There was a strange but cozy atmosphere in Young Master Cale's carriage. The drinking companions from yesterday were leisurely chatting.
— Young Master Cale, do you know anything about this royal event?
Cale looked at Taylor. The Marquis of Stan's eldest son looked good compared to the priestess who was struggling with her hangover. In fact, he looked even better than Cale. The weak nobleman had the highest alcohol tolerance of the three of them.
- He is probably much healthier than it might seem at first glance.
- I have another question. Your Highness?
"Yes, Miss Rosalyn?"
"Of all the heavy drinkers we've seen here, the only one who's really drunk is the priestess. In the Roan Kingdom, are all the nobles immune to alcohol?"
- I... am not sure now.
Cale began to respond to Taylor, who continued to look at him:
- This is my first visit to the palace. Several years ago I was at the North-Eastern Assembly.
Taylor had a reason for bringing this up. He wanted to share information with Cale, reciprocating his generosity.
— I wonder what this information is?
"It must be something that would be useful to Young Master Cale, since it's gratitude, right?"
- It's interesting to listen.
- I understand. The event this time is to mark the fiftieth birthday of His Royal Majesty, our current ruler.
- This is an entertainment festival for citizens.
Seeing Cale speak without clearly including himself among these "citizens," Taylor felt a burning curiosity once again:
— It seems that this festival doesn't interest Young Master Cale?
"How can I like or be interested in this festival when my heart goes crazy just thinking about a terror incident?"
- If he didn't need to leave the territory in search of other Ancient Powers, do you think he would have gone to the capital?
- He was initially very hesitant, he didn't want his younger brother to go there. He only thought about convenience later, when he made the final decision.
- Then I should go. He's a good guy after all...
Knowing such a fact must have caused a serious sense of responsibility and headache. Of course, there was a connection between this sense of responsibility and the headache.
"I will prevent it, but I will retreat if I feel like I might get hurt or get too tired."
This was Cale's point of view regarding the terrorist incident. To do enough so that I myself would not be inconvenienced. However, someone like Cale, no, Kim Rok Soo, who was afraid of death, could not simply pretend that he did not know anything.
His Highness let out a satisfied sigh. They all relaxed a little.
Cale wasn't going to sit in a quiet place, as they suspected. And not just help, but try to prevent. That in itself meant a lot of information received. A huge plus was that all his actions up to this point had been effective. This increased the chances of a successful outcome.
— I just don't understand why he needs this at all?
- What do you mean, Miss Vitira?
— I am all for the idea of preventing a tragedy, don't get the wrong idea. It's just that from his point of view, why would he go so far? The original plan was "not to get hurt." In order not to get hurt, it's enough to simply not go where it's dangerous. We also know that Choi Han-nim will arrive in the capital with information. Which means he'll be able to interfere with the organization's plans again. I'm just trying to understand him.
After thinking about the Future Whale Queen's words for a moment, the Sword Master put forward his own guess:
— Eruhaben-nim once said that any action he takes is for my benefit first and only then for his benefit. During the journey, he helped me save Dragon-nim. Perhaps this is again his way of helping me gain more faith in myself?
The last words sounded more doubtful than I would have liked.
- This could indeed be one of the reasons.
The Crown Prince was the next to speak:
— When Cale was talking about what was going to happen to Young Master Taylor, he mentioned that he was killed by taking advantage of the turmoil in the capital after the incident. Turmoil before a war is something that would be best avoided. If the incident does not have the effect that its organizers hoped for, then the Kingdom will not be so easily caught off guard.
Well, it turns out Cale had plenty of reasons to intervene.
- Young Master Cale.
— Yes?
— Be careful with His Highness the Crown Prince.
All eyes fell on the Crown Prince, who had frozen again.
He looked at the screen with slightly dilated pupils.
"Why did the conversation suddenly turn to me? Again. He can't know...?"
Taylor's next words were listened to with special attention.
