Part 7.4 "What does this have to do with me?"
Chapter Text
While the observers were mentally preparing themselves to hear the details, Cale and Choi Han, after giving the necessary orders, returned to the room where it all began.
- Tell me.
- Yes.
The two spoke bluntly. Choi Han straightened up and began to speak:
— Everything was fine until I met Rosalyn.
- So you had to meet me first.
- It looks like it.
- Continue.
"I came to the city as Cale-nim told me. As soon as I got there, I found the merchant guild heading to the capital, just like you described. It was a small brigade of five people, not a guild.
- They seemed to be looking for two mercenaries for their own protection. Their usual guard was wounded.
Choi Han and Rosalyn became two mercenaries. That's how it was in the novel.
— That's when I met Rosalyn, who looked exactly as you described.
Rosalyn nodded her head in time with the words. She really wanted to join a group like this. That way, the chances of reaching the capital of the Roan Kingdom would greatly increase.
The Breck Kingdom was located beyond the northwestern border of the Roan Kingdom. Rosalyn was originally heading from the Breck Kingdom to the Magic Tower in the Viper Kingdom, located south of the Roan Kingdom, when someone attempted to kill her, forcing her to head to the Roan Kingdom.
"Then she caused quite a stir when she returned to the Kingdom of Breck."
Choi Han, who had just mentioned how he met Rosalyn as a mercenary for a trading group, continued:
- She was also heading to the capital. Since we were heading to the same place, we immediately became friendly towards each other.
"Huh?"
- Hmm...m? Friendly?
- Yes.
And it wasn't just Cale who was shocked. The sword master and Crown Princess Breka stared at each other with a silent question.
"Straightaway?"
Choi Han spoke as if he was embarrassed.
"I usually try not to talk to people first unless they talk to me, but I figured we could become friends."
- Not really. You just need to act like you normally would.
It was a very obvious difference from the time when Cale had met Choi Han. It was difficult to get an answer to a simple question from the sword master. And he had behaved rather coldly almost until his departure to the capital.
While the observers were making comparisons between the two encounters, Cale ended up doing roughly the same thing.
Choi Han nodded at Cale's words before smiling and adding,
"It's definitely not something I would do under normal circumstances, but I wanted to do it right because it's my way of paying you back."
The sword master suddenly felt very ashamed of his other self. He understood why he had done it: he really did take his debts very seriously. And it had helped them become friends faster. But wasn't that too much? Why did it look so ridiculous from the outside?
Ha. Cale sighed and shook his head. Choi Han seemed to have expected this as he cast aside his doubts and continued speaking with a cruel expression.
"You just decided to ignore Cale's reactions that you don't like? Really? That's your secret to success?"
"This group planned to stop at the village that Cale-nim mentioned, where I was supposed to find Lock. The group planned to stay there for a few days before continuing on to their destination.
The merchants specifically decided to extend their route from Puzzle City to the capital to deliver essential items to the Blue Wolf Tribe and receive medicinal herbs in return.
Of course, it was extremely difficult and tiring to spend even more time to go deep into the mountains to Blue Wolf Village. That was why they met in a tiny village on the mountainside.
- But something happened as soon as we arrived in this small village.
Cale was wary. The story from this point on was especially important .
Everyone was ready to listen and catch the details. They already knew that something had gone against the "original story", and at first glance, Cale could not influence this situation at all.
"Right before we arrived at the village, I learned that the guard was a beastman. I also learned that the village they were going to visit was a meeting place with the Blue Wolf Tribe for trade, and it was the village that Cale-nim mentioned."
Cale nodded at Choi Han's words. He knew that the latter would easily find out about it.
"That's why I believed that I just needed to follow the man from the tribe who was going to appear in the village to find Locke.
"But this man from the tribe probably never showed up."
- But no one ever showed up to make the deal. When that happened, the merchant asked us for additional help.
