Chapter 159
“The center of the world? Is it the same as the capital?”
Jae-Hyeok hadn’t expected the lion statue to really know Reinhardt. Although he’d been hopeful before, he couldn’t help feeling a little annoyed once it turned out to be true. Why didn’t he realize it sooner? The entire time, the answers were right under his nose. Surely there should have been some signs, right?
I’ll start grilling it right away.
Jae-Hyeok swallowed his regret—unaware that it wouldn’t have made a difference. If Jae-Hyeok had asked the lion statue about Reinhardt a month earlier, he wouldn’t have gotten an answer as he did today.
The lion statue had only casually mentioned Reinhardt because it had opened its heart to the boy.
Jae-Hyeok visited it every night, becoming its companion. For an existence like the lion statue, bound to one place throughout its long life, Jae-Hyeok’s company and stories were precious beyond compare.
He was a benefactor who broadened its world every time it heard a new story.
The innocent boy spoke of friendship, but the lion statue was unilaterally receiving his goodwill. Therefore, the lion statue wanted to help Jae-Hyeok wherever it could.
-Reinhardt is a city founded by God.
“A god set it up? Is it a city where the gods live?”
-To be precise, the city was built by a god when he was still human, so it began as the home of humans and has remained so ever since. Oh—I remember hearing that there was a brief period when humans lived alongside the gods in the city, but that period was extremely short.
“Why did the gods leave? Was there some sort of conflict?”
Jae-Hyeok was aware of the existence of the gods thanks to Iyarugt—a sword bestowed by a god upon Peak Sword, the founder of the Kang family. One look at Iyarugt’s System description alongside Elder Song’s account of its origins had all but proved the existence of gods and demons.
-I don’t think so.The god who founded Reinhardt is the noblest and highest being.He saved the world of human beings many times. Humans trusted and supported him absolutely. There is no way there would be conflicts.
“You’re that certain they had no conflict?”
-That’s right.There must be another reason why the gods left.I just don’t know why.After all... The lion statue trailed off. As a being who always stayed in one place and only made contact with the world through hearsay, there was no way for the lion statue to know the details of what happened in the distant Reinhardt.
“It’s okay. That’s enough.”
Jae-Hyeok patted the head of the depressed lion statue. The statue had been covered in moss when he’d first seen it, but now it was smooth and clean thanks to his efforts.
“So, in conclusion, Reinhardt is a place where humans live?”
-It isn’t just that. It’s the richest, most beautiful, and safest place in the world.Compared to this place where there’s chaos every day, it must be hundreds of times more peaceful.
“Yes, this place is a complete mess.”
Jae-Hyeok laughed, recalling what he had gone through in the few months since arriving at school. It was true that this place was safer than his home, but incidents kept happening nonstop.
Thanks to that, I am growing quickly.
-By the way, how did you find out about Reinhardt?
Jae-Hyeok waved the blue ticket. “It’s thanks to the Third Princess of Reinhardt. She was the one who gave me this, the Reinhardt Ticket.”
Does it know about the third princess? Jae-Hyeok was full of expectations, but the lion statue didn’t give much of a response.
-Really? You must’ve cleared some type of quest.It will be a good opportunity for you to broaden your knowledge.
From the lion statue’s lack of reaction, Jae-Hyeok wondered if the third princess wasn’t particularly important.
Does that make sense? The third princess recognized my Initial Skill and was able to intervene through the System. She must be a transcendent being, right? It’s hard to believe she’s unknown... Well, I suppose it’s better than someone with a negative reputation...
Jae-Hyeok was a bit flustered and asked, “What type of person do you think the third princess is?”
-She is probably a descendant of that god.
“Ah... So the descendants of the children born from the god’s human days are the ones ruling Reinhardt?”
-In the past, yes. I just don’t know if that’s still the case.It’s been a few hundred years since this fragment of my world fell to Earth.
The lion’s statue paused. Then it continued seriously,
-Don’t give special meaning to the gift.The interest shown to you by those in possession of a transcendent power is often just a whim or a pastime.You might have high hopes only to find that the other person doesn’t even remember you.
“Okay. I know what you are worried about.”
Jae-Hyeok nodded and stood up. He double-checked that there was no one around. Then he deliberately smeared dirt on the lion statue with his hands. It was a precaution against those with sharp eyes.
In particular, Shinra Kyeong.
According to the lion statue, Shinra Kyeong had already wandered this area several times. Clearly, he was looking for the quest related to Lion’s Castle.
Jae-Hyeok couldn’t afford to leave even the smallest clue.
-Wicked guy.
As usual, the lion statue grumbled, but this was the one thing Jae-Hyeok refused to compromise on.
***
On the edge of a cliff overlooking sprawling grasslands, a majestic yet gloomy castle loomed.
This was the symbol of Austria, the castle of the Baus family.
A man shuffled through a report and frowned. “An order of knights was destroyed on the spot, and Loren was robbed of his Coffin zombies?”
His long, green hair moved as if carried by an unseen wind, and his eyes blazed like golden suns.
“I can barely understand the execution of the knights, but how dare they treat my successor like this?”
Having produced necromancers for generations, the Baus family’s power was enormous. They controlled both the situation in Austria and their neighboring countries. The green-haired man, Wilheim, was the current head of the Baus family and the one who bore the title of Emperor.
Naturally, his intelligence network was so vast and precise that he grasped every detail of the incident in South Korea’s Lion’s Castle by day’s end.
“White Night has really become bold.” Wilheim was furious. He knew clearly that Loren had caused the incident, but so what? Loren was his son.
