Chapter 329

Extra 2. What the Departed Left Behind (3)

The female black bear was the ruler of the eastern forest.

The wolves, who in recent years have been expanding their population, didnt dare to cross into the territory of the black bear. And even the greedy leopards chose to give up their prey and flee when she appeared.

Of course, that didnt mean there werent any wild beasts who didnt presumptuously attempt to topple the black bear and occupy the eastern forest. However, all of them became meals for her.

A male bear from beyond the eastern forest entered the female black bears territory. But when his head was bashed in, he became the last one to invade her territory.

However, that black bear was now facing serious challenges.

An unidentified beast had been hunting at will in the black bears territory. She found out about this when she found a fragment of a deer bone without a single piece of flesh on it.

Kahhhhhhh.

Sniffing, the enraged black bear wandered through the forest. She was looking for the trace of the unknown challenger.

Finally, she found the challenger.

Whine.

She had been determined to bash in the challengers head the moment she found him, but the only thing that came out of the black bears mouth when she faced the challenger was a suppressed whine.

The red scales that seemed to be covered in blood were terrifying. The vertically slit eyes were as sinister as a vipers. The challenger was so massive and had such a ferocious appearance that even the black bear, the ruler of the eastern forest, was terrified.

Crunch, crunch.

For the first time in her life, the black bear left like a prey rather than a predator as she watched the challenger tear apart the body of a muscular male deer without any mercy. It crunched on the hard bones as if it was fleshy meat.

She should have escaped then. If she had, then the black bear could have at least avoided facing the terrible beasts murderous intent.

But the black bear didnt run away. Instead of escaping, the ruler of the forest let out a fierce roar as she ran towards the challenger.

When the challenger saw the black bear, he spat out the deers hind leg he had been chewing on and opened his mouth wide. The challengers sharp fangs were a threat, but the black bear believed in her strong body.

Like they had always done, she believed that her coarse fur and strong muscles would withstand the challengers attack.

Bite.

The challengers fangs dug in and ripped through her flesh. Even at this point, the black bear hadnt thought the slightest bit about her own body. She judged that while the challengers teeth were truly sharp, it wasnt something she couldnt endure.

That was obviously a misjudgment and a fatal mistake.

Tingle.

She felt like the shoulder, where the challengers teeth were embedded in, was tingling. And then, her body suddenly stiffened.

That was when the black bear realized it. The challengers real weapon wasnt the sharpness of its fangs, but its poisonous fangs. But by the time she realized it, it was too late.

Stiffening, the black bear died.

Kaaaaaaah!

Having defeated the black bear, the challenger roared. It was a roar full of joy at her new fleshy meal.

But the newly established king of the eastern forest wasnt given a chance to fully enjoy it.

Smack!

He felt a sharp pain on the back of his head. Then, he heard a shout.

Hey! You bird-brain! I told you to come after eating outside!

Instead of retaliating against the person who had impertinently smacked him, the new king of the forest chose to let out a whine as he protested.

Pawk.

Ugh! Redvern, you dumb bastard. When are you going to become a dragon?

The king of the forest, Redvern, cried pitifully as he tried to act cute in the face of his masters exasperation.

***

Pa, pa, pawk.

Kim Seon-Hyeok sighed as he watched Redvern crying while shaking his head. It was as if Redvern was saying that it wasnt his fault.

If youre going to feign innocence, at least remove the flesh between your teeth before doing it.

It was truly ridiculous that Redvern was complaining about the injustice when the corpses of the animals torn by his own teeth were at his feet.

However, Redvern was strongly insisting that it was unfair.

What? She attacked you first?

Kim Seon-Hyeok frowned as he turned his head. He saw the carcass of the black bear, which still maintained a relatively intact shape.

The bear was as big as a massive tree, a tree so big that one arm span wouldnt be enough to encircle it. The forest of the Mother Tree was rich with life and vitality so it was said that the animals living in it were generally larger than the animals living in the outside world. However, the bear was way too big. Even those who wouldnt normally be surprised would be shocked by its size.

Stop lying to me! Unless its crazy, why would it attack you?!

But that was it, just merely surprised. No matter how big the bear was, it was still a small and insignificant animal. Kim Seon-Hyeok thought that even if Redvern hadnt regained his former glory, there was no way a mere animal would have attacked him.

Paawk! Smack!

Paawk! Smack!

Every time Redvern complained of the injustice, Kim Seon-Hyeok smacked him upside the head. Only after getting beaten up ten times like that did Redvern finally settle down.

Peeeeee.

Huh? Youre crying?

Kim Seon-Hyeok twitched when he saw Redverns strangely wet eyes.

Did that bear really attack first?

While he was hesitating, Redvern took off.

Peeeeeee.

He really did look like he thought it was unfair. Kim Seon-Hyeok mightve really believed him. At least, he would have if it hadnt been for the corpse of the bear and something else clutched in each of his hind legs.

Ugh, when am I going to turn that into a Dragon?

Kim Seon-Hyeok sighed. While the others were off recovering their former glory and even establishing new glories and power, Redvern hadnt changed at all.

While his size was incomparable to any other wyvern, Redvern still hadnt been able to shed the form of a wyvern.

It was said that Redvern had committed the sin of sloth, but he was even being lazy about freeing himself from exile.

No, forget that. It seemed like Redvern wasnt feeling the need to recover his former glories.

Has he has he forgotten the fact that he was even a Dragon in the past?

