C507
Creeak.
Cale entered the cabin without knocking and flopped onto a chair.
"The Council of the 17 will take place exactly in a week."
At his words, a relaxed voice responded.
"Well, with the generals of the 17 islands scattered across that vast sea, they will need that time to gather."
"Yes. And the magic defenses of Island 1 will also open in a week."
At that moment, all the ships of the generals of the 17 islands waiting in front of Island 1 will enter the port.
"Didn't we say we would arrive in 5 days?"
"Yes. According to General Perry, she knows a secret passage and can enter Island 1 first, where the Great General resides."
After saying this, Cale asked the person who was sitting on the bed reading a book.
"Two days. Will that be enough, Your Highness?"
Sarak.
Alberu turned a page and replied.
"Yes. It is enough time to find His Majesty the King."
Cale crossed his arms as he watched Alberu, who read the book calmly without even looking at him.
"Your Highness."
And he then asked as if nothing was wrong.
"Do you feel confused?"
"...What?"
"Or are you nervous?"
Alberu's gaze turned toward Cale.
"I have no idea what you are talking about."
Cale, seeing Alberu's face with a bright smile, let out a deep sigh and shook his head.
"Well, on the way to find a father who ran away without saying anything, all sorts of thoughts must be going through your mind."
Haa.
Alberu let out a sigh.
The bright smile disappeared without a trace.
"Younger brother (Dongsaeng). You really are disrespectful."
"It is the heart of a younger brother thinking of his older brother."
"Really, you can never keep that mouth shut."
"That is my virtue."
Haah.
Alberu exhaled a deep sigh.
Irritation was peeking out on his slightly frowning face.
Tok!
He closed the book and spoke with an impassive expression.
"It is not the path to find a father who ran away without saying anything, but the path to find a king who disappeared without saying anything."
Alberu, who took the trouble to correct Cale's words.
Cale did not fully understand Alberu's heart.
He just added.
They were words he could say.
"And he is also a king who is said to have little time left to live."
"...That is right."
Alberu closed his eyes tightly and then opened them.
The prince with blonde hair and blue eyes, with his typically handsome appearance, had extremely cold eyes as he looked at the cabin wall.
Alberu Crossman, who observed the wall for a good while.
Cale had been observing Alberu, who, unlike him who had come to the Seventh Evil Castle as soon as he was contacted, seemed to stay back since they arrived at the Maritime Alliance.
Zed Crossman.
He has about 2 weeks left to live.
No, now he doesn't even have 2 weeks left.
By the time we reach the island, he probably won't even have 5 days left.
"Cale Henituse."
"Yes."
"How should I act?"
Cale recalled the relationship between Alberu and Zed Crossman.
The Crown Prince Alberu Crossman, who grew up alone, neglected and rejected after losing his mother.
Zed Crossman, who was indifferent toward that Alberu.
When Alberu raised the status of the Roan Kingdom and made a name for himself in the world.
Zed Crossman suddenly disappeared along with his bodyguards.
Alberu lost the chance to inherit the king's throne.
And then he received the news that that king would now soon die.
Cale recalled his conversation with Zed Crossman.
'I am personally chasing the Hunters.'
The White Star that Cale faced.
The ancient White Star that existed before him.
The Crossman royal family, which inherited the blood of that White Star.
'White Blood.'
And originally there were 7 Hunter families.
Among them, the Red Blood Family was exterminated.
It was said that the White Blood Family betrayed the Hunters and disappeared.
'I thought the White Blood Family might be related to the Crossman royal family.'
Cale had not yet heard that answer from Zed.
Because he had drawn a line.
'Now that I think about it, I should have asked Choi Jung Gun about the Red Blood Family.'
The childhood Choi Jung Gun, whom he met at the Temple of the Sealed God in the past, told Cale to look for the Red Blood Family before disappearing into that illusion.
There must be a reason why he told him to look for a family that was known to be exterminated.
'And the Thames family is not the Red Blood Family.'
The Thames family, who came to understand time.
As the maternal family of Cale Henituse's body, they fell at the hands of the Hunters.
"It is not just one or two things to solve."
Soon he should ask Choi Jung Gun, whom he will see again, about the Red Blood Family.
