Chapter 380: Insufficient (5)

Cale sat next to Alberu and looked at the semi–transparent screen he had activated.

“It’s chaos.”

“Dongsaeng, isn’t it normal for there to be chaos, considering what we’ve done?”

Alberu grinned widely, seeming in a good mood.

Cale ignored that smile with an expression of displeasure, and looked back at the screen.

===================

<Madness, The Supreme Martial Arts Tournament is ruined!>

===================

Several communities centered around ‘RMPAG’ had plunged into chaos—not only on the Kingdom of Lan’s bulletin board, but also across the unified bulletin board.

===================

<Hey, hey. Did the sky above the arena change strangely? What’s going on? What’s happening?>

– Is something happening in the Kingdom of Lan?

– The sky above the arena turned dark red.

– Is it like a field of hell?

– Total madness! It’s not a field of hell, I’m evacuating now.

– What? Explain more.

– The leader of the Justice Alliance was a spy.

– Wait, what?

– Honestly, I didn’t see it clearly.

– Why not?

– Because I wanted to live. I evacuated, lol.

– But Kim Hae-il and the Justice Alliance leader… they’re definitely part of some huge mission.

– This isn’t just about the heir to the Kingdom of Lan. This feels like a clue to some massive event.

===================

Kim Hae-il.

That name was gradually being mentioned on the main bulletin board.

===================

< The Supreme Martial Arts Tournament, surely there’s a hidden conspiracy!>

<White line, blood–red cloud. What kind of skill is that?>

<Mysterious groups, which even the Queen of Lan doesn’t know, have appeared!>

===================

Articles with all kinds of titles were being posted.

Then, one title caught Cale’s attention.

===================

<Video available.>

Posted by a user who had gone to watch the competition. 

– Wow, damn. That means he’s an NPC? How strong is he?
– Can users get a skill like that too?
– Kim Hae-il? Who even is that?
– I don’t know. I used to think he was just an NPC for some missions, but now… it feels like there’s a whole conspiracy in the Kingdom of Lan.
– Is the Justice Alliance already out of the game?

===================

He followed the video link.

Boom! Crash! Boom—Boom!
The white line was collapsing, surging downward as if to engulf the entire arena.

A deep rumble shook the sky.
A blood-red cloud had spread overhead, and the user—despite evacuating—had kept recording in a hurry.

– Damn! Incredible!

That one line carried everything he felt.
Comments were already flooding in below the video.

===================

– Wow, you’re actually amazing for recording this. Isn’t that video illegal?
– Yeah, recording’s banned during The Supreme Martial Arts Tournament.
– Not even allowed for Transparent-approved creators?
– Nope. It’s not officially published anywhere.
– That guy’s crazy. Everyone’s running for their lives and he’s out there filming like it’s a vlog.
– And you’re just as amazing for sitting there and watching it.
– Do you have a death wish?

– Yes.

===================

“Oh.”

Cale muttered a single word as he watched the video.

“Good. Neither my face nor Choi Han’s is visible.”

Before Cale—who had been wearing a mask—and Choi Han—who had actually fought Sohyi—appeared on-screen, the crowd had already begun to evacuate.

Most of the people who had seen Cale, Choi Han, and Alberu were those who had remained in the arena until the very end—alongside the Queen.
Moreover, both Cale and Choi Han had altered their hair color.
From a distance, there was no way they could be recognized.

“Heavenly Demon, your face got revealed—but it was already out there, so who cares.”
“And me?”

Cale smiled at Alberu, who was grinning mischievously.

“Your Highness, it’s good for you to show your face once in a while. You are the hero of the future—acknowledged by the sun itself.”

“…”

Hero.
That word clearly didn’t sit well with him. Alberu’s face twisted in visible displeasure.

He still hates being called a hero.

It was strange.

He wanted to be emperor without hesitation—
Yet didn’t want to be a hero.

As for me… I don’t want to be either.

Neither emperor nor hero made Cale’s heart stir in the slightest.

Only one title made his heart pound.

Slacker.
Just that.

Cale leaned back on the sofa.

“The news of us has surely reached the Five–Colored Family.”

Alberu opened his mouth, responding to his words.

“The video has been taken down.”

“Already?”

“Surely Transparent did it.”

㈜Transparent had made the video taken down.

The meaning of those words was simple.

“The Transparent Blood Family will be looking for us.”

“Especially the Heavenly Demon, whose face is known. What do you think?”

The Heavenly Demon, who was sitting cross–legged, with his eyes closed, in front of him, opened his mouth at Cale’s question.

“I don’t care.”

