NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 38
Chapter 38
Nahun headed towards the 69th floor, his expression tightly furrowed. Following behind him, Eri and Dein exchanged glances, wary of Nahun’s anger.
“Why is he so upset?”
“…It doesn’t seem to be our fault, so let’s just stay quiet.”
Upon arriving at the 69th floor, Nahun made his way directly to Dantalion’s Demon King Castle.
“Who, who goes there! We’re in the midst of an important meeting, so turn back!”
A very brave guard threatened Nahun with a spear. Dein and Eri thought inwardly that he was crazy and waited for Nahun’s response.
Nahun let out a deep sigh and spoke.
“Is Her Highness Seere von Debata inside?”
“…Pardon?”
The soldier, caught off guard by the low, serious tone, nodded slightly.
“I am Her Highness’s mentor. I have business with her, so open the door.”
“Ah, I-I’m sorry! I didn’t recognize the esteemed guest…!”
Whether Nahun was truly Seere’s mentor or not, the soldier did not know, but he quickly opened the door. Seere had ordered that any visitor claiming to be her mentor be welcomed inside.
“Her Highness is in the conference room on the 2nd floor.”
“Understood.”
Nahun proceeded to the 2nd floor and approached the conference room where voices could be heard.
“Dein, Eri.”
“Yes.”
“Yeah!”
The two stood with tense postures, awaiting Nahun’s command. He instructed them.
“Make sure no one else enters.”
“Yes.”
“Understood!”
Nahun lightly knocked and then grasped the door handle, pushing it open. Because he had knocked before entering, the gazes of everyone in the conference room were already fixed on the door.
In the room were the Demon King Dantalion of the 69th floor and his ministers, the 4th Legion commander Lin El Lazine and Deputy Commander Baruna, as well as Epsilon and Zeta of the 5th Legion, who had joined after drawing attention from the 68th floor’s army.
Of course, the one responsible for gathering all these people, Seere von Debata, was also present.
“Oh, Teacher!”
Seere, smiling brightly, welcomed Nahun inside. Her spotless and adorable smile brought a sense of comfort to everyone who saw it.
However, Nahun’s expression had yet to soften.
“Seere.”
The voice calling her name was not its usual bright tone but rather low and chilly. Seere realized Nahun was quite angry and spoke hesitantly.
“Teacher, well…”
“What did I tell you?”
“…You told me not to intervene.”
“Right. You’re aware of that. So what is this situation?”
Seere fumbled for an answer before honestly replying.
“…I wanted to help.”
“I clearly told you that you didn’t need to.”
“But Teacher, this time I did everything perfectly without making any mistakes. I subdued the 69th floor and killed Valtazar of the 68th floor’s O mang seong and captured Crawling! The army was driven back completely!”
“Right. I heard about the results. Excellent work.”
At Nahun’s praise, Seere’s expression brightened significantly. She genuinely seemed happy, her eyes wide and her smile radiant. However, Nahun’s tone remained icy.
“But that’s all just hindsight.”
“…What?”
“What if something had happened to you in the process? Do you really understand what it means for a faction to lose its Demon King?”
“…….”
“Fortunately, the results turned out well this time, but if something had gone wrong, all the efforts of the past would have gone to waste. You’re smart enough to know this. Why didn’t you listen to me?”
Seere’s expression, which had briefly brightened, darkened. Seeing her become teary-eyed, Nahun rubbed his forehead with his hand and let out a sigh.
He could roughly understand why Seere made such a choice. Nahun had never sent Seere into a battlefield to fight. He had always handled everything himself and through his subordinates.
Thus, Seere must have thought she wanted to be helpful. That must have led her to disregard his words and take unilateral action. In the end, his own measures may have made her anxious.
With that in mind, Nahun’s anger began to subside. Understanding her feelings softened him. He spoke to her in a gentler tone.
“I won’t stop you when the time comes for you to step onto the battlefield. But this wasn’t the right time. Your power is still unstable, and there were reasons you didn’t need to expose it to the world.”
As the forces of the 72nd floor made more of an impact, the curiosity about Seere von Debata’s strength would naturally grow. And alongside that curiosity, fear would also grow. After all, the fear of the unknown is often the greatest.
Thus, he intended to keep Seere’s power hidden until her foundations were more secure. However… this incident had shattered that plan.
In truth, this was a plan with uncertain success. What made Nahun more frustrated was that this girl had recklessly stepped onto a battlefield where she could have lost her life.
“And in battle, anything can happen. Right here, Commander Lin could accidentally be killed by a sword. If something were to happen to you, what do you think would happen to those who follow you?”
They would collapse.
Seere knew the answer. She understood better than anyone the consequences of her father’s death.
“A Demon King must always keep this in mind. Your life is not just your own; it bears the lives of all who follow you.”
Listening to Nahun’s lecture, Seere bowed her head. With a trembling voice, she said,
“…I’m sorry.”
“…….”
Nahun sighed heavily. He didn’t want to be angry at this child. It wasn’t simply because she was the key to returning him to the present.
‘She’s a pitiful child.’
Even if she was a character in a game, she was a king of a faction that lost her father at a young age and fell from the highest point to the lowest. Furthermore, she missed him so deeply that she always carried the teddy bear he left behind.
He wanted to do something for her, even if it wasn’t perfect like a father’s role—something similar at least. As a teacher, and as a guardian of a child. He wanted to fulfill the role he could not perform in the past, at least for her.