Cale wondered what that request was:
"Go to Blue Wolf Village with the injured guard from the Blue Wolf Tribe."
— The task was to go up to the Blue Wolf Village with a wounded guard.
- And you agreed?
- Yes, I agreed. Rosalyn agreed too.
He had followed the original story up to this point. What could have changed?
Alberu carefully wrote down everything that Cale remembered about the "original" development of events. Any detail could play a role. If in that world the events had already changed due to something that happened on Cale's side, then it could have happened on their side too. And this is despite the fact that Cale had really acted very close to the plot so far. Their intervention promises to be more extensive.
- Kayle-nim.
- Yes?
"But why was the transformation deadline shifted by a year?"
- I saw something there that I recognized...
- What did you see there?
Choi Han nodded at Cale's question. The cold food on the table between them probably warmed up from the nervousness that filled the air. The dark-haired youth began to speak.
Everyone waited for the sword master to speak further. This was the detail. Something that Choi Han had not seen in the original destroyed village.
- A red star in the center and five white stars around it.
Cale's gaze froze. He felt his heart tighten. Choi Han said that instead of a group of ordinary assassins, the Blue Wolf Tribe now had official members of a secret organization. Cale couldn't understand why. In the novel, the Blue Wolf Tribe was the target of the assassins.
- What?
— Did they come themselves?
- They had to have changed the target of the attack. Something, why should they have come not ordinary killers, who would not be a pity to be disposed of in case of failure. I do not see any other reason, - the Crown Prince frowned more and more. This was the second village under attack in his Kingdom. He already hated the secret organization, even before the terrorist attack on the square. He began to quickly calculate what changes Cale had already made to history.
Choi Han looked at Cale's cold expression and remembered the past for a moment. He subconsciously began to clench his fists. His hands were shaking with anger.
The houses in the mountain village were simple and small. But they were all destroyed. Most importantly, the corpses of the Blue Wolf Tribe members were completely black, as if they had been fried to a crisp. Black corpses, the smell of burnt flesh, and blood that was still flowing from open wounds. Most of the Wolf Tribe members died before they even had time to open their eyes.
Whether it was unimportant, or the Death God took pity on the wolf boy, there were no images of the Blue Wolf tribe members. In general, all the pictures from the village were rather "general plan".
Whatever the reason, both Locke and everyone else were grateful. It was hard enough to listen to. Locke was shaking slightly. The black dragon, feeling the boy's trembling, turned and hugged him around the neck. The silver-haired one hugged the little dragon tighter and buried his face in him. He took a couple of deep breaths. It was hard. Harder than he expected. But he didn't go into a stupor, like the very first time.
After making sure that the children were okay (as much as possible), everyone continued listening.
— The mountain village was already destroyed when we got there. Many of the Wolf Tribe members were dead.
The Blue Wolf Tribe was known for its strength, so how did a secret organization manage to exterminate them all?
Wolves put their family, pack and friends above all else.
Weak members who did not survive their first transformation into a berserker state. The secret organization used these weak members as hostages before using divine items to weaken the adult wolves. After killing the adults, they killed the young. There were a few adult wolves that tried to attack them in a frenzy, but the secret organization had Holy Water, which they used against these few wolves.
The level of hatred towards the secret organization grew with every word spoken. And it seemed that it could grow infinitely.
Choi Han thought that the massacre in Harris Village was brutal. Of course it was, he didn't stop thinking that way, but… Blue Wolf Village had encountered even more brutality.
Alberu Crossman continued to write down the details that Cale knew from the novel, about the divine items, about access to them, outwardly remaining completely calm. He generally knew how to keep a straight face. It was a habit. Inwardly, he made a promise to himself to destroy the organization at any cost. He felt some kinship with the Blue Wolf tribe because of the "rejected by God." In addition to the fact that his subjects suffered, this hit even closer to the heart.
"The novella did not say which of the divine objects they brought."
