〈 Chapter 160 〉 Daily Life
*
Near the castle gates of the royal castle.
A large number of people had gathered there.
They were there to witness the execution of the former captain of the royal knights.
“Former Captain of the Royal Knights, Blake.”
On the castle walls where everyone looked up, Elsie pointed the royal sword at him, her nemesis, and said,
“Do you have any last words?”
“I have committed a grave sin.”
“What sin did you commit?”
“I borrowed the power of the Demon Kings to overthrow the royal family, deceiving the citizens for three years and throwing the country into chaos.”
Blake, the former captain, bowed his head right in front of Elsie’s feet, confessing his wrongdoing.
In a cold voice, she replied,
“If you committed a grave sin, then you should die.”
“Th-That’s not what I meant! I will do well from now on! I will do anything if the queen orders it.”
“Well, I can’t trust someone who betrays once won’t betray twice.”
At her words, the captain began to slam his head on the ground.
Blood started to ooze from his forehead.
“That’s not true! I don’t know how to convince you of my sincerity, but I will never betray again!”
Puddles of his blood collecting on the ground.
But Elsie noticed something.
The speed at which he was hitting his head was slowing down.
Moreover, it didn’t seem like he was doing it with much force anymore.
“Then can you do this as well?”
“Just give the order!”
“Keep your head on the ground and die.”
Instead, he lifted his head.
His expression was frozen.
“Your Majesty, I’m sorry, but that…”
“Didn’t you say you could do anything?”
“If you spare my life…”
But Elsie’s expression remained unchanged.
He seemed to realize that his end was already decided.
“Damn you, bitch.”
His face twisted in malice.
“Your father was the worst king, indulging in alcohol and women!”
“I know.”
“Your family! They repeated disgusting incest to protect their pure blood and trapped the illegitimate children as experiments in the White Tower!”
“I knew that too.”
“So you stand there so brazenly, knowing all this? Do you think you are so different from me?”
To him, Elsie replied,
“At least I didn’t sell the country to the Demon Kings or deceive the citizens to drive the nation to destruction.”
“Yes, I acknowledge that fault. But does it erase the sins committed by your father and family!”
“I said I knew everything. The sins don’t disappear. I must bear the responsibility for everything as a king. I plan to reveal all the wrongs of the previous dynasty and apologize to the citizens.”
The impact of this decision would not be small.
But if she didn’t say it, the citizens would only be more disappointed.
Perhaps another coup would happen someday.
“You’re still young! Do you think you can carry it all on your own?”
It would be difficult. It might not be as hard as enduring against the 72nd Demon King.
But punishing this heinous traitor was a different story.
Ignoring the blaring cries of the man, Elsie declared,
“Then, I will carry out the execution as planned.”
The royal sword glimmered before the traitor who brought the nation to the brink of destruction.
And then, the head of the former captain fell to the floor with a heavy thud.
“Remove it, please.”
She ordered a member of the Enemy Knights beside her.
Currently, the Enemy Knights were fulfilling the duties of the Royal Knights by her side, leaving other knights who needed to regain trust behind for a while.
For reference, the Black Knights refused, saying they wanted to be where they originally should be.
“Thus, the Leim Kingdom will gradually return to normalcy.”
She surveyed the Leim Kingdom from the castle walls.
The western walls, devastated by the siege, had yet to be repaired.
After all, the castle was built to protect against external invasions before the barrier was established.
Now it was a wall of little significance.
‘I need to focus on reviving the economy before using the funds to restore that.’
The economy had collapsed the most in the past three years.
Though it seemed to have recovered for a moment as money started to flow, she needed to stabilize prices again before reopening the borders.
The Leim Kingdom’s currency, once used as a standard in other nations except for Sakh, had lost its status.
‘So many issues to solve.’
She couldn’t handle all these problems alone.
Some issues could only be resolved by the citizens working together.
But through all this process, she would be crucial.
“Your Majesty!”
“Stay strong!”
“We’re cheering for you!”
The new queen of the Leim Kingdom.
Ershiarah Rodeleim.
In this era, the only person the citizens could rely on was her, who had risked her life fighting the Demon Kings to save the kingdom.
Hearing the cheers of her citizens, she smiled.
Then, she turned back towards the inner part of the castle to resume her duties.
Her blonde hair had grown long, cascading over her shoulders, shimmering in the wind like golden waves.
‘I’ll be waiting for you, Allen.’
Until the day she could return as Elsie once again.
She would be protecting the Leim Kingdom from here.
*
“Is this the way to the Central Sea System?”
“Yes, it is the way to the Central Sea System.”
At the Leim Kingdom branch of the Church.
This time, I received the travel permit under the identity of Allen Pleuk.
Surely, the Demon Kings would now know my disguised identity because of this operation.
“Sir… no, Allen.”
Yusera had also decided to call me Allen now.
Sung Yoo-rang was merely a pseudonym; the real Sung Yoo-rang was still on Earth.
My true identity aligned more closely with Allen.
“Is it okay to depart already?”
“Why? Is it about your health?”
Although I could move now, I was still not fully healed due to extensive injuries.
Considering that many Demon Kings would be gathered at the Central Sea System, it would be better to be in optimal condition.
