Chapter 177:
It only took a moment for chaos to erupt in the trading port.
“T-There’s an explosion!”
“Everyone, evacuate!”
“Water! Get water! The ship’s on fire!”
The massive explosion caused by the Oberhauser smuggling ships reduced one-third of the trading port to rubble in the blink of an eye.
“What the Hell!!!”
Argonne was stunned by the unbelievable events unfolding before his eyes.
A whole fleet of smuggling ships, safely returning from a successful trip, suddenly exploded.
“What the hell is going on? How could this have happened?”
“L-Let me find out!”
The young merchant Glen, who had led the recent smuggling trade, was helpless at hearing Argonne’s question.
‘How???’
Even he couldn’t have anticipated this accident in his wildest dreams, leaving his mind blank like a white sheet of paper.
“What the hell are you going to do about this! Do something!”
The Great Argonne was stamping his feet.
As it turned out, it wasn’t just the Oberhauser that was affected.
Of course, the damage to the Oberhauser Trading had been enormous, to say the least.
The whole point of the smuggling trade in the first place had been to raise money, and now that the ships were all blown up, the losses were immeasurable.
But that wasn’t the main issue.
The explosion involving the contraband ships meant that Oberhauser would not receive any benefits from the insurance company.
In other words, the damage caused by the accident would have to be paid for.
Is that all?
Due to the damage suffered by the ships of other trading companies anchored in the port, the amount of compensation was at a level that was hard to imagine.
If they had insurance, they could have compensated for the damages with the insurance money received from the insurance company.
But since they didn’t have the proper protection, they would have to pay several times that amount to the other merchants.
In other words, as a result of this incident, the Oberhauser Trading….
“Aa… Aaaaah”
Argonne the Great grabbed the back of his head and collapsed.
“Your Majesty! Your Majesty!”
The high-ranking cadres nearby rushed to his aid.
“Cough! Keeuuuk!”
Argonne the Great coughed up blood.
In an instant, he was so psychologically overwhelmed that it led to an internal breakdown.
“What am I supposed to do now… How can we fix this….”
Argonne’s eyes glazed over and he muttered like a madman.
The incident raised uncertainty about whether they could resolve it even by selling off all of their assets, including land, shops, and ships.
Given the colossal failure in leveraging their substantial financial resources and the catastrophic losses incurred in the smuggling trade, the likelihood of Oberhauser Merchants making a recovery was “almost” non-existent.
In essence, it was doomed.
As Argonne, who had once aimed for continental reunification by leveraging the wealth he gained after greatly expanding his influence, it was truly a moment when the heavens had turned against him.
‘As expected, the heavens have not forsaken me! The heavens will not forsake me, unless I forsake it! Hahahahaha!’
Just a moment ago, he had said that heaven would not abandon him unless he abandoned it.
“E-EMERGENCY CONFERENCE NOW, Keeukk!”
With those words, the Great Emperor Argonne vomited up blood and lost consciousness.
Even for a man who had once unified the continent, this event was so shocking that he could barely keep his wits about him.
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“Heh…. Hehehe.”
As Argonne the Great collapsed, a mirthless laugh escaped from someone’s mouth.
“Keheheheh! Hehehe! Hah! Hah! KAHAHAHAHA!”
Kairos, who had been spying on Argonne through a telescope from afar, couldn’t suppress a bout of laughter.
As he watched the Argonne vomit up blood and collapse, he felt the last 450 years of accumulated frustrations melt away.
“BUUUUURRRP!!”
Or at least a long belch.
“Kaaaaa! The alcohol goes down easily! Hahaha!”
Kairos drank heartily, pouring alcohol into the skull made from Argonne’s own skull.1
Kairos’ subordinates were no different, indulging in drinks alongside him.
“Hahaha! Good! This is Good!”
“Heheheh! I feel so much better!”
“Kehahahahhaa!”
Agatho, Hildegard, Maximus, and the other Soul Knights were also delighted.
For them, nothing could have been more pleasing, considering that Argon the Great was their mortal enemy.
It was natural for them to be pleased, as it had taken them 450 years to settle a score they hadn’t settled in their previous lives.
Of course, considering what he’d been through in his previous life, it was a mere fraction of what was due.
“Keheheheh!”
Kairos laughed heartily and then suddenly hardened his expression.
“Argonne you bastard. But you should know that this is just the beginning.”
Kairos had no intention of leaving Argonne as he was.
“I will make your very life pure hell. I will make it impossible for you to survive and difficult for you to die. Kehahahha.”
He truly meant it.
Kairos was determined to use his current life to torment Argonne, and this incident was just the beginning.
Kairos continued to hold the Argonne in the palm of his hand, intending to exact everything that had been done to him in his past life.
A hundred times?
A thousand times?
No, ten thousand times.
Kairos could not be stopped until he satisfied all the bloody grudges of his previous life.
That was why Kairos remained in this world instead of ascending.
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“His Majesty the King is returning!”
“Waaaaaaaaaaaah!”
*Puuuu!* *Puuuuu!*
The people of the kingdom of Lota enthusiastically welcomed Otto and his group back from their long journey.
“Huh?”
Otto was puzzled.
“What’s this? What’s with the welcoming party?”
“I sent a message to let them know when you would be arriving, and it looks like they were waiting for us.”
Camille told Otto.
“Really?”
A smile tugged at the corners of Otto’s mouth.
