SWNOVELXO Chapter 632
Chapter 632: Then, Let’s Get Some Compensation. (4)
“Y-Yeah. I get it. Just stop for now.”
Alfoy calmed Claude down. This territory was filled with too many idiots who would cause trouble at the drop of a hat. He knew this all too well because he was one of them.
Of course, Alfoy had no intention of just taking this lying down.
‘Just wait and see. Once the lord arrives, everything will be invalidated. Look forward to my revenge.’
For now, Alfoy signed the document to get through the immediate crisis. He believed that once the lord arrived, everything would be resolved. The dragon hunt had just concluded safely, and the lord was in a particularly good mood.
And without a doubt, he was the one who had greatly contributed to the success of that dragon hunt.
As Alfoy signed the contract to reduce his charges of rebellion in exchange for becoming a lifelong slave to the kingdom, Claude wore a satisfied smile.
Of course, Claude had a hunch about what Alfoy was up to.
‘This bastard must think he just needs to ride through this crisis for now, right?’
Anyway, his actions were technically “legal.” Alfoy had indeed committed a crime deserving of execution.
Still, there was a strong chance he’d be released the moment the lord arrived. And that thought made Claude sick to his stomach.
‘In that case, I need to make sure he gets forgotten from memory.’
Claude stuffed the papers into his pocket and pulled out another document.
“Criminal Alfoy is to be transferred immediately to the Eastern Rift Research Institute. There, he must dedicate himself to researching the rift to atone for his crimes. This kind of punishment for rebellion is practically a reward.”
“What? Hey, you bastard!”
Alfoy shouted loudly.
He was supposed to join other wizards in the rift research. But naturally, he was slated to conduct it in the Penris territory.
However, Claude was sending him off to the eastern region just to prevent him from seeing the lord.
Alfoy’s face twisted with rage. He was now stuck doing hard labor… no, research in the eastern region.
“Ugh! I’ll kill you! How dare you do this to me, the ‘Five Circle Dragon Slayer of the White Freedman Mage’ who defeated a god!”
Despite Alfoy shouting at the top of his lungs, he was seized by the knights and dragged away. He would be moving alongside other wizards later that day.
Claude muttered with a sympathetic expression.
“Goodbye, bro. See you later. Stay healthy, okay? I’ll miss you. Oh, by the way! Hey! Take that rooster-looking thing with you too! Ah, that feels good.”
“……”
Wendy watched the whole situation unfold with a look of contempt.
Anyway, she was going to report everything that happened. When the lord arrived, the information would be sent through another channel. Those two idiots were working their butts off for no reason.
Having kicked Alfoy out, Claude hurriedly moved on.
“Hurry up, let’s get the money sorted first.”
In truth, dealing with Alfoy was a trivial task. He would regain his senses if he dedicated himself to research.
However, gathering military funds was a grave matter that required his utmost attention.
He pulled out all the bribes he had received.
“Ugh, how did I even gather all this….”
There was no choice but to start gathering again.
He then accelerated the businesses he had been working on since before.
He gathered the people he had separately hired and urgently said, “We need to increase the production of the Penris Duke Chronicles’ second edition and Yulien’s portrait. As fast as possible!”
Claude had been sending people to document everything about Yulien since he realized she was popular.
Additionally, he was working on products of other celebrities according to demand, except for Alfoy.
This time, he recruited people purely with his own funds without using any territory resources or public funds.
Of course, one shouldn’t freely sell someone else’s face and story, but he was still willing to ignore this for the moment to later bag a big haul while keeping Ghislaine in the dark.
Yulien was indifferent to whoever sold her likeness anyway.
Though he poured all the money he had earned until now, it still wasn’t enough to cover the shortfall. The problem was that he gambled too much.
Claude, reluctantly, had to mobilize some troops.
“Scrape together all the information on the criminals around us!”
The continent hadn’t fully stabilized yet. While Ruthania Kingdom had sorted itself out quite a bit, the situation outside the kingdom was different.
Cities were swarming with crime organizations, and bandits roamed everywhere.
