CH 60

Kairos’ soul emerged from the mace and merged with the Crown Prince’s body.

“Hmm.”

The Crown Prince slowly got up.

“What do you think?”

Otto approached Kairos, who now occupied the Crown Prince’s body, and asked.

“Do you think this body suits you?”

“I’m not sure yet.”

Kairos furrowed his brow and replied.

“My head is throbbing. Feels like it’s going to split.”

“It did split, so it’s only natural to hurt.”

“Hmm?”

“You hit the back of your head with the mace.”

“Damn it!”

Kairos rubbed the back of his head and became frustrated when he saw his hand covered in blood.

“I didn’t think about that.”

“…”

“No wonder it hurts.”

Kairos grumbled.

(Isn’t he an idiot?)

Otto doubted Kairos’ intelligence.

(He didn’t even think of that? Tsk, tsk. I don’t understand how he managed to reach the position of an emperor with such intelligence.)

Meanwhile…

“Ouch. My head is really hurting.”

Kairos grabbed his bleeding head and expressed his pain.

Indeed, the Crown Prince’s head was on the verge of splitting.

If the mace had a little more force, it would have burst like a broken watermelon.

“So, how is it?”

“I already said my head hurts!”

“Not about that.”

Otto made an impressed expression.

“Do you feel compatible with this body?”

“Hmm.”

After thinking for a moment, Kairos answered.

“It’s not bad.”

“Really?”

“It feels like with this body, I could…”

At that moment…

-Crackle!

The mace that had contained Kairos’ soul shattered.

Because it had held such a colossal soul for a long time, its durability had finally reached its limit.

“Huh?”

Otto was slightly taken aback when he saw the mace shatter.

“Now what are you going to do? Your home is destroyed.”

“What?”

“What if this body starts decaying like last time? Then there won’t be anywhere to go.”

Kairos’ soul was so massive.

Although countless villains’ bodies had contained Kairos’ soul, none had lasted for more than an hour.

The shortest was one minute.

The longest was around 30 minutes before the body decayed completely.

“I think this time it should be fine.”

“Really…?”

“Seems so.”

Fortunately, it seemed that the Crown Prince’s body was capable of containing Kairos’ soul.

“That’s good. Congratulations on being reborn, my friend.”

Otto sincerely congratulated Kairos.

“Reborn…?”

“You obtained a new body. That means you’re reborn, right?”

“Well, I guess so.”

“How great is that? You can enjoy your favorite drinks to your heart’s content.”

“Oh! That’s a wonderful thing! Hahaha!”

Even though his head was still bleeding, Kairos eagerly laughed and seemed to be already longing for a drink.

(He really seems incredibly foolish.)

Otto looked at Kairos and shook his head.

Meanwhile…

“Surrender! We surrender!”

“We surrender!”

The declaration of surrender from Roshan’s people came from all directions.

And…

“Long live the Kingdom of Iota!”

“Long live!”

“We did it!”

Cheers of victory erupted from the soldiers of the Kingdom of Iota.

With this battle, the internal conflict within the Roshan Kingdom, which had caused significant casualties, finally came to an end, with the victory of the Kingdom of Iota, not the rebels, or the suppression forces.

[Notification: Congratulations!]

[Notification: You have successfully conquered the ‘Roshan Kingdom’!]

[Notification: Experience increased!]

[Notification: Experience increased!]

[Notification: Congratulations!]

[Notification: Level increased!]

[Notification: Reached level 92!]

[Notification: Reached level 93!]

[Notification: Reached level 94!]

[Notification: Reached level 95!]

[Notification: Reached level 96!]

Perhaps due to the Roshan Kingdom’s superior national power compared to the Kingdom of Iota, he gained a whopping five levels at once.

Eliminating potential enemies, expanding their territory, and raising the levels.

He achieved an extraordinary feat, surpassing, killing two birds with one stone, and reaching unprecedented heights.

***

After the war ended.

“I have no intention of becoming a king in such a rural backwater place. You all figure it out.”

