He was guided to a room with a soft bed. The attached bathroom was luxurious as well, and the taste of the fruits after a warm bath was just out of this world.
Even the pajamas were so light and soft that you couldn"t even tell you were wearing it.
"I guess I"ll be able to sleep well tonight."
But I did not go to bed early. I spent time doing Jewel Alchemy and waited until deep into the night.
But there was still no news.
Are they still debating it?
If not, have they decided to go the way I don"t want them to go?
It would be disappointing if Humbley was thinking about the final third direction. I actually kind of liked him.
But I guess I have no choice but to look for someone else.
While I was thinking like that, I heard a knocking on the door.
Knock. Knock.
I could feel myself starting to smile. It was a bit late, but the important factor was that they had made up their mind.
I quickly fixed my expression.
"Who is it?"
"Kaldera."
This is surprising. I expected Humbley to come but it is actually Kaldera who is here.
"Come in."
The door opened and Kaldera entered.
I could feel my heart sink once I saw Kaldera"s appearance. Her clothes were too erotic. On TV, a lot of the western women where clothes where their shoulders and cleavage are completely visible, and it was exactly that type of outfit.
On the other hand, the lower half was simple. It was made of a thin and semi-transparent outfit that made it feel like you could see her outstanding curves.
But I cannot get the wrong idea. The women of this house all dress like that.
The women who moved around with their bodies hidden were mainly the servants.
But I could not help but feel aroused, thinking about how she came dressed like this late in the night.
"I brought you something to drink. Please drink it if you get parched while sleeping."
An extremely fancy cup was on top of a just as fancy tray."
But she was alone. There was n.o.body else with her in the room nor in the hallway.
Once she entered, she closed the door. Guess she"s not afraid.
Kaldera approached me and put the cup and tray on the small table next to the bed.
I could feel a light fragrance as well. It was a great fragrance that could raise Kaldera"s charm even higher.
"Is there anything else you need?"
Something I need? Of course, there are. Quite a lot I may add.
The most important thing is of course Humbley"s decision.
But you can"t poke someone on the side to get them to bow. Humbley needs to make his decision and tell me on his own.
"No. Nothing. Is there anything Kaldernim needs to say to me?"
"Then may I speak with you for a bit before leaving?"
Kaldera answered as if she had been waiting for me to say that.
Now that I think about it, this is the first time I"ve spent time alone with Kaldera. But for it to be so late at night in this type of atmosphere. Especially in pajamas.
Of course, I was the only one in pajamas.
"Yes."
"Then first, I need to apologize. I"m sorry. I used a Chaos Jewel on Kang Hwi Ram-nim."
Kaldera hugged the tray to her chest as if she was covering up. She then bowed deeply.
It was unexpected, but not enough to be surprised. It was just giving me an answer to one of my questions.
"The reason she became surprised yesterday was because of the results from using the Chaos Jewel. Just what kind of result showed up, I wonder."
I didn"t need to ask. Since she brought it up, I"m sure she"ll finish the story.
There is also something I am more curious about than that anyways.
I didn"t even move an eyebrow. I responded as soon as Kaldera apologized.
"That"s okay. There is no need to apologize. I would have done the same thing if I was Kaldernim."
"Thank you for your understanding."
"But is that it?"
I nudged her on.
Kaldera stopped in the middle of getting out of her bow and had an odd expression.
"Huh? What …….?"
s.h.i.t! Does that mean she didn"t prepare anything to say about Harrison?"
Disappointing. I wanted to go with them but they keep trying to go in a different direction.
Then I should give them a nudge. If they still don"t come back to the right path, there is nothing I can do about it.
"Is there nothing else you need to tell me other than that?"
Kaldera could not say anything. She seems to not have figured out what I was asking.
This is their last chance. She will need to listen carefully and answer.
"For example, anything to do with Harrison……"
Kaldera"s shoulders flinched.
She seemed to have understood. She should have understood since she is a sharp woman.
That"s good enough. I just need to wait for an answer now.
A short duration of silence followed. But it probably felt really long for Kaldera. I used my eyes to push for an answer the whole time.
In the end, Kaldera"s red lips finally opened.
"We have been looking after Harrison-nim for a long time."
As I expected.
Morris and Harrison may be magicians and swordsmen, but if you consider their overall role, they are close to politicians.
