Chapter 221
『Translator: RainTL』
༺ War for Korin, their Son-in-Law (3)༻
One might think that taxes were the only source of income for the royal family, but that was a misconception.
In fact, only a small amount of taxes were allocated to the royal family for them to maintain their standard of appearance, and it wasn’t their main source of income.
Their main income came from the generations of private property and merchants.
The silk road to the east and the trade routes to the southern archipelago as well as trades with other continents thanks to monster carriers all in the name of the royal family was what supported them.
Apart from that, there were also the real estate investments and banking businesses, which were based on the absolute credit behind their title.
This past decade, even the New Faith was included in their business after the 1st Princess became the saintess of the order.
Everything was going smoothly, maybe except for some uneasy elements like the potential strife between the 1st Princess and the 2nd Princess’s faction for the throne. At the very least, however, it was highly unlikely that the royal family’s business would collapse in a single generation during King David’s reign.
That was widely considered to be an unarguable analysis of the current economic situation by many scholars but—
“Your Majesty! The fleets of the Magdalla Merchants are being stalled at the bay! The port is saying there are problems with the administration, and astronomical amounts of money are being spent each day to keep the products in condition!”
“The suppliers of food into the capital city are being interrupted! It’s the Dunareff Merchants, Your Majesty! They have arbitrarily stopped the supply of food!”
“Merchant head Yohanne has betrayed us, Your Majesty! He suddenly filed for bankruptcy and has put all the products and items on auction!”
“The Legislation Department has disagreed with the plan to build a new city! It is said to be suspended indefinitely!”
“...”
King David frowned at the constant flood of bad news that was coming day by day.
It was very explicit.
Both explicit and greatly hostile.
The economic backlash from the Dunareff was like a sudden onslaught of missiles out of the blue.
“These accursed potato addicts…”
It was obvious what the reason behind their economic attack was – it was most certainly because of the royal marriage proposal to Korin Lork.
The king wasn’t expecting this much counter-attack, for he had heard beforehand that Duke Marde wasn’t very positive about receiving Korin Lork as a son-in-law.
“Your Majesty… Duke Marde has asked for an audience!”
“...Tell him to come in!”
Daring to show his face after attacking first, huh?
Let’s see what you’ve got to say!
Thinking that, King David accepted the audience.
Soon, a middle-aged man with water-colored hair walked in through the large gates of the audience chamber with wide and confident strides.
Glancing at the articulate design of the palace made by the greatest engineers of the capital, the duke clicked his tongue.
“Tch tch. Both the design and the format are too extravagant. You might need some repairs, Your Majesty. We can send some of our engineers from the south.”
“It’s fine. We don’t need the old-fashioned approach of the south, nor the old engineers that can’t follow the trend.”
“That is what we call, ‘classic’, Your Majesty.”
“We call that ‘old-fashioned’ here, Duke.”
““...””
The two men sitting at the loftiest positions within the continent looked at each other with empty smiles.
“More importantly,” the king said. “You must have used quite a bit of money for this ordeal. How much have you spent?”
“Around 500 million gold. Not even half the budget.”
“...”
King David glared at the duke with an unprecedentedly ferocious gaze.
The royal family and the Dunareff were cooperators and partners.
The Dunareff supported the pillars of the royal family, while the royal family refrained from interfering with the affairs of the south.
It was a secret deal they had forged even before the El Rath Kingdom rose to be the central power of the continent.
“You have attacked the royal family. Do you really want to escalate this?”
“Your Majesty. You were the one who picked at a beehive.”
“What have I done!”
“I am sure you are aware of what you have done regarding Korin Lork.”
“Weren’t you… against it though?”
“I am still against it, but…!”
Duke Marde stated while looking straight into the king’s eyes.
“It should have been after our Mari booted that guy out of the family. Never will Marie be the second in line.”
“Hah! So you mean my daughters should do whatever they please after your daughter is done with what she wants to do?”
“If that is how you perceived it, Your Majesty.”
“Duke… You’re testing my patience.”
The two men… the two fathers glared at each other with an intense blaze in their eyes. Meanwhile, the officials on the side gulped in nervousness.
‘Uhh so… this is all because His Majesty simply proposed a marriage, right?’
