✦ Chapter 114 – Wedding Night(?) (8) ✦
「Translator – Creator」
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“Master Ezekiel.”
“Master Ezekie?”
“Master Ezekiel!”
Ezekiel came to his senses only after his name was called more than three times. He had been lost in thought.
Once he collected himself, he noticed the First Princess’s messenger by his side.
“…Master Ezekiel, are you alright?”
The check.
Yes, it was the five checks that were causing the problem.
Not one, but five checks. Five.
‘…Why didn’t I think of this?’
It had all started with a simple thought that had popped into his head when the deal with the Emperor was about to end. What if there were five checks? Wouldn’t everyone be happy?
He soon realized it was a shallow thought.
— Five checks? That means five times more time together.
— Inspector, you’ll spend all of it with me, right?
— I’m so happy we can spend five times more time together.
He could already hear the three princesses whispering these words in his ear. It wasn’t difficult to imagine. Given their personalities, wouldn’t they all want all five checks?
They say that your mind goes blank when you’re too shocked.
And it was true. Ezekiel ‘s mind was blank.
“This is…?”
Meanwhile, the messenger had belatedly noticed the pile of potions elixirs had amassed and was aghast.
“You visited the audience chamber and received all of this from His Majesty?”
His mouth hung open in shock.
“I expected your value to skyrocket soon, but… it’s much faster than I thought. If this is how it starts, later…”
The messenger continued to express his amazement, but Ezekiel wasn’t listening.
He was still engrossed in wrestling with the dilemma of the checks.
“Five
The messenger hastily latched onto Ezekiel’s murmuring.
“Five? Ah, I apologize for my inadequacy!”
The messenger quickly nodded with a determined expression.
“I don’t know what five you speak of, but I will definitely prepare a reward that matches them. So please, just help us this one time…!”
The messenger prostrated himself.
“There have been numerous issues in the North for some time now, and it’s such a sensitive matter that even the First Princess has found it difficult to intervene directly.”
His voice was filled with desperation.
“I can’t think of anyone else who can resolve this situation except for you, Inspector Ezekiel! Please!”
1 second
30 seconds.
1 minute.
And 5 minutes passed.
The messenger trembled as he lay prostrate, lost in thought. Alright, my request was too much. Since I didn’t prepare a proper reward, there’s no way he’d agree.
As the messenger lay prostrate, on the verge of tears…
“Let’s go.”
Ezekiel murmured.
“…Huh?”
The messenger raised his head, disbelief etched on his face.
However, Ezekiel quietly nodded towards the messenger.
“A promise is a promise.”
He led the way, with the messenger following.
“Inspector, truly… truly…! Thank you…!”
While walking, Ezekiel quietly contemplated.
‘Let’s focus on ingesting the Sun Elixir first.’
Yes, that should be dealt with first, before thinking of anything else. Since there was already a promise with the Emperor about the First Princess, the checks were a subsequent concern.
“Inspector! Sniff…! How will I ever repay this kindness…!”
Of course, the messenger had no inkling of these thoughts.
• • •
The domain of the First Princess.
The air was taut with tension.
Warriors stood divided on either side as if a line had been drawn.
There were two factions — those supporting Warrior Brolka, who were completely aligned with the First Princess’s wishes, and those following Warrior Brogar, who wished to test the Inspector’s resolve.
“I never imagined we’d be so disunified.”
“I didn’t know you held such views.”
“Traitors!”
“You’re the traitors!”
It was a scene with great significance.
Although there were many warriors guarding the North, if divided opinions prevented unity, the advantage of numbers couldn’t be effectively utilized. Simply put, they were not united at all, but were being controlled solely by the First Princess’s power.
The issue without the First Princess present was clearly visible.
Then, at that moment…
*Step— Step—*
First Princess Ether appeared.
She surveyed the warriors divided on either side, and that was all. Silence stretched long.
All the warriors waited for the First Princess’s reaction. It was only when they were almost anxious that she spoke.
“To speak frankly.”
Her voice was emotionless.
“I used to take pride in the Northern warriors…”
She shook her head slowly.
“Seeing you today, I’ve realized you couldn’t be more disgraceful.”
The warriors’ expressions varied widely; there was no group with more pride than the Northern warriors, so this candid disdain stung deeply.
“There’s no need to look at me with such shocked expressions. Don’t you already know it yourselves?”
She gestured at them.
“Look at yourselves. You are divided.”
Everyone fell silent.
The reason they had been able to overcome the harsh cold and the monsters was because they were united as one. But now, weren’t they pathetically divided?
“Before heading into battle, securing trustworthy comrades is the most basic of basics. But today, I see the warriors can’t even manage that,” she remarked with a disdainful smile.
Though Brogar’s faction naturally felt a surge of anger at her scorn, they couldn’t express it; they couldn’t because it was Brogar’s faction that had caused the rift, exploiting the chaos when she showed interest in a certain man to deliberately create a confrontation.
“I thought I’d given enough trust to the North. I always led battles from the front and tackled the strongest foes… Or so I believed.”
Her expression became earnest.
“I have just one question for you, warriors of the North.”
The princess slowly surveyed the warriors.