The Batoru Kingdom"s hidden power.
If a merchant sticks to a politician or a person in power, what other relationship could it be? The merchant provides the money from the back while the person in power provides the merchant benefits in return.
Of course, they could invest thinking about the future benefits as well.
"I"m sorry. That is something only a few people know even in the merchant guild. I could not tell you."
I understand.
But she"ll still need to be punished. Although I haven"t determined what punishment to give her.
But to be honest, Humbley and Harrison"s relationship itself is not that important. Our future actions will be unrelated to the past.
The important thing is something else.
"Did you perhaps tell them about the Jeppi……"
"Never!"
Kaldera cut me off as if she was cutting radish with a knife. She then bowed her head as if she suddenly remembered her mistake.
"Omo, I"m sorry. But that is a big misunderstanding. We have not told them anything related to the Jeppi."
"There is no way Kaldernim would know everything Humbley-nim does."
I was trying to tell her that Humbley could have revealed the information without her knowing.
Kaldera sternly shook her head once again.
"For something that important, he always consults me first. Furthermore, my grandfather is not that shortsighted of a man. If Harrison-nim knows about it, he would fight against them even if it meant destroying all of the Kingdom"s strength. It would be extremely difficult to restore the kingdom, and the stage for us to stand back up will disappear as well."
She is thinking the same way as me. I"m sure Humbley has thought that far out as well.
And Harrison looked like he didn"t know anything about the Jeppi movement when we chatted earlier.
"Then I am relieved. I would have had to completely change my plan if you had revealed it."
As I seemed to believe her, Kaldera let out a sigh of relief.
Then should we talk about the Chaos Jewel story now?
"Wow, I"m really sorry. I still have not asked you to sit."
I quickly pulled over the chair next to us and put it next to her. Kaldera did not decline and sat down.
But s.h.i.t. I put the chair too close. Once I sat back down at the edge of the bed, our knees were almost touching.
The chair was also lower than the bed. I had to look slightly down while Kaldera had to look slightly up.
I didn"t know where to look. Once she moved the tray away, her half-covered b.r.e.a.s.t.s seemed even more visible than before.
But Kaldera did not seem to care at all. Maybe she seemed to consider showing skin to be another form of fashion, but she did not even try to cover her chest.
Instead, she seemed to want to take control of the conversation back and threw out a question.
"But aren"t you curious?"
"About what?"
"The Chaos Jewel. The results that came from it."
I was planning on asking you, so thanks!
But I did not any expressions of curiosity. The fact that Kaldera brought it up means that she wants to talk about it.
I just acted modest.
"I sure hope it didn"t tell you that I am a useless fool."
Kaldera lightly laughed. She then shook her head.
"It was just the opposite. I saw a really big future. Big enough that both grandfather and I have decided to risk everything with Kang Hwi Ram-nim."
It"s making me feel good.
But can I trust what she is saying? It was so good to hear that I was subconsciously getting suspicious.
But that wasn"t the important thing anyways. The important factor is the direction Humbley and Kaldera want to develop their current relationship with me.
I just quietly listened. I"m sure that was the reason Kaldera came to my room so late at night. Maybe the fact that Kaldera came at this time was the answer itself.
"Why don"t you ask me? Why don"t you ask which color was the largest and brightest?"
I was not that curious about it. I am not someone who believes in fate.
I will determine my own future. There are things that I have already planned out and the direction of my fate is something I will push forward on my own.
"Must I ask?"
"If you could know the direction of your fate, you could live a much safer life."
"I think a little differently. If my fate points in a weird direction, I will twist that arrow to the direction of my choice. No matter what my fate says, I will walk down my own path."
Kaldera seemed to want to say something as her lips slightly moved. But then she stopped herself and closed them back.
She then opened them again.
"I guess that is why that happened."
"What do you mean?"
"Kang Hwi Ram-nim"s future that the Chaos Jewel showed me. I saw a Corona. An extremely bright White Corona."
Corona.
To be honest, it is a word I did not know about in the game. I only used the Chaos Jewels on items in the game. I never used it on a person.
That was why I studied a bit more using the draft plan.
So of course, I know the meaning of the Corona. How dangerous it is, and even the reason behind why the kings and emperors monopolize the Chaos Jewels.
"I don"t plan on changing Kang Hwi Ram-nim"s path. It"s not like you are the type of person who would change your path because I try to change it anyways. But I wanted to make sure I had a chance to tell you this."
