But still, it doesn’t compare to the White King’s definitive reward offer.
That line about being willing to hand over any city, is that outrageous.
Because it means he’s willing to bear it even if it makes enemies.
Besides, even if I become the City’s Ruler, mystery and titles will follow.
In truth, the answer had been decided from the start.
‘In many ways, sticking to the White King is the better deal.’
The White King is a living legend.
The star guardians?
Except for matters of the stars and the goddess, they don’t step forward.
On the other hand, the White King has no constraints. He didn’t place constraints on himself. So he’s free.
If I build enough rapport, even the Four Great Masters under him could be made to help me.
With the help of these monsters, toppling a kingdom, wouldn’t be that hard.
Truly overwhelming force.
‘The problem is, the moment they find out I’m human, or some worthless bastard, I die on the spot.’
Up to now I’d managed to cover it somehow, but compared to them my own abilities are still lacking.
The instant my bluff is exposed, my head will fly off.
Same if my being human is exposed.
‘But that’s something I can solve by getting stronger.’
Rapid growth was the only answer.
And looking toward the future, yes, siding with the White King is right.
As long as I don’t let it slip that I’m human, it’s fine.
“Thinking about it, I think I like the White King and you lot more, caw.”
“……Then?”
“Please take care of me, caw.”
“Ha, as expected, you’re a big-hearted friend! I knew you wouldn’t get played around by the likes of those star guardians!”
The Death King was delighted.
He’s genuinely happy.
He’d been favorable to me from the start, so he must be even more pleased that I didn’t betray his expectations.
A decision like this, the faster you make it, the more it helps maintain a tighter relationship.
If you wobble back and forth or act like you’re weighing things, trust only drops.
<You have received ‘White King’s Acknowledgment.’ Warp is activated under the qualification of the ‘Fifth Great Master.’>
<A waypoint is created in ‘Kramdel.’>
<Achievement ‘One Acknowledged by the White King’ is added.>
<Honor increases by 100.>
…This too, was as expected.
The White King had been listening to this conversation as well.
Given how immediate the response was, it’s certain.
Under the White King’s protection, warp in Kramdel was originally impossible except at designated locations.
But with the White King’s acknowledgment, a waypoint was created in Kramdel.
Meaning I can move there anytime I want with a Teleport Book.
I decided cleanly, and he answered cleanly.
‘If I’d chosen the star guardians, I doubt they would’ve let me go quietly.’
The outline became clear.
The White King felt threatened by me, and warned me.
He clearly believed that if I became a star guardian, I’d someday be a threat to him.
So he waited for my choice, with rewards in hand.
If I had become a star guardian, I probably wouldn’t have been able to leave Kramdel peacefully.
It’s doubtful the star guardians would even actively protect me.
From the beginning, the White King acted directly, to the point of threatening the Giant of Annihilating Evil.
But the star guardians’ reaction was tepid.
‘If I didn’t know the guy, I would’ve mistaken this interest for goodwill.’
But misunderstanding is forbidden.
The White King doesn’t know me, but I know the White King.
His ability to detect danger is wondrous, like reading the future.
All of this isn’t goodwill born from complete trust, it’s goodwill born from vigilance.
Didn’t he even secretly eavesdrop on my conversation with the Death King?
‘I’m standing on thin ice right now.’
From here on, if the White King feels threatened by me, or thinks I might become a threat, he will eliminate me without mercy.
Just as I can’t trust the White King 100%, the White King can’t trust me 100% either.
I’m truly on thin ice.
One wrong step, and I fall.
‘No matter how well I act, he’ll still have at least some suspicion.’
Above all, I am human.
And not a human of Pangaenia, but a player.
Even if I perfectly play the Corpse Crow, even if my emotions are masked by the Heart of the Iron-Blooded Monarch, the White King doesn’t believe only what’s on the surface.
So he will keep me close and judge.
A double-edged sword.
I gained the strongest ally, but I’m now in a position where I must never show an opening.
“Tomorrow, I’m really looking forward to seeing those star guardians’ faces get twisted!”
The Death King cackled.
As if the future this choice would bring, was so satisfying it made him giddy.
