Chapter 714: Prince

THUD.

The enormous bodies of the giants collapsed.

No.

Bringing them down itself was not the problem.

The Legion had fought enemies like that before and won, and we were stronger now than we had been back then.

If we fought them now, we would probably be able to defeat them far more easily than we had then.

But.

'In a single instant.'

The time it took for them to fall.

That was a bit of a problem.

Only then.

I could understand what that goblin had said.

Those giants were not competitors.

'They were only beings that had survived by luck and hidden away. Nothing more than prey.'

Monsters of that level.

To these creatures, that was all they amounted to.

Even the evolved forms of zombies we had encountered so far had been enough to put me on alert.

But now, I was even more certain of that thought.

'......Evolution, huh.'

Its limits.

Were likely far more dangerous than I had imagined.

And.

While I was thinking that.

“Th...... is, place.”

The bat that had carried us through the air.

Passed over the corpses of those enormous giants and landed inside the city.

***

'This place is.'

The place where the bat landed was a huge plaza.

A plaza wide enough for this absurdly enormous bat to land without much trouble.

Around it, the scenery of a fairly large city stretched out.

In the distance, I could see the shapes of quite a few high-rise buildings.

Around the plaza, broad, vast roads also spread out clearly, leading toward different parts of the city.

But.

“It is empty to the point of being unsettling.”

“You can say that again.”

Enough to make me feel strangely chilled.

The entire city was empty.

'It’s different from the cities we’ve seen until now.'

We had seen the scenery of ruined cities any number of times.

We had just seen Incheon not long ago, for that matter.

But this place was slightly different from those places too.

There were certainly damaged areas here and there, as if it had suffered an apocalypse similar to ours.

But.

The sight of it being grotesquely empty.

Only after a little while did I realize the true nature of that sense of wrongness.

'There isn’t even a single corpse, let alone a monster.'

Monster corpses were scattered all over ruined cities.

Thanks to that, they had not felt empty.

But if one excluded the giants outside, there was not even one corpse rolling around in this place.

I felt like I knew the reason why.

'They must have all gotten up and left for somewhere else.'

Surely this place too.

Had once had many corpses, just like the other cities we had seen.

It was just that.......

Those corpses had raised their bodies on their own and walked out of this city on their own feet.

A city where not even corpses remained looked clean instead.

It was that cleanliness that felt chilling.

I could vaguely guess where this city was.

“Pyongyang.”

“Hu, humans...... called this city...... that.”

A city that had originally been the capital of this nation.

And.

With doubt in that point, I looked at the creature.

“Why?”

These creatures were zombies.

A race whose very way of living was different from humans.

If they had been another race whose way of life resembled humans, I might have understood.

“Why are you occupying this city?”

But these things, whose essence was nothing more than parasites.

I had no idea why they would have any reason to settle in a human city.

Even while following this creature’s guidance, I had expected it would lead us somewhere like a cave.

“That is.......”

Even as I asked the question.

To be honest, it was closer to talking to myself.

I did not think there was any way the creature would tell me the reason.

And yet.

“Be, before...... long.......”

“......Huh?”

The reaction the creature showed was...... how should I put it.

“Before long...... you, will...... know.”

It was true that it was not telling me.

But it was a little different from what I had expected.

“From, here...... only, chefs.......”

“What?”

The soldiers frowned slightly.

They had just witnessed the bizarre power that had brought down those giants.

And now they were being told to follow without escorts.

Naturally, the soldiers responsible for escorting us had no choice but to object.

“Fine.”

“......Sergeant Shin?”

But at the creature’s words.

I nodded readily.

Leaving behind the soldiers who were looking at me with startled eyes, I said,

“Surely you won’t betray us after bringing us all the way here, right?”

“Of, course...... not. Good, judg...... ment.”

The goblin nodded as if it thought that was a good idea.

It was hard to read an expression from its rotten face...... but the distortion of its muscles looked like a kind of smile.

A pleasant smile, as if it was relieved that troublesome matters had been reduced.

With that expression on its face, the creature began guiding us.

