Chapter 200: Reaping What You Sow (3)
xGHrudZNot a single place around the city was exempt from the recent rise of excitement. Certain stories were being shared even at a small street-food restaurant where people were talking over shots of soju.FS4o
CLMZ– I heard the Saintess is attending this time!NSt
o2w– Wasn’t Marie Dunareff also attending this year’s contest?mJIlW
GVrH– This year is gonna be on fire.42GHFN
5zMmieNaturally, the topic of their conversation was the popular event of the Harvest Festival.Ij99
6hHHfULady of Autumn.wR8
J7NThe contest marking the climax of the Autumn Festival was gaining even more popularity due to its extravagant lineup of contestants.C3hlK
m5e“Everyone’s talking about the Autumn Festival,” said Alicia.cdN7
KYyCNV“I hope they instead put all that effort into studying for their yearly exams,” replied Korin, “Studying is what students are supposed to do.”23U
QOjFKOWLate at night on a Saturday, Alicia and Korin were out for snacks.GX2
phR“Here you are! Four servings of spicy rice cakes, four bowls of oden soup, and a deep-fried combo!”1Ra2Dqb
NPmCR31“Can we add some blood sausages on top?” asked Korin.UsQ
0cnrc7“Of course,” the owner replied, “would you like some organs as well?”[mfn]TL Note: Sundae (Korean Blood Sausages) are usually served with cooked liver or lungs.[/mfn]4ziW
fFJxpTurning to Alicia, Korin asked her the question instead.xoHfl3
Quj“Alicia, do you like organs?”PX3VdZ
f4Y“I’ll pass.”BPHxV4
zUhS6“There you go. No liver, but can you add more sausages instead?”LdLP
CbpuX“Sure thing~”jcg
NEuhrWhen the owner returned to her post, Korin sneaked a glance at Alicia and hinted at something by pretending to drink a glass.xs2UCi
7CoTj99“No drinking.” replied Alicia after seeing through what he was suggesting.gr6gnm
77zvU“A glass or two can’t hurt, right?”Q8pYZ
B0iwQ“I have to go to Unni’s room after this so… she will tell me off if I go there drunk. Besides, we are still underage. You know that, right?”sxDD5
5Pa“Haa~”zP7U
rohmKorin sighed at her orthodox yet boring comment. Although he was underage right now, he was more than double Alicia’s age if he were to add up all the years he had lived, so the prohibition of alcohol was a huge deal for him.Z6dDw3
q1FmO“An oden soup without soju…?!”zuAJ
6WNaHe lamented as he blankly looked at the bubbling pot of oden soup, which seemed closer to the J-style of making it rather than the K-style.oYDnU
sctE0l“You are getting much better these days,” said Alicia, pulling him out of his grief, “Ah, I’m talking about your control over the Domain. I have no right to comment on anything apart from that, after all.”0zUUOx
0JOHpv“You’re being too modest. I’m on a loss streak thanks to you.”17SV3NM
QvxtCKorin replied while carrying his fork over to the soup. He scooped up a piece of konnyaku from the soup, brought it to his personal bowl, and used a ladle to pour the soup into his bowl.oRK8c
9V0N“But I will still lose in a real fight. I just… can’t imagine myself beating you, Mr. Korin.”y6HTE
CqOXY“We don’t know about that.”AXf0I
gxXTHe sipped the soup while reflecting on the spar they had moments ago in the training room.R7a
GuFgFRecently, Alicia was on fire.bzas
zwjEver since her fight against the Sword Fiend, she was on a rampage. Although the Heavenly Sword she demonstrated during that fight was still far from being within her reach again, that life-or-death fight had enhanced her overall potential.oescTD
iW47q“I should have practiced more. I was afraid of swords for a foolish reason.”h28
HWI“What matters is not the amount of experience, but the quality.”qsZKx
Ni6qb9Korin himself was a great example of that.MtEz6Gr
XzlF9zbThe amount of time he spent wielding the spear was 3 years from the last iteration, added to the 2 years he had in his current life.JbtO
R9OQuantitatively, he fell short compared to other knights who spent all their lives polishing themselves, but the reason he was on par with Lunia, the Sword Master, in terms of his mastery over the spear, was because of the density and quality of each and every experience he had.DlxqJ
lOFOvercoming the threat of death numerous times, he fought against and defeated the strongest powerhouses of this world, so it was safe to say that he had reached his full talent even before the regression.0Enf6
