Reader’S Regeneration Life [EN]: Chapter 242

Falling Things

“Greetings to Her Majesty the Queen.”

On the final day of the party, Prince Erader, who had rarely shown his face, appeared.

The heir who had naturally been eliminated from the throne due to a fatal weakness—the inability to produce an heir, a reason unknown to the nobles.

Now, no longer the strongest contender for succession, but the number one dangerous individual who must be removed for the sake of the current king.

“Welcome, Brother.”

However, Vanessa greeted him with composure instead of showing any signs of caution.

If she were to show a stiff demeanor first, her subordinates would misunderstand, and that misunderstanding would eventually lead to tragedy.

“I sincerely wish for Hispania to prosper under Her Majesty’s reign.”

“Thank you, Brother.

Thank you for making the effort to attend.”

Vanessa casually brushed aside what could have been a sensitive matter.

Watching her, Zion thought that he wouldn’t have to worry too much about the internal affairs of the royal family for now.

Now, all that remained were the bastards who would do all sorts of bizarre things from the outside.

“···Zion Claussen.”

Turning his head at the voice he hadn’t heard in a while.

Ludwig of the Redenen County was standing there, dressed in rather simple attire, not the strange outfit that showed off his usual boastful personality.

Even that was surprising enough, but Ludwig even slightly bowed his head when Zion looked at him, which was unlike him.

‘Is that bastard finally crazy?’

A character who hastened his own demise because he had mediocre skills but an extremely high sense of self-importance.

Still, he was the future Count Redenen, who was not the type to betray, considering himself an honorable nobleman and man—a perfect example of the word ‘liability.’

“I wanted to meet you again after the royal castle, but you seemed so busy.

I’m only getting a chance to talk to you now.”

“As you can see, I’ve been incredibly busy.

In many ways.”

“···It seems so.”

It’s not like Ludwig had no practical experience at all.

He had followed Count Volko on several campaigns and had undergone large-scale military training.

But he had never achieved anything as remarkable as Zion.

No, he couldn’t have in the first place.

Why would his father, Count Volko, a veteran, try to assign any important tasks to a mere stripling who had just come of age?

He was lucky if he wasn’t just pointed out for his shortcomings and scolded.

“I’m just an ordinary heir who has barely finished his heir training.

You’re going too far ahead.”

“Not far at all.

You can definitely catch up.

You haven’t forgotten what kind of person your father is, have you?”

“I’ve been trying to become as great a knight as my father.

But from some point on, my father, who was my goal, told me to aim for you instead.”

“···.”

“At first, I didn’t understand.

Deceiving opponents with false surrenders in the training grounds, throwing sand in their eyes.

I didn’t understand why I should aim for such a guy.

I didn’t understand what I should follow in you, who was far from honorable.”

Cough, Zion involuntarily coughed at the thought of the past.

At that time, those were really the only ways he had almost zero chance of winning.

Even though this body was basically a nobleman who had learned swordsmanship, the weakness of not being able to handle mana was the worst, so that was the conclusion he had chosen.

“But through your actions so far, I finally realized.

That no matter how much a knight upholds honor, everything is useless if they fail to achieve one thing.”

“What is that one thing you realized?”

“Winning.

To triumph.

And to bring peace and faith to this country.”

“Unexpected.

I thought you would say that winning should also be done honorably.”

Zion deliberately muttered that in a slightly sarcastic tone.

If he only gained enlightenment and didn’t change himself, it would be a meaningless story.

But Ludwig smiled as if he knew Zion would say that.

“Of course, that conclusion hasn’t changed.

But I’m thinking of softening the process a bit, as you’ve shown.

I’ll value it, but I won’t be obsessed with it.”

“···Now you’re finally a bit more like a true knight in the real sense.”

Just because you value honor and shout about it doesn’t make you a great knight.

In any case, when the kingdom is threatened, the real knights of this world draw their swords and rush in, killing all those they deem enemies for the sake of the country’s safety.

You’re not a knight just because you dress nicely, greet women well, and draw your sword dashingly.

At least Zion thought so, even if others didn’t.

“What are you going to do when the party ends and the Queen officially takes over the government?”

“You’re asking the obvious.

Of course, I have to go home.”

“Unexpected.

Other nobles were wondering if you would stay by Her Majesty’s side and help her more.”

“He’s the one who led the expeditionary force with Count Volko.

He’s also the one whom the former king designated as his successor.