The 1,000 year long history of the El Rath Kingdom and their firm alliance was about to be broken because of one man.
“My first daughter is the saintess! And my second daughter is the leader of a faction of nobles!”
“Our Marie is a Unique Grade mage!”
“Probably thanks to lobbying the Association!”
“Still wouldn’t have been possible without her ability!”
“Are you really picking a fight, Duke?”
“Will you even be an opponent?”
“You! How dare you!”
“Go ahead, Your Majesty! Kill me if you wish!”
“You are clearly crossing the line right now!”
The two of them were becoming more and more immature with their choice of words. It was right when the official was starting to get tired.
“How can you talk about Korin Lork without this old man?”
An old man, who seemed to have suddenly appeared out of thin air, walked forward from a corner of the audience chamber. He was wearing tattered clothes and looked like someone who wouldn’t even be allowed to enter the palace, but both King David and Duke Marde were aware of the old man’s identity.
“Sword Emperor…”
“Garrand Arden.”
“Been a while. It may be a sudden visit from this old man, but I believe a cup of tea should still be served. Your Majesty. Duke.”
It was an incredibly presumptuous attitude, but it was okay for the Sword Emperor to do it as the pinnacle of the generation.
“I heard you saying something about my grandson-in-law,” said the Sword Emperor.
“And why would Knight Korin be your grandson-in-law?”
In response to the king’s question, the Sword Emperor replied like it was the most natural thing in the world.
“Because I’ve decided so.”
“...”
The king of the El Rath Kingdom was not an empty title by any means. He was at the top of the strongest nation in the continent in a world with centralization of politics.
However, in this country, the Sword Emperor and the Dunareff were both untouchables in a different meaning of the word.
Sword Emperor Garrand Arden.
A superhuman and the strongest knight in history. He was a living legend and a mythology himself, whose influence was still absolute despite his retirement.
One word from him and all the martial houses on the east would immediately pick up their swords.
“Duke. My kids are complaining that the dojo and their warhorse business isn’t returning any money. Do you know anything?”
“No idea. I don’t keep track of small amounts of money.”
“That pathetic little kid. That’s what he gets for chasing money all the time. He doesn’t understand that having more to protect is just having more weaknesses.”
The Sword Emperor didn’t seem to care even though all the businesses run by his son were about to go bankrupt.
However, that was just who he was. He wasn’t interested in the fall and rise of his household; he had always been interested in nothing but the birth of a great warrior.
“But I can’t sit still and do nothing after being hit first.”
“And what if you can’t sit still?”
“I have to take my revenge, do I not?”
The officials in the room gulped in response.
Arden Household.
The powerhouse of the east and the protector of the eastern battlefront.
Although they lived in the harsh lands of the east, that constituted the strength of their military. All the byproducts they gained by hunting demons and fighting against the constant invasion of the barbarians meant they had the strongest militaries of the kingdom.
A military action from them would immediately cause a rift in the kingdom. Actually… had a rift been created already?
Center of the kingdom, El Rath royal family.
Dunareff Dukedom with overwhelming wealth.
Arden Household with the greatest military of the kingdom.
The three factions were about to collide which would send a massive earthquake of change down the kingdom.
But why? Why were they fighting each other?
‘I, is this really all because of a single guy?”
The official felt his soul escaping his body.
****
[Dunareff. Standing against the royal merchant group! The kingdom’s economy at risk!]
[Arden Household stations a line of troops on the border to the royal capital and the south! The biggest feudal war in the history of the kingdom is about to begin!]
[The royal treasury hands out a confiscation warrant to the Dunareff! A tax investigation begins! 100 million gold laundered?]
W, wut in the world…
What? How did this all happen?
After becoming the president of an Association branch, I had to spend a lot of time at a hotel inside the capital city.
But like… what was going on right now?
Like, why is the Dunareff restricting the economic flow of the royal family and the Arden?
Why is the Arden stationing their military towards the inside?
And why is the royal family suddenly starting a large-scale tax investigation?
Reading the end of the newspaper, my lips began to tremble.
[All this to fight for Korin Lork to be their son-in-law! Korin Lork! Is he a hero, or a beast of doom?]
