Chapter: 199
Just like in any place where people live, proverbs are bound to be similar across nations, races, and even otherworldly dimensions.
For example, the saying “Night whispers are heard by mice, and day whispers by birds” can be substituted like this in Krasilov.
The rumors of the day are collected by the Counterintelligence Command’s Domestic Intelligence Bureau. If the other party is a noble or influential figure, it is done even more meticulously. The capability of the Domestic Intelligence Bureau reaches the level of knowing the number of teacups placed in a local noble’s salon.
As for the nighttime rumors, at least within the limits of Frechenkaya city, they are heard by vampires. (Bats are creatures with hearing that can reach at least six times that of humans within audible frequencies.)
Of course, the Domestic Intelligence Bureau is competent at night too, and since vampires have excellent hearing during the day, both gather rumors regardless of the time.
“Oh….”
“Wow….”
Sitting closely on the terrace beyond the curtain instead of on the eaves, the master and disciple gulped down their saliva.
Lucia, with her eyes covered, spat out exclamations continuously. To be clear, she was eavesdropping on the events happening beyond the wall anyway, so covering her eyes didn’t make the information any less transparent. Rather, it signified a focus on hearing.
“Ugh…. Did they do that over there…?”
“Wow…. Ugh.”
In the cultural power of Chosun, such a moment would have prompted the attempt to poke a hole in the paper windows. Sadly, this practice disappeared by the time when paper was no longer used to cover windows.
However, the vampires of Krasilov had the persistence and meticulousness that did not allow them to give up just because the windows were not made of paper. Bats could use echolocation, allowing them to replace sound with sight.
Thus, hearing sounds is close to seeing images.
Especially repetitive sounds.
Especially strong sounds.
Fortunately, they were not dogs, so they didn’t feel uneasy about repetitive and strong sounds.
“By the way, master…?”
“Hmm… Huh?”
“Is it alright not to cover it?”
“Cover? What? Why?”
“Well, that…? Er…?”
While Lucia was intensely focused, she tilted her head, looking at the face of her respected master through the gap of her hands.
To put it coldly, the Ivan she imagined was just beyond the realm of “admiration for a capable yet unlucky brother” or so.
He was an admirable and capable person, a bit unfortunate and even somewhat of a type, but still.
However, her master was different, wasn’t he? Enrique often threw glances at Ivan. The depth of emotion and the time spent together were different.
And to Lucia, who had a slightly stronger human ethical awareness in her half-human, half-vampire state, a romantic partner was essentially a 1:1 match.
“Well, why… if the Princess… no, if our Majesty has monopolized this, then there won’t be a chance for you, master?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“Huh?”
It seemed the opinion of a complete vampire varied.
“Will Elizaveta live for at least another 60 years?”
“…Huh?”
Surprisingly, this opinion was echoed by an elf imprisoned in the underground prison at the same time.
“Will anything else show up 60 years later? I’ll still look this pretty.”
“I can’t deny that… well, um. So if I may say… the condemned will get old too…?”
“Ah-ha!”
Enrique chuckled and nodded. After all, Ivan was human, so he would age, too.
Unlike the young elf, this cunning vampire had a definitive alternative regarding this matter.
“You just have to bite him once, right?”
“Wow.”
“Then what can I do? I’m an elder; what can they do?”
“That’s true.”
Now, Lucia, who allocated more ethical modules to the vampire side than the human side, nodded in admiration.
“Um, but if that’s the case, wouldn’t it be better to bite now instead?”
“Nah, I can’t win right now.”
“…Huh?”
“Hmm, I’d have to try to know, but… half-and-half? I’m a bit losing in direct confrontation, and a bit advantageous in guerrilla warfare? It changes depending on the situation and conditions… I don’t know. I’m not sure.”
But humans cannot escape aging.
“Humans grow weaker as they age, but vampires grow stronger as they live longer. Remember this, Lucia. Among all the races in this world, time is always certainly on our side. Never be hasty in any case.”
