41
Eddie wasn’t particularly skilled at keeping things tidy, even back when he was Lee Jeong-hoon. While he was accustomed to keeping his convenience store clean for business reasons, his own room always looked like it had been hit by a bomb.
‘The opposite of minimalism is Lee Jeong-hoon.’
That was what his friends often said. He couldn’t even feel wronged by it. It was just too true.
Like an animal preparing for winter, he would pile things up in his room and never throw anything away. Naturally, when it came to packing for trips, he was far from minimalist.
And that remains true even now.
Gerold silently observed Eddie’s backpack, which was packed so full he could easily survive alone for about five days if he went camping right away. Then he quietly offered his spatial pocket.
“Wow, an inventory!”
Eddie muttered something unintelligible to Gerold as he excitedly stuffed his belongings into the spatial pocket.
It was an amazing item, things would easily slide in through the small opening, and it barely felt like it had any weight. It suddenly hit home that this was truly a fantasy world.
Eddie offered to carry Ketron’s luggage too, but Ketron shook his head, saying he didn’t have much anyway.
“Really now~ You assigned me tons of homework to master all those menu items, but you’re going on a trip yourself.”
Sebastian grumbled with his lips protruding.
It was just a few days ago that Eddie had organized recipes for various dishes using kimchi and passed them on to Sebastian.
Sebastian had become somewhat Korean-like these days. Meaning, his entire body gave off a fragrant garlic smell. He was like a living garlic diffuser.
Garlic diffusers are good.
Eddie smiled at this quintessentially Korean thought. Of course, he had no intention of addressing Sebastian’s complaints.
After all, everyone at the inn, even Sebastian himself, knew that Sebastian’s work difficulty was low. It was just a bit mentally challenging.
Instead of consoling Sebastian, Eddie said, “I’ll bring you back souvenirs!”
“It’s just the neighboring city…?”
Leaving behind the dumbfounded Sebastian, Eddie turned to look at Ketron who was waiting outside.
Whose child is he, really?
With his loose black cloak, the huge sword strapped to his back, and his characteristically cold expression, Ketron exuded the unmistakable aura of “someone you shouldn’t mess with.”
If Eddie had first encountered Ketron as a stranger on the street, he probably would have lowered his eyes out of fear and hurriedly passed by, hugging the corner.
“Eddie.”
But the man calling his name now had the gentlest face of anyone.
…No, actually. Rather than avoiding him by walking along the corners out of fear, he would probably have stared in awe, wondering how someone could look like that.
Eddie naturally stood beside Ketron, having flipped his perspective as easily as turning over his palm.
It was the beginning of a pleasant journey.
And the beginning of a journey where many things would change.
* * *
The tea’s fragrance was quite pleasant. The table was laden with unsweetened bread and snacks to match the Emperor’s taste, who didn’t particularly enjoy sweet things. But neither the Emperor nor the guest touched them.
The reason was simple. The Emperor wasn’t particularly interested, and the guest felt he couldn’t possibly swallow anything.
“Hmm.”
The Emperor with his radiant blonde hair gently swept his hair back and quietly lifted his teacup to drink.
Since it was tea personally brewed by the Emperor, it would be impolite not to take a single sip, so the guest also raised his trembling hand and took a sip.
However, he couldn’t taste the fragrant aroma or flavor at all. It felt like drinking poison.
“Is the tea not to your liking?”
The Emperor finally said such words. The guest, or rather Marquis Meggin, who had been drinking tea with trembling hands as if it were poison, was startled and spilled some tea.
He quickly pulled out a handkerchief to wipe the spilled tea from the tablecloth, then realized that wasn’t very “aristocratic” and floundered, unable to do anything.
The Emperor watched this scene benevolently, with a gentle smile on his lips.
The Emperor, Ricarius Lasite Bergamin.
He was the Emperor of the Reneva Empire. Still under thirty, the young Emperor had not been on the throne for long. He was unmarried and had no children yet.
His marriage, which had been postponed during the nearly 10 years of oppression while the Demon King and his army ran rampant, had long been a concern for the nobles aligned with the Emperor.
Well, of course, that wasn’t the important issue right now.
Marquis Meggin, who had finally chosen to wipe the tea stain on his own clothes rather than the tablecloth, replied in a trembling voice,
“Not at all, it was delicious.”
