Chapter 114

His skill, which Kinna’s subordinates lacked, clearly revealed Paris’s trail.

In red light.

The trail led deep into the mountains.

He was probably hiding in the mountains, biding his time until his forces could regroup.

And then.

—Tadak!

How could things go so contrary to expectations?

Shin Jae-heon spotted the crown prince’s adjutant racing down a sparsely populated mountain path like he was fleeing.

—Pak!

The man, too busy looking behind him, crashed right into Shin Jae-heon without noticing him ahead.

“Ugh!”

Whether he’d snuck out or was just startled, he cried out and looked up at the one he’d collided with.

His face twisted as if he’d seen a ghost.

“Huh?”

The adjutant’s eyes nearly bulged out.

No one from the Eastern Empire, especially the crown prince’s adjutant, could fail to recognize Western Empire Emperor Ivan’s face.

Shin Jae-heon ignored the penalty crisis window.

Instead of speaking to the adjutant, he drew Malletia’s sword from his inventory and slashed quickly.

—Sring!

It was a speed akin to iaijutsu.

The adjutant didn’t even get a chance to speak before perishing.

Shin Jae-heon kicked the documents the adjutant carried with his boot to inspect them, then let out a cold laugh.

The higher he climbed the mountain, the thicker the red aura grew.

How much killing intent was he leaking everywhere.

It was probably directed at Kinna’s group chasing him down.

Shin Jae-heon followed the trail up the mountain without hiding his presence.

And then.

“You’re here? How’d it go? What about Kinna? Did you take the palace? The message I sent said—”

Paris’s frantic voice cut off abruptly.

—Thud.

The mountain beast meat in his hand dropped to the ground.

“H-How… how are you here?”

“Your adjutant had the same look on his face.”

Shin Jae-heon strode toward him.

Paris panicked.

“What is the meaning of this?!”

Did it look like he was about to do something?

Shin Jae-heon smirked coldly as Paris recoiled before he even got close.

—Pak!

He grabbed Paris by the collar and hoisted him up.

“Cut the formal talk. It’s annoying.”

You don’t deserve that kind of treatment anyway.

With that, Shin Jae-heon walked off, holding him in one hand.

“W-What?”

Paris looked utterly confused. He shouted.

“I’ll file a formal protest! To the Western Empire!”

“Who’ll hear that protest?”

Shin Jae-heon shot back without even glancing at him.

“Well—”

The emperor…? Paris’s expression turned blank.

How could the emperor of a neighboring empire suddenly show up in Valtan, in the middle of a civil war?

This made no sense.

“Let go!”

But being dragged along was reality.

He flailed wildly, but Shin Jae-heon’s arm didn’t budge.

He could see the rank floating over the guy’s head. A mere B-rank flailing around wouldn’t—

As that thought crossed his mind, he narrowed his eyes.

Yuri was B-rank now too.

But not all B-ranks were equal.

“Did you send Ephe?”

At those words, the crown prince’s struggling stopped.

“I did. Contact got cut off, though.”

He grumbled, then paused.

“Did it succeed? Is that it? Huh?”

As he grinned, a strange thought hit him.

I’d ordered the assassination of Count Edelweiss.

Would Ivan invade the heart of a neighboring country just because Count Edelweiss died?

What even was their relationship?

By then, Shin Jae-heon was eyeing the penalty crisis window.

But he brushed it off lightly and said,

“No, it failed. If it had succeeded, you wouldn’t have time to chat with me here.”

His head would’ve rolled the moment he saw you.

Killing intent filled the air. Paris’s body began to tremble.

Shin Jae-heon dragged him along toward somewhere, stride unwavering.

The area grew more deserted.

And monster traces increased.

“H-H-Here, there are monsters…!”

“I know.”

Shin Jae-heon replied curtly.

“If we stay here, you’ll die too! This place is full of the vicious beasts the imperial family rears!”

“Good news.”

An S-rank like Shin Jae-heon wouldn’t die to them anyway.

The dangerous one was this B-rank.

“You don’t mean you’re going to leave me here…!”

Paris trembled violently as he asked. Then—

—Kraaaah!

