Chapter 308: Episode 308_Betrayal Is an Art (3)
3.
It felt like walking through a dark, damp cave.
“Unbelievable. To think I’d end up crawling inside soone else’s body. Simin, why do you always have to live life on hard mode? Ugh. I guess making a living is tough for everyone. What can you do? In a world where you have to wash corpses just to put food on the table, you don’t complain when a chance to make free money drops into your lap. You just take it.”
In the darkness, Han Simin’s grumbling never stopped.
He had been muttering nonstop for over ten minutes, yet no one complained or told him to shut up.
Not because he was alone.
“Hey. Dian. Why aren’t you saying anything?”
“If you wanted a conversationalist, you should have brought Squeaker.”
“I even got your score up to fifty points. Is a little conversation too much to ask in return?”
“Following you in here is already excessive repaynt.”
“...You cold-blooded bastard. I an, bitch.”
“That is a term that would be quite offensive to human females.”
“So what? Huh? You gonna do sothing about it, punk?!”
It was because his companion was soone with whom a normal conversation was impossible.
Kardian. A Black Dragon. She didn’t have a speck of wit, wasn’t funny, and had no sense of drama. She never spoke more than necessary, and the only reason they could trade even this kind of light banter was because they had grown relatively close.
It was the kind of situation that made a sigh slip out on its own.
Of course, there was no real need for conversation.
He hadn’t crawled into a Dragon’s body to enjoy a cozy, dark space and set the mood with Kardian. If that was what he wanted, he would have accepted the advances of any of the countless won reaching out to him.
The reason he had brought Kardian—the person who would be the least fun to be alone with—was simple.
“So this place is really dangerous? Even though it’s dead?”
“It is more dangerous because it is dead.”
“Why?”
“Magic is a part of nature that Dragons are born with, rule over, and commune with. Their master, with whom they have spent centuries, has died. Mana is not a thinking life-form, but it resonates with its master’s emotions and changes in response. That is why it is dangerous. And you know what the Holy Dragon Hatchling was feeling right before it died.”
“...Which is why I brought you. Keep
safe.”
“Even I cannot be certain. If a magic rampage occurs inside while under these constraints...”
“Hey! Cut that crap. Don’t jinx it. Even if I die, I’m taking that Heart with .”
Kardian remained silent.
“If this fails, contract or no contract, I’ll just offer up your mom’s Heart instead, so don’t you dare half-ass this.”
She didn’t respond.
For safety.
Nothing was ever easy.
And when you were going to stab soone in the back—so hard that they collapsed in one blow and couldn’t even breathe—you had to put in even more effort.
“You’re the one who had to bring up weird stuff. Nothing’s happened so far, so it doesn’t look like anything will happen.”
“A magic rampage begins after the Dragon draws its last breath and—”
“Shut it. Enough. I don’t want to hear it.”
Han Simin’s steps quickened.
Kardian had been clear: it was only a possibility, and the odds of the worst-case scenario were under twenty percent.
But this was a situation where he was literally betting his life, and there was a real chance he might have to leave without achieving his main objective. Looked at that way, twenty percent wasn’t a low number at all.
And once you heard the cause of a magic rampage, it didn’t feel like sothing that would politely stay at twenty percent.
Even a rough guess was enough. If the mana had grown attached to its master over a hundred years, would it really just sit back and watch while humans dragged that master’s corpse away? If it had even the slightest capacity for thought, it would go berserk.
The only saving grace was that mana couldn’t think. That was why Kardian had put the odds at twenty percent.
Even so, his anxiety didn’t go away.
He wanted to grab the Heart and get out of here as fast as possible.
’Sorry, but it’s not like I really ssed them up that badly.’
The reason he was taking this risk at all ultimately ca down to his “trust” with Kenji.
If he had wanted, he could have openly used Squeaker to dump Gold on the raid and sabotage it. He could have done it after the Hatchling died, or even while it was dying, and still inflicted massive damage. He had no way to defeat the expedition itself, of course, but he could have easily ruined their victory and tanked public opinion.
His own reputation would have hit rock bottom along with it, but Han Simin wasn’t the type to care about that.
Yet he hadn’t done it.
Instead, he had actually helped them and was even prepared to cleanly give up the Hatchling’s corpse and the fa of being a Dragon Slayer.
He only intended to take one thing.
The Dragon Heart.
’This is insanely generous. Where are you gonna find a business partner like ?’
If a magic rampage started and damaged the corpse, the only thing Kenji would be able to take away was the honor of being a Dragon Slayer, but that didn’t concern Simin in the slightest. He also didn’t care that the essence of a Dragon—over eighty percent of the corpse’s value—ca from its Heart.
The raid would never have succeeded without Kardian’s help anyway.
And Kardian’s help had co from Han Simin’s stockpile of praise points.
By that line of reasoning, all the credit ultimately belonged to Han Simin.
“So the Heart is mine.”
A flawless conclusion.
Fortunately, despite the brazen visit of this shaless thief, the mana didn’t react at all as he made his way to the Heart.