Taylor looked at Cale and continued speaking:
"Although I may have been pushed aside, I still have the ability to obtain information from the Marquis's estate. Although this celebration in honor of the King's fiftieth birthday was planned from the beginning, the act of summoning all the nobles to one place was actually proposed by the Crown Prince.
Taylor did know some information about the Crown Prince.
— I'm not sure how to describe the Crown Prince to you...
Seeing Taylor struggling with himself, Cale replied casually,
- He is someone with honey lips.
- Oh, yeah! I mean...
Taylor, who had agreed with Cale, quickly turned pale and tried to justify his quick agreement, but was finally forced to admit that it was true:
- Yes, you are right. You already know about it.
"We got away with it!"
- So you have a sweet mouth, Your Highness? - Rosalyn could not help herself.
- And this terrible secret is passed between nobles as a warning? - Vitira immediately supported her friend.
Both of them grinned as if they were offering lemonade. Scary, I mean.
His Highness had no choice but to smile back at them, a little sheepishly.
Having decided to somehow help a fellow bully from the female side, Choi Han tried to shift attention to other things:
- Your Highness, why are you gathering all the nobles?
"The royal family wanted to know the mood of the nobility against the backdrop of unrest on the continent. It's good to know such things in advance," he replied with a much more sincere smile.
He noticed and appreciated the swordsman's attempt to help him with the two most disrespectful ladies in the world after Kage (no one can beat her).
They exchanged knowing glances.
And when they listened to Cale's internal monologue again, His Highness felt uneasy again.
"Will this ever end?"
The easy-to-speak Crown Prince.
The Crown Prince was very good at complimenting people. He was also very good at praising these people publicly for their actions and giving them his recognition.
After that he used these same people.
Of course, the people being used have no idea that they are just pawns. One such victim in the novel is none other than Choi Han, a man the Crown Prince elevated to the rank of his friend and hero.
Both of those mentioned looked at each other.
For a commoner like Choi Han, it was considered good that someone as important as the Crown Prince would treat him so tenderly. However, for someone like Cale, or rather Kim Rok Soo, who read the novel, the Crown Prince was the person he hated the most.
"The problem is that he uses people by all the rules of decency."
He did not use people for his own needs, advantages or to gain power, he used these people for the benefit of the Kingdom, the citizens or to make the people more significant.
Choi Han relaxed a little. This attitude was much more understandable to him.
"If a monarch uses people for the benefit of his people and not himself, then that is a good monarch, right?"
Looking at the relaxed swordsman, the prince began to relax himself.
"It's probably too crude to talk about 'using people'."
Instead of talking about using, I wanted to talk about asking for help. The Crown Prince did not command these people using his superiority, but instead stooped to their level, asking as an equal.
The Crown Prince used his honeyed tongue and mouth to often praise people, and then actually tell a sad story that they simply could not refuse. Naturally, Choi Han could not say no either. The cold but equally good-natured Rosalyn eventually agreed to help the Prince as well.
Of course, even this man had a weakness.
This time, the Future-Former-Crown Princess also joined the stare-off. Just out of principle. As a Princess, she understood. She hadn't done it herself, but she could understand it without any problem. Politics wasn't a place where you could only play fair. That was one of the reasons why she didn't want to deal with it anymore. At least His Highness had worthy goals. But it was fun to watch the Crown Prince tense up, so she glared at him too.
Choi Han wanted to be offended. He really did. But from what he heard, it turned out that he would have helped anyway. Without any "honeyed language". If the common people of the kingdom needed help, he simply could not refuse. By the way. Another such comrade came to mind. The one he "hated the most", if you believe his own words. He also knew how to wag his tongue. So he didn't even see the point in being offended. Especially since the same Cale said that they later became friends. So, not everything was completely untrue.
Albert Crossman was by no means ashamed of his "easy tongue." He had achieved many things thanks to it, mostly for the benefit of the entire Kingdom. It may have been unfair in some ways, but he never sought to harm or humiliate anyone. It was hard enough for him to hold on to his position without doing anything that might undermine his image as a good man.
"But what exactly does he mean by weakness?"
