Chapter 207 – Your Back (2)

Cale slowly approached Clopeh.
Clopeh, who was currently tied up with Raon's magic, was dominated by fear. Clopeh stiffened up like a person that was cursed as soon as they made eye contact.
Cale confidently started to speak.

"Clopeh, let's go to your hometown together. Doesn't that sound great?"

Clopeh nodded his head a few times. He looked as if he was looking at a god. Cale's hair looked white to Clopeh even though it was red.

Cale looked toward Clopeh, who would die in his hometown, without any emotion before leaving the underground prison. He did not have any mercy to show for people who touched the people within his territory.

He started to walk up the stairs to the surface.
Mary and the children averaging nine-years-old followed behind him.
Cale started to speak.

"Let's eat."

"Yes, young master-nim."
"Meeeeeow."
"Meeow."
– Sounds great! A steak for me!

Mary and the children all responded back.
Cale thought about the piece of steak and the glass of wine that he was going to have as he quickly started to walk. It was a walk toward a happy meal.

He walked past the prison and could now see the door leading up to the surface.
Cale quickly turned the doorknob.

Screeeech-

The door screeched as it opened.

Beeeeeeeep- Beeeeep- Beeeep-

He then heard the video communication devices going off.
The alarms could be heard even through the slightly opened door.

Cale stopped opening the door.
It sounded as if young lady Amiru and the communications mages were standing right outside the prison door waiting for him.

'Should I not go out?'

Cale seriously considered this option before choosing to open the door. His annoyed face reappeared on the surface.

"Young master-nim!"

It was young lady Amiru.
She seemed to be in such a hurry that she even forgot to call him, 'Commander.' Her expression showed signs of that urgency.
All of them had been waiting for Cale with video communication devices in their arms. Their expression did not look good.

Beeeeeeep-
Beeeeeep-

The emergency signal continued to ring.
However, the royal video communication device in young lady Amiru's arms was silent while the others were going off.
The communication had not come from the Roan Kingdom's palace. Furthermore, it had not come from the alliance either.
They were coming from the extra ones they had kept with them for the, 'what if,' situations.

"What is it?"

Young lady Amiru peeked toward Mary, who was standing behind Cale, before she started to speak. Her expression was urgent and full of anger.

"We are getting messages from many different churches on the Western continent, and all of the churches within the kingdom."

Churches.
Temples.

"We are getting the most from the temples related to light, with the Church of the Sun God contacting us the most."

The necromancer Mary's black robe slightly flinched. The hood of the robe turned toward Cale.

Beeeeeeep-
Beeeeeep-

The reappearance of a necromancer.
The reappearance of a being that used evil powers such as dead mana. The fact that they had rid the world of necromancers was a source of pride for the Church of the Sun God and the other churches associated with light.

However, that cursed existence reappeared on the Roan Kingdom's battlefield.

"It looks like the different churches used their network churches within the Roan Kingdom to directly contact us as the crown is not willing to take their calls. We are getting messages from all over the Western continent."

The churches were using their priests in order to send all sorts of messages and video communications requests to the northeast region's naval base.

Cale reached his hand out to young lady Amiru. She hesitated before taking out a message from her pocket and handing it over.
Cale read the first sentence on the message.

< The Roan Kingdom and Cale Henituse who has revived the evil existence of the Western continent must repent. They must also hand over that cursed being. >

Amiru, the communication mages, and the other important individuals at the naval base had all seen this message. That was why they had urgently rushed over.
They were waiting for Cale to speak.

The black robe slowly walked up next to Cale in order to read the message. It was the moment she stopped next to Cale.

Riiiiiip- Riiiiiip-

He had ripped it up before she had the chance to read it.
The ripped pieces of paper fluttered down to the ground.

"Ignore the bullshit."

It was a simple and calm order.
He started to speak again.

"People who ignore the person who has saved their lives are not human. Keep that in mind."

Those words made Mary flinch.
Cale then put his hand on her shoulder. Cale continued to speak to those who were looking at him.

