novelraw Chapter 206 : Chapter 206
Chapter 206 : Chapter 206
Chapter 206. A Life Without Weapons
Several months passed after the Emperor’s death.
With the end of the war, the great upheaval that had shaken the continent finally subsided,
but each kingdom had a mountain of tasks to deal with.
The Becken Empire, which had become the defeated nation, could not avoid responsibility above all else.
With the death of the Emperor, the main culprit and source of the war, and the end of the direct bloodline, the throne went to Count Kristian Mohed, who was only a distant relative.
However, he was not the actual monarch.
Full authority fell into the hands of the anti-Emperor faction, and they, based on Rotman Reverk’s testimony, revealed all of the Emperor’s atrocities and apologized to the three kingdoms.
The ordinary imperial citizens, who had been suddenly dragged into the war, were shocked to hear the truth about the Emperor.
The Empire showed signs of division in various places, and every day was precarious as they tried to quell the rebellious public sentiment.
Meanwhile, taking advantage of the collapse of the powerful Empire, the three kingdoms held successive meetings to divide the spoils of victory.
Although they had fought and shed blood together, how to divide the spoils of victory was directly related to the future of each kingdom, so an agreement was not easy.
Nevertheless, they adhered to one principle to the end.
Not to be overly greedy in order to avoid repeating the mistakes of the Becken Empire.
Based on this principle, after numerous discussions, an agreement was finally concluded.
The Remshait Alliance would take the territory beyond the northern mountain range, the Manoa Kingdom would take the central plains, and the Solaid Kingdom would take the southern territory.
The Empire suffered an unprecedented loss of territory but had to consider itself fortunate just to have avoided ruin.
The only path left for them now was to live while deeply reflecting on the mistakes of the past.
“You have worked hard, Prince Harashin.”
“Not at all. If it weren’t for you, Ambassador, I would have been swayed by those damn bastards.”
Harashin, who came out of the conference hall, shook his head as if he was fed up.
“Hahaha. By the way. Why did you push so hard for the last clause?”
“It’s just… my own sincerity dedicated to a comrade-in-arms and the one who saved the kingdom.”
“You know that it’s excessive for sincerity, don’t you?”
At the ambassador’s jab, Harashin grinned.
It was not because he did not know political calculations, but because to him now, the loyalty between people was more precious than political maneuvering.
“I know. If we only considered the national interest, there would have been no need for this. So please think of it as a mistake made by a young man who is not yet a king.”
“A mistake? Rather, it seemed that the other two kingdoms also agreed in their hearts.”
“Actually, that’s right. In the end, who was it that we won this war because of?”
Harashin walked down the long corridor with his vassal.
In his hand was the final treaty signed with the two kingdoms, and the last clause read as follows.
—The Manoa Kingdom, the Remshait Alliance, and the Solaid Kingdom shall enter into a non-aggression pact with the Kaien Kingdom.
If this clause is violated, the other two kingdoms will fully support the Kaien Kingdom.
Officially, the Kaien Kingdom did not participate in this war.
Therefore, if this treaty were to be known, many would have questions.
But only those who had experienced the battlefield directly knew.
That this was by no means an excessive clause.
And that it was not a measure for an entire kingdom, but a respect for a single hero living in the Kaien Kingdom.
***
After the war ended, the continent slowly regained its stability.
The turbulent public sentiment settled down, and life moved towards peace again.
And from people’s mouths, stories of the heroes who ended the war flowed.
Especially the heroic tales of those who had been active without belonging to any of the continent’s kingdoms spread like legends even among children.
“Hiya! Hiya! Take this! Demon of the Empire!”
The children playfully divided into teams and acted out the heroes who had saved the continent, mimicking the stories they had heard.
“This is the blow of my claws!”
“You fool, you should say talons!”
The werewolf, Rorn.
Rorn, who had witnessed the Emperor’s end, immediately returned to the Black Forest.
Victory banquets or celebrations meant nothing to him.
He had only followed the orders of the wolf god.
Upon his return, he reported everything in detail, and the wolf god Fenrir and the Zakarin tribe highly praised Evan’s heroic deeds.
They created a battle song with the human warriors, including Rorn, and passed it down through the generations.
“Take this! Spear of blood!”
“Ptooey! Ptooey! Isn’t this grape wine? You stole it from your father’s wine cellar, didn’t you?”
The vampire, Gaiard.
He too did not show up at the party commemorating the end of the war.
However, his circumstances were different from Rorn’s.
He had told Evan that he would save the remaining vampires and stay on the continent.
The sadness of parting was great, but he could not ignore the problems of his own kind, so he had no choice but to respect his decision.
Thus, Gaiard wandered the continent, gathering the scattered vampires to build a new civilization.
In the process, he sometimes encountered werewolves, but they did not fight recklessly, craving blood as before.
The resentment between the two races still remained, but it would be resolved someday.
“Then I’ll be the Seven Stars Ron.”
“Just because you’re tanned doesn’t make you Ron.”
The Seven Stars, Ron Witterek.
As one of the heroes who had laid the groundwork for the turnaround, he received persistent offers from the Manoa Kingdom even after the war ended.
However, as always, he ended up refusing the kingdom’s recruitment offer.
Instead, the kingdom decided to provide him with a mansion in a port city and an excellent ship that could cut through the rough waves.
It was a consideration so that he could live there with his lover.
In the end, for the sake of his beloved, Ron stopped wandering and chose a life of complete settlement in the port city.