Do I need to say more?”

“I’m just saying, just saying.”

Zion just smiled at Ludwig’s answer.

Honestly, he was a bit of a jerk, but he wasn’t born a traitor, or someone who was all talk with no skill, or someone who gave Hispania its worst defeat and died.

He was a sword and nobleman who was somewhat over the top, but died honorably as he wanted.

Zion quietly pondered, looking at the heir of the Redenen County.

Until now, he had focused on finding and keeping only guaranteed aces by his side so that he could stand against the Heavenly Race’s world purification project.

As a result, he was now in a state where he could die from exhaustion at any moment, but at least dying that way was better than dying by being burned alive, so he decided to move on.

‘But when I think about it, the enemies in front of me are a problem, but the bastards who keep planting seeds of betrayal behind my back are also a problem.’

The Kashgar County was such a case, so he immediately crushed them.

The problem was that the family wasn’t the end, and he didn’t know how many traitors would emerge when Hispania faltered or when those calling themselves the descendants of light spread their wings.

Facing enemies from the front and back was clearly a suicidal act.

That’s why Zion wanted to make Princess Vanessa the queen to prevent it in advance.

But when he thought about it, he thought it might be better to create more friendly forces than just the queen.

Immediately, Hemon of the Ishik County showed a very favorable attitude towards him, so the coastal cities in the south, centered around the Ishik County, united to support Vanessa and praised Zion.

‘It’s not just the royal family that’s undergoing a generational shift.

The previous generation that dominated an era steps down, and new people fill their places.

If I can fill those people with those who are favorable to me, wouldn’t they take care of the problems within the kingdom themselves on my behalf?’

Zion had only been looking at the leading generation of this era.

King Edgar IV, Count Volko, Count Bremen, and all the other nobles.

His method so far had been to focus more on them than on their successors.

What if he could go further and hold those who would take over the family, like Hemon and Ludwig, firmly on his side?

Then, from then on, he could move Hispania in the direction he wanted.

“If you’re thinking of returning to the Claussen March, I’d like to stop by your territory for a bit and talk if you have the chance.

Ah, I’m definitely not talking about competing in swordsmanship.

I just want to know a little more about what happened in the north and south.”

“What are you so curious about?”

“How strong the warriors of the northern tribes are, how they live and train.

And I want to hear more details about what you think of the Griffin unit when you were active in the south.”

He wouldn’t mind doing that much.

Zion pretended to think for a moment at Ludwig’s request and was about to answer that he would.

“···?”

Suddenly, the banquet hall becomes very noisy.

Not a good kind of noise.

It was an unpleasant commotion.

The nobles, who had been focused on each other’s stories, began to move somewhere one by one, and Vanessa, who had been talking with the counts, frowned after hearing the chamberlain’s whisper.

“Master, Master!”

Lishikida runs to Zion with a rather urgent tone.

Watching her running so urgently, who had been deliberately keeping her distance so as not to interfere with Zion, Zion instinctively sensed that something had happened again.

“What’s wrong, Lish?”

“Y, you have to go outside quickly right now.

Hurry!

Go out and look at the sky···.”

Lishikida, who extremely refrained from even showing emotions unless it was something related to Zion, was showing such a reaction, so it seemed like it was no ordinary matter.

Already, many of the nobles were heading to the balcony and staring blankly at something, and even Vanessa couldn’t hide her considerable embarrassment.

‘What the hell is it?’

Following Lishikida, Zion went outside the banquet hall.

And as she said, he raised his head and looked at the sky.

Just as the sun was setting and darkness was falling on the world.

Something that had an ominous light at a glance was slowly cutting through the sky and ‘falling’ from afar.

“W, what is that···.”

“Why is a meteor suddenly···.”

Spreading red flames that anyone would call eerie in all directions, the meteor was flying as if tearing through the dark sky, drawing a trail made of a long tail.

Beeeep―.

The meteor slowly, very slowly, fell far away into the distance, even making a bizarre sound.

‘···Damn bastards.’

Right above the royal castle with its cheerful atmosphere.

Even in this important place where a new king has ascended and everyone in the country earnestly wishes for prosperity and peace in his reign.

As if telling everyone to see it very clearly, Zion cursed, looking at the meteor falling at a slow speed and emitting a very red light.

It would have been better if Nudia had declared war again, or if the Holy Prussen had expressed regret that they were harming the Order of Light.

At least a crisis from the outside could be turned into an opportunity for internal unity.

