Children of the Holy Emperor Chapter 424

424. Transaction (2)

Seongjin had thought that way before.

In order for Logan to stand proudly in front of the Ortonans one day, something special will have to be done.

-I was just running away. I was just afraid of the cold stares I would receive from them, so I couldn’t enter even though I knew the shortcut.

Logan once said that.

It would be a natural concern. This guy is not a proud general who fought for his country until the end, but the prince of the empire that destroyed Ortona.

‘Originally, I would like to forget about my difficult past life and live a new life as a prince of the Holy Emperor, but… … .’

Perhaps, given Logan’s personality, such a thing would never be possible.

Besides, Seongjin has already heard it. On that evening when heavy rain poured down, Logan, drenched in rain, poured out his sincerity with great difficulty.

-I thought I could handle any stigma, but in reality, I was not prepared to properly face any of my colleagues from my past life.

It’s a bit annoying, but in other words, it means that Logan wants to stand by his friends from his past life, even if it means receiving a lot of stigma.

So Seongjin thought.

‘okay? Aren’t you ready to face it properly? Okay, then I’ll force you to prepare!’

So what I came up with was the so-called ‘Unite Daedong through Soccer’ operation.

This strategy was inspired by the experience of a co-worker who was a fan of a famous soccer team, who went to the team’s hometown on vacation and received a great welcome.

My boss, who was a typical old man, had his face relaxed as if he had just been to heaven. Since ancient times, in the world of die-hard fans, there are no races or borders.

‘That’s why I’m insisting that I’m the general’s biggest fan!’

Anyone from Ortona, especially someone with ties to the old republic, can’t help but like our Logan, or rather Gael Bertran!

‘How could you be so mean to someone who has the same idol as you?’

Whether or not Logan will welcome that measure is a separate issue. What can I do? That innocent brat has no choice anyway.

Of course, I had no idea that I would meet the remnants of the old republican government so quickly and test the strategy of ‘uniting the great East through soccer.’

“… yes? yes?”

Look at that. It works, after all.

Look at Giovanni’s dumbfounded expression! This genius and groundbreaking strategy will instantly banish any antipathy toward the empire from your mind!

Whiiing-

A heavy silence falls for a moment in the barn, where the chilly late fall wind blows. The only thing that moves is the devil’s lamp that occasionally flickers a dull light.

[Hey, Seongjin Lee. I think you’ve had a serious negative impact on his first impression… … .]

shut up! No way!

* * *

Anyway, they successfully (?) brightened the mood and were able to change the topic to ‘Giacomo Milo’ in earnest.

“As you might have guessed, we currently have a new recruit for Giacomo Milo.”

Giovanni calmly admitted. Fortunately, he didn’t seem to have any intention of making an issue of ‘Bertrán & Lee’ anymore.

“Due to Freedom Underpass’s policy, we cannot directly arrest him and hand him over to the Empire. “It could easily provoke strong opposition from comrades.”

Giovanni added that since it is operated based on individual values ​​and beliefs, situations in which the legitimacy of the organization is questioned by the majority of members must be avoided.

“But it will be possible to safely guide your group to Giacomo Milo’s base.”

“Well, how about it? Your policy is to protect as much as possible those who have entrusted themselves to escape the Empire? And yet you obediently lead us to him?”

“It is an essential choice to protect more people.”

Giovanni, who responded to Seongjin like that, smiled a slightly bitter smile.

“Of course, I know full well that it is hypocrisy and contradiction. However, the power of an empire is like a natural disaster that cannot be dealt with by manpower. “Isn’t the outcome already determined anyway?”

“… … .”

“In the end, no matter how hard we sacrifice our lives to stop him, you will search through the Freedom Underpass and eventually find him.”

That’s right.

To tell the truth, while I was giving up, I even thought about turning over a lot of the Jayu Underpass.

“In the meantime, the network of the Freedom Underpass will be completely paralyzed, and there may be a huge loss of life. As for Giacomo Milo, the longer it is delayed, the less likely he will be able to catch it.”

Of course, Jayu Underground is not an easy organization either. We have sufficient force to successfully exclude intruders with nefarious intentions.

If the person who touched the entrance was just an inquisitor or an exorcist, they might have tried to kill the person with a single sword and destroy the evidence.

‘But the other person happens to be a prince whom the Holy Emperor cherishes… … !’

The reason why various enemy groups criticizing the empire have safely set foot on the continent until now is not due to anything other than the mercy of the current Emperor.

But what would happen if, for some reason, he finally decided to get rid of the free underpass?

