Chapter 51 : The God of Death

Chapter 51: The God of Death

When we entered Kinalo City, the first thing that came into view was rows of magicians lined up on both sides.

“Ki… Kinalo City welcomes Count Ransen! Long live!”

“Long live! Long live! Long live!”

It seemed as if every magician in the city had gathered.

Not only elder magicians with white hair and splendid robes, but even young magicians barely in their early teens, their robes longer than my arm.

They all knelt before me.

“I… I am Tevek, representative of the magicians of Kinalo City. I will be in charge of guiding and handing things over.”

Tevek was an old man with a bent back.

Seeing them approach me with such humility, I couldn’t help but feel many things.

‘Looks like Haarun really hunted them down like rats.’

Kinalo was the City of Mages. Their pride was so renowned that it was even told in fairy tales.

And these people were kneeling in the dirt to welcome me?

No doubt, it was a reaction that could only come from suffering greatly under Haarun.

‘On top of that, their sense of judgment is quick.’

It was quite impressive that the magicians of Kinalo had gathered around this Tevek as their center.

Whatever anyone said, the ruling class of Kinalo was the magicians. If they weren’t organized, things would have been troublesome for me.

I would have had to summon them one by one, interrogate them like prisoners, and painstakingly extract information to build the foundation of governance.

But with their organization united under Tevek, the story changed.

The magician group that had once ruled Kinalo could now become my subordinate organization as it was.

It was something beneficial for both our side and the magicians of Kinalo.

We would save greatly on administrative resources, while the magicians could at least preserve some minimal standing.

It was an obvious survival strategy, but there was no reason for me to refuse.

Smart, as expected from magicians.

“Good. Tevek. Nice to meet you. Lead the way.”

Thus, the weight of my words was by no means light.

Tevek had silently offered me his proposal, and I had accepted it.

His face lit up, and he took his place at the head of the procession, leading the magicians.

“Here comes the true ruler of Kinalo, Count Ransen! Everyone, receive him!”

At his command, the citizens gathered on the streets erupted into cheers.

“Long live! Long live! Long live!”

A sudden triumphal march.

We advanced toward the Lord’s Keep of Kinalo, receiving the welcome of citizens lined up on both sides.

Thunderous cries of “long live” rang out from all directions.

But when I looked into the faces of the subjects themselves, all I saw was stiff tension.

‘Everyone must be suffering.’

With their mouths, they shouted words of praise, and with their hands, they scattered flower petals.

But in truth, fear filled them all.

That much was clear from the whispers passing between the citizens.

“Another conqueror again….”

“Will they collect another special tax?”

“They’ll probably conscript us for labor too….”

“For now, they said there’s going to be a victory banquet tonight, so everyone clear your evening. We’ll have to carry food or something.”

“This is driving me crazy….”

They whispered, thinking I couldn’t hear, but to the ears of a Swordmaster, it was crystal clear.

My mouth felt rough, as if I were chewing sand.

‘A conqueror….’

They were right. I was a conqueror.

And going forward, I had to become an even greater conqueror.

If I were to succeed in Seah’s Three-War Strategy, I would have to conquer at least ten more cities.

The conquest of Kinalo marked the foundation of that beginning—an achievement deeply meaningful and joyous.

But… that didn’t mean I could take pleasure in this sight.

There wasn’t a single child on the streets.

The frightened adults must have locked their children inside.

No one knew what dreadful thing a conqueror might do, so they hid away what was precious to them.

I hated this kind of thing.

Hadn’t I already made it clear to my siblings and vassals?

‘Let us win. So we won’t have to tolerate this wretched sight again.’

What I despised most was exactly this.

Adults quivering in fear. Children locked away indoors.

A silence heavy as stone.

And the weight pressing down on my chest.

As I sat buried in that suffocating feeling, something caught my eyes like a refreshing autumn breeze.

‘So there are kids, after all?’

Some little ones, curious about the outside, had peeked out despite being locked away.

Here and there, from the second or third floors of houses along the main road, windows opened and small heads leaned out.

Tiny, tilting heads.

Seeing them finally let me breathe again.

It was then that I truly felt I had arrived in the city called Kinalo.

“He’s smiling?”

“He looks kinder than I thought.”

