The Nebula’s Civilization

As everyone silently watched Hwee-Seo’s mouth, Hwee-Kyung’s time seemed to have stopped.

Hwee-Kyung said to her horns, ‘Look at father’s mouth.’

He’s saying Hwee.

‘What about the next word?’

I can’t tell.

‘Look more carefully at the shape of his mouth.’

I can see now. After Hwee…the shape of his mouth is about to change. I get it. If he was about to say Jun, the shape of his mouth wouldn’t change. His upper lip is slowly opening. He’s going to say Kyung.

‘Then does that mean I am Automation’s next owner?’

Yes.

Then the spirit of her Demonic Magic said, it seems something’s on his mind.

‘Father is running away. He said he would do justice, but he’s trying to relieve his guilt by giving up the seat for the next lord.’

You’re right.

‘And a rumor will spread.’

A rumor?

‘A rumor in Automation saying that father tried to kill his own child with horns, and for that reason, he gave the seat up to that child.’

I see how that would come to be.

‘Then the four families would question my ability. As well as the citizens of the castle. They’ll think I became the lord by chance because of father’s guilt and external forces.’

Then what would happen?

‘Automation would fall. People won’t follow me, and there will be people who leave the castle. If Automation loses its life, people will start talking about the four families, followed by the lord. Would they attempt assassination? They might. If the lord of Automation dies, someone else within Automation would become the next lord. Some people might think that’s worth the risk.’

So we should prevent such things from happening.

Hwee-Kyung then suddenly said to her horns, ‘Hey, Horns.’

…My powers do come from your horns, but I’m not Horns.

‘You know that’s not the important part.’

…Yes.

‘You said you manipulate…probability, right? And that also means possibilities. Can you manipulate father’s thoughts? That’s a possibility, isn’t it?’

No.

‘Then what about father’s mouth?’

I can’t manipulate things that have a conscience.

‘...Really?’

I can’t solve all your problems. I hope that misfortunes don’t happen to you, but you have no choice but to accept the end result, even if it’s a catastrophic one.

‘That’s not true.’

Hwee-Kyung’s time began to go normally.

‘I was only curious if I could have the help of your powers. I’ll handle my own problems.’

Okay.

***

“The next lord of Automation will be Hwee…”

“Father.”

Hwee-Seo paused and looked at Hwee-Kyung with tired eyes.

“What is it?”

“I’ve thought about this, and I should have the next seat to be lord.”

“What are you saying?”

“Give me the seat.”

“...Are you threatening me?”

“Yes.”

At those words, Hwee-Jun yelled, “Father, did you just hear her? She doesn’t have the right to be your successor anymore. I can’t believe she’s threatening you for the seat. That’s absurd.”

Hwee-Seo raised his hand to stop Hwee-Jun.

“Okay, let’s hear it. You are with a Black-Scaled Lizardmen warrior right now, Kyung. And you each have a sword. However, I have brought all the soldiers of all four families, who protect Automation. These soldiers have spears and swords, some are even on horses, and some have bows. Do you really think you can threaten me in this kind of situation, Kyung?”

“Yes.”

Hwee-Kyung grabbed Sairan’s wrist and held it up.

“This Lizardman is not just any warrior from the Black-Scaled Lizardmen Tribe. He is a chosen one.”

Sairan recognized Hwee-Kyung’s intentions and generated electricity with his palm.

Hwee-Seo didn’t react in any way, but some of the soldiers exclaimed.

“I don’t know if this Lizardmen can kill everyone here, but I do now he’s capable of killing you and running away with me.”

“Father, that’s a lie. That Lizardman is already injured and exhausted,” said Hwee-Jun.

Hwee-Seo seemed to be gauging Hwee-Kyung’s words.

“So what? What if you kill me? What are you going to do about the seat of the next lord? If I die without naming a successor, the seat will go to anyone within Automation. That’s not what you want, is it?”

“Probably. But this warrior has already promised me. The Black-Scaled Lizardmen Tribe will make me lord.”

This was a lie, but Sairan knew what she was getting at. And no one would think it was a lie that the chosen one would be her protector.

“But as I said, if I die, the seat will be given to an unknown being within Automation…”

Hwee-Seo seemed to have come to the realization as he was talking.

Then Hwee-Kyung said, “Yes. There is a way though. The Black-Scaled Lizardmen Tribe warriors just need to kick everyone out of the castle. Of course some would fight back with the lord’s authority, but how would they defeat the Black-Scaled Lizardmen Tribe warriors?”

