Chapter 100

“Become a vampire, Juro.”

The situation where the vampire’s sharp shing hand pierced the man’s belly.

Such a wound was fatal enough that even the Saintess would have a hard time reversing it.

The only way to survive was to receive blood from oneself and become a vampire.

But.

“I will never… become a vampire.”

“Why are you being so stubborn? Humans are weak beyond measure-”

“- Look! Didn’t that weakling over there fail to properly fight and fall into my hands while trying to protect him?”

In the direction the vampire pointed, Skard, whose body was already shattered and could no longer move, glared at him with a pale expression.

“If you become a vampire, you can recover from your wounds in an instant. Not only that? You would become an immortal being who never ages or dies!”

The vampire yearned for Juro, who had the strength to match him with a human body. In fact, if Skard hadn’t been there, he might have also faced danger.

Long ago, when he was on the brink of losing his life, he pledged loyalty to his current master, ‘Dracula’, and became a vampire, gaining his current strength. He wanted Juro to experience that feeling.

However, Juro’s answer remained resolute.

“I am not afraid of dying.”

*

“That’s nonsense! That Peratu guy is way too strong, isn’t he?”

“Even if Juro was disadvantaged saving Skard, I didn’t think it would end up like this.”
“No! It’s not over yet. He can surely overcome it.”

On the day of the Manhwapia publication, people gathered around those who bought the book and began reading together.

But this time, the reactions were particularly intense, and it was all because of [Van Helsing].

In the last episode, a tremendously powerful enemy, ‘Peratu,’ appeared, putting the protagonist in a crisis. The story ended as his mentor, Juro, appeared and began to fight, which completely drove the audience wild.

Today, especially two episodes of Van Helsing were serialized, satisfying the readers’ expectations.

Juro desperately fought to protect the people and his disciples against Peratu, but gradually began to be pushed back against the endlessly recovering Peratu. Finally, as he was heavily injured, people’s gasps filled the air.

“Don’t cry.”

“You won! That guy ran away!!! Juro fought back despite not being able to recover…”

Although he dealt the final blow and cornered Peratu, Juro couldn’t finish him off as he hurriedly retreated with the sunrise fast approaching.

Beside the now injured Juro remained only Skard, who was filled with tears and anger.

“It’s beautiful that people bloom and wither. Even if one flower wilts, new ones will soon bloom-”

– Burn your heart, let the flower within blossom. Never forget, it’s always humans that defeat monsters…

Readers immersed in [Van Helsing] stared blankly at the ending without speaking.

The shocking developments, which were far from their discussions on how to defeat the powerful enemy Peratu, left them speechless.

“Is Juro dead?”

“No… If the priest or a potion could heal him urgently.”

“Isn’t that wound already beyond healing… he’s dead.”

Juro, who first appeared as a powerful figure rescuing the protagonist, later became a steadfast mentor guiding the still-immature protagonist.

Juro’s end was too grand.

Given that he had many fans, there could have been dissatisfaction with the development resulting in his death at the hands of the enemy, but surprisingly, no one was demanding for him to be saved.

“That was a fitting end for Juro.”

“That coward Peratu! Juro fought as a human, yet he fled like that!!”

“Skard will avenge Juro!”

The readers were not merely unreasonable beings.

It was indeed unfortunate and sad when a cherished character meets their end.

But even more important was to showcase a fitting conclusion.

To them, Juro’s end was undoubtedly a meaningful sacrifice.

Just like the existence of the secret organization Van Helsing protecting humans from vampires, Juro’s fight to protect his disciples and the people against Peratu resonated deeply with them, even as a picture.

“By the way, have you heard that rumor?”

“What rumor?”

“There’s talk that comic books may be banned.”

“What?!”

Just as the aftertaste of reading the comic began to fade, someone dropped that shocking news.

The rumor that comic books might be banned quickly garnered everyone’s attention.

“Why would they possibly ban them?”

“Some nobles are demanding a ban on comic books, claiming they cause harm to the empire, and an Agora has been requested.”

“An Agora?! That could be really dangerous.”

Commoners were well aware of Agora.

Since it had been held several times in the empire and the commoners could attend, going to watch fierce debates among nobles was one of their few pastimes.

Moreover, if a noble lost, there were frequent cases where they lost their title, so if the noble had a bad reputation, they could often be collectively lynched.

But,

“Is the reason that some nobles don’t like commoners rising?”

Now that they could read, they were on the verge of exploding after reading the letter submitted by the parents’ association regarding the reason for the Agora.

Although it was written in complicated terms, the essence was that they believed commoners influenced by comics were encroaching upon their interests, which was apparent enough that they were not foolish.

