chapter 5
Half a year later,
A banquet was held in which all high-ranking officials of the Empire were present.
It was a banquet to celebrate the subjugation of the demon king of the brave party, including Park Bong-pal.
As it is a banquet that also serves as a report on achievements to high-ranking officials who are sponsors of the Brave Party, Brave Bong-Pal Park himself was present as a speaker.
As Bong-Pal Park entered the high podium, thunderous applause erupted in the venue.
“Wow, thank you.”
His tone as he greeted me was a little annoying, but no one pointed it out out loud so far. What was pointed out was a different fact.
“But, dear, why are you still wearing that iron helmet?”
“Woo-woong, I suffered a serious injury to my face in the fight with the Demon King. It’s a serious injury that damages my mental health just by looking at it. So I had no choice but to wear an iron helmet the rest of my life.”
It was to cover the rest of the head with only the antennae, but Bong-Pal Park recites the prepared excuse without hesitation. Among the innocent crowd, ah-ahhh sighs and another applause erupted.
“It’s fine. You look good even if you only expose the lower crown with a helmet. It seems that Young Yong can’t be covered by injuries.”
“Wow, thank you.”
“But that f*cking… No, what kind of tone doesn’t suit you? If it’s a personal joke, I can accept it, but I want you to keep the dignity of this place, as the guests who have worked hard to come from all over the place with high expectations for you. “
Park Bong-pal was sweating profusely. He, of course, wanted to slap this strange tone, but Gears’ coercion was as absolute as the laws of nature. No matter how hard I tried not to use it, I was using this tone without realizing it.
“Woowoong, everything has to do with it. Just take this into account today.”
“If it’s something that can’t be disclosed, I know…”
The Viscount, who served as the host, faltered and went back down to the audience. And the order of the ceremony from now on was Park Bong-Pal’s speech. Park Bong-pal clenched his fists in front of the curb.
‘Woo-woong, now is the time to sabotage him and make him an achievement of the empire and subdue him!’
Even when almost all the other Brave Party members returned to their hometowns, Bong-Pal Park remained in the capital to grind their teeth. It was for this time.
‘Wow, if you can’t win by force, even by the power of power and conspiracy, I will! I’ll win!’
On this spot, he intended to frame Lee Ja-in, who made him this way, and to take revenge by making him a tribute to the empire. If that happens, the safety of mankind will be in danger, but the hero who has already become Park Bong-Pal did not care about the safety of mankind.
‘Woowoong, for this occasion, I asked the best writer in the empire to write the speech!’
Bongpal Park took out a large scroll from his pocket and began to read it. The content was great. It would have been a very famous speech. If it wasn’t for Gears.
“Woo-woong, Yong-yong, Dae-jeo, a hero who fights against the crises of the world by representing the pride of mankind, the human will to sprout soft sprouts even in the most barren land, and to bloom in the harshest frozen soils. Woo-woong, but there is a villain who tried to steal the glory out of jealousy of fate. Woo-woong, therefore, this is not a challenge to Park Bong-pal. I can say that.”
“Hey, what do you mean?”
“I can’t understand because it’s yongyong.”
“The way you talk is really f*cking stupid… No, it’s not classy.”
The full-fledged aristocrats roared. It was hard to understand because it was full of magnificent rhetoric and metaphors, but Woo-woong and the dragon rushed in between them, so it was an incomprehensible speech. We were already halfway through the speech, and no one recognized it yet. Only then did the hero realize the situation, throw away the speech, and just switched to an impromptu speech.
“Wow, so! That red mage is doing tricks to intercept my achievements! At the end of the day, he sided with the Demon King and attacked us!”
It was about blaming Jain’s achievements, inflating his own achievements, and accusing Jain of being a human traitor. Thanks to the conciseness, quite a few people recognized this time. There was a commotion among the VIPs. As a red mage, he was also spherical to the nobles. This was because he had been a regular participant in this performance report and banquet held on a regular basis. And Jain’s reputation wasn’t bad.
“I… is that true?”
The orange-haired noble girl quietly raised her hand. The last time I went to the banquet, it was the young-ae who Ja-in cured her of her illness. She was slowly dying of addiction to a maid who fell in love, and when a craftsman found her, she indifferently corrected her and told her the story.
“Woo-woong, are you saying you won’t believe the words of this warrior Park Bong-pal?”
“But, I believe. He’s not like that.”
There was a murmur of sympathy. In addition to her, there were many nobles who received help from Jain in large and small ways. It was because the person who attended the support group turned on the light for the achievement and searched for a sense of quest.
‘Wow… the ugly daughter of a provincial aristocrat. Why are you disturbing me!’
However, it was one of the assumed scenarios. Bong-pal Park, who was possessed by a desire for revenge, had a deep resentment. There was no way that the plan he had prepared for that grudge would crumble so poorly.
