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HELIO SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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Chapter 24: Preparing to Become King
Nova was dressed lightly in pajamas.
Like me, she seemed to be taking a walk to clear her mind.
“Nova? I was just out here because my thoughts are all tangled up.”
“Me too... want to take a walk together?”
“Yeah.”
So, I walked through the camp with Nova for a while.
I really felt conflicted inside.
Usually, I’d be distracted by Nova’s beautiful face and... well, her chest, but right now none of that registered.
At that moment, Nova seemed a little cold, so I took off my coat and draped it over her shoulders.
“T-Thank you, my lord. The nights here in Dreihart are chilly.”
“The desert nights are cold. Now that I think about it, is this your first time in Dreihart?”
I remembered from World Archive that Dreihart, being near the desert, often got chilly at night.
Suddenly, I wondered if Nova had ever been here before.
I’d heard she’d been almost everywhere...
“No… actually, I came once when I was very young.”
“When you were young?”
“Yes… I came just once, following my mother.”
She said this with a bitter expression.
This was the first time I’d heard this story from Nova.
“You know, my lord… my mother was a slave in Dreihart.”
“Your mother!?”
This was something I’d never seen in any official record.
I’d only heard that Nova’s mother died early, but a slave?
“My father was ill and couldn’t have children for a long time.”
I’d heard Nova’s father had her late in life, but I didn’t know it was because of illness.
Was that guy Malek sterile?
“So, to secure an heir, he purchased a female slave and used magic treatments so she could bear his child. That child was me.”
I was at a loss for words.
If Malek was sterile, shouldn’t he have sought treatment on himself instead of doing something crazy like this?
Now I understood why there wasn’t much about Nova’s background in the records.
If the truth ever got out, the forums would be a nightmare.
“Because of the side effects of that magical procedure, my mother passed away shortly after giving birth to me. And when I saw my father completely ignore the anniversary of her death, I thought…”
Nova looked at me.
With eyes sadder than I’d ever seen before, she spoke.
“To him, I’m just a tool… a tool to carry on the family line…”
I’d heard she wasn’t close to her father.
From what I saw, their relationship felt strictly business.
If my own dad treated my mom like that, honestly, fists would have flown long ago.
“So, when I met a lord who sees people as people… I was very happy.”
Nova’s smile, glowing under the desert moonlight, was truly unfair.
Her beauty was legendary—enough to make kingdoms crumble.
“My lord, I want to help people like me.”
Hearing her, I felt a kinship.
In my past life, I was a slave to capitalism.
I worked until the moment I died in a soul-crushing company, and the only happiness I ever felt was in the brief moments I played games.
Those people have endured even worse abuses, suffering to this day.
As a beloved lord, and as a human being, if I could help them, I wanted to.
But no method came to mind.
“Me too. If only I could, I want to help them. But I can’t see how…”
For the first time, I confided my true feelings to Nova.
She smiled.
“There is a way.”
“Really?”
“Yes. There’s one way to save everyone.”
Nova seemed to see something I couldn’t.
She locked eyes with me—those jewel-like purple eyes drawing closer, almost piercing my soul.
“But, my lord, to use this method, you must be truly prepared.”
“Prepared? For what?”
What could be so serious that it demanded my resolve? I thought I was ready already.
But her words cut deep, making me question everything.
“Are you ready to become king, my lord?”
That night, Nova and I talked a lot.
And I steeled my resolve.
＊ ＊ ＊
After the rebels of Dreihart won, Zarha and the slave soldiers returned to the fortress, savoring their victory.
They all knew the first suppression force had been just a warm-up.
This time, the properly prepared suppression force was a real legion—and they had crushed it.
As Zarha shared the joy with everyone, someone approached him.
“King of Dreihart, congratulations on your victory.”
The leader of the assassins who ambushed Zeras—wearing a black mask—stepped forward to congratulate Zarha.
Zarha immediately corrected him.
“I am not a king! I just temporarily took command because there was no leader.”
“In the world, that’s what they call a king.”
Zarha disliked the word ‘king,’ but he let it slide for now.
After all, they were valuable allies.
“Alright then, black masks. Thanks to you, we were freed and able to win. Truly, thank you.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
If it weren’t for these sudden arrivals, Zarha’s rebellion would have failed.
Actually, preparations for the rebellion had been underway for some time.
But they had no way to deal with the purple chains—that magical bind—until these assassins killed the mages, solving that problem.
That’s why the slaves’ rebellion succeeded.
Zarha was grateful but also uneasy.
He couldn’t read their true intentions.
“So… I’m really curious. Do you truly want nothing from us?”
“We want nothing. We only hope you gain freedom.”
“I see… understood. Anyway, thank you.”
They never demanded money or any rewards.
They just continued to provide support and information so the rebellion could carry on.
Zarha’s comrade, Uron, watched the black-masked figures leave and spoke.
“Zarha, what do you really think they want?”
“I don’t know. But one thing is clear…”
Zarha recalled the many nobles who had oppressed him.
With those horrible memories in mind.
“The most dangerous are those whose hearts are unreadable.”
