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Chapter 345 - (Hellish) Party (2)
“Are you the rumored hero?”
“I’ve heard many things about you. Is it true that you defeated five hundred soldiers of the rebel army all by yourself?”
“I would like to hear more about that. Oh, I am Tyrande Westwood of Westwood Viscounty.”
“Oh, umm...”
Kim Si-Hun was put on the spot as he was being given the full attention of nobles that had come from all over the empire. The rumor that Si-Hun had wiped out five hundred soldiers of the rebel army plus Undead monsters that black mages had summoned, spread quickly throughout the nation.
Since the Arnan Empire was currently in a state of disorder, nobles greatly valued those with high combat prowess. Hence, their interest in Si-Hun rose, and they approached him with all sorts of strategies such as gifts and beauty traps using ladies of each noble house to recruit him as a knight of their house.
“Damn, his popularity is through the roof.”
Oh Kang-Woo snickered as he watched the noble ladies stuck all over Si-Hun. Each house seemed to have gone all out, because each and every lady was considerably beautiful.
‘Well, they’re nothing compared to Si-Hun.’
He felt sorry for the noble houses that had made great preparations to recruit Si-Hun into their house, but the ladies were far lacking compared to Si-Hun in terms of looks.
‘A hero who defeated five hundred rebel army soldiers, huh?’
It was nowhere near enough of an accomplishment to become a hero. As proof of that...
‘The ranks of nobles approaching Si-Hun aren’t that high.’
The true powers of the empire, such as those from duke and marquess houses, were simply observing Si-Hun from afar as if they were window shopping for clothes. Kang-Woo smirked.
‘Watch him while you still can.’
Because they would not be able to lay eyes on Si-Hun so easily in the future. Kang-Woo drank a glass of champagne on the table and laughed softly. The refreshing carbonation and the sweet taste of champagne lingered on his tongue.
“That aside, I’m jealous,” Kang-Woo unconsciously muttered as he watched Si-Hun surrounded by about ten noble ladies.
He had expected something like this to happen when he first executed the plan to make Si-Hun a hero, but he could not help but feel jealous when it was happening right before his eyes.
“You’re jealous?”
Clack. Han Seol-Ah, who was standing next to Kang-Woo, put down her champagne glass on the table and smiled.
‘Huh?’
“No, that’s not what I...” Kang-Woo tried to defend himself.
“You just said that you were jealous.”
‘Fuck.’
“Hahaha. It was just a figure of speech.”
‘Please spare me.’
“All I need is you, darling.”
“You say that, but aren’t there a bit too many women around you? Lilith, Yeon-Joo, and...”
“But you’re the best out of them.” Kang-Woo embraced Seol-Ah by the waist and lightly kissed her.
Her eyes that had been gleaming sharply relaxed from just a single kiss. Seol-Ah caressed her lips with her hand and giggled.
“Hehehe. I was just joking.”
‘It didn’t feel like a joke.’
Kang-Woo coughed and reached for the various scrumptious-looking foods laid out on the table.
“The food here isn’t bad. You try some too, darling.”
“Oh, okay.” Seol-Ah continued while staring vacantly at Kang-Woo, “Sure looks tasty.”
‘You’re talking about the food, right?’
“Oh right, Kang-Woo. Tonight—”
“So this is where you were!” Iris walked toward Kang-Woo with big strides while interrupting Seol-Ah. She pulled on Kang-Woo’s arm and said, “Are you just gonna let Sir Si-Hun suffer all by himself like that? I’ll go with you, so get those women off of him.” contemporary romance
Seol-Ah’s eyes narrowed. She glared at Iris coldly, and then smiled toward Kang-Woo.
“I’ll excuse myself first, Kang-Woo,” Seol-Ah said as she turned around.
Iris displeased her, but she knew that it would cause trouble for Kang-Woo if she were to pick a fight with Iris.
‘What a relief.’
Kang-Woo was worried about Seol-Ah’s mental state, which was getting unstable again lately, but it was not to the point that she was unable to make rational decisions.
‘I’ll have to give her some more attention.’
As Seraph’s influence grew stronger, so did Seol-Ah’s obsession for Kang-Woo due to the unique racial characteristic of angels. Kang-Woo had managed to quell that obsession last time by proposing to her, but it seemed like its effect was weakening. He needed to engrave deeper into Seol-Ah’s mind that she was the most important person in his life.
“Hey, Kang-Woo! Are you ignoring me?” Iris yelled at him in irritation as he momentarily thought about Seol-Ah.
Kang-Woo clicked his tongue and turned toward her, answering, “No, I’m listening, Princess Iris.”
“Hmph. It looked like you were distracted by something else.”
“Hahaha. How could I dare show such disrespect toward you, Your Highness?”
“What’s with you all of a sudden?” Iris stared at Kang-Woo warily.
“More importantly, are you not one of the key people of this party? You should interact with the other nobles instead of someone like me.”
In other words, Kang-Woo was telling Iris to fuck off.
Iris glared at him. “What? Are you refusing my company?”
She was as temperamental and domineering as always when she wasn’t around Si-Hun.
Kang-Woo sighed and answered, “You must have come to me because you have no one to talk to. I understand, Your Highness.”
“Ngh! Y-You’re wrong!” Iris shouted while stomping her feet aggressively.
‘Wrong, my ass.’
It was obvious that she had come to Kang-Woo because no one would give her any attention, since she was considered the worst among commoners and nobles alike.
‘Whatever the case...’
This was a good opportunity.
“In that case, could you tell me more about the nobles over there?” Kang-Woo asked while staring at the nobles who were looking at Si-Hun from a distance instead of fighting for his favor.