***
“A Corpse Crow is the Fifth Great Master?”
“It’s not an ordinary Corpse Crow, it’s a Corpse Crow that passed through the ‘Mythical Hall.’”
“If the White King himself acknowledged it, there’s no room for objection.”
“Void…….”
Murmurs, murmurs.
The plaza was packed with monsters gathered in Kramdel.
Because in front of the Pantheon, the announcement of the Fifth Great Master was about to be made.
The monsters who saw me were half in doubt.
There were clearly those who wondered whether I was truly a powerful being comparable to the other main forces.
But it was also true that if the White King and the Four Great Masters acknowledged it, there was no room for objection.
“……You will definitely regret today’s decision.”
The star guardians, including the Giant of Annihilating Evil, left Kramdel, with faces like they’d bitten shit.
At the end Dramut looked at me with complicated eyes, but I didn’t care.
Dramut probably didn’t want me to become a star guardian either.
Because Dramut knew I was human.
Besides, even without their acknowledgment, I was still the master of stars. I was also a Successor of Stars, owning two stars.
Before this truth, someone else’s recognition was unnecessary from the beginning.
“The Fifth Great Master of Kramdel, Randolph, King of the Corpse Crows.”
The White King said first.
At the same time, the surroundings went dead silent.
Watching the star guardians leave with those shit-eating expressions, the White King and the Four Great Masters were thoroughly enjoying themselves.
Before the star guardians could fully leave Kramdel.
“Everyone, welcome him!”
“Randolph! Randolph!”
“O new main force!”
“Kramdel, eternal!”
The monsters all cheered and shouted in unison.
At the same time, the star guardians’ faces grew even darker.
It must feel like they crossed a river they can’t come back from.
‘To think a day like this would come.’
But the situation right in front of me didn’t feel familiar.
To think I’d live to see a day when monsters cheer for me.
I’ve probably killed more monsters than the number gathered here in Kramdel.
Kramdel even almost fell once because of me.
…Brief, but a blazing welcome ceremony I’ll remember forever.
***
Leaving the welcome ceremony behind, I left Kramdel.
The reward offer of choosing a city needed more thought, and more urgently, I had to return to the Garden of Knights.
If I just stayed in Kramdel, my true limits might get exposed.
“Here is……? Isn’t this the Garden of Knights?”
Isaac, who had warped via Teleport Book, tilted his head.
He looked like he couldn’t understand why a Corpse Crow would deliberately come to a human city like the Garden of Knights.
Chwaaaak!
I pulled the core out from my chest.
“Ku—?!”
Isaac gasped in shock.
He’d never imagined a monster would remove its own core.
But in the next moment, Isaac’s mouth and eyes opened so wide they looked ready to tear.
“Th-this, human……!!”
Because I transformed not into a Corpse Crow, but into a human.
After fully returning to human form, I slowly loosened my body.
‘Yeah, this body fits best.’
If I stay a Corpse Crow for too long, my body goes numb. Coming back after a while, every muscle in my body let out a happy scream.
Then I spoke to Isaac, who was still in shock.
“Nothing has changed, Isaac.”
The promise to serve for a year.
That promise remained the same.
Whether I’m human, or a Corpse Crow.
“N-no, are you really human?”
“Yes.”
“……After causing that whole mess?”
He still looked like he couldn’t believe it.
It’s only natural, it’s hard to believe the one who became King of the Corpse Crows and reduced Kramdel to that state, was a human.
I’d be the same.
“Then maybe……?”
Isaac looked at Isabella.
Then the half-dragon wings on Isabella’s back disappeared.
“Th-these damn conmen!”
“Not sure you’re in a position to say that.”
Isaac is human too, and he was pretending to be half-dragon in Kramdel.
Leaving Isaac, whose jaw looked ready to hit the floor, I looked around the Garden of Knights after a long time.
‘The mood is bleak.’
I don’t know why, but the atmosphere feels even more depressed than before.
First of all, all the windows were shut.
If the windows are shut, it means something threatening is in the city.
But Marquis Weiser is, surprisingly, a noble who cares for his subjects quite a bit. The subjects didn’t fear Marquis Weiser either.
