Chapter 123: Legitimate Visits (3)

King Sasha Calan of the Calan Kingdom and the Absolute Ruler of Darkness had been treating each other as business partners for quite some time.

King Sasha Calan used the Absolute Ruler of Darkness as a sword.

The Absolute Ruler of Darkness used Sasha Calan for the purpose of conveniently gathering gifts.

Of course, to call them perfectly equal business partners would be misleading, as the Absolute Ruler of Darkness unilaterally supported Sasha Calan, and although Sasha was aware of this fact, it does not change that their business relationship has been maintained for a long time.

In such a business relationship, Sasha Calan had never seen the Absolute Ruler of Darkness properly express any emotions.

As a business partner, her face was always expressionless.

Whether something special happened leading to a good outcome or an unexpected setback caused complications, the Absolute Ruler of Darkness was essentially emotionless.

Thus, Sasha Calan had never once thought that the Absolute Ruler of Darkness would show any other emotion in front of her.

However.

"...Hoo-hoo-"

"......"

Upon entering Lartania, Sasha Calan looked at the Absolute Ruler of Darkness, who was taking deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself down as if she had inhaled too much air.

Her face was flushed even though she had not yet met the Lord or had a conversation, and her ears, which would not turn red even in the cold northern regions, were so red they could be mistaken for persimmons rather than ears.

Furthermore, her lips showed brief confusion, alternating between smiles and sadness, and perhaps due to such rapid changes in emotion, her eyes were moist.

"......"

Seeing this, Sasha unwittingly opened her mouth.

After all, she had never seen the Absolute Ruler of Darkness in such a state before.

Indeed, it was hard to believe that someone capable of destroying a territory's walls with a single strike could show such a cute expression.

Thus, as she gazed at her dazedly, she soon sighed lightly upon seeing the approaching Lord's castle.

Of course, the reason she came here was not because she wanted to, but rather to accommodate the request of her business partner.

In other words, there must be no lack in handling affairs.

'...Meeting the Lord of Lartania is not so nerve-wracking.'

Because it was the request of the Absolute Ruler of Darkness, Sasha, feeling a bit tense, steeled her will and entered the Lord's castle.

Upon seeing Kim Hyunwoo's face after a while, Sasha naturally put on a mask and smiled.

At least at this moment, Sasha Calan had to wear a smile to faithfully carry out her request.

She had to, but-

"It's been a while, Lo-."

"Eh-"

"-rd..."

-Sasha Calan felt her mask slip slightly at the cute hiccup sound coming from beside her as soon as she saw the Lord of Lartania.

Initially, Kim Hyunwoo found the situation quite confusing.

That was because he thought the situation itself was very unusual.

However, after a little while, Kim Hyunwoo could understand why the Absolute Ruler of Darkness and Sasha Calan had come to Lartania together.

"...So, you're saying she's the great hero who built up the Calan Kingdom."

"Yes, that's right."

Seeing Sasha speak with a smile, Kim Hyunwoo looked at the Absolute Ruler of Darkness.

Kim Hyunwoo, who sneakily glanced at her as she subtly turned her gaze away, unable to make proper eye contact, soon asked.

"I get that part, but..."

Without explicitly saying 'So what?', Kim Hyunwoo looked at Sasha.

Up to now, Kim Hyunwoo had gathered two pieces of information from the conversation.

One was that the Absolute Ruler of Darkness had helped the Calan Kingdom.

The other was that the Absolute Ruler of Darkness no longer needed to stay in the shadows and would reveal herself publicly.

And from those two pieces of information, Kim Hyunwoo couldn't find a connection to Lartania.

Therefore, seeing his puzzled expression, Sasha spoke with a natural smile.

"I was about to get to the main point, if that's alright with you?"

"Yes, sure..."

"As the Lord of Lartania is of course aware, the Kingdom of Norba is currently occupied by demons. To be more precise, they are the minions and demons of the dirty demons. As a result, instability within the Calan Kingdom has increased significantly."

Upon hearing Sasha's words, Kim Hyunwoo nodded while asking,

"...Has dissatisfaction risen to such an extent? As far as I know, the Calan Kingdom has not suffered significant damage yet."

"That's correct. The Calan Kingdom has not yet suffered any damage. But, as you know, Lord, unease does not necessarily arise only after an event has occurred, right?"

At Sasha's words, Kim Hyunwoo nodded in agreement.

Indeed, as she said, unease does not arise only after a misfortune has occurred.

"Of course, as I mentioned to you, Lord, the immediate unease has significantly diminished since the Absolute Ruler of Darkness has decided to come into the light publicly. However, that's only really around the Kingdom's territory itself; it's not the case for the surrounding territories, especially the outskirts."

