◈ Episode 72. How Grating (1)
Frost was territory of the Empire.
That fact did not change even though its lord, Sirion, had died.
In other words, everything had to follow the Empire’s procedures.
Clack, clack.
Frost’s main castle.
No sooner had the sound of shoes echoed through the castle
than the knights saluted me.
If you were to ask what knights were doing here,
they were, naturally, the Lionheart Knights.
“I’ve been waiting for you, Sir Hoyeol.”
Harkon, commander of the Lionheart Knights.
The moment he saw me, he welcomed me heartily.
“As expected, work like this is not easy for a swordsman like me.”
Yes, in accordance with the Empire’s procedures,
the one who had taken on the role of Frost’s acting lord was Harkon.
Among the Arcanans summoned into reality,
the one who held the highest position in the Empire was none other than Harkon, commander of the Lionheart Knights.
Naturally, I had been involved in that decision.
“If it is you, you will surely do well.”
Relationship and influence at their maximum.
The [Authority] function activated thanks to that.
Yes, that Authority function truly was powerful. ‘Powerful enough to break even Harkon’s stubbornness.’ If it were the greed-filled me, Lee Hoyeol, perhaps that would be one thing.
But was Granfell not someone who could not live without formality and procedure?
Frost was not some abandoned land in the middle of nowhere.
When it was clear as day that it was territory of the Empire,
to violate the Empire’s procedures and swallow the territory whole? ‘That would be impossible for Granfell.’ Of course, at first, I could not help but feel regret.
Unlike the incorruptible and upright Granfell, I was an ordinary human.
As if that were not enough, everyone around me had been making such a fuss.
—What is Frost’s economic value? —Japanese government: “Frost cannot be yielded to anyone.”
—AAU: “International agreements must never be ignored……”
The details of the new update.
From the moment the word Frost appeared there
until now, when Frost had escaped the Demon King’s clutches,
the media had been talking nonstop about Frost’s value.
Thanks to that, I had built up a little expectation too.
Maybe I could become Frost’s lord.
—“I know we must follow the Empire’s procedures, but rather than me, surely Sir Hoyeol should take the acting lord’s seat……”
Even Harkon had said as much.
However, that regret did not last long. I activated the [Authority] function.
I checked Frost’s status and realized it. [Northern City, Frost] [Status: Worst] ……
It was a huge relief that I hadn’t needlessly stepped forward!
Frost’s current condition was, quite literally, the worst.
The situation was worse than the early days of the Yusra Kingdom. ‘If the Yusra Kingdom started from zero, with nothing at all.’
Frost was actually in the negatives.
“How are the residents?”
“It won’t be easy, but they’re trying to accept the situation.”
As Harkon said, there was no way it would be easy for them to understand.
Before they had even overcome the aftereffects left behind by the Demon King,
they had learned that they had fallen not onto the Arcana Continent, but into an entirely different world.
Thinking of it that way, it was another relief. ‘……Imagine if a guy like me had strutted around as their new lord.’
Would that not have only intensified their needless resentment?
When I thought of it that way, I had no choice but to be grateful. ‘Even at best, I would only have broken even.’
I often benefited from Granfell’s troublesome personality.
I added, addressing the worry-laden Harkon.
“Grow accustomed to that seat, Sir Harkon.”
“I am trying to do so.”
“No, you must become accustomed to it.”
“……Sir, has something happened?”
As expected, Harkon was quick on the uptake.
The Quernberg Machine Tower Rift.
The situation on the Arcana Continent that I had witnessed through it.
Just as with Marcelo,
there was no reason I could not tell Harkon.
“It was something I had more or less guessed.”
Harkon took a deep breath before continuing.
“But now that my guess has become certainty, my emotions are running high.”
Soon, his eyes shone with determination.
“As you said, Sir. I will grow accustomed to the seat. To its weight.”
Yes, Harkon had to grow accustomed to it.
Considering the situation on the Arcana Continent,
there was no guarantee another incident like Frost would not occur.
Unless the Emperor of the Empire appeared in reality,
the burden on Harkon’s shoulders would only grow heavier. ‘……Damn. Now that I look at it, there was nothing good about it, was there?’
If this were a game, perhaps it would be different.
But it seemed the position of lord was not simply a good thing.
Above all, there was far too much responsibility to bear.
In that sense, the [Authority] function was practically fraudulent. ‘I’m not the lord, but I have power equal to the lord.’
Of course, I could not wield that powerful function however I pleased.
Power wielded for personal greed?
There was no way Granfell’s pride would allow that.
Unless, of course, it was being used in the right place at the right time, as it was now.
“How is the restoration progressing?”
“It is proceeding smoothly thanks to the guilds stepping forward.”
