494

Episode 494 I have something to do. (1)

The capital was gripped by fear.

Now, even if you are innocent, you are just being arrested by the soldiers.

They were all used as sacrifices for Berhem.

Soldiers who had initially wandered around to build up achievements now had to capture people to survive.

It was common for people to wake up one morning only to find that their neighbors were gone. Everyone was terrified, not knowing when they would be arrested.

At some point, a rumor started to spread among the people.

'The king... has gone mad.'

'They're eating people.'

'What on earth happened?'

Until recently, everyone was rejoicing at the victory in the war. Thanks to the Earl of Fenris, they had overcome drought and the plague.

The kingdom was in turmoil, but the people were still full of hope.

This is because the Earl of Fenris and the Marquis of Branford, these two people, solved each problem one by one and led everyone.

But now it was different.

The Marquis of Branford is said to have been overthrown and the Northern army retreated.

The king went mad and ran wild, and people were captured and killed without even knowing what was happening.

'The person who cured the king is a priest of the Salvation Church.'

'Then what happens to us?'

'Even the priests of the four major religious orders are unable to do anything.'

Ominous rumors continued to spread.

There were also rumors that he was negotiating with the Duke. Then, wouldn't the Salvationists who created rifts and killed people gain power?

Everyone wanted to get out of the capital, but the surveillance was so tight that they couldn't.

People tried to minimize their outdoor activities. If they didn't want to be caught, they had to hide.

Naturally, economic activity was paralyzed and the atmosphere in the capital became rapidly gloomy.

As the number of people being arrested decreased, Berhem went crazy again.

"How can there be poor people in this beautiful capital? Get rid of all the bugs!"

Under that order, the poor in the capital were forcibly rounded up.

To be honest, they were no longer poor. Through continuous relief work, they were gradually becoming self-reliant.

It was all thanks to the fact that Fenris's food supply was becoming excessively abundant.

But they were all dragged in just because they lived in the slums.

And they all became sacrifices for Berhem.

"Kwaaaaak!"

"Please save me!"

"We are without sin!"

In the deep stone chambers of the palace, the screams of people were constantly heard, as they were killed and their blood and life force were used to sustain the health of Berhem.

Berhem was now doing it openly, without any hiding. Everyone was terrified.

The nobles who decided to follow the king also knew that something was wrong, but they pretended not to know.

"Haven't you had a hard time because of the Marquis of Branford?"

"Yes, you have to let go of that resentment to some extent."

"Aren't they only arresting prisoners and the poor anyway?"

At this point, they couldn't help but know that the Salvation Church had intervened. However, since they had decided to negotiate a ceasefire anyway, they tried to suppress their worries.

To be honest, they were better off now than they were before. They had not been able to live a noble life because they had been keeping an eye on the Marquis of Branford.

"The Marquis of Branford had no sense of nobility."

"Does it make sense to ask us to do the work too?"

"Even though it was a series of disasters, we still lost too much property."

The nobles do not work. They can only eat and live by their status. The headaches are for the lower class.

The Marquis of Branford shattered that perception. He constantly held the nobles accountable.

But the king was different from the Marquis of Branford. He recognized that the nobles born with blue blood were more noble than anyone else.

That's why the nobles had no choice but to pretend not to know about the king's madness.

The Salvation Church was also scary. They didn't want to stand up and look bad. They just wanted to make sure they weren't hurt.

Berhem, who had been killing people to maintain his life, became increasingly worried.

"Flaccus, we are short on prisoners. We must quickly proceed with negotiations."

"I have already sent you the message. I will set an appointment soon."

"Yes, yes. Now that the royal army is in my hands, we can begin negotiations soon."

The prisoners brought in from all over the place had already been eaten. Nevertheless, Berhem's body was gradually disintegrating.

This is because he did not have a core to properly store and circulate that life force.

So, even if I continued to absorb life force, it would just disappear like smoke.

To prevent this, you need something called the 'Orb of Life' created by the Salvation Church. You need to absorb it to replace the core in order to maintain your vitality.

Berhem had agreed to exchange it for the royal treasure.

Still, there was something to check.

"Your Majesty! Is it true that all the Royal Army commanders have been replaced? Those who pledge their loyalty to me!"

