Chapter 470: Driving a Wedge (1)
“Cheers!”
“Cheers!”
‘They’ve gone nuts, haven’t they?’
It was already the fifth meeting by now, and considering that only five days had passed since we came there, it was disconcerting that we already had five dinner parties.
‘They’re amazing. Amazing.’
I was having fun, eating, chewing, biting, and enjoying, but I was also getting sick of having that much fun.
I had been waiting for Kim Hyunsung to open his mouth, but I was even starting to wonder whether I should start to move first at that point.
Almost all the continent’s powers had been gathered, meaning it had already been five days since we had started this useless training.
I felt worried at first, but when I noticed that Kim Hyunsung wasn’t rushing over to me right away, I realized that we still had some more time.
It seemed that he decided that it would be better to do something by himself rather than talking about a sensitive subject.
‘Do as you want. Then see if it’ll work as you thought.’
In fact, I could’ve sneakily talked about Benignore and heard about the upcoming threat, but I didn’t want to bring it up first.
That was because I thought it was a bit more natural if he came to me first. There were also a lot of advantages in many ways to that. I didn’t want to give up the advantage that I could ask questions first, not him.
While I was lost in thoughts for a moment, I started to hear a loud voice around me.
“After all, the beer you drink after sweating seems to have a special taste, doesn’t it, Honorary Cardinal Lee Kiyoung?”
“Yes. It does. Haha. It seems that I’m in a better mood being with such good people. Gosh… I never thought that a day like this would come. Who would have known that the entire continent could have been so united?”
“Tell me about it. I would like to send even a greeting of thanks to those who helped the continent to become one.”
‘Wait, what?’
“Your glass is empty. Get another drink, Honorary Cardinal.”
“Thank you. Jamilla.”
“I only heard about you through rumors… I really wanted to meet you. You’re so far away that it wasn’t easy for me to visit, and the diplomatic relations between the State and our kingdom had been cut off. Really, it’s an honor to meet you like this.”
“The honor is mine. In fact, if I had known there was a beautiful woman like Jamilla, I would have visited first.”
“I know you’re just being polite, but thank you.”
“It’s not empty words. I’m just telling you how I truly feel.”
“I see some strange tension between you. I wonder if you two will disappear somewhere tonight.”
“Gerhan too… you’re so naughty.”
As I looked around in the pleasant atmosphere, I could see all the people who were in a hurry to waste time again.
‘Kim Hyunsung is the one who should’ve had seen this.’
Most of them were in charge of each kingdom’s leading guilds, but their peculiarity lay in the fact that none of them was normal.
Hellfire’s something and Iron-Blood something, their nicknames or class names were huge, but just a few of them lived up to their names. Most were just ordinary trash, especially the behavior of the woman named Jamilla sitting next to me.
She said he had been acting naughty, but it seemed she wasn’t being serious about it. The way she looked as if she was ready at any time was a bit uncomfortable.
Her dress that showed her breasts openly and how she talked like she was seducing me made it hard to tell whether she was a leader, or a showgirl representing a clan. She was obviously interested in something other than training.
Of course, from my point of view, I couldn’t welcome her approach.
When I thought of Jung Hayan, who had recently been able to maintain her intermediate anger state, I was honestly starting to feel more and more uncomfortable occasions similar to what I was in at that moment. No, in fact, more than anything else…
‘It’s very hard to imitate deep-rooted evil.’
It was also very hard to pretend to be the cancer of society, and to humor them. It was not easy to do things one didn’t even like, and behaviors that weren’t natural to them.
I felt like I was wearing someone else’s clothes that didn’t fit well, so I didn’t need to say anything else. Of course, I enjoyed it very occasionally, but no matter how I thought about it, that deep-rooted evil festival didn’t fit with the human named Lee Kiyoung at all.
‘Sigh, it’s really hard to act.’
“Gerhan. I will pour you a drink.”
“This is such an honor, Honorary Cardinal.”
“You don’t have to feel honored about everything. You don’t have to react so stiffly, either. We’re not even in the middle of training. Aren’t we at a get-together to promote friendship? The training was also done with our best, so we should do our best to promote friendship.”
“As expected of the Honorary Cardinal.”
“Jamilla, please take another drink.”
“Yes, of course.”
“It looks like Jamilla has had too much. I want to lend her at least my shoulder.”
“The shoulder of the Honorary Cardinal would be better than yours.”
“Hahaha. You two really look suspicious.”
“Don’t say that, Gerhan.”
“This is… so embarrassing.”
“Then how could I not say this. You two look so natural being that close to each other…?”
It really did feel so hard trying to stay friendly.
“The Honorary Cardinal also seems to be in a good mood. It seems to be the brightest expression from him that I have seen recently.”