“I see. It would be best to set priorities for the work.”
Scratch—
I immediately picked up a feather pen.
The reconstruction of Frost.
I looked through the documents covering the overall work and found points that needed correction.
After all, the areas for improvement were plain to see.
Naturally, this too was thanks to Granfell’s setting. 『There was a valid reason Granfell had been chosen as the heir of his family at the mere age of seven.』 Within the setting,
was Granfell not the heir of a great family?
Knowledge covering the overall management of a territory?
Just like his talent for magic or swordsmanship,
the moment I looked, I could intuitively grasp the problems
and even present the measures to supplement them.
In other words, there was a reason
Harkon had welcomed me so fervently.
“Terrifying! If you hadn’t been here, Sir, I would have made a grave mistake.”
“Anyone can make mistakes.”
“Your humility, Sir, instead shames me. You, Sir Hoyeol, never make mistakes, do you?” ……
What are you doing? Hurry up and answer.
Every single moment of my life is the result of mistakes made in my school days!
However, contrary to how I felt,
I shamelessly remained silent.
In the end, Harkon was the one who spoke first.
“I have heard unpleasant news, but even so, speaking with you, Sir, makes me feel as if I can breathe a little easier. Of course, I am once again indebted to you.”
Indebted?
If he said that, I was the one who had nothing to say.
Hadn’t I wrung the military might of the Lionheart Knights dry,
milking them for all they were worth……!
There was no need to go far back. Even here,
in Frost, if the Lionheart Knights had not been present,
I would never have even seen the Demon King, let alone subjugated him.
However, I did not cling pathetically to the end of his words.
I merely replied succinctly.
“All things involve give and take. Pay it no mind.” ……
Succinctly shameless!
It was truly an answer perfectly like me.
“Haha. I’ll keep that in mind.”
Good thing Harkon had such a hearty personality.
As I was thinking that,
a noise suddenly came from outside the office window.
Thudududu— ‘A helicopter.’
A helicopter was flying over Frost.
Harkon glanced at it sideways and spoke.
“According to Jessica, the residents of Frost look upon that flying lump of iron in the sky with uneasy eyes. I think that is only natural.”
I nodded.
It was an understandable reaction.
Just as we had been horrified upon seeing monsters,
modern civilization must be unfamiliar to the Arcanans.
Now that they had been summoned into reality,
they would have no choice but to adapt.
However.
Something was hanging from the helicopter.
Messily, dangling in long strips.
My reaction to it was also only natural.
I withdrew my cold gaze and said,
“Aesthetically, it is extremely grating.” * Wherever there was something of value, people were bound to flock.
Even if their claims were utterly unreasonable.
Screeeeech—!
A spine-chilling sound burst from the loudspeaker for a moment.
Then a voice, worked up to its limit, followed.
“The government must expel the refugees at once!”
“Expel them! Expel them!”
“Do not go against the will of the people for the sake of our homeland!”
Hokkaido around this time had already been anything but peaceful.
“This year is really something. Really.”
Jeong Manseok of the Min-guk Ilbo,
as well as the South Korean reporters gathered in Hokkaido, Japan, shuddered. It may have been because of Hokkaido’s biting wind, but the bigger reason was the demonstrators.
“It seriously gives me chills. I mean, do they really want to act like that?”
“Refugees? What refugees?”
“They must have watched it all too. What kind of situation Frost’s residents went through. If they were really human, they couldn’t do that.”
It was to the point they did not even want to call it a protest.
After all, in the reporters’ eyes, the impure purpose was plain to see.
White breath burst from Jeong Manseok’s mouth.
“They’re obviously being funded by far-right groups.”
“When the government’s own inclinations are on that side, what do you expect?”
“They’re desperate. Honestly, Japan’s situation is a mess, isn’t it?”
The Japanese government had even violated international agreements to preoccupy Frost.
They had thrown a gamble for the sake of their own Inazuma Guild.
Yet, led by guild master Hisagi Kazuma, the majority of Inazuma’s guild members had openly migrated to the Yusra Kingdom.
It had caused an uproar for quite some time.
“It was practically asylum, wasn’t it?”
“I don’t know what happened between Inazuma and the Japanese government, but after one bad move after another, now they’re even making an unreasonable one. Japan’s image is going straight into the gutter~”
“Since they’ve already violated the agreement anyway, I suppose they’re clinging on to the bitter end.”
Thudududu—
In the middle of their conversation,
the sound of a helicopter came.
The reporters not only sighed, but even began pressing their shutters.
“What does that banner say?”
“Get out. Long live Japan. Roughly that kind of message, if I soften it as much as possible.”
