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HELIO SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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Chapter 37: Lion Hunt (1)
The day after my conversation with Rikain, I made my decision.
Even now, I still hate the idea of anyone dying because of me.
But I’ve come to understand—there are many people who are counting on me.
As a lord who is loved, I couldn’t ignore their hopes.
So I decided—I’ll become the ally they believe in, the one they can count on. I’ll survive—not despite their expectations, but because of them.
That is the path I’ve chosen.
And as the first step on that path...
I resolved to strike Hadem—the mad lion of the neighboring territory.
I gathered everyone together and made the official announcement—
“We will bring down Hadem of the Raion territory.”
Everyone in the room—except Rikain—was shocked.
They weren’t used to hearing me give an ‘offensive’ command.
Until now, I’d only ever given defensive orders.
“The people of Raion, citizens of our empire, are suffering and dying.”
To the very end, I’d hoped things wouldn’t come to this.
I tried—again and again—to settle things peacefully.
But it was Hadem himself who kicked that possibility aside.
He was the one who turned even his own people’s lives into hell.
“If we stand by and watch, we disgrace the name of our ancestors—those who dedicated their lives to building this empire.”
From a lord’s perspective, the people of Raion aren’t technically mine.
But as fellow human beings, as citizens of the same empire—we are one.
And that is reason enough for me to act.
“As the head of House Cron—as a noble charged with protecting the happiness of our people—I will bring judgment upon the butcher Hadem, the man who slaughtered free citizens.”
That was all I said.
And when I finished, Azelle’s eyes lit up with excitement.
“Finally! A righteous mission!”
“Yes, Azelle. It’s time to carry out a just cause.”
She’d been asking me every day to give her a mission like this.
To her, these must’ve been the words she’d longed to hear.
Nova, on the other hand, approached me calmly.
“So you’ve finally made up your mind, my Lord.”
It seemed Nova had sensed my inner conflict long ago.
She never pushed. She simply waited—silently, patiently—until I was ready.
This is just my guess, but… I’m fairly sure it was Nova who sent Rikain to speak to me.
“Sorry it took so long, Nova.”
“There’s no need to apologize. It was a difficult decision.”
Of everyone here, Nova—and maybe Hart—seemed to be the only ones who truly understood just how tangled and political this situation was.
And now, as if to affirm my choice, Nova looked at me gently and said:
“What I can say with certainty is this—no matter what path you choose, my Lord, I will follow your lead.”
Hearing that, Sharon and Lana—who had been standing beside me—nodded in agreement.
And with that… the hunt began.
The operation to bring down the Lion—『The Lion Hunt』—was set into motion.
＊ ＊ ＊
To bring judgment upon Hadem, there were a few major problems we had to solve.
First was the issue of justification.
Yes, Hadem had done wrong—but not to the extent that would publicly justify cracking open a neighboring lord’s skull.
No matter who looked at the situation, it had to be clear that ‘he’ was in the wrong, and ‘I’ was in the right.
Second was the matter of strategy.
Hadem wasn’t an idiot.
If Sharen went all out with large-scale magic, or if Zarha—the one who’d fought him to a draw—showed up, he’d know he didn’t stand a chance and would absolutely avoid a fight at all costs.
But if we went in without either of them, even with our secret weapon Azelle on the field, the damage could be severe.
We needed a plan that would draw Hadem into battle and allow us to neutralize him with minimal casualties.
The final hurdle was diplomacy.
If we punished Hadem purely in the name of justice, we’d instantly make enemies of the Empire’s most powerful political faction—the Prince’s faction.
Worst-case scenario, we could find ourselves targeted as Enemy #1 of the Prince’s camp, with ‘no’ support from other factions like the Princess’ to back us up.
So we needed a way to take down Hadem without going head-to-head with the Crown Prince politically.
Resolving those three issues while holding Hadem accountable was my top priority—and to make it happen, our domain’s top brains—Hart, Nova, and Rikain—broke their backs to find a solution.
And what was ‘I’ doing, you ask?
Well… Lana, Azelle, and I were in the back, cheering them on with everything we had—keeping things smooth so the others could stay laser-focused on problem-solving.
It wasn’t easy. But thanks to everyone’s efforts, we finally found a way forward.
Once we had a solid plan, I sent out messengers in all directions and began preparations for the decisive day.
＊ ＊ ＊
Two weeks later, everything was ready. The day of reckoning had arrived.
That day, for Hadem, happened to be one of the rare ‘good’ days.
The number of escapees had dropped to just 10% of what it had been.
Crop yields had returned to their former levels.
Feeling validated that his ‘educational methods’ were finally working, he was enjoying the clear sky with a drink in hand—when the door suddenly burst open with urgent news.
“M-My Lord! We have a problem!”
“What is it!?”
Hadem, finally enjoying a bit of peace under a rare blue sky, immediately felt the stress rising just from the tone.
“A thousand free citizens and slaves have escaped all at once!!”
“What!? A thousand!?”
He was dumbfounded.