Hwee-Seo got lost in thought, and Hwee-Jun began hurling curses. Those who could hear him among Hwee-Seo’s subordinates seemed surprised.

Until now, the Ears Cut Tribe had been the one blocking the Black-Scaled Tribe, but in reality, the Ears Cut Tribe didn’t really have much influence inside Automation. This was due to the fact that Hwee-Jun tried to break off his connections with the Ears Cut Tribe, which made Sarian, someone from the Black-Scaled Tribe, more influential.

Hwee-Seo said, “Then there’s nothing I can do.”

Hwee-Jun shouted that it couldn’t be true, but everyone could still clearly hear Hwee-Seo’s voice.

“The next lord of Automation is you, Hwee-Kyung.”

***

Word that the lord of Automation had changed immediately spread within Automation. And the star of the conversation was Hwee-Kyung, who used to be called a scoundrel, and not one of the other siblings. People were more surprised that Hwee-Kyung had colluded with the Black-Scaled Tribe and threatened Hwee-Seo, who was known as a ruthless character who had reigned over Automation until now, thus obtaining the seat to be lord. All the citizens of Automation simply thought it all happened by chance, and some even believed it was all a part of Hwee-Seo’s trick. There were some who said that Hwee-Kyung had disguised herself until now, and that she planned on taking the seat to be lord a long time ago.

The real star of all the rumors had lots to learn from her father to be a lord, so she didn’t even leave the palace for a few days.

“...I can’t believe something this ridiculous has really happened.”

For the past few days, Hee-Jun watched as the power transfer took place. But there were no plot twists. None of the four families opposed Hwee-Kyung becoming the next lord. Wealthy residents of Automation also decided to wait and see what would happen, like she was no different from Hwee-Jun.

“They’re just letting that bitch be? Who teamed up with a lizard?”

Hwee-Jun decided to leave Automation, but he had no thoughts on becoming a vagrant. There were rumors that in the inner region of the continent, there was a large group of Humans. Not as big as the Ears Cut Tribe or the Black-Scaled Tribe, but formidable all the same.

‘I’ll go there and build my strength. The things I have heard and seen here will certainly have some value. And I will come back. Father, you will regret this.’

After preparing everything, Hwee-Jun headed to the stable where his horse was. Hwee-Jun saw someone inside and grabbed the dagger in his coat.

‘He seems like a stable boy. I’m sorry, but no one can see me until tomorrow morning.’

Hwee-Jun carefully called out to the person in the shadow.

“Hey you.”

The person raised their head and slowly walked out of the shadow. Hwee-Jun took a good look and realized that it wasn’t a stable boy like he had expected. Sairan walked into the torch light.

“Hwee-Jun, did you know it was me?”

“You damn lizard.”

“Well, I guess not.”

“Move. I came for my horse.”

“With all that luggage?”

Hwee-Jun frowned as Sairan pointed at his packed belongings.

“What does it matter to you no matter where I go?”

Hwee-Jun walked past Sairan as he spoke. They were in close proximity, but Hwee-Jun wasn’t confident that he could kill Sairan. Hwee-Jun just hoped that Sairan wouldn’t get in his way, and as if to make up for him not doing so well the past three weeks, Sarian silently watched Hwee-Jun get on his horse.

Hwee-Jun loaded his luggage. After getting onto the horse himself, he said to Sairan, “Are you not stopping me?”

“I have no intentions of getting in your way, Hwee-Jun. In my opinion, it doesn’t matter if you stay or go somewhere else. You won’t be able to achieve what you want.”

“That’s a foolish curse.”

Hwee-Jun was about to say more, but there was no reason for him to provoke Sairan. And he left without saying goodbye.

Sairan then mumbled to himself while watching Hwee-Jun leave, “But there are lots of people who think differently. I can’t just leave a foolish source of trouble like you around Hwee-Kyung. Hm, now that I think of it, you weren’t wrong.”

Sarian took the torch in the stable and shook it. The fishmonger in the distance saw the torch shaking and waved a blue flag from a roof. The Soo family’s miner nodded and knocked on the door in the very corner of the alleyway he was standing in. Then a Goblin sitting inside ran out onto the rampart. The Goblin went to the Goblin boss, who was sitting on top of the rampart. With sign language, he spoke to the boss.

「Boss, he is apparently on his way.」

「Okay.」

The boss covered his face with his black hood, stood up on the rampart, and drew his sword.

The gatekeeper Hwee-Jun bribed had left the gate open just so his horse could pass through. He passed the gate without sensing the danger he was in. The boss jumped down from the rampart and swung his sword. The horse was startled when a black figure suddenly appeared in front of it, but became calm again as the black figure stroked it. The horse then felt something drop on its back and roll onto the ground, unperturbed.

