Episode 187 The Imperial Palace (1)
'Ha, hahaha. Wow— This is strange, isn't it? I guess I've been through a lot. Not only am I hearing things, but I've even lost my ability to speak? I should go to the hospital. How much money do I have left? No, I can earn as much as I want with my ability now, so it doesn't matter.'
Countless thoughts crossed Andrew's mind as his excessively strengthened thinking ability, enhanced by his unique skill, went haywire.
He couldn't accept the reality he was facing and desperately tried to 'deny' it, trying to divert his thoughts…
[Hmm, this location is America? And the western region… California.]
But the voice that continued to shake his mind wouldn't let him ignore the situation.
'No, how? Why is the Immortal King here?! What the hell is this? This isn't a joke. How did that monster from Auterica cross over to Earth?!'
The next stage was 'anger'.
He was furious, but the Immortal King's identity and how he could be on Earth wasn't an important issue right now.
It wouldn't change his situation even if he knew.
'Please… I suffered so much! I finally thought I could have a peaceful life, and this happens? At least give me some time…!'
The next stage was 'bargaining'.
It was the last struggle, accepting that he couldn't do anything about the situation.
[Now then— Andrew Weber, your first mission. Clean up the surroundings and come to Korea right away. I'll send someone when you arrive.]
"Ah."
A soft exclamation escaped Andrew's lips as his voice, blocked by the restriction, returned.
But he was already in a state of 'depression', so such a trivial thing didn't matter to him.
'…Well, it's better than working under that ghost, Olivia. Korea wasn't that poor of a country. If I can have pizza, cola, and even watch TV… That's all I need.'
Finally reaching the stage of 'acceptance', he nodded calmly with an empty expression.
"Yes… I will obey your command, Immortal King."
After all, he was now directly under the always busy Immortal King, so his work wouldn't be as intense as before, when he had a demanding superior.
And compared to the dark magic power and death energy emitted by the teeming undead, the city's smog was practically perfume.
'Come to think of it, it might not be that bad? If the work environment improves… It would be better to be under a strong individual like this. Maybe I'll even get some scraps.'
As the negative emotions subsided after the rapid torrent of thoughts, the happiness circuit hidden deep inside him started to work frantically.
And as Andrew Weber in the US was maturing through the five stages of death,
[Hehehe— I thought this would happen someday, but it's faster than I expected. And I even got the coordinates for America. It'll save me some time later.]
Hans, who was in Japan, slowly nodded, watching Salma diligently reaping death while maintaining the barrier that covered the surroundings.
Boom—!
"Kyaaaack!"
"Damn it! What's this black thing? What's so fast… Ugh!"
It only took about thirty minutes for a Yakuza organization, which even included some fairly skilled awakened ones, to be wiped out.
The synergy between Salma's martial arts and the 'abyss' was surprisingly good, and the results were very satisfying.
It was to the point where he didn't seem that different from when he was alive.
'As expected, Salma's main strength was martial arts, so he's not that affected by losing his unique skill. And he still has other minor skills.'
Unfortunately, the unique skills granted upon awakening disappeared along with the owner's death and couldn't be used by the undead.
It was a sad fact, considering that most awakened ones relied heavily on them.
Anyway, the demonstration of Salma, the Abyss Revenant who used martial arts, was very successful.
He could even create more efficient individuals in the future after improving the process based on this data.
Hans looked at the undead who started cleaning up and leisurely scanned the surroundings, which had become a mess.
He thought of Andrew again as the situation was nearing its end.
'With his ability, I'll be able to move more efficiently, right? I can leave his management to Heterosis, so I don't have to worry about him separately.'
Of course, he would have to reinforce the restrictions on him because he had learned a secret that no one should know.
He probably wouldn't even be able to imagine the biggest secret, his true identity, but just the fact that 'Hahoe Mask' could travel between Earth and another world was a significant piece of information.
'Come to think of it, if I'm going to have him gather information in Korea, I should also teach him Korean.'
There was no problem with their telepathic communication just now because it was just him transmitting his will through the restriction, but his information gathering efficiency would be significantly limited if he didn't understand the language.
Seeing or hearing something was useless if you didn't know what it meant.
And he would also have to teach him other languages, like Japanese and Chinese, since he wasn't just going to use him in Korea…
'…I guess I'll have to look into whether there's a magic tool related to language. It might not exist in Auterica, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist in other worlds. Of course, it seems quite rare, considering I haven't heard of it.'
But he would probably find it somewhere if he looked hard enough.
Until then, he had no choice but to have Andrew learn languages himself.
Of course, Hans didn't feel guilty about the hard work he would have to go through.
He was being given language lessons for free, something others had to pay a lot of money for, and he would even become a polyglot thanks to it, so he should be grateful!
It was the moment when the shadow of K-education fell over Andrew's peaceful future, without him even knowing.
____________________
"…Otherworlder…"
Geos Calkin, who had been cleaning his spear in his lodging, suddenly stopped and muttered to himself.
The words he had heard from that strange man, Hesperon, were stuck in his mind.
'It didn't seem like he was joking… Could it be real?'
Considering various factors, the probability of him just spouting nonsense was very low.
Actually, even the atmosphere around them felt like everyone already knew something.
And that meant…
"Of course, I thought it was a joke, but you're saying it was real?"
This time, he wasn't talking about Hesperon.
It was much earlier, a long time ago—.
