Reader’S Regeneration Life [EN]: Chapter 224

224―――――

“Sir, you can’t do this here.”

―Fire outbreak―Fire outbreak―Fire outbreak―Fire outbreak―Fire outbreak―

“…”

Sion couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

The report in his hand was filled with the words ‘Fire outbreak’ repeated for several lines, but it felt so unreal, like someone was playing a prank.

“What do you think about this?”

Edgar IV looked even worse than before.

However, his eyes were still sharp. At his question, Sion let out a groan.

“Surely, Princess Vanessa or Marquis Volkov wouldn’t be so careless as to leave embers behind when clearing their camps.”

“Indeed.”

“It’s not exactly the season for fires, nor is it likely to be a natural fire. Even if it were, it’s uncanny how the fires seem to follow the expeditionary force’s return route.”

They must have tried to keep it a secret, but the situation escalated, and it seems it became public knowledge.

In fact, reports had been coming in that fires were breaking out at every site where the Hispaña expeditionary force had stayed on their way back.

At first, they thought the soldiers hadn’t properly extinguished the embers before leaving, but then fires continued to break out shortly after the soldiers had cleared their camps and departed.

‘There were no embers, and nothing was left that could burn.’

That means it wasn’t spontaneous combustion.

Yet, the flames grew so intensely that to others, it looked as if the Hispaña expeditionary force was a chariot carrying the fires of hell.

Damn it, those damned pigeon bastards.

If Edgar IV hadn’t been in front of him, Sion would have seriously cursed out loud.

They had been so quiet that he suspected they were plotting something, but he never imagined they would start with incitement again.

At this point, even the demons would be confused about who was light and who was darkness.

‘Still, I guess they’re proving that they’re not complete birdbrains, being birds and all.’

The fires so far had occurred in the land of ‘Nudia.’

No matter how carefully the Hispaña expeditionary force managed things, no matter how cautious they were, all Nudia saw was, ‘A big fire broke out on the path where the Hispaña expeditionary force passed, and at every place they set up camp!’ That was the only fact.

They had been at each other’s throats just a few months ago, wondering whether to draw their swords. What would they think if fires broke out in their territory every time that country’s army passed through?

‘Especially if it’s added that they were the first to request a retreat, the first to abandon the Holy War, it’s the perfect storm.’

At this point, the next events were clear as day.

Starting with the ominous label attached to the army that abandoned the Holy War, and culminating in the most flamboyant explosion, they would be branded as an army of demon followers carrying the fires of hell.

He could probably spout it out verbatim.

‘If Princess Vanessa had leeway, she wouldn’t have rushed the march to assert her innocence, but she must have heard that Edgar IV’s condition isn’t good, so she can’t delay at all.’

As a child, who could delay when their parent’s life is in danger?

Furthermore, when the leader of a country dies, the one who seizes power next is most likely not the second-in-command or the successor, but someone else who was right next to them.

Even though Prince Erader had completely fallen out of favor with Edgar IV, if the king died and Princess Vanessa hadn’t returned to the castle yet, he could have a change of heart, ascend to the throne, and claim legitimacy, which would be a fatal blow to her.

“It’s said that the fires continued even after entering Hispaña.”

This makes the problem even bigger.

Not just the expeditionary force, but the entire Hispaña would be seen as an ominous land by the followers of light, and the home base that had been stabilized with such effort would be shaken once again.

What’s more, the Holy Pruscan Empire might go crazy and designate the Holy War as a ‘Hispaña’ issue and push in with Nudia.

“The only good thing is that the fires stopped after the escort of my daughter took charge of the rear. We almost couldn’t bring the expeditionary force near the castle.”

“…”

Edgar IV was just saying that as a joke, but Sion was certain that all the events that had occurred were the work of the celestials and fairies.

The escort by Vanessa’s side was definitely Kim Yoo-hyun, and he, who had been biding his time, had finally grabbed their tails and was trying to rip off their heads instead of just tearing off their tails.

The sight of a crazy bastard, who couldn’t be seen as human, charging with a sword in his hand and his eyes wide open, was terrifying just to imagine.

Probably, their operation was only half successful because of Kim Yoo-hyun.

“I heard they’ll all be entering the castle in a few days.

The reason I called you here so urgently is to emphasize that you need to strengthen the defenses of Klausen even more, in case Nudia tries anything else with what happened this time.”

“Of course.

You know very well that both I and the Margrave are willing to dedicate our bodies and minds to fight to the end for this country, don’t you?”

