Chapter 89
The 7th Training Ground, a place used by the 7th Legion of Celestia. And it was also where Veronica had always trained since joining under Seere.
“Oh, Nahun! You’ve arrived? Oh?”
Celestia, who had greeted Nahun first, felt slightly flustered as her master was behind him.
“Your Majesty! I wasn’t aware you were coming. I apologize sincerely.”
“It’s alright, Daejeong. I just followed the Teacher.”
Celestia glanced briefly at Nahun. It was a look that seemed to suggest he should have given a heads-up if he was coming with Seere. Nahun made an effort to ignore that look and spoke.
“So, what important matter was it that you called me for?”
“Oh, I was thinking of integrating Veronica into the Legion now.”
“…So soon?”
It hadn’t even been two months since Veronica arrived here. The idea of integrating her into the legion already made Nahun tilt his head in confusion.
“Isn’t it too early?”
“I thought you might say that, so I figured it would be quicker to show her abilities and gain recognition.”
“So, that’s why you called me?”
As Celestia had said, it was indeed preferable to directly observe Veronica’s skills and make a judgment. It would also expedite understanding regarding the decision to integrate her into the legion.
“Shall we see her right away?”
“I’ve prepared an opponent in advance.”
For Veronica’s opponent, Celestia summoned one of her more capable subordinates. Excluding Celestia and the vice-captain Erina, it was Goska, the second strongest soldier in the 7th Legion.
Seere also seemed to recognize him and tilted her head, speaking.
“Isn’t Goska too strong of an opponent?”
“Let’s just watch.”
Goska greeted Seere and Nahun and took his place in the training ground. Veronica seemed tense, standing nervously opposite Goska.
“Veronica! Don’t be nervous, just act like you usually do!”
Following Celestia’s advice, Veronica nodded slightly and looked at Goska with a peculiar, childlike gaze.
“Ready!”
Celestia’s hand went up. Both Goska and Veronica assumed their battle stances.
“Start!”
Goska charged first. Despite the distance between them, he closed the gap very quickly.
However, astonishingly.
“Eh?”
“Huh?”
Nahun and Seere both gasped in surprise at the same time. And what came into their view was none other than the “Blood Spear,” which seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.
Bang─!!!
Goska’s sword was blocked by Veronica’s Blood Spear. It wasn’t that Goska was slow; rather, Veronica’s casting speed for blood magic was abnormally fast.
The casting speed far exceeded what Nahun and Seere expected, and Nahun realized why Veronica had occupied a top-tier position in the game at such a relatively young age.
‘Did she have such talent…?’
The subsequent casting of blood magic also occurred swiftly. Perhaps due to the limited amount of mana available, the power wasn’t strong, and Goska was able to respond flexibly, so the match did not conclude just yet. However, considering she was only eleven years old and hadn’t trained for even two months, it was indeed impressive…
“…A genius.”
“A true genius.”
Nahun wasn’t the only one who felt this way; Seere seemed to agree. Nahun then asked Seere.
“Seere, what do you think?”
“Huh?”
“Is it alright to integrate her into the legion?”
Though Nahun temporarily held command, Seere was the leader who guided everyone here. Thus, he sought her agreement.
Seere smiled faintly at his consideration and nodded.
“It seems the Teacher didn’t bring her for no reason. I’m fine with it.”
“Celestia, based on your opinion, let’s integrate Veronica into the 7th Legion.”
“Understood.”
“From now on, please take charge of Veronica’s training. If we build her stamina for about a year… she should be able to keep up with the other training.”
After hearing Nahun’s words, Celestia bowed her head in compliance. She then instructed Veronica and Goska to end their match and went down to check on their condition.
Now left alone, Nahun subtly asked Seere a question.
“Seere.”
“Yes?”
“We failed to start a war in the human realm.”
“…What?”
Nahun explained the situation in the human realm to Seere. After hearing the whole story, Seere fell silent for a moment before speaking to Nahun.
“Then the Celestial War will occur.”
“We must prevent that.”
“How?”
Nahun pondered for a moment. How to prevent it? That was something even he was still contemplating. He glanced at Seere. She was remarkably astute for her age.
‘Would it be better to ask for her opinion rather than agonize alone?’
So, he asked Seere honestly.
“What do you think?”
“…You said the Teacher wanted to create chaos in the human realm to draw the Celestial God’s attention that way, right?”
“That’s right.”
“But the emperor we intended to use…he was killed in a coup. Yet his sister, who staged the coup, has not taken the throne herself; instead, she made her younger brother the emperor, right?”