So it’s a totally different existence. Proof that a third party has appeared in the city.
Who?
It wouldn’t be an individual, so I should assume some threatening group arrived in the city.
Or in the meantime, did the city’s owner change?
The possibility is low, but given Marquis Weiser’s situation, it isn’t impossible.
With those questions in mind, as I headed further toward the city center, I spotted someone.
A man drawing water, cautiously scanning his surroundings.
“Hey.”
“Who…… Ah! Lord Successor?”
The man recognized me.
The subjects of this city knew me as the “Knight King’s successor.”
The one who protected the city, prayed for the knights engraved on the monument, and was revered by Priest Andrew.
But for some reason, he wore an uneasy expression.
“Did something happen in the territory?”
“Th-that is…… I think it would be better for you to go back now.”
“Why?”
The subject looked around.
Then he crept closer and whispered in my ear.
“……One of the 8 Heroes is in the city right now.”
My brow furrowed at once.
The 8 Heroes?
Don’t tell me those 8 Heroes?
The ones pretending to be heroes in place of Wilhelm, who departed on the great expedition to the Demon Realm?
The subject didn’t just look gloomy, he looked afraid.
Which of the 8 Heroes showed up, for him to look like this?
“Which of the 8 Heroes?”
When I asked, the subject swallowed and answered.
“Lord Maxim. If you go further into the city, something terrible could happen. Before one of the soldiers sees you, quickly—”
“Hey! Who’s over there!”
“Hhk!”
At the soldiers’ shout from nearby, the man flinched.
Reunion
Two armed soldiers.
‘Not soldiers of Marquis Weiser’s house.’
Their armor and insignia are different.
‘Maxim. So it’s Maxim.’
The soldiers he brought are occupying the city.
But why is he here?
I heard he was called one of the 8 Heroes and was receiving successor training under Duke Cyan.
But Maxim is far from a true hero.
‘The first one to run away, a deserter I hired.’
Even now, just thinking about it makes my teeth grind.
Maxim was the captain of the “Kaiser” Mercenary Corps.
A powerhouse who commanded 300 men and made a name across the continent, so I trusted him and signed a contract, only to get burned.
The bastard ran the instant Ahram appeared in the first hell, the Swamp of Dead.
He bolted without even looking back.
And that guy is an 8 Hero, any dog passing by would laugh.
‘If Maxim came here, it’s because of Duke Cyan.’
If Maxim is here, I can roughly guess why.
It must be because of a deal between Duke Cyan and Marquis Weiser.
He likely stepped in to resolve an issue involving Serengeti.
But no matter how badly Marquis Weiser’s house had declined, it was strange.
Letting another lord’s soldiers rampage through your territory, is practically the same as abandoning it.
‘Or he’s so pressed he can’t pay attention to the city at all.’
Either way, it was clearly not a good situation.
“What is this combo?”
“Never seen that face before?”
Toward the soldiers swaggering over, I opened my mouth quietly.
“Knock them out, moderately.”
“What are you— kuh!”
Sssuk!
That was it.
The soldiers dropped to their knees without even managing a proper death scream.
Isaac and Isabella.
Their speed was neck-and-neck.
They knocked out the two soldiers almost simultaneously.
But normally, that shouldn’t happen.
Isaac’s level is 10, and in speed contests he was unmatched.
The reason Isabella could be even with Isaac, was simple.
【Lv.9】
Her level had risen.
When I first met Isabella in the desert she was level 8, but after going through Kramdel, she’d leveled up.
Not only that, passing through the Mythical Hall, she obtained a useful mystery.
‘To think she’d get a real wyvern mystery.’
One of the mysteries I’d aimed for when entering the Mythical Hall was that.
It changed into a Mythic Hall so it didn’t go exactly as intended, but I never imagined Isabella would bring it out.
Thanks to that, her speed is equal to Isaac’s.
Assassins are agile by nature.
I turned to the subject, who was still flustered.
“You didn’t see us.”
“Ah…… yes! Yes, I didn’t see anything.”
The subject nodded frantically.