At Sion’s answer, Edgar IV burst out laughing even in his weakened state.

He didn’t know about Margrave Lichten, but it seemed quite funny to him that Sion was saying such things.

“Were there any other news about Princess Vanessa?”

“Other news, you say.

Why, are you hoping that she’s asking about you?”

From Edgar IV’s answer and the sincerity in it, Sion could immediately confirm that Princess Vanessa hadn’t yet told her father about the true nature of the celestials.

“And news came from Baron Lepoem in the north.

The barbarian tribe in the north, whom you had trouble with, sent three renowned warriors to express their gratitude in person.”

“The barbarian tribes sent people in person?”

When living in society, there are times when you have to act as if you’re hearing something for the first time, even though you already know it.

And for Sion, this was one of those times.

“That’s unexpected.

I expected them to just send a letter to Baron Lepoem and clear their throats.”

“It’s only natural for them.

Their chieftain and the mate of their best warrior is in the kingdom, they can’t risk their necks just to save face, can they?”

At those words, Sion genuinely frowned slightly this time.

The events in the north, which he had momentarily forgotten, resurfaced, bringing all sorts of other problems to the surface.

“…The Princess doesn’t know yet, does she?”

“She’ll probably find out when she returns from the expedition this time.

I’ll have to explain why the warriors from the north came to the castle in person for her to understand.”

“…”

“So, I’m asking, Sion Klausen.

Are you really going to be okay?”

“Are you talking about the marriage?”

“You’re no longer just a simple nobleman.

You’re a figure that this country, Hispaña, is proud of, and the best card we can trust and rely on in difficult situations.

If such a person marries a barbarian woman from the north, there will be a huge backlash from the nobles.”

“I was prepared for it.”

“Preparation isn’t enough.

Not only will the future based on facts, but also baseless rumors with no connection or evidence will spread around and torment you.”

Edgar IV sharply pointed out the part that Sion was worried about with a sharp voice.

As he said, officially announcing the marriage with the northern barbarian tribe was no different from Sion creating his own weakness.

The hero of the kingdom, who crushed Nudia and drowned the pirates, suddenly communicates with the northern barbarian tribes with gifts and suddenly marries a woman.

Those who like to make up stories will gleefully create such tales.

‘Sion Klausen, the hero of Hispaña, was just a man after all!

He fell for the barbarians’ honey trap and only talked about ridiculous peace with the barbarians!’

Frankly, it would seem a bit strange to others as well.

Sion Klausen, who destroys every enemy of the kingdom wherever he goes.

He has made Nudia and the pirates, as well as the nobles, miserable, but the picture of him seeking peace with the northern barbarians, the eternal headache, without showing any will to fight and even providing food out of his own pocket, is quite strange.

It’s not a completely fabricated story.

Originally, to deceive people, you just need to mix 10 percent truth with 90 percent lies and season it nicely.

The speaker talks about that little bit of truth as if it were real, and the listeners don’t recognize the other half of the lies at all and just perceive everything as fact.

In their eyes, there is only a young nobleman who has been blinded by a woman.

They won’t try to find out or want to know why that young nobleman just let the northern barbarian tribes go.

If you ask why, it’s because they would have to admit that they were stupid at that moment.

“So, I’m thinking of announcing it as just an engagement for now.”

“I can already see the nobles laughing at that.”

Edgar IV said that and chuckled, then opened his mouth in a subtle tone.

“Shall I clear them out on my way?”

“…Pardon?”

“Those who are all talk.

Those who like to pry into the other person’s weaknesses.

Shall I take them with me on my way?”

“…”

“You can think of it as a small reward from the king for everything you’ve done for this Hispaña.”

It was just a moment, but Sion almost bowed and said, ‘If you would, I would be overwhelmingly grateful.’

Such a strong temptation, the king himself is asking if he should clear out the useless nobles.

Since most of them wouldn’t be of any help, Sion was in a dilemma.

‘Honestly, I hate the sight of all of them.’

However, there was no need to put himself in greater danger.

Yes, this old king was testing Sion even in this moment when his body wasn’t normal.

“It would be more harmful to the kingdom.”

“Hmm?”

“What is politics?

It’s said to be the act of removing lotuses from a mud pit [a metaphor for dealing with corruption and difficult situations].

Then how do lotuses bloom in a mud pit? It’s because the soil that was sunk inside is scattered upwards as they fight each other, all the water that was about to stagnate is drained and flows elsewhere, and new water comes in again.”

“So you’re saying that such a mud fight is necessary?”