"I don't need to tell you who our savior, the hero from the battle is, right?"

Mary clenched her fists underneath the black robe.
Another sharp noise sounded off at that moment.

Beeeeeeep-
Young lady Amiru urgently read the short message that was left in the direct communication device to the crown in shock. It was urgent news, so they had left a short message as they could not wait until they were able to chat.

She immediately started to speak.

"Commander-nim! The Indomitable Alliance is said to be heading toward the Caro Kingdom's shores."

Cale's expression changed.

Caro Kingdom.
It was located underneath the Breck Kingdom and to the west of the Empire, making it the closest kingdom to the Empire.

The Indomitable Alliance skipped the Breck Kingdom and its Gorge of Death and started to invade the Caro Kingdom. Based on their location, it seemed as if they had launched a fleet toward the Caro Kingdom before they had even launched a fleet for the Roan Kingdom.

"They seem to be about a week's distance away from the Caro Kingdom, and according to the Breck Kingdom's information mage, the number of ships is almost impossible to count...! Commander-nim?"

Young lady stopped talking and looked toward Cale.

Cale was smiling.

Cale looked down at the message that he had ripped to shreds.

He recalled who had sent this message.

< The Caro Kingdom's Church of the Sun God. >

The Caro Kingdom was the current location with the highest influence of the Church of the Sun God. Young lady Amiru, who could not ignore them, had given Cale that message as a representative.

Cale thought about the person he had met in the Caro Kingdom's auction house while wearing a white mask.

The Caro Kingdom's Church of the Sun God's bishop.
It was the person who had agreed to pay 23 billion counds while waiting for Cale to return with the Sun God's divine item. The bishop probably did not know about the Indomitable Alliance's fleet when he had sent the message.
Furthermore.

'That person does not know of my identity.'

Cale turned his head to the side.
He could see the black robe.

Caro Kingdom.
They had more than just the Church of the Sun God there.

Cale thought about the people he was planning to turn into heroes. His existence would fade away once they become heroes.

The Dark Elves were one of those heroes-to-be.
They lived in the Underground City because people loathed them.
Their Underground City was located in the Caro Kingdom.
Furthermore, Mary had become a strong necromancer thanks to the Dark Elves.

In addition, the fake Holy Maiden and the half-Saint were currently in Cale's Super Rock Villa.

Cale's smile became thicker.
His foot stepped on the ripped-up pieces of the message.

"Looks like they won't need to live in hiding anymore."
"Excuse me?"

Amiru and the others did not understand what he was saying and looked toward him with confusion. However, Mary and the children averaging nine-years-old clearly understood.

Tap, tap.
The kittens tapped Mary's black robe with their paws while Mary unclenched her fists.

Cale gave an order to Amiru.
"Connect me to his highness the crown prince."

* * *

Commander's Office.
They had created this space for an office and strategic planning sessions.

Cale was sitting at the head of the long oval table. He sat there waiting for two communication mages and young lady Amiru connect him to the crown prince.

The communication mages peeked over at Cale multiple times.

They saw his stiff expression.
His stiff expression as he sat there without his usual subordinates made them continue to peek at him.

Neither soldiers nor nobles were currently in this room.
'Is that stiff expression Commander Cale Henituse-nim's true expression?'

The mages could not help but peek at him, thinking that they had seen a hero's hidden appearance.

However, this was the thought going through Cale's mind at that moment.

'…I have to work without even having any time to eat.
I'm supposed to be the Commander. I have the highest rank here.
So why am I suffering like this?'

Cale was very upset about this fact.

– Weak human, aren't you hungry? Should I give you an apple pie? It is no longer moist!

He ignored the six-years-old Dragon's comments.

"Commander-nim, we are connected!"

Cale casually lifted his head up and looked toward the screen after hearing young lady Amiru's statement. Alberu's face slowly started to appear.

Amiru and the communication mages bowed toward Cale.

"We will be heading out now. We will take care of the rest if you let us know that the call is over."

Cale and Alberu, the commander and the crown prince, were to have a private conversation. Amiru and the communication mages quietly and quickly started to leave the office once Cale nodded his head.