The Goblin boss picked up Hwee-Jun’s head from the ground and got onto the horse. He wanted to repay Hwee-Kyung and Sairan for sparing his life and treating him kindly, and killing Hwee-Jun was only a small part of his repayment.

However, the boss knew that bad rumors would spread about Hwee-Kyung if everyone found out about Hwee-Jun’s death. Therefore, he had no choice but to wait for Hwee-Jun to run away himself.

‘I’m glad it didn’t take so long.’

It was planned for Hwee-Jun to disappear just like this. The boss looked back at Automation once before riding out with the dead body.

***

Hegemonia always spoke with their arms crossed in the video chat. Their eagle-eyed eyes were fierce under the helmet.

“Alright. I lost,” said Hegemonia.

“You don’t seem like someone who lost. You’re very composed.”

“One who doesn’t accept their loss can’t grow.”

“Why have you become a wise quote generator?”

“If you thought I would get angry, yell, and demand to do it again because I lost, you thought wrong.”

“...Okay. Sorry. I misjudged you.”

Sung-Woon was initially concerned about Hegemonia’s sharp attitude, but was glad to see it.

“I am a little upset, but…”

“.....”

Sung-Woon thought that couldn’t be helped as long as they were human.

Sung-Woon then said, “What about your penalty?”

“It’s manageable. Due to a sudden event, my Ears Cut Tribe has been hit with a cold wave right after the rainy season was over, but that won’t be too much of a problem. The bigger problem is that my Divinity level has gone down a bit…oh, no, no. Pretend you didn’t just hear that.”

On the contrary, Sung-Woon’s Divinity level XP, as well as Hwee-Kyung’s and Sairan’s abilities, all skyrocketed. It hadn’t occurred yet, but there would soon be a good event since he succeeded with his prophecy.

‘Their level went down?’

Sung-Woon thought about the battle route Hegemonia’s main tribe, the Ears Cut Tribe, pursued. He didn’t ponder for long; realistically, it’d be hard for the tribe to catch up now. And Hegemonia’s next move could benefit Sung-Woon.

“So what are you gonna do now? They won’t be able to stay there for long.”

“...Right. So I’m gonna go west.”

“You mean you’re gonna go to the inner part of the continent.”

“Yes.”

Anyone not as confident in their skills would be reluctant to go west. Most tribes would have settled down by now, so even if there were conflicts between them, they would be a united front against a nomadic tribe if one appeared.

However, Hegemonia didn’t seem to care so much about that and said, “I’ll go all the way…to the other side.”

“To the west coast of the continent?”

“Yes. It’ll be unlikely for you to run into me for a while.”

Sung-Woon believed that Hegemonia had a plan.

‘Are they thinking about crossing the continent while getting technology from all the other species on the way to develop civilization along the coast? That means they must have obtained a skill or an ability related to sailing.’

No matter what, this was an advantage for Sung-Woon. Hegemonia’s Ears Cut Tribe was considered one of the larger tribes at the moment. If Hegemonia began to pressure other tribes in the continent, they wouldn’t be able to pay as much attention to what was going on in the east.

‘I even have Automation now, so I don’t have to pay too much attention to what goes on in the inner continent. I’ll reap the benefits in the meantime. What’s left now… Is it the northern coast and the other half of the peninsula?’

Sung-Woon looked down. His harvest had already begun.

***

The market at Automation.

Merchants already forgot about the recent uproar and were bargaining and trading goods.

“I’ve never seen silk like this before.”

“Oh? That’s strange. Our tribe only had a little, but we did sell these.”

“No, I’m serious. I’ve never seen anything like this before. Technology really is amazing.”

“Where did you say you came from again?”

“I came from the west.”

“The west?”

“The direction in which the sun sets.”

“Oh, I see.”

The Black-Scaled Lizardmen merchant looked at the Troll merchant in front of him and nodded. The Lizardman had never seen a Troll before. Meeting a new species wasn’t all that surprising itself, but the fact that the Troll came from the west stood out.

The Troll merchant then said, “We kept looking for a way to come east, but just as we found a path, the Ears Cut Tribe Gnolls got in our way. We hadn’t been able to trade for a while until recently, and we came over here.”

The Lizardman merchant realized that the word ‘east’ was the opposite of ‘west’, thus indicating the direction in which the sun rose. But he didn’t think it was too important to learn new words used by strangers.

The Lizardman merchant asked, “So, how much do you intend to pay for these silks?”