“Let’s see, the date for the Agora is right around the corner.”

“Those noble bastards really use sneaky tactics.”

“Exactly, I mean, aside from His Majesty the Emperor, all the judges are noble bastards, right?”

People deeply engrossed in Rupert’s comic books couldn’t help but worry that the comics might be banned.

Since Agora existed to resolve disputes between nobles, it was natural for the three judges to be from the seven great noble families.

The idea that other nobles wouldn’t be amicable towards their own interests being encroached upon was unsettling.

*

“Father, please go as a judge for this Agora.”

“Amelia, it’s not that simple.”

When mentioning the greatest noble family in the empire, the House of Duke Bluewell invariably came up.

The Duke of the Bluewell family found himself in a bind as his daughter, Amelia, approached him with eyes filled with ambition early in the morning.

“Our family isn’t just a simple noble house. We cannot disregard the relationships of vassal families following us or those in an alliance.”

The seven great nobles qualified to be judges in the Agora.

Of course, the House of Bluewell belonged to the seven great nobles and could support a judge if they wished.

However, both the House of Bluewell and other seven great nobles were reluctant to accept the position of judge at the Agora.

The problem was that being a judge meant delivering judgments in disputes between two, precisely two, groups of nobles.

The moment one sided with one party, they would nearly become eternal enemies with the other side, making it a burden even for the seven great nobles.

Moreover, since they had to present their opinions on the judgment, if those opinions were deemed unfair or lacked logic, there were times when the emperor would directly punish them.

Since Agora was so sacred, evaluations were made solely based on the contents of the discussion.

If personal bias was mixed in or if evaluations were deemed unfair, that opened the door for the emperor to intervene, and those who made such judgments would suffer shame within noble society for a long time.

For these reasons, even among the seven great nobles, few were willing to volunteer as judges, and the common practice was to draw lots to determine the order of participation.

“But among the seven great nobles, the others definitely won’t look favorably upon the professor, so that’s undeniably unfair!”

Despite his reluctance to take on the judge role, Amelia remained unyielding. The duke couldn’t refute his daughter’s words.

‘Surely they wouldn’t look kindly on Rupert Somerset.’

If he were rather under the command of a certain faction, he wouldn’t be facing as much obstruction or jealousy.

But the problem was that he climbed up on his own, under the protection of the imperial family, and allied with the Yuren Merchant Association.

Nobles generally don’t welcome sharp-toothed hunting dogs that aren’t in their own midst.

The tale of how the Somerset Count family rapidly grew in less than a year became a hot topic throughout the empire, beyond just the southern region, leading to an overflow of those who sought to keep him in check or felt jealous.

“Alright. I’ll apply as a judge for this Agora.”

“Father! Thank you so much!”

The Duke of Bluewell, who eventually accepted Amelia’s request after a great deal of deliberation.

The reasons behind his agreement were complicated.

‘Amelia had caused a lot of trouble.’

When he heard about Amelia visiting the Somerset family after Juro collapsed and causing a ruckus, he was truly taken aback.

He had assumed Rupert would collapse alone, but the factory workers collectively fainted.

He was already pondering how to repay the favor for helping settle that incident, and this seemed to be the perfect opportunity to assist.

Of course, that wasn’t his only reason.

Rupert, who had a close relationship with the current Crown Prince, a leading candidate for the next emperor.

Comparing to the last banquet, his standing had grown remarkably.

The support from the Yuren Merchant Association, now the leading merchant group in the empire, was also not to be overlooked, and being the youngest professor at the Imperial Academy was a tremendously impressive achievement as well.

He was more than qualified to become the son-in-law of a duke family.

‘If he’s just that kind of thief, then I might as well offer my daughter to him.’

Originally, he intended for his daughter to inherit the family, so he was thinking of bringing in a son-in-law.

But seeing Amelia’s changing demeanor of late, he had revised his thoughts.

In the past, she was a child who would hold back even if she wanted something, but at some point, she no longer hesitated to speak about what she wished for.

Even if she might not fit the role of the heir of the duke family, she was a sight to behold as a daughter.

‘There seems to be a clever child among the collateral family who could take over as heir.’

As always, there were no parents that could surpass their children, and it was the same with the duke.

Thinking that if Amelia had a path to her own happiness, it was his duty as a father to assist her in that journey.

*

“Whether on Earth or in another world, it’s all the same.”

Even with less than an hour remaining until the Agora opened, Rupert didn’t seem particularly tense.

He merely sat in the waiting room chair, a feeling of, “Well, here we go,” as he checked the documents he had prepared once more.

“As the Art of War says, war is about winning before you fight.”

Rupert wasn’t confident about this Agora.

He was certain he would lose.

---

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