“Wow, that guy was thoroughly hiding his claws, so it’s not unreasonable for some to think that way. So! We’ve prepared a witness!”
Park Bong-pal sent a hand signal to the witness to come in.
“Woo-woong, we were together when we defeated the Demon King! For Saint Elaine Enfield!”
With those words, the curtain behind the stage was rolled up and Elaine appeared. As usual, the side slits were too wide, and she was wearing a nun’s robe that even felt vulgar. Park Bong-pal had planned to bribe her in advance and make her perjury.
“Nice to meet you, everyone. This is Elaine. It’s the first time I’ve seen you after subjugating the Demon Lord. I think you’re really lucky to be able to see such a cute me in real life.”
She smiled, revealing her chin with an arrogant hand gesture. It must have been that she was trying to calm the atmosphere, but the reaction in the hall was cold. Park Bong-pal, who became impatient, hired Elaine.
“Woo-woong, then, saint! Come on, accuse me of the ugly bastard!”
“Well, it is.”
With her long black hair fluttering with the back of her hand, she grabbed the podium and began to testify. And Park Bong-pal’s complexion turned to earthen.
“Actually, all the subjugations that have occurred so far have been the achievements of the Red Mage Jain alone, and the hero was parasitizing him and deceiving us.
It was because he was accusing Bong-Pal Park, completely different from the words he had matched in the dictionary. Except for the subtle exaggeration of Elaine’s own activities, she was just talking about what happened in the Demon Castle that day.
Elaine had no intention of grabbing Park Bong-pal, the broken Dong-a cord. Rather, he was trying to get closer to Ja-in by sacrificing Park Bong-pal with this incident as an opportunity. Unbearable, Bong-Pal Park pointed at Elaine and shouted.
“Wow, you filthy b*tch, you betrayed me! Like other b*tches, you abandoned me and stuck with him!…not.”
Bong-pal Park, who realized later that what he had just said was close to a confession, hesitated and stepped back. Originally, the audience had a crush on Ja-in, so that fondness had turned into animosity towards Park Bong-pal. Either way, Elaine was finishing her speech with a proud expression on her face.
“In the end, it is said that it was almost entirely the interest and skill that subjugated the Demon King. It was not the ability of mankind. The Annihilation Army, the best army in the Demon World, is still alive and well, and the powerful Demon Lord successors are still alive. My cute opinion is that it should be a place to discuss future measures rather than a celebration.”
“Woah, proof! Give me the proof!”
“Evidence? Do you?”
At Bong-Pal Park’s trembling, Elaine smiled and took out the crystal ball. It was a crystal ball with the ability to record conversations. Park Bong-pal’s complexion became even more miserable. It seems that he secretly recorded a conversation with that crystal ball when he was taught perjury.
‘So, are you telling me to testify falsely for you? That red mage had no achievements at all, and betrayed humanity?’
‘Wow, that’s right! I’m going to get my revenge on that damn bastard!’
In the crystal ball, the conversation we had at that time was still flowing. Park Bong-pal, whose head was dazed, desperately searched for a way out. And I was able to find a thin line of defense logic.
“Wow, that crystal ball is no proof! There’s a critical flaw in that thing! The sound quality is so bad that you can’t tell the difference between your voices! Where’s the proof that that person is me!”
Elaine smiled, revealing her side teeth. And he said with a provocative expression that seemed to be teasing.
“Oh my, there’s no one else in this world other than you who’s crazy about every word.”
“ah.”
Bong-pal Park, who was killed, knelt down and sat down. He was a de facto criminal.
“Is that really true?”
When the situation was settled like that, the old man who had been watching this skit until now with a dull expression spoke to me. He was an old man with gray hair neatly trimmed in all white and wearing single-piece glasses, exuding a middle-aged beauty. Seeing that face, Bong-Pal Park was startled and trembled in denial.
“Wow, no, absolutely no.”
That person is the Iron-Blood Chancellor Altrich.
The only reason that mankind, standing at the head of a hundred poles, could survive without extinction, was Myung Jae-sang, who even received such praise.
Altrich said with a sneer.
“Of course, I believe you, but the atmosphere is ruined like this. I want to see a ceremonial match in the sense of fun.”
“Woowoong, Dae, Dalian means who the opponent is.”
“I’m here as my escort, guard Sir Leonhardt is the opponent.”
The eyes of Altrich who said that were not trustworthy at all. Although he had already almost completely believed Elaine’s words, he showed his will to try it one last time. Leonhard, the best knight in the Empire with his hair grown like a lion’s mane, growled and stood in front of Bong-Pal Park.
“I want to learn the skill of defeating the Demon King, one step at a time. Please.”
There was no reason to retreat from here. Park Bong-pal trembled and accepted the match.