Saying that the more difficult the time, the more they should rely on and comfort each other and move forward through the difficulties.

‘But are you trying to openly remove the pillars from the inside like this?

These damn sons of bitches.’

In modern times, when you say meteor, you just think, ‘Ah, something is falling.’

Before that, regardless of the era or geography, the meteor was always a sign from the sky that foreshadowed an ominous future.

That will of the sky, that will that both ordinary kingdom citizens and great nobles believe to be an ominous sign.

That damn meteor appeared above the royal castle on the last day of the banquet celebrating the Queen’s enthronement.

How will the nobles gathered in the hall accept that?

Will they just think it’s a coincidence?

What about the kingdom citizens who were celebrating their festival, celebrating the arrival of the new king?

Will they also just think it’s nothing and continue this atmosphere?

No, it’s impossible.

From tomorrow morning, all sorts of ominous stories and rumors will spread like wildfire.

Those strange rumors, whose starting point is unknown, will gradually become more serious and turn into bombs that cause tremendous anxiety.

“Damn it.”

Zion sighed, hearing Ludwig’s curse from behind.

He wondered if he had been too complacent, intoxicated by this cheerful atmosphere for a while.

Starting like this from the beginning, they were truly smart guys.

The Heavenly Race knew very well that a hundred ants causing cracks from within were more frightening than a million troops rushing in from the outside.

Their cruel yet certain aspects were revealed in the novel, so there was no need to say more.

Vanessa has ascended to the throne of queen, and there are many who say they will follow her, but there will certainly be nobles who react that they don’t know what’s better than Prince Erader.

From the standpoint of maintaining a close relationship with the prince, it was truly a bolt from the blue [a sudden, unexpected event].

The Heavenly Race and the fairies were aiming to dig into that gap and create cracks.

Not on any other day, but on the last day of the grand party held after the new king’s coronation, a very red meteor that even a child would call scary rather than pretty appeared.

And Vanessa, who became queen, was also the commander who led Hispania’s departure from the previous Holy War.

In addition, she also made a statement that she would not forgive even the Order of Light if they confused the kingdom.

With this much, it was a story that could be used for incitement right away if they set their minds to it.

‘I thought they might use the followers of the Order of Light to create chaos from within.

I never expected them to use a method that could shake not only the followers who followed them but also ordinary kingdom citizens and nobles.

Really··· I don’t know if they are the descendants of light or the descendants of Satan.’

Zion turned his head slightly and looked at Vanessa standing on the second-floor balcony.

She was biting her lip, looking at the red meteor that was slowly falling from above the royal castle and finally disappearing far away into the distance.

Her eyes, looking at this absurd situation, were filled with anger and helplessness.

As he was looking at Vanessa for a moment, Lishikida, who was standing next to him, pulled on his sleeve, so Zion slowly lowered his head and looked at his knight.

“Why on a day like today··· Master, is this something that can happen by chance?”

At Lishikida’s question, Zion strongly shook his head without a second of hesitation.

It’s too perfect to see it as a coincidence.

Then this is a necessity disguised as a coincidence, or rather, a manipulation disguised as a coincidence.

And it was obvious who orchestrated this grand play, no matter who looked at it.

“M, Master.

What should we do?

Why did such an ominous sign have to···.”

Ominous sign.

Yes.

They must have prepared this to bring those words out of people’s mouths.

They would want to say that such flames can fall at any time in a world where the one who is trying to move away from the ideals that the teachings of light want to reach has become king.

By doing so, they will hope that Hispania will proclaim itself a country that follows the teachings of light again and walk the path they want in order to escape this chaos and ominousness.

For example, they would make Hispania insist on doing the Holy War again, or they would step up to punish those who treat the Order of Light carelessly.

‘Go to hell.

Who’s going to let you?’

If they want to say that public sentiment is a more powerful weapon than anything else.

Zion was going to teach them a lesson in reverse, showing them that public sentiment can be reversed like this.

I’ll return this atmosphere that you’ve disrupted with one fireball with one fireball in the same way.

“Lishikida.

Schedule it for tomorrow morning.

I’m going to the Haines Merchant Group.”

Unfortunately and unluckily for the Heavenly Race.

Zion, or rather, ‘Lee Ji-hoon’ who lived in Korea, was a generation who spent his childhood in that era.

That was the time when the ‘Great People of Korea’ was a must-read for children.

―――――――Author’s Note―――――――