[There’s still a 1/10 chance of winning. Thanks for all the reviews and the kind memes. There are 2 more days left. If we hit our goal, I will do the mass release!]
Chapter 259: Official Announcement (1)
Tol To-ri’s problem had been settled for now.
I had blindly hoped for her to change dramatically, but no such miracle happened. The only thing that changed dramatically was her appearance.
Dialugia regained her position in the house little by little, and Tol To-ri also seemed to recognize her mother’s position.
Whenever I was around, she clung to me tightly, refusing to let go. However, she gradually started to change. Of course, I didn’t know if Tol To-ri intended this change, but Dialugia had begun to feel happier with every day that passed.
She was greatly impressed by Tol To-ri’s kindness, enjoying her changed attitude.
Of course, Dialugia was working harder and more intensely on Tol To-ri as she received this new treatment, which I was against. My personal judgment was that she should be separated from her mother’s arms.
As a result, Tol To-ri started going to school with Max.
Dialugia seemed reluctant to know that Tol To-ri, a dragon, was being educated by humans but eventually conceded because she knew this would help build up her character.
Of course, it was the right decision.
Though Dr. Kang Hyun-wook originally recommended this for Tol To-ri, it also helped Dialugia to an extent. The mother also needed some time to herself, after all.
I already knew that many mothers gradually lose themselves after having a child.
‘Parenting depression?’
Dialugia got a very high score in the test that Dr. Kang Hyun-wook used to use on Earth, which worried me more than it should’ve. Though Dialugia laughed about her results, I couldn’t find it in me to do the same.
The expert judged that it would not be strange if she would suddenly burst one day, for Dialugia had a lot of pent-up stress stored within her. While Tol To-ri enjoyed her time in school, I helped Dialugia find things she could enjoy during her free time.
Slowly, she improved day by day.
The opposite happened for me. Since I had postponed most of my work in order to build up some progress with my family, this only meant that I had a lot to focus on.
To sum up, three things happened all in all.
First was the Pope’s side network management.
I met with Cardinal Basel, whom I hadn’t seen in such a long time, to resolve our misunderstandings and talk I wanted to scream in joy when I heard that the present Holy Empire’s Pope was too old and would soon return to God’s arms.
Of course, I was told that one of the three cardinals would be elected Pope, and I heard directly from Cardinal Basel that he would most likely be the next Pope.
If Cardinal Basel became the Pope, it was no wonder that my standing would also rise. As I may receive a slightly higher status than Honorary Bishop, I worked hard to satisfy Cardinal Basel’s mood. And it wasn’t just him, either.
I also held a prayer meeting to confirm our strong friendship with Archbishop Jessica and the Director of Inquisition Helena. It was also natural that I participated in various activities such as dinners, voluntary services, and other related events on the Pope’s side.
Since I no longer had to keep managing the Bishop-level line, I brought Sun Hee-young on this particular visit.
‘The atmosphere was good.’
It was no wonder that Sun Hee-young, who was truly an exemplary priest, became close to the bishops. They seemed a lot more intimate than I thought, so I thought it would be okay for her to take over every matter other than Cardinal Basel.
The second was network management with nobles.
It was as important to manage the Emperor’s side as much as the Pope’s side.
Of course, as my direct link was with the Pope, I didn’t give that much weight to the social world, but it was quite important to take care of a legion of noble ladies, including Duchess Catherine, who had helped me greatly with the Ito Souta incident.
Immediately after the end of the meeting with Cardinal Basel, I was invited to the nobles’ social church. I remembered this period as being really crazy.
The Blue and Black Swan’s adventure journal had also been released around this time, and soon, we had a lot of work to do revolving around the museum. People’s awareness of me soared.
The aristocratic wives who were with me started to feel proud, and I was able to access a variety of information.
During one of these events, I heard a story about a particular imperial princess. Though I didn’t give much importance to it, I stored it in my head, thinking it might help me later.
The third was the Castle Rock’s black market.
After the social parties ended, I headed straight to Castle Rock, the hometown of Marlin Young-ae. Though this was because of Marlin Young-ae’s invitation, it was actually to check on the black market built in Castle Rock.
I couldn’t involve myself directly because of Cho Hyejin’s strong opposition, but this black market was still running with decent profits.
I thought it would be okay to deal with something more illegal, but I had to give this up because I couldn’t handle having any more tasks on my plate. I wasn’t even interested in this place for the money, anyway.
The reason for this black market’s existence was to check the list of customers who used these places, nothing more or less.
‘There will be some use for them later on.’