If Cale knew what divine items they used, he would be one step closer to exposing the secret organization. Unfortunately, the novel only described how the Wolf Tribe became weak due to the use of a divine item. He had no way to determine the identity of the secret organization.That's a pretty good idea...
- We can still use it.
- What do you mean, Your Highness?
- I'll explain later.
Cale asked slowly:
- Are they all dead?
Locke tensed even more.
Choi Han shook his head. Cale's gaze froze again. Choi Han watched Cale's cruel expression as he continued:
Locke's head snapped up, his eyes filled with hope. The black dragon tore itself away from the boy and looked at the screen as well.
- They tried to capture small children.
— Why do they need children?
"Capture? They killed them all initially. Why did they decide to capture the little children of the Wolf Tribe now?"
Cale's mind began to calm down. Choi Han made eye contact with Cale, breaking him out of his deep reverie.
— The chief was dying when we reached the entrance to the Blue Wolf Tribe village.
The Blue Wolf Tribe had less than a hundred members.
- And they tried to take about ten children with them.
" ...This is too different from the novel."
- Either you came to the village earlier than you were supposed to. Or the attack happened later. In the original, when you arrived, the only survivor was the hidden Locke.
- Perhaps you are right...
— And just as the Chief was about to fall, a young boy stopped the people trying to take the children.
-…Lock?
- Yes. It was Locke.
"Why did Locke come out this time? In the novel, he stayed in the shelter even when children were being killed. Did he think that killing and kidnapping people were different things? Was it his instinctive need to protect family members and younger siblings who were weaker than him? What caused Locke's natural wolf instincts to awaken?"
Locke wondered why he might have done something wrong.
He was a weak coward and he knew it. He probably went into a stupor when the killers came and sat quietly in hiding until Choi Han arrived. Even someone older would hardly have been able to react calmly to pure extermination. But if they were trying to take them away, not kill them… Could he have decided that there was still a chance to save them? So far, it seemed like that was the only explanation.
- I stopped the killers. No, I tried to kill them.
Choi Han continued speaking while looking at Cale. Cale showed no emotion as he ordered Choi Han to continue his story.
- Continue.
-… I realized that the people who didn't have stars on their clothes were using the same black power as the murderers I killed in Harris Village.
Cale asked with a shocked expression on his face:
— Was it the same power as the people who destroyed the village of Harris?
- Yes.
-… This…
Cale grabbed his head with one hand and sighed. He acted like he was hearing about it for the first time. Of course, it was all just an act.
"It looks very natural, I must admit," the Crown Prince looked at this with a raised eyebrow. No, he had not forgotten about his inner feelings, but judging people is also a habit.
- Among them there was only one man who had a red star surrounded by five white stars on his chest. This man killed the guard.
Choi Han spoke out loud.
- And this bastard drank the blood of a Wolf Tribe man.
Cale closed his eyes.
Blood Mage. He was a crazy bastard who also led the terrorist attack in the capital. He closed his eyes when he heard Choi Han's report.
"In the end, I was unable to capture or kill them. The ones I captured committed suicide, and the rest disappeared when the man with the stars on his chest used teleportation magic.
"Haa... Teleportation magic makes things much more complicated..." The Crown Prince understood why the capital was in such a turmoil. The unknown attackers most likely simply disappeared from the scene as a result. And given the secrecy of the organization as a whole, an investigation would have yielded nothing.
"Why does the Blood Mage, who is a top-level Mage and obsessed with blood, try to kidnap the children of the Blue Wolf Tribe instead of killing them all like in the novel?"
Cale couldn't understand it.
"Did something change a lot because I saved the Dragon?"
The only thing Cale could think of was the changes he made to the original story.
"Makes sense," the Ancient Dragon drawled.
"Why?" asked the likely culprit of the organization's change of plans.
- This is the only time Cale has interfered directly with the organization. At least that he and we know of.
- Aaaah...I get it!
- There is something that the magician said.
Choi Han continued in an angry and bitter voice.