'And that strange maternal uncle who seems to avoid me.'
Yes. That human who ran away with my money. I should ask that human about the Thames family.
"Yes. There really are many things to ask, many things to solve."
Alberu's voice was strangely dull.
Even so, Cale spoke in a serene tone.
"Yes. So, you asked what you should do?"
Cale answered Alberu's question without hesitation.
Because the answer was obvious.
"First, the probability that His Majesty the King will try to flee upon seeing us is high. So, the moment we see him, we kidnap him immediately."
"...Huh?"
"Choi Han or the Heavenly Demon are very good at this kind of thing. Or it would be more convenient to ask Raon, On, and Hong to sprinkle paralyzing poison to immobilize his feet at once."
"Huh?"
"So let's tie him up so he can't run away. And we don't know if he is in this New World game as an NPC or if he logged in as a user, right?"
"……."
Cale kept talking well on his own, even without Alberu saying anything.
"If he is a user, he could log out suddenly, so if we see signs of that, we knock him unconscious."
"……."
Alberu looked at Cale silently.
"And then let's ask everything we have been curious about! We won't let him go until we hear the answers!"
Cale's expression was very determined.
With an attitude that this time, regardless of whether he is a king or not, he would only be satisfied after hearing everything he wanted to know.
"And we tell him to leave the matters of the Hunters in our hands, and to worry about the internal affairs of the Roan Kingdom while Your Highness is away."
"Ha!"
Alberu let out a mocking laugh and then spoke.
"And then?"
"Your Highness can worry less about the affairs of the Roan Kingdom and, with a peace of mind, save the New World and this world as a hero."
"Ha, haha-"
He couldn't help but laugh at Cale's words.
Because Alberu knew the premise behind Cale's words.
"Saving him is an obvious condition?"
Cale's words continued to take for granted that they would save King Zed.
"Of course."
"How?"
"I don't know?"
Cale shrugged his shoulders and said.
"But there must be a way, right?"
"I understand. You are right."
Alberu recited as if he were exhaling a sigh.
"There is a way for everything."
"Yes. So, after resolving the hero matters and returning to the Roan Kingdom, inherit the throne from His Majesty King Zed."
Cale, with a rather amused expression, threw the words at Alberu.
"You should become Emperor, right?"
"……!"
Alberu's eyes widened slightly.
As always, this guy doesn't forget my words, my intention.
So he also expressed Cale's desire.
"By then, you will be unemployed too."
"That is right."
Alberu, slyly avoiding Cale's gaze, spoke.
"At that time, to celebrate that the Emperor has become unemployed, it wouldn't be bad to have a small party with only acquaintances."
A small party with acquaintances.
In Alberu's life, there was never such a moment.
"Oh. Let's do it at the Black Castle."
Alberu, hearing the serene tone of Cale Henituse, who this time chanted his words unlike usual, slyly raised the corner of his lips.
"But, Your Highness. You really won't make me do anything, right?"
That is why he showed a twisted smile at the sincere question Cale Henituse asked carefully.
"Yes."
Although the twisted smile did not seem kind at all, unlike it, his voice contained a rather simple sincerity.
Because he sincerely wished for Cale, who had gone through all kinds of difficulties, to rest a little and enjoy peace.
Creeak.
Cale stood up from the chair.
"Then, let's catch the fugitive king and ask why he did that."
"So be it."
Cale left the cabin, and Alberu, without setting his gaze anymore on the book he could no longer read, looked at the sea beyond the cabin window.
"...Father-"
Although the moment to converse with you is not particularly pleasant or desired.
It seems that this time we must converse deeply.
Like the endless sea, Alberu's gaze also sank deeply, very deeply.
However, unlike before, it was full of a clear will.
The ship sailed silently through the sea.
And the Central Sea was also calm for the first time in a long while.
Although there were small disturbances or disputes, the sharp tension seen in the sea before had disappeared.
"Council? General Perry has gone crazy!"
Instead, the islands, not the sea, were restless, with tension and excitement floating in the air.
The few islands currently maintaining neutrality.
Or islands too weak to participate in the competition.