Thus, he found himself angry. It was a situation he could not condone as her protector. But upon reflection, he felt that he didn’t need to press her so hard. After all, the outcome was good, and Seere had accomplished something remarkable on her own.
“…I’m sorry for being angry. I should have praised you first for doing well on your own, but I acted like a fool.”
As Nahun apologized, large tears began streaming from Seere’s jewel-like blue eyes. Startled, Nahun hurriedly embraced her.
“I’m truly sorry for being too harsh.”
“Wah, wahhh…!”
Eventually, Seere, her cries breaking into sobs, began to weep into Nahun’s embrace. Dantalion, witnessing this scene in real-time, felt utterly astonished.
‘Did I really… succumb to such a Demon King?’
Dantalion felt a sting to his pride that he had not experienced just moments ago. He clenched his fists and stood up from his seat.
“Excuse me, but what are you doing in the middle of a meeting…?”
Dantalion, who had been speaking, suddenly froze. It felt as if something heavy was pressing down on him, immobilizing him completely.
It wasn’t just him. Everyone present in the room, allies and enemies alike, felt the same sensation.
Especially Lin, who had never directly felt Nahun’s power, was extremely flustered. A massive, white whale appeared behind him, mouth agape.
“What did you say?”
At that, Dantalion shook his head and sat back down.
“N-No, nothing.”
—
Nahun overheard all the details of the reinforcement treaty Seere was discussing with Dantalion. Upon hearing the contents, Nahun’s first impression was that it was ‘acceptable.’
‘Sending Dantalion to take charge of the 72nd floor’s defenses while guaranteeing some degree of autonomy, and making the 69th floor Seere’s foundational level…’
It didn’t seem bad. They could finally move away from the risky 72nd floor, and this meant he wouldn’t have to bother placing merchants on the 70th floor.
Since he could attract merchants directly to the 69th floor, there was no need for discussions with Citri. This lessened his burdens.
Moreover, having a talent like Dantalion under his command wasn’t too shabby either. Though his military prowess was rather inadequate for a Demon King, he had gathered his forces through appropriate policies and politics.
He would likely be able to manage the 72nd floor adeptly. Initially, Nahun had thought of entrusting the vacant Demon King Castle to Cain or Rea, but now that was no longer necessary.
Nahun chuckled softly and patted Seere’s head, who was sitting beside him.
“Well done.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, you did very well.”
“Then… is it possible for you to grant me that favor you mentioned as a reward?”
“Huh?”
Nahun momentarily found it puzzling but soon realized what Seere was referring to. She seemed to be talking about going out together as they had planned if she kept quiet.
“Oh, that’s what you mean.”
“Yes.”
“Sure, I can do that.”
“Really!?”
“However, I think we should go after the conquest of the 68th floor is finished.”
“Ah….”
Of course. Since Seere had caused the situation, they needed to resolve that before doing anything else, whether for fun or otherwise. After killing one of the O mang seong and capturing another, Dantalion would not remain idle upon hearing that news.
“Dantalion.”
“What, what’s up?”
Since Nahun spoke casually, Dantalion felt comfortable responding similarly. But at that moment, Seere glared at him, seemingly ready to tear him apart.
‘Why is she acting that way?’
Though he didn’t know the exact reason, it likely had to do with his casual demeanor.
“Do you know the scale of the army under Dekarabia?”
“…Ah, I do know.”
So he switched back to a respectful tone. Nahun tilted his head slightly at the sudden change in speaking style but passed it over.
“How large is it?”
“I’ve heard the infantry alone is around 250,000 and cavalry about 50,000. And I believe there are over a thousand magical combatants as well.”
“That’s a lot. That means they’re at full strength, right?”
“Yes. Although I can’t pinpoint the exact number of soldiers Her Highness Seere dealt with yesterday, quite a few came, and our forces were almost entirely decimated…”
“Then we can assume that about half are dead.”
“I think that’s a fair assessment.”
Dantalion answered all in respectful language and glanced over at Seere again. Only then did she shift her gaze and turn back to Nahun.
‘What a frightening child.’
From her appearance, she seemed to be around twelve or thirteen at most, but her presence was so imposing. Dantalion squinted his eyes and thought.
Seire von Debata had left an astonishing impact on the world.
“Even half means over 150,000… that’s a lot. The soldiers of the 69th floor are likely all but gone.”
“…Honestly, that is correct.”
“There’s no helping that.”
Given how the situation had developed, it was impossible to engage in a war with the 68th floor without any losses. Considering the disparity in troop numbers, it would undoubtedly bring catastrophic consequences to the 72nd floor.
Even with Citri’s assistance, it could take years to recover from the damages inflicted by the war. They needed to win against the forces of the 68th floor while maintaining their current foundation, no matter what.
“What will you do, Teacher?”
“It seems there’s only one method.”
Nahun was not a renowned strategist like Zhuge Liang. He wasn’t intelligent enough, nor did he have the depth of strategy to devise a plan to obtain something from a powerful faction without causing damage in such a short time.
The ability for him to even mimic a strategist up till now stemmed from his many experiences playing the game dozens of times. In this situation where his build had faltered, the first thing Nahun could think of was…
A way to minimize damage while bringing the 68th floor into his grasp. That was to use his own strength.
“The only option is to erase the 68th floor from the Demon World.”
When the mind doesn’t work, you have to use brute force.