2QbS“Ugh… Maybe I should beat up Grandpa or something.”d4Q0CQ
22IRKwAlicia let out a tremendously unfilial comment while casually biting off a piece of oden. Surprisingly, she looked very serious.FX7B6hl
kzUCJG“I feel bad for that old man.” said Korin.alITJ
alK“He deserves it.”tkvE
AfuUHSword Emperor, Garrand Arden.D4b8pX
PVICRdkIn the game, he simply appeared as an NPC empowering Alicia or Lunia. Although he contributed quite significantly to the final war, it was a story that wasn’t covered in the game.qqB8jw
X5G“How about we instead force Grandpa to fight Tates, that scary old guy? He’s… frighteningly strong but grandpa is not weak himself either.”Moq
ixav92“It will be a good battle.”ozXcv
yR3SIt was a set of events that did not happen in the game. Korin tried to make it happen in the last iteration but…e57Y
Vi49g“That old man has other things to attend to.”JyzZ3b
g5oaEnXThere was a reason why he wasn’t the main character of the final battle, and a big shot like the Sword Emperor not showing up during the final war had a reasonable explanation behind it.ujdela
0Kv“I see.”FrFvzZ
EiAAlicia didn’t ask for more in spite of his short explanation. Unlike Marie and Estelle, Alicia didn’t really intervene in the process of coming up with the overarching strategy.uBO0
FuAWkeqShe was in the mindset that there was no reason to bother chiming in when everything was already going decently well… and only asked about what she had to do.PEG7
944“Mr. Korin.”ca6y3pK
6iCZ‘Huu~. Huu~.’IQuyplo
qJTAfter carefully blowing on a piece of oden, she brought it over to his mouth.pEMQTyj
x1r8“Ahh~”AWEPt
p4ozdT3“…This is a bit—”jW7g9
ziHJ6“Quick. My arm’s sore.”t0oHfJ
k8kC“Kuhum…!”iIf
9uvZsXpIt was a corny thing that new couples would do, but as the grave sinner, he had no choice but to eat it.jPIwIC
4twl“You know, about the ribbon.”tRqCCk8
PsswICZ“Mhmm…”68q6dqg
n1cThe food almost went down the wrong pipe. It was a sudden shift of topic into a rather sensitive one.mXzCm
USNgpO5“What are you going to do? There are five in total including the chairman.”pFx
qIXi“Kuhuhum…!”BiP
S41UrAlicia didn’t show it on her face, but she actually found the whole situation quite funny.CQJU2
milVkCEven though everyone else was hoping that they would be the one being chosen, Alicia had a slightly different perspective. It was something she realized after submitting her application.jHYV
uSxSNV“Fuu…”cnoo
d4wDN3“Alicia?”Grm
lugMhTShe deliberately fidgeted with her fingers, before gazing up into his eyes. Then, she floated a bitter smile and re-confessed her feelings.iGbIslh
mnDIt was a little prank.XiCI
MJ7“You know I like you, right?”jgJxC
pZ84“U, uhhm… Y, yeah.”y5qkU7
iQoKorin failed to see through the mischievous tone.sz81uw
YJ0QKMeanwhile, Alicia was feeling rather satisfied after seeing Korin lose his usual composure from just a few words.oCUo
4Uyw“I like you. I really do. I really like you, Mr. Korin.”oMbic8G
3wRI60“T, thank you.”ZnVdb
T1b“So…”Hix
DWDPlease choose me. Choose just me.O6sCm
UwvjNtuThat was the last thing she would ever say. Because it would be troubling for him, and because she didn’t have the right to say something like that…jOIMjE
2VJKXe“You don’t have to give it to me.”mCb3CFT
q4bwfPR“Huh?”ZrQ
ZE70PShe said words that were in complete contrast to her real feelings with a bitter smile.ztN
TbvShe liked him.U3lCKZA
vaV07l7She was certain that she wouldn’t lose to anyone in terms of the depth of her feelings.7rDc4x
roGQzHowever, she was still afraid of how she would feel after being rejected, so she decided to give up from the start. Instead of competing with everyone else, she was demonstrating the virtue of conceding to others.ZBtz
2vss5RAlthough in reality, it was an escape to protect her pride, she took a step back while telling herself that she was giving the opportunity to others.r7wF
kfQ3hR“…No.”HjdA
hWVWzLwDespite his usual denseness, Korin picked that up from her tone.Zyp
2Rp98“I’m giving you a gold ribbon.”5vV
VCUoIL“Huh… What?”gZp7Lq
SYUorvz“You might call me a coward and unfair… but I’m giving a golden ribbon to everyone.”GsMQjor
0xJwk“B, but…! You need to win five contests to do that though?”66HFFCC