“Unbelievable. Those bastards.”
It made one wonder if there was any need to go this far.
Was an international agreement called an international agreement for nothing?
No matter how much they forced the issue, nothing would change.
In other words, no matter what schemes the Japanese government tried, they could not exert influence over Frost.
Even knowing that, perhaps they were so resentful that they at least wanted to take a stab at it……
But even so, at this point, it had gone beyond simply taking a stab.
To even fly a banner like that in the sky.
“There’s no intent behind it. That’s just pure malice.”
Malice.
Yes, if people flocked to places of value,
then wherever people flocked, “demons” were bound to appear.
Even more so in a place overflowing with negative energy like now.
“You’re doing well.”
At the cordon packed with demonstrators and reporters,
the man watching the scene, Maeda Kenji, trembled.
Because he was cold? No.
Because he had goosebumps? No, that was not it either.
Maeda trembled from the swelling elation inside him.
“Yes, this is it.”
Maeda was no longer a government minister. ‘Well, outwardly it may look that way.’
For inside him, a demon had possessed him.
Maeda’s pupils were dyed black.
“Foolish. All of them are foolish.”
Humans were foolish.
Maeda Kenji, was it?
What was so remarkable about this insignificant man
that a single word from him could make them reveal such ugliness?
Of course, as stated, humans were not the only ones who were foolish.
“My lord. You, too, were exceedingly foolish.”
The Demon King, Decarabia.
Yes, the demon who had once been his lord was foolish too.
A centurion of the Demon King’s army.
Recalling his own past, the creature laughed vilely.
“A demon must always act like a demon.”
Vilely, and wickedly.
That was how a demon ought to live.
Because he knew that fact,
he had not offered up his life for his foolish lord.
He had deserted the Demon King’s army and taken over a human body like this.
And what was the result?
Shiver—
The foolish Demon King was dead,
and he was alive and breathing, growing stronger like this.
Maeda, who had been intoxicated by that ecstasy, came to his senses.
“Oh my, reporters, are you?”
He began to act as Maeda Kenji.
It was not difficult.
No, rather, it was enjoyable.
“Is this not a democratic nation? Even if there are differing opinions, there are no wrong opinions, are there? Since when did conditions need to be attached to protests? Isn’t that right? By the way, where are you people from? What, Korea?! Yes, I can see what you’re really after!!”
With every word he spat out as he pleased,
the negative emotions of the humans fluctuated.
What came afterward did not matter.
Maeda Kenji.
If the man’s body became useless, he could simply discard it.
Of course, by then, he would have become a demon far stronger than he was now. ‘Even so, I have no intention of dying foolishly like the Demon King.’
He had no intention of calling himself a king.
He would simply live vilely, wickedly, demon-like,
possessing humans.
In that sense, he was aiming for prey. ‘The one who defeated the Demon King.’
Surely his name had been Lee Hoyeol.
If he could possess Lee Hoyeol’s body, that would be ideal.
Even with the body of this insignificant Maeda, as one could see,
he was able to sway humans.
If he were to take possession of Lee Hoyeol’s body, the body of the one who had defeated the Demon King……. ‘……I might become an existence beyond even the Demon King.’
Yes, that was the reason he had come to Frost.
Did he have confidence that he could take Lee Hoyeol’s body?
Of course he did. ‘I am not foolish.’
He had no intention of going around shouting that he was a demon like the Demon King had.
No matter how he had defeated the Demon King,
he would not be able to recognize him while he was possessing Maeda’s body.
He only needed to aim for the moment he let his guard down.
In that sense, this could be called fishing. ‘I cast the bait.’
The bait of the demonstrators and the helicopter. ‘If only Lee Hoyeol bites the bait……!’
While Maeda was thinking that,
Thudududu—!
the helicopter was returning.
For some reason, along with the extremely urgent sound of its propeller.
The reporters shouted.
“W-Wait. Is that on fire? No way?”
“Is the helicopter malfunctioning?”
“No, that’s not it. The banner is burning?!”
“……!”
Soon, the corners of Maeda’s mouth rose vilely. ‘As expected, humans are foolish!’
Lee Hoyeol had taken the bait.
As if he had been waiting for this, Maeda spoke to the reporters.
“This is a clear act of hostility. I can no longer stand by and watch. I will go into Frost right now and settle this personally!”
Of course, Maeda’s misunderstanding did not last long.
The moment he set foot in Frost,
he unconsciously realized it. ‘……W-What is this gaze?’
The fear of prey that had come face-to-face with its natural enemy! ...
Perhaps it was because my level had risen.
I could feel that the senses of my body had become even sharper.
For example, like now. [Skill, “Natural Enemy Relationship,” is activated.]