"What a disappointment. They were perfect seeds. These little kids probably have even tastier blood."
Seeds. Cale didn't know what this comparison of the child mage to seeds meant, but he filed it away in the back of his mind before opening his eyes and asking,
— What about the children?
Locke stared at the screen with tense anticipation. They couldn't stay in the village, could they?
The guard, the chief, and the rest of the adults of the Blue Wolf Tribe were dead. Only ten children and Lock remained.
Choi Han avoided Cale's gaze. It was the first time he had done so since they had sat down at this table. Cale knew instantly what was coming next, even before Choi Han quietly said,
- They are at the tavern.
Locke let out a sigh of relief. They came with them.
"I knew it."
Choi Han opened and closed his mouth a few more times before finally adding,
— We got through with the help of Rosalyn's magic.
" ...This will be a real problem."
"That was quite a large expenditure of mana. But we couldn't leave the children in that place," Rosalyn silently thanked the little dragon once again for the gift of mana. Without it, it would have been more difficult to cope with Lock's transformation.
Cale felt dizzy. Choi Han should have just left the children with the merchant they were traveling with. Although this merchant was far from being a power broker, he was just an ordinary merchant.
- Kayle-nim. This merchant is also in the inn now.
"What kind of story is this?"
That's what Cale was thinking right now. The young man looked at Choi Han, who seemed to have finished his report, and leaned back in his chair, letting out a heavy sigh.
- He won't kick them out, will he?
"Well…that's not really his problem…", Alberu thought to himself, but out loud he said something completely different:
"I don't think he'll do that, at least not while he's in the capital. He hates it when kids get hurt, remember?" he finished with a reassuring smile on his face.
Eruhaben thought that the poor bastard was even more poor than he had originally thought.
And Locke prayed that the young master would love wolves more than cats. And he was not the only one.
"Please be a dog person!" Choi Han thought.
Looking at the black-haired youth sitting in front of him, Cale asked a question:
- You must be interested in something.
Choi Han continued to look at the cold food and said,
- Yes, I'm curious.
The main character of the novel didn't even need to be told what exactly he was interested in.
Who are they?
Why do they do such terrible things?
And why did Cale know about them?
"I'm very interested in how exactly he's going to explain this."
- This will be a bit difficult!
- We'll see now.
"He's playing ahead. He asks Choi Han a question that interests him, hinting that he can answer. This builds up his credibility and puts himself in an advantageous position in advance. Clever... Instead of the swordsman asking him uncomfortable questions, perhaps even under pressure, he will try to take advantage of the conversation and tell Choi Han what he wants, while giving exactly what is convenient for him. That's what I would do myself. But it will still be difficult," Alberu watched this with extreme interest. And then a very bad thought came to him. He frowned.
Choi Han was curious about this. Cale noticed that Choi Han did not dare to look at him, continuing to stare at the cold food, and he thought about it.This boy is really angry right now."
The anger was not directed at Cale. Choi Han had sharpened his anger against the secret organization time and time again, like a sharp blade. Harris Village, the tortured Dragon, and now the Blue Wolf Tribe incident. Choi Han had personally been the one who had faced them each time, participating in each of these events.
Choi Han was angry too. About what he had been through. About what he had to go through. About what they would have to go through in the future. But he was interrupted from his thoughts by the Crown Prince's tense voice:
— We have another problem...
Everyone turned towards him, but Ron answered.
- If you teleported to the capital, how could you have learned about the terrorist attack, which you should have learned about on the way?
They forgot about it completely.
"Mr. Hanityuz, I hope you can think of something!"
There were no other options left. Everyone was distracted from their anxious thoughts by a voice that said something completely unexpected.
-…Are we going somewhere?
— To the Temple of the God of Death.
"Where?"
This was the question that could be read in the round, shocked eyes of everyone present.
Cale was going to go with Choi Han to the brightest place in the darkness of the night - the Temple of the Death God.
