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[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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Chapter 236
“Then, the matter concerning the Kingdom of Starn is concluded.”
Kaylen sat back in his seat and swept his gaze across the screen.
‘The Emperor of Starn just referred to Starn as a kingdom himself.’
‘Is he really dismantling the empire…!’
The kings of each nation wore expressions that were half joy, half confusion.
“Johannes. End the transmission with the kings of each country.”
“Understood.”
With the fall and disappearance of the Geysir Empire, which had ruled over the western continent—
The Starn Empire, which had virtually unified all the human kingdoms, stepped down from its position as an empire in less than a year.
Starn would now be recorded as the fastest-dissolved empire in history.
“Then, we must now speak of the future of the kingdom.”
“Y-Your Majesty.”
“What do you mean by that?”
And then—
Kaylen's business was not yet over.
“I intend to be away for quite some time, to deal with the remnants of the Demon Realm.”
“The remnants of the Demon Realm…”
“Your Majesty, did you say…?”
It would take too long to explain everything about the Celestial God and the Moon to the high officials.
So Kaylen simply used the subjugation of the Demon Realm as a pretext.
“Yes. I will personally enter the Demon Realm. Since I do not know when I will return… I intend to appoint a successor before I go.”
“Your Majesty…!”
“Abdicate, you say?!”
When Kaylen expressed his intent to abdicate—
All the officials gathered in the audience chamber voiced their opposition in unison.
‘The brilliant progress of Starn was only possible thanks to His Majesty.’
‘If His Majesty steps down from the throne, the nation will be greatly shaken.’
When Kaylen first split the royal palace in half—
And ascended the throne as king, there were many uncertainties about the future of the country.
But during his short reign, the nation had developed dazzlingly.
It was thanks to the young king who ascended the throne in his twenties that the kingdom had become an empire encompassing the eastern continent, and had completely escaped the threat of demonic invasions and dungeon portals.
Even the officials, who were initially subdued by Kaylen’s overwhelming power and merely observed his mood, came to acknowledge him after seeing the state of the country following his coronation.
But now that the creation of dungeon portals had ended, the chaos in the west had settled, and it was finally time to reap the fruits of all their hardships—
He was suddenly giving everything up and even abdicating…?
“Your Majesty!”
“Please reconsider!”
“Who could possibly dare replace Your Majesty!”
Everyone in the audience chamber pleaded desperately for Kaylen to withdraw his decision—
“I have already made my intentions clear.”
Kaylen’s resolve was firm.
Even the officials who had opposed him again and again—
‘His will…’
‘He truly has no intention of changing it.’
Once it became clear that the king’s decision would not waver, people cautiously began to wonder who Kaylen was considering as the next monarch.
“Your Majesty. In that case…
“Are you thinking of passing the throne to the younger royal brother?”
The first person who naturally came to mind was the king’s younger brother, Royen.
Though he was still young, given Kaylen’s circumstances—unmarried and with no children—Royen, as a member of the royal bloodline of Starn, seemed the most likely candidate.
“No.”
“T-Then…?”
Snap.
When Kaylen snapped his fingers—
A flash of pure white light flared beside the throne, and the shape of a person emerged.
Hair like silver light soaked in radiance.
A dazzlingly beautiful woman stood with a calm expression, lighting up the room.
‘That woman is…’
The moment they saw her hair shining with a pure white glow—
There wasn’t a single person in the room who didn’t recognize her.
‘The Saintess…
‘Is to be the next ruler…?’
A day before.
Kaylen had visited the royal office.
“You’re here, Father.”
Baldrix, who was using a pen instead of a sword while in his Death Knight body, shot up from his seat to greet Kaylen as he entered.
He briefly turned his gaze toward Theresia.
On the surface, nothing seemed different from usual—
But Baldrix sensed something subtly new in the air between the two of them.
‘Looks like I shouldn’t be here.’
Step. Step.
As he walked toward the door, Kaylen asked,
“Where are you going?”
“Just… I wanted to see the sun for a bit.”
“You’re undead—will you be alright?”
“Yes. It’s a form of training in its own way.”
Bowing his head quickly, Baldrix exited the room.
Kaylen watched him leave for a moment before stepping closer to Theresia.
“Theresia.”
“Yes, Hero.”
“I’ve been thinking seriously… about what you said before.”
She wondered if he meant what she had once told him—
That she’d prefer to be a queen consort rather than an empress.
Theresia looked up from her seat, peeking at him.
‘He said he’d give me an answer after returning from the moon… This is way too soon.’
Answering earlier than the promised time…
Somehow, it feels like the odds of rejection are high.
Thinking that way, Theresia continued to look at Kaylen.
‘His expression… it’s more serious than usual.’
This—
This definitely felt like the kind of look someone gives right before turning down a confession, and Theresia’s thoughts spun in an anxious direction.
Trying hard to keep a composed face, she asked Kaylen,
“Weren’t you going to give your answer… after coming back from the moon?”
“I did say that about the confession. But there’s something important I left out, something I should’ve told you.”
“Something important?”
“My true identity.”
Theresia blinked.
His identity?
Of course, he was the Hero Ernstine from a thousand years ago, wasn’t he?
But just as she was thinking that—
Kaylen dropped a bombshell.
“I’m the Six Sword.”
“…What?”
“I have Ernstine’s memories. But my true nature is the Six Sword.”
“Wh-what do you mean by that…?”
