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Chapter 193 - Central Powers (7)

“Are we not teleporting directly at the palace?”

“We can’t do that this time.”

“Why not?”

“The people of the Sore Empire value courtesy.”

“Hah, you’re funny. So are you implying that the other Central Powers aren’t civilized?”

“To be honest, the people from Deucekain and Amaris aren’t very well mannered, am I wrong?”

“I guess that’s true.”

The people of the Sore Empire had dark hair and dark eyes, similar to the Zipan people. Most of them had monolids and sharp eye shapes, giving them a fox-like appearance. Also, they were a rare monoethnic empire.

The Sore people often wore white, and except for special cases, most of them had long hair. The reason for that was simple: to them, hair was something passed down the family line.

‘They’re complicated in many ways.’

In terms of sheer combat power, the Sore Empire was far weaker than Deucekain and Amaris. However, despite their lack of strength, Henry had left them as a Central Power and hadn’t forced them to become a free city because they were a nation of intellectuals.

‘Especially the way they talk.’

The Sore Empire was a nation known for its love of words, which was so intense that it was said that the Sore people kept talking even when they were on the brink of drowning.

Being good with words suggested that they were intelligent people, so dealing with them verbally was naturally quite the challenge.

Henry and his party soon arrived at the entrance of the Sore Empire.

“Their gate is quite unique.”

As they stood in front of the Sore Empire, they couldn\'t help but admire the unique appearance of the gate.

Von pointed to a curved roof in particular and said, “That roof is so unusual. What was it called?”

“That roof is called Giwa, and it’s a traditional roof in the Sore Empire, made out of baked clay.”

“It’s commendable that they purposely used baked clay for the roof and made it curved so that it looks beautiful, but it requires a lot of maintenance, making it not very efficient.”

“I don’t think they did it just for the beautiful appearance. Building it like that would make it easier to stack the roof, and easier for the rainwater to run off. That’s why they made it curved.”

“Really? Ahem, it seems that everything has a purpose in the world after all.”

“Hey, this is the Sore Empire, after all. Don’t you think they’ll be smarter than you at everything?”

As Von cleared his throat in embarrassment, McDowell took the opportunity to tease him.

“Anyway, we’re about to enter the Sore Empire, and as you all know, the Sore Empire values manners and courtesy. If things go well, I’ll be able to deal with everything with just a few words, so I don’t want any of you to unsheathe your swords unless I specifically tell you to,” said Henry.

“Of course! You make it sound like we resort to using our swords for every little thing.”

“Do you not?”

“Whatever, just lead the way!”

The gate was shut tight.

The Sore people had locked the gates because Henry had sent Junky, the head of the liberty school, to inform them that the Eurasia Empire had collapsed and that war was going to break out soon.

Henry walked up to the gate, and then, from above, guards wearing the unique armor of the Sore Empire stopped Henry.

“Who’s there? Reveal your identity!”

“I’m here to see the Taejae.”

“What? The Taejae?”

“Blink.”

Swoosh!

Henry cast Blink in front of the guard, who was befuddled by Henry’s saying that he was there to see the Taejae.

“H-huh!”

Thud!

As Henry suddenly appeared in front of him, the guard panicked and fell on his bum.

“W-what the?”

“I apologize for startling you. I’m the master of the wizard that I sent a while ago as an envoy.”

“Wizards? Ah! The person who came by not too long ago?”

“That’s right. I have come to answer back to the Taejae’s reply, so could you please open the door?”

“If you’re a guest of the Taejae, then...”

Taejae was a title used to call the ruler of the Sore Empire, and the Sore people considered the guests of the Taejae honored guests.

The gate soon opened, and the way to the palace was quick.

‘It\'s interesting no matter how many times I see it.’

The Sore Empire was a monoethnic nation, and the amount of land they had was also very small. In some ways, it was smaller than the Highlander region, the capital of the Aenia Empire.

Nonetheless, Henry didn’t look down on them because although their land was small, they had still managed to earn their status as a Central Power from him.

* * *

Henry was soon granted an audience with the Taejae, the ruler of the Sore Empire.

“I will meet with the Taejae, so please wait here for a moment.”

Henry was the only one meeting with the Taejae, so he left the Imperial Ten Swords behind and walked to the room where the Taejae had invited him.

When the court ladies opened the door, Henry was greeted by a translucent white cloth.

“Nice to meet you. I’m the Taejae that rules over this nation.”

The Taejae’s voice could be heard through the white cloth.

‘What the...?’

In the past, even after the empire was founded, Henry would occasionally meet with the Taejae for a cup of tea. Therefore, he didn’t think that convincing the Sore Empire would be that difficult.

However, it seemed that the voice of the Taejae, whom he hadn’t seen in years, had changed. Also, the way he spoke was a little unnatural. He wasn’t the Taejae that Henry knew.

‘This voice is... Can it be?’

The voice was low-pitched, but it sounded unnatural, as if someone was trying to make it sound deeper than it was.

Sensing that something was off, Henry asked, “Taeja?”

“Yes... Ah!”

“I knew it.”

Whoosh!

“H-how did you know?”

It was a simple bait, and yet Taejae had fallen for it.

The cloth was pulled back and the Taejae could be seen with a surprised expression. In front of Henry stood a young woman with her hair slicked back.

“...It was you, the third Taeja?”

The children of the Taejae were called ‘the Taeja.’ In imperial terms, Taeja was equivalent to a prince or a princess.

However, in the Sore Empire, all children of the Taejae were called Taeja, regardless of their gender, so it was right to just call her ‘the Taeja.’

She was holding a special device that made her voice deeper.

Seeing this, Henry asked, “Third Taeja, how come you are greeting me instead of the Taejae? Where is he?”

