It was a sunny spring day.
In the inner courtyards of the Laputa territory, Skadi sighed within the garden.
She had been able to survive a near-death experience (due to Kang Chul-In) and had passed her message on to Kang Chul-In, but hadnât heard a response since then.
Though she had proposed a deal where they marry and Kang Chul-In received the Esmerelda territory, she hadnât heard a positive response from Kang Chul-In.
Esmerelda is a strategic point that any Lord would want desperately. Even if itâs not right now, it will definitely play a key part in the struggle between Lords⊠Does he really have no interest in the territory? Or is it because he wants to win the territory fair and square, through fighting? I donât understand.
Another Lord would have definitely taken this offer, but since Kang Chul-In hadnât accepted yet, Skadi was confused.
Skadi had doubts in her mind.
âIs it because he doesnât like me? To the point where he wouldnât take me in as his partner for a political marriage? Is that why he ran away?â
This hit Skadi painfully. The thing that one would normally refer to as âa womanâs prideâ was hurt badly.
âHuhu, thereâs no way thatâs true at all.â
Someone answered Skadiâs muttering.
As Skadi looked behind her, she was able to spot Butler Alfred, who, due to being a vampire, had a hood and a cape on him.
Wearing gloves that covered his hands, arm warmers, as well as scissors, Alfred seemed more like a gardener than a butler right now.
âGood morning, Lady Skadi. Sorry for interrupting you. As a butler, I shouldnât have overheard the guest⊠Huhu.â
âN-No, itâs alright. Itâs my fault for speaking to myself in a place like this.â
Skadi replied, her face downcast.
âAnd also, you donât need to be so polite when you speak to me. Iâm not an Overlord anymore, just a traveler. I donât have the qualifications to be called on so politely by you.â
âWhat do you mean? How can a servant like me be so rude to a guest that could end up being Milordâs wifeâŠâ
âWife? If I got rejected even offering up my territory which any other Lord would kill for⊠I donât have any hope. Maybe⊠Lord Kang Chul-In just doesnât like me as a personâŠâ
âHmm⊠Thatâs not true, Lady Skadi.â
âHuhu, since Iâve overheard your muttering anyway, can this lowly servant say something?â
âMilady is misunderstanding something right now.â
âMilord has said that Lady Skadiâs appearance is fabulous, so how can you speak words like that?â
And saying that, Alfred thought of the conversation he had with Kang Chul-In.
Milord, sheâs come in with her arms open, so please take her!
Why not, milord? Is it because Lady Skadi isnât to your personal tastes and liking?
No, not really. If I really had to say she does have quite a pretty face, butâŠ
Then w-why⊠Donât tell me you want to live as a loner in this life too⊠Oops.
Go and sunbathe in the garden for one hour.
M-Milord! How can you tell a vampire to stay under the sunâŠ!
Do you want mental training, or would you rather stay under the sun.
Though it wasnât quite a pleasant chat, it was also true that Kang Chul-In had said Skadi was âquite prettyâ.
âR-Really? Youâre sure that my appearance isnât the problem?â
âOf course, Lady Skadi.â
Skadi sighed in relief. Her pride as a woman was about to be crushed, so how could she not?
âThen⊠if my appearance isnât a problem⊠I really donât know why heâs rejected my offer. The Esmerelda territory is a strategic point that any Lord would covet. And if itâs someone as ambitious as Lord Kang Chul-InâŠâ
âOf course, Milord does have interest in the Esmerelda territory. Just as you say, Milord has great ambitions; he lives to conquer the entirety of Pangaea. Thereâs no way he doesnât have interest.â
âThen⊠whatâs the reason for not accepting the offer?â
âWell⊠Though there might be a lot of reasons, Milord also doesnât have an official wife yet. We cannot put Lady Skadi in that position, as this is just a political marriage.â
âAnd since Milord also doesnât have a very positive attitude towards marriage in generalâŠâ
âD-Donât tell me⊠Is the fearsome Overlord Kang Chul-In a romanticist, who only marries who he truly loves?â
Alfred couldnât help but reveal an awkward smile.
Kang Chul-In a romanticist?