Pulling himself together, with a smile that had not wavered once during this time, he turned to one of his rivals in the staring contest:
- Miss Rosalyn, you of all people should understand me.
- Of course, Your Highness. I'm just a little jealous.
"What do you mean?" Alberu raised an eyebrow. The princess's logic eluded him.
- Now I won't be able to feel your famous "sweet lips" on myself.
- AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!! - It was another princess who was going into hysterics at the moment.
Locke blushed to the roots of his hair. His black robe trembled slightly. The father and son duo chuckled quietly into their fists.
This time, the ambiguity of the sentence reached even the Sword Master. He stared in confused horror at the Crown Prince, whose eye was twitching at that moment. The Sword Master decided to himself that there were worse things than princes with the gift of the gift of the gab. Princesses, for example…
Eruhaben couldn't help but roll his eyes at this.
"People and their human stupidities..."
The Black Dragon decided that not only the Strange Man was a strange man.
Thus His Highness avoided another blow.And while they were busy getting the princesses into a proper serious mood (to no avail), the small talk in the carriage progressed further.
— The capital is really different...
The words came out of Cale's mouth as he saw what he was looking at from the window. Taylor seemed to understand what Cale was feeling, and so he nodded and said,
— The Kingdom of Roan is the "Kingdom of Boulders".
Cale saw a large wall around the capital. There were many different sculptures on the wall.
Taylor continued speaking as if he had suddenly remembered something:
— If you look at the ancient stories, there are many "boulders" associated with history, even before the Kingdom of Roan. One of these stories says that there is a guardian boulder on this land.
The Roan Kingdom was located in the northeast of the Western Continent.
"It was a guardian who could protect everything from any attacks. When darkness fell on the continent, this guardian was the one who stood at the front, opposing it.
"It's not a common story, but I've heard of it," Alberu did recall the story of the guardian boulder. "I wonder how Young Master Taylor knows about it? It's usually mentioned in ancient papers, not in a collection of modern tales."
- Maybe he came across it while looking for information about the Ancient Power?
- Sounds like the truth.
At the end of ancient times there were many different myths.
Some say that the end of ancient times came when darkness fell and some heroes managed to defeat that darkness, others say that they ended because people were jealous of each other and fought for control. Finally, some even claimed that God was so angry that he destroyed all living beings.
The story Taylor was discussing now was one of those many myths.
- Taylor, you seem to like this story?
The Marquis of Stan's eldest son nodded at Cale's question.
- Yes, that is exactly it.
Cale turned and looked at Taylor. He had always had a frail frame, even before his legs were paralyzed. Taylor patted his knees and continued speaking.
— It is said that the guardian stood firmly in place like a boulder even after everything in his body was broken. That is how he was able to protect the people and land of this northeastern region, which was covered with boulders.
There was a lot of different information in the stories about the darkness that descended on the continent.
When darkness appeared in the center of the continent, various myths told of heroes who fought against it. However, Taylor spoke of only one main character, the guardian.
Taylor considered such a man a real hero.
- Such a creature cannot exist in our time. That's why I like this myth so much.
- But you don't seem to believe it?
Taylor nodded again at Cale's question.
"It was very rare to see someone so badly wounded and still continue to defend something.
- Agree.
— It's a pity that myths and legends are just myths and legends.
- Indeed. It's a pity such people don't exist in reality.
Only Eruhaben did not miss the slight ripple of fog. An ominous premonition rolled over him in waves.
Cale nodded to confirm his agreement with Taylor's words. It was one thing to protect oneself, but this Guardian was protecting others and this northeastern land? Cale couldn't understand that logic.
"Then how come you ended up saving the world?"
"But this is the first time I've heard any kind of concrete story."
Cale learned all sorts of legends and myths about the Ancient Powers while reading the novel "Birth of a Hero" up to volume 5. However, this was the first time he heard about the Guardian Boulder of the Roan Kingdom.
- Probably because this story is not very popular. I only found it while studying ancient texts for information about the Ancient Powers. I told Cage about it.
