768 - Childhood Friend of the Zenith

The Monarch's Childhood Friend, Chapter 768 > Northern Rabbit - Web Novel Archive "O King!" "Your Majesty! Please, just look this way once!" "Kyaa! He really looked! His gaze is terrifying!" "..." The sharp mix of voices and all sorts of noise were enough to give anyone a headache. "Your Majesty!" "Your Majesty—! Please shake my hand just once!" Surrounded and embraced by fervent onlookers, who kept cheering in waves of excitement. The fervor was particularly intense. "O King—!!" "Sorry, sorry, but I really need to get through, so could you please move aside…." "Our hero!" "Goodness." Though no one dared to touch him directly, the sheer number of people made it impossible to move forward. At this rate, who knows how long it will take to reach Meng. Should he use force to push through or shake them off and fly away? The thought crossed his mind momentarily. "O King…!! Thank you so much for that time!" "Because of you, I was able to save my mother…! I am truly, truly grateful…." "..." Looking at those approaching to express their gratitude, his hand hesitated. 'Tsk.' What should he do? Just as he was pondering deeply. "O King Oppa!" Oppa…? At the unexpected address, he turned his gaze slightly to see a young girl waving from a close distance. It seemed she was riding on the shoulders of someone who appeared to be her father. "Hi, Oppa!" "You…! What kind of manners is that to address His Majesty…!" The father panicked at the girl's speech but the child only laughed with the innocence typical of her age. Who was she again? Ah, he remembered. He had saved this father and daughter in passing. It stuck in his memory. Recalling that scene made him chuckle lightly. "Hey, are you listening to your dad properly?" "Yes!" "Good, continue to be a good listener." Though he himself didn't listen much back then. Being not too far away, he stretched out his hand, placing it atop the small head and gently patted her a few times. How curious it was. ‘To think there’d be a child who doesn’t cry looking at me.’ Children usually burst into tears whenever they looked at him. But not this one, it seemed. She sat quietly under his hand, resembling someone. It reminded him of young Wi Seol Ah. ‘Though she's even younger than she was back then….’ It didn't matter as he continued to pat her a few more times, then the father spoke up. "Truly… I am grateful, Great Hero." "Uh… yes…." He chuckled awkwardly. That damned epithet still felt alien. Probably never would get used to it in his lifetime. The same went for Jinryong and Soyeomla. “…Thank you. If not for the Great Hero, my daughter and I would have been…." "It's fine. I was just passing by and decided to help." He had to calm and collect the crowd using his ki. As he mentioned before, it wasn't about saving anyone. More of cleaning up the mess he caused. "No, not only did you save us, but you also remember us." He had to let out a wry laugh at the man's words. "What's so hard about remembering." At his words, he pointed to someone with his hand. It was an elderly man, abundant in wrinkles. "You are the elder from the pharmacy, right?" "Yes…? Oh, yes… y-yes, that's correct." The old man pointed at himself in surprise and responded, and Seong Wang gestured to another. "And you're the lady who was below the Sangjeonsangdan building, and next to you is the man I saw at Pungwon Forge…. And…." He named each person he recalled. As he named them one by one. "And this elder is…." Midway through speaking, his hand froze. An odd atmosphere began to settle. "…What's going on here? Why are you all looking at me like that?" They all wore expressions of being deeply moved. He sweated at the sight. 'You remember people because you've seen them.' He wasn't recalling exactly—only pointing out the ones he remembered—but did that call for such reactions? "…Indeed… the Great Hero…." With more words of reverence being prepared, he quickly waved his hands. "Ah, enough!... Everyone seems well, so please clear the way. I have places to be…." "You are our hope, Great Hero…!" "Your Majesty…!!" "This is seriously ridiculous." It seemed like this wasn’t going to end anytime soon. So ultimately, he had to use a bit of his inner energy to make his escape. ‘Especially when I'm not in the best condition.’ Tsk! Just as he clicked his tongue, preparing to jump. "Make way—!" Suddenly, a loud voice erupted from behind. "Everyone make way!" Eyes shifted toward the source of the voice. "Urgh!" People were forced to give way, like being pushed by an unseen force. Among the parted crowd emerged a group. Clad in sky-blue martial uniforms with white emblems—a clear sign they were from the Martial Alliance. Usually, people would instinctively step back or feel pleased to see such uniforms. "…It’s the Alliance?" "They're from the Martial Alliance." But the expressions of those making way for the martial artists were not pleasant. Some showed resentment or contempt, while others displayed reluctant approval, but the majority weren’t pleased. He nodded slightly at the sight. 