novelraw Chapter 128 : Chapter 128
Chapter 128 : Chapter 128
Chapter 128. Aman (3)
“You're going to meet the Emperor of the Durani Empire?”
At Frank's sudden declaration, Iris couldn't help but ask back.
She felt dizzy.
The Durani Empire.
Wasn't that the place where she had trained with the Unseen Ones, barely surviving and escaping from the nauseating political strife and conspiracies?
And now her father was going there himself, to meet the Emperor no less.
‘What on earth is he thinking?’
She couldn't understand.
But that was a secondary issue.
Right now, Iris had a more important matter at hand.
The dungeon conquest competition.
‘Of all times!’
Just a short while ago, she had turned the tables.
She had been ahead of Adel, but since Adel broke through the 58th floor, they were back to being neck and neck.
She didn't want to leave her post at such a crucial time.
She was secretly anxious that her father might ask her to come along.
Fortunately, as if reading her mind, her father made the first move.
“You can stay here and continue conquering the dungeon. I'm only taking Number 1 with me this time.”
Iris internally cheered.
She was staying, and he was only taking Number 1?
That meant Adel, who was currently being guided by Number 1, would be tied down.
Although the guide didn't participate in combat directly, they had a significant impact on the conquest speed by providing important information such as monster weaknesses and trap locations.
‘Without Number 1 by her side, my sister's conquest speed will noticeably slow down. This is a golden opportunity for me!’
Iris tried to suppress the corners of her mouth from turning up and nonchalantly nodded her head.
“I understand. But you should be careful. The Emperor is no ordinary man.”
At her warning, her father simply nodded as if to say he understood.
A short while later.
Iris met Number 1, who had just returned from the dungeon with Adel.
She approached Number 1 and relayed her father's words.
“Father said he's taking you to the Durani Empire. He said he's going to meet the Emperor?”
A flicker of curiosity passed over Number 1's expressionless face.
“He's going to meet the Emperor? He has some interesting ideas.”
“I don't know the details either. He just said he has to obtain a necessary magic device to go to a place called Reubungwo. Anyway, you take good care of Father. That place is dangerous.”
Number 1 seemed lost in thought for a moment, then nodded his head.
“No problem. He is one of the people I must currently serve.”
At those words, Iris smirked and replied playfully.
“Weren't you only supposed to serve me?”
“I'm just saying that's how it is in the chain of command.”
Number 1 replied in an emotionless voice.
“Were you perhaps offended?”
“Not at all.”
Iris shook her head firmly.
“Just don't go talking about me to Father unnecessarily.”
“Understood.”
After their short conversation, Number 1 left to meet Frank.
Iris watched his retreating back and briefly recalled the past.
The Emperor of the Durani Empire.
An old and cunning monarch who had ruled with an iron fist for over three hundred years.
He was not a man to be trifled with.
‘I hope Father safely achieves what he wants and returns.’
She briefly worried about her father's safety.
But that thought soon changed to something else.
‘Good. While my sister is faltering, I'll speed up and widen the gap for sure!’
A small worry for her father was quickly buried under her intense competitiveness and ambition to beat Adel.
Iris's red eyes once again took on a cold and rational glint.
She immediately headed for the dungeon.
She had to be the first to reach the 100th floor.
***
After finishing the conquest of the 59th floor and taking a short rest at the shelter.
Adel returned to the surface with her guide, Number 1.
She needed to regroup and rest for the conquest of the next floor.
But as soon as she arrived at the mansion, Number 1 was summoned by Iris.
And she was summoned by her father.
And she heard something unexpected.
“You're going to change my guide? Why?”
Adel asked back in surprise.
Number 1 was taciturn, but he was the best guide, accurately detecting dangers within the dungeon and leading the way safely with minimal movement.
Without him, the future conquest would be much harder.
Her father calmly explained, looking at her flustered face.
“He has a place to go with me for a while.”
“Where are you going?”
“The Durani Empire.”
“What?”
Adel's eyes widened like an owl's.
The Durani Empire, wasn't that the very place where Iris had stayed for a long time?
“Why are you suddenly going there?”
“It's a long story, but I heard some important information from Rude. He said that an item that could be the key to stopping Primus is sleeping in the Emperor's secret vault. It's an item that must be obtained.”
Her father briefly told her the story he had heard from Master Rude about the sage from the East and the towers.
And about the power that constrained Primus.
After hearing the whole story, Adel slowly opened her mouth with a surprised face.
“I see. If it's such an important matter, then I have no choice.”
She immediately straightened her posture and continued.
“I will accompany you, Father. I will be of help to you by your side!”
It was a natural thing to say as the eldest daughter and a knight.
But her father shook his head.
“It's alright. You stay here and focus on conquering the dungeon. Aren't you in a fierce competition with Iris these days? Your growth will be a great help to us.”
“But Father! The dungeon records are not the important issue right now. The Durani Empire is a dangerous place. I'll be by your side……”
Adel cried out urgently, but her father cut her off.
His gaze was firm.
“Adel. Right now, your most important mission is to become stronger. Testing and breaking through your limits in this dungeon will be more helpful to all of us than you following me now.”