The vassals gathered below the throne bowed their heads and cautiously offered their thoughts.
“That she dared to treat the successor of the Baus family as a criminal and make him pay for his sins means she thinks she can handle your anger, Family Head.”
......
“We must punish that arrogant person right away!” one vassal announced with righteous anger.
The biggest problem was that the White Night had to have long known Loren’s story. She’d known Loren would cause an incident with Baek Do-Jin when she’d accepted him as an exchange student, only to treat him like this? She was clearly making a mockery of the Baus family.
......
Another vassal was furious but also relieved. “The parent zombies are too incomplete to be considered a proper signature move of the successor. Regardless of whether the White Night deserves punishment or not, I think this outcome worked out better.”
The Parent Zombies were zombies Loren had made from the corpses of A-class players when he was in his early teens. In other words, the quality of the materials was subpar, and Loren’s craftsmanship at the time wasn’t very good. They were not ideal weapons.
Although it had been many years since Loren had crafted those zombies, every vassal in the hall remembered them clearly. At the time, the young Loren had been obsessed with the appearance of the zombies, turning them into patchwork zombies so he could mend them to look exactly as they had in life. He didn’t think about making them stronger or faster.
Another vassal said, “Indeed. Now that his stubbornness is broken and he can cultivate new zombies, things will be easier in many ways.”
The atmosphere quickly became friendly.
No one felt sorry for Loren’s loss of his Parent Zombies while attempting to kidnap... No, rescue a friend. They had always disapproved of the future head of the family being immersed in playing house.
“A new zombie... If it is to be the signature zombie of the successor of the Baus family, it should be at least a National Treasure grade.”
The enthusiastic gazes of several vassals fell on Wilheim.
The more outstanding the ruler, the better he understood the will of his subordinates.
“How convenient. It just so happens that perfect material has presented itself.” The golden light shining in Wilheim’s eyes illuminated the room. “Take the body of the White Night and put it in Loren’s coffin.”
“Yes!”
Most of the vassals answered vigorously, but not all.
A handful of vassals strongly opposed it. They knew that the White Night hated South Korea.
“South Korea won’t stand idly by if we go after the White Night. We will also be playing right into the White Night’s hands!”
“The White Night wants South Korea to become a battlefield!”
Wilheim raised his hand and silence returned to the hall.
“Don’t worry. The Korean Association will be on our side and cover up the commotion.”
He remembered the contents of the letter he received secretly in the Community and pointed to three knights.
“I would like to handle this personally, but if I do, it isn’t just France and the United Kingdom. All the nations in the world will pay attention to us. The three of you will go and deal with it quietly.”
“Yes.”
***
Vacation had started, and Jae-Hyeok’s heart was pounding.
He wasn’t excited about going out to play. Rather, for the first time, he’d invited friends over to his house, and that made him feel inexplicably nervous.
In addition...
I wonder what I can gain from Reinhardt?
He planned to use his Reinhardt Ticket over vacation.
He was afraid of everything that might happen there, but he was also looking forward to it. It was to the extent that he’d hardly slept yesterday.
“Are you a child?”
Jae-Hyeok was suppressing his yawn and attempting to maintain his dignity as an aristocrat when Cheon Hye-Ji approached him.
“You look like you didn’t sleep at all. Are you that excited about vacation today?”
Jae-Hyeok replied, “No way.”
“Really? Then you couldn’t sleep because you were sad?”
“Hm. That’s closer to the truth.”
His training at the Lion’s Castle had indeed been very helpful. Just the terrain training alone was an experience more valuable than gold.
Seeing Jae-Hyeok nodding, Cheon Hye-Ji blushed and made a suggestion. “If you miss it, how about you meet me during vacation?”
“......?”
“Didn’t you go on one date with Park Hae-Rin?” Cheon Hye-Ji smiled and brushed back her lush blonde hair. “I will give you one opportunity as well.”
Just then, Hae-Rin suddenly popped her head around Cheon Hye-Ji and asked Jae-Hyeok a question.
“Hey, how are you getting home?”
“The bus.” “Okay... See you at the bus stop later.” Then, Hae-Rin returned to her seat.
A question mark appeared above Cheon Hye-Ji.
“Wait, why would she look for you before you go home?”
“Because we decided to hang out at my house.”
"Kyaaaak!"
Cheon Hye-Ji screamed, and kept screaming. Jae-Hyeok covered his ears in surprise, only for Cheon Hye-Ji to pry off his hands without pausing.
After long seconds, something coherent came out of Cheon Hye-Ji’s mouth.
“Are you crazy? The two of you, alone? A young man and a young woman? Are you crazy?!”
“What—”
“That’s it. I want to go too! No, I’m definitely going!”
“What—”
“I’ll tell the teacher if you don’t take me with you!”
“?”
Jae-Hyeok felt particularly exhausted every time he had to deal with Cheon Hye-Ji. Still, he didn’t hate her either. Lee Jin-Seong, Du Bae-Su, and Cheon Hye-Ji—this idiot trio had impressed him several times.
In any case, Da-Hee said she would bring Yoo-Jin, too.
Jae-Hyeok swallowed his annoyance at having his sleeves grabbed and roughly nodded.
“If you really want to, then you can come too.”
Cheon Hye-Ji gasped. “Y-you really are a pervert?”
“Me, a pervert? What’s wrong with you all of a sudden?”
......
At that moment, Jae-Hyeok could never have imagined that inviting friends to his house would become a hot topic in Korea.