A monster’s roar echoed as a black shadow dove from the sky toward them.

“Uwaaak!”

Paris instinctively huddled, but Shin Jae-heon thrust his sword upward.

—Kiaaaak!

Paris shuddered at the death cry right above.

“W-W-What?”

Wasn’t it coming to eat me?

He flinched at the monster’s corpse hitting the ground.

But Shin Jae-heon pressed on, still holding him one-handed.

“Where are you taking me!”

Instead of answering, Shin Jae-heon quickened his pace. Finally, Paris yelled,

“Adjuuuutaaant!”

The adjutant he called was already sprawled dead down the mountain.

“No one’s coming, even if you call.”

Shin Jae-heon said. Paris froze.

“What?”

“I handled that brown-haired adjutant on the way.”

“W-W-Why… what are you planning?”

Paris clutched his spinning head.

They said if you keep your wits, you can survive even a monster den!

As he steeled himself—

“You seem to know why, so watch what I’m planning from here on—”

—Grrrrr!

This time, a monster charged from the front.

—Kwachik! Kwadruk!

As it smashed through trees, Shin Jae-heon held Paris up like a shield.

“Waaah!”

Forgetting all dignity, he screamed at the top of his lungs.

—Sring!

Shin Jae-heon’s sword cleaved the monster again.

Seeing the crown prince’s dazed face, Shin Jae-heon concluded.

“You’ve never been in a Gate, have you?”

“O-Of course not! Valtan isn’t barbaric like you lot! We have plenty of mages and soldiers to handle Gates—”

“So you couldn’t hold them and lured monsters to the Western Empire border.”

Paris clamped his mouth shut at Shin Jae-heon’s words.

Shin Jae-heon chuckled silently at him.

For someone who’d never entered a dungeon, his plan would be a resounding success.

“Lots of people chasing you, huh.”

He said as he strode on.

“That was just temporary circumstances in Valtan…!”

“I know all about it. Kinna Valtan is after you.”

Paris held his breath momentarily, then realization dawned late.

“So that’s where those broke bastards got their funding from!”

The Western Empire, of all places!

Shin Jae-heon nodded, letting Paris’s frantic shouts go in one ear and out the other.

“Thought it was someone else?”

“No time.”

This was a system window he couldn’t ignore.

Troops might climb the mountain soon.

Stat debuffs and pain amplification, but he could handle it.

The crown prince’s struggles now felt like mere tingles, so the pain max must be hitting him hard.

He’d come prepared for penalties anyway.

“Here.”

Shin Jae-heon had finally reached his destination.

Paris glanced around as they stopped and recoiled in horror.

“W-W-What is this?!”

He’d halted right in front of a glaring red Gate.

So close that one wrong twist would suck Paris right in.

“Normally, monster nests boil in mountain centers like this. But fewer monsters toward the core means there’s a bigger threat: a Gate.”

Shin Jae-heon smirked coldly.

He’d figured it might be a B-rank at best.

But this Gate was unmistakably deep crimson, an upper A-rank dungeon.

And with Gates escalating a rank higher now, that made it upper S-rank.

“W-W-What do you plan to do?!”

Paris yelled, twisting desperately away from the Gate.

Shin Jae-heon muttered watching him.

“Listen well, Paris Valtan. She hates being left alone.”

His expressionless face leaned toward Paris.

“She’s been like that since ten years ago. Afraid of being left by herself.”

He didn’t specify who, so no RP penalty popped up.

Paris’s eyes darted in confusion.

—Sring!

Then Shin Jae-heon drew the sword dangling from Paris’s waist and shoved it into his hand.

Handing a weapon at such close range would’ve been foolish for anyone else, but the opponent was the Western Empire’s emperor.

Renowned as the era’s top swordsman.

“Grip the sword. You’re going in alone.”

Shin Jae-heon smiled.

“N-No way! What are you saying? I can’t get out alone. I can’t!”

Paris’s face drained pale.

—Pak!

Shin Jae-heon stabbed Malletia’s sword into the ground and rested his hand on the hilt.

“You’re the one who tried to leave someone who hates being alone all by herself.”

So you pay the same price.