c1PEj3“There’s no other option, is there?”wyvYqw
BPYtLDe“I, I’m okay. I’m fine so—”GR3031o
cuA2RoU“Stop right there.”1Sqpndu
2zKi8s7Korin put a firm stop to her words. Having him stare at her with such a serious gaze in his eyes, Alicia felt her pride being filled up to the brim.0SPOpz
8R1“You have the right to receive it. Full stop.”yRlrd1y
wRQAd“Htt…”ZFY8c
oAHvS75Alicia couldn’t find any words to say in response.HmZtAC
wUsaV***SCIHgfE
Xk0After a late meal, the two of them returned to the guild office.RrJ1x
SoMThe 10,000 square meters of land that Marie had built the headquarters on, was filled with all sorts of convenience facilities.KI0k
vSFAn example of such was the accommodation, tailoring to the needs of hundreds of men from the Warsky Mercenaries and the Sword Squad elites. On top of that were the caretakers and trainers of the wyverns and the Hresvelgr.wvyR
iSHThere were a lot of people working for the guild.FnARrk
ynGHX8c“Welcome back, Boss.”RTlPG
AKci31“Did you enjoy your meal, Captain?”Zzvpca
ZRR1NdSentinels affiliated with the Warsky Mercenaries and the Arden Sword Squad welcomed them from the entrance. As expected of the top elites among elites, they were doing a spectacular job keeping the office safe.sLIF2
1Iak“Oh actually, Boss. You have a guest.”Sv14kq
hbGM“A guest? Who is it?”gTEfO
fMAf32“They wanted to surprise you and didn’t want to be known.”iyzY
Ui6zG“…”meqt
4jvEBuK“…”KpP
pkhBesKorin and Alicia turned to each other and immediately realized who it would be.WYYXPB
aIXRXvl“Why do you think she’s here?” Alicia asked.pdxVYG
3smgL“Not sure. Lunia… won’t be there to help us because she goes to bed early.”npA0wY4
WMQCzUUnfortunately, there were no reinforcements available. Left with no choice, Korin headed to the guest room.5V3X
nq1However, suddenly, soft hands covered his eyes from behind.h4BlAKD
Ixogglh“Guess who~?”lZ90AKy
jXJBHer signature energetic voice and the soft strands of her hair tickled his ears.YX9wt
scTxI“Est—”meeVN
Goy8SB“Surprise! The answer was the most beautiful person in the world, Estelle-noona!”leow
DvvG“It’s interesting how you can come up with these silly lines every time you show up.”pTeNX5
akQbNKorin shook his head, while Alicia cleared her throat a few times before being as respectful as she could.hoSmtR
LNWj“G, greetings to Her Highness…”XqTy
5pw“You are always so rigid, Ms. Junior Alicia. As I’ve been saying, you can relax a little bit more around me, okay?”Cuic
6TRI6xf“Y, your servant is deeply… appreciative? Of your benevolence, but please have mercy…!”5Jx
ASy“It’s all mixed up now. Just be normal.” Korin suggested from the side.jQAQ9M
xR5CsLe“Ugh…”Wxmu
iAmKKZ8Alicia grumbled, saying that only someone like him would be able to do that.wCL1x
vawoThe monarchy was still standing strong in this country, and yet in some ways, you could even argue that Estelle was even loftier than the king himself.yFX
UGhannaEven though Alicia had not a single grain of faith – especially after realizing the truth of the Danann – that didn’t mean she could treat the royal family like friends considering all the time she spent viewing them as a higher-up.sJMGlOG
KNz26fX“You don’t have to force yourself,” Estelle said, “I’m fine as long as I’m close to my dear Korin~”40Yvr9P
lZ7jlShe unhesitatingly wrapped her arms around him as she said that. Korin frowned but Estelle dug in closer with a bashful smile.MzLKBz
gGEOvrT“Come on…!”N6OKxI
k7UgJv“Why? Are you embarrassed? We’ve done more, haven’t we?”3LUD
P9Raros“…”2p67
xE13q9hAlicia didn’t feel very happy seeing her flirting with Korin.R0M3z22
P2iAwitMy dear Korin…oNmcQ
5FV1mCThose words constantly echoed in her ears, as she wondered when the princess suddenly started being around Korin.cxfg
Jomo9FShe was taking a break from the Academy, right…?V3z8UUT
k5MtEstelle had been taking a break from the Academy due to her busy life as the Saintess. She was turning 22 this year, which meant—wh3fW
BQWHc8“Four years older than Mr. Korin, huh…?”Hu5l
fu0DZm1Alicia unconsciously blurted those words out.Erf7Q
xTjhQ“…”zut
Xx7g6w“…”EgBaQK
Aj38JGJIt was a shocking remark that no one saw coming. Korin and Estelle looked dumbfounded and appalled at the same time.pxi