Young lady Amiru opened the door to head out.

Click.
The video communication device finished connecting at that moment.

Paaaat-

The crown prince's handsome face appeared on the screen. His voice echoed throughout the office.

– Our kingdom's star, Cale Henituse.

Amiru nodded her head as she closed the door.

'He's right. Young master Cale is our kingdom's star.'

She needed to get out before they started discussing official business. Amiru quickly stepped through the open door. However, a statement reached her ear before she could exit.

– The grand nobles at the meeting talked about giving you a first-grade medal of honor. What do you think?

The Grand Nobles' Meeting.
This was the largest meeting of the Marquises and higher nobles in the Roan Kingdom. The King or the King's representative usually attend these meetings, so Alberu now led the meeting as the King's representative.

The Roan Kingdom's first-grade medal of honor.
It was the highest-grade medal of honor in the Roan Kingdom.

The war was not even over yet.
They had not defeated the Indomitable Alliance either.

The fact that they still wanted to award him that medal showed that the grand nobles looked extremely favorably on the northeast region's victory. That was why they were thinking about giving their commander, Cale, a significant reward.

It was a medal of honor that nobody had received for the past 200 years. He would also be the youngest person to ever receive it.

Starting with this medal of honor, Cale would grow to become an influential member of the Roan Kingdom's nobles.

Amiru and the communication mages did not realize that they were smiling.

They were thinking that it was only obvious that Cale should receive this medal.
Cale had the most merit during the battle and would probably have the most merit throughout the entire war. The fact that he would receive this medal made Amiru and the communication mages cheer internally.

The person that you approve of being approved by others. The joy a person gets from that was significant as well.

Amiru and the communication mages looked at each other before smiling and heading out the door. They then carefully and quietly closed the door so that they would not disturb the conversation.

However, they heard Cale's voice once more before they closed the door.

"I do not need it, your highness."

'Don't need it?'
Amiru's hand that was closing the door stopped moving.

"The war is not over yet. I do not need such empty compliments."

Cale really did not need it.

A medal of honor?
It would be bad if he received it. He would not be able to rest. He may even have to work for the rest of his life.
That would be a terrible disaster.

He didn't need it.
He didn't need such an empty compliment.
He also did not need land or money. He's probably the wealthiest person in the Roan Kingdom already. He needed time to fool around and spend that money instead of receiving such a reward and being held hostage in order to help out with the kingdom's issues.

Cale could speak with a scowl as nobody other than the crown prince was able to see him right now.

"Please just make it so I can make sure the soldiers have time to eat."

'Make it so that I have time to eat.'
That was Cale's request.

Click.
Young lady Amiru closed the door with shaky hands. She then looked at the closed door before slowly removing her hand from the doorknob. She was frowning at that moment.

She wiped the corners of her eyes with her hands. Cale's words echoed in her mind.

"…How could someone be…"

She could see that the communication mages had the same expressions on their faces. The three observed each other's emotional expressions for a minute before starting to walk with determined expressions.

'Our Commander is always worried about our health. Our commander does not want fame nor power.
He cares more about our every meal more than things like that.'

Thinking about that filled them up with an unexplainable emotion. Amiru and the communication mages quickly moved to take care of their responsibilities.

At that moment, crown prince Alberu was looking at Cale as he started to speak.

– Forget the soldiers' meals, why don't you take care of your own-!

Alberu commented at Cale's pale face that looked as if he had starved for a week before stopping himself. He felt as if he would sigh.

"Your highness, I am also one of your highness's soldiers."

Cale meant what he said, but Alberu could not believe it.

'It'd be one thing if he wasn't so good with words!
How could he be so stupid about his own health?'

This punk who seemed sharp and witty enough to make sure that he wasn't at a disadvantage was oddly dull about his health.

'No. There is no way this smart bastard is so stupid about his own body. He is probably pretending to be so dull.'

Alberu put on a bitter smile.

War.
As the crown prince, as the current highest commanding officer of the Roan Kingdom, Alberu could understand why this bastard could only ignore his own health.