“Doesn’t he… kind of look handsome?”

I heard their whispered voices.

But now, I didn’t particularly mind them.

What mattered was that there were children here too. And then—

‘Huh?’

Creaaak.

It was a sound no one else could have heard.

A faint creak slipping out between the crowd.

But to me, it struck my ears like a dart.

I instinctively turned my gaze toward the sound.

“Ah…!”

One of the children lost balance on a terrace and fell. He must have leaned out too far trying to watch below.

Thud—

The instant I registered what was happening, I hurled myself forward.

Kicking off the outer wall of the building, I flung my body and caught the child before he hit the ground.

“Uwaa…! Huh?”

The little one, nestled gently in my arms, cut off his scream halfway and blinked up at my face with wide, curious eyes.

Could the child have been five years old? He looked even younger than Seon.

“I’m safe! Thank you, mister!”

The little one blinked his clear eyes and spoke.

“Delphina!”

A woman, who must have been the child’s mother, screamed with a face pale as death.

“I–I’m so sorry, my lord. Forgive me!”

She ran toward us, yet she didn’t dare take the child from my arms, fidgeting in panic.

The child, called Delphina, blinked.

“Huh? A high-ranking person? But… you don’t look like a magician….”

So, in the eyes of a child no older than five, a “high-ranking person” must have meant a magician.

“I am a high-ranking person.”

I teased him, and his eyes shone.

“Really? Then… can you make an Academy too?”

“An Academy?”

“Yes! I want to become a magician! They say the Empire has an Academy. I read it in a storybook! It said anyone can become a magician.”

Quite a bold child.

His mother, however, looked ashen with fright.

“I–I’m sorry. I truly apologize, my lord….”

I laughed.

This little one’s thoughts matched mine more than a little.

“All right.”

With that reply, I handed the child over to his flustered mother.

Everyone’s eyes were on me.

Yes. At last, the confusion in my mind felt clear.

My task had been set from the beginning.

Seah’s Three-War Strategy was fine, vengeance against the Empire was fine—but before all that, I had to build a city where children could laugh. That was how I must rule.

That was my wish.

And I believed that only then could we truly forge a strong nation.

Meeting the gazes of the citizens staring at me, I made them a promise.

“I know you’re afraid. But watch. This city will change. There will be no special taxes, no forced labor. The victory celebrations will be modest among ourselves—you should rest well. You’ve all worked hard.”

At that,

A faint spark of expectation flickered in the citizens’ eyes.

“This time… feels different?”

The single murmur from someone among them lifted my mood.

*         *         *

The victory banquet lasted for several days.

As I had declared to the citizens, there were no forced taxes or conscription of labor.

Gold was spent properly to hire workers, and food and drink were prepared fairly.

To keep discipline in the occupied city, the banquets weren’t held all at once, but rotated by unit.

Thanks to that, the victory celebrations stretched on for over a week.

I slipped out of the noisy banquet hall and into a small lobby at the top of the Lord’s Keep.

It was a space I and a few of my siblings used like a secret hideout.

I sat there, staring blankly as I recalled the last battle, while Seah had her nose buried in papers as always.

“Oppa.”

“Yeah?”

“Go to the banquet hall. Katrina-unnie is looking for you.”

Seah nagged me without lifting her eyes from the papers.

“…I just showed my face earlier.”

“What good is just showing your face? You should be offering drinks to the warriors, bonding with the key figures. That’s all politics, isn’t it?”

“Maybe politics just doesn’t suit me.”

Thud.

Seah set the papers down and stared straight into my eyes.

It was the kind of gaze that could make a person shrink.

“What will you do if that’s too hard? The real politics are only just beginning.”

“The real politics?”

“Mm. From now on, all the lords of Norberju who’ve been waiting and watching will start sending envoys one after another.”

“Ah… Just hearing it makes me tired.”

“Tired or not, you can’t avoid it. They’ll be desperate to dig up information. To know if you’re truly stronger than Haarun. How overwhelmingly you won. What became of him.”

“Right. They’ll be racking their brains to figure out which side to attach themselves to.”

“You know it well.”

I did know it. That only made it more exhausting. Right now, I had no space in my mind for such trifles.

Honestly, my head was filled only with replaying the battle against Haarun.

