iereturnedtogetherwithMarbas.
"Papaaa!randpa!Uncles!"
Seeingherglowingfacefromafar,dmundburstintolaughter.
"Andwhathasourniecebroughtusthisti?"
ieranupanddumpedahugepileofsothinginfrontofthefiven.
esetan,startled,loweredhishalf-finishedglassontothedeck.
"iewantstoplaygostop!"
Whatiescatteredacrossthedeckwasnoneotherthanhwatucards.
hecardscreatedthroughMarbaslookedsurprisinglyauthentic.
"ooook?"
Afterglancingaroundateveryone,thegirlproudlydeclared:
"owPapaandiewillshoweveryonehowtoplay!"
Fwoooosh—
Adampwindsweptacrossthedeck.
"Papa,thisisnightdaysleep!"
earingthatshout,esetanletoutaheavysigh.
Withoutaningto,hewasremindedoflifebackinJongno.
iehadspentmostofhertitherewithChaeBoksuorJeongMyeongcha.
Becauseofthat,sheoccasionallypickedupthingssheabsolutelyshouldnothavelearned.
"ight!hat’sonehundredperpoint!"
"......Daughter.Whatdoyouan,onehundredperpoint?Papatoldyouthatkindofthingneverendswell!"
"o!t’sokay!randmafromRoom107saidtenthousandperpointisbad,butonehundredperpointisokay!"
esetansecretlyswallowedagroan.
Butafteramont,hechangedhismindandlookedatie.
"Fine.ButPapaisn’tgoingeasyonyou."
Afterall,thegirlhadprobablyonlypickedupbitsandpiecesfromwatchingoversoone’sshoulder.
fshelostafewrounds,shewouldquicklyloseinterestandmoveontoanotherga.
Butthatassumptionturnedouttobeacatastrophicmistake.
Sotilater.
"......"
esetanswallowedwithadrythroatandpressedahandagainsthisforehead.
ieburstintoringinglaughter.
"Mwahaha!Papagotpibak!"
"know."
"Andnogwangeither,soit’sgwangbaktoo!"
"......knowthattoo."
"Youmustbesaaad.iehasdoublepointsandtriplepointsandallthreebirdstogethertoo!"
esetanliftedhisheadindisbelief.
"owdidyouevendothat?o,doyouactuallyunderstandwhatyou’redoing?"
iecrossedherarmsproudly.
"mph.randmasaidiehastalent!Papadoesn’tunderstandanything."
Marbaslookedatiewithpurepride.
"Amazing!ocompletelymastersuchacomplicatedga!"
"ehe."
"Sothen...approximatelythirteenpointsmultipliedbyeight..."
Marbasclappedhishandswhilelookingatesetan.
"Congratulations,fatherofYoungady.Yourdaughterhasjustcleanedyououtforonehundredfourpoints."
"Wait."
Atthatmont,dmundapproached.
"etjointoo,niece.thinkroughlyunderstandhowthisworksnow."
"kay!ButUncle,nopeekingatie’scards!"
"fcourse.Whodoyoutakefor?"
Alexander,whohadquietlybeenobservingthewholeti,cautiouslysteppedcloseraswell.
"ie.Canplaytoo?"
"hk!fcourse!hennowonepersonsellsgwang,okay?"
"Sellswhat?"
"ikethis,likethis..."
Watchingieflawlesslyexplaintheruleswithouthesitation,esetanstaredatherincompleteshock.
henhegrabbedhisforeheadagain.
anwhile,insidethecabin—
"Ah,think’mnotasnauseousanymore."
Feelingbetteraftertakingdicine,Baleshakilyrosefromthebed.
PoorAllerikwasstillgroaning.
WhenBaleopenedthedoorandsteppedoutside,abizarresightgreetedhim.
"Mocaouuut!Moooo!Kyaa!tcaout!Uncle,iedidit!"
Rightinthemiddleofthedeck—
iehadthrownfourlongwoodensticksontothefloorandwasrunningaroundbetweentheumineln.
Andthatwasn’tevenall.
"ntheback!ntheback!"
"oodjob,littleone!Asexpectedofourstrongestcombatforce."
eonardowassoexcitedthathisvoicehadbeconearlytwiceasloudasusual.
venalentis’cheekswereslightlyflushed.
hemontBalesawcolorinthefaceofthemaneveryonecalledemotionless,heactuallytookastepbackwardinhorror.
"W-whatexactlyishappeninghere."
Athiswords,nzowalkedoverwithanawkwardsmile.
"tseemstheSquadeaderintroducedeveryonetogasfromthatworld."
"......What?"
"heyplayedcardgasearlierduringtheday,andafterlunchtheymovedonto...nationalholidaygas?Sothinglikethat."
"esetan.ryalittleharder.Whyareyouhesitatingsomuch?"