That was why Alberu pretended not to see Cale's condition as he continued to speak.

– You must have a headache from the temples contacting you.

He was about to say something else. He was about to say, 'I will cut off the priests' communications soon, so don't worry about it.'
However, Cale responded before he could do that.

"No. It's not that bad."

He could see that Cale had now leaned back so far into the chair that he was almost laying down. He was smiling as if he had never had a stiff expression in his life.

Alberu was filled with an odd sensation. It was a sense of intuition for him, and Cale started to speak as if he was responding to that intuition.

"The Caro Kingdom is rich, right?"
– …Indeed?

The crown prince recalled how the Indomitable Alliance was heading toward the Caro Kingdom's shores.

"The Caro Kingdom also does not have the strength to defend against the Indomitable Alliance."
– Indeed?

The Roan Kingdom was able to do so because they were prepared and because they had Cale Henituse. The crown prince was fully aware of this fact.
Cale's voice reached Alberu's ear at that moment.

"I also presume that our victory will spread throughout the continent in the next day or so?"

The crown prince could not say anything, however, Cale was not waiting for a response. He continued to speak.

"The Caro Kingdom has many churches associated with light."
– …Tell me more.

Cale wondered if he had to say anything else. He looked toward the crown prince and casually commented.

"Your highness, you are smiling right now."

The crown prince was smiling.

The Caro Kingdom which was rich from the auction house and the famous sightseeing landmarks did not have the strength to fend off the Indomitable Alliance. This was the case for the temples associated with light, as well within the Caro Kingdom.

They would want to live as well.

Then who would they reach out to?

They would think about how the Roan Kingdom had recently achieved victory.
The Caro Kingdom would definitely reach out to the Roan Kingdom for help.

Cale heard Raon's voice in his head.

– Weak human! You are smiling even more than he is!

Cale did not care about a six-year-old's comparison. He looked toward the crown prince as he continued to speak.

"Your highness, the Caro Kingdom is weak."
– I assume that they will reach out to us for help?

Cale nodded his head and opened up his mouth to speak.
If the Caro Kingdom asks them for help.

"At that point…"

Cale remembered his promise to Mary and the Dark Elves that he wanted to turn into heroes. He observed the crown prince who probably had similar thoughts as he did.

"The Roan Kingdom will earn an even greater strength. The trashed beings are returning to the world in order to give approval to the Roan Kingdom in the kingdom and on the continental level."

The trashed beings.
The Land of Death.
The Dark Elves lived underneath that Land of Death.

Alberu Crossman was a quarter Dark Elf.
He, who had to live while hiding his true appearance for all his life, could not help but scoff at Cale's comments.

"The trashed beings will be accepted."

Those words made the human Alberu, and not the crown prince Alberu, get emotional.

However, he had to think first as the crown prince and make the decisions.

It would end up being a gain.
The Indomitable Alliance may have lost to the Roan Kingdom, but they would definitely try to win against the Caro Kingdom and the Breck Kingdom.

'They will be aiming for the Gorge of Death after the Caro Kingdom.'

That meant that the future events would definitely be gains for the Roan Kingdom.
Alberu started to speak.

– You. You are a really good crazy bastard.

Cale did not say anything to refute that statement.

"Let's try it."

Those words made the crown prince nod his head.

* * *

Cale closed his eyes and then reopened them.
"Weak human, are you cold?"

Cale was hit by the winter ocean breeze as he fell backward and laid down.
He could feel the slippery back of a Whale.

"Killer Whale Archie, are we almost there?"
"Yes, Raon-nim."

Cale peeked after hearing Raon's question and the Killer Whale Archie's response. He could see the shores of the Paerun Kingdom, the northernmost part of the Western continent.

The Whales would soon destroy the Paerun Kingdom's coast guard post.

***

If you find any errors or have suggestions, please feel free to provide feedback.

Thank you for reading!

[Author – Yu Ryeo Han]

[Translator – Anowa]

[Proofreader – Rai_Mayank]