Chapter 70
Kim Yul offered a polite bow, wearing the awkward smile of Kim Dae-bung and Hwang Hui, who had not been granted permission to resign.
Could he have come to pressure me into volunteering for enlistment?
If so, I'd throw a fist potato right now, bury myself in Roselyn's arms, and file for free agency with the Holy Nation.
Kim Yul was just putting away those gruesome thoughts, though.
Fortunately, today's Aizen had not come racing in with Odo Bongo in tow.
"I have a favor I'd like to ask of you. I hope my visit isn't burdensome?"
"I beg your pardon, but this humble subject finds this situation extremely burdensome."
"You're quite courteous. Where did you learn such old-fashioned speech? In any case, it's not a difficult request."
Kim Yul suddenly recalled the past.
- If you don't develop a big, beautiful cannon immediately, I'll send you to the military discipline unit! No, the brig!
For a moment, that heavily distorted PTSD bounced around in Kim Yul's brain.
"In two weeks, the troupe leader will be heading to the port city of Alberis for a goodwill performance."
"A great blessing for the nation, Your Highness."
At Kim Yul's soulless reaction, Aizen tilted his head, but
he soon cheerfully started rattling off everything he wanted to say.
"Why else would we go to a port city? I spoke to the Arts Department and asked them to stage Song of Heroes and the Sea. Could the original author be left out of such a glorious occasion?"
"I think I could be left out, though......"
So this was the tragic backstory behind why The Saint of Orléans only ran for two weeks.
Kim Yul felt as if the sky were collapsing.
For the new play to succeed, buzz would spread, the books would sell, and the chance of obtaining even better skills would increase a little more...!
Of course, he couldn't actually voice such occult-sounding remarks, so Kim Yul could only listen with his lips slightly pursed.
"And another thing."
Aizen lowered himself and brought his mouth close to Kim Yul's ear.
At the sudden move by that handsome young bastard.
He almost swung a fist at that washbasin of a face before he knew it, but Kim Yul barely held back.
Whether he knew how Kim Yul felt or not,
"There's an imperial navy in Alberis. But among them, hmm, there's talk that, no matter that it's a play and a novel, some of it is a ridiculous exaggeration."
"......Yes, sir."
"But having read your novel, it seems clear to me that you have exceptionally thorough knowledge of the navy and naval warfare, so while you're at it, go and knock those stubborn bastards down a peg."
"......"
The words "Why me?" had risen all the way to Kim Yul's Adam's apple, but
the other party was not only the empire's second prince, but also a client of Cheonja Chongtong, and, if you looked at the game long-term, someone who might become a dependable patron.
Kim Yul quietly nodded to show his acceptance.
Of course, Kim Yul was a total know-nothing who couldn't even scientifically understand how a ship floated on the sea, let alone military talent.
'Then I should at least show Kkangtong-i the sea.'
If he went together with that all-purpose pocket of knowledge, who had never even been to school or seen the sea, there shouldn't be any major problem.
"Ha ha, I knew you'd accept! As expected, you're very sharp. Perhaps you'd make my strategist—"
"I must refuse that without exception."
"Oh dear, how resolute."
Kim Yul neatly brushed aside even the subtly insinuated enlistment pitch.
Though disappointed, Aizen's gaze, having nevertheless achieved a satisfactory result, now turned to the stack of manuscripts Kim Yul was holding.
"That must be the latest manuscript of The Two Heroes, then?"
"Yes, sir."
"Hmm......"
Aizen thought for a moment.
Naturally, he had been keeping up with the latest chapters of The Two Heroes, so it was only natural that he would be curious about the manuscript.
But wasn't asking to see it too much?
Wouldn't that be abuse of power?
Though the belated voice of conscience slipped out a little from someone who had already wielded power however he pleased.
"If you're curious, you can take a look. The boss sees it every day anyway, so what's the big deal?"
"Oh! Then, excuse me for a moment!"
Aizen did not refuse and began reading the manuscript Kim Yul offered.
## ====== ##
Your Majesty's loyal subject, Zhuge Liang, humbly dares to submit this memorial.
The Late Emperor passed away before even half of the enterprise he founded was accomplished, and now the realm has been divided into three, with Yi Province in severe decline; truly, this is a time when the nation's survival is in grave danger.
However, the reason the ministers who serve Your Majesty inside do not grow lazy and the loyal warriors outside do not spare their lives is because they have not forgotten the imperial grace the Late Emperor specially extended to them, and only wish to repay Your Majesty.
Your Majesty should therefore lend an open ear to their loyal remonstrance, so as to glorify the Late Emperor's virtue and greatly stir the spirit of the righteous and loyal. Do not, by deeming yourself lacking in virtue and talent, unjustly block the path of those who loyally dare to admonish you.
......
......