‘We’ll probably end up like the Church of Rest.’

Giovanni had witnessed how thoroughly the Church of Rest, once prevalent in the imperial capital and the Regina area, had collapsed at the hands of the Holy Emperor.

“We are just trying to prepare for the coming flood by building a small dam to divert the water. “Even if one or two houses are washed away, it’s a much better business than if the entire village is submerged.”

“okay… … .”

Seongjin found his decision a little surprising. Although he had only just met Giovanni, his first impression was that he was quite an idealist.

This is true even if you just look at the organization he leads. Isn’t the ‘Blue Republican Revolutionary Front’ full of republican romance?

However, unable to ignore the experience accumulated over time, it seems that the old idealist ended up making a compromise with reality.

“We make a deal. “I will guide you to the location of Giacomo Milo right now.”

“If it’s a deal, what are the conditions?”

“Please do not cause any damage to the base as much as possible, and do not harm your comrades. Don’t even try to find out about other nearby bases. That is our condition for assistance.”

“hmm.”

Seongjin stared at Giovanni for a moment and then nodded.

“okay. I will try my best to avoid causing any harm to you. I won’t even attempt to delve into the organization’s inner workings. “You can just run the Free Underpass without any problems as always.”

“Thank you for your understanding-”

“Oh, by the way.”

Towards Giovanni, who seemed relieved, Seongjin added with a serious look on his face.

“Now I think about it like this. Wouldn’t it have been quicker for you to just throw Giacomo Milo out of the free underpass? “If he had been left somewhere conspicuous, we would have tracked him down.”

I flinch.

Giovanni reacted without realizing it and smiled somewhat awkwardly.

“haha. As I said before, it is difficult due to the organization’s policy. An organization united by beliefs will quickly disintegrate the moment it abandons those beliefs. We are open to all who seek freedom-”

“At the point when you are leading us to Giacomo Milo, you have already gone beyond belief. In that case, wouldn’t it be better to deal with him secretly from the gang members? From the looks of it, it looks like he has several proper assassins with him.”

“… … .”

“I have no intention of using my own hands. “It doesn’t matter as long as we can retrieve his body later.”

Giovanni’s face visibly hardens. In response, Seongjin raised the corners of his mouth with a confident expression.

“Where is that? You guys have already exposed me to two bases. And now he plans to lead me to the third base. “Why on earth do you want to take that kind of damage?”

“… … .”

“So instead of pretending to help, let’s be more honest.”

At that moment, Giovanni saw the young prince’s eyes shining strangely brightly. The sight of pale gray eyes with a cold yet sharp glow, as if they were swords reflecting sunlight.

“Wouldn’t it be like giving you a big help by cutting out a troublesome problem without causing any harm?”

“… So what do you want to say?”

Seongjin smiled brightly at him, who was unable to hide his look of disappointment.

“Uh, so that’s what I want to say. “Let’s make a deal.”

“… “What are the conditions?”

“Why don’t we really sit down with Logan sometime? “How can I contact you again later?”

“… … .”

* * *

The prince and his party left in a small wagon, just as they had arrived. This is another ‘express’ wagon filled with empty wooden boxes.

Now they will run for one more full day and arrive at the ‘Furiano’ branch where Giacomo Milo is located at dawn tomorrow.

Come closer. Come closer.

Giovanni, who had been staring at the receding carriage for a moment, asked the woman in the stealth suit who was coming up behind him.

“… What do you think of that prince? “Chief Greta.”

Giovanni’s announcement of himself as the head of the Blue Republican Revolutionary Front was quite an impulsive act.

First of all, I had a great intention to catch the young boy off guard. Since he was the one who revealed the precious name that had been buried in his heart for a long time, it is also true that he felt angry for a while.

However, after a short conversation with the prince, all that was left to him was a strange sense of heterogeneity and puzzlement.

“Have you noticed anything strange about the prince?”

The woman called Greta seemed to think deeply about his question for a moment.

“He certainly seemed strangely calm for his age. “I came in because I had a self-indulgent and picky personality, so I was a little surprised to see him carrying on a conversation in an easy-going manner.”

“is it?”

“yes. hemp cloth… “It seemed like I could communicate well with Giovanni.”

“Without any obstruction… “It looked like that too.”

Giovanni let out a laugh.

“That’s not it, Greta. “Prince Mores was a somewhat strange boy.”

“… … .”

Greta looked up at him with a question in mind, but Giovanni was already lost in his own thoughts.

okay. The more I thought about the conversation with the young prince, the more strange it became.

‘He didn’t want to ask me anything where questions should have been raised.’