Especially in the recently annexed Seiron Kingdom and the area scheduled for annexation next.
They were just the type of scum that needed to be cleared out for the sake of public safety. He also thought he could rake in funds by cleaning them out.
Dragging his exhausted body, Claude set out to hunt down the bandits.
“I really need to either quit gambling or die…….”
With time pressing down on him, Claude committed himself like never before to eliminate bandit groups and crime organizations.
Thanks to that, the security situation in the newly annexed areas improved rapidly. The people living there praised the Ruthania Kingdom.
Although Claude and Amelia’s gambling might have been a bit strange in the process, it ended up benefiting the citizens of the kingdom.
*
Gathros was a fugitive. But he did not neglect to gather information while on the run.
Knowing the outside situation would help him evade capture more effectively.
The knights he led moved cautiously, gathering information whenever opportunities arose.
One day, astonishing news reached him as he was evading capture.
“A dragon? Are you saying a real dragon has appeared?”
“Yes, indeed. All allied forces have reportedly moved to the Turian Kingdom’s fortress. The cause of the monster wave is said to be the dragon.”
“Huh? How in the world did they find that out?”
“It’s information from the Duke of Penris.”
Gathros’s face twisted. That name was popping up again.
“The Duke of Penris! The Duke of Penris! That bastard is involved in everything!”
Everything was aimed and executed by Ghislaine, who had knowledge of future events. And this time, Ereness had also supplied a significant amount of information.
It was evident that understanding or keeping up with the situation was impossible without Ghislaine.
Gathros vented his frustration for a while before finally calming down.
“Well, it seems everything is proceeding as foretold. The ‘White Dragon of Doom’ must surely refer to the dragon.”
He didn’t know whether a dragon truly existed or what kind of dragon was appearing, but the circumstances aligning with the prophecy solidified his belief.
Gathros looked back at Erlhardt.
Though he was still raiding a bandit’s hideout, Erlhardt did not seem like the type at all.
He always maintained a neat appearance and exuded a pleasant fragrance. He had never shown any signs of being disheveled.
Though his butler took meticulous care of him, even considering that, he was uncommonly immaculate.
Even now, he sat elegantly in the middle of the bandit’s den, sipping tea.
In contrast, Gathros glanced at his own messy self and cautiously spoke.
“Your Highness, it seems the prophecy in the scripture is finally about to be realized.”
“Hmm….”
“If a dragon truly appears again, then the Duke of Penris will have no choice. The allied forces will suffer great losses, and perhaps the Duke of Penris along with his superhuman followers will perish.”
Gathros’s face flushed a bit. If only the Duke of Penris, the one who brought down the Salvation Society, died, the biggest threat would be eliminated.
And if the allied superhumans and commanders died as well, the continent would fall back into chaos.
Seeing Gathros like that, Erlhardt asked.
“Then who will catch the dragon? Us?”
“If they are hostile towards the allied forces, wouldn’t they join hands with us?”
“And if they are hostile towards us?”
“I believe the ‘White Dragon of Doom’ is a sign to hasten the king’s revival. Once we find the king, everything will be resolved.”
Erlhardt looked at Gathros with a slightly pitying gaze.
Gathros was undoubtedly a prodigy. He had practically resurrected a cult thought to have vanished, and his own power was stronger than most superhumans.
However, all of his thoughts were focused solely on the scripture and the king’s resurrection. His mind was filled only with the desire to unveil the divine will in this world.
That’s why his thinking wasn’t flexible.
Look at him now. He showed no interest in what a dragon truly was. He simply believed that once the king was found, everything would be solved.
“If only your faith were a little less profound. If that were the case, we might have already dominated the continent.”
“Your Highness….”
It was an impossibility for Gathros. His faith in the divine was the very reason he lived.
Erlhardt shook his head, fully aware of that fact.
“Yes, that’s also your fate, ensnared by the will of the divine.”
“…….”
At Erlhardt’s words, a look of unease crept onto Gathros’s face. This feeling had persisted for some time, but Erlhardt showed no signs of sincere belief in faith.