Zarha realized he needed to prepare to survive without relying on them.
Days passed busily.
There was much to prepare to survive.
They needed food to feed Dreihart’s countless slaves and to prepare for the next war.
To that end, the slaves divided roles and worked frantically.
“Commander Zarha! We’ve raided their supplies! It’s barley from the south—we won’t have to worry about food for at least a week!”
“Well done, Maron!”
Of all the slaves, Zarha moved the fastest, managing Dreihart’s affairs.
From battles to administration, he was, in fact, Dreihart’s de facto lord.
“Commander Zarha… um…”
“Hm? What is it?”
Then, shocking news reached Zarha.
His son, Rakan Regon, had been caught during a raid, and the opposing lord proposed exchanging prisoners—including those captured in the recent battles.
“Who is this lord proposing the exchange?”
“Lord Calyx Cron of the Cron family.”
Not just Zarha but many slaves knew the name.
They had heard the bard’s songs of a lord building a paradise far south.
But no matter how famous, to them, he was still a tyrant.
“Commander Zarha, let’s exchange. Those bastards don’t even have food to feed themselves.”
“Exactly! Let’s get Rakan back fast.”
“And they said they’ll give us food in return for the prisoners we hold. Let’s take whatever food we can get!”
“Hm… fine! Let’s do the prisoner exchange!”
The thought of bringing his precious son back and getting rid of troublesome enemy prisoners made Zarha agree.
The negotiations moved quickly.
On the plains of Dreihart—where many had died—they met to exchange living prisoners—The Cron forces and Dreihart rebels.
“So, you are the warrior ‘Zarha’?”
“Yes. And you must be the legendary Silver Dragon Lord?”
In the meeting tent at the center, they met face to face.
Zarha was a bit disappointed at the slender silver-haired lord.
He had expected a mighty warrior capable of killing three assassins with a cleaver, but this man seemed light and fragile.
This lord seemed to kill with skill, not brute force—and Zarha didn’t like that kind.
“Yes. I am Calyx Cron, the Silver Dragon of Cron.”
But he could respect the man’s spirit—he spoke confidently without intimidation.
Zarha had a feeling this meeting would not be easy.
＊ ＊ ＊
They said nothing, but both knew.
This meeting was not just about exchanging prisoners—it would also decide the future course of the war.
Calyx got straight to the point.
“Warrior Zarha, do you have any intention to surrender, even now?”
“Surrender?”
“Yes. I understand your suffering. I understand why you rebelled.”
Zarha couldn’t make sense of Calyx’s immediate talk of surrender.
But what came next was even harder to believe.
“If you surrender now, I will personally take responsibility and end this by acknowledging the deaths of your fallen slave soldiers.”
“Hahaha! You truly live up to your reputation as a lord who amuses people with his words.”
Zarha was honestly furious.
Calyx’s words radiated a naive light, too pure for this world.
“Lord, how do you expect us to believe that?”
The truth was clear—Once you become a rebel, you either win and survive—or lose and die.
There was no third way.
“Let’s say you are as kind as rumors say. But do you really think the others will forgive us? Even if we do get forgiven, why should we go back to living as slaves?”
Zarha, standing one and a half times taller than Calyx, shook the meeting tent with his words.
But Calyx didn’t even blink.
Instead, he calmly answered.
“If you don’t, you will be massacred.”
“Ha! We are dead the moment we are born slaves. Then we might as well live like humans, even if only for a short time.”
That was the key.
To live freely and humanely until death—that was all that mattered to them now.
Listening, Calyx spoke again.
“Then, warrior Zarha, I have a proposal.”
Curious, Zarha waited.
What could this lord want to say?
The words stunned him.
“Let my Cron knights fight your forces and settle this.”
“Settle it? What do you mean?”
“If my Cron knights win, you surrender. But if my knights lose, I will give you all the food we have and become your prisoner.”
“You, the lord, will become a prisoner?”
A lord becoming a prisoner was an entirely different matter from a common soldier being captured.
“Yes. A baron with a claim to the throne will be your prisoner. Even the Platinum Council won’t dare ignore me and wage a one-sided massacre.”
Calyx was right.
If he were captured, the Platinum Council would face serious trouble.
If the mages massacred the rebels and killed the lord, other lords would surely take offense.
Zarha couldn’t understand why Calyx would offer such favorable terms.
“Why would you go this far?”
“Didn’t I say I understand your pain?”
Zarha’s head ached.
His principle was that the most dangerous people were those you couldn’t read.
That was why he didn’t trust the Black Masks either.
But this lord before him didn’t seem to have a sinister hidden agenda.
Looking at Zarha, Calyx spoke.
“What are you hesitating about? Are you chickening out now?”
At that moment, Zarha made his decision.
To retreat now would mean he was no warrior.
“If you want to be our prisoner, I’ll come get you myself. And Lord, I’ll make sure you see all of Dreihart firsthand.”
“Thank you. I look forward to it.”
So, without the Platinum Council knowing, the second suppression campaign was decided.
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HELIO SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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