NOVEL NEXT Chapter 72
Chapter 72
A few days had passed since Nahun met the Ancestor.
There had been a slight change in Nahun’s usual routine. Previously, after checking Seere’s lessons and completing his tasks, he would enjoy a day of rest; now, he had to pay attention to one more person in between.
“One down, two up! One!”
“Huff….”
“Two!”
“Ugh…!”
It was a matter of confirming whether Veronica was properly attending her lessons and training. After observing quietly, if she didn’t improve, he would let Seere decide her fate.
“Good, you’re keeping up well.”
“Hah…hah….”
“Next, it’s running in the training grounds. Let’s start right away!”
“Y-yes!?”
However, after observing for the past week, Nahun found that Veronica was putting in a tremendous effort into both her lessons and training. Even now, she was struggling while following Celestia’s instructions.
While he couldn’t objectively say she was doing well, anyone could acknowledge the effort she was putting in. Nahun left the training grounds with a satisfied smile.
Instead of heading straight back to his office, Nahun had someone to meet in the legion. It was the Vampire Lord, Alberon, and his bloodline members, who were scheduled to arrive within the week.
They had been assigned an empty training ground after arriving yesterday. They were given the day off yesterday and were being prepared to officially join Seere’s legion starting today.
Bloodlines could use a special magic known as “blood magic,” which set them apart from other demon races. He thought it would be beneficial to compose them into a single unit and leverage their specialties.
As Nahun was on his way to the second training ground, a man approached him.
“Nahun.”
“Are you ready, Baruna?”
“Yes. Everyone is on standby.”
It was Baruna, the vice commander of the 4th legion. He was temporarily overseeing the vampire clan. Nahun looked at Baruna and asked.
“Baruna, I’m curious about something.”
“What is it?”
“Why are you not ambitious about the position of commander?”
Celestia, who had just become the commander of the 7th legion, was undeniably subordinate to Baruna. Originally, Baruna should have been promoted to the commander position, and he had all the capability to do so.
However, to Nahun, Baruna seemed void of such ambition. His curiosity led him to ask. If Baruna showed any interest in the commander position, he intended to elevate him to that role in the next legion he would create.
But Baruna replied like this.
“I prefer the 4th legion.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. If you’re worried that I might disparage other commanders due to less experience, please don’t.”
“That’s not it, but with your ability, I really think you should consider the position.”
“That’s fine. I appreciate your words, but I really prefer this position.”
“…Alright.”
Nahun decided not to press further. With Baruna being so resolute, what more could he say? He opted for a more constructive question instead.
“How is the bloodline’s response?”
“I was surprised they were surprisingly docile.”
Nahun thought this was as expected. After all, it was a treaty personally signed by their Ancestor, Ersha Scarlet, who was like a ‘god’ to them. No bloodline would go against the Ancestor’s will, nor would they disregard an alliance forged by her.
“I’m glad to hear there’s no resistance. Let’s go.”
“Yes.”
Nahun and Baruna headed straight for the second training ground. Upon seeing the assembled bloodline standing in order, Nahun felt quite satisfied.
‘With a proper leader, it’s definitely well-controlled.’
Because Vampire Lord Alberon had led the bloodline, they maintained order without needing Baruna’s direct management. Nahun descended into the training ground and called out to Alberon.
“Alberon.”
“Yes, great one….”
“Call me Nahun.”
“Yes, Nahun. Why have you called for me?”
“Follow me.”
Nahun took Alberon up to the stage, and Baruna followed behind them. Standing on the platform, Nahun instructed Alberon to step forward and spoke loudly so everyone could hear.
“As you know, you will become one legion under Seere von Debata as allied forces. You will operate under the name ‘8th Legion.'”
The 8th Legion. This was the moment when the 30,000 bloodline members who had come with Vampire Lord Alberon formed a single legion.
“You will serve as a key force under Seere von Debata and will make significant contributions. This is also something your Ancestor, Ersha Scarlet, desires, so I trust you will commit yourselves sincerely to training. In exchange.”
Nahun pointed to Alberon, who had come up on stage with him.
“Vampire Lord Alberon will be the general leading you, and a vice commander will also be appointed from the bloodline.”
“So….”
“Yes, it means I will leave the management of the legion in your hands. This decision was made because both I and Her Majesty Seere trust the alliance formed with Ersha Scarlet.”
Upon hearing Nahun’s words, Alberon flinched in surprise. At first glance, it seemed like he was granting the 8th Legion independent authority and providing a level of freedom. It was indeed true. However, Nahun’s words had another purpose.
By granting them freedom and authority, it implied that if they failed, it would reflect poorly on the Ancestor, Ersha. The reputation of the Ancestor would depend on the performance of the bloodline, so there was a silent pressure for them to perform well.
Sensing this, Alberon swallowed hard. However, most of the bloodline, unaware of the underlying meaning, cheered at the choice that seemed entirely favorable.
“Then, Alberon, commander.”
“…Yes.”
“Have someone you can recommend for the position of vice commander and send them over. We’ll decide from among the recommendations.”
“Understood.”
As Alberon bowed his head, the bloodline members followed suit and bowed their heads in unison. Nahun smiled contentedly and said one last simple thing.
“I look forward to your achievements.”
#
In the back garden of the Demon King Castle, Seere, sipping tea, looked especially beautiful today. Perhaps it was because her 13th birthday was approaching, and she was growing rapidly, or maybe it was because of the hairpin gifted by Nahun that suited her well.