A thousand people? How the hell do that many people escape all at once?
Hadem couldn’t wrap his head around it.
“What, are the soldiers all blind!? How do you let a thousand people escape in a single sweep!?”
“That’s the thing… Young Master Bara personally led the escape. Some of the soldiers even joined him.”
“What!? Bara!?”
The moment he heard that his own son, Bara, had led the slaves and free citizens in an escape, Hadem could feel his blood pressure spike.
That weak-willed boy who he’d always hoped would someday show initiative…
And the first thing he takes initiative on… is ‘running away’?
This wasn’t just high blood pressure—it was ‘boiling fury.’
“Those goddamn little shits… Call the knights! We’re going after them immediately!!”
“Y-Yes, sir!!”
No matter that he was his son—this wasn’t something to overlook lightly.
Hadem immediately summoned his knights and began the pursuit of the fleeing group.
Meanwhile, the runaway group led by Bara was desperately racing toward the Cron territory.
“Run! Just a little further, and we’ll be in Cron’s lands! Don’t stop—keep running!!”
The roughly one thousand escapees Bara secretly gathered were mostly strong young men in their twenties and thirties.
Thanks to that, they could flee toward Cron’s territory at an astonishing pace, but no matter what, they couldn’t outrun the knights on horseback chasing them.
“Hadem is coming!!! Hadem’s on our tail!!!”
“Already!?”
Bara glanced back and saw an enormous cloud of dust rising on the horizon.
That dust was kicked up by over a thousand Raion knights on horseback and the furious Hadem himself.
“Chase them!! Don’t let those vermin reach Cron!!”
Mounted and wielding an axe, Hadem led the charge himself, full throttle at the front.
Seeing the rapidly approaching pursuers, Bara shouted to his group—
“Run! Give it everything you’ve got! Cron’s just ahead!! Everyone, run!!”
The escapees were already at their physical limits after running all morning.
What flashed through their minds was the image of Boro, the farmland overseer, who had died by Hadem’s hand.
Whether they died from sheer exhaustion or got caught and killed, it made no difference to them—they’d rather push themselves to the limit and go out on their own terms.
[ “Aaaaahhhhh!!!” ]
Just when the escapees thought they might be caught, they pushed their bodies to the limit and sprinted with all their might.
Hadem was taken aback.
If things continued like this, they would very narrowly reach Cron’s territory.
Hadem finally gave the order—
“Shoot! Fire your arrows!!”
If they couldn’t catch them, he wasn’t going to let them reach Cron either.
Hundreds of arrows were released, aiming straight at the escapees.
But just as the arrows were about to rain down on them, a sword of salvation came flying through.
“Where do you think you’re aiming?!”
Swish—
A blue, moonlit sword cut through the volley of arrows, exploding midair and scattering them all.
Hadem’s last-ditch attack was wasted, and the escapees safely reached Cron territory.
Waiting there were Calyx and the Cron Knights on horseback.
Bara called out to Calyx—
“I am Bara Raion of the Raion family! We, 1,021 strong, request asylum in the Cron territory!”
“I accept! Welcome to Cron territory, Bara Raion and brave escapees!!”
[ “Wooooahhh!!!” ]
Their cheers were loud enough for Hadem, standing a little ways off, to hear.
Watching their joyful reunion, Hadem felt the greatest fury of his life rise up inside him.
Gripping his axe, he crossed the boundary into Cron territory without hesitation, marching straight toward Calyx.
“Calyx… Bara… you rotten bastards…”
Hadem wanted nothing more than to swing his axe and bring those two punks down right there.
He made no effort to hide his murderous intent as he approached Calyx.
He didn’t care about laws—he just shouted in pure rage—
“Don’t meddle in other people’s family affairs! Calyx!!”
“This is no family matter, Lord Hadem.”
Hadem couldn’t get any closer—Azelle and Rikain stood between Calyx and himself.
Clenching his axe so tightly it bent, Hadem swallowed his fury and said—
“I’ll be blunt. Hand over Bara and the escapees. If you do, this matter will end here.”
“And if we don’t?”
Calyx’s tone was unusually bold, almost mocking.
Hadem’s anger surged even more.
Calyx had always been respectful before, but now he was getting cocky.
“You’re arrogant because you’ve succeeded a few times, huh? You won’t even survive a single blow from my axe!!”
“Everyone dies when hit by an axe. That’s not what matters to a lord.”
Calyx spoke sharply, like a mirror reflecting Hadem’s own disregard for laws.
Hadem found Calyx’s attitude annoyingly reflective of himself.
But Calyx wasn’t done—he had one more blow to land.
“I’ll be straightforward too. Stop tormenting your people and manage your territory properly—starting now.”
“What did you say?”
Hadem thought he must have misheard.
But Calyx didn’t stop.
“Didn’t catch that? Let me say it again—stop bullying the weak and get your politics straight, you damn ‘bald lion’.”
“You!! You little—!!”
At that moment, Hadem’s fury surpassed all limits.
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HELIO SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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