Ha, as if that made sense. Alfred himself couldnât imagine a romantic Kang Chul-In.
â...Anyway, since itâs like this, Lady Skadi should just keep patient.â
âThey say that the first time is difficult, so it wonât be bad the second time. Once Milord finally takes in an official wife, Iâm sure Lady Skadiâs turn will come soon after.
Skadi had hope written over her face.
No matter what, she really wanted to save the citizens of her Esmerelda territory. No matter how long it took, she wanted her territory to be under solid control, and finally escape the fate of having to be in constant war.
Since Skadi was originally a gypsy on Earth, she knew better than anyone how painful and terrifying it was to live a life traveling around.
How many gypsies in Europe were mistreated and socially outcasted?
Since she had lost almost 80% of her magical powers and her foretelling abilities after throwing away her position as Overlord, the only hope she had remaining was Kang Chul-In.
Because the Kang Chul-In she had seen was a powerful Overlord who didnât lose out to either Albrecht Vilhelm, or Alex Rothschild.
âHuhu, one day that day will come, so please cheer up Lady Skadi.â
Alfred cheered for Skadi.
Iâll definitely make Milord get married!
Inwardly, Alfred was making his own mastermind plans on how to get Kang Chul-In married.
So what if it was a political marriage?
Since marriage was going to happen a lot of times during this life, what did it matter if there were a few political marriages? If it was regarding Kang Chul-Inâs marriages, Alfred could only say OK.
Milord, this Alfred will become the greatest matchmaker in Pangaea in order to allow you to have lots of wives and children!
Alfred clenched his fists.
A terrifying aura emanated around Kang Chul-In, due the rippling of mana around him.
At the sudden change of Kang Chul-In, the rangers didnât know what to say.
The Kang Chul-In that they had seen was just a traveling adventurer. It was because of Kang Chul-Inâs current state, as it was in a complete mess.
But just because someoneâs outward appearance wasnât good didnât mean that the person themselves was also poor.
Wasnât Kang Chul-In, whom the fox-human rangers thought was just a wanderer, actually a powerful Overlord who controlled the Pandemonium region?
Kang Chul-In had tried his best to remain civil and have a conversation with the fox-humans, but it was them who ended up being the aggressors. Kang Chul-In was ready to give these demi-humans proper âmental trainingâ so that they wouldnât repeat the same mistake again.
It didnât take very long for Kang Chul-In to finish beating up these fox-humans.
Sparks seemed to appear and disappear in a rapid fashion.
âYou dare touch⊠my meat!â
Kang Chul-In appeared in front of the fox-human that had shot his rabbit meat. It was a movement that would make a ghost cry in shame.
Kang Chul-Inâs fist landed on the stomach of the foolish ranger that had shot his meat.
And that fox-humanâs body fell to the groundâŠ
And he started to throw up crazily. It was a terrifying blow.
âT-That man is strong!â
The leader of the ranger group was astonished. That was how powerful and swift Kang Chul-In was.
âEveryone, we can talk again once Iâve finished my beatings.â
âItâs an enemy! Shoot!â
Regaining their senses, the rangers split up into different directions; ready to shoot at Kang Chul-In.
But the mental training that was already initiated didnât show any signs of stopping.
Kang Chul-In seemed to flash through the fox-human rangers like lightning, appearing somewhere before knocking the rangers down on the ground with terrifying blows.
âKuhuk⊠Iâm sorry.â
âIâm really sorry for misunderstandingâŠâ
âIâm sorry, rabbit meat. Sorry, rabbitâŠâ
The 12 rangers were now groveling and kneeling before Kang Chul-Inâs feet.
âSob⊠Sob⊠I-Iâm a womanâŠâ
The leader of the ranger's eyes had been bruised black and blue, making her cry.
Kang Chul-Inâs mental training didnât differentiate between male and female.
In Kang Chul-Inâs mind, there was no need for mercy for those who had shot an arrow at his food.
They should instead be feeling thankful that Kang Chul-In had been âmercifulâ in his beatings, and that none of them had died.
âIâll speak again.â
With all of the rangers kneeling down in front of him, Kang Chul-In spoke once more.