There was a good chance that they were the true powers of Arnan.
“Mm. Okay.” Iris nodded. “The one seated over there drinking coffee is Marquess Berocca. He runs a huge slave market in the northeast region of the empire. And...”
As Iris was explaining the nobles one by one to Kang-Woo, her eyes stopped on one woman. She seemed to be in her forties with silver hair in an updo, and her eyes reflected an inexplicable sense of sorrow.
“Mm, who was she again?” Iris tilted her head in confusion.
It did not seem the woman was of high peerage.
“Well, that’s pretty much it,” Iris expressed.
“Thank you very much.” Kang-Woo nodded.
Iris’s information would prove very useful, especially during this party.
‘I already see a few evils that I need to eliminate.’
To allow Iris to gain more power, Kang-Woo couldn’t eliminate only Fidelio. He also needed to eliminate Fidelio’s backers; in other words, the nobles that were sucking the empire dry.
“Princess Iris, it seems Si-Hun is finally free,” Kang-Woo mentioned as he pointed at Si-Hun, who had barely managed to run away from the noble ladies. He picked up a random dish on the table and said, “Come to think of it, this dish happens to be Si-Hun’s favorite. Why don’t you take some to him?”
It was a smoked fish with some vegetables on the side; he had no idea what sort of fish it was, but Kang-Woo had enjoyed it quite a lot while he was chatting with Seol-Ah earlier.
“Oh, I-I see Sir Si-Hun likes elroy as well.” Iris stared at the dish in Kang-Woo’s hand in surprise. The fish seemed to be called elroy. She muttered softly while trembling, “Just like Brother...”
“Your Highness?” Kang-Woo called.
“Hm? N-Never mind! Ahem. Yeah, he likes elroy, huh?” Iris nodded in succession and took the dish from Kang-Woo. “I’m off to see Sir Si-Hun, so stay right there!”
Iris cautiously walked toward Si-Hun. Kang-Woo smirked and turned around. Of course, he had no intention of staying here like she had asked.
‘I have my targets.’
It was time to execute his true plan that he had not divulged to Si-Hun, Seol-Ah nor Cha Yeon-Joo.
‘Now, then...’
It was time to ring the bells of demise.
***
“No, I’m not a fan of fish...”
“K-Kang-Woo said to take it to you because he was sure that you would like it.”
“Oh, did he?”
Si-Hun’s eyes shone. He took the dish from Iris while smiling. The fact that he did not like fish was of no matter compared to the fact that Kang-Woo had recommended it.
“I would gladly eat anything that hyung-nim recommends.”
Si-Hun smiled and tried the fish known as elroy. Although it was a bit fatty, he was still able to eat it without issue because it did not have the characteristic fishy taste of fish.
‘As expected of hyung-nim.’
This must have been the reason why Kang-Woo had recommended a fish dish to him despite knowing that he did not like fish. Si-Hun smiled while thinking of Kang-Woo.
Iris stood restlessly in front of him. “Umm... Sir Si-Hun, are you thinking about becoming a knight of a certain noble house?”
“Oh.” Si-Hun recalled the nobles that had come to see him before the party had even begun. He smiled bitterly and shook his head. “No, not at all.”
“Th-Then what will you...”
“My goal is to eradicate demon worshipers with my party members.”
It was truly a goal befitting a hero. Although his true goal was a little different, he had chosen this goal after consulting with Kang-Woo because it sounded the most hero-like.
‘And...’
Si-Hun’s eyes sharpened. He had not lied just to deceive Iris.
‘If Aernor also has an organization like the Demon Cult...’
He would execute them himself with his sword. The seed of resentment that had sprouted when he had knelt before Satan still had not vanished.
‘They might have something to do with the Four Heavenly Kings.’
The Constellations of Evil had apparently been sealed in Aernor. Rakiel, who had been one of them, had crossed to Earth, but there was no guarantee that the other constellations had as well. No, since Earth’s protection had been restored and Gaia had regained her power albeit temporarily, there was a high chance that they were still in Aernor.
‘No matter what...’
Si-Hun clenched his fists. Whatever happened, he would not let them do as they liked. Kang-Woo, Layla, and his other party members...
‘I won’t lose them.’
Si-Hun came to a resolution and looked at Iris, who trembled from seeing his eyes full of conviction.
“Brother,” she unconsciously muttered.
“Pardon?”
“N-Nothing.” Iris shook her head fervently while as red as a tomato. She gulped and continued, “I will give you my support, Sir Si-Hun.”
The Arnan Empire could not overlook forces that worshiped demons either, since no one knew when a being like Demon King Vaal Zahak would attack the continent again.
“Thank you very much, Princess Iris.” Si-Hun bowed with a bright smile.
Iris blushed. She lowered her head, rolled her feet and carefully mentioned, “Umm, Sir Si-Hun. You can comfortably call me Iri—”
Crunch!
“Kyaaah!”
“Wh-What the—?”
Just as Iris was in the middle of saying something, a commotion arose.
“Kurgh! Urgh!”
“Marquess Berocca?!”
“What’s wrong?”
Marquess Berocca, the noble who possessed the largest slave market in the empire, suddenly collapsed while convulsing. The nobles around him approached him, and then...
Slash!
“Kyaaaaaaah!!”
A green tentacle shot out from Marquess Berocca’s back and decapitated one of the nobles who was walking up to him. Horrifying screams filled the party venue.
“Skreeeeee!!”
“Kyaaaaaah!!”
“H-Help me!!”
“Guards! Where are the guards?!”
At the same time, demonic beasts appeared from all around and began to randomly slaughter nobles around them. Hell descended on the party venue that had been filled with laughter.