“Thank you for your teachings.”
“Uh-huh. Anyway, there’s nothing we can do. Bring me the blood donation pack, Lucia.”
Lucia felt her admiration for her master grow even more enormous and nodded in awe. Enrique closed her eyes while deliciously sucking on the emergency blood donation pack that Lucia had brought out.
“Gulp.”
“Wow, they are going up from there…? Ugh… gulp.”
*
“Huff.”
Ivan stood up, taking a short breath. The mixed scents made him dizzy. He couldn’t hold back from being concerned about something else.
He threw a blanket around himself and strode towards the window, opening it wide.
“Oh.”
“Hello, my disciple?”
With a broad smile, Enrique waved her hands, while Lucia, with a flushed face, glanced around the terrace corner.
In the cool night air, Ivan, cooling his steaming body, asked.
“What are you doing here?”
“Just watching…?”
“Visiting you…?”
The two vampires answered with silly smiles. It was interesting to see that Enrique was the more straightforward one.
“Uh, I can’t get up right now, Master. My, uh, legs are weak…”
“It was quite a violent scene for educational material.”
Sadly, there were no axes in the palace’s chambers. Ivan didn’t get flustered and raised his fist. This made Enrique chuckle and spring up.
“Is Elizaveta okay?”
“She’s asleep.”
“Shouldn’t that be expressed as she fainted…?”
Enrique glanced into the bedroom and clicked her tongue. The silhouette of a quiet woman collapsed in a troublesome position could be seen.
“Is there something I need to report?”
“To whom? To Elizaveta? Nah, I’m really just here to see you since you woke up. It felt a bit weird to visit for a sick visit, so I was waiting!”
In such cases, wouldn’t it be better to leave and come back later instead of trying to eavesdrop?
Ivan shook his head at the common sense of this primitive pre-modern fantasy world.
“The respectable noble lady was making some tough-to-hear sounds…”
“I feel like making her a dignified vampire.”
“Alright, her rationality seems fine, and her emotions seem fine too. Let’s take a walk for a bit.”
Enrique grinned and gestured toward the garden beyond the terrace.
“I have a lot I want to hear.”
*
Veolgrin had vanished. It was unclear whether he was dead or had turned to nothing, but the difference was essentially nonexistent. It meant he was no longer in this world.
The elves had created the Seven Dragon Lords before they died. Thus, it implied that the Seven Dragon Lords could be ‘made.’ It would require an artifact like a milestone, but who can confirm that there is only such one in the world?
The important implication lies in those two.
Now there were extremely few individuals capable of stopping the Seven Dragon Lords within the United Kingdom, and at least four additional entities of that caliber were still alive.
And somewhere, a new entity of the Seven Dragon Lords could be born.
“What a chaotic era.”
Upon hearing the explanation, Enrique smiled wryly and shook her head. The moonlight was illuminating the garden. Various flowers adorned the garden of the Frechenkaya palace in spring with splendid beauty.
“Now the remaining ones are just me, Einar, that fool, and Patricia. That’s all that’s left.”
“Patricia must have lost her power.”
“Yeah. There aren’t any Hero Parties left in the United Kingdom.”
Ivan was not surprised at the news of the loss of divine power. If the ‘world free from divine intervention’ that Veolgrin spoke of had come, then it should have been normal for the divine powers to disappear.
Even if they had bestowed grace out of whim, the complete disappearance of divine powers should also mean the weakening of the alliance.
The healing skills of priests were an extremely precious strategic resource on the battlefield.
“The authority of the church will fall to the ground. Was that it?”
“Huh?”
“Veolgrin asked me to protect Patricia. He likely anticipated this.”
“Then shall we make a bit more predictions?”
Enrique stretched and continued speaking.
“Even if divine power falls and authority decreases, it doesn’t mean everyone will lose faith. But now the church’s credibility… for instance, the ‘integrity of faith’ will begin to be questioned.”