It turned out that the subversive organization he was sponsoring was actually taking control of the North. If you do that, you might dig into the situation in more detail by asking various questions.

But the prince didn’t seem to have the slightest curiosity about the organization.

The same goes for Giacomo Milo.

Although it was clear that he sensed something strange, he did not particularly try to obtain more information. I couldn’t figure out what kind of guts it was.

‘Besides, he didn’t even try to explore me through conversation. He didn’t seem to be very careful, but he didn’t give out information clumsily or be easily swayed by me.’

No matter how much he reflected on the conversation with him, Giovanni could not follow the flow of his thoughts.

For example, there were many parts of the conversation with the prince that lacked proper context. I couldn’t tell if he was just guessing and throwing it away, or if he just had a good feel for it.

Then, there were times when I suddenly left the conversation. So, as I adjusted the rhythm to that, before I knew it, I was getting closer to the core of the story.

For example, it felt like this. It’s as if the conversation is just being roughly led towards a decided outcome… … .

‘… No, how could that possibly be the case? ‘Maybe I was oversensitive about Gael’s problem.’

Giovanni smiled bitterly, recalling the face he missed and could no longer see.

As a child, he was always confident. His voice was charming, and his speech was always fluent. He had a strong power to attract people wherever he went.

Didn’t everyone at the academy look fascinated every time he gave a childish speech about the ideal republic?

‘But Gael was different from others.’

When I made a flashy speech as if I was bragging in my youth, my friend who was listening quietly would always respond like this.

-I am not sure whether the value of the republic is worth all these sacrifices. However, I can become the sword that realizes the will of the prince who is certain of this.

At the time, I felt a little disappointed with my friend who did not respond as enthusiastically as others. Perhaps because he was young, he did not fully understand the weight of his friend’s words.

And in the end, his close friend kept his promise to become a sword.

When he bewitched people like a wizard from an old story and finally rushed towards catastrophe, Chinwoo carried out his will by scattering thousands of blood with his proud sword.

I took on the sacrifice alone that I wasn’t sure if it was worth making, and silently walked down the path of blood. Even Giovanni himself, the person who pushed everyone into civil war, constantly doubted and doubted the path.

Without any doubt, and without the slightest resentment.

‘It’s really strange, Gael. Looking at the prince of that empire, I kept thinking of your childhood. ‘I’m sorry to bring up your hateful enemy, but those who are more outstanding than others seem to be different from an early age.’

Giovanni stared with a lonely expression at the horizon of the wasteland, where the carriage had already disappeared.

* * *

Rattling rattling.

Seongjin was deep in thought as he let his body sway to the rough shaking of the wagon.

Perhaps it was because of my mood, but I felt uneasy due to a vague premonition from earlier.

“… “Are you dissatisfied with the results, sir?”

Sure enough, Masain, who had been watching Seongjin closely from earlier, cautiously asked.

“huh? Uh, no. why?”

“just… “For some reason, you don’t seem to be in a very good mood.”

Did that make a mark?

Seongjin scratched his cheek awkwardly.

“Uh, it’s no big deal. “I feel like I haven’t told Giovanni enough about Logan.”

Then, as if they had heard something unexpected, Owen and Masain’s eyes widened at the same time.

“Logan? suddenly?”

“… “Is it you, Logan?”

“okay.”

Seongjin hugged the devil’s lamp and adjusted his posture to sit comfortably.

“I plan to introduce Giovanni to Logan later. Anyway, I hope they get along well… … .”

And Giovanni must one day become a bridge between the people of Logan and Ortona.

“But I guess I didn’t completely change the perception of Logan. “That continues to bother me.”

But Owen, who heard those words, asked back with a puzzled expression.

“Are you having strange concerns? “Isn’t that Logan’s job to take care of?”

“… huh?”

“So it’s entirely up to Logan how he gets along with that guy named Giovanni, right? Why is that new… Mores, are you trying to prepare in advance?”

uh? is it?

Seongjin blinked his eyes blankly for a moment.

“Ah, yes. “It really is.”

Owen was right. He can’t control such trivial things all at once.

‘But I can’t shake the feeling that something is lacking.’

Strangely enough, I’ve been feeling anxious a lot lately.

At first, I sent Logan and Sisley off with the assurance that everything was okay, but later I became anxious and sent Max back to Cyprus.

‘I feel like everything is becoming more and more creaky, slightly, little by little, differently from the original plan.’

Somehow, while repeating such groundless thoughts, Seongjin looked anxiously towards the distant southwest sky.

fantasy,