The Heavenly Demon Can’t Live A Normal Life [EN]: Chapter 51

News of Lawrence’s victory spread quickly. People in the northeast talked about it whenever they met.

“Honestly, Barco must be frustrated. He made such a fuss, only to be defeated by Lawrence.”

“Is it really true that Roman attacked the enemy’s rear alone and slaughtered hundreds of soldiers?”

“Of course, it’s true! My relatives are people from Lawrence. They told me Roman appeared like a savior, and people saw it clearly from the castle walls. The walls were about to fall, but Roman attacked the enemy’s rear and destroyed their weapon. If Roman hadn’t appeared, Barco would have taken Lawrence long ago.”

The rumors were a mix of truth and fiction, like a story from old legends.

As the two men talked, people praised Roman’s achievements.

“Everyone said this war was all about Roman Dmitry. People who were there knew that when Chris and the first soldiers won, Lawrence felt like they could win the whole war. Then, Barco brought in Homerus, a famous warrior from Cairo. Everyone thought Roman would run away to save himself because it was a fight they couldn’t win. But then…”

He looked serious.

Straightening his shoulders, he spoke as if he were Roman himself.

“Roman Dmitry, the hero, decided differently. He said he would fight as the champion. And in front of everyone, Roman Dmitry defeated Homerus with one strike. Blood flew everywhere! It was incredible! Roman Dmitry won the battle and ended the champion’s fight.”

“…But you weren’t even there.”

“No, that’s what my relatives said. Anyway, Roman Dmitry is not the fool we knew. He defeated Blood Fang, slapped a knight in Barco, and now this in Lawrence. He’s a hero. Dmitry had been hiding his true strength, but now everyone can see it. He’s becoming a legend.”

People were excited by Roman’s actions.

Children ran into the streets, pretending to be Roman Dmitry. They used sticks as swords and shouted his name. The rumors about him spread like a fast wind.

That wasn’t all. Lawrence won all three champion battles.

Roman was amazing, but it was also important that his people won the other two fights.

“The hero is lucky. Chris, a skilled fighter from Dmitry, beat Yanson, who was supposed to be stronger. Even a young boy fighting for Roman won easily. No one from Lawrence fought in these battles. Roman’s own people volunteered and showed everyone how loyal they were to him. People are saying this is just the beginning for Roman. They think a great hero has appeared in the northeast.”

Flora, a wise woman in Lawrence, had said this would happen.

Lawrence won the war but all the glory went to Roman.

But no one complained. The people of Lawrence knew they were lucky to win, even if they were hurt.

It was over.

Count Barco went home after losing the war. He was very sad about what had happened.

“Haa.”

Documents were piled high on his desk, all about the money he owed.

Golden Bank asked how he would pay back the money he borrowed, and the Cairo Mercenary Guild was angry about Homerus dying and wanted money too.

Barco looked at the Mercenary Guild’s demands. They were ridiculous! They said Lawrence had warned Barco they only had weak fighters, so it was Barco’s fault Homerus died. They were blaming Barco and treating him like he was nothing.

Everyone wanted something, knowing Barco would be ruined by this loss.

“Those damn bastards.”

It was bitter. His friends, who he thought would celebrate with him if he won, were now silent. Some people even said they were now supporting Dmitry.

It was a cold reality. When Barco was powerful, everyone was his friend. But now, those same people acted like they didn’t even know him. It was awful.

He knew how people only cared about what they could get. Barco had also used people for his own gain, but he couldn’t just ignore this now that he was in trouble.

‘What should I do?’

The loss weighed heavily on him. He felt helpless and didn’t know how to pay back the debt or become powerful again.

He had been sure he would win. If Roman Dmitry hadn’t interfered, Barco would have won and celebrated.

“Yes, it’s all because of Roman Dmitry. He got involved for no reason and ruined everything. It’s unfair. In a noble society where reasons matter, Roman Dmitry did something he shouldn’t have.”

Roman was the cause of it all.

Count Barco thought that to survive, he had to focus on Roman.

‘This is the last chance.’

He stood up. It was his only hope. He had much to do.

Count Barco called the nobles who might still talk to him. They didn’t want to meet, but they agreed because he begged them.

A few days later, nobles gathered at Barco’s estate. Before, all the nobles would have come, except for Dmitry’s friends. But now, only a few came. You could see that Barco’s family was losing power. But Barco tried to look strong and spoke to them.

“Thank you for coming. You are true nobles, unlike those who have abandoned me. Because of people like you, the northeast still has hope.”

“Ahem.”

“Get to the point.”

The nobles didn’t want praise. They only agreed to meet because they didn’t like Dmitry, and they knew this was dangerous.

Count Barco said, “Let’s be clear. Nobles need a good reason to fight. We can’t just attack anyone we want. Barco had a good reason to attack Lawrence. We were righting a wrong from the past, and even the government agreed! But Roman Dmitry had no reason to get involved. He just attacked us suddenly and destroyed our weapon. And then, no one from Lawrence even fought in the champion battles! It’s unfair!”

He spoke loudly, trying to get the nobles to agree with him.

“Does this make sense? Why should Roman Dmitry help Lawrence? They aren’t even related. Lawrence said the engagement was broken. Roman Dmitry is a stranger, and he has no reason to help. He crossed the line. We could have gotten help too, but we fought with Barco’s strength to stay nobles, and that’s why we lost.”

“That’s right.”

“Roman Dmitry has no reason to interfere.”

Everyone agreed. It was wrong to interfere without a good reason, and they could make this a big issue.

‘This won’t destroy Dmitry, but we can hold them responsible and demand money. That’s enough. With Dmitry’s wealth, we can pay back Golden Bank.’

Golden Bank was the biggest problem. He could argue with the Mercenary Guild, but Golden Bank always gets their money back.

If Barco couldn’t pay, they would destroy the Barco family completely.

A noble asked, “So, what do you want us to do?”

Seeing the nobles interested, Count Barco knew they understood his plan.

He wanted to get support from these people and create enough pressure to influence Dmitry.

“First…”

Just then, the door crashed open.

Count Barco glared at the nervous soldier, who stammered, “Ro, Roman Dmitry is here to see you, Count!”

It was unexpected.

It didn’t make sense. Roman Dmitry caused the loss. Coming to Barco’s home was like walking into a trap.

‘What is he thinking?’

The nobles looked at each other, confused.

“I see you’ve all gathered here.”

Roman ignored the soldiers and walked into the room.

Count Barco thought about killing Roman. He was desperate and wanted revenge, but that would ruin his chance to argue his case.

He had to hold back his anger even though Roman was right in front of him. Roman sat down across from Count Barco as if it were normal.

No one told him to sit.

Roman leaned back and crossed his legs.

“I heard you have a lot of complaints about me.”

He smiled and looked at Count Barco.

“Then tell me directly. What reason does Barco have for this meeting?”