Reader’S Regeneration Life [EN]: Chapter 302

302

Who’s the villain now?

“···!”

“··· ···!”

The Nudia soldiers, who seemed ready to charge while shouting, “Receive the hammer of justice right now!”, hesitated and didn’t move easily, no matter how much the fairies urged them.

To be precise, the soldiers were ready to move at any time, but their superiors were completely paralyzed, unsure of what to do as they assessed the situation.

“Lord Zion Claussen.

Wouldn’t it be better to strike now?”

The nobles from the command unit voiced such opinions.

It wasn’t necessarily a wrong judgment. The other side had already expressed their intention to fight, and they were the kind of people who would attack even if they weren’t provoked.

Since such enemies were suddenly flustered and didn’t know what to do, striking at this moment would completely paralyze their command structure, turning them into a disorganized group, easily shattered.

“No.

Wait.”

However, Zion stopped them and further assessed the situation.

If his prediction was correct, they would eventually give up the fight.

No matter how much the fairies chattered about the will of light, it ultimately meant they would retreat.

‘It’s obvious.

On the surface, they talk about light and justice, but in the end, they’re just pursuing their own interests.’

If someone were to ask him to name just one difference between the world he knew and the world in the novel,

Zion would probably answer like this in this situation.

‘The world can really change with just one word from the king.’

Without a president or a political party, the king’s word is absolute.

And if that king changes, everything in the kingdom can turn 180 degrees and operate differently.

In that sense, the Nudia nobles currently present were practically in the same situation as ducks on the Nakdong River [a Korean idiom for being in a hopeless situation], on the verge of becoming completely useless.

They went to battle under the king’s orders, but suddenly that king was dethroned and a new king took the throne.

And the newly issued royal decree strictly prohibits all hostile acts against Hispania.

Furthermore, those who show close relations with the fairies, regardless of their rank, will be severely punished, and so on.

‘Knowing Eve, she would do more than that.’

She is not just a simple woman who is only loyal to the king.

If she were such a one-dimensional opponent, she wouldn’t have thought of targeting Zion, and Zion himself wouldn’t have let her live so easily.

Eve will accurately grasp what Zion and Hispania want.

It’s not just about revenge on Nudia or a warning to the fairies.

They are trying to completely quell the internal turmoil in Hispania.

Leaving aside the light, the will, and the doctrine, what they can ultimately trust are the same people living in the same country.

In a situation where even the fairies, who are said to be so noble, might be in the same gang as the monsters trying to devour you, they are telling people not to suffer misfortune by believing in something strange and to focus on what is.

‘In addition, Eve wasn’t particularly positive about the doctrine of light either.’

A country only accepts religion when it is deemed beneficial.

Now, in Nudia, the doctrine of light has already gone too far to be considered beneficial.

The nobles are using it politically to gain their own interests, the kingdom’s people don’t even know what is right or wrong, and, decisively, external forces are using it to intervene internally, ultimately worsening the situation to this point, making it a ‘rat poison’ that kills when swallowed.

And lastly, Eve and the core of the coup forces directly faced Hispania’s fierce attacks.

The successor of Claussen’s strategy, who easily defeats even well-trained regular soldiers, and another hero who single-handedly faced the main force and literally carried out a massacre.

If they had to choose between the doctrine of light, which is still only considered an illusion, and improving relations with Hispania, it was obvious what answer a person with reason would come up with.

“Master!

Over there!”

“···What.

Where are they going?”

Lilith muttered in an absurd voice.

The sight of those who had been saying they would bring justice to the invaders just a moment ago hastily retreating and turning back was captured.

Although some troops remained, worried about Hispania’s pursuit, it was impossible to engage in a full-scale battle with that number.

Clearly, something had happened, and they were urgently turning the army around.

“···!”

“··· ···!”

Thanks to this, the fairy group was in a difficult situation.

The sudden retreat of the humans was something they hadn’t anticipated, as they had come with the intention of fighting alongside the Nudia army.

‘They must have really thought the nobles were true followers of the light just because they listened to them a little?’

Far from it.

They were only pretending because there was something to gain from it.

The common people of the kingdom followed because they really thought the doctrine of light was right and good, but for those in power, such words were simply a better reason to lead people, so they accepted it.

If they judged that cutting ties quickly and preserving what they could was more beneficial than following it, they would immediately abandon it and leave without looking back.

Of course, there might be some hardcore fanatics among them.

Those who are disappointed by those who retreat like this and stay holed up in their territories, and then, when the celestial beings flock in the future, they will jump at the chance and shout the will of light.

‘I’ll have to deal with that later.

For now…’

Zion called one of the northern warriors who had been waiting beside him since earlier.

He received something from Zion, nodded as if he understood, and immediately rode off on his horse.

‘Be grateful you’re going back alive.’

If they had heard what happened in the Nudia royal castle and still rushed in to fight,

Zion thought that this place might have become their mass grave.

Already, numerous northern warriors were ambushed in this area, fully prepared to turn it into a scene of slaughter by striking the flanks and rear as soon as the order was given.

“···Something definitely seems to have happened.

We’ll need the griffins to come to get more accurate information.”

“You can probably slowly advance towards the royal castle as is, Marquis Volko.”

“Is that really alright?”

“It wouldn’t be bad to have a large-scale battle once in a while, but the new Nudia probably won’t want that.

Rather than making an opponent with little chance of winning an enemy, they will try to develop a relationship where they curse the enemy’s enemy together, if not become friends.”

“···I’m starting to get confused about whether you’re human or a prophet.”

Saying that, Marquis Volko issued an order to advance to the main force, which had been stopped for a while.

At some point, he couldn’t tell who was the commander-in-chief and who was the staff officer, but he didn’t particularly care.

Either way, the time was approaching for him and those of his era to gradually step down and entrust everything to their juniors, spending their retirement.

‘I’m glad that a decent guy came out before it was too late.

I can rest easy.’

It might be a bit of a sorry thing to say to his son, Ludwig, who is the heir to the Redenen Marquisate.

Marquis Volko had no doubt that Zion Claussen would succeed him and exercise military authority in Hispania on behalf of the king.

―

“Your Excellency, Marquis.

There’s a Nudia envoy ahead.”

While slowly advancing towards the royal castle, such a report was delivered from the vanguard that was going ahead.

At that, Marquis Volko stopped the advance and ordered a large tent to be set up in a place where the edge of the royal castle was slightly visible.

Soon after, the Nudia envoy arrived at the Hispania main force, and the news he conveyed was quite interesting from Hispania’s perspective.

“I will convey our side’s position to the Hispania commander.

Shortly, someone will arrive to negotiate the future between the two countries on behalf of Nudia’s new King, so I request that you stop for a moment.”

“New King?”

“That’s right.”

The envoy answered with a confident voice, as if he had no intention of hiding it.

As he left, Marquis Volko looked at Zion, who was standing next to him, as if he was dumbfounded, and said.

“It’s not like flipping your palm [an idiom for something easily done], but how difficult is it to change a king by force, yet you predict it as if you’re saying the neighbors will be making soup for dinner.”

“If you need to make soup but the fire isn’t good, it’s natural to rekindle the fire, and if the pot is broken, isn’t it natural to get a new pot?”

“···Tell me honestly.

Are you really a Claussen?

Are you sure you’re not someone else?”

He was a Claussen, but not really a Claussen.

Laughing inwardly, Zion waited for the person who would come as the representative of the negotiations on behalf of the still chaotic royal family on the Nudia side.

Of course, it was obvious that the representative would be a woman he knew well.

“Welcome, Eve Gi Lestion.”

“···You look like you knew I was coming.”

So, when Eve entered the tent, Zion was able to greet her with a very relaxed gesture, as if treating a precious guest.

“I heard the news.

You succeeded in driving out the rotten king?”

“···Yes.

And I found a fairy woman there too.

She’s keeping her mouth shut, so I don’t know anything yet, but even if I have to cut off all her limbs and dig out her insides, I’ll find out everything the fairies did to our Nudia.”

After learning that the fairies not only wore masks and whispered about the will of light, but also offered a woman to play between the king’s legs, urging his will to flow in the direction they wanted,

Eve’s antipathy towards the fairies had risen to the extreme.

It didn’t matter anymore why they did such a thing, why they tried so hard to distance Hispania and Nudia and make them hostile.

Now, what was important to Nudia and Eve was that the fairies were trying to use them.

They had extended their reach to the royal palace and were trying to manipulate everything as they pleased.

They stimulated Hispania and stirred up Nudia, causing great damage to each other.

Each and every one of their actions was enough for the country to capture them alive and peel off their skin.

“Don’t get too excited, Eve.

They don’t represent the will of all fairies, and there are already fairies who have taken the opposite path and declared that they will cooperate with humans.”

“···That’s something only Hispania can do, right?”

“Hmm?”

“The person who made it public that Nudia was used by the fairies is giving such comfort?

Are you teasing me?

Now, fairies with good intentions towards humans will reach out only to Hispania, whether they like it or not.

Nudia will grind its teeth at the mention of fairies for a while.

Do you think I don’t know that Hispania has perfectly embraced those who could be allies by weeding out enemies that couldn’t be identified exactly?”

She certainly has a good head on her shoulders.

Zion muttered to himself, ‘She’s quite something,’ and cleared away the sweet talk he had left behind.

He judged that there was no need to increase hostility with useless actions, as the other party was not someone who would fall for a word or two of banter.

“Well, I think that if the relationship between Hispania and Nudia improves and they discover the true nature of the fairies in the process, Nudia will be able to regain trust and favor towards them.”

“···.”

Of course, Zion didn’t forget to say words that made her resentful.

“Now, shall we start listening to Nudia’s story?”

“···I admit that Nudia was deceived by the fairies, suspected Hispania, and launched a sudden invasion.

We were foolish to be deceived.”

“Oh ho.”

To be exact, it was something they did to pressure Hispania first.

The fairies were only trying to add fuel to the fire, but now Nudia was putting all the blame on the fairies and changing the story to say it was their fault.

‘I like it.’

Yeah.

How can people live without blaming others?

As Zion, who believes that moderate blaming of others is beneficial to both body and mind, although there is no scientific basis for it, the will of the new Nudia king and Eve’s will seemed very desirable.

“We will soon dispatch a delegation to Hispania to convey our apologies.

In addition, a letter personally written by Nudia’s new King will also be delivered.

It is our wish that the two countries will not fight over trivial matters and will develop together.”

“Looking at precedents, there have been several times like that, but territorial wars have continued to occur between Claussen and Basra.”

Although not a formal war, Claussen and Basra had countless times engaged in nerve warfare to probe each other’s condition or war readiness.

Of course, the County of Basra was now so diminished that it had to remove even the name ‘County,’ so it had become quiet.

“···Of course, I won’t ask you to believe me with just words or ask you to step back.”

“Then?”

“···We will give it.

To Hispania.”

What?

At Zion’s expression, Eve bit her lip and continued.

“We will hand over the County of Basra to Hispania.”

“Hmm?”

This was a bit unexpected.

Zion looked at Eve, thinking that.

He thought that a large amount of compensation or sending hostages in the form of a marriage alliance would be appropriate.

The County of Basra was something Zion hadn’t even thought of.

If they handed over the land right away, it would be difficult to reclaim it unless Hispania completely declined and Nudia entered a renaissance, so he was starting to feel a slight sense of incongruity.

“Looking at your expression, you seem to be worried that I have some ulterior motive.”

“It’s only been a few decades since the two countries fought over a small piece of land.”

“His Majesty said.

If you’re going to show your heart, don’t show it little by little, but give everything away generously and convey your sincerity.

Rather than being ambiguous and arousing Hispania’s suspicion, I hope you will recognize that Nudia wants peace to the extent that they would go this far, Lord Zion Claussen.”

It seemed that they were concerned about the fact that the 1st Army was annihilated in Hispania and that the main force suffered a lot of damage.

In addition, they were also concerned about the fact that those who had doubts about the doctrine of light and those who still believed in the light were at odds with each other.

If they continued to protect their pride and failed to persuade Hispania, the owner of the throne they had barely changed could immediately lose power and be thrown in front of another rebellion.

“The County of Basra.”

“It’s not bad, but rather a part that Hispania would have a hard time refusing.

Like Claussen, Basra is an important place located on the way to Nudia.

If Hispania’s influence grows there, it will be very easy to exert military pressure when the relationship between the two countries goes wrong in the future.”

“···.”

“I hope you will recognize that our Nudia is this desperate.”

Zion knew well that there were two meanings in those words.

A plea to please end it here because they were so desperate, and a slight threat that if they really didn’t end it like this, they would become demons and fight to the end because they had nowhere else to retreat.

‘Either way, I have the full authority to negotiate this time.

I can make a conclusion.’

After finishing his thoughts, Zion opened his mouth towards Eve, who was looking at him with a nervous look.

“Okay, Eve Gi Lestion.

Hispania will stop advancing any further and start preparing to return to its home country.”

“···Hoo, good.

Then, I’ll immediately pull out my people from the County of Basra···.”

“However, I will add a condition to this.”

Eve’s expression slightly distorted at the words that he would add a condition.

She thought it was enough to come out this low, but what else was he trying to demand?

Just as Eve was making a slightly stiff expression with that meaning.

The words that came out of Zion’s mouth shortly after were more than enough to fluster Eve as she was.

“I will not accept the County of Basra that Nudia is offering to give.”

―――――――Afterword―――――――

It seems that my reflux esophagitis has flared up again these days···.

Today, after dinner, my chest suddenly felt stiff and painful as if stabbed with a knife···.

I’ll do a series of updates next time···!

I’ll adjust my pace with normal updates for a while···!