“When a powerful ruler’s authority is questioned, they are likely to resort to extreme policies to divert attention.”
“Do you think the Pope would do that?”
“Is there any other power as powerful as the Pope?”
“Then what form would that ‘extreme’ policy take?”
“They would incite internal discord.”
At Ivan’s words, Enrique readily nodded. Divisive governance is almost like the basic doctrine of rule.
“What would be the justification?”
“I’d guess something like, ‘Non-believers have corrupted the church from within, and God has forsaken us.’”
“I think so too. Is there anything after that, my disciple?”
“Veolgrin asked me to protect Patricia.”
To ask to protect someone signifies that someone is exposed to danger.
In other words,
“Simply identifying a few people for interrogation wouldn’t be of much help, so to relieve the Pope’s burden, it would be right to dispose of someone with significant repercussions.”
“By chance, Patricia has been in this country since the year before last.”
“It’s not easy to explain that a high-ranking priest who has left the country has apostatized.”
Ivan closed his eyes heavily.
“Tylesse has been left in a state of half-godhood, and Kalion is no longer a single nation. The political landscape of the United Kingdom will now change.”
The United Kingdom consists of a loose federation of ten countries. It encompasses the entirety of the human nations united against the Demon King’s army.
Excluding the nations that perished in that era, there were ten countries. Among them, Kalion, Tylesse, Drovian, and Krasilov were considered powerful if determined.
This classification was not merely based on land, war mobilization capabilities, or economic power.
It meant those powerful nations that had been forced to suffer the most casualties in the war against the Demon King’s army but did not perish. This means they were the countries that could bear the most spoils after the war.
Apart from these four nations, other countries dared not establish military governments or colonies in the Demon Realm. The power disparity among them would only grow over time.
Yet now, Kalion was divided and Tylesse had lost more than half of its national essence.
In the aftermath, the current time could be termed as a period where “everyone is struggling.” Most of the population was lost during the war, and the economy was at rock bottom.
During such a tough time, rulers tend to shift the blame for the reasons to the plots of foreign countries rather than their own shortcomings. It’s more rational that way.
*
“If the Papal Enclave officially condemns Krasilov….”
“A crusade will break out.”
“Crusade?”
“Holy War.”
The Demon Realm is too distant, barren, and dangerous. The Seven Dragon Lords are entities that a legion cannot deal with.
But now, within the United Kingdom, there are nearly no strong entities equivalent to the Seven Dragon Lords. All those who could be considered immediate combat power are dead.
Veolgrin, Maximilian, Jill Ber, Einar. These four were the real strength of the Hero Party.
The disappearance of Maximilian was already a well-known fact, and the death of Jill Ber had long since spread throughout the alliance.
Although Veolgrin’s death was not widely known, he was not someone who held great regard within the United Kingdom. Elves do not directly interfere in continental politics. (They do so indirectly at all times, however.)
Lastly, Einar…
“Can’t leave Drovian.”
As soon as Einar leaves with his army, Drovian will be thrown into chaos. That barbarian kingdom relies solely on Einar’s personal charisma for its stability.
Einar even had to bring his wife and children to the front line, indicating that he deemed the frontline safer than his homeland.
*
“Goodness.”
Enrique chuckled and looked at Ivan.
“You are isolated?”
Nothing had happened yet, but suddenly he found himself in an isolated situation.
In response to Enrique’s words, Ivan nodded deeply and answered.
“The alliance is over, Enrique.”
The dwarves, classified as part of the Demon army, joined hands with Krasilov.
The elves, classified as part of the alliance, attempted to reach out into the mainland.
The Papal Enclave, which had been leading everyone’s faith and keeping the alliance’s center, was now attempting to declare a holy war against the alliance internally.
Thus, there were no gods in this land, and now, humans would live more humanly than ever before in any era or moment.
“It’s a chaotic era.”
This must be human instinct.
Historically, humans were originally carnivorous creatures that preyed upon others. Through nations, economies, cultures, and even ideologies.