“The real Ernstine fell and became the Dragon God. He’s gone. I’m the sword he discarded. Because I hold his memories, I myself believed until recently that I was completely Ernstine.”
“The Six Sword… th-that makes no sense. How can a person be a sword…? And right now, your body is clearly human!”
Theresia pointed to Kaylen’s body as she spoke.
Kaylen gave a bitter smile and slowly ran his palm over his body.
Then, his human flesh—
Transformed like steel, radiating a chilling blue aura.
“This is a human body created for me by the Water God. The original body of Kaylen was dragged to the moon.”
“Ah…”
Seeing Kaylen’s body, Theresia stared blankly, her mouth slightly open.
Just a moment ago—
When he said he was the Six Sword, she thought he was joking…
‘That body… it really is a sword…’
The instant she saw Kaylen’s real form—
She was sure of it.
What he said was true.
His essence was undoubtedly that of a sword.
“I never meant to deceive you. Even now, because of the memories, I sometimes confuse myself with Ernstine.”
“When I accepted your confession, I thought the same thing. That you were Ernstine. But… afterward, something weighed on my heart. Like I had left out something important.”
“That missing part… was your true identity?”
“Yes. I’m sorry.”
Theresia deeply bowed her head.
A few days ago.
When she brought it up, she had half-jokingly said she’d rather be an empress-consort than the empress herself…
But it had taken a lot of courage to say it.
‘I thought I’d get either a yes or a no…
Never imagined I’d hear that the one I confessed to was actually a sword.
“So then… does that mean my first kiss was with a sword…?”
“Hmm… I was still somewhat human back then. Though that body was dragged to the moon. It’s probably dead by now.”
Kaylen didn’t go so far as to explain how he had become one of the Moon’s clan and fused with Arashiel.
“Wow. And even dead, huh…”
Theresia stood up, looking completely dumbfounded.
“You’re… not joking, right?”
“No.”
“But… your body was dragged to the moon, too. So how… was this one created?”
“Mana was drawn from the Six Sword sigil carved into the earth. The Water God completed the body.”
“Then… the Six Sword in the royal garden— is that your real body, Kaylen?”
“That’s right.”
Even with a confused look, Theresia pressed him for details, one by one.
“Then even if you go to the moon, your body stays here, right? Since the Six Sword sigil is here anyway.”
At those words—
Kaylen’s eyes briefly flickered.
‘That was a good question, Theresia.’
Without consciously focusing on the sword of truth or the sword of shadow where his essence resided,
He calmly answered.
“No. When I go to subjugate the Heavenly Demon of the moon, I’ll need my full power. My consciousness will be transferred into this body.”
“I… see.”
After hearing his answer,
Theresia’s shoulders slumped as if all strength had drained from her.
‘…I never even imagined something like this.’
After confessing to Kaylen,
She’d imagined countless scenarios—happy ones if he accepted, sad ones if he didn’t.
But never once had she thought she’d get this kind of answer.
But still…
Watching Kaylen’s body revert from steel back to human form,
Theresia felt something strange.
Now that she knew he wasn’t truly Ernstine, but the Six Sword instead—
All the admiration and affection she’d built up should’ve come crashing down.
‘So why does it feel the same…?’
Even after seeing him like that,
Her heart was still pounding just as hard.
“…I ended up making you feel bad.”
“Wait, wait. Don’t apologize just yet.”
“…Huh?”
“You originally said… you’d give me your answer after coming back from the moon, didn’t you?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Kaylen-nim—no, Six Sword-nim—what kind of answer were you going to give me, then?”
“…Does that really matter?”
Kaylen looked at Theresia with puzzled eyes.
He had already revealed his identity.
So what was she trying to say now?
“You know… even after hearing all this, I still don’t know how I feel.”
“…Why? I told you I’m a sword.”
“Exactly. That’s why.” Heh.
Theresia let out a short laugh, as if even she couldn’t believe herself, and smiled.
“When you come back from the moon, I’ll have sorted out my feelings, and I’ll tell you again.”
“……”
“You too, Six Sword-nim. When I confess again, please give me a clear answer.”
Six Sword-nim, she said.
Even knowing he was a sword, she still said something like that.
Kaylen let a faint smile cross his lips.
“…Alright. When I return, I’ll give you my answer.”
“Really!?”
“Yeah. But until then, I need you to take care of something for me.”
“Something?”
“I mean the duties of the King of Starn.”
“Hmph. I originally wanted to do that from the empress-consort’s seat… it’s a little off from the plan, but fine.”
Theresia sat down again, a relaxed smile on her lips.
“You’ll be back soon anyway. I can play king for a little while.”
[Are the preparations complete?]
In the Garden of the Six Sword—
After transferring the throne to Theresia and settling his affairs, Kaylen was making his final preparations to head to the moon.
“Yes… with this, I’ve gathered the maximum amount of mana.”
[Hehehe. Indeed. The Water God also granted such divine power to the Six Sword… with this much strength, the conquest of the moon should go smoothly.]
[Just hurry up and open the gate.]
[Alright, alright.]
Even as the Water God scolded, the Earth God’s voice was full of amusement.
This whole situation was probably incredibly entertaining to him.
‘He must be thinking… that he’s deceived us all and will seize Terra for himself.’
Fwoooosh—
As a massive black portal opened in the center of the Garden of the Six Sword, Kaylen smiled faintly.
‘But in the end… the one who’ll be outwitted is you, Earth God.’
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[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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