“Yes.

Your Majesty.

Whether it’s clean water or dirty water, it will eventually rot if it stagnates.”

At Sion’s answer, Edgar IV’s eyebrows twitched for a moment.

As if he was interested, as if he thought it was quite something, as if he was surprised.

The king was looking at Sion with a satisfied smile on his face with such a gaze.

“Are you confident?

Even the most honorable person will roll around equally in the mud.”

“Even a noble hero doesn’t always win only on fair battlefields.

Sometimes, you have to fight in the dirtiest place in the dirtiest way to win.”

Really, he’s a guy who doesn’t back down from a single word.

How on earth did such a guy come out from under Margrave Lichten?

Edgar IV gave a dumbfounded smile.

“Sion Klausen.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“You should personally greet those who come from the north.

If someone they have even a little acquaintance with goes, those proud warriors will loosen up a bit.”

At the king’s command, Sion nodded.

If Edgar IV hadn’t given such an order, he would have taken the initiative to greet those guests from the north himself.

By the time Sion finished his business at the castle and returned to the villa, more time had passed than he had expected.

Wondering if she was still waiting, Sion headed to the garden and saw Helen still sitting there, blankly looking up at the sky.

‘Why is that woman suddenly like that?

I thought she was getting better after I brought her out of hell.’

The woman, who seemed to have gained the whole world just two days ago when they parted, had suddenly changed again and returned to her usual gloomy mode.

No, it would be more accurate to say that it had gotten worse than before.

“Helen?”

At Sion’s call, the woman glanced back.

Lucia and Lia were not in the garden, only she was left.

It seemed that Helen was the only one who had waited for Sion while everyone else had left to do their own work.

“You must be busy with the merchant guild, you should have just gone back.

I would have come to find you.”

“Because you told me to.

To organize what I wanted to say and wait.”

“…Well, I did say that.

But you didn’t have to waste four hours sitting here waiting.

Your time is as precious as mine.”

“It’s okay.

It’s okay.”

“So, have you thought about what you want to say?”

“…”

Helen just looked at Sion without saying anything.

After spending time like that again, she suddenly shook her head and stood up.

“It seems I need a little more time.”

“You mean you haven’t found an answer even after thinking for more than half a day?”

“Later, I’ll definitely organize it and tell you later.

I don’t think it’s today.”

Sion had a rough idea of what she was worried about.

However, he was trying not to make Helen uncomfortable by pretending not to know, by pretending not to notice.

“If you keep hesitating, you’ll lose points.

You told me you wouldn’t disappoint me.”

“That’s right.

I will definitely keep my promise.

I will never let Sion be disappointed in me.

So, please don’t worry too much, and please trust me.”

“I trust you.

Isn’t that why I’m worried like this?”

Saying that, Sion patted Helen on the shoulder.

Helen moved her lips at the man’s touch, then barely opened her mouth.

“…Thank you…

…Sir.”

Immediately after, Helen got up from her seat and left the garden with very difficult steps.

Sion, who was watching her from behind, wondered if he should grab that woman, but he left her alone, fearing that the woman’s messed up hair and heart would become even more of a mess if he did.

She still needed time to worry and think on her own.

―

‘…Baron Lepoem, do you have a personality problem?’

Sion sincerely wanted to run to the north, grab him by the collar, and ask him that.

No, damn it.

He clearly said three men.

So I trusted him, but this damn bastard is doing his job like this after I saved his life?

“It’s been a while.

I wondered how far the disguise would work, but everyone fell for it too easily.”

Sion felt a real headache as he looked at the woman who took off the carefully attached beard on her face, shook out the hair that had been tied up and hidden in her hat, and muttered, ‘It’s definitely hot in the south.’

He was already worried about how to bring up the story of marriage or engagement with the northern barbarian woman in front of the princess and the nobles, but suddenly the person in question appeared like this.

“Still, it was quite a pleasant journey.

I should say it was worth coming in person even though Eos tried to stop me.”

Originally, a woman who was called the nightmare of the north to Hispaña in the novel.

A strong woman from the north who is more used to breaking people in half at the waist than to dressing up.

The appearance of ‘Khan’ [a title for a ruler], Zhan Temujin.

“What are you doing?

Why don’t you greet your guest quickly?”

…Irasshaimase [Japanese for “welcome to our store” – used here for comedic effect]!

Serial waist assassin!

―――――――Afterword―――――――

Have a good weekend···!

I have inpatient treatment next week ㅠㅠ···.!