Her words made me curious. I guess it won"t be bad to listen to this with an open heart.
"Please speak."
"You must be cautious. If you continue to be as eye-catching as you have been, an emperor will become curious at some point. Then they will naturally use a Chaos Jewel. And……"
I could already antic.i.p.ate what would happen after that.
Kaldera paused, as if she was trying to emphasize the next part, before she continued.
"They will never let Kang Hwi Ram-nim continue to live. They will try to get rid of you even if they needed to use the strength of the entire nation."
There is merit to her words.
To be honest, I had not thought that far out. No, I did not even think anyone would use a Chaos Jewel against me.
I got a good lesson thanks to Kaldera
I bowed to Kaldera to show my thanks.
"Thank you for your warning. I will keep it in mind."
Kaldera may have been surprised, as she bowed with me as well.
s.h.i.t! You should at least cover your chest with your hand if you are going to do that. My gaze subconsciously went down to her chest before I quickly raised my head to look at Kaldera"s face."
"I may be stepping out of line to say this, but ……"
What else is she trying to tell me? I really want to spend more time with Kaldera today. I want to hear more stories as well.
"Please speak. I will listen attentively."
"The strength of the nation is much greater than what Kang Hwi Ram-nim thinks it may be. Until you have the strength to fight against them, you should lay low."
Naturally, that is what I should do. For myself, as well as for Humbley and Kaldera who had decided to accompany me.
"I understand."
"And if you need it, we will help you. We will help Kang Hwi Ram-nim to get that much strength as well."
I am thankful for what she just said. She is only telling me things that are nice to hear.
I just quietly nodded my head.
"Then we …… should be able to be together for a very long time, right?"
Suddenly, Kaldera gazed into my eyes. There was some hidden emotion in her gaze. Almost like she was asking me to accept her heart.
She then cautiously finished her statement.
"……Like family."
That seems to be what Kaldera wanted to say the most. She had spent all this time setting the mood to say just that.
And that is probably Humbley and Kaldera"s decision.
They are choosing to share my fate with me.
Very closely to the point they would use the term "family."
But family…
Isn"t that too much? A family is a relationship made by heaven.
"A family is a relationship where you can share everything you have. Can we really do that? We each probably have things we cannot give up."
"I can do it."
Is she being serious? There could be some sincerity in her words. But wouldn"t her thoughts change if she hits the wall called greed?
"If I wanted all of the wealth that Kaldernim has, would you be able to share that as well?"
"If you want, I can give you even more than that."
"Oh! Just what is she saying?"
Kaldera answered without an ounce of hesitation. She answered so confidently that I was getting nervous even though I asked the question.
But even more than that? What could that be?
Kaldera seemed to have read my mind. She lightly bit down on her red lips with her white teeth before raising her hand as if she had made her resolve.
But the direction of her hand was unexpected. It went to the sash that was tightly holding her clothes together.
"If you would like, I can even prove it to you right here."
Next morning.
Humbley, Kaldera and I walked side by side as we left the residence.
It was now time to say goodbye.
"When will you return?"
"1 year if I am early, but no later than two years at max."
"Will you continue to remain in Huksen during that time?"
Humbley was not saying anything. He was just watching us talk, as if he was leaving everything to Kaldera.
"I have somewhere to go for one or two months. After that, I will most likely be staying at Huksen"s Athena Temple."
"Can I ……visit you every so often?"
"I do not think that is a good idea. As you mentioned, the Ameri Kingdom may be watching my movement. They may already be watching me as well."
Kaldera lightly bit down on her red lips.
"I understand. Please be careful."
"I"ll be on my way now."
I said goodbye to Humbley as well. I then did not look back as I got on the cart. I could feel Humbley and Kaldera"s gaze until the cart got further away.
Do I just need to go find Chubach"s Solar Blade now?
I immediately headed toward the Magman continent.
Sponsor chapters are now open for Royal Roader! If you would like to support my translation and want more chapters released quickly, please help out! Thank you all in advance
NO more APB for Maso, he is alive, but trying to figure out his purpose in this world. Should he return, I will let you know.
Finally back from the trip and got down to translating a bit.
Translator : Miraclerifle
Proofreader : Borderline m.a.s.o.c.h.i.s.t