And the two of them, listening to the sound of the waves, enjoyed happiness with the sea as their companion until the day they died.
“Look over there. They’re the kids mimicking the heroes of the Kaien Kingdom.”
“Who is that kid in the front imitating?”
“I know… Ah! Isn’t it Knight Anton?”
The Royal Guard of the Kaien Kingdom, Anton.
He had fulfilled the order to ‘bring Evan back safely,’ and upon his return, he was met with both a warm welcome and a disciplinary action.
The welcome was given to him as a hero who had saved the continent, and the disciplinary action was for the responsibility of having interfered in the affairs of another country without permission as a Royal Guard.
In the end, Anton was ordered to be on probation for several months, which was effectively a vacation.
During that time, he immersed himself in training, reflecting on the battles on the continent.
The experience with Robern’s Five Swords and the other powerful individuals he had faced became valuable nourishment.
Having finally attained enlightenment, he reached the state of a true master of the quick sword and eventually rose to the position of Executor.
“Hey! Rina! Who are you imitating?”
“Me? Can’t you tell by looking? It’s Mei of the Viper! Can’t you see this needle?”
“She’s going to get scolded by her mom for losing a needle again.”
The head of the mercenary group Viper, Mei.
The first person she looked for as soon as she opened her eyes after miraculously surviving from serious injuries was none other than Evan.
The reason was one thing, payment.
Since money was more precious to her than her life, it was a natural thing.
Perhaps she was worried that she might not get paid.
However, that was an unnecessary worry.
Before leaving the continent, the payment she had received from the three kingdoms was already enough to buy ten islands.
Nevertheless, Mei ended up returning to her home country and received the promised money from Evan without a single penny missing.
With the wealth she had accumulated, she built a home on an island with her family-like organization members, and finally, she spent happy days without anyone’s interference.
She too had finally achieved the dream she had so longed for.
“I think… the most sincere one among us is probably Evan? To the point where he has to hide one arm inside his clothes like that.”
“I know. I heard he’s also dyeing his hair red?”
The young lady of the Vaberin family, Jaina.
The one who was most wounded in this war was undoubtedly her.
Even though she had lost an arm, which was fatal for a sword wielder, no one dared to offer her words of comfort.
However, contrary to everyone’s worries, Jaina did not break down in the face of her loss.
Rather, having crossed the threshold of death, she created her own Ritual of Bloodstorm.
That technique was an absolute state of Jaina’s own, one that even Evan dared not imitate.
Returning to the kingdom like that, she became widely known as the ‘one-armed knight,’
and although she did not ascend to the position of head of the family, she proudly left her name as one who had brought glory to the family.
The name by which posterity remembered her was ‘Jaina Vaberin, the Master of the Bloodstorm.’
“Then I’ll be Jack Reed!”
“What are you talking about? I said I was Jack.”
“I don't want to? I’m going to be him from now on? If you have a problem with it, let’s fight man to man!”
Evan’s eternal right-hand man, Jack.
Once, he was just a young servant who would fall helplessly before the blades of assassins.
But time had trained him, and now he had become a strong martial artist who could confidently face and defeat dozens of assassins who came at him.
Having grown once more through this battle, he was qualified to be recommended as an Executor as soon as he returned to his home country.
But Jack firmly refused the offer.
The reason was one thing, he wanted to continue training by Evan’s side and walk the path together.
Thus, Jack, who always stood by Evan’s side as his right-hand man, finally made a name for himself as the strongest warrior in the Kaien Kingdom after Duke Valendo.
In the face of his might, even the Kandahr did not dare to look at the kingdom, and the small boy finally grew into a great mountain that supported the kingdom.
“Hey, I’m going to be Evan Lafard today.”
“What?!”
“No way! I said the role of Evan was mine!”
“Hey! Not today! I’m Evan!”
The Duke and head of the Lafard family, and the Weapon Master who ended the war, Evan.
Having defeated the Seven Stars and even Robern, he left his name in the legends of the continent.
An undisputed invincible being with whom no one could dare to compare.
Some feared that he might one day turn his sword on them.
But the person himself had no thoughts.
After defeating the Emperor, Evan had no lingering attachment to the power struggles of the world.
As long as his own life was not touched, there was no reason to draw his sword anymore.
Countless praises poured in, enough to make the title of hero not seem wasted, and his name was on people’s lips for that year and for many years to come.
He was even mentioned as a candidate for the king’s son-in-law, but Evan refused flatly.
Leaving behind the words that he just wanted to live quietly, he disappeared suddenly.
And now, Evan was lying on the roof of a building, looking down at the empty lot where children were bickering and playing.
The warm sunlight enveloped his body, and next to him, Jack sat, watching the children and smiling.
“There was a time when I was like that too.”
“Really? What role did you play?”
“I don’t remember well… but probably a villain. I was so weak when I was young.”
“Hmph.”
Evan closed his eyes and felt the warmth of the sun.
“So… when are you planning to return to the kingdom? Everyone will be waiting.”
“Well. There’s no reason to return in a hurry, let’s stay a little longer.”
“Yes. You should. You’ve been through so much.”
Jack also lay down next to him and looked up at the sky.
“Are you going to continue living like this?”
“Of course. It’s time to rest a little, isn’t it?”
“Of course. You should rest, great Weapon Master.”
“Hmph.”
After that, Evan never once, raised a weapon to kill someone.
That was the life of a Weapon Master, and the life that Evan truly wanted.