“M, me? This is because of me? This? Why? What, what did I do?”
I had a gut feeling that something would go wrong when King David’s offer immediately landed on the newspaper.
But little did I know that Duke Marde would suddenly oppose the royal family and Arden, only to result in a three-way war between the royal family, Arden and the Dunareff!
The kingdom was about to be split up.
“Come on! What the hell are they doing when we need to join forces?! Why the hell is this happening!?”
I swear it’s not my fault! I didn’t do anything!
We had to prepare ourselves for the upcoming disaster, and we certainly couldn’t watch our kingdom split itself up. Having that happen because of me was even worse off!
“No, we can’t let this happen… Never! Not at all!”
I had to do something about this.
****
And here, I was in the middle of the most awkward situation in the world.
“...”
“...”
“...”
In the depths of the royal palace, in front of me were the three most powerful men in this kingdom.
King David.
Duke Marde.
Sword Emperor Garrand.
The kingdom was in the middle of breaking apart, and I somehow begged everyone to gather up in the midst of it.
Because I was the person in question, and because I was an official Unique Grade Knight and a president of the Association, I was able to somehow have everyone gather to one table.
“Umm… fathers*?”
“What’s with that distant title? Call me father-in-law.”
“I am not your father.”
“You can call me grandfather.”
I said one sentence and yet all three of them each said something very different. It was hard to treat any of them with even the slightest of disrespect, which made it even more difficult.
“The reason I had all of your esteemed selves gather is simple…”
It was still so surreal that I couldn’t really speak properly. Like, really? Was this really happening just because of me?
“Regarding the recent matters surrounding the kingdom… Please calm yourselves down and…”
“Korin, my son-in-law.”
“Ah, yes! Your Majesty.”
“We don’t need a long conversation about this. All you have to do is make your decision here.”
“...Me?”
The king continued after a nod.
“As long as you make yourself clear, no-one here will be disgraceful enough to disrespect it.”
“But, Your Majesty…”
“It’s simple,” The king said. “Take my oldest daughter, Estelle Hadassa El Rath, and my second daughter, Miruam Elizabeth El Rath, as your wives and become the king and queens of this country to be above everyone else.”
“Who cares about the worldly titles and the throne? Warriors like us just need to crave to reach higher and higher above. Korin Lork. Take the chastities of my grand-daughters and leave a stronger bloodline behind.”
“Tch… Authority and power? You can buy all of that with money. Besides, with the Tower of Mages gone, we, the Dunareff, are at the center of magic engineering. Just listen to what Marie says and you’ll get a potato in your sleep.”
The three fathers all talked about the benefit of marrying their family.
Authority of the royal family,
Power of the Arden Household,
Wealth of the Dunareff Family.
The fruit would be extremely sweet no matter which one I picked. Even the real player wouldn’t be able to acquire any of those but…
“I won’t.”
What was certain was that I wouldn’t marry anyone.
“Hmm?”
“Why is that?”
“...”
All three of them showed a different reaction in response to my curt reply.
“Why? Even though you can marry two princesses and become the next king?”
“You are an innate warrior. My grand-daughters will be great compliments for you. Together, you guys can reach higher realms and give birth to a stronger child, so why?”
“Although she’s my daughter, Marie is the perfect partner for a marriage. The wealth of the Dunareff far exceeds what you can imagine.”
Yes.
They were all correct.
Estelle, Miruam, Alicia, Lunia and Marie… I wasn’t a fool who didn’t know how great of an opportunity it was to accept them as wives.
Not only were they beautiful, they also had wealth, authority and power behind them.
“I’m not interested in money or authority. Same with power.”
“Hmph…!” The duke scoffed. “Don’t you dare lie in front of me. There is no-one in the world who isn’t interested in them.”
“Because there is something even more valuable.”
“...Something more valuable?”
They turned to me with curiosity.
“Saving the world.”
All three of them turned quiet after hearing that. They still didn’t know about the future ahead of us.
“The world will be put in great predicament. A lot of people could die, and we might lose everything.
“I can’t build a house when a storm is coming the next day.