Crown Prince Louis Blanc.

No, Kairos had already tossed away the crown of the Roshan Kingdom as if it were some trivial thing.

As someone who had once held one-third of the entire continent in his hands, it was only natural for the crown of the Roshan Kingdom to seem trivial to Kairos.

“…”

“…”

“…”

The followers of the Roshan Kingdom were initially taken aback by Kairos’ sudden action, but soon they understood.

(He’s gone mad.)

(Well, if he were in his right mind, that would be even stranger.)

They thought that the Crown Prince had gone mad due to the psychological shock of losing the war.

Otherwise, why would he casually toss away the symbol of the royal family?

Besides, it was impossible to continue the bloodline of the royal family once they were occupied by the Kingdom of Iota.

Thanks to that, the absorption and merger happened faster than expected.

Since Kairos, disguised as the Crown Prince, tossed away the throne as if it were nothing, the followers had no grounds for resistance.

“…As of this moment, Roshan is officially declared to have been absorbed and merged into the Kingdom of Iota. We hope for your active cooperation in the future.”

Camille introduced Otto to the retainers of Roshan after reading the declaration.

“Presenting His Majesty, King Otto de Scuderia.”

“We greet His Majesty the King.”

The followers bowed their heads to Otto, but it was merely a pretense.

(He seems like a country bumpkin.)

(If it weren’t for the civil war, your head would have been rolling.)

(What a disgrace.)

The retainers of Roshan internally insulted, belittled, mocked, and scorned Otto.

“Nice to meet you all. I look forward to working with you. For the time being, we will focus on recovering from the damages caused by the war, so I ask for everyone’s active cooperation.”

Otto left, with those simple words.

“Just leaving like that?”

Camille asked Otto.

“Shouldn’t you stay longer? Do you have other plans?”

“You need to spend more time with them and get to know them.”

Camille’s advice was correct.

To the retainers of Roshan, and to all the people of Roshan, Otto was merely a conqueror.

They submitted to his power, not because they genuinely followed him.

Therefore, Otto needed to win not only the retainers but also the hearts of the people of Roshan. To do so, he had to spend time with them, showing off his abilities and charisma as a ruler.

Even if he’s a king, he had to make efforts to win public sentiment.

“Now is not the time for that. I’m busy.”

“Your Majesty!”

“I said I’m busy.”

With an expression that seemed to say it wasn’t worth the trouble, Otto brushed past Camille and walked away.

As if he didn’t care about public sentiment at all.

***

After the war in the Roshan Kingdom, Otto left the recovery efforts to his followers and joined Kairos for a drinking session.

They decided to have a toast to celebrate Kairos’ rebirth.

-Gulp, gulp, gulp!

Kairos drank strong liquor bottle after bottle, showing no signs of getting drunk.

“Why on earth aren’t you getting drunk? Hahaha!”

Otto asked Kairos, with a puzzled expression on his face that clearly showed he couldn’t understand.

With Otto’s eyes half-closed, it was evident to anyone that he was already quite tipsy.

“Because I, am a man among men who doesn’t get drunk from alcohol!”

“Does that even make sense? Hiccup! That body of yours originally belongs to me… Hiccup! No, it’s not… Hiccup!”

“Haha! How can a little brat like you understand the drinking capacity of a man among men like me? Hahaha!”

“If you keep that up… Hiccup! You’ll end up with alcohol addiction.”

“Such words do not apply to a strong man like me! Glug, glug!”

After saying so, Kairos once again drank a strong whiskey at over 40 degrees.

On Kairos’ table, empty whiskey bottles were piled up, dozens of them.

Even if those empty bottles were filled with water, one would feel too full to drink any more…

“You crazy b**tard… Hiccup! I’ll never… drink with you again…”

-Thud.

Otto fainted before he could finish his sentence.

“Haha! Such a brat!”

Kairos looked down at the unconscious Otto with a mocking smile.