aoeOrv“Y, y, you…! Are you insulting me for my age?!”FFxGt
wlcrEn“Huh? Sorry? Ahht…!”M43
rKcOnly then did she realize what she said. Her face quickly started to lose color.NViCyLJ
Im6so“A, a four-year difference is not even that much, okay?! That’s nothing! Youuu…!”e3G
PNrJRif“N, no! That’s not it! That’s not what I meant! It’s fine! My sister is also ten years older than Mr. Korin!”Ya670o
rFK“…Hoh.”cukZ1
tXGjmBSuddenly, a voice intervened in the conversation, “This little sister of mine must have been finding me laughable this whole time.”mWxo04
kez“…!”01kt60e
VdEXcEKAlicia turned stiff like a statue. She slowly turned around and found Lunia Arden – age 28 – standing behind her.c51Sa
F7R6uWi“U, unni… W, what I was trying to say is…”Yw4e
DbEPHV“Forget it. You are attending the Tournament, correct? Let me personally help you train for that.”cz7kNg
hu6She then turned around with a flick before walking off into the distance. Alicia chased after her while screaming, “Unni~. That’s not what I meantttt!” but Lunia kept walking off.eY4
2RlrKJJ“…”Echf
lxt5qMeanwhile, Estelle’s shoulders were still shivering from the shocking comment about her age.Euk0b
L62f2“Umm…”YXf5
I1nXY3With her head turned away from him, Estelle fidgeted with her fingers, which was very rare for her, and carefully raised a question.0F1
VSSAU“A, are you perhaps not fond of… older women?”6YCynA
D1CPWb“Uhh… Not really? I put more importance on appearance than actual age.”XMH
Lk3F1b4He himself was an old man over 40 years of age if he were to combine all the years he had lived, so he didn’t really care.iOkwGe
lBSuaR“More importantly, can you contain yourself a bit more? You always try to get so close that it’s troubling.”RkP
CphH5w“What’s wrong with being affectionate with the person you like!? And you don’t hate it either, do you?”9mo0Egh
VbTj5OShe truly was a confident lady.vMUTmEX
jJ7“There’s no way a guy would hate a beautiful lady like me hugging them, is there?”Viv0Oq0
h5eThat was the objective truth. In fact, Korin didn’t necessarily hate it either.sx3kwu
Z2XpB2“You are right but… I’m just asking you to hold yourself back a little in front of others. Do you know what people are saying behind our backs these days?”BZ3tK
tF8Ub“I saw the newspaper, so yes.”XRLCD
5RR4“Wait, it’s in the newspaper?”ZGfguH
ViDKorin yelled out in shock. He thought it was just a rumor going around the campus, and definitely didn’t expect it to hit the newspaper!g5p
HqSE“Well, I won’t be able to get married anymore, so you have to take responsibility, Korin-dongsaeng~”HwRM02u
SaPEstelle giggled with a brilliant smile. Added on top of her flushed cheeks, she looked stunningly beautiful.LPB4XW
a8xIt would be a lie to say that she wasn’t appealing.U6NXEo
6f3T0q7“Phew… Anyway, what brought you here?”itQW
8b93YDR“To tell you about Miru.”xIjg
42eA“…What is it?”wr2ib6y
apSbgRS“Technically she’s the victim on the outside, so she will probably spend the Autumn Festival in the palace, even after Ku Shee’s trial is over.”esE2dvE
uk3EYF9“A break from the Academy, I suppose.”14uxH6
NSNO“Well… It seemed that there were a lot of things going through her head, so it’s best to leave her be for now. On the other hand, everything is sailing smoothly with Mound so far.”kCdj
ayOUKorin was relieved to hear that Miruam wasn’t taking any strange actions after the last incident at Mound. If she were to take her stance and politically make it difficult for them, the paperwork for Mound would have taken much longer to process.9MMbduj
rvhTcL“How are the beastmen fairing and how are they being treated? You know as well as I do that not all of them are innocent.”mAaxm
vKxKEven though Ku Shee had taken all the blame, there were undoubtedly some criminals among the beastmen.hmD
P1PPNI“Nothing so far, but there are people against the idea of letting them stay under your wing. They seem to be finding it a little threatening that you’re getting even more manpower.”gE3
TshiHe immediately understood what she meant.qINWBE
7PT203It was all about “safety” and “politics”.UCt
p92sGKorin already had more than 400 mages from the Tower of Mages. On top of that, now Mound was serving Korin as the Fairy King, Finvarra, which made them appear as his subordinates.gYrX