'The situation seems worse than I thought.' He had expected some distrust, but not to this degree. Even the Alliance members seemed to sense the atmosphere and frowned, shouting at the crowd. "This area is scheduled for restoration. Civilians are prohibited from entering. Why are you all gathered here?" He glanced around. Indeed, as the man said, it was a mess. He had rushed out without noticing, but it was a site of crumbled buildings and debris. For such a crowd to gather around him in this chaos was certainly strange. Why were there so many people? Just as this question formed in his mind, someone shouted back at the martial artist. "Is all of Hanam the property of the Alliance!?" "…What?" The martial artist grimaced at the shout. As if questioning how one dared to raise their voice at him. But others began raising their voices regardless of the martial artist's expression. "What have you done to restrict our movement like this?" "That's right! We'll handle the restoration ourselves. You won't be helping properly anyway. We'll take care of it on our own." Upon hearing this, Seong Wang realized what was happening. ‘So they’re trying to rebuild the province themselves?’ What were they planning in this chaotic situation? Although he didn’t fully understand, one thing was clear. ‘Trust in the Alliance has significantly diminished.’ It seemed the recent events had considerably tainted the perception of the Martial Alliance in Hanam. "This…!" Just as the martial artist was about to get angry. "What’s your business here?" Seong Wang spoke to the man before him. "What are you….!" The man started to raise his voice but fell silent as soon as their eyes met. He clearly recognized who Seong Wang was. Which meant. "It seems you have business with me. Am I correct?" nodded Seong Wang, speaking casually as the man cautiously approached through the path people had cleared. Even as he approached, the stares directed at him were nothing short of hostile. When the man reached him, he slightly bowed before speaking. "I am Ki Munseok, vice-captain of the Blue Dragon Unit and one of the Seven Seats. I greet Your Majesty." He bowed deeply. Despite the apparent dissatisfaction in his demeanor, he maintained proper etiquette. Seong Wang looked down at Ki Munseok’s crown and gave a short response. "Aye." “…!" Ki Munseok straightened abruptly, evidently shocked by the casual reply. Seeing this, Seong Wang couldn't help but laugh. "Just kidding. Just trying to lighten the mood. Sorry if it bothered you." “…No... problem…." Clearly annoyed, Ki Munseok simply bowed his head again, unable to speak further. Watching him, Seong Wang pondered briefly. 'Ki Munseok.' Who was that again? The name sounded familiar, but he couldn't place it. Anyway. "What do you want from me?" Seong Wang asked, and Ki Munseok raised his head to reply. "We're here to escort you." "Me?" "Yes… We sent a missive ahead of time. Did it not reach you?" "Hmm?" Hearing this, Seong Wang pulled out the missive from his pocket and reviewed it. "Oh, indeed." It was stated in the letter that they would come to escort him at this hour. He hadn't realized. ‘Had I known, I wouldn't have hurried out.’ The situation had been pressing, so he had rushed out without reading carefully. Apparently, that hadn't been necessary. ‘It did feel strange.’ While he had received a letter from the Alliance summoning him, the idea that they would simply have him walk over themselves seemed odd. ‘Considering they even bestowed a title, I thought they were trying to mess with me by giving such lackluster treatment.’ It seemed they intended to take care of what needed to be taken care of. Which made it somewhat disappointing. ‘I lost an excuse to create a scene.’ Just as he contemplated exploiting this, he realized, unfortunately, that the Alliance, while incompetent, wasn’t entirely reckless. "…Regardless, the Alliance will handle the journey to the League." "Hmm." After a brief consideration, he nodded. There truly wasn’t much to ponder. This was where he had to go anyway, and having a direct escort was a convenience. It was, all in all, rather fortuitous. He had been wondering how to navigate through the crowd, after all. "Yes. Let's go, then." As soon as he expressed his intention to leave, a wave of disappointment passed through the onlookers. He wondered why they were so disappointed, but it was unavoidable. The reason for his journey to the Alliance was none other than the official investigation request from the League regarding the recent attack. ****************** With the guidance of the Blue Dragon Unit, Seong Wang arrived at the Alliance. The interior of the Alliance didn’t differ much from before, but the atmosphere within was distinctly different. It was unavoidable. There had been an attack, and not only had they failed to respond effectively, but public sentiment was also unfavorable at present. The material damage might have been minimal, but philosophically, the Martial League was undoubtedly the most affected. Creeeak. The chair slid backward slightly. "Please, have a seat." At the man's suggestion, Seong Wang nonchalantly took his seat. He was inside the Alliance. Specifically, in the same interrogation room he had once visited before. If there was a difference from last time, it was the vastly improved treatment. Despite being an interrogation room, there were teacups and what seemed to be expensive snacks laid out on the table. They even had lamps lit in the room, making it, for all intents and purposes, more of a hospitality room than just an interrogation room by name alone. "…Please wait a moment. The captain will be here shortly." Listening to Ki Munseok, Seong Wang picked up a piece of candy and popped it into his mouth. "Not only did they summon me early in the morning, but they also keep me waiting. Entertaining, isn’t it?" "..." "I don't like unnecessary power struggles, but this is rather juvenile. Oh, that's a joke too." Though clearly not a joke, Ki Munseok visibly swallowed hard, showing his discomfort. As Seong Wang contemplated teasing him further. Creeak—! The door opened, and someone stepped inside. It was the man he had seen before. ‘Ilcheonggeom.’ The man who had been Jang Seongyeon's right-hand in his past life. Jang Seongmyeong, captain of the Blue Dragon Unit. It was him. "Good to see you." Ilcheonggeom entered and took a seat without further comment. Seong Wang propped his chin on his hand, watching him. "You're late, aren’t you?" "Yes, I had a prior engagement." Ilcheonggeom didn’t meet his eyes, only organizing the documents stacked in front of him. After observing this, Seong Wang spoke. "Then you should apologize first." "…" Ilcheonggeom’s hand paused. "Isn't it a bit much not to apologize for being late?" When Seong Wang continued with a smile, Ilcheonggeom’s eyes immediately narrowed. He watched with interest, curious to see what he would say next. "My apologies for making you wait." "…" Ilcheonggeom didn’t take the bait. Seong Wang found this somewhat disappointing. Should he try another approach? He was tempted. But. "So, why did you call me here?" For now, he decided to get straight to the point. Spending more time here wouldn't be beneficial. "Have you read the part pertaining to the reason for your visit?" "I did. It said to come for interrogation, didn't it?" "…It's more about… confirming matters more thoroughly…." "That's just interrogation. You want to verify whether I'm involved in any incidents. Isn't that it?" No amount of embellishment could change the fact. Days had passed since the attack. What the Martial Alliance had first done was summon and interrogate those who had fought alongside or against the mysterious creatures—even those who weren't affiliated with the Alliance at the time. Direct participants in the conflict. While they claimed it was to clarify the situation, it was clear to anyone these were interrogations based on suspicion. "After slaving away to save you all, I end up being suspected and interrogated. Really puts my mood over the edge." "…As I reiterated, it is not so much an interrogation as…." "Enough. Let's get it over with. I have plans for lunch." Grip. Ilcheonggeom’s hand clenched with an audible tension. It seemed like he was holding back anger. However, even this time, no fists flew. "…Very well, since that is your stance, let us proceed directly to the matter at hand." How many times had Ilcheonggeom sighed internally? He was suddenly curious about that. "There is something I'd like to ask of you, Your Majesty." "Yes." "We’re planning to establish a new division within the League." "What?" His brows furrowed at the unexpected announcement. It was truly out of the blue. "Why suddenly?" "Before commencing the investigation, I thought it would be better to discuss this first." "A division, you say." "Yes, so before establishing this new division, we wish to propose something to you first." As he contemplated, Ilcheonggeom continued. "We would like to offer you the position of captain for the newly established division…." "No, thank you." "What?" He responded before the man could even finish. "I'm not interested." It was a straightforward denial.