Chapter 261: Official Announcement (3)
Similar to when compared back on Earth, the relationship between Taiwan and China was complex.
Most Chinese residing in the Republic still firmly believed that Taiwan was a sub-state that they owned, which the Taiwanese obviously did not take with pleasure. It appeared that Dawan was still being caught up in this particular dispute.
Of course, it was funny to bring Earth’s international relations here, but it didn’t seem unnatural, for there were also players who still had anti-Japanese sentiment within Lindel.
In fact, guys from Islamic cultures were still fighting every day, and the United Kingdom, where European powers were located, was still not free from the shackles of the past.
The relationship between China and Taiwan was a little more complicated than that, however.
The tutorial dungeon in Dawan was closely related to the Republic, so it was consistent with their interests to secure even more tutorial dungeons. Even the place where Dawan was located was the territory of the Old Republic. Thanks to this, the Republic had taken on a provocative stance.
International relations had always been a chaotic matter, no matter where one went.
As the Empire, the Republic, the Kingdom, and the different races had been fighting since before we came, they may seem normal from the outside, but its inner relations decayed from this fact. Therefore, rumors of war, possibly breaking out, did not seem surprising to me at all.
‘A player is still a player in the end…’
Now, I could tell that the leaders were on the verge of war. However, I felt as if it would take some time before that were to actually happen. I knew these guys weren’t stupid. If they were really thinking about starting a war, they wouldn’t have announced the Five Tiger Generals or the Empire’s Eight Seats. This meant they wouldn’t clash right into battle.
At this time, this kind of announcement was just an armed demonstration. However, I couldn’t deny that I had begun to feel nervous.
Kim Hyunsung and I had just settled down and spread our wings, so a war would put us in a disadvantageous state.
Hyunsung himself was listening with a serious expression to the stories about the Republic continually provoking Dawan.
“The exact place where the incident took place is Laius.”
“There…”
“It’s a neutral zone, a place where some Southeast Asian guys, including Laos, are summoned. Have you ever heard of… no, I believe you’ve already heard of it. It’s just below the border…”
“Yes. I don’t know in detail, but I’ve heard of it.”
“Our Dawan’s tutorial dungeon is just right next to the Republic, and Laius is right in the lower south, so anyone can go in and out of it a lot. Of course, the same goes for the Republicans.”
Fighting within a neutral country is prohibited by continental law.
“Of course, the battle didn’t happen inside. It was only small-scaled, and all the guys were fighting each other in front of a rare dungeon, but the fight eventually got more intense. The beaten guys called over their senior guild members, so their opponents called theirs over, too. There wasn’t a massive battle, but if someone had pulled the bowstring… Boom!”
“You guys do that every time.”
“Should I say that it was a woman’s hunch? Should I say it’s an archer’s hunch? Perhaps Cha Hee-ra would have felt something similar if she had been with me. I knew something was going to burst, and I almost regretted not being able to do something about it to the best of my ability.”
“There was no mediation?”
“A full-fledged fight didn’t happen because there was. I also sent an official report to the Empire’s side. Come to think of it, they said that they were officially protesting, but I don’t know if they’ve actually done anything…”
Unlike us, who busied ourselves fighting with monsters, Dawan seemed to be suffering from more than just the usual oppression.
They might not take it as a big deal, but ignoring these trivial signs was illogical.
‘Should I visit them?’
It didn’t seem all that bad to visit Dawan and Laius. I felt like I was prepared to face whatever the atmosphere would be in there.
‘Tol To-ri might go crazy again, though…’
It wouldn’t be bad to get there as fast as possible with White Paul before such a tantrum occurred.
As I mulled this over, the others concluded their conversation without much results.
“I will take you to the audience chamber.”
It was finally time to meet the Emperor of the Empire.
When the deputy of Cheon Gwan-wi opened the door, I could see a guard waiting for us outside, bowing his head to us.
Upon seeing this, Cha Hee-ra got up.
“What’s the schedule?”
“There is no specific schedule after dinner with Your Majesty. There is tomorrow morning, however…”
“Ohhh. So, we just have to keep the pose in front of the imperialists.”
“Ahem…”
“Please guide me. We waited for quite a long time, but I hope the mealtime is short.”
‘Hah, there’s no way that’ll happen.’
I didn’t know how long these types of dinners usually lasted, but I could bet they wouldn’t be shorter than four hours.