I said to Seah,

“Let’s set a guideline. We reveal nothing.”

“Nothing at all?”

“Yeah. We can’t stop rumors from spreading through soldiers’ mouths, but officially we admit nothing, keep things somber.”

“Oppa, don’t tell me…”

“Let them have no way of knowing whether we achieved a great victory or not. Yes. In fact, it’s better if I don’t appear at all.”

“You mean you won’t show your face?”

“Exactly. And if they think I’m injured, even better. Let’s make it thoroughly confusing. Don’t give the lords of Norberju any way to grasp the situation.”

“All right. If we throw the Norberju lords into confusion, we’ll be freer to move. That’s good. But…”

Seah looked at me quietly.

“Isn’t that just a declaration that you won’t do any work?”

Her perceptiveness never failed.

“Seah.”

I grinned and walked over to her.

“What?”

She watched me as though observing a specimen.

I quickly placed my Aura-infused hand on her small shoulder.

“Oh my. Look at these stiff shoulders. Are you even resting properly?”

“I’m fine. That’s not the issue right now—”

“No, you’re not fine! Your shoulders are like rocks!”

I massaged her tense shoulders with hands brimming with Aura.

“Ugh! Wait. Oppa. Mmph…”

Seah resisted at first, but as each knot in her muscles unraveled beneath my fingertips, her resistance grew weaker and weaker.

“No… This isn’t right… Mmm… Hm… If I let you do this… Zzz…”

Seah must have been far more exhausted than she let on.

As I loosened her stiff shoulders, she slowly slumped forward onto the desk and drifted into sleep.

Smiling faintly, I carried her over to the field bed set up in the corner and laid her down.

I brushed her hair once as she slept.

“Sorry… I’ll be counting on you again.”

She would understand with just that much.

That I had pushed the duty of receiving envoys onto her.

It was shameless, but unavoidable.

‘No matter how I look at it, it’s just a waste of time.’

I truly had no hours to spare, greeting the wolves in the envoy’s clothing from other cities.

*         *         *

I thought I’d never have to meet an envoy.

But the world is never so forgiving, and expectations always end up wildly wrong.

It was four weeks after the fall of Kinalo.

Four weeks. Short if short, long if long—but for me, they had brought tremendous change.

All of it thanks to Seah.

She secured our rule over Kashu and Kinalo, replenished our forces, received the envoys from the other lords of Norberju…

Because Seah took on all the duties that should have been mine, I could peacefully organize the insights I had gained from my battle against Haarun.

By the time I finished my training and returned, the envoys had already departed, and most urgent matters had been handled, leaving me little to do.

‘Perhaps it’s time I used the Book of Fate?’

I had so much leisure that such thoughts crossed my mind.

And it was precisely at that moment—without warning—that an envoy arrived.

The final envoy no one had expected.

“Who goes there!”

“Stop right th—! Ghhhk…!”

“Urgh….”

I had come to the audience chamber after a long while to receive reports when suddenly a loud disturbance broke out outside, only to fall silent at once.

Shiver—

Gooseflesh crawled across my skin.

An impossible aura stirred just beyond the doors.

Step—step.

Unhurried footsteps echoed in the stillness.

Then,

Creaaak! Thud!

The massive doors of the audience chamber opened, and a man entered alone.

He wore loose, wide-sleeved garments. His hair was ash-gray, his eyes the same dull gray.

He strode unrestrained to the center of the chamber, and no one could stop him.

Not even High-grade Experts, nor even Peak Experts like Rivera or Katrina.

The best they managed was to rest trembling hands on their sword hilts.

Step.

At last, the man reached the center of the chamber and gave me a careless wave.

“Greetings… I am Cain Manus, sent by His Imperial Majesty.”

Every movement of his was half-hearted.

His gait, his greeting,

even his languid voice.

Everything about him radiated weariness and disinterest.

But considering the name he had just spoken, that attitude was understandable.

Cain Manus.

Captain of the Imperial Guard of the Galotin Empire, which had destroyed the Banroa Kingdom.

The Emperor’s Sword, who stood at the very side of the Imperial Emperor Rokshutalen Galotin.

In other words, he was our sworn enemy.

And a man known to be a Grandmaster.

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