“It’s natural to be when I’m with such good people.”
“Please have some snacks here, Honorary Cardinal. Can I put it in your mouth? Say ah…”
“Jamila…”
“Stop. Say ah…”
I couldn’t help it, but after all, the role didn’t suit me.
“By the way, Honorary Cardinal.”
“Yes, Gerhan?”
“I’m sorry to say this suddenly… but about the recent mock battle…”
“Which mock battle are you talking about…?”
“Between the Lindel Union of Large Cities and the Southern Kingdom Confederate…”
“Oooohhh. I remember. Yes. There was indeed a mock battle.”
“Ahem. Actually, there was a lot of concern…”
“Yes? Did that have anything to worry about?”
“That’s because there is public opinion that the Lindel Union is conducting a mock battle more harshly than necessary. Of course, I understand how the Clan Masters of the Lindel Union feel passionate about training, but I think it was a bit harsh. In fact, some adventurers on the Confederate had been injured.”
“I think I know what you mean.”
“Of course, I’m not blaming the Lindel Union. I’m speaking with my personal thoughts completely excluded. However, I am also worried that bad rumors would spread about the Lindel Union, where Honorary Cardinal Lee Kiyoung resides.”
“Ohh… I fully understood what Gerhan is saying. Sure, there were quite a lot of injured people. They said they healed them with potions, but the accumulated fatigue cannot be healed so properly. Even when I saw that, I thought it was a bit too much. It’s good to work hard, but I wondered if there was a need to do that much.”
Although there were many injured, it was still in the acceptable category.
There were no deaths, and it was a perfect fit for the mock battle Kim Hyunsung was thinking.
However, it seemed that the politicians, who were one of the pillars of deep-rooted evil, now felt a little burdened by Lindel Union’s fighting spirit.
I could understand them. One side was training a bit moderately, while the other was training with everything they had.
The temperament difference between the two troops was too severe. Although it was a mock battle that showed Kim Hyunsung’s desperateness, it seemed to me that our deep-rooted evils did not accept his fighting spirit.
‘He was expecting too much of a movie-like situation.’
I had to think that it was too simple-minded.
It was a mistake to think that if one side had rushed with passion, the other would also take it passionately, so Kim Hyunsung’s hidden card to push new vitality to the Continental Union was rushing in a strange direction from the beginning.
Of course, that was not a bad situation for me.
The fact that Kim Hyunsung’s plan was failing was no different than saying that it was going one step closer to my plan. I hoped that Kim Hyunsung came running, shouting Kiyoung-nim as soon as possible.
“Oh. The Honorary Cardinal was thinking the same way.”
“Actually, our Guild Master is a little bit enthusiastic about this training… I will talk to him about this. I don’t know how much it will help, but… i’ll try to tell him to avoid unnecessary injuries, at least when they train with the magic troops.”
“Thank you for your consideration.”
“Do not have big hopes, though. As for me, I’ll just be talking… I hope it helps a little more, but… what power do I have?”
“Ah…”
“It is even more so because I have agreed with the Guild Master. I’m not participating in this training due to some personal reasons.”
“That’s…”
“You can just think that I have been assigned to a different job. As you all know, there are many things as important as training. The management of troops is originally the Guild Master’s unique authority… Lindel’s three major guilds are practically moving together, so it’s hard to provide adequate help in this particular part.”
“Oh… I see.”
“Yes.”
“But you’re still the Honorary Cardinal Lee Kiyoung. You’re the first person to be granted the State’s position and gained the trust of the leader of the country… Standing in the position of a third party, I am not in a position to say something, but in my personal opinion…”
“Yes?”
“It feels like the Blue Guild Master is holding Lee Kiyoung in check.”
‘What are these bastards talking about…?’
“Haha. It’s not that. It seems that a little misunderstanding has…”
“Ahem… Actually, the Blue Guild wasn’t raised by the Blue Guild Master alone, right? If it weren’t for Honorary Cardinal Lee Kiyoung, it would have been reduced to a third-class guild. Nevertheless, to be completely excluded from this training…”
‘What do you mean, excluded? I said I didn’t want to…’
“Kill the dog after the hunting is over. There is a similar proverb in our country. I wish my worries are useless, however…”
‘Yes, those are useless worries.’
“I am worried that the Blue Guild Master may be having different thoughts.”
‘You’re just talking trash, you bastard.’
If one weren’t a fool, they would realize what’s going on. He had been silent until then, but I felt uncomfortable to see him starting to move, thinking that was his chance.
I didn’t know what his purpose was, but at least I thought I knew what Gerhan wanted.
‘To drive a wedge.’
I felt sorry for Kim Hyunsung, who had to garner results with such guys.
‘Trash-talk all you want, you bastards. See if Hyunsung and I can be torn apart.’