“Marie, Alicia, Lunia, Miruam and Estelle. They’re all attractive and lovely individuals. But… worse comes to worst, I don’t want to hurt the people that will be left behind.”
What if I died?
Or what if I had to die alongside Tates Valtazar?
I might become hesitant. I might even stop unknowingly out of fear.
No matter who I picked, there would be people left behind.
I couldn’t be irresponsible and get married to someone. It was a terrible experience, which I had experienced enough of, 3 years ago, before the regression.
“Please, sirs. Now… isn’t the time. We can’t fight each other. We must join our forces and prepare ourselves.”
“What is this thing that we have to prepare for…?”
“Your Majesty, King David. There was something you had promised me – that you would listen to anything I wish for even apart from the Legal Immunity.”
“...Yes. I did.”
“Please fulfill your words as the head of the country. Please cancel the marriage and stop the strife.”
Without waiting for his reply, I turned to the duke.
“Your Highness, Duke Dunareff. The Dunareff has a non-repayable debt to me. Your successor, the life of your beloved daughter was indebted to me.”
“...I admit it. You are a benefactor of the Dunareff.”
“Please repay that debt right now, by canceling every action of economic attack done to the royal family and the Arden Household, and return everything to normal.”
“...”
“And Sword Emperor, Garrand Arden.”
“I have nothing indebted to you though?” he said.
“You seek a fight against the strong, right? A life or death battle against people that could threaten your life.”
“You seem to be the only one in this generation though.”
“There are greater monsters out there. Just stay holed up in the east starting from today. You’ll see something worth the wait.”
“Hmm…”
This was everything I could do to persuade them.
All I could hope for now, was that they would make a rational judgment out of the situation.
If only they had been rational the whole time, we wouldn’t have had a problem like this showing up because of my marriage!
“Please, I beg of you, everyone. Let’s talk about this after we’re done saving the world.”
Afterwards, I began to reveal everything that would happen henceforth.
All the things that would happen to us; what we had to prepare for, and what my requests were. I used the achievements I had built thus far to persuade the powerhouses of the kingdom.
The persuasion and conference lasted for the next several days.
****
“Hua…”
Due to an unexpected turn of events, I had to persuade the top powerhouses of the kingdom and have a deep conversation about the upcoming threats and future plans.
After spending a few days having meals, drinking and smoking in the conference room.
“It worked out somehow…”
The Dunareff canceled their economic attacks; the Arden Household retreated their military and the royal family canceled the tax investigation.
I was somehow able to stitch it all back up. But of course, this was still just a temporary measure and it was hard to tell how long these would last…
In any case, after somehow fixing everything for the time being, I was on the way back to my hotel room.
“Is it the 25th already…”
December 25th.
It was pretty much my last day off, but I had to spend it doing some weird stuff.
Hua Ran and Marie were due to return tomorrow, and Lunia and Alicia should be done with their preparations as well.
Starting soon will be the final phase. The Frost Giant and the Old Faith will strike back, marking the start of the final war.
Until then, my goal was to observe the situation while training harder.
- Click!
“Let’s just sleep for today…”
I at least deserved a good night’s sleep for today. The mental and physical fatigue the whole thing built up was incredible—
—————
“Uht…?!”
A sweet scent and a deep fog surrounded me the moment I walked into the hotel room. It was an excessive and evident amount of enchanting incense.
“You’re here.”
Suddenly, a lady grabbed my hand and pulled me closer. As soon as I saw who it was, I let my body be dragged away until I was flat on the bed.
After placing herself on my body, she gazed down at me with her captivating red eyes.
“Been a while, Knight Korin.”
“It certainly has, Your Highness…”
2nd Princess Miruam. Her crimson eyes looked straight into mine.
“I thought… you knew drugs don’t work on me.”
“I know. But… I needed a little bit of drugs and atmosphere. Do you know what day it is today?”
“...”
Of course I did.
In the last iteration, after the fall of the Academy and after cleansing Nazrea, I was soothing the hole in my heart when… she approached me.
[Knight Korin. You look lonely. Let me… comfort you.]
December 25th.
3 years ago.
Last iteration.
It was the day she assaulted me.
The day she conceived our baby.
[TLN]
* Father can refer to a father-in-law or a close friend’s father.