But it’s fine.
“I’m alright. Even though I’m not at my best, I can still use my sword without a problem.”
Of course, I realized during the recent battles against the Demon Kings that I needed to level up my skills more.
No matter how my swordsmanship had risen to S-rank, it would be difficult to inflict actual damage on the Demon Kings in my current pathetic state.
However, it seemed Yusera was worried about more than just my body.
“Are you sure you won’t be with Elsie any longer?”
Now she fully understood my relationship with Elsie.
That was probably why she worried.
I planned to leave the Leim Kingdom the day after I regained consciousness.
However, it was fine.
“I already made an agreement with Elsie. I promised to return quickly. She understands that I need to head to the Central Sea System immediately.”
The reason I had to go quickly was, above all, for Gwen.
Her lifespan was probably continuing to diminish even at this moment.
‘I need to hurry.’
The reason I hadn’t revealed the location of the sword to her was that the process wasn’t simple.
Acquiring the sword required a fairly complicated procedure.
And it was something that was impossible for her without the Divine Seat right now, so I had to help.
Gwen had said she wanted to have a child normally.
With her wish in mind, there wasn’t much time left, especially considering the time she needed to find a man she liked.
It wasn’t just about having a child; I also wanted to give her more time to spend with her child.
“By the way…”
Just mentioning the agreement made me curious.
“What was the agreement you had with Elsie?”
“Huh?”
“Elsie mentioned as I was sleeping that you had some kind of agreement.”
Suddenly, Yusera’s face turned red.
“I-I didn’t do anything like that!”
She looked suspicious, for sure.
But if she didn’t want to tell me, I wouldn’t press the matter.
If Elsie accepted it, it probably wouldn’t cause harm to me.
“Then it’s not awkward for you, right? Knowing my relationship with Elsie.”
But since I would be spending some time with her, I checked in with her again.
If she felt any awkwardness, I would be considerate of that.
“Of course not. That’s personal, and we’re in public as comrades!”
It seemed she was trying to draw a clear line between public and private matters.
Yusera was reliable that way.
After all, she had successfully led a business on her own.
That made me feel reassured.
“Then let’s set off.”
“Right now?”
“Yes.”
Leaving somewhere was now part of everyday life.
And the Leim Kingdom would soon return to get Elsie.
So, this was a brief farewell.
‘I’ll be back soon.’
I looked at the distant castle walls.
Elsie was standing there, her blonde hair fluttering like a flag symbolizing the Leim Kingdom.
*
In the plaza, an elderly woman carving a small wooden sculpture.
A shadow gradually approached her.
And that shadow called out to her.
“Grandma Mari!”
“Is that you?”
She seemed focused on her carving and hadn’t noticed this time.
When she turned her head to the familiar voice, there indeed stood a young boy named Cho-jang.
“It’s been a while.”
“Hehe, the atmosphere at home has been quite the fuss lately.”
“I can imagine. It’s been like the Day of the Nameless King since the sun hasn’t set.”
Naturally, Cho-jang could no longer rely solely on his carving skills for a living.
“So, has it been resolved well?”
“Um, to be honest, I’m not sure yet. But according to the merchant from Basilium we just got, our family’s fine goods should sell well in other countries.”
“Oh, that’s great news.”
“Yes, I’ve started making them every day instead of just hoarding them for the Day of the Nameless King.”
“Right, that’s all thanks to the queen.”
Even saying that, she didn’t stop her hands.
And the young boy noticed the changes in her carvings.
“Huh? Now they have faces?”
Not just the sculpture she was carving, but all those nearby had faces as well.
“Didn’t you say before that you would never carve faces?”
“I did.”
“But why…”
“That was about the Nameless King. Take another good look at the sculpture.”
Following her words, the boy picked up one of the sculptures that had been on the desk.
The sculpture was in a pose with hands together, just like before.
However, the shape of the hands was something different.
“There’s space between the hands?”
She replied,
“That’s where the sword fits.”
“A sword?”
“The queen swung the sword personally to protect the kingdom.”
The boy then realized the true identity of this sculpture.
“It’s the queen.”
The young queen who had defended the kingdom and ascended to the throne.
Adults had cautioned that because of the bad deeds done by the royal family, he shouldn’t unconditionally like her, but among children his age, she had already become popular due to her beautiful appearance.
Moreover, it seemed the adults also appreciated what she was doing.
“Yeah, it seems a new era has come. I must send off the past heroes and carve the hero of the new era.”
At her words, the boy’s eyes widened.
“The hero of the new era…”
After a moment of contemplation, the boy asked,
“Can you teach me too? About the carving, I mean.”
“Suddenly? Why?”
“After you die, someone has to keep carving the hero of the new era, right?”
At her words, she blazed with anger.
“Hey, I’m not planning on dying anytime soon, you brat!”
“I-I didn’t mean it like that!”
But she liked the boy’s thoughts.
“Then go fetch that box over there and sit next to me.”
Watching the boy rush to get the box, she recalled two figures buying a sculpture for a silver coin that day.
And a woman who carefully placed a sculpture in her pocket.
‘I wonder if the queen still treasures it.’
*
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