chapter 52
52 – Labyrinth of the Sun – 7
“Amy Shivaaal…”
Thump…
About an hour had passed since I started fighting Hubert.
The result was Hubert’s overwhelming victory, unlike me who seemed to have used [Innocence] More than 50 times, Hubert looked very lively even without recovery ability.
“Is this the end? This is less than expected.”
I felt a tremendous blow at Hubert’s smirking question, but I, who had already lost all my strength, had no means to counter him.
Of course, there is one emergency measure left, but…
-King, if you permit me, I will tear that man limb from limb.
‘Stop it, your strength has weakened.’
-Still, I can beat that guy.
I believed it because it was what Veronica said, but first of all, Hubert is a continental 4th power and a knight of the empire.
“Hmm…Was it a bit harsh?”
‘…Did you feel that now…!’
Hubert saw me lying sprawled on the floor breathing heavily as he put his platinum-colored sword into his scabbard.
It meant that he had no intention of continuing the battle.
“I’m sorry. I was just wondering how strong you are.”
“…So, to what extent did you get your curiosity resolved?”
“Yes, it’s certainly strong for being from another world… But I don’t think it’s strong enough to defeat the mixed flames.”
Well, you got it right.
“However, given the circumstances of the witnesses at the time, it is highly likely that you handled the mixed spirit.”
“Because it’s true.”
“Could you elaborate on how you were able to defeat the mixed flames?”
“…Because it’s a secret.”
I’ve heard from Veronica before that asking in detail about the other person’s abilities is an act that amounts to great rudeness in another world.
Hubert opened his mouth with an apologetic expression to see if that was actually true.
“I’m sorry. I asked too bluntly.”
“It’s okay. Well… It would have been better if I hadn’t beaten you like this.”
Most of the clothes I was wearing right now were torn, and the area on my cheek that had been hit by Hubert’s fist was stained red.
“Kuhmm… It’s because my personality is a little impatient. Once I look strong, I try to swing my sword first. Thanks to that, I got scolded by His Majesty the Emperor a lot.”
“Then shouldn’t I try to fix it?”
“It’s not that easy to change the original human personality. And I’m living my life satisfied with my personality.”
For some reason, the old man’s men started to feel sorry for them.
I’m sure you’ve been called all day and beaten like a punching bag, right?
In middle school, even the Iljin hyungs didn’t hit me if they spoke well, but Hubert seemed like his subordinates would hit him before he could even speak.
“Then let’s go back to the real castle. You too, hurry up and use that nasty recovery magic to heal your wounds.”
“It’s not a terrible recovery magic, it’s definitely my ability…”
“Isn’t it true that it’s horrible? No matter how hard it is, no matter how hard it is, it doesn’t die. In fact, I swung the sword with all my heart at the end, but because of that ability, I lived on the edge.”
“…….”
Just by looking at his appearance, the Beast King, who is one of the 4 rivers in other continents, seems to be more violent, but actually, the Beast King is quite intelligent, and Hubert, who looks like a gentleman, is closer to his madman.
“Let me hold your hand.”
“Why?”
“Don’t react so sharply.”
Hubert squinted his eyes and showed me a blue gem that I was wary of.
But I’m sure I’ve seen this blue gem before…
-It’s a transition stone.
‘Ah, that’s it.’
I remembered. That blue jewel was definitely the item that Rex, who was the commander of the demon corps, used to escape.
It was a pity that I missed Lilith because of that jewel, but I never thought I would see it again like this.
“Let’s use this transfer stone to return to the imperial castle right away. Before meeting His Majesty, I think we should start with your clothes.”
“They made it like this…”
“Isn’t that why you’re trying to dress me up in new clothes?”
Thank you very much for that.
“Hold your hand properly. It’s not a very good quality transition stone, but with some restrictions.”
“Yes yes.”
I grabbed Hubert’s hard, thick hand with an expression of disapproval, and Hubert immediately started injecting mana into the transition stone.
Then, a large magic circle began to form below Hubert and me.
“Then I’ll activate it.”
Not long after, the magic circle was fully activated and Hubert and I disappeared.
****
“Alpheon, are you back?”
“Yes.”
Irina’s escort knight, Alpheon, who had recovered from being beaten by Gaon and returned to the country of beasts, was talking with the knight of the Imperial Castle.
“It must take more than a week..”
“The ability of the recovery mages of the Nation of Waters is better than I thought.”
“It’s fortunate. At least if Alpheon is there, the princess won’t be as dangerous as she was two days ago.”
“…What do you mean by that?”
“Ah…Come to think of it, Alpheon-nim didn’t know.”
The Imperial Knight told Alpheon in detail about the Constellation Palace fire incident two days ago.
As soon as Alpheon heard all about the fire incident from the knight, he gnashed his teeth and clenched his fists.
“It’s my fault…I can’t believe that the so-called escort knight can’t keep the princess safe while she’s getting treatment…!”
“There is no need to blame yourself too much as they said that he was fortunately unscathed.”
“No! It’s an inexcusable fact that she committed a crime she shouldn’t have as an escort knight. Is the princess in her office right now? I’ll see you soon.”
“Yes, you should be in the office by now. Fortunately, the office didn’t burn down in the fire…But…”
“Thank you!”
“Wait a minute…”
Alpheon, only confirming that Irina was in her office, didn’t listen to the knight’s back story and walked towards Irina’s office.
“Whoa…”
Arriving at Irina’s office, Alpheon sighed heavily in front of her and knocked on the door of her office with a grim expression.