The Temples of the Death God had a special type of priest that could not be found anywhere else on the continent.
Deaf official.
- He wants to take the Death Oath?
- Is he crazy? This requires very careful preparation!
Cale turned around as he approached the door. Choi Han was still standing by the table. Cale smiled.
- I'm going to tell you two truths.
Although he was smiling, the next words that came out of his mouth were not as easy:
- And it could cost me my life.
"Hits where it hurts most!"
Choi Han's pupils trembled slightly. However, Cale still smiled before turning around.
- Follow me.
Choi Han slowly walked away from the table and headed towards the door. His eyes had calmed down, but his face was still hard. Cale turned the door handle as he repeated again,
- I will tell you the truth, putting my life on the line.
Cale, accompanied by Choi Han, headed towards the Temple of the Death God.
"Will he really tell me the truth?" Choi Han couldn't say exactly how he felt about this.
"He said he would tell you two truths. We cannot know exactly what he means," came Bikros's stoic voice.
"But we know that he won't be able to lie under an oath in the Temple of the God of Death. In principle, it doesn't matter to us at all. We hear his thoughts, and we'll find out the truth in any case," Alberu noted.
It was more important for Cale and Choi Han's relationship.
"Well, it's a chance to learn a little more about him," the ancient dragon said thoughtfully. This was what interested him most at the moment.
The black dragon, having made sure that Lock was okay and no longer needed a dragon therapy session, finally crawled over to his chair. He had never seen the temple. Strictly speaking, he had never seen anything in real life, but the view here was amazing. And his chair was closest to the screen.
While everyone was settling in and thinking about what Cale might say, Cale himself managed to get a scolding from Hans, send Hans away with his scolding, and get to the Temple of the God of Death.
- Let's go.
- Understood.
Cale only knew about Choi Han's identity up until the fifth volume of "Birth of a Hero". However, the young man was confident in this knowledge. Although Choi Han was a good person, he was not gullible. This guy was very smart.
"Yes, that's true! Thank you for confirming it, I was starting to doubt it!"
"If I tried to give an incredible excuse, he might believe me at first, but he would certainly doubt my words later."
Choi Han may look upon him favorably right now and follow him, but as seen in the fifth volume of "Birth of a Hero," he is the one who will eventually want to become a leader. Choi Han is the one who will live to make reality fair in his own opinion.
The sword master listened to this with considerable confusion. He himself had no desire for leadership and had no habit of imposing his opinion on others. Initially, he was an ordinary high school student. Even at school, if he remembered correctly, he was just a member of the sports club. In the Forest of Darkness, there was no time for leadership either. You can't command stupid monsters. Everything is simple there - kill or be killed. In the village of Harris, he had only just begun to truly get to know this world. So what happened that made him take the lead? Was he categorically not satisfied with the methods of solving problems of others? Or did his own strength go to his head, and he believed that he could do everything?
If he understood the timeline of the first five volumes of Birth of a Hero correctly, thanks to the snippets of information from Cale, then the events in them take place within the next one to two years. That's a fairly short period of time for someone like him to want to become a leader.
-… He's so white…
The Temple of the Death God that Cale saw when he got off the carriage was completely white, without a single dirty spot. The believers who worshiped the Death God considered white to be the color of death, and every day, every single day, they cleaned everything to make sure that there was not a single speck of dust in the entire building.
— God of Death-nim?
Rosaleen, being the most irreverent, decided to satisfy her curiosity again by asking God directly, who apparently had a certain weakness for the irreverent.
- Yes, Miss Rosaleen?
Everything around them, except for the chairs and the screen, was black. The walls, the floor, the table, and the fog under the ceiling. The power of the God of Death itself, as everyone knows, was also black. So where did such a passion for white come from in the Church of Eternal Peace?
— Do you really like the color white?
- Ha! Ahem. Ahem...
After a few moments of silence, a rather vague answer came:
— It's always nice when everything around is clean.