"I see."

"That's why I've come to make a proposal regarding this matter."

"...A proposal?"

At Kim Hyunwoo's question, Sasha spoke as if she had been waiting for it.

"From what I know, Lord, you've stopped the demon armies twice with large-scale magic that Dispels could not affect."

"...Perhaps, is this about providing the technology for that Dispel-proof large-scale magic?"

Kim Hyunwoo stared intently at Sasha, ready to reject her immediately if she confirmed that was what she meant.

After all, for him, it might not matter if it was about landmines, but missiles absolutely should not become known to other territories.

However, contrary to Kim Hyunwoo's thoughts, Sasha continued speaking.

"...If you could do that, I would be truly grateful, but of course, I have no intention of making such an unreasonable request."

"Then...?"

"Could you perhaps pretend to provide the technology? To be precise, what we need is just the appearance of it."

"...Appearance, you say?"

"Yes. Plus, if a bit of technical ability that could plausibly simulate it were included, that would be ideal."

At Sasha's words, Kim Hyunwoo immediately realized why she was making such a request.

"So, you literally just want to alleviate the unease."

"Exactly. As you know, Lord, with the people of the Holy Kingdom having arrived, it's unlikely the demons will advance towards the Calan Kingdom. You can see it as a means to alleviate the anxiety of the Lord and the territory's people."

At Sasha's concluding words, Kim Hyunwoo nodded without realizing it.

After all, for Kim Hyunwoo, a method that involved launching primitively without using 'appearances' or fuel wasn't a big loss.

"If I can do at least that much..."

After pondering for a while, Kim Hyunwoo subtly hinted at wanting compensation, prompting Sasha to speak.

"From what I understand, there aren't many heroes in Lartania currently, is that correct?"

"That's correct."

Upon hearing Kim Hyunwoo's confirmation, Sasha sighed softly as if she had passed something over, then continued.

"So, I was thinking, if it's alright with you, perhaps we could offer some support by providing a few heroes."

"...If you were to provide heroes...?"

"Of course, we won't just be providing heroes. Naturally, we plan to supply the resources needed by the Lartania territory within reasonable bounds. And-"

"We also intend to support this territory with the Absolute Ruler of Darkness herself, not just any heroes. How does that sound?"

"......"

At Sasha's words, Kim Hyunwoo turned his gaze discreetly to look at the Absolute Ruler of Darkness.

"Uh-"

Making an odd noise as she looked at Kim Hyunwoo, the Absolute Ruler of Darkness attempted to turn her gaze away but then-

"Eh-"

-made another curious (?) noise and fixed her head straight before speaking.

"Didn't I say this before? That...with my infamy being too great, it wouldn't be acceptable...? But, if I were to stay in Lartania while being affiliated with the Calan Kingdom, wouldn't that be alright?"

She said,

"If it happens like this, wouldn't it mean that the territory wouldn't necessarily be tarnished by my infamy? I can contribute a lot, be it in battle or other various tasks, as you know I'm quite capable, aren't I?"

She stated.

"I've been good at this and that for a while- even cooking, I'm quite skilled. Moreover, with my darkness, I can protect the Lord's castle without any gaps, and cooking too, ah, did I mention that already...?"

"...Absolute Ruler of Darkness?"

Initially hesitant to speak, but as time passed and she became more exposed to Kim Hyunwoo's gaze, Rin began to ramble, causing Sasha to wear a puzzled expression.

To anyone looking, Rin's appearance did not seem very reassuring.

However, naturally, Sasha couldn't outrightly silence the Absolute Ruler of Darkness.

"Um, so? That is- if you just ask, I can do it all! Yes, that's right. Um- surprisingly, there's nothing I can't do...!"

Sasha looked at the rambling Absolute Ruler of Darkness with an expression as if to say, oh no.

Kim Hyunwoo, observing the Absolute Ruler of Darkness, made a peculiar expression and then spoke.

"...Well, it sounds good, but..."

"Is, is that so!?"

The Absolute Ruler of Darkness spoke with a bright smile, as if she had found enlightenment.

"...Just to say something you might not know...even if not a hero affiliated with us, staying in the territory for a long time... inevitably increases unease."

"...Eh?"

However, Kim Hyunwoo, who had smiled somewhat awkwardly, mentioned this.

In a forest about two days away from the Lartania territory, there was someone with red eyes.

"Me, meow...like this?"

"...Boss, cat beastfolk hold their fists rather thinly. That's...if you throw it like that, it's a punch, you know...?"

"...Ugh."

"Let's try again. Curl your hand thinly. Meow."

"...Me, meow..."

A curious event was unfolding.