Cale nodded again and pulled the curtains down. He then pulled a round pendant from his pocket and tossed it to Taylor.
— Get ready.
Alberu concentrated again. He had no doubt that Cale would most likely be able to lead Taylor and Cage to the capital. But in general, it wouldn't hurt to see the city guards at work.
Taylor and Cage nodded and took each other's hands, clasping them so that the amulet they had received was pressed between their palms. The magical device began to work. Cale sighed and grabbed a bottle standing in the corner of the carriage.
A moment later, the carriage stopped at the nobles' gate, and Cale heard the vice-captain's voice, as well as someone else's voice.
There was a knock.
- Young Master, the capital guard wants to check all passengers.
*Bang!*
Cale's foot pushed open the carriage door. He saw the relaxed expression of the vice-captain, as well as the worried face of the capital guard. Cale had a bottle in one hand and a glass full of drink in the other. The youth looked carefully at the capital guard.
- You can begin.
"I must admit, if the situation calls for it, he can copy the old Young Master very naturally.
Even Choi Han guessed that this whole drunken farce was a distraction for the city guards. And he wondered if this was what the real Cale Hanitus was doing? A distraction? But from what? And to whom?
"Who is this mystery man?"
Everyone nodded. The roleplaying of the drunken Count's worthlessness was done perfectly. If he had played in the theater, they would have called for an encore.
— A special round of applause to the gentlemen servants of the Hanityuz family. They didn't give away the strangeness of the situation. Not even the vice-captain.
The inside of the carriage was filled with the smell of alcohol. Cale's extremely red face and the stench made it clear that he had been drinking since the night before.
Although the festival was still a week away, many nobles were already passing through the gate. Two of the guards peered into each carriage to take a quick look. However, this guard had never seen such a sight before. The vice-captain smiled cautiously at the guard and began to speak.
- Our young master cures his hangover by drinking even more alcohol. He is the one who has reached the pinnacle of hangover control.
Cale looked from the guard to the vice-captain, who was trying to praise him as best he could, and thought:
"Oh, how tiresome it is."
- You're playing with fire, vice-captain. He's got the bottle in his hands...
— Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee…
That's why he said the following:
— Could you hurry up?
The guard called his companion to inspect the carriage, which was full of empty bottles of alcohol, and gave his permission to enter.
- Everything looks good.
"Considering the circumstances, the carriage was examined quite closely. Not all is lost yet."
The vice captain slowly closed the door, and the guard gave Cale the standard greeting:
- Welcome to the capital.
*Shh. Clap*
The door closed completely and the carriage drove through the gate.
Cale held out a glass of alcohol and began to speak:
- Welcome to the capital, I guess.
Taylor, who was no longer invisible, began to laugh before handing the pendant to Cale and receiving a glass instead.
— It's been some time since I was greeted.
Cale's group arrived in the capital.
— YES!
— THEY HAVE ARRIVED!
- And we arrived!
- Welcome to the capital, Funny People!
And while everyone was rejoicing at their arrival in the city, Cale began to think.
"Choi Han should arrive in three days."
If he doesn't move like the proverbial mad dog, Choi Han should arrive in three days. He'll bring Rosalyn and Lock with him. Yes, they'll meet the secret organization when they team up with Lock, which will delay them even more.
His Highness took a new piece of paper to write on. Now they would learn the sequence of events that the Sword Master would have to go through in the solitary part of his journey.
In the novel, Choi Han encountered Lock, the only survivor of the Blue Wolf Tribe and also with the bloodline of the Wolf King, before encountering the secret organization. After that, Choi Han would encounter them again only in the capital during a terrorist attack.
"So Locke is now alone..."
Harris Village, Choi Han's first place of residence outside the Forest of Darkness. This secret organization killed everyone from that village. He had encountered them twice, but he still didn't have much information about this organization.
"The killers didn't have stars on their clothes."
Since killing was the goal in itself, both in the case of Harris Village and the Blue Wolf Tribe's extermination, the secret organization sent out its own team of assassins. The assassin squad wore only black clothes, without stars, in case something went wrong. These were people who made the decision to give up their own lives if they were captured.