Having a list of customers and a ledger was a big boost.
If I tracked the documents, books, and locations that have piled up, it was easy to find out the identity of the masked bastards.
Of course, since Marlin Young-ae clung to me most of the time, I couldn’t look around in too much detail, but the black market was definitely a decent place to be.
“Phew…”
That wasn’t all of the work I needed to do. I also had to focus on the guild’s internal and external affairs, as well as my research.
While joining the research of the magical hologram device with Max and Jung Hayan, who had been experiencing a little difficulty, Lee Jihye and I also began to prepare for our business and eventually began to renovate the museum.
I didn’t forget to support the newbies, too.
We found out what mechanism the Black Wizard worked with through discussions with Han Sora, and I gave Yoo Ahyoung full-fledged support to quickly improve her blacksmithing skills.
Research on the new potion did not stop, and I had spare time to think about how to treat the serum that Park Deokgu refused to use.
This workload felt similar to when Kim Hyunsung assigned me all the guild’s work in the past. The only difference was that he didn’t have a choice back then.
Now, the reason was that we didn’t have enough time. The Empire no longer wanted to postpone the official announcement of the Eight Seats of the Empire.
I had to clear my schedule somehow, and because of that, I was forced to proceed with this impossible schedule. I was able to cope easily since I was used to working so much, but everyone else felt irritated with the schedule.
Like me and Kim Hyunsung, the Red Mercenary Guild Master also had a busy time during this period.
“It’s so tiresome. Is there even a plausible reason for the eight people from each free city to gather for the official announcement? Can’t the Emperor just formally proclaim it?”
“Yeah, you’re right…”
“Even though they know that everyone is busy, they still insist. I’m pretty sure the Taiwanese and Japanese guys are also annoyed. The problem is that the Empire’s so bent on such events. I’m so annoyed. Right? Honey?”
“But from the Emperor’s perspective, he wants to show that he is doing something. I haven’t heard of it in detail, but it seems that his position is getting weaker recently…”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I don’t know if it’s a rumor or something, but rumors were circulating among the nobles. Just having these rumors around already weaken his position. It seems like he wants to take this opportunity to let them know that he’s in good health…”
“I didn’t hear that… Did the Black Swan Master know?”
“Yes. I’ve heard about it, too.”
Park Yeon-joo spoke up at this point. However, Cha Hee-ra looked uncomfortable.
“And only we didn’t know. Is this really a three-way alliance? Huh?”
“…”
“Honestly, I’m very disappointed with the museum thing. Honey, even if you were me, you would have been disappointed, right?”
“I’m sorry, Cha Hee-ra. We had already received so much help from the Red Mercenary… I had heard that you were going to another dungeon, so I thought it would be better not to tell you.”
“I’m just saying this, so don’t worry too much. Even if I couldn’t participate in the strategy, I’m grateful to you for being considerate enough to let me invest. Still, I hope you can talk about things like this with me beforehand. I don’t have the type of personality that gets greedy about gains and losses. It’s natural to send troops when an ally is in danger.”
“Yes.”
Park Yeon-joo nodded enthusiastically as soon as Cha Hee-ra finished speaking. I, too, understood what the Red Mercenary Queen meant.
If Park Yeon-joo thought that this alliance was entangled in a particular interest, Cha Hee-ra seemed to understand this alliance with a concept a little further away from it.
I always thought about it, but her personality’s influence would be greater than the strength of being favored by the members.
I would never be able to do it like Cha Hee-ra. However, I averted my gaze, feeling awkward.
Currently, Kim Hyunsung, Cha Hee-ra, and Park Yeon-joo were sitting down, and respective deputies were standing behind each one.
Behind Kim Hyunsung was Cho Hye-jin, behind Cha Hee-ra was an unknown Red Mercenary officer, and behind Park Yeon-joo was Lee Jihye.
Originally, Blue didn’t carry its attendants, but as this was an important event, we had to send out one of the parties, and the lucky member was Cho Hyejin.
In the first round, she had been close to Kim Hyunsung, so he seemed to think she was suitable for such a position. Of course, I also brought an attendant with me.
“…”
“…”
It was a happy Jung Hayan.
‘Actually, I think she can sit here, too…’
As I was lost in thoughts, the door slowly opened.
After Yuno Kasugano, who was the first to enter the room, it was my first time seeing all the other faces.
‘The Eight Seats of the Empire.’
It was definitely my first meeting with the other three. However, Kim Hyunsung looked as if he already knew who they were, which meant he had met them back in the first timeline.
At this, I began to study his expression as the three other individuals walked in.