“......I think having escorts would be better. You do not even listen to my opinion.”

“Stop grumbling and come on.”

Together with the other chef, who sounded dumbfounded.

I followed behind the goblin.

The place where we had arrived was a broad plaza.

And the place the goblin headed toward was a huge building directly across from that plaza.

On a signboard near the entrance, large letters were written.

[Headquarters of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea]

It was not a term I heard often in ordinary times.

But judging by the name.

I could roughly guess what kind of building it was.

A building that could correspond to Korea’s Blue House.

Or America’s White House.

And also.

'Those giants from earlier.'

Even while following the goblin, I glanced back.

Far away.

The corpses that were so enormous, their shapes were still visible even after collapsing.

Among them, the corpse of the largest giant.

That thing had died after being struck by that dark-gray energy while shouting toward the city and throwing its body forward.

And now.

'The place those giants were looking at.'

The corpse of the creature lying there.

The place its head was pointing toward.

Was precisely that building.

Creeeeak.......

The goblin that had guided us into the building.

Soon opened a huge door inside that building and said,

“As, you commanded.......”

A nation built around the dictatorship of a single individual.

The place where the one who had been no different from the king of this country had reigned.

“I have...... brought, the chefs.......”

Yes...... if I had to compare it.

A place that could be called this country’s royal palace.

“My, prince.......”

{You have carried out a difficult task well. Chancellor.}

From inside it.

An unbearably dense presence of death poured out.

***

FWAAAAASH!

The moment that goblin opened the door.

What I felt was an unbearably...... unbearably dense presence of death.

A rich scent of death poured out, dense enough to stop my breath for an instant.

“......!”

With my expression twisted, I looked toward the place that presence was pouring from.

There.

A dark-gray mist, the same as the one that had overtaken the giants that had just fallen, was rippling.

{You have worked hard, Chancellor. And.......}

And.

A voice came from inside that mist.

{I thank you for answering my invitation. Humans.}

Listening to that voice.

I stared blankly at the mist.

“Senior? Is there a problem......?”

When I stared at the mist without answering.

A voice looked at me in puzzlement.

'He can’t feel that presence?'

It seemed I was the only one who had felt that dense energy just now.

Howard was looking at me with concerned eyes.

“No, I’m fine.”

I lightly shook my head at him.

Then looked at the mist filled with the stench of corpses.

'That goblin...... called it prince just now, didn’t it.'

In the country a little farther north from here, I had fought a grand duke.

And here, it was a prince.

For some reason, every being I encountered felt absurdly anachronistic.

Well, putting that cringe-inducing title aside.

That goblin had used honorific speech toward the being beyond the mist.

Assuming the language system of those zombies was not structured differently from ours.

'It is that goblin’s superior.'

There were ranks even among those evolved zombies.

And at the very least, the being beyond that mist was someone higher up than the goblin.

“......Invitation, huh.”

I opened my mouth while keeping that point in mind.

“What we suffered felt more like a threat than an invitation.”

{We are clumsy with human methods. If the invitation was unpleasant, I apologize.}

“......Clumsy, huh.”

I looked at the mist and said,

“Is hiding your appearance after calling people here also because you are clumsy with human methods?”

The presence emanating from the being inside that mist was substantial.

But.

It was hidden behind that mist, so I could not see beyond it properly.

'Neither Ingredient Appraisal nor Combat Power Measurement is working.'

Putting aside [Ingredient Appraisal], which required me to see the target directly.

[Combat Power Measurement] was a trait capable of detecting even the location of hidden enemies.

The fact that I could not even properly see the color of the mana leaking out despite that meant, in other words.

'It is hiding.'

That thing.

I could only interpret it to mean that it was deliberately hiding itself.

{There are circumstances that prevent me from revealing my appearance. I ask for your understanding.}

“I’m pretty sure that goblin said you wanted to make a deal with us. Threats, and on top of that, you won’t even show yourself...... no matter how I look at it, isn’t this a breach of courtesy?”

{Courtesy.}

At my words.

The creature beyond the mist answered in a blunt voice.

And.