- This is very interesting information to think about.
- Why?
— It might be easy to miss at first glance, but think about it for a moment. We have at least two groups of suicide bombers. In the memory of Harris Village, there were quite a few attackers. In order to deal with an entire tribe of beastmen, there must be even more of them with a certain level of strength and combat skills. This can be ensured by two things: big money or a strong ideology.
— Brainwashing is also possible.
- That's also possible, but the organization has existed for quite a long time. At least twenty years. It's impossible to keep such an organization a secret for so many years just by brainwashing. They have to be loyal people. And if they have a decent number of suicide bombers alone, what about the regular forces?
Given his contacts with high-ranking nobles and his ability to sell dragon eggs, the picture was not good.
But everything will change, starting with the capital.
"That blood-loving bastard will show up."
While preventing a terrorist incident with Rosalyn, Choi Han comes into contact with the leader of a secret organization. This leader and his subordinates will have a red star surrounded by five white stars on their chest.
While Alberu was diligently writing down the information he had received, and the others were wondering what the appearance of a secret organization on the scene so openly could mean, the carriage had already reached the Hanitus family mansion.
- Young Master Taylor.
- Ron will take care of you once we arrive at the residence. You'll just have to get going.
He looked at the door in front of him as he continued:
- Forget everything.
He heard the voices of Taylor and Cage:
- Thank you very much.
- Next time we will see each other in a much more joyful atmosphere.
Cale began to smile. Cage and Taylor continued to look at him, but neither the boy nor the two kittens paid any attention to them.
*Clap*
The carriage door swung open.
- Young Master, we have arrived.
Cale, Hans, and the kittens could all see Taylor and Cage, but they didn't even look in their direction. They acted as if no one else was there and left the crew.
— And yet, what understanding servants the Hanityuzes have.
Cale ignored the carriage and turned away.
- Oh!He then let out a sigh of admiration. The kittens, On and Hong, were also surprised as their golden eyes widened to incredible sizes.
"…This is even better than I expected."
The Count was indeed rich. Behind the large iron gates was a five-story residence. There was even a garden between the gates and the building itself. It was not like a fairy tale and was not particularly glamorous, but it certainly looked more expensive than the noble residences that neighbored it.
The house had an aura and an appearance that seemed to indicate that a great deal of money had certainly been spent on its construction. In the center, of course, was the sculpture of the Haniteuz Family's Golden Turtle.
"In our world, it would be described as 'Expensive and Tasteful'"
Choi Han actually noticed that, being a very, very wealthy family, the Hanituzes put an emphasis on quality. Everything screamed about money spent, but it didn't hurt the eyes. Except for the cases of spontaneous dressing of their master in flashy things by overly caring servants after said master returned inappropriately.
And while he was thinking about this, the local staff had already come out to greet their master.
- Young Master Cale Hanitus! Welcome to the capital!
It was a very respectful greeting. They lowered their heads so low that it seemed their foreheads would touch the ground. The old man, who seemed to be in charge, spoke so loudly, as if he simply wanted to test the power of his vocal cords.
- We will do our best to serve you!
"Why is he acting like this?"
"Probably because you have a reputation as the servants' main enemy?"
Cale looked at Hans, who pretended not to know what was going on.
"He definitely knows what's going on."
Hans knew exactly why the servants were doing this. Cale felt it necessary to ask, going up to the old butler and helping him up. Then he looked at the other servants and said:
- Everyone, raise your heads.
The servants quickly carried out the order. They had never seen Cale while working in the residence. However, they had all certainly heard stories about Cale from people who visited the Hanites territory.
The worthless Cale. The servants here had heard that the Earl's eldest son treated the people who worked in the estate, like other nobles, as useless. Although it was said that sometimes he did treat them as people. The servants were worried about what the Young Master was going to say next, and waited for him to continue his speech.
- No need to be so respectful in the future. I don't like causing problems for people who do their job well.
The servants' eyes turned to Cale as if on cue. The young man saw that they were all still tense and began to frown.