Whether it was the Transparent Blood Family or the Wanderers—whoever came for him, it didn’t matter.

“I have no intention of staying here for long.”

The Heavenly Demon—a Semi-NPC, so close to human it was hard to tell the difference—
He would vanish from the Kingdom of Lan once everything was over.

“I need to return to the Demon Cult to confirm something.”

He planned to go back, to train, and to refine the power he had gained.

By the time he returned to this New World...
The Heavenly Demon would be far stronger than before.

And it won’t just be the Demon Cult.

The demons—more savage than ever under the Heaven of the Demons—
Would surely stand at his side.

“Hmm. Heavenly Demon?”

Alberu called out to him a little awkwardly.

“Is something wrong?”

The Heavenly Demon, still sitting with his eyes closed, had been addressing Alberu with a surprising level of respect.
Alberu grinned brightly at him.

“How about this—when I establish my empire, we set up a branch of the Demon Cult on my land?”

The Heavenly Demon’s eyes snapped open.

“…”

He stared at Alberu, who was still smiling cheerfully—
And let out a low chuckle.

“As expected of Kim Hae-il’s brother.”

Then he closed his eyes once more.

“I’ll think about it.”

“I hope your thoughts are positive,” Alberu replied with a grin.

Cale, who had been silently watching the two of them, shook his head.
Because honestly, he still couldn’t believe that neither of them doubted Alberu’s ability to actually establish an empire.

“What’s wrong?”

Cale smiled back at Alberu, who was beaming at him like a man with no worries in the world.
The kind of smile that meant he was definitely up to something.

“No, it’s nothing. It’s just, the friendship between Your Highness and the Heavenly Demon is beautiful.”

Tsk.

Alberu and the Heavenly Demon clicked their tongues at the same time and ignored Cale completely.

Toc, toc, toc.

Just then, a knock echoed through the room—
And Choi Han opened the door.

“The Sword Master has arrived,” he said directly to Cale.

At his words, the three of them stood from their seats.
Choi Han, now wearing his straw hat once more, stepped aside as they began to move.

Naturally, they split into two groups of two.

“Choi Han.”

Cale walked over to him. The Heavenly Demon was already standing at Choi Han’s side.

“I’m entrusting her to you.”

At those words, the Heavenly Demon smiled and opened his mouth.

“Interrogation is my specialty. Why don’t you entrust her to me?”

Ah.

He let out a gasp of astonishment for a moment, and then, as if he had understood Cale’s words, he said to Choi Han calmly.

“Don’t kill her until I interrogate her. It would be a problem if you kill her.”

Snick.

The Heavenly Demon smiled, and Choi Han shook his head, with an expression of discomfort.

“That won’t happen.”

He looked directly into Cale’s eyes.

“Don’t worry. I’ll do my best to get information.”

The Heavenly Demon and Choi Han.

Those two will go to the deepest underground prison of the royal palace, to interrogate Sohyi, the Wanderer.

Those two would be the right ones to get information from Sohyi.

Charun, the sword master and the queen’s teacher, opened his mouth.

“Follow this person.”

A servant bowed to Choi Han and the Heavenly Demon.

The three of them left first, and Cale gestured to Alberu, who was standing by his side, and said to Charun.

“Please guide us.”

“Alright, follow me.”

The Sword Master, Charun, began to walk towards a secret place inside the royal palace, which had a different meaning from the underground prison.

* * *

“Thank you for taking the time, despite being busy.”

Cale said that with a smile, and drank a cup of tea.

The rich, flavorful taste spread through his mouth—
Deep and smooth.
It left behind a pleasant warmth.

“It’s truly noisy. This is the first time it’s been this loud since I became Queen.”

Queen Tamahi of Lan spoke with a satisfied smile as she sipped her tea.

The capital of the Kingdom of Lan was buzzing with noise.
Rumors were flying in every direction—
All because of what had happened in the combat arena.

Especially now that The Supreme Martial Arts Tournament, meant to determine the successor, had been temporarily suspended.

The Justice Alliance—one of the Five Great Powers—was in the midst of collapse.

No matter how vast their numbers or how many warriors they had under their banner,
They couldn’t stand against the royal family.

Especially not when the other four great powers were cooperating as well.

“So… can you tell me what happened?”

Queen Tamahi addressed Cale, her tone laced with a bit more respect than before.
And a smile.

But behind that smile…
There was a distinct chill.

“Hmm.”

Cale, who seemed to be lost in thought, shrugged and then looked at the queen.

“Do you know the Blood Demon?”

“…”

The queen didn’t respond. But Cale didn’t lose sight of her eyes, which were trembling.