“I see. You looked as if you were drinking ink, so I thought my skills had deteriorated terribly.”
The Emperor’s words sounded like a light joke at first glance, but it wasn’t hard to tell that they weren’t meant lightly.
The Emperor used the word ‘ink’ as a euphemism, but the word he had originally intended to use was probably ‘poison.’ At this direct criticism, Marquis Meggin’s face turned deathly pale.
If he stays here any longer, he might collapse from a heart attack.
The trembling Marquis Meggin finally squeezed his handkerchief tightly in his hand and, tightly closing his eyes, blurted out the words he had been trying to time perfectly but couldn’t say,
“P-please clear my brother’s false charges, Your Majesty!”
Marquis Meggin said this with a deep bow.
“…”
The Emperor finished the rest of his tea without saying anything.
Hmm, it has a nice aroma.
The Emperor finished the rest of his tea before it cooled and set down his cup with these thoughts. The timid Marquis Meggin flinched at the clinking sound, his shoulders trembling.
He was such a timid man.
At least the “former” Marquis Meggin had some boldness to him.
The Emperor smiled inwardly at this thought.
“It’s quite strange.”
“Y-Your Majesty…”
“You should have benefited the most from this situation.”
The Marquis’s face turned deathly pale at the Emperor’s blunt words. The Emperor decided not to torment this faint-hearted man too long.
“There’s no need to force yourself. I know everything. Just relax while you’re here.”
This timid man, despite being the eldest son, had his title stolen by his younger brother, and even after finally inheriting it following his brother’s death, he was still swayed back and forth like a blade of grass.
Even now, though pushed by his family members to have this private audience with the Emperor, his true purpose was likely not to investigate the cause of death of the former Marquis Meggin, his brother.
This was all for show. To say, “See, I even had a private audience with the Emperor. I did all I could.”
The Emperor was merely helping him with this charade.
Sure enough, the Marquis’s face brightened instantly at his words. The Emperor smiled outwardly.
The house of Meggin will fall soon.
But inwardly, he coldly finished his assessment of the man before him.
If the current Marquis Meggin truly wanted to properly claim his family’s power and exert influence, he should have secretly harbored hostility toward the Emperor while openly pretending to side with the nobility, rather than coming to bow before the Emperor.
But he didn’t do that. And that made the Emperor quite satisfied.
The weakening of the noble faction meant the strengthening of imperial power.
During the past 10 years, while the Demon King ran rampant, the noble faction had gained power and imperial authority had weakened considerably.
Eventually, rumors spread that all of this was the Emperor’s fault. The young Emperor who had just ascended to the throne couldn’t even sneer at such talk.
Outwardly he was the supreme ruler of the empire, but their intentions to treat him as a puppet emperor were far too obvious.
However, as if heaven itself had intervened, the hero defeated the Demon King.
Of course, the past 10 years couldn’t be overturned by that single fact alone, but the young Emperor was capable. He was confident he could reverse this situation within a few years.
Naturally, the hero was extremely precious to him. Both as a human and as an Emperor, he couldn’t help but show favor toward such a person.
“So, Count Fontaine has decided not to participate in the tournament after all?”
After the Marquis Meggin left, Marquis Rivalt arrived as if he had been waiting. The head of the imperial faction, who like the Emperor had inherited his title at a young age, answered with a smile.
“He says he’s not feeling well.”
“Oh dear, should I send some medicine?”
“I don’t think that will be necessary.”
The two men laughed heartily.
They were Emperor and subject, but privately, they were childhood friends. They could read each other’s true intentions just by looking at each other’s faces.
Is he faking illness?
Yep.
Though well-disguised on the surface, this was roughly the conversation they were having.
“If he’s not feeling well, he doesn’t need to participate, but tell him to at least make an appearance. There will be many tourists who’ve come to see the hero.”
“I understand.”
From the beginning, being the hero, there was no intention to make them advance from the preliminary rounds like other participants. The Emperor had merely hoped for a friendly match with the tournament winner, but Arthur had refused even that.
For the Emperor, who had given them a place in the palace and granted them a title despite opposition, this could have been infuriating, but he didn’t seem particularly upset.
A hero is a hero. The hero who saved this world. The Emperor wasn’t narrow-minded enough to get flustered just because the hero was causing some trouble.
Though whether they were the real hero remained to be seen.