“Good. It’s nice to have people welcoming us. In the past, nobody welcomed me at all.”
A memory flashed through his mind.
The emptiness upon returning to the empty studio apartment after a long day of work.
‘Yeah, that’s right, no one welcomed me.’
It was such a difficult moment at the time.
Given that people from another world are welcoming him like this, he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
“You deserved it since you committed a sin at that time.”
“Huh?”
“Everybody used to hate you. Even the local kids used to say how they were going to kill you.”
It seemed like neither Kim Dojin nor Otto had anyone welcoming them.
Of course, there wasn’t anyone vehemently eager to kill Kim Dojin.
“HEY!”
Otto barked at Camille.
“Isn’t that what you’re talking about?”
“Huh?”
“You wanna keep talking about the past, huh? Do you want to act like a hoodlum again, like in the old days?”
“No.”
“Shut it.”
Otto rolled his eyes and glared at Camille.
“Why do you keep scratching at old wounds? You want me to put you on a high pedestal?”
“…..”
“Do you want to be tossed away?”
*Flinch!*
Camille winced at Otto’s threat.
Because it seemed to him that Otto was capable of “doing that” enough.
“I just.”
Camille added.
“I just wanted to tell you that you’re on a good track.”
“Huh?”
“Your Majesty has changed, and so have the people. Look.”
Camille pointed at the crowd.
“Everyone is welcoming Your Highness back with open arms, isn’t it?”
“…Ah.”
“You’re doing well.”
After saying that, Camille quickly turned his head away in embarrassment.
Because he was naturally sharp and blunt, it was clear that he felt embarrassed for praising Otto for no reason.
“Yeah, I guess so.”
“What?”
“Well, since Saladin has ascended to Sainthood, there’s nowhere to go but up?”
“Is that what you’re talking about again?”
“I’m a wyvern instead of a dragon, huh? Saladin’s a dragon and I’m a wyvern, right? Tsk!”
“…..”
“Just like that!”
Otto and Camille were no better at falling into Samcheonpo when things were comfortable.2
‘Still… this is nice.’
Otto thought to himself.
‘It feels like I’ve returned to my hometown.’
Was it because the journey had been so long?
The Kingdom of Lota felt more like home to him than ever before.
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“Kekeke, Did you just got back?”
“Welcome back, Your Majesty!”
Otto entered the palace to an enthusiastic welcome from the people, and was greeted by Archduke Wazir and Goblin Merchant Ego.
“Yes, I just got back.”
Otto grinned broadly at Archduke Wazir and Ego.
“Hahaha! I hear you’ve made a big score this time! A trade surplus that’s ridiculous, huh? Kehahaha!”
Archduke Wazir spared no praise for Otto.
The kingdom of Lota was just starting to grow.
As a result, the budget was always tight, and the kingdom was always stretched financially.
Now that Otto was generating so much money, Archduke Wazir couldn’t help but be overjoyed.
It was also a blessing for Ego.
Thanks to Otto’s trade deals with Caliphate, the Ego Merchant Troupe is bound to make a lot of money in the future.
Add to that the fact that they now had a base in the Gurling Archipelago, allowing for full-fledged maritime trade.
So Archduke Wazir and Ego wanted to lift Otto around if they could.
However, Archduke Wazir is too old and Ego is too short to be able to lift Otto.
“You must be tired after traveling that far, so you should get a well-deserved rest for a few days and we’ll talk later. Have a pleasant evening.”
“You must be tired, but I think you should get a good night’s rest, you’ve done a lot of hard work.”
Archduke Wazir and Ego urged Otto to retire.
“Okay!”
Otto agreed, since he was feeling exhausted, so he opted to rest for a while.
‘It’s spring already. No, is it nearly summer?
As Otto strolled through the Palace, it dawned on him that it had been a rather long trip.
It was still a cold winter when he left for the Kingdom of Caliphate.
Now spring was in the air, and he could almost feel the heat of summer approaching.
“Oh, right.”
Otto suddenly remembered something and reversed his steps toward his quarters.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m going to stop by and say hello to the old man.”
“You mean Elder Quran?”
“Yeah.”
For Otto, Quran was his sore finger.3
He was reminded of his late grandmother, who had died of the same disease, which only made him feel more concerned.
‘I said I would take care of him, but I haven’t been able to properly. Huh. But I can’t keep hovering around him either. I should visit him more often when I can. That’s the humane thing to do.’
Otto went to see Quran with that in mind.
“What? He’s not feeling well?”
“Yes.”
Otto’s heart sank when he heard from Olive, the Head Maid, that Quran was ill.
“He seems to be getting old and senile.”
“Oh….”
“He’s been in bed for a few days, but now that he’s feeling better, it’s possible for you to see him.”
“Okay.”
Quran, who he hurriedly met, looked very sickly.
“Old man, I’m here.”
“…Otto, you came.”
Quran spoke feebly, looking straight back at Otto.
It had been a long time since Otto had seen Quran.
He looked as haggard as ever.
At this rate, it wouldn’t be strange if he passed away soon.
“…Old man.”
Tears welled up in Otto’s eyes.
** ** **
TL/N:
1. Ref Ch. 115
2. Samcheonpo is a place name in South Korea, but in this context, it’s used metaphorically. When someone “falls into Samcheonpo,” it means they get carried away or diverted from the original topic or intention.
3. metaphorical expression, Quran held great significance and had a profound effect on him.
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