- I heard that mother chose all of you. She said that you have great pride in your work. So, I am sure that you will work very well.
- This is a very clear message - as long as you don't touch me, I won't touch you. And he even praised me for the road.
- It's convenient on his part. Any changes in behavior can be attributed to greatly exaggerated rumors.
— Which, even in the count's estate, were greatly exaggerated...
- Indeed. He, as the family's nonentity, can do whatever he wants, hiding behind this, and the servants won't pester him with questions, remembering what he said.
- Just like he said on the first day.
- True. The less they talk to me, the better for me.
- But it's most convenient for him in the capital. He's far from his father, who might interfere in his affairs, and no one here knows him well enough to suspect anything.
During this conversation, Cale managed to explain in detail to the servants where exactly they could go with their questions, that is, to Hans, and proceed to the estate.
*Scriiiiiiick!*
The large iron gate with the Golden Turtle closed. At the same time, as was usually the case with the spread of information throughout the capital, the nearby nobles learned of the arrival of the representative of the Hanityuz family. This happened even faster than the person Cale sent to the palace to inform the crown of his arrival had managed to reach his destination.
***
That was why these three people who were members of the Northeastern Nobility Assembly began to feel uneasy. They began to frown as they drank tea with each other.
— *Sigh*… It really isn't Young Master Fable, but his older brother. This will make things very complicated.
- But we must take him with us, since he is one of us.
- That's true. I'm sure even a worthless person like him won't oppose us, right?
The neutral Hanityuz family and the pleasant but inflexible Basen. And now the nonentity of the Hanityuz family had arrived. These three, whose families were closest to the Hanityuz among all the northeastern noble families, were making a decision that would have an impact on their future.
- We just have to protect him and prevent him from doing something stupid. Let's meet him and talk to him first.
To them, Cale was like a baby walking on water and needed their protection. At the same time, Cale was dangerous, as he could make a scene at any moment. They immediately sent an invitation letter to Cale's residence, which soon reached Cale's hands.
*Sigh*
- Who are these people? - Rosalyn was curious. She was not very familiar with the representatives of the nobility of the neighboring state. But if they were shown here, then it was not just like that?
— These are the young masters Eric Wilsman, Gilbert Tschetter and Mrs. Amiru Ubarr. Together with the Hanityuz family, they form the backbone of the Northeast region.
- Oh... Thank you, Your Highness!
- It's nothing, Miss Rosalyn.
Although he nodded calmly, the Crown Prince wondered what the three of them were planning. When they arrived in this room, they had not yet arrived in the capital, so he did not have the information he needed.
"That's exactly how I'll find out!"
— They seem like good people so far.
- And who were they going to protect Cale from?
— …
Cale threw the letter on the table with an extremely irritated expression on his face.
- Aren't you going to go?
— Can I not go?
- No. This is a meeting of representatives of the north-eastern nobility.
- I knew it.
The noble people got the information very quickly. Cale was the same. Hans handed him a document he had received from the local manager.
- This is a list of the nobles who are currently in the capital.
"And how much did you pay for this piece of paper?"
- Good. Did Ron take care of everything properly?
To Cale's question, Hans had only a short answer:
— Yes.
Cale was satisfied with this answer. Cale had prepared many things for Taylor. A wig, clothes, a wheelchair without the Stan family crest, and even money. He gave them all to Taylor. Although, apart from the money he personally gave, everything else was delivered to those in need by Hans.
"He prepared Taylor's disguise in much more detail than Taylor himself could have.
- Ah... How caring!
- Good job. Try to rest.
- Yes, sir. I will definitely rest.
Hans was not one to say he was doing well when his master told him to rest. Cale said one more thing when Hans quickly tried to slip away:
- Ah, but first ask someone to bring me something to eat.
- I will definitely do it.
- I love this Hans! Can I take him as my butler?
— All questions to Count Hanites, Miss Rosalyn.