This was not an answer to the question at all. Eruhaben also remembered the strange reaction at the beginning. He decided to pay as much attention to the God of Death as possible. He behaved very strangely from time to time.
Meanwhile, on the screen, Cale managed to dispel the priests' doubts that he was going to deceive the poor black-haired beggar (although maybe he was going to), and he and Choi Han managed to head towards the right room.
Then Choi Han put his hand on Cale's shoulder.
- Kayle-nim.
- What?
Cale turned around to see Choi Han's tough yet worried expression.
- I will believe you even if you don't.
Cale began to smirk and slowly replied:
- I don't think you'll do it.
Choi Han had no choice but to disbelieve him. How could he believe Cale when he wasn't going to tell him anything? That was why they were at the temple.
The sword master couldn't argue with that. No matter how much his double trusted Cale, the strange amount of knowledge would make anyone wary. He knew the form of the secret organization, he knew the secret of the dragon's captivity, and he sent him to help Lok, directly confronting the organization once again. Without telling him anything. Although, in truth, he didn't have to.
"Why tell me all this? It will just force me to interfere in the chaos that reigns here."
"Ah! Exactly! A policy of non-intervention."
There was no reason for him to interfere so much with Choi Han's life. Cale wouldn't be able to live a peaceful life if Choi Han was always around. That much was clear. Hadn't Choi Han been a nuisance to him, bringing so many wolf babies to the capital?
"No one has pinned these children on you yet. They were simply brought to the capital. Or you decided to shelter them in advance, you miserable bastard..."
The sword master felt a little uncomfortable. He didn't like dumping his problems on other people. And here he had brought ten orphans. On the one hand, he was uncomfortable, but on the other, he himself had only been out in the big world for a couple of weeks. Where else could he bring the children? His double knew only one place...
"He will ride on the whales of the Whale Tribe to fight the mermaids in the future."
In this human-centric world, Choi Han's position of uniting both humans and non-humans required him to begin to change. The beginning of this was the Whale Tribe. The Whale Tribe, which only appeared at the beginning of Volume 5, was, frankly, quite scary.
"They were the most deadly predators."
"We're not scary at all!" Vitira covered her mouth with her hand in shock.
Eruhaben looked at her with a raised eyebrow. His face clearly said, "Who are you trying to fool?" In response, he received a soft smile.
For the vast majority of the rest, whales were more of a fairy tale than reality. They were known to be the second most powerful creatures in the world, after dragons.
The Whale Tribe was the strongest of the Beastmen. They were also the most beautiful Beastmen. The Whale Tribe came in many colors, black, gray, pink, and others, but they were all very beautiful. In comparison, the mermaids of this world had two legs and fins, making them look like humans with scales.
Everyone looked with interest at the smiling future Queen of the Whale Tribe. It would be foolish to deny her beauty. Her delicate appearance made it difficult to imagine her strength. But they had recently seen what the fragile Lock could do. Choi Han promised himself to judge better than by appearance. But he could usually determine the strength of a creature by its aura. Enormous strength is hard to hide. But in this room, there was nothing at all. It continued to confuse.
"But they are so stubborn that they will not show humility even before the Dragon."
The dragon looked at the whale princess with interest. Dragons are great creatures, why are whales so stubborn? He wanted to know.
The Whale Tribe was very scary. Although they were few in number, every stray blow from a member of this tribe could easily blow a person's head off. Even Locke could not raise a finger against a member of the Whale Tribe.
"Their character is simply ruthless."
Choi Han was involved in all sorts of human and non-human problems. Cale had no desire to continue to deal with him.
"All this is, of course, wonderful, but very strange," Vitira thought about the meaning of the words spoken. It is pleasant when your strength is recognized, but there was an alarming meaning behind the compliments.
"What is it?" Rosalyn looked at her friend with a question in her eyes.
Choi Han was also interested. He was supposed to be a direct participant in the events.