"Yes, all commanders have been replaced and the royal forces are on standby near the capital."

Berhem smiled at Marquis Domont's words. He seemed to finally be relieved.

"Yeah, that's good."

This is precisely why he postponed the negotiations. Wouldn't the negotiations proceed smoothly only if he had a firm grip on military power?

He had been preparing meticulously in his own way so that the royal family's secret information could not be stolen.

"Make sure to negotiate so there are no problems. Jim will personally inspect the goods."

Berhem also received the aura of Placus, so he was confident enough to check whether the item was the right one.

"And as soon as the negotiations are over, I will strike down the northern forces that have rebelled against me!"

Berhem's eyes flashed with madness once again.

* * *

The Northern Army was ready to go to war at any moment. They had nothing else to do, so they were just waiting for the right time.

Claude was resting, leaving everything to the administrators. He had slipped away under the pretext of reorganizing the Northern Army.

Only Lowell, who was managing the capital's intelligence, was very busy.

Claude, who was bored because preparations for the expedition were completed sooner than expected, called Alfoy and said.

"Want to play a card game?"

"Card game?"

"Yeah. You need some brain stimulation. You're going to be busy from now on, so let's have some fun when you have some free time."

"Okay. Just the two of us?"

"Hmm, it's no fun if there are only two. Should I try seducing just one more person?"

Claude looked at Erenes with a sinister look.

'It needs to be extended beyond 30 years.'

He must somehow drag Erenes into the gambling world. He must make him a gambler, and extend the contract period with gambling debts so that he can survive after 30 years.

So Claude convinced her.

"Chief, would you like to play a card game? I can lend you some money."

"… … ."

Erenes looked at Claude with an expression of utter contempt.

To ask the noble elven chieftain to gamble? I have never seen such a brat in all my years of life.

"Okay. Enjoy yourselves."

"Please don't do that. Let's do it together just once."

"I told you it's done?"

Despite Erenes's refusal, Claude persists. He must somehow get her to gamble.

"I don't know what you think, Chieftain, but I'm not suggesting this just for fun."

"… … What are you talking about?"

"The Chieftain has lived in the forest for a long time. That's why he is still a bit awkward in the human world. He needs this kind of experience to understand the intense emotions of humans."

Erenes chuckled at those words. This guy probably doesn't know what kind of life he's lived.

The intense emotions of humans? We have seen that enough in wars long ago. In wars of a scale that those here cannot even imagine.

"That's funny. Do you think I've lived all these years and never felt that?"

"But I guess you've never felt that emotion at the gambling table."

"… … ."

There's no need to feel that way. I was thinking about giving him a little scolding, but then an unexpected person intervened.

"Chief, just give it a try. It's fun."

It was Ascon, a fellow elf. Ascon persuaded Erenes for a different reason.

"The elves spread across the continent drink alcohol, gamble, and do all sorts of things. Shouldn't the Chieftain also experience it himself so that he can understand our hearts later?"

In fact, Ascon, who had a twisted personality, just wanted to see Erenes gamble and lose.

However, Erenes could not ignore those words. He felt sorry for the elves who had been living as slaves.

Finally, she sighed and said,

"… … I'll just let you experience it for a little bit."

At those words, Claude winked at Ascon. It was a gesture of thanks. Ascon also winked and smiled.

So the gambling table was set up. When people heard that Erenes was gambling, they flocked to watch.

Although the gaze was inwardly uncomfortable, Erenes closed his eyes and calmed his mind.

'Just this once.'

The game was a simple card game called 'Stud', where players competed to match pairs of cards with pictures on them.

"Okay, let's begin!"

Claude shouted as he shuffled the cards.

After teaching Erenes the rules with a few practice games, the game began in earnest.

For the first few games, we played back and forth, losing and winning money.

The problem arose elsewhere. Claude's original intention was to get Erenes addicted to gambling. That's why he deliberately let Erenes lose.

But, as the game progressed, Alpoy became greedy and wanted to get everything himself, without even knowing the deep meaning.

'Alpoy, this little bastard… … .'

'Claude, this time I'm going to destroy you for real.'

Alfoy held a grudge against Claude because he became a gambler and a slave because of Claude.

I haven't yet created any card game cheating spells, since that's not my specialty. But I've been gambling for quite some time, so I know how to use a few techniques.