“This is a little underwhelming.”
From the perspective of Han Simin, who was filming, it was a relief but also a bit of a letdown.
’How do I put this?’
Maybe this ant he had finally developed the instincts of a proper strear. He liked a certain level of realism, but within that natural flow, he found himself wishing for at least so predictable storytelling beats that people would enjoy.
That didn’t an he actually wanted real danger to show up and force him into so life-or-death adventure.
Easy is best.
Especially since this was a process that would yield far greater long-term value than any revenue he could make from a video.
“All right. Cut it out.”
She said nothing.
The Hatchling was dead, but its heart was still pounding violently, wrapped in dense mana.
Han Simin jerked his chin at Kardian as if he were picking up sothing he had left in storage.
This was the main reason he had brought her.
To extract the heart without causing even the slightest damage.
Without a word of complaint, Kardian stepped forward.
*
The Emperor was frowning.
He was not the type to be swayed by others’ words; once he set his will, the Iron-Blooded Emperor did not go back on it. However, this situation was a little different.
“They are raiding the Holy Dragon Hatchling?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. I have received word that they succeeded.”
“Hm.”
“They swore they would use the Hatchling’s Dragon Heart to prove that the Demon King imprisoned in the seal is actually the Heavenly King, and then they departed.”
“Whose words do you think are true?”
“I will follow Your Majesty’s will.”
The Empire’s greatest strategist bowed his head as he spoke. Normally, he was a loyal subject who did not fear speaking frankly to the Emperor, but this ti, he refrained from insisting on his own opinion.
“You cannot be certain?”
“The mont for proof will surely co, Your Majesty.”
Privately, he definitely had his own thoughts.
Of course he did. This was the Demon King and the Heavenly King they were talking about. Judging by their appearance and their current powerless state, they were so weak that one might doubt their identities, but the situation itself spoke otherwise.
This was a first for the continent—a mont that would be recorded in history for ages to co. How could he not have a thousand different thoughts?
As a strategist, he had already analyzed the available information and reached his own conclusion. However, the reason he was the Empire’s greatest strategist was because he could coldly discard his own opinion depending on the situation.
He planned only for victory in war.
He thought only of the Emperor’s victory.
In that sense, the most certain way to grasp the truth was for either the Demon King or the Heavenly King to regain even a sliver of power and prove themselves.
“What is the thod?” the Emperor asked, understanding this as well.
In truth, he was giving so weight to the adventurers’ claim that the Heavenly King had been unjustly frad. He trusted the Imperial Princess’s conviction and had left the matter in her hands, but that was his personal opinion.
It was his judgnt as Emperor, a conclusion he had reached after observing Han Simin up to this point.
’That bastard is fully capable of framing soone exactly as the adventurers claim. More than capable.’
For all he knew, the man had shown his true colors in the Demon World and won the Demon King’s favor. It sounded utterly absurd, but if it was Han Simin, it might actually be possible.
He snorted, a laugh slipping out even in the midst of such a grave situation.
Strictly speaking, it was serious, but at the sa ti, it might also be a stroke of luck.
The Heavenly King and the Demon King. Beings whose re descent would shatter the continent’s peace were both here, powerless as ordinary humans, and under human control. It was even impossible to tell which was which.
The Emperor might beco the first in the continent’s history to slay the Demon King in his own na.
“Find a thod.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
It was a very tempting prospect. So, though it would be difficult, the Emperor ordered him to find a way. He had entrusted full authority to the Princess, but this much assistance was only natural, both as a father and as Emperor.
His own thoughts would not be reflected in the process at all.
The truth would be determined fairly, and the Princess would judge the result without a shred of personal bias.
It was simply a matter of how long it took to get there.
“Your Majesty.”
And that ti was shortened far more quickly than expected.
By Han Simin, who arrived directly via Teleport.
Wearing a black robe, Han Simin entered the Emperor’s office with Kardian at his side and walked straight up to the throne.
“You heard the rebels are hunting the Holy Dragon Hatchling, right?”
“Yes. I have heard,” the Emperor nodded, his expression one of deep displeasure. He had remained neutral and left things to the Princess, but he couldn’t hide his distaste for the man before him.
“They’re planning to use the Hatchling’s Heart to break the Demon King’s seal and prove their case.”
“Is that so? And how do you know this?”
“How do you think? I just ca from there.”
“They would not have told you directly.”
“I saw them myself. The Warlocks who were there.”
The Emperor remained silent.
The Emperor had never fully believed anything Han Simin said, and Han Simin hadn’t co here expecting to be believed completely.
“You must be curious as well, Your Majesty. I had no intention of stopping them, and I didn’t co here expecting you to take
at my word. I ca to give you certainty. Here. I brought this, so hear
out.”
He was bold. When he wanted trust, he always mixed in at least thirty percent truth.
With an unwavering tone, he drew a Dragon Heart from his robes.
The fresh, still-pulsing Heart of the Hatchling appeared before the Emperor’s eyes.
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