“I am is the best when it comes to drinking. Hahaha!”

But Kairos had a secret…

Drip, drip.

From the tip of Kairos’ closed fist under the table, strong alcohol was dripping.

In fact, Kairos wasn’t strong against alcohol at all.

He subtly manipulated mana to excrete alcohol through his fingertips, maintaining a constant blood alcohol concentration.

So no matter how much he drank, he couldn’t get drunk.

(When the head is foolish, the body suffers.)

Kairos laughed at Otto once and continued drinking, using the moon as his drinking partner.

During that time…

“…I’m sorry.”

A bitter voice flowed from Kairos’ mouth.

“I should have protected all of you… I was deceived by that b**tard and made all of you suffer…”

In the past…

It was obvious what Argon, who had ascended to the throne, did to Kairos’ subordinates.

Kairos continued to drink alone, reminiscing about his former subordinates.

Until the break of dawn…

***

After conquering Roshan, the Kingdom of Lota focused on internal affairs.

Since the conquest of Roshan marked the complete unification of the western outskirts of the continent, they had to quietly strengthen their power for a while.

However, internal affairs were far from easy.

After several territories and nations merged into one in a short period of time, various side effects began to emerge.

And the most prominent side effect was none other than “Division.”

About three months after the Kingdom of Lota conquered Roshan…

(General Camille, the carpenters are not following regulations.)

(General Camille, something serious has happened! There’s a riot in the streets!)

(General Camille, a brawl broke out among the soldiers, resulting in three deaths and 69 injuries. The parties involved are currently…)

(General Camille, there was a clash in front of the palace in Roshan.)

Camille couldn’t handle the overwhelming reports and seriously considered submitting her resignation.

“It’s dangerous.”

In the past few weeks, Camille had been plagued with various types of complaints, and ultimately, the cause was the same.

Conflict and division.

The people of the Kingdom of Lota were constantly fighting among themselves, unable to unite as one.

They formed groups based on their places of origin and started fighting against groups composed of people from other regions.

This was due to the cultural characteristics of the western outskirts of the continent.

To the people in this region, known as “Pashto,” there was little sense of national identity.

They didn’t even consider themselves of the same ethnicity from the beginning.

The Pashto region itself consisted of rugged mountainous terrain.

As a result, the loyalty and sense of community towards their hometowns or territories were stronger than their loyalty to the nation.

Furthermore, when the Roshan people resisted the rule of the Kingdom of Lota, various social issues emerged.

Fortunately, the military of the Kingdom of Lota had a strong military force, which was able to withstand and suppress the problems to some extent.

The problem was that the author of the kingdom, the king, had been solely focusing on personal training for three months and hadn’t lifted a finger in governing the country.

“If it continues like this, the homeland will be torn apart.”

Camille recognized the ongoing events as warning signs and immediately met with Otto.

He couldn’t just ignore the conflicts and divisions among the people anymore.

But…

“What are you doing?”

Camille looked puzzled as he saw Otto packing his belongings into a large backpack.

“Can’t you tell? I’m packing.”

“I mean, why are you packing?”

“Because I have somewhere to go.”

“Are you going to the Koutachi family?”

“I’ll go there after winter.”

“Then where are you going?”

“To find the Book of Reconciliation.”

“What is that?”

“Well, it’s exactly what it sounds like. That sacred artifact will help our people get along harmoniously.”

“….?”

“What are you doing? Aren’t you going to pack your things?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Did you think I was going alone? Since Camille is coming with me, hurry up and pack.”

At that moment…

(I have to escape.)

Realizing that being dragged along by Otto would only lead to more trouble, Camille tried to escape quickly.

But…

-Thud!

A dull sound reverberated.

“…?”

Suddenly, Camille felt dizzy and lost consciousness, collapsing to the ground.

TL here: That’s it! Sorry for the absence once again but from now, I will be only focusing on only this novel for sometime and not take any other novels. So you can expect at least 2 Chapters per day. Expect Sunday… Regular update.