accept it.

The more I researched, the more I was able to learn about the uniqueness of dragons.

A race that can live for thousands of years, one of only five in the world.

Isn’t it a race that seems to have been created to become a monster?

In such an exceptional race, if there is an exceptional being among them.

Yes, I can’t believe it, but I can think of a possibility.

But what is the existence in front of your eyes?

“I am human. A person who was a little more talented, a hard worker, and lucky than others, but gave it all up in the end.”

“… … Could it be that the word human means the same as the word dragon?”

“You’re out of your mind.”

It’s nonsense.

Salem’s potential that Delade could see was only a fragment.

But there was something I could feel just for that convenience.

The point is that the individual ‘Salem’ can be compared to the beings called dragons.

Not as much as Tiamat, but it’s strange that a being barely over 50 can be compared to a being living hundreds of years.

“Antares van Helios.”

“Well? Something.”

“Is this what you wanted to show me?”

Delade said while looking at Antares, who was leisurely drinking a cup of tea from afar.

“No way? Didn’t I just get you the information you wanted? It’s what you wanted.”

“He seems like an old man with a nasty personality.”

“It drags.”

Antares said as if he was amused at the words of Delay.

“War is like a conversation. A conversation in which we work out our compromises in a rather violent way.”

Antares is not easy going. It was he who made the empire the most powerful country in history.

“But if I mumble under the surface of the water in an inaudible voice, can you hear me?”

Antares just wanted to speak before the conversation in the name of a war that would come soon.

“This is my ‘greeting’ to you. How is it?”

who they are

What is the extent of humanity’s potential? Do you dare to cross over?

A declaration of war with confidence.

“under… … !”

Delaid finally understood.

Antares was a greedy monster, but there were clear lines.

He was a monarch who carried the people on his back.

They were the lords of such humans who, although there was a difference between good and evil, never forsook the world itself.

It would be right to wish for eternal life.

However, it is not something I want to obtain by betraying humanity.

No, to the monsters sticking their teeth at them if they want to get their hands on it.

As always, in an imperial way.

you should take it away

Delade looked at the two monsters more than himself and raised his lips.

How could there be such a muddy yet clear existence?

Delade left a short impression in response to the emperor’s violent greeting.

“I thought my ears were falling off.”

I expected from the beginning that it would not be easy… … .

I was hoping it would be more than that.

* * *

I don’t like the word destiny, but I can’t deny that it exists.

Didn’t the reasons why I should head for ＜Spellage＞ come pouring out even during this short period of time? Of course, that doesn’t mean I’m going to attack ＜Spellage＞ right now.

It’s dangerous and there’s no clear reason to visit it, so you’ll have to stay for a while.

Even so, lately I’ve been away for too long.

I have no intention of quitting ＜Skientia＞ and becoming completely independent.

Now is the time to deepen the original relationship and strengthen the strength of each other. Wasn’t that why I came all the way to ＜Skientia＞ in the first place?

“Well… … .”

It was a simple solution until lunch and on the way to the dormitory.

I suddenly felt warm.

Considering that it is fall now and it is time to move on to winter soon, the weather can’t help but be warm.

Climate change of this magnitude is nothing special, but… … .

There is bound to be something that bothers me.

Chapter 7 of the main story unfolds due to this abnormal climate.

It’s a kind of resting episode, so I don’t have to go out.

There is no danger, so it will be resolved with time, but… … .

“It may be surprisingly difficult.”

It is worrying that the phenomenon is faster and clearer than expected.

If the weather changes like this, I don’t know what will happen when it’s severe.

It was when I was going back to the dormitory with such thoughts.

“Ah, Master! Where the hell have you been wandering around since early in the morning?”

“Well?”

Eleanor squatting in front of my dormitory and observing the ants.

“Oz. Are you feeling a little better? You can’t push yourself too hard.”

Arrieta is standing in some place.

“The weather is hot today. It looks like Oz-sama was sweating too. How can I cool you off?”

I could see Yang Baek smirking with his shirt top button undone.

What are you doing as a group?

Did something happen?

“Were you waiting for me? I haven’t bought anything yet today… … .”

I haven’t done anything yet.

I have no plans to do so in the future. For the time being, I will really focus on self-training.

“Yesterday, without a break, he was called by the head of the academy. I came to check my condition. That… … Don’t get into trouble.”

“I am for the same reason.”