— The thing is, the Whale Tribe lives without interfering in the affairs of people. There is an unspoken agreement. The surface dwellers do not interfere in the affairs of the sea dwellers and vice versa. We have a tense situation with the mermaids now, but I do not see any reason why we need human help. No offense, Choi-Han-nim.
He nodded. He had no problem with that.
"Are you saying that the situation could escalate to the point where the whales won't be able to cope on their own?" Alberu frowned.
- True. Right now it's a redistribution of territory between whales and mermaids. They've become very brazen lately. But that happens from time to time. They've always had high ambitions, - Vitira continued to frown.
— Cale said that Choi Han went to help the whales in Volume 5, right?
- Yes.
— Locke's first transformation was also in Volume 5, and it was supposed to happen a year later.
- True... Let's keep this in mind for now. Nothing out of the ordinary is happening now. But something could happen within a year. We wouldn't ask for help right away, we'd try to solve our problems ourselves.
And while they were discussing this, Cale and Choi Han had already reached their destination, absentmindedly thinking that the young aristocrat reminded the priest of the priestess Kage.
- Please wait. I will prepare everything.
Then the priest entered the room alone. Cale looked at the closed door and spoke:
- If you really think we don't need to do this, I'll tell you one of the truths in advance. How do you feel about that?
Choi Han responded immediately:
- Yes, please tell me. I trust you.
- Is that so?
Cale rubbed his chin with one hand before casually uttering the truth:
"The first of the two truths…" His gaze focused on Choi Han. "I don't know who is behind the secret organization or what their goals are."
-… What…
Choi Han's pupils trembled. At that moment, they heard a click and the priest returned from the room.
"Testing for trust, knowing that they won't believe him? Nooo... He's doing it on purpose. Choi Han will have no choice but to enter this room and test these words for authenticity. And he himself earns trust points by telling the "truth" in advance," Alberu continued to note the nuances of playing on the sword master's emotions. It was very educational. The methods of manipulating people were different from his own, a little more subtle, but basically similar.
- You may enter now. The man who puts his life on the line must raise his hand in the room to signal the priest.
- Thank you, we understand.
Compared to Cale's relaxed appearance, Choi Han seemed extremely embarrassed and worried. The priest bowed his head in embarrassment, but calmly left the area. What happened next did not concern him. Cale grabbed the door handle and turned to look back at Choi Han.
— Is it hard to believe?
- As you can see...
Cale saw Choi Han struggling to answer. Choi Han said he trusted Cale, but he couldn't believe the words he said. How could Cale not know? Did it make any sense? Choi Han heard Cale's voice reach his ears.
- I understand.
The black-haired swordsman tried to figure out what Cale was trying to achieve.
- I don't understand! He just needs to come up with something, and I would leave him alone. Why does he go to such extremes?
The Death Oath was no joke. He could die if he said the wrong thing. He was starting to worry, even though there was no reason to. They all knew nothing would happen to Cale.
"He doesn't just need to 'make up something', as you put it," Eruhaben looked at the agitated swordsman. "He already said that even if you believe him now, you'll start to doubt him later. He needs you to believe him and, most importantly, not to question him. What could be better proof than a hundred percent death if his words are a lie?"
- This is not a reason to go to such extremes!
- As long as he doesn't lie to you, nothing will happen to him.
Choi Han looked at the red-haired youth. Cale's relaxed expression made him look very mature. Cale then said,
- Let's go inside?
Choi Han followed Cale into the Death Room, which was located behind a snow-white door.
Ron, Bikros, Eruhaben and Alberu all remarked again that this Young Master was surprisingly calm. He gave the impression of someone who knew exactly what he was doing. And with the Death Oath, anyone would start to get nervous. Except for Kage and Taylor. They didn't seem to have any problems with it at all.
Cale silently bowed his head to acknowledge the priest before raising his hand. The priest nodded at Cale's actions and gestured to the two chairs at the table.