Hans quickly responded to Cale's statement, which clearly implied that he did not want to go to the dining room, and soon enough, Cale's room was filled with food. Cale looked at the dishes that were brought, which included meat, desserts, and even wine, and smiled with satisfaction before heading out to the terrace.
His room was on the third floor. It had a lot of sunlight.
The young man opened a large window leading to the terrace and called:
— Measures.
He then moved away from the window and sat down next to the table. Soon Cale saw a couple of leaves floating in the air and landing on the chair opposite Cale.
The dragon walked into the room and a couple of leaves just stuck to him.
The black dragon was very happy to see himself on the screen. It seemed that his double's operation to tame a human was successful! His double arrived just in time for the noble dinner that Bikros was supposed to prepare, and the chef knows his food. Moreover, there was no bread on the table, which meant there was no danger.
The sight of the food made the little boy's mouth practically water. He tried to settle into the chair to at least enjoy the view, when he suddenly noticed something between the seat and the back of his chair. It was a chocolate chip cookie. He had seen kittens eat them. The strange man gave them to the cats when Hans wasn't looking. Deciding that the cookie should be eaten in secret, he turned away from everyone and tried it. How it got there or how long it had been there didn't bother him at all.
"SO DELICIOUS!!!"
The little dragon's gastronomic joy knew no bounds. He quickly decided that chocolate cookies topped his still small list of favorite foods. And he continued to chew happily, but quietly.
Eruhaben glanced sideways at the child rustling in the corner of the chair, but deciding that he was simply embarrassed about something, he quickly looked away.
- Dragon-nim has really come!
— How did he know that the dragon would hear him?
He and Hong also sat on the chairs to the left and right of the invisible Dragon.
Cale stared at the three before opening a bottle of wine and saying,
- Eat.
Red wine filled the glass.
- You brought us food, but you didn't leave anything for yourself to eat.
Cale raised the glass to his lips before continuing to speak.
"I'm sure following us was quite a challenge.
At that moment, the Black Dragon dispelled the invisibility magic and appeared. He helped the Dragon remove the leaves that were stuck to him, and Hong began to stuff the Dragon's mouth with the steak that Bikros had prepared.
"I have a suspicion, and it is not unfounded, that the cats and the Dragon-nim have already become well acquainted along the way.
- Indeed. It looks like this isn't the first time they've done this.
The average age of the three was seven years old. Cale simply watched the three beasts eat before pushing more food towards them. Seeing what Cale was doing, He and Hong flinched, while the Black Dragon stopped chewing and began to watch Cale intently.
— They've only known each other for a couple of weeks, but they already know him so well!
- It's strange. He didn't order them to do anything like that. In all this time, they've only done two things.
- Why did Dragon-nim get tense?
- He's generally suspicious of people.
Cale took another sip, beginning to think:
"They have a lot of hard work ahead of them in the future."
- What is he talking about?
And only Ron, who was the only one who knew that the dragon was going to be hired to search for magical bombs, continued to smile good-naturedly. He liked this puppy and his methods.
Since they were going to work so hard on his behalf, the least he could do was feed them well. Maybe it was because they were so young, but Cale was able to relax for the first time in a long time, even though the "little ones" present were stronger than normal humans.
Eruhaben sighed mournfully again.
- Poor guy, how tiresome it is to be you, if you can only relax in front of the children.
Although, in reality, none of them noticed much of a difference. Since Choi Han left and Taylor's presence in the motorcade was sorted out, Cale seemed very relaxed.
— It would be great if everything could just stay the way it is now.
A big house, good food like this, and time to relax. Cale thought about how great it would be to live with these three.
- He says he's going to use hard child labor. Now he's included the Dragon, whom he's seeing for the third time in his life, in the household along with the cats. What's wrong with him?
- Well... he did say then about the family growing?
- What do you mean by family, you unfortunate creature?His goal was to live like this once Basen became the official successor. Cale thought again. Then he turned on the magic music box in the corner.
A song he didn't know began to play, and Cale took another sip of wine. He watched the sky grow darker.
- This is amazing.
"This is what real life should be like."