Someone had said the same thing to him, claiming to be an otherworlder.
His friend, mentor, and teacher, who had taught him this spear and secret technique.
He couldn't stop thinking about him.
'…I should visit him sometime, just in case. If it's true, I might even get a clue about that Hesperon guy's ability. Should I bring it up when the Saint arrives?'
He finished cleaning his spear and slowly approached the window, looking outside.
He couldn't see the entire cityscape from here, but it was enough to understand the situation in Rohan just from what he could see.
Soldiers busily moving around, armed, and refugees lying on the dirty streets like trash.
He couldn't find any hope in their faces.
Chaos, despair, sorrow, resentment, resignation…
Those gloomy emotions filled the air in the once prosperous capital, and everyone was struggling to survive day by day.
'…Immortal King Hans.'
All of this was because of him.
Countless others were suffering and dying in unseen places, in addition to these people.
'This isn't the time to be picky. It's best to eliminate him as soon as possible before he causes more trouble.'
Just as Geos was reaffirming his resolve, his gaze landed on a couple hugging a dirty child in a corner of an alley.
They were a family with haggard faces, not well-off, but he couldn't take his eyes off them, huddled together and relying on each other.
"Whew—"
He looked down at them for a moment and then turned his head away with a deep sigh.
He couldn't afford to feel sympathy for everyone who was struggling in these difficult times.
And he didn't have the ability to take responsibility for them all, as he was now just a spearman.
'The only thing I can do… is revenge.'
All he could do was wield the spear that contained their anger and resentment.
He could only hope that the spear would pierce the Immortal King's heart.
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The hero party didn't have much to do in the Rohan Duchy from the beginning.
After all, the reason they were sent here was to pick up the princess and Hesperon, and now that their purpose was achieved, there was no need to stay here any longer.
Of course, their brief stay had been a great help to the war effort, as they were all top-notch talents, but they couldn't be tied up in this backwater forever.
They had many places to go, and this was a battlefield where a large army was more helpful than a small number of strong individuals.
And so, the group, with two additional members, moved to their next destination after a few days in Rohan.
Since the gate at the destroyed temple hadn't been restored yet, the place they arrived at through Isea's teleportation magic was—.
"Ah…!"
Princess Riley let out a soft exclamation.
She couldn't help it.
The scene unfolding before her eyes, the overwhelming scale of the structure, was all too familiar to her.
"…Finally."
It was the imperial palace in Jeron, the capital of the Azeria Empire, her home, which she had finally returned to after almost two months.
"The treatment is definitely different now that the princess is back. They don't usually open the coordinates inside the outer wall unless it's urgent. To think they would allow us to enter the inner palace directly…"
Isea, who looked a bit tired, perhaps because it was burdensome to teleport long distances with additional people, nodded with satisfaction.
Of course, even though it was inside the walls, the facility where the coordinates were open was on the outskirts, and it was a heavily guarded security zone with the Imperial Guard headquarters right next to it…
Still, considering that even royalty had to go through procedures and enter from the outer wall without a valid reason, their current treatment was definitely special.
"Well, it's only natural since the Saint is with us."
He was currently running around on the front lines, leading the 'Anti-Immortal King Special Mobile Strike Force', but the Saint of the Main God Church was a big shot who could even sit at the same table as the Empire's Emperor.
It was fortunate that Heinrich had already expressed his desire to avoid a troublesome welcoming ceremony, or they would have experienced a true state guest-level reception the moment they arrived.
"Then we'll escort you to the palace. Please follow us."
But as they followed the guards who came to greet them and left the security zone,
A group of people, as if they had been waiting for that moment, swarmed them like wild beasts who had found prey.
"Princess Riley! Congratulations on your return. You must have been through a lot."
"Oh! Saint, thank you for saving our princess! This is truly the Main God's grace."
"Ahem, Viscount Pristine? I'm Viscount Malaf. I have something urgent to discuss with you…"
"Please step aside! They've come a long way. Make way!"
Nobles, all wearing expensive-looking clothes and obsequious smiles.
Their intentions were so obvious that it was difficult to pretend not to notice.
'There are many nobles from other factions, not just the princess's original faction. Huh? And that guy, I think he was part of the Crown Prince's faction.'
The nobles who were originally part of the Fifth Princess's faction were happily sucking up to her, and those who weren't were eagerly promoting themselves, trying to switch sides.
As expected of those for whom politics was an everyday occurrence, they seemed to have quickly judged how to act after reading the situation.
"Thank you, everyone. It's thanks to your concern that I was able to return safely. Count Solain, you've lost a lot of weight. You should take care of your health, no matter how busy you are."
"I couldn't sleep because I was so worried about the princess's safety. I'm glad you're safe and sound now. Hehehe!"
"Count Pianon? It's been two years, how have you been?"
"Ahem, of course. I was in the capital and heard the news that the princess had safely returned, so I thought I should at least greet you…"
Riley skillfully handled them, her face aloof, unlike her usual demeanor.
It was a political scene that began the moment they entered the imperial palace, but she was actually happy for the opportunity, as she had been forced to let go of everything for two months and just worry.
'To think I would miss the imperial palace's power struggles, which used to be so tiresome.'
Riley chuckled inwardly and continued to walk towards the palace with her companions, managing the nobles.
This was the battlefield where she had fought her entire life.
It was time to resume her war, which had been in a temporary ceasefire.