Except for these, most had joined the faction of one of the generals from islands 2-18.
Therefore, the sudden Council of the 17 convened by General Perry made everyone agitated.
"Did General Perry use this strategy? Will she try to do something like being neutral?"
People talking about General Perry's intentions.
"...Everyone will gather in one place. This is not bad."
Someone aiming for the moment when everyone gathers.
"Hmm. Yes, we need to see how the situation flows at least once."
Someone who wants to verify the state of the unfolding panorama.
People with diverse intentions began to appear.
However, amidst this, there was a common thought that most of the generals shared.
"It is the right time."
"One more war would be like eating oneself."
"We should have gathered at least once."
That it was the time to gather and discuss all together at least once.
"But, will they open the door at Island 1? Someone could aim for the Great General's life."
"Will it really be like that? Whoever kills the Great General will never obtain the position of Great General. Because they will lose legitimacy."
"Yes, you are right."
However, they expressed doubts about whether Island 1 would open the door.
But they thought that Island 1 could not refuse.
General Perry of Island 16, guardian and protector.
The moment they ignored her authority to convene the Council of the 17, it would mean that they also disobeyed the will of the Great General they served.
"...It is strange. It is not a choice typical of her."
However, only General 7 expressed doubts about General Perry of Island 16's summons.
If it were her, she would have asked for help instead of using such a bold strategy. Furthermore, she would not do something that endangered the Great General.
"...She is the one who follows my father more than anyone."
General 7, with a serious face, felt a strange uneasiness.
"I hope she doesn't interfere with our plans."
"Do not worry, General. General Perry does not know anything."
"That is true."
General 7 stayed alert without underestimating the variables.
And,
"Everyone is in an uproar."
General 3, the Wanderer Uho, got excited hearing the news about the surrounding situation.
Splash, shwaaaa-
Shwaaaa--
Thus, General Perry's ship, which plunged everyone into confusion, worry, and excitement, was approaching silently an island located in the north of the Central Sea, without unfurling any flag.
"Is it here?"
Cale observed the island where the ship had anchored.
"Yes. It is a nameless island."
General Perry stared fixedly at the uninhabited island where no one lived.
Island 1, where the Great General resides.
Instead of going there, Cale arrived at an uninhabited island located some distance from it.
"There is the cave."
General Perry's hand pointed to a cave.
"Underground in that cave, there is a Magic Formation that leads to Island 1. It is an emergency passage."
She took out a badge.
"Only whoever possesses this can activate the Magic Formation."
Perry looked at the badge in her hand.
After all, was it a wise choice to take Cale and his group to the Great General's island first?
Her, who kept worrying until the end.
"Oh. Are they enemies?"
At the words Cale let out suddenly, she was surprised and raised her head.
"Ah!"
And she became confused.
The cave.
A man ran out from there.
A young man.
In his hand, he held a huge spear.
General Perry, who had taken off her uniform and put on a hat to hide her identity, immediately recognized who the other was.
"He is the Great General's youngest son-"
But her words could not continue.
The young man, leaning his body back, then crouched with all his might and threw the spear.
Shwaaaa-
Precisely in the direction where Cale was.
The Great General's youngest son, looking at the intruders who had come to the island with the secret passage, shouted.
"How dare you, who are those who set foot here! I, Ashifrang, will never-"
But his words could not continue.
Kwaaaaaang!
With a roar, the spear he threw was cut in two.
"...Ah, the holy weapon my father gave me-"
The family treasure passed down for generations.
A spear that contained the legend that it was used by the best lancer of the sea who faced the god of the sea in the past.
That-
Kwaaaaaaa-
It was cut too easily.
And the person who cut the spear was approaching him quickly, emanating a fierce energy.
Ashifrang could hear someone's voice shouting at him toward that man.
"Choi Han, calm down...!"
The person shouting urgently was the red-haired man who was at the front of the ship.
"Huh?"
And seeing the woman next to him take off her hat and run after him, Ashifrang became confused.
"Sister?"
The identity of that woman was General Perry.
"Huh? Then aren't they enemies?"
While Ashifrang was confused, Cale shouted.
"Choi Han, don't knock him unconscious! Just let it go!"