“Ah… she’s called Blue here, right?”

The leader of the Blue Blood Family, the Blood Demon.

Her username in RMPAG was Blue, ranked number 4.

“Hmm.”

The queen let out a quiet sound.

“Before the combat competition, who was the next successor?”

At Cale’s next question, the queen let out an ironic laugh.

“It seems like you already know. Why are you asking?”

Actually, those words were an admission that the Blood Demon was the next successor.

Cale said bluntly.

“Blue has disappeared, right?”

“…About that —”

“We killed her.”

“!”

The tea in the queen’s cup trembled.

“Do you know the Wanderers?”

Cale asked just one question.
The queen, staring at him, slowly closed her eyes.

“…I didn’t know about Sohyi.”

“That means you know of other Wanderers,” Cale replied calmly.
“Have they threatened you?”

“I was a puppet.”

The conversation was brief—
But that was enough to understand the core of the situation.
And for Cale, that was all he needed.

So, he asked,

“Are you trying to break free?”

“I intend to,” the queen said quietly.
“But it won’t be easy.”

Cale, who had been staring intently at Queen Tamahi as she spoke with unusual frankness, finally opened his mouth.

“Is it because of the prince consort?”

“!”

This time, Tamahi couldn’t hide her shock—it showed plainly on her face.

“Well, I—”

“Surely the prince consort follows some religion tied to a god.”

“–!”

“And surely… he’s also cooperating with the Wanderers.”

Huu—

A quiet breath escaped her lips.

Cale didn’t soften his words, even as the queen sat frozen in astonishment.

“I want to meet the prince consort.”

“…It seems like you didn’t want the position of successor.”

“Yes. I participated in the competition because I wanted to meet Your Majesty.”

“…What will you do when you meet the prince consort?”

Cale smiled at Tamahi’s question.

“Whatever it is, it will be helpful to Your Majesty.”

She, instead of responding immediately, took a sip of tea.

She needed to calm down.

The Blood Demon.

The Wanderers.

The prince consort.

She couldn’t imagine that all those words came from his mouth.

She needed to organize her thoughts. Therefore, she asked the first thing she needed to know.

“Who are you?”

The identity of the opponent.

She didn’t know it.

“We—”

Cale, who was looking at Alberu, who was calmly drinking tea by his side, looked away and said to the queen.

“We are an alliance.”

“…An alliance?”

“I come from the Kingdom of Darkness.”

Cale pointed to Alberu.

“This man will become the King of another place.”

Though he’s an emperor, not a king.

And though he doesn’t have a territory to claim yet.

Anyway, he’s the future emperor.

“W-what are you saying?”

Queen Tamahi, who couldn’t hide her surprise, began to stammer.

“Haha, it’s exactly what I said.”

And Cale was smiling kindly.

Alberu, who was calmly drinking tea, while watching everything, thought.

I must remain silent.

When my dongsaeng speaks, I simply keep my mouth shut, and there’s no harm.

And—

It’s beneficial for me.

Alberu didn’t reveal the truth, at Cale’s words, who was making him king without him doing it.

Raon would’ve chirped that the two were exactly the same—
And honestly, he wouldn’t be wrong.
Because both Cale and Alberu were serious.

At the seriousness of the two, Queen Tamahi stammered, and opened her mouth.

“…The Kingdom of Darkness… And this other one is a king…?”

“Yes, that’s right!”

Cale replied cheerfully, then repeated his request.

“I’d like to calmly discuss the details after meeting the prince consort.
Ah, but—there’s something you should know.”

The prince consort.
Cale needed to meet the queen’s husband to complete the mission as quickly as possible.

The Wanderers...

They would already know—through Sohyi—that he and his group were acting under the God of Chaos.

For Arm to active, Cale needed the power of the Saint.
And he still had to rescue Choi Jung Gun.

“…Something I should know?”

“Yes! You definitely need to know this!”

Cale said quickly and cheerfully.

“We’re with the Hero of the Sun, the one who’ll save the New World!
And even the Kingdom of Darkness has stepped in to protect this world! Haha!”

Pff—

Alberu, who was elegantly enjoying the tea, spat out the tea he had in his mouth.

A while later, Cale, along with the queen, who was full of confusion, headed to the deepest place in the royal palace, to meet the prince consort.

Of course, ignoring Alberu’s gaze, who was a little astonished.

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P/R Thought:

Cale casually turned tea time into a political nuke drop. 💣👑

***

If you find any errors or have suggestions, please feel free to provide feedback.

Thank you for reading!

[Author – Yu Ryeo Han]

[Translator – Anowa]

[Proofreader – Mayank]