"These kids chew so comfortably!" Rosalyn whispered to Vitira, leaning slightly over Mary. Both girls nodded their heads in agreement.
A relaxed smile spread across Cale's face. But at that moment...
*Tuk-Tuk-Tuk!*
The Black Dragon became invisible again, and the kittens began to pretend to be normal kittens, carefully washing their faces.
- Ha-Ha! With such acting talent, all four of them can become great swindlers and never get caught.
- Right!
Even Choi Han and Lok were smiling. The picture "Aristocratic Con Artist with Two Cats and a Dragon" was so ridiculous that it made you smile on its own.
Eruhaben raised an eyebrow at the next ripple of fog.
"What did that mean just now?"
Cale stood up to walk to the door.
— Brother!
*Clang!*
He accidentally knocked over a bottle of wine as he stood up, and it fell and broke. The carpet began to turn red.
"...I have a bad feeling about this."
Cale suddenly had a bad feeling for no apparent reason.
He quickly headed towards the door.
"Why do I have such an ominous feeling?"
Cale couldn't understand it .
- This is truly an ominous omen.
- What could have happened? There are still a few days before Choi Han arrives, he just arrived in the city. Everything should be calm.
"It's not Choi Han, is it? No. It can't be. If he wasn't driving like crazy, he couldn't have gotten here already. He won't be in the capital for another three days."
There was no way that someone like Choi Han could have made the injured Lok move so quickly. Even though Choi Han had the potions that Cale had given him, the Wolf Tribe had been rejected by the Gods. Since the potions were made with Divine power, they would not have worked on Lok.
- Locke, do potions not work on you?
The young wolf shook his head. For some reason, this even made him feel ashamed.
And there was no way that Rosalyn, the cautious and prudent girl who initially hid her magical abilities in the novel, would use advanced magic to transport them all to the capital.
Everyone looked at Rosalyn.
- It's true. I had a hard time after the assassination attempt, and I wouldn't reveal my talents so soon. As I understand, not much time has passed since we met. I simply wouldn't have had time to get to know Choi Han well enough to reveal my cards. No offense, - at the end, the princess looked at the Sword Master.
He nodded understandingly.
But most importantly, Cale told Choi Han to stay in the capital at a certain inn. One day, he was going to meet the protagonist of the novel to hand over Ron and Bikros and take care of other small things.
"Young master, did you forget to tell us that we are 'leaving'?"
"That's right. This ominous feeling is just a side effect of being around people like Ron and Choi Han for too long."
One was offended, the other became proud. And then they stared at each other again. They didn't like being looked at in the same way.
Cale calmed down before opening the door rather forcefully.
-… You…
Cale's heart skipped a beat as soon as he opened the door. An extremely desperate voice quickly reached Cale's ears:
- Cale-nim. I'm so sorry. You were the only person that came to mind.
In front of him stood Choi Han, who looked completely desperate. It seemed like he had rushed here as fast as he could, because he looked terribly battered.
The young man felt like he was seeing the most terrifying thing in his life. Next to Choi Han stood the deputy butler Hans, who had the same expression as Choi Han, but with some confusion that diluted it a little. However, at that moment, Cale noticed the person who came with Choi Han, as well as the person that the black-haired young man was carrying on his back. Cale quickly opened the door wider.
Choi Han, Rosalyn and Locke looked at their doubles in surprise. The situation that Cale thought impossible had become reality.
- W-why am I in this state?
Locke's answer was silence. No one knew.
- Come in immediately.
The man on Choi Han's back was none other than the Wolf Tribe member, Lock.
- Bring it here.
Locke of the Blue Wolf Tribe, the successor to the Wolf King, seemed to be in a dangerous state.
Locke was currently in the throes of the terrible pain that should have preceded his very first berserker state. Cale didn't know why this state, which in the novel was supposed to happen a year later, was happening right now.
- B-berserk? But I'm too young for that!
- Something went wrong...
However, he looked around at everyone present and said only one thing:
- Don't worry.
This didn't help Locke, though. He began to shake almost as much as his double.