At Henry’s gentle question, the Taejae sat back down, removed the cloth completely and calmly answered, “Ahem, I’m not the Taeja anymore, but the Taejae.”

“What do you mean?”

“I have been given the position of the Taejae.”

“...Excuse me?”

The name of the woman claiming to be the new Taejae was Hongwol.

She was the third daughter of Chungang, the Taejae Henry had come to visit, and if Henry remembered correctly, she was still a young woman not yet of age.

However, she was currently the new Taejae?

Surprised, Henry stayed silent and contemplated on it. After some time, he said, “Taejae.”

“Yes?”

“What happened to Chungang and the first and second Taeja, and how come you took over the throne?”

“Both my brothers and my father all passed away during the epidemic.”

“An epidemic?”

“That’s right. But who are you, and how come you know so much about my father and my brothers?”

‘Oh right! I got carried away and forgot to introduce myself.’

Given that the Taejae had turned out to be an unexpected figure, Henry naturally got flustered and forgot about manners. He immediately apologized.

“I apologize for not introducing myself earlier. My name is Henry Morris, the current head of the Magical Spire, and the one and only disciple of the late Archmage, Henry Morris.”

“Henry Morris? You have the same name.”

“That’s right.”

“Huh, I’ve never heard that the Archmage ever had a disciple...”

In his previous life, Henry and Hongwol had known each other. Thus, stating that he was a disciple of the late Archmage made it easy for Henry to lower Hongwol’s guard and talk to her more comfortably.

“Anyway, Taejae, what do you mean, an epidemic? Just when did the Sore Empire get hit by an epidemic?”

“It’s already been more than one year. My father and brothers’ funerals have just finished, and I was the only Taeja left, so there was no other choice but for me to become the new Taejae.”

“I see...”

It was unfortunate news. However, no matter who the current Taejae was, Henry’s goal remained the same.

‘That’s sad news, but right now, my priorities are more important than mourning.’

“Then are you the one that responded to my offer, saying you need a little more time to think about it?” asked Henry.

“About the Allied Powers, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Yes, but...”

Hongwol trailed off, and looked slightly down.

Henry immediately noticed the change in her attitude.

‘It wasn’t Hongwol who responded to my letter.’

Henry had used to be a friend of the Taejae, and would occasionally teach the Taejas the ways of the Empire. Therefore, he was familiar with some of the unique habits that the Taejaes had.

The third Taeja, Hongwal, had a habit of trailing off her sentences and not being able to maintain eye contact if she was lying or making empty promises.

Henry started thinking. If it wasn\'t Hongwol who had responded, then who could it be? Just who would be able to make important decisions for the Sore Empire on behalf of the Taejae?

He quickly figured out the answer to those questions.

‘It must’ve been her right and left-hand ministers.’

Her right and left ministers were those who assisted the Taejae in running the Sore Empire.

No matter how well-educated and intelligent Hongwol was, she was still just a girl who hadn’t yet reached the legal age of maturity. Thus, it was inevitable that the two older, more experienced ministers would be heavily involved in the affairs of the empire on behalf of the Taejae.

If so, Henry would have to talk to her two ministers instead of her.

“Where are your right and left ministers right now?” asked Henry.

“We’re here.”

Just as Henry asked the Taejae, he heard the voices of the two ministers from behind her.

‘Were they eavesdropping?’

The two of them were quick-witted old men. They had been behind the young Taejae and eavesdropping on their conversation, hoping to get more information.

Her right and left ministers revealed themselves at Henry’s question.

The left minister was as pale as a mountain god, with a long beard and a slender build. However, he had the face of a tiger.

The right minister was chubby, had a short beard, and was walking with a cane due to an injured leg.

The two stood next to the Taejae, bowed, and said, “We apologize. We know that this is disrespectful to the Archmage’s disciple, but we didn’t have a choice.”

“I understand. Then, please join us in our conversion.”

Although it was rude, Henry decided not to take offense because, in diplomacy, rudeness could be considered a strategy.

Besides, even if Henry talked to the Taejae, she would inevitably have another meeting later with her left and right ministers. It was also clear that the two ministers would have the final say, so there was no point in getting angry if she was going to talk to her left and right ministers anyway.

When the two sat down, Henry said, “I would like to talk about the former Taejae if I could, but given the situation we find ourselves in, I’ll get straight to the point.”

“Of course.”

“It seems that you’ve seen the letter I’ve sent, but have the three of you still not decided on what to do?”

It was a straightforward question.

“We’ve received your letter and understood your message, Sir Henry, which is why we’ve been contemplating deeply on your offer,” declared the left minister.

“Does that mean you’ve made a decision?”

“That’s right, but we’d like to say something before we inform you of our decision. Whether we decline or accept your offer, the future of the Sore Empire will be the same either way, won\'t it?”

“The same? In what way?”

“Sir Henry, you have reached us before the envoys of the Empire this time, but... The Empire envoys will arrive sooner or later. They will also make the same offer, and whichever side we reject, they will become our enemy, will they not?”

“Isn’t that obvious?”

“It’s not! We do have some defense capabilities, but we’re not nearly as powerful as the Empire or the Magical Spire. So, if we reject either side, they will become our enemies, and that will eventually lead to us getting attacked out of revenge! If we were to reject your offer to join the Allied Powers, and instead joined forces with the Empire, wouldn’t you attack us?”

“You would become our enemy, so of course that would happen.”

“The same goes for the Empire. If we join forces with you, the empire will also be put in the same situation as you, Sir Henry. So, the future of our nation, the Sore Empire, is the same no matter which side we choose, isn\'t it?”

“So what position does the Sore Empire want to take?”

“The people of the Sore Empire will declare neutrality,” answered the right minister on behalf of the left minister.