“Correct.”
Charlotte cleverly secured legitimacy by making her younger brother, Leonardo, the emperor instead of taking the throne herself.
She likely thought of controlling the empire from behind the scenes with a puppet emperor.
As Nahun was contemplating how cunning Charlotte’s tactics were, Seere chimed in.
“Well, couldn’t we use that to our advantage? Even if her brother became emperor thanks to her, there would surely be discontent since he is just a puppet.”
Nahun’s eyes widened in surprise. After a moment of looking at Seere, he seemed to recall something, and the corners of his mouth slightly lifted.
“…I see. You’re right.”
“It seems you’ve thought of something.”
“Seere.”
Nahun stood up. He spoke to the disciple he could now trust and delegate tasks to.
“I will return the command to you.”
“Pardon?”
“I think I need to move through the human realm for a while. Seere, during this time, aim for a higher position using Gremony and Citri. If possible, I’d like you to gather the Moon Bloods that are in each layer. I will let you know their locations.”
“…So you won’t be with me?”
“I will do my best to return as soon as possible. And now… you leading them shouldn’t pose a problem. I believe in your abilities and resourcefulness.”
Seere looked at Nahun for a moment. Though she felt a little flustered by the sudden change, she was happy about his trust in her. At the same time, a desire to repay that trust arose within her.
“If the Teacher believes in me, I will do my best.”
Seere lightly took Nahun’s hand and looked up at him, stating.
“So please return quickly.”
“…Alright.”
Nahun smiled fatherly and patted her head. Then he quietly assured her.
“I’ll resolve things as fast as I can and come back.”
#
Nahun returned the authority he had received to Seere and, accompanied only by Dein and Erina, headed to the human realm.
‘…Yes, it’s something I can tackle step by step.’
Charlotte von Bismarck. It was Nahun’s mistake not to foresee her appearance. But mistakes can happen to anyone, and they can be remedied.
The reason he made a mistake was due to trying to juggle both the human realm and the demon world. From the very beginning, he should prioritize resolving the urgent matters in the human realm and leave the affairs of the demon world to his trusted disciple.
‘I still see Seere as too young.’
And although Charlotte was outstanding, ultimately, she was still just a human. When sudden situations arise, it’s only natural that she would become flustered and have to deal with it.
As Nahun crossed into the Holy Kingdom via a portal, he commanded Erina.
“Erina.”
“Yes, Nahun.”
“Go to the Empire and supply this artifact.”
This was what Nahun had previously instructed to circulate. Erina examined it for a moment and spoke hesitantly.
“Nahun, the Bismarck Empire has imposed a complete ban on the circulation of this artifact. There will be no further opportunities to engage with the guild.”
“I didn’t say to circulate it. I said to supply it.”
“…Excuse me?”
“I’m not telling you to visit the guild. Take this and go find the magic associations.”
This meant to directly engage in trading with the magic associations. Dein, who was listening, tilted his head.
“Considering that, will the magic associations still buy this after what’s happened?”
“Go off the beaten path. The artifacts that were supplied to the guild mostly went to the larger magic associations located at the center…so this time, go to smaller-sized magic associations.”
“Still, they would have heard the rumors.”
“It’s fine.”
Nahun said to Erina.
“Humans are creatures of endless greed. There will certainly be someone who desires the artifact. There’s no need to supply it to every association; just get it into the hands of those types. Erina, by supplying these, you’ll make Dein’s job easier.”
“…Yes.”
“What should I do?”
“Dein, you need to make contact with the current Emperor Leonardo von Bismarck.”
“…What?”
Dein looked at Nahun in surprise, but his words were firm and unwavering. Nahun spoke to Dein.
“Establish contact with Leonardo and persuade him.”
“Persuade…?”
“Doesn’t he want to be a real emperor rather than just a puppet? Tell him to join us.”
The fact that Leonardo was being used as a puppet emperor was not purely by his own will. If Charlotte hadn’t staged the coup, he would have naturally inherited the throne. It would be more accurate to view him as someone who, under threats from his sister Charlotte, participated in the coup.
So, he would draw Leonardo in. He would work behind the scenes to cause conflict with his sister. Nahun thought that if he couldn’t cause a war between the Holy Kingdom and the Empire, he could instigate one internally.
“Are we revealing that we’re from the demon world?”
“No. Your affiliation to reveal is not the demon world.”
And the place Nahun thought would ignite the spark of this civil war was…
“The Northern Alliance.”