âIâm the Overlord Kang Chul-In, who controls the Pandemonium region. Do you trust me now?â
âWe believe! We believe⊠sobâŠâ
The rangers all agreed instantly.
No ordinary person would be able to defeat 12 rangers of the fox-human tribe that easily, especially bare-handed. And since this had been such a one-sided beating with none dying, it made sense that Kang Chul-In claimed he was a powerful Overlord now.
And if they said no, that would be a problem. If they denied what Kang Chul-In said, who knew if that crazy beating would come again?
Coughing, Kang Chul-In spoke once more.
âThough itâs true that my current appearance is somewhat âun-lordlyâ, you have to understand it's because Iâve ran all the way here for 10 days without rest.â
The rangers felt like they would get beaten once more if they asked why Kang Chul-In had come here without a single subordinate, so they refrained from doing so.
Kang Chul-In pointed at the leader of the rangers.
âAmy. Can you lead me to where the Ninetails is?â
âThis is an extremely urgent matter. The reason why I have ran here so urgently without rest is to have an extremely serious talk with your queen.â
Kang Chul-In thought of a suitable excuse.
âB-But⊠just because we believe you doesnât mean that our queen would alsoâŠâ
âThatâs something that your queen can decide herself.â
âEveryoneâs anxious right now. If we go to the city entrance right now you might be captured⊠Is that alright?â
âOh, why is everyone anxious?â
Kang Chul-Inâs curiosity was piqued. Aleister shouldnât have acted this early.
âWell⊠Weâre currently in war.â
âWar? Who are you fighting against?â
âCurrently weâre fighting against a lycanthrope tribe. Thatâs the reason why weâre prohibiting entrance to the city to outsiders.â
âHmm⊠Well, it doesnât matter. I donât care if they try to capture me at the entrance.â
Kang Chul-In nodded his head.
Hmph, I can just beat them up if they try that on me.
Kang Chul-In was confident that heâd be able to escape any sort of âcapturingâ they tried on him.
âF-Fine. Iâll lead the way. But there might be a group of Lycanthropes that attack us during the way, and just because we arrive at the city doesnât mean thatâd youâre guaranteed audience with the queen.â
âIt doesnât matter. Just lead the way.â
Even still, Kang Chul-In didnât care.
If he wasnât allowed to meet with the Ninetails, there were other ways to force this meeting to happen.
Under the lead of the fox-human rangers, Kang Chul-In entered the inner Foggy Forest.
It seemed as if Amy was leading the way very carefully.
I think that they might try to betray me once.
Of course, Kang Chul-In didnât trust Amy.
The fox-human race had the DNA of foxes, and they were incredibly cunning and sly. Once Kang Chul-In put his guard down, he might be tricked.
Hmph! You dare to try to meet our queen?
As expected, Amy was thinking of something.
I get that youâre strong, but can you really beat a pack of Smoggers?
Smoggers were local monsters to the Foggy Forest and were âdokkaebiâ that shot fog out of their mouths relentlessly. Amy was planning on pushing Kang Chul-In into a pack of these âdokkaebiâ and running away.
At that moment, Kang Chul-Inâs face stiffened.
âAround 20, and theyâre fast. This smell⊠Theyâre lycanthropes.â
At Kang Chul-Inâs muttering, Amy was astonished. Did this mean that a humanâs senses were more powerful than theirs, a demi-humans? She could not believe this.
âI-Is that really true?â
âAround 400m in front of us. There is a pack of Lycanthropes there.â
This disgusting smell of Lycanthropes wasnât something that could be masked. It was very easy to tell for Kang Chul-In.
Though Amy shook her headâŠ
Soon after, she was also able to spot the presence of the Lycanthropes that were coming at them. Around 20 of them? With their current numbers and state, it seemed hard to survive this encounter.
âG-Get ready for battle!â
âI-Iâm really sorry!!!â
Through the fog, a man with blonde hair came out, and apologized, before starting to rain blows at them.
[1] These are legendary creatures in Korea, known for their mischief. Also known as "Korean goblins." Check out this Wikipedia page for more information: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dokkaebi
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