It took about two hours to eat with an ordinary nobleman, so, naturally, dinner with the Emperor would be double the time. Just thinking about it was enough to make me feel exhausted.
“Oh. Excuse me, but… I will take the entourage people separately.”
“What?!”
It was Jung Hayan who strongly protested. She had come here thinking that we would be together the whole time, so this tidbit surprised her.
“It will be finished soon, Hayan. Stay here and eat with Jihye and Hyejin.”
“Okay, Oppa…”
“Let’s go, Hayan-ssi.”
“Ah… Alright.”
Since this seemed to be an important setting, Hayan thankfully relented.
I was curious about what kind of conversation they would have there, but my place was not there. The guards who were already waiting began to take the entourage group separately, and Jung Hayan disappeared from view only after looking back at me several times.
Cha Hee-ra was already walking with a tired expression, and Yuno Kasugano had stepped up to take the seat next to me, where Jung Hayan had previously been.
In front, Kim Hyunsung was walking while talking with Park Yeon-joo and Wi Ran, while Cheon Gwan-wi walked with Ibuki Suzumiya behind them.
The scenery that greeted us as we walked was very much pleasing to the eye. I had already expected this from someone whose position was the highest among all the noblemen.
Ornaments that seemed to have poured gold were arranged neatly, and the road to the parlor was also gorgeous. This was a place fit for the Emperor of the Empire.
As we reached our destination, the colossal, intricately-designed doors opened to reveal Victor Hart, who I hadn’t seen in quite a long time.
‘Is he the escort?’
Cha Hee-ra began to exchange words with him, but I didn’t think to listen in. Knowing him, he was probably advising her to stay polite.
After the rough body search was over, the vassals and the guards began to guide us, and once we again stepped on the red carpet with Victor Hart at the lead.
‘Did we just pass by three large doors?’
When the last door finally opened, it revealed the Emperor, sitting on his seat and waiting for us.
‘What is that?’
I hadn’t been expecting anything great.
Cha Hee-ra had already told me that he was an old man, and she couldn’t really feel that the Emperor of the Holy Empire was a competent human throughout her stay in the Empire.
But this was even lesser than I imagined.
Although he was wearing a large crown, he trembled as if he had no more strength to handle the crown’s weight, and he did not seem to be smart.
Rather, he had suspicious and venomous eyes evoking useless boundaries, with a wrinkled face and a dwarfish body to boot. It was hard to think of him as the Emperor of this great Empire.
‘What kind of Emperor is that?’
I’d rather believe that the woman sitting next to him was the Emperor, whose identity I believed I could guess. When I triggered my Mind’s Eye, I found out I was right.
‘Princess of the Holy Empire.’
She definitely had an aura, with her disposition as a Calculating Innovator.
Her characteristic wasn’t bad, and her stats were good.
Her eyes seemed to see through me, and there was the elegance of a leader that was difficult for one to describe.
When I turned to look at the Emperor once more, all I see was an old man on the verge of death.
“Everyone… sit down… in your seat…”
A voice that seemed to be unable even to kill a mosquito rang out.
“I see Your Majesty, the Emperor.”
“I see Your Majesty, the Emperor.”
Everyone was polite as they had learned before, and the old man smiled at this.
“It’s an honor to see the heroes… who represent the Empire. I… I think everyone knows why I called you here. First… everyone, please sit down. Oh, before that, I need to introduce… my daughter, Charlotte.”
“I’m the Second Princess Charlotte. It’s nice to meet you.”
“I see the Princess.”
“You don’t have to be so polite. I already know that you are not familiar with imperial etiquette. I didn’t invite you to make you feel uncomfortable, so I hope you raise your head.”
“Yes.”
“Right. Yes, absolutely. You said well… Charlotte.”
“I’m sorry.”
Everyone sat down slowly, and the meal began with a light conversation, but I didn’t think to listen in.
Most of the stories that came out were useless, and all the stories were about heroes.
“Ahem… Ahem…”
Honestly, all I could hear was his constant coughing. I bet I could fight him and emerge as the victor.
‘How can this be an Emperor?’
Without a regime change, the Empire definitely had no future. I could even bet that the Emperor would be the one to incite the war, given his senile appearance.
With this, I spoke up once more.
“As expected from the Emperor, your eyes are full of vibrance. Hahaha.”
Everyone’s gazes shifted to me; their widened eyes surprised at my nerve.