“Who caused such an absurd rift because they still do not trust me? I’m curious.”
Naturally, the warriors’ gazes shifted.
No one spoke, but all their eyes pointed to one warrior.
Brogar. He was the sole focus of their stares.
“Hmm.”
Brogar’s face twisted in a frown.
Yet he didn’t say anything; there was a natural reason for that.
‘I can’t very well say it with my own mouth.’
How could he openly declare his desire to marry the First Princess and express dissatisfaction with some scoundrel taking her away?
That was impossible.
Ether quietly observed Brogar.
“Oh, Brogar. Was it you?”
The princess wore a faint mocking smile.
“Have you forgotten the pain of losing your eye when you proposed to me? Knowing full well my strength, advising me seems laughable.”
“Stop talking nonsense, First Princess!”
Struck to the heart, Brogar’s voice rose.
“From the start, you should understand that it was you who caused this internal strife!”
His face contorted as he continued.
“When you threw away the responsibility of the North and sought only personal comfort in marriage, isn’t that why this happened? An irresponsible leader!”
“Brogar, then let me ask you one thing.”
Ether murmured softly.
“Do you intend to depend on me forever?”
“This…”
“Without me, you can’t do anything, you don’t even try to do anything… How is that a warrior? You pretend to be brave but in reality, you’re so dependent.”
Brogar’s face twisted with frustration.
Ether had hit the nail on the head.
Warriors like Brogar, who harbored desires for the First Princess herself, had long since stopped thinking for themselves. The First Princess herself had become their goal.
Her body, mind, strength… they coveted these things.
With a small laugh, Ether continued, “The words ‘for the North’ sound so lovely. But Brogar, if you truly cared for the North, there’d be no need to blame me. You should have pioneered the North yourself.”
“Stop spewing sophistry! You chose a worthless man, and to cover up that mistake, you go on and on!”
Brogar didn’t back down easily.
He had no more room to retreat anyway.
“A worthless man…”
Ether crossed her arms.
“I finally found the mold eating away at the North. Just seeing this proves how poor your discernment is, doesn’t it?”
“…What?”
“Do you know why this happened, and why I acted this way even knowing it would happen?”
Ether asked all the warriors present.
But no one dared to answer. Those who had guesses didn’t dare speak, and those unaware couldn’t say anything.
“It’s a very simple reason.”
She fixed her gaze on Brogar.
“It was to weed out the weak. Pathetic trash like you, Brogar.”
Brogar’s eyes widened in shock.
“Just building muscles, but immature and fragile inside. You don’t even know how strong your opponent is, you’re clueless about your limits, and have no idea how to act.”
She clicked her tongue in disdain.
“There’s a future for the North only when things like you are gone.”
“First Princess!”
Brogar shouted, but in response, the First Princess questioned him.
“Warrior Brogar, can you prove it? Whether there’s merit to the evaluations and challenges you claimed.”
“Prove it…”
Brogar originally intended to boast, ‘Proving it is easy. All I have to do is win.’
But then he realized something significant and fell silent.
…Isn’t it typically the lesser who must prove themselves?
In other words, Ether was convinced, deep down, that the Inspector would undoubtedly defeat Brogar; and this enraged him.
“First Princess─!”
Brogar shouted with veins bulging on his neck.
“…Given your current stance, should I kill the Inspector during our duel, you must understand!”
However, Ether scoffed, as if finding it absurd.
“The North respects the will of all warriors.”
“If you choose to end your own life, I won’t stop you.”
“Huh?”
Brogar let out a bitter laugh.
“Huh… Hahaha! Hahahaha!”
He was utterly exasperated.
“Hahaha! Hahahaha─! How ridiculous must I seem!”
Brogar’s face twisted like that of a demon.
“Would I, who have faced the monsters of the North, fear a mere Inspector? If the Imperial Magic Tower loses its Inspector today, it’s because of your provocation, First Princess!”
But then.
It was then.
*Smack─!*
A burst of blue flames erupted from Brogar’s forehead. No, it was ice, glowing so brilliantly it was confusing.
“Ugh?”
Brogar rolled violently across the ground.
*Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!*
He rolled and rolled, crashing loudly until he was flung into a wall, ending up embedded in it like a giant muscle-bound statue.
“Ugh…!”
While Brogar struggled to recover, a man stood unnoticed on the top of the wall. His blue-glowing eyes gave away his identity immediately.
It was Ezekiel.
“The Inspector! The Inspector is here!”
Someone cried out as Ezekiel leapt gracefully from the high wall to the ground. He landed softly, like a shadow moving without sound.
“You dared to question my qualifications,” Ezekiel spoke coldly. “I will allow it, so Northern warriors need not worry about tarnishing their pride. Use any means necessary, fight with all your might for victory.”
Subsequently, he drove the nail in.
“For those who disdain me, come at me all at once. I’ll take you all on.”
It was confidence that spoke of a one-against-many fight.
And shock rippled across the faces of the warriors following Brogar.
“The First Princess’s choice was not wrong.”
Ezekiel created a long ice spear.
“Today, I’ll show you with the lives of the foolish.”
END σϝ CHAPTER
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