Cale sat down on the right, and Choi Han dropped into the chair opposite him on the left. The priest walked over and stood at the head of the table before pushing a piece of paper towards Cale.
[To the man who puts his life on the line. The hand of the God of Death will touch the one who came with you. Once this happens, you can pronounce your vow. If you break the vow, death awaits you.]
What a flawed set of directions.
Cale pushed the paper towards the priest, making sure Choi Han had finished reading. Then the priest raised both hands up, just like Cage had done before. At that moment…
- Ooooh! Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
The observers were very curious to know how exactly Cale would act in this situation. Some of them already realized that he was not as simple as he wanted to appear. But Mary, Locke and the Black Dragon were a little worried about the strange man.
The white room began to shake. Maybe it was because this place was one that served God, but black smoke began to form around the priest as soon as the room began to shake. The black smoke surrounded both Choi Han and Cale before creating a connection between them.
-… Is this the power of the God of Death?
- Yes.
"I will die if I break this vow."
Cale was sure that Choi Han felt it too. That must be why his face froze. Cale felt the touch of the Death God and began to speak the words of the vow:
The sword master, against his will, became more and more tense with each passing second. It was not like the tension before a fight. On the contrary, it was as if he was freezing like a stone statue with each word of the oath Cale uttered.
"The priest before me guarantees that he cannot hear, and if it is not true, he will pay the price with his life. Furthermore, I, Cale Hanitus, swear to tell Choi Han the truth in the face of the God of Eternal Peace, and if what I say turns out to be a lie, I will immediately die on the spot, which will be my retribution.
Immediately. This word made Choi Han's face freeze even more. He was clearly nervous.
And he wasn't the only one who got nervous. Everyone froze. True, for different reasons. They understood that nothing terrible would happen in that room. They were in that space precisely because everything had worked out for them in that world. Whatever that "everything" meant. But it was still fascinating.
At first, Cale wondered if he should tell Choi Han everything.
I was drawn into the novel I was reading. I am also Korean. That's why I know what will happen until volume 5. This secret organization will continue to cause trouble throughout the continent. The continent will soon be plunged into chaos due to war.
Should Cale say all this?
Or should I say something like that? I was transported into the novel I was reading, and I was the son of a rich nobleman. That's why I'm trying to live a peaceful life, but I remember what happened in the novel, so I decided to change the plot a little. I just wanted to allow myself to live peacefully even if the continent was at war.
Cale didn't like either option. The first could involve him in a future war on the continent, which could lead to his death on the battlefield, while the second could lead to Choi Han's contempt, which would also lead to death, but at the hands of the protagonist.
Cale didn't want this outcome.
Choi Han tried to imagine his reaction if Cale decided to tell him the truth about the novel. He knows that the book is not a novel as such. But the Cale didn't know this, and therefore considered himself to be trapped in an ordinary fairy tale about heroes. The more he thought about it, the more he came to one unambiguous conclusion. He wouldn't like it. All those years of bloody loneliness were just because someone wrote them? His double is already much calmer now, judging by his behavior, but he probably just hides his real self well, God knows why. If Cale admitted that he knew Choi Han from the very beginning, he might well first remember all the manipulations of his feelings and only then think that it was done to help him not to do stupid things. Cale was not just afraid for his health. He was exaggerating about the fatal outcome, though. A lot. But he could very well end up in a hospital bed.
With a small sigh of acceptance, he returned his full attention to the screen.
- First.
The first of two truths.
"I, Cale Hanitus, do not know who is behind the secret organization.
Sigh. Choi Han took a deep breath, covering his face with both hands. He slowly removed his hands to see that Cale was still alive.
— I was honest when I said I didn't know that.
It was true.
Cale, who was Kim Rok Soo, read "Birth of a Hero" up to volume 5, but it didn't say anything about the goals or composition of the secret organization. All that was discussed in the pages of the novel were the organization's actions.
- We've already heard about this. In the beginning.
- Right.