{I believe I asked only the chefs to come. Are you, who led such forces here, in any position to say that?}

At the words that came out.

I could not help flinching for an instant.

“......Forces?”

“My, prince...... what, do you...... mean.......”

At the creature’s words.

Not only Howard, but even that goblin reacted as if they had no idea what it was talking about.

On the other hand.

{The Chancellor certainly told you that only the chefs should come. I too intended to face you alone, without my other kin. I thought that was courtesy toward those who accepted my invitation. But...... you have stood before me leading such a large army.}

“......Mm. I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”

{You may have deceived the eyes of that Chancellor, but do not think you can deceive me as well.}

A voice that seemed to sneer as if this was laughable.

{I know there is an army in that shadow large enough to destroy a nation.}

“.......”

I had wondered if that might be the case.

But the creature mentioned the shadow far too clearly.

“Wh, what...... do you.......”

At those words.

The goblin called Chancellor widened its eyes and spoke.

I scratched my cheek and answered the creature’s words.

“When we first met, you said I could bring escorts, didn’t you?”

After all.

I was being dragged into a place this dangerous.

“......You never specifically limited it to a certain number, did you?”

“No, way......!”

That thing seemed to have thought the unit members outside were the entirety of my escorts.

Well, naturally.

{It is not only the shadow. There are hundreds concealing their presence around this area as well.}

“.......”

Ariella’s dependents, who were in charge of my royal guard.

And the members of the escort unit in charge of covert protection.

Of course, they had accompanied me too.

'I meant to keep our forces hidden.'

There was no small chance a battle would break out here.

But if I said I would bring a massive army, there was no way that thing would permit it.

So I needed forces that would remain undiscovered.

In case they were discovered, I had also deliberately avoided specifying their scale when I said I would bring escorts, so I would not be caught on a technicality.

-......This is unexpected.

To think.

I truly never imagined we would be discovered like this.

And for good reason.

-To think it can peek inside my shadow.

The master of this shadow was none other than Ariella.

I did not know about the past.

But detecting the current Ariella while she was hidden was by no means easy.

'Does that mean the creature beyond there is close to Ariella’s level?'

The being beyond that mist was probably a zombie, just like that goblin.

A parasite that first flowed into this world on the day of ruin.

'No matter how much time has passed since the day of ruin.'

That there was a zombie evolved enough to possess that degree of power.

It was something hard to believe easily.

'Would it be possible if the host itself was an incredibly powerful monster?'

If only I could see beyond that mist.

It was frustrating that I could not know the enemy’s exact identity or level.

“I, I apologize...... my prince.......”

{It is all right. I did not say that to rebuke a kinsman.}

The goblin apologized in panic.

And the being beyond the mist reassured that goblin while speaking to us.

{I said you could bring escorts, but I never permitted you to bring them this far. If I have committed discourtesy, then so have you.}

“......We both caused trouble for each other, so don’t pointlessly blame anyone. Is that what you’re saying?”

I had never expected us to be found out this anticlimactically.

But as that creature said, we had both committed discourtesy.

“Then, well, let’s call that matter even. Let’s get straight to the point.”

{Agreed.}

It was true that I had quite a lot of dissatisfaction with the current situation.

But setting that part aside.

I threw a question at the creature.

“Why did you call us here?”

Those things were zombies.

They were bugs whose need for food was questionable to begin with.

Why such bugs had specifically singled out chefs.

That was the issue.

{There is only one reason to call chefs.}

“......I suspected as much.”

{I wish to request the creation of a dish.}

I had wondered.

But I had continued to suspect until the end whether it really could be that.

'They really wanted me to make food?'

I frowned and said,

“You’re hiding beyond that mist, but even at a glance, you seem like a pretty incredible monster. Why would an existence like you need a dish? What are you trying to do with the power of cooking?”

{You are mistaken about something.}

“Mm?”

{I am not asking you to make a dish for me. Chef.}

It was indeed a request for the creation of cooking.

But.

{I want you to create...... a “recipe” for my kin.}

“......A recipe?”

The details.

Were a little different from what I had thought.