"amtrying."
ie’sturnhadjustended,andesetan’steam,havingreceivedthesticks,imdiatelyplungedintoastrategydiscussion.
"ook,iethrowsthemlikethis.Youthrowthemthesaway."
"o,esetan.Youneedpondan,pondan."
"Backdo!Backdo!Backdo!"
dmund,esetan,andAlexanderlookedasthoughtheywerediscussingbattlestrategyonanactualbattlefield.
anwhileieranaroundthendlesslyshouting:
"Backdooo!"
"......Andwhat’ssospecialaboutthisbackdo."
Balecautiouslyapproachedthem.
henaquietvoicesoundedbesidehim.
"Bale.Wanttoplay?"
eturnedhisheadandflinched.
StandingtherewasnoneotherthanBasto.
"fyouplay,’lljointoo.ooksliketheganeedsevennumbers."
"Ah?Baleoppa!"
Atthatexactmont,ienoticedhimandcarunningover.
"Coplaywithus!UncleBastotoo!"
hetwoofthemwereimdiatelydraggedbythehandsrightintothecenterofthedeck.
Butthemonttheyapproached,theteamsstaredatthemwithgrimseriousness.
esetanspokefirst.
Alexanderimdiatelynoddedfromtheside.
"Correct.SirBasto’shandsaretoolarge;helacksdelicacy.SirBale,youshouldjoinourside.We’llneedaccuratethrows."
iepuffeduphercheeks.
"Don’tbullyUncleBasto!ishandsarebig,sohecanthrowstronger!"
iesatBastodownbesideher.
"ittleone.Yourturnagain."
alentishandedthesticksbacktoie.
ieinstantlyjumpedtoherfeet.
Aftertakingseveraldeepbreaths,shewiggledherbuttandassudathrowingstance.
"iethrowsnow?"
hesticksflewintotheair.
"Mo!Anothermo!randpa!iegotmoagain!"
Behindthedelightedgirl,crimsontracesofsunsetshimredbrightly.
heredsunalreadyhunglowovertheedgeofthesea.
Asiehappilygatheredthesticks,shesuddenlyliftedhereyestowardthedistantwaves.
hesoundofcrashingsurfresembledsoone’slaughter.
Atthatmont,shefeltnoanxiety,nosadness,nofear.
erchestoverflowedwithlife.
'candoit.'
Forthesakeofahappyfuturewhereeverydaycouldfeelliketoday,ittrulyfeltasthoughshecoulddoabsolutelyanything.
"kay,throwingagaaain!"
ieenergeticallyspunaroundandstuckherbuttoutagainforanotherthrow.
aughterfromthefamilycarriedacrosstheentiredeckwiththewind.
hefirstdayofie’sveryfirstfamilyvacationwascomingtoanend.
"nemoreweek,andtheexpeditionwillarriveatthecentralcontinent."
woweekslater.CouncilofSeniorMinistersoftheallociummpire.
Afterstampingtheimperialsealontothefinaldocunt,theemperorliftedhishead.
Aroundtwentyministerssatbeforehim.
"t’sfortunatethatthevoyageisproceedingpeacefully."
"ndeed.hempireitselfremainsatpeace,andthankstoYourMajesty’ssupport,tranquilitywillsooncotothecentralcontinentaswell.tistrulywonderfulnews."
heemperornodded.
Forabriefmont,hisgazerestedonFides.
AfterthedecisionhadbeenmadeforArdianatoremainbehind—
Fideshadbeenangrywithhiversince.
'eprobablythinkstheplantogetridofArdianabysendinghertothecentralcontinenthasfailed.'
fcourse,theemperorunderstoodFides’feelingsperfectlywell.
Butpoliticssotisrequiredsteppingbackonceinordertoadvancetwostepslater.
"Weshallconcludetoday’setinghere."
Whentheemperorrosetohisfeet,alltheministersbowedtheirheads.
eavingtheconferencehallwithhisguards,theemperorheadeddeeperintothemperialPalace.
Andjustasheenteredthecorridor—
Afigureappearedfromtheoppositeend.
"YourMajesty!"
heemperor’sexpressioninstantlybrightened.
"avenia?"
Dressedinapurewhitegown,aveniahurriedtowardhimdespitethemaidstryingtostopher.
Andbeforesayingasingleword,shetightlyembracedtheemperor.
"ave—"
Ashebegantospeak,theemperorflinchedslightlyfromafaintprickathisneck.
Butuponnoticingthebraceletonavenia’swrist,herelysmiled.
"Youcatoet?"
"fcourse.Wepromisedwe’dhavelunchtogethertoday.’vebeenwaitingsolong."
"Ah,right."
Smiling,theemperorcontinuedwalkingforward.
Withoutevernoticinghowcoldthegazewasthataveniadirectedathim.
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