UG2htVCThat was definitely dangerous.nD6Y3J2
KIUIt was inevitable that there would be people dissatisfied with an individual possessing that much power.WG2r7
2esBesides, their worries weren’t unwarranted either, because Korin Lork now had a history of going against the royal court’s orders and committing treason.Wbdz20
OV2“That’s annoying. It was obviously coming, but still.”O1zclO
lMZ“Fufu… You don’t have to worry about it.”hjX
2cE0nHer slender fingers grabbed onto his chin, and she gave him a smile with her seductive emerald-colored eyes.Z4xKuP
xRBq54i“I, the Saintess, am on your side.”F5my39P
2B9It was such an attractive and absorbing smile. Estelle found it adorable how Korin tried to conceal his embarrassment by clearing his throat.x0o7
9OOp“I am the Order, and the Order is always on your side. You can make use of that however much you want.”Z6iJ
Xp6R71“Let’s call it… cooperation.”MdASI
yd2D“Hehe, so don’t frown every time I cause a little bit of trouble! If you can’t let me off for something so small, I will be sad.”aKv3Q1t
Bqjx“Kuhum! But still… please hold yourself back in front of others.”NfpW
0kvEiz“I have to do it to show them who you belong to! I can tell it’s going to be rough just from seeing that girl called Alicia.”2naV
whBbxP“Mhmm…”ExSbv
xgOz“Seems like you already knew that she likes you.”3IPG
CRZm“Haa… I am receiving a lot of undeserved love.”A2sMmuv
hU3T0Estelle slightly changed the topic. Her lips were still forming a smile, but her eyes were a little bit stiffer this time.zV3N
zpb“By the way, that girl just then is attending the Tournament, right?”9M4Wk
WVfCtw“Ah. Yeah… I asked her if she could get me the Winner’s prize.”No3
RDj“I see. I can get that for you.”MBRney
OUz“Pardon?”9Cs
lpPe“I will attend the Tournament.”yhTc
t5L“You don’t have to… And are you even eligible?”5XOX69
s2jIn Korin’s eyes, Estelle had to be a semi-Unique Grade at the very least. Although there was a stronger image of her being a supporter than a member of the party, that by no means meant that she was weak.NOe8p3Y
PZSHer ability to tweak reality with prayers was immensely powerful and had few limitations.AwWn8h
44h“I have never officially, or unofficially, taken any evaluations yet. It was just because of a political reason that I entered the Academy, after all.”6nBaXe
tFtBvShe had taken a break after spending 2 years at the Academy, and the Academy didn’t force any of their activities on her during that period of time either, because they knew how busy she was.jTuQ94
WexVcgLHer campus life was supposed to end with just an honorific certificate that only society viewed as important.Lco
blV“I will give it to you. You don’t need that Alicia girl.”lmqdwm9
RMq7fdSeeing her say that with a rather serious look on her face, Korin revealed his doubt.cRKACY
5q1B“…You’re being too immature just because she mentioned your age.”t3eQKZ
dwe“That’s not it…!”VO0neV
baejKZEstelle banged him on his chest with a yell. Her punches were so soft that it was hard to imagine her overpowering others by force but…yv6Ajf
2Mu2xkyThis is bad.LL1K
6KtijDAs someone who knew first-hand how overpowered Estelle’s ability was, Korin couldn’t help but feel troubled.6rm
FJPjQ8“How are you even going to move back and forth?”DkswS
BJLZW“I will ask Professor Clara for a favor! We will have to make a lot of markers ahead of time!”N6iV
1pESShe was saying that she would teleport here just for the matches. Normally, it would be hard for even Lady Josephine to teleport so often but…lRlJ
QFDGI guess it would be possible. If Estelle were to bless her with her prayers, then it would definitely be possible.Yn0VNs
J5rIt seemed that the Tournament would turn out to be more challenging than expected.gMVU
obxE“Haa…”XOra
YwgUnfortunately, he had too many things at hand to worry about that.QjQkI9
d8AHe had to get himself prepared as soon as possible if he wanted to acquire more than five golden ribbons during the 5 days of the Harvest Festival, which would happen a month from now.kQJ
1ZKTfC“Let’s do it. I have to do it. Let’s go…!”IFN
drH82He had to do it.5oreZz6
iTvTo at least show that he was trying to reap what he sowed.IYy
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