‘Why… is the High Priest, who is among the closest to Him, acting like this?’
Since Erlhardt never revealed his inner thoughts, Gathros was at a loss to understand.
Despite clearly accepting the memories and powers of the Apostle, Erlhardt displayed incomprehensible words and actions.
As that thought crossed his mind, Gathros slyly asked.
“Have your memories… returned much?”
“Not yet. But the pace of their return is gradually accelerating, so there’s no need for concern.”
“I see. Do you recall anything about the dragon that’s supposed to appear this time?”
“None. But I previously had a fragmentary vision through a revelation.”
“Oh, really? What was it like? Was it burning the world down?”
“Yes. Just like in the painting in the castle, it was depicted as tearing the world apart and devouring countless people.”
Gathros’s face lit up with excitement.
“Indeed! That’s it! Then this time, the allied forces will suffer great losses!”
While silently gazing at Gathros, Erlhardt casually remarked.
“It dies.”
“Pardon?”
“The dragon will ultimately die. Its gigantic neck will be severed.”
“What do you mean by…?”
“When I received the revelation, I briefly saw it— a dragon with just its neck left, shedding tears of blood.”
“…….”
Gathros bit his lips repeatedly.
He did not believe Erlhardt’s dream. How could he trust a dream that had started to become chaotic and randomly generated at some point?
Erlhardt chuckled softly and continued.
“I know what you think.”
“N-No, I don’t.”
“It’s alright. I’m aware that things have been a mess since the Duke of Penris appeared. But it’s happening too quickly.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I mean that everything is unfolding too rapidly. The dragon shouldn’t have appeared now.”
“That’s… what do you mean…? ”
“When I saw the dragon’s neck in the vision, it was during a period later than this one. But since the revelations have been chaotic for a long time, I can’t say for sure. I can only speculate that the Duke of Penris is the reason everything has gone haywire and moved too quickly.”
“…….”
‘This damn revelation makes it hard to have a coherent conversation.’
Gathros internally sighed. Not only did he fail to grasp the content of the revelation, but whenever he talked about it with Erlhardt, the Duke of Penris would always come up in the end.
No one could deny that the Duke of Penris was an exceptional figure. But was it really plausible that a single person could alter the predetermined flow of events?
He would have to conclude that these events unfolded because the king’s resurrection was drawing near.
They were completely unaware that Ghislaine was a reincarnator and that he was forcibly accelerating everything by growing stronger rapidly.
This is why the two of their conversations were endlessly circling without reaching a conclusion.
Gathros attempted to change the atmosphere and shifted the topic. He needed to officially acknowledge Erlhardt’s ‘revelation’ for now.
“So… what vision did you see after the dragon?”
Erlhardt closed his eyes and smiled. His expression resembled someone lost in a pleasant dream.
“It is the ‘last revelation’ before demons appear and engulf us. We have finally discovered it.”
“What do you mean?”
Erlhardt slowly opened his eyes and said.
“The Demon Realm.”
“…The Holy Land?”
“Yes. I have finally found the Demon Realm. And I even reached its center.”
“Oh! Where was it? Was it truly the Forest of Monsters?”
Gathros seemed a bit excited. He had lost track of the Holy Land, leading many forbidden lands on the continent to be considered as potential Holy Sites.
The land of death at the far west, the Shadow Mountain Range of Turian, the Forest of Monsters in Ruthania, and so on. Dangerous places that no one could approach haphazardly were labeled as contenders for the Holy Site.
And among them, the most credible candidate was indeed the Forest of Monsters.
Due to the failure of his endeavors in Ruthania, he had not been able to properly investigate.
Erlhardt slowly shook his head.
“I don’t know. I can only say that I realized I had found the Demon Realm.”
Most of the revelations Erlhardt spoke about were off the mark, but Gathros wanted to believe those words. The Holy Land was a place they absolutely needed to find.
Because it held the last traces of the divine.
And… a thousand years ago, the saintess would be waiting for the king there.