The servants of the 69th floor, unaccustomed to Seere’s beauty, occasionally stole glances at her without realizing it. Of course, the reason she looked so lovely was due to the devoted efforts of Rea and Cecili.
This was all a task to appear favorable to one person. That person was, of course, Nahun, whom Seere cherished and admired above all.
“The 8th Legion, it seems the size of the legion has significantly increased.”
As Seere set her teacup down, Nahun, who was also having tea, nodded.
“Well, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd legions are absent, so it’s not as large as it sounds.”
“I want to give those numbers to those who are worthy of them.”
“Alright, I understand your intention.”
From the 1st to the 3rd Legion. These were legions that were led by Seir’s personal sword. The only remaining ones were Lin El Lazine and the 4th Legion, while the others had long perished alongside Seir.
There was also a desire to create a legion with a reputation comparable to those who showed excellent performance during Seir’s era, as a means of mourning for them.
“What level of bloodlines has joined the 8th Legion?”
“Alberon, whom I appointed as commander, is a Lord.”
“Hmm….”
“I haven’t decided on the vice commander yet as I’m still receiving recommendations, but from what Alberon told me, he only brought bloodlines that were already trained in military tactics. They should definitely have useful talents. It won’t take long to deploy them in real combat.”
“That’s a relief.”
As Seere said this, she handed Nahun a document that looked like a report. When Nahun picked it up, Seere added an explanation.
“This is a report submitted by that man. It was De-in, wasn’t it?”
“Yes. It seems he was active while I was away.”
“Yes, and I kept it for you. As you’ll see when you read it….”
There was a lot written in the report, but to summarize it succinctly despite the length of details: it mentioned that the 55th floor was rapidly descending.
“They’ve already conquered the 60th floor.”
“Teacher, I honestly don’t understand.”
“What do you mean?”
“I understand that they might want to form an alliance with us. But there’s no need to conquer all the layers between their floor and ours, right?”
“That’s… of course not.”
Seere’s words were true. If they simply wanted to form an alliance, there was no need for such an excessive show of force. No matter how you looked at it…
“It seems like there’s something else they desire?”
“Yes.”
“In that case, there’s only one thing we can do.”
It was to expand the scale of their power and maintain a strong position when seated at the same table as Gremony. To achieve this, they needed to bring in other minor races along with the vampire clan.
“I’ve sown the seeds….”
“What?”
“Oh? I accidentally let Bennet know. Other minor races might hear about it and get in contact.”
“Oh, I see.”
Seere pouted slightly and said,
“You should have told me that. I didn’t know.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t think of it.”
“Is there anything else you forgot to mention?”
At Seere’s question, Nahun pondered thoughtfully. There wasn’t anything particular to say…
‘…Well, there is one thing.’
But that seemed better to keep hidden. Talking about demons and hell wouldn’t lead to immediate solutions and could just confuse Seere.
“There isn’t anything else.”
“I see?”
Seere didn’t suspect Nahun’s words at all. After quietly sipping her tea, she casually asked Nahun.
“By the way, Teacher, there’s something I’m curious about.”
“Feel free to ask any questions.”
“You mentioned before that you’ve never been in love. So, do you have any dating experience?”
“…Huh?”
“Even if it wasn’t deep love, you could still have some experience in dating, right? Rea said so. When I asked you about your ideal type last time, you spoke so well that I wondered if you had met such a person.”
Why was she suddenly asking this? Nahun thought it was the most challenging question he had received from Seere recently.
‘Dating experience…’
He had some. However, that brief period of dating during his freshman year in college was too short to even be called dating.
Nahun made a noise of hesitation before he spoke.
“I… don’t have any.”
He couldn’t confidently say he did. Feeling embarrassment and shame, Nahun answered, which instead turned out to be a very satisfying response for Seere.
“…Really?”
“Yes. Until now, it seems I haven’t really loved anyone… at least that’s what I remember.”
“Yes, you mentioned that before. But are you really saying you have no dating experience… really?”
“Y-yeah.”
Nahun couldn’t understand why she kept emphasizing her question and asking it multiple times. Each time Seere asked, his embarrassment seemed to double.
“Eh, so Teacher has no experience either….”
Seere couldn’t help but smile widely. Nahun suddenly felt a sense of unease. Aside from her strange reaction, something about her wording felt odd.
Teacher ‘also’?
Nahun’s expression grew serious. He cautiously and calmly asked, but his voice sounded more urgent than usual.
“…Seere?”
“Yes?”
“Have you recently become interested in a guy!?!!!”
#
What on earth is this teacher talking about?
“No wonder something felt off lately. You never asked me about your ideal type, and today you’re questioning me about dating experience… meaning you’ve become interested in love.”
“…Yes.”
It was true that she had become interested in love. That wasn’t wrong. It was 100% accurate. But the teacher…
“So you wanted to have a love consultation with me.”
“…What?”
“Is your recent sensitivity due to feelings not going your way in love? Who is that thief… or rather, which friend? I just want to see their face once.”
He was looking for the culprit in the wrong place. Truly, why couldn’t the teacher use his head in this regard?
‘What are you planning to do by seeing their face? No, isn’t it a bit problematic that you still don’t realize anything?’
Seere narrowed her eyes in dissatisfaction, sighed, and set down her empty teacup. Then she stood up and said,
“I’m going back now.”
“…Huh?”
Seere swiftly left, and Nahun, who had been very excited, slowly blinked and took a moment to calm himself.
“…Did I ask something too sensitive?”