Chapter 34 : The Envoy and the Desert Throne

Four people everyone in the New World’s cooperation knew.

“Eh… The Four Heavenly Kings of Elysia…”

Unfortunately, Breeze was famous, but not quite to the level of being called one of the Four Heavenly Kings.

After all, he hadn’t even come close to Jaeho’s side.

“Huka-nim.”

“Huh?!”

Finally, Jaeho’s mouth opened.

Jaeho’s voice, heard for the first time, sounded just as Huka had expected, given his appearance (?).

Thud-!

His knees instinctively hit the ground.

“I-I’m sorry!!”

“????”

Jaeho was taken aback by Huka’s sudden kneeling.

“I—I was blinded for a moment and recorded the footage without permission!! I’ll give you all the profits I earned from it. Sob… please show mercy…!!”

ㅡ Seems easier than expected?

That was Wansