The Heavenly Demon Can’t Live A Normal Life [EN]: Chapter 192

Every decision needs a reason.

Before deciding to fight the Chronos Empire, Roman Dmitry looked at what had happened before. The Chronos Empire was a powerful and often aggressive nation. South of them were smaller countries, forming the Kingdom Alliance for protection. Roman wanted to be sure of his decision. He didn’t want to make a mistake he would regret.

He thought, ‘Chronos always has problems. They start fights with other countries all the time. If someone attacked them, how would they react? I need to be sure about this, or I might regret what I decide.’

He looked back at the history of the continent to find out.

He found three examples that helped him understand what he needed to know.

The first was a fight with the Kingdom Alliance.

The Kingdom Alliance was made up of four kingdoms south of the Chronos Empire. Like Cairo, they were in danger from Chronos.

So, they joined together to protect themselves.

Chronos attacked them, as usual. The Kingdom Alliance was angry and demanded an apology because a Chronos knight had killed their leader in a brutal way.

Chronos made a strange demand.

They said that if the knight didn’t kneel and apologize, they would start a war.

The other two cases were similar.

The Chronos Empire had clearly made the first mistake, but when it came to deciding who was right and wrong, fairness was nowhere to be found.

Similar things had happened three times in the past.

This showed that the Chronos Empire didn’t just make mistakes by accident. They seemed to have a clear way of dealing with every situation.

Roman thought, ‘The Cairo Kingdom is in the same situation. They want an apology, but Chronos keeps attacking them every year and never punishes their soldiers. In wars, having a good reason is important, but that doesn’t matter to those who only care about power. The Chronos Empire doesn’t care about what’s right. If we try to get revenge in a reasonable way, we’ll have even more problems.’

This wasn’t a normal decision.

Roman knew what was going on.

He knew how the Chronos Empire acted.

It was the logic of the strong. This meant that Chronos believed they could do whatever they wanted because they were powerful. They didn’t care about fairness or what was right.

Roman knew this because he had been in a position of power before.

Even if people said it was wrong, if you punished the weak for crossing the line, you could control them through fear.

Then, there was no going back.

Roman Dmitry knew what would happen because of his decision, but that was why he thought he had to attack even more.

He thought, ‘We have to deal with this eventually. If the Cairo Kingdom wants to go in the right direction, we have to take risks, even if we know what has happened in the past.’

Roman looked at Baron Noel and said,

“The Chronos Empire never makes a decision that hurts their own interests, no matter who is right or wrong. This time is no different. Even if they helped with the rebellion, even if they attacked first, what matters to them is that the Cairo Kingdom, a weak country, dared to open its gates and kill Chronos’s soldiers.”

“Then what should we do?” Baron Noel asked, his voice shaking. He tried to sound brave, but you could hear the fear in his words.

He had thought the war was over.

But now, with this unexpected problem, he couldn’t enjoy the victory.

Roman replied, “It’s the same as before. From the moment we decided to attack the Chronos Empire, the side that backs down will suffer all the consequences. So, our choice is simple.”

If they didn’t want to become a vassal state, they had to show that they were willing to fight.

“From now on, we have to fight another war at the negotiating table,” Roman said.

It happened as Roman had expected.

Just as the battlefield was almost empty, the Cairo Royal Family received a message from the Chronos Empire.

“[I am Baron Charlton, and I am here as the Emperor’s representative to tell you what the Chronos Empire wants,]” the message said.

Baron Charlton appeared on the screen, speaking from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He held his head high as he looked at Daniel Cairo.

“[The Chronos Empire joined this war because Marquis Benedict asked for our help. Cairo gave us a reason to join the war, and we agreed with their reasons. We’re not saying we were completely right. However, when Marquis Benedict was defeated, Chronos pulled back its forces and said we didn’t want to fight anymore. But what did Cairo do? They opened the gates, chased after Chronos’s soldiers, and brutally killed Fabio and Commander Gustavo, who were valuable to our country.]”

“We were at war. Are you saying it was wrong to punish the enemy?” Daniel Cairo asked.

Baron Charlton was just a nobleman, but because he was the Emperor’s representative, Daniel Cairo had to be careful.

The leaders of the kingdom were meeting to try and have a good negotiation.

They wanted to solve the problem peacefully, but the Chronos Empire’s demands shocked Cairo from the start.

“[Yes. It was wrong,]” Baron Charlton replied. “[That’s why we want a fair price for it.]”

“That’s not possible. We didn’t want to fight Chronos. We were attacked first, and we were just defending ourselves. And now you want a fair price? If Chronos acts like this, we’ll have to take this to the ‘international community.’ We were planning to release the prisoners peacefully, but if Chronos keeps being hostile, we have no other choice,” Daniel Cairo said strongly.

He was speaking for Cairo and wasn’t going to back down.

“[Do what you want,]” Baron Charlton said. “[Even if you take it to the international community, it won’t change the fact that Cairo gave us a reason to join the war. And Chronos will not negotiate if you use the prisoners as hostages. From now on, I’ll give you two choices. There will be no other negotiations.]”

It was a one-sided announcement.

Baron Charlton was shutting down any discussion and telling them what the Empire wanted.

“[We want Roman Dmitry to be punished for brutally killing Count Fabio. In return, we’ll only take one of his arms. If Roman Dmitry comes to the Empire, offers his arm, and kneels to apologize, and if you release all of Chronos’s prisoners, the Chronos Empire will not cause any more trouble. That’s the first option. If you don’t accept the first option, the second option is a full-scale war with Chronos. No negotiations are allowed. You have ten days to tell us your decision in person. If you don’t, Chronos will immediately declare war on the Cairo Kingdom,]” Baron Charlton said.

With that, Baron Charlton ended the communication without waiting for an answer.

The screen went blank.

The grand hall of Cairo Palace was silent. Dust motes danced in the shafts of sunlight slanting through the high windows, but no one noticed. Around the long table, faces were pale and eyes were wide. Shock hung heavy in the air, thicker than the usual palace scents of beeswax and old tapestries. Daniel Cairo stared at the blank screen, his mouth slightly open, as if he couldn’t believe what he had just heard.

Everyone who was at the meeting was shocked.

They were speechless, trying to understand what had just happened and how to deal with it.

Simon spoke, “Your Majesty, the Chronos Empire isn’t asking for an apology. They’re trying to get rid of Roman Dmitry, because his skills on the battlefield will be a threat in the future.”

That was clear.

Roman Dmitry was more than just someone from our kingdom; he was extraordinary.

Cairo used to think and act like a weak country. But now, Cairo was doing something different by trusting Roman Dmitry.

Plus, there was the issue of Gustavo’s death.

If the Chronos Empire heard the story of what happened, they would be careful of Roman Dmitry’s incredible strength.

He was barely in his twenties.

Yet, Roman Dmitry had defeated Gustavo.

It wasn’t just that he won, but how easily he won. It was impossible to know how strong he really was.

The apology was just for show; they didn’t really mean it.

Daniel Cairo gritted his teeth at Chronos’s obvious attitude.

‘We are being humiliated because our country is weak,’ he thought.

He thought of his father.

The former king had always wanted peace. Daniel Cairo grew up watching his father and inherited his kindness. But now, facing the harsh reality, he saw how irresponsible his father had been.

A king shouldn’t have been like that.

If they were facing cruel enemies like Chronos across the border, they needed a strong country to survive.

The problem was, it was already too late.

Cairo finally saw the reality: Chronos was giving them no choice.

Everyone was watching Daniel Cairo.

No one could give him advice except Simon. Daniel Cairo spoke firmly, “Roman Dmitry is a hero of Cairo. He did what was right for Cairo, and everyone here knows it, as well as all the people of Cairo. What would happen if we abandoned such a person to save ourselves? We might be safe for now, but that’s all. The Chronos Empire will use this to try to weaken us, and no one will want to risk their lives for the kingdom anymore, because of what happened to Roman Dmitry. Cairo will fall apart.”

It was a dangerous choice.

Chronos meant what they said, and this decision could lead to war.

However, in the new Cairo, there would be no more fighting within the country, and talented people who worked hard for the country would be treated well.

Even if it meant the end.

That was Cairo’s responsibility.

As the king of the nation, as the one who allowed the attack on Chronos, Daniel Cairo would not avoid his duty.

“Bring Roman Dmitry in right now,” he said. His voice was firm, but a bit shaky. “I will talk to him about this directly.”

Two days later, Roman Dmitry was brought to the royal palace. The palace was old and grand, but dust lay thick on the tapestries, and the air felt heavy with worry. Daniel Cairo sat on his throne, looking tired. He wanted to ask about Roman Dmitry’s hard journey from the Western Front, but the words caught in his throat. He felt the weight of his kingdom on his shoulders.

He finally spoke, his voice a little shaky. “Roman Dmitry… the situation is as you see. What… what should we do?” He looked at Roman Dmitry, hoping for an answer, any answer.

Chronos’s idea was something most people couldn’t easily answer. They needed someone to suggest a new direction.

Roman Dmitry said, “We need a new plan. The Chronos Empire knows their idea is crazy. But they are forcing us to do this to show off their power while dealing with me. If Cairo agrees to Chronos’s idea, Cairo will become a state controlled by Chronos.”

“I know that too. But we can’t ignore the power they have. If Chronos is trying to show off their power, like you said, they will definitely do one of the things they’ve suggested.”

The first idea was rejected.

Then the second: a full-scale war with Chronos.

Even if Roman Dmitry was the best swordsman, Cairo couldn’t defeat the Empire alone.

Roman Dmitry had found the answer from the moment he decided to attack.

“I have a way to avoid war and still get something good out of this. Send me as an envoy to the Chronos Empire. I will go there and solve this problem myself.”

“I won’t allow it. The Chronos Empire wants to punish you. If you go there, you could die.”

Roman’s idea was bold.

He might be able to solve the problem, but they couldn’t just send Roman Dmitry.

That would be irresponsible.

The responsibility had to be shared, but Roman’s idea was just passing the responsibility on to himself.

Then, someone in the royal palace spoke up.

A man who had been listening to the conversation stepped forward and raised his voice. “May I say something?”

“Speak,” Daniel Cairo said.

“Roman Dmitry knows how to solve this. And King Cairo thinks it’s too dangerous for Roman Dmitry to go to the Chronos Empire. So, why not send someone who can explain Cairo’s opinion properly? If we send someone who is good at speaking and can follow Roman Dmitry’s plan perfectly, I think that would be the best solution for Cairo.”

This was the plan Roman Dmitry had in mind.

Just as Daniel Cairo was taking responsibility, Roman had a different idea.

But Roman knew that this man’s words had power.

Daniel Cairo agreed to this compromise.

“Count Fabius, does that mean you are going to go to Chronos as an envoy yourself?”

“That’s right. I will represent Cairo and tell the evil Chronos Empire what we want.”

The weasel of Cairo had found a new way.