The Former Han prospered because it drew near wise ministers and kept corrupt officials and petty men at a distance, while the Later Han fell because it drew near corrupt officials and petty men and kept wise ministers at a distance; during his lifetime, the Late Emperor spoke with us of such matters and once could not help lamenting the affairs of the reigns of Huan and Ling.
The Palace Attendants, Masters of Writing, Commandery Administrators, and Army Advisors are all upright and enlightened men, ministers who would preserve their loyalty to the state even to the death, so I pray Your Majesty will keep them close and trust them. If you do, the Han house will soon flourish again.
......
......
I cannot contain my gratitude for the grace I have received! Now, as I depart on a far journey, I submit this memorial with tears blurring my vision, and I do not know what words I should even offer.
......
......
## ====== ##
"Hah......"
He had unfolded it with a light heart, and yet.
With an overwhelming weight of loyal devotion surging through his chest, Aizen closed his eyes for a moment and imagined Zhuge Liang's feelings.
The lord he had sworn to serve for life had met a tragic end.
Was it only his lord?
Everything—the talented men, the soldiers, all of it that the Late Emperor Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang had poured their hearts into—was burned to ash in the flames of Yiling.
Fortunately, reliable generals such as Zhao Yun still remained, but the scars that one crushing defeat left on Shu were far too deep.
But.
Zhuge Liang did not give up.
The heartfelt wish of Liu Bei, who trusted him and came three times to persuade him.
To destroy the ambition of the false emperor, Cao Pi.
And to inscribe the rightful name of Han onto history once more.
A memorial that burned through all his administrative skill and mobilized every bit of military prowess he had shown up to that point to declare a northern expedition.
And its name was the Memorial Before the Northern Expedition.
Aizen lifted his head and looked at Kim Yul, the author who had written this fine piece.
Though the dark circles beneath his eyes still would not disappear, as if he were still overworked.
Someone who could write something like this.
Someone who could move people's hearts with words like these.
There was no way he wasn't a true loyal subject.
Aizen made a vow to himself.
This man.
He would make sure to bring him under his command.
* * *
A sense of tension began to creep into the relaxed salon.
A cute but slightly crazy kid was roaming the imperial capital, cosplaying as Zhuge Liang.
"Outrageously cute......"
It wasn't because of the ominous rumor that a man who fell for that cuteness had been blown into a wall by a single flick of a fan.
After the Battle of Yiling.
For a while, Two Heroes couldn't shake off the label of being slow.
Well.
The material that followed was plain bland after such grand developments, after all—they had fought on a national scale, and even the founding monarch had spent his life in brilliant flames.
They made peace with Wu.
They merely exchanged checks with Wei.
It was like Part 1 of Two Heroes.
The early part of Cao Cao's arc, as if it were nothing but politics.
And it was getting recycled in the lonely Chancellor Zhuge Liang's form.
A barbarian-smashing arc that was obviously modeled after goblins.
Wasn't that a textbook padding technique?
Even the Seven Captures and Seven Releases.
That episode where he was captured seven times and released seven times was the same.
Why did the author insist on singing the whole thing from verse 1 through verse 7 when he could have just been won over in one go?
The voice slipped out naturally.
- Wait, does this mean... a hiatus flag...?
Even more so.
He had once again written the script for the masterpiece play The Saint of Orléans, and the quality of that novel was also remarkably excellent.
Rather, that only made the salon's readers even more uneasy.
When do authors put down their pens for a while?
When they can make a comfortable living.
In fact, wasn't there even a famous writer who, after his orchard farming turned out so well, ended up sealing away his serial novel and still draws criticism for it?
What if Ulysses ended up following that same path......?
Just as that suspicion was growing larger and larger.
"At last, at last!"
"Zhuge Liang has declared all-out war......!"
"War! Never again war!"
"Sob, today's meal was delicious."
Into the minds of readers whose concerns were just starting to be patched over.
The Memorial Before the Northern Expedition flew in and lodged itself there, creating a new crack.
"But why Wei, not Wu?"
"The strategy of allying with powerful enemies to attack another is the essence of the plan to divide the world into three, so of course it's the obvious choice. Who knows? He may have another scheme hidden away to attack Wu again from behind!"
"To bring up the Three Visits here again......"
"Seriously, isn't this development way too unfair?"
"Shu is different this time!"
"So the ban on using the Wu deck is finally getting lifted?"
"Boss! There's a Wu-loving bastard here!"
The readers who had gathered in groups to chew over the latest installment fell into a frenzy.
And meanwhile.
The Republic's foremost scholar of demon language, and an authority in demon linguistics.
Sordinang was there.
He had sent a previous letter, but perhaps there had been a problem in transit, since he had not received a reply.
Based on the faint conviction that any literary figure would surely stop by the salon to express that ego, he had been staying in the imperial capital while also taking in the sights.
"The... Memorial Before the Northern Expedition...?"
Because, compared with ordinary people, he was a little closer to the truth behind words derived from demon language.
Sordinang could only make a face like a soldier from the 1920s who had just heard the phrase "World War I".