“… … It seems that the master’s excuses are similar to mine.”

How in the world can it be so touching?

Regardless of what Eleanor said, I am very grateful that she came to visit me out of concern for me.

It seems that life is not in vain.

Still, I never thought that you would come as a group like this… … .

Anyway, aren’t you a first-time guest outside of work?

“Come in at once. It’s a long-awaited guest, so I’ll have to drop off the tea.”

“Wow! Master’s house!”

I gladly welcome my companions who have been waiting for me since early morning. How difficult would it be to serve you a cup of tea?

When the door is opened, Eleanor bursts into the house with a lively appearance.

That moment.

“for a moment… … .”

It reminded me of something I had forgotten along with an intense sense of déjà vu.

“uh? Lucia? why here… … ?”

He stopped as if stiff at Eleanor’s questionable words coming from inside the house.

Come to think of it, I forgot

I put Lucia, who came to me at dawn, to sleep and threw her on the bed.

“Are you Lucia?”

“… … Lucia?”

Arrieta and the white sheep passed me and entered the house as if possessed by those short words.

and don’t come back

No answer.

The three people who crossed the threshold of my dormitory said nothing.

Have you ever hated going home like this? A house that should be a haven for life looks like a grave rather than a cradle.

“Wait a minute… … .”

Follow him one step later.

What I saw in the house that I followed after everyone was Lucia, who was sleeping peacefully.

Yes, it’s really comfortable too. Anyone who sees it will know it’s my living room.

It must have been cumbersome, so I took off my coat and threw my tie everywhere.

Her clothes are also quite disheveled, and her breath is suffocating when she sees the way she threw off her socks and even her skirt.

What is it, why are you so confused?

what is this child Isn’t it strange to talk in your sleep? If you look at me, you’ll know I’ve done something.

In fact, the surrounding gaze is like that. I feel like I’m breaking out in a cold sweat.

“Master, I was waiting for you at around 8:00 in the morning. Then when the hell did Lucia come?”

“I’ve been waiting since 7 o’clock.”

“… … I came around 6 o’clock. I thought I came the fastest, but now I see that there is another person who is the fastest? Could it be from yesterday?”

Eleanor, Arrieta, and Baek Yang turn their heads toward me, revealing their whereabouts in that order.

hey It’s also colloquial.

If the three of them had come so early, it would be plausible to mistake Lucia for being with me the night before.

A cold chill brushes the nape of the neck.

A questionable gaze fixed on me.

“… … I can explain everything.”

“is that so?”

Fortunately, Arietta is here too. As long as she is a human lie detector, it won’t be impossible to protect my honor.

“Um… … . What are you all doing in my room… … . uh?”

Then Lucia woke up.

Listening to what he said, it seems that this kid really thought that this was his main room.

After checking where she was lying now, the eyes of Eleanor and her party, and her own clothes, Lucia pulled up the blanket and said while covering herself.

“I, I… … that, yes! The Prince of Oz is forced… … . Khumm, hmm.”

“no.”

If you cut back and forth like that, what are you telling me to do?

“Saint?”

“Um… … . It’s the truth.”

Eleanor has grown up.

In the past, I would have taken out the sword first in this situation, but now I go through a clear confirmation process first.

You’ve become a little more mature.

“Master, let the final argument begin.”

Still, it would be nice to get rid of the habit of fiddling with the handle of the sword.

* * *

Fortunately, Eleanor never swung her sword.

As if she were a judge, she put the bayonet down beside her in place of the mallet and listened to a statement that was close to my excuse.

Even in a country where there is no talker, I think I was able to speak well because the physical threat was right in front of my eyes. Because if you don’t, you die.

“So, just because Lucia looked very tired, did you force her to sleep while ignoring her own will?”

“Yes… … ji?”

Saying it that way doesn’t mean I haven’t done anything wrong.

“Have you done anything else?”

“That’s for sure.”

“Holy Lady.”

“Yes, it is true.”

“… … like.”

After checking my final argument and the lie detector that Arrieta uses in real time, Eleanor nodded and said,

“You know that Master acted for Lucia, but… … It can only be said that it was guilty in that it was an act of ignoring Lucia’s will.”

A guilty verdict has been handed down.

I couldn’t even protest because it was a ruling that was difficult to dispute.

Why is this guy making such cold-hearted judgments without his usual nonsense?

I never imagined that I would miss the old Eleanor… … .