At those words, Adel could no longer argue.
Her father's words were logically correct.
But she couldn't help the feeling of sadness and pain in one corner of her heart.
‘Father still doesn't fully trust me.’
She unknowingly clenched her fists.
Her father had said he was only taking Master Rude, Number 1, and Noemi on this journey.
Why wasn't she, the eldest daughter, included?
Was she still just a young daughter who needed to be protected?
She felt hurt, but at the same time, she had to admit that her father's words were true.
Adel nodded with a hardened face.
“…I understand, Father. I will definitely grow stronger, and next time, I will make sure to be of help by your side.”
At her appearance, her father smiled warmly, approached her, and stroked her head.
It was a warm and large hand.
“You're already doing well enough, Adel. Don't push yourself too hard.”
Despite her father's encouragement, a storm of impatience and anxiety to become stronger raged in Adel's heart.
But at that moment, the face of Douglas Junior suddenly came to mind.
The sincere young man she had been running into a lot at the training ground recently, and whom she sometimes gave advice to.
She hastily erased his face from her mind.
‘This is not the time to be thinking about such things!’
She was falling behind Iris, and now she couldn't even join her father on his important journey.
Even Noemi, the youngest, was accompanying her father. The fear of being left behind engulfed her.
‘I will become stronger.’
An intensely fierce fighting spirit, incomparable to before, blazed in Adel's blue eyes.
‘I will definitely be the first to conquer the hundredth floor and gain Father's recognition!’
That was the best she could do right now.
***
All preparations for the trip to the Durani Empire were complete.
I decided to leave the operation of Lumen Fortis to Mammon, Anonymous, and my daughters for a while.
In particular, Mammon's capabilities would be crucial for managing the dungeon and settling the newly joined vampires.
‘That guy will do well on his own even without me.’
I didn't fully trust Mammon, but at least when it came to getting things done, there was no doubting his abilities.
All that was left was to depart.
“Well then, shall we get going?”
The plan was this.
First, we would use Noemi's transition magic to move to Akaba, the northernmost border fortress city of the Durani Empire closest to here.
From there, we would travel by land to the imperial capital with Number 1's guidance.
Since Noemi had never been there.
I had sent a letter to the Emperor in advance, informing him of the purpose and intention of our visit, so if we were lucky, we might be able to have an audience with the Emperor by the time we arrived in the capital.
Or perhaps even sooner.
But just as we were about to leave.
Noemi, who was standing next to me, pouted her lips and grumbled.
“Hing. I don't want to go. Can't I just stay here and supervise the training of Douglas… the soldiers?”
A bitter smile formed on my face.
The way she trailed off her words and where her gaze was directed made the reason obvious.
‘Is it because of Douglas?’
Lately, Noemi and Douglas Junior had been seen getting much closer.
Although it was mostly Noemi who sought him out and took care of him, anyone could see that they had feelings for each other.
Of course, Douglas himself vehemently denied it, waving his hands, but the people around them saw it differently.
There were quite a few who already considered them a couple.
‘They say no one knows what goes on between a man and a woman.’
It was a strange feeling.
Was this what a father's heart felt like?
Once I defeated Primus and restored peace, maybe those two's relationship would progress a little more.
Thinking such thoughts, I placated my youngest daughter.
“How about we buy a rare gift on this trip to the Durani Empire?”
“A gift?”
Noemi's eyes widened slightly.
“Yes. I hear that the Durani Empire has many good weapons and armor made using Durani steel. There might be something that could help with your magic research.”
Of course, I meant a gift that would suit the guy she had recently taken an interest in, rather than something Noemi would use.
Did she catch on to my inner thoughts?
A playful smile appeared on Noemi's face.
She nodded, her eyes twinkling as if she had realized something.
“Hmm, I see. That's not a bad idea. Okay, Daddy!”
I finally succeeded in placating my youngest daughter.
I gestured to Rude and Number 1, who were going with us, and said.
“Alright, let's move out now.”
As if she had never grumbled, Noemi immediately began to draw a complex and huge transition magic circle on the floor.
With her small hand movements, blue lines of magical power intricately intertwined, preparing to distort space.
Rude clicked his tongue as he watched.
“It's truly a great world. To think we can go to that far and treacherous Durani in the blink of an eye.”
Number 1 also nodded silently, expressing his agreement.
But I wasn't entirely at ease.
‘I've never met the Emperor directly in the game.’
According to Iris and Number 1, he was an old and cunning monarch who had lived for over three hundred years.
Would such a person readily grant my request?
There was no way he would just hand over the magic device said to be in his secret vault.
But I had no other way.
I had to use whatever means necessary to persuade him and obtain the magic device that could subdue the marine demonic beasts.
If I couldn't cross over to Reubungwo as soon as possible and stop the destruction of the towers, I didn't know when Primus would regain his full power and threaten this world again.
With such thoughts, I stepped onto the finally completed transition magic circle.
Noemi, Rude, and Number 1 followed behind me.
“Everyone, don't let your guard down.”
Soon, a familiar sensation of spatial distortion and a blue light enveloped us.