“…Princess, escort knight Alpheon Datrich has returned.”
“Come in.”
Kikkik…
Alpheon quietly opened the door and entered the office, and as soon as he saw the scene inside, he couldn’t help but be greatly embarrassed.
“This…Is this…?”
“Is there something wrong?”
Irina wasn’t the only one in the office.
Lee Seo-yoon, a beautiful black-haired beauty with a neat look, was sitting on a chair brought from unknown time inside the office, filling her mouth with high-quality refreshments brought by a servant.
“You bastard…! Now what!”
“hehehe..!”
Alpheon could not hide her puzzled expression and shouted loudly at Lee Seo-yoon.
This is Irina’s office, and it is a space where even her imperial palace knights are not allowed to enter. Even if she didn’t know how Lee Seo-yoon got in, she herself, as an escort, had an obligation to let Lee Seo-yoon go immediately.
However, Irina’s reaction was a bit strange, different from Alpheon’s.
“…Lord Alpheon, what are you doing now?”
“Now this woman dares to stay in the princess’s office…”
“Is there anything wrong with enjoying tea time in my office?”
“No, that’s…No problem. This woman…”
“Who is this woman?”
“Aren’t you from another world? Start training right now at this time…!”
“Haa…”
Irina let out a sigh and turned her head toward Lee Seo-yoon.
“Seoyun, can you leave for a moment?”
“Huh..? Ah..Okay.”
“I’m sorry.”
Lee Seo-yoon obediently followed Irina’s words and carefully opened the door to her office and went out.
Kooung…
As soon as Lee Seoyoon left, Irina looked at Alpheon with cold eyes.
“Alpheon Datrich.”
“Yes, Princess.”
“Since when did you say that a guard dog can bark without permission?”
“…….”
When asked about Irina’s day, Alpheon instantly recalled the conversation they had when he was first assigned as her escort knight.
-Are you the main woman’s escort knight?
– Yes! My name is Alpheon Datrih!
-Hmm… It doesn’t look that strong.
-I graduated from a knight school with top honors. I can confidently say that he is the best among my peers.
-I see… Then from now on you officially became my dog.
-…A dog… A horse?
-Yes, the fighting dog that protects its owner, that is you.
At that time, Alpheon thought she was just telling her to be proud of her as her escort knight.
But she could just tell from Irina’s words.
She has been thinking of herself as a “Dog” Wholeheartedly.
“Answer me.”
“..Sorry.”
“If you’re a dog, act like a dog, Sir Alpheon.”
Alpheon bit his lip. She
In her own way, she was born into an aristocratic family and had pride as a knight with outstanding talent, but all of that pride was shattered by Irina’s words.
“…This may be rude, but would you mind if I ask you one question?”
But Alpheon wanted to ask just one thing.
“What is it?”
“…When did you start a relationship with Lee Seo-yoon..?”
The relationship Alpheon was talking about was a word that meant friendship.
Irina also understood the meaning of Alpheon’s question and answered while sitting on her chair, crossing her legs.
“Is it strange that you have a relationship with a person from another world?”
“Other people might not know, but I thought the princess wouldn’t.”
“Don’t judge a person’s nature by the appearance you see. Earthlings and continental people are all human beings.”
For a moment, Alpheon felt his head dizziness.
Apparently, the time she was away from Irina wasn’t that long, because in that short time she had changed so much.
“Didn’t you say that earthlings are pets?”
“It’s not a story that includes all Earthlings.”
“…But the other day, didn’t you insist that all Earthlings be enslaved?”
“A slave…”
Irina was one of the strong supporters of slavery within the Hyperion Empire.
The reason Irina is in favor of her slavery is because of a theory she thinks.
The theory is the human division theory that humans are divided into useless humans and useful humans.
To her, her worthless humans are not intelligent creatures.
She, however, did not think of her as a human being because she was a useful human being.
For her, her useful humans are divided into four types.
A little useful person, a moderately useful person, and a fairly useful person.
Lastly, the ‘must’ is a human being.
To her, slightly useful humans are ‘pets’, moderately useful humans are ‘limbs’, fairly useful humans are ‘entourage’, and absolutely necessary humans are judged as ‘equals’.
But…
“Now I intend to oppose slavery.”
“…Yes?”
For a moment, Alpheon couldn’t understand Irina’s words.
Isn’t Irina Hyperion the strongest advocate for slavery within the Empire? That she changed her mind about slavery in less than a few days was completely incomprehensible to her Alpheon.
“..What the hell did you change like this…?”
Alpheon asked Irina with her trembling voice.
Then she paused for a while as if she was worried, then she muttered with a slightly puzzled expression.
“…..Why…? Come to think of it, why did she suddenly feel the need to abolish slavery…?”
For Irina, the spark of ‘doubt’ flared up in her heart at that moment.
She clearly insisted on slavery, but she herself could not even understand why she was against slavery now.
‘Why…?’
Irina has been experiencing too many things lately that she can’t understand.
It’s like the fact that ‘?’ Appears next to the job status column, and it’s like the fact that just looking at Gaon makes me feel obedient.
She felt like she wasn’t really me.
‘..But it doesn’t really matter.’
However, Irina simply ignored her question.
She thought that no matter how her mind changed, in the end she was herself, she was herself, and she thought that if she was afraid of change, she couldn’t move forward.
However, Irina did not know.
She said that her change is not natural, but artificial.