It was a thoughtless complaint, but it was convincing enough for a chill to run down his spine. If he thought about how stupid Redvern was, it was a possibility.

Ugh. Still, Im sure that if he flys diligently, hell eventually find his former past.

It was a question of when that would be.

Ive already waited 50 years. Whats another 50?

Kim Seon-Hyeok sighed before striding forward.

The Mother Tree was a giant tree that towered over a thriving forest. The Qeishas built their villages with the Mother Tree in the center and Kim Seon-Hyeoks home was located in a corner of that village. And there, his wife was waiting for him.

You came?

Now that she had abandoned the life of a monarch and chosen the path of an ordinary woman, Ophelia no longer spoke and acted like Empress. Her once hard tone had become softer.

Looking at your unhappy expression, it seems like something has happened?

He nodded at the now-familiar gentle voice.

He hunted a bear that seems like it was the master of the forest. I think itll be noisy for a while because of the territorial battles between the animals.

Well, Im glad that at least he didnt eat all the beasts in one area like he did last time.

Ophelia gently comforted him.

Still, I cant face the Qeishas. They wont say anything, but I think theyre dissatisfied that Redvern keeps ruining the forest.

Then well have to meet with them.

Yes. At the very least, we have to prevent the young Qeishas from getting caught up in the territorial battle between the beasts and getting hurt.

Although the adult Qeishas were superhumans who were equivalent to a senior knight, the younger Qeishas werent much different from human children. They were simply children who were a bit more agile and more sensitive than human children.

And those children had gotten hurt several times when they had gotten swept up in Redverns troubles. Not only was Kim Seon-Hyeok mooching off the Qeishas, but he was also inconveniencing them more than could be imagined.

Anyway, seeing how youre looking for Redvern, I guess youll be going outside the forest again?

Kim Seon-Hyeok had been deep in thought, but at that, he looked at Ophelia with a guilty look on his face.

Youre most likely planning on going back to that capital.

His face turned pale. He hadnt thought that she would be able to figure out about his trip abroad.

Well thats um theres Victors request and I thought since Im going, I could also

What did you tell me the day we left the Imperial Capital?

Ophelias voice might be soft, but it didnt lack the dignity it held in her days as the Empress.

Didnt you say that we should leave the Empire to the next generation and that we should live our lives now? Am I remembering it wrong?

No, youre right.

So then why do you keep paying attention to the affairs of the Empire?

He ducked his head at his strict wifes scolding. He had no excuse. Just like she said, he was the one who said they should live peacefully in the Mother Trees forest and he was also the one who had told her to forget about the Empire.

I know that its difficult to reject Victors request. No matter what anyone says, Victor is your son as he is mine. I also know that his request is actually an excuse to appease his longing for his parents.

There was no way Victor wouldnt want to see his parents when they were still alive but wouldnt come out of the forest. There was no way Ophelia wouldnt understand those feelings, but she also had the coldness of a mother lion who would sometimes drop her cub off a cliff.

However, we mustnt help the Empire any longer. If you continue to help the Empire, then it will be a weak country that only relies on one superhuman. And Victor cannot become the sole monarch.

Everything she was saying was right.

I was told that the child you found, Lowenthal, became the head of the aviation corps. And beyond that, there are innumerable benefits the Empire enjoys from your presence alone.

Ophelias tone became stricter.

Your name and what you left behind has become a great strength that sustained the Empire even 50 years later. Now, its time for Victor to make the Empires strength his own.

As if he had committed a sin, Kim Seon-Hyeok hung his head limply.

Victor and the Empire are our best works. So now, we must trust Victor and the Empire as we watch over them.

I know. Youre right. I was irresolute.

Perhaps she felt sorry for him because Ophelias voice softened.

Your kind personality is your greatest strength.

He sighed as he looked at his wife praising him.

Hm? But whats this smell?

While they had been focused on their conversation, something began to smell like it was burning.

Ah!

Startled by his words, Ophelia quickly ran somewhere. It was in the direction of the kitchen. And that night, Kim Seon-Hyeok ate overly cooked food.

When his lovely wife fell deeply asleep, Kim Seon-Hyeok secretly left the house.

Im sorry, Ophelia.

He didnt want to go against his considerate wife, but he had to go to the Empire.

As a man, he absolutely did not want to miss this.

He mumbled to himself as he clutched a magical missive delivered to him by the Qeishas.

Mage mount scheduled for a trial run on the upcoming full moon.

The mage mounts, which had been expected to quickly be a success, had gone through decades worth of trial and error. There had been all sorts of failure - the heart that supplied the magic had exploded and the circuits malfunctioned and turned the knight who had been onboard into a super corpse.

But then, he had been contacted saying that the mage mount, which had been so difficult to develop, was finally on the brink of success. That was tonight.

Shh, be quiet.

It seemed like Redvern had completely forgotten what had happened during the day because he began squawking with joy. Kim Seon-Hyeok forcibly stopped him as he mounted Redvern.

Lets go to the Imperial Capital.

Redvern spread his wings and flew away without a sound. Not long after Redvern left the forest, Ophelia, who Seon-Hyeok had thought was asleep, opened her eyes.

This really is the last time.

It seemed like she knew everything.

This wasnt the Adenstein bloodlines ability to see through everything. It was an ability every wife had - it was her intuition about her husband. However, the husbands werent aware of their wives abilities.

And so, Kim Seon-Hyeok didnt realize that Ophelia had woken up and he continued to excitedly fly towards the Imperial Capital.