He planned to use that to steal all of Claude's money.

The emotions of the two people began to heat up. The onlookers also watched the scene tensely.

It was Alfoy's turn to shuffle the cards. He shuffled the cards slowly and concentrated.

'It's cold. A knife flies into my chest and sticks itself in. But don't worry. The hand is faster than the eye.'

He thought now was the time to use the technology.

'One from the bottom for Claude, one from the bottom for the Chieftain, and one for me.'

He moved his hands dazzlingly again.

'One more from the bottom for Claude, and now the last one for the Chieftain.'

The moment Alfoy gave the card to Erenes, Claude jumped up and grabbed his arm, growling.

"Stop moving, are you trying to take out the bottom?"

"what?"

"You took my card and the Chieftain's card from underneath? Do I look like a fool to you?"

Alpoy gritted his teeth and spoke with a frown.

"Do you have any evidence?"

"Evidence? There is evidence."

Claude continued with a rotten smile.

"You would have given me a soldier card. A very low card."

When Claude turned over his card, it really was a soldier card.

"And this thing you're going to give to the Chieftain, isn't this a slave card?"

Claude forcefully snatched the card from Alfoy's hand and held it up high.

"Okay, everyone, let's see. I'll give the Chieftain a slave card and finish this game by myself. Isn't that it?"

The card Claude had was truly a slave, Alfoy said with gritted teeth and an angry expression.

"He's writing a scenario. You crazy bastard."

Erenes had one more card than he had received before. Ascon, who was watching from the side, shouted.

"Chief, look at that card! Is it the King?"

The King is the best card, but when combined with a Slave, it becomes the worst card.

Claude was the next lowest card, a soldier. If anything, it would end up being a game where Alfoy would win.

Claude shouted as Ascon ran over and tried to turn over the card.

"Don't touch the card! Before your hand flies off!"

When Ascon stopped, Claude spoke to Elena who had come to watch.

"Miss, please prepare the axe."

"Do you really have to go this far?"

Elena asked, holding up the 'Head of Destruction'. People were tense. If you get hit by that, your hand will really fly off in an instant.

At that moment, Alpoy opened his mouth with a cold expression.

"Wait, do I really have to see that much blood?"

"Didn't you learn that if you get caught joking, you'll bleed?"

At those words, Alpoy said with strength in his eyes.

"Okay, I'll bet my hand and my money that this card isn't a King. If you're scared, you can throw in the towel."

"Huh, where does this kid sell his drugs?"

"Shit, why does the world's best Claude have such a long tongue? Oh, you're usually a talkative person, aren't you? Are you being rude?"

"Running after me? Oh, heh heh, come on. I'll take all my money and put my hand on the line. Miss, cut off my hand as soon as you check."

"Oh, I see."

Claude and Alfoy each had one hand tied, and Elena raised her axe high.

Claude put his hand on the card and smiled.

"Ready? Shall we take a look? Okay, I'll start checking now. Follow me, follow me, follow me."

As everyone focused, Claude hummed and turned over the cards.

"Are you the king?"

The moment Ascon spoke, Alpoy reached out his hand towards Claude.

"Energy Bolt!"

Phew!

"Eww!"

A bolt of energy blasted into Claude's face. Alfoy quickly cut the rope around his arm and ran outside.

"Eww! Wendy! Catch that kid! Crush his hand!"

Claude held his face and cried out in pain. Fiote ran over and healed him with his divine power.

Wendy shook her head, Kaor and the knights held their stomachs and laughed. Vanessa put her hand to her forehead and Belinda snorted.

Parniel also continued to snicker as if he found it amusing.

In fact, all the powerful people here had already seen Alpoy's tricks.

"… … ."

Erenes stood up from his seat after watching the mess with a blank expression.

Why do I keep hanging out with those idiots? I thought I should distance myself a little more.

In this chaotic situation, Giselle appeared with Gillian and said.

"What, everyone was having fun? Let's get moving now."

At those words, everyone's faces became tense. It was time to fight again. And it was against the royal army that was on the same side.

Jiselle's next words were quite a sight.

"I told you before, right? I need to go to the capital by myself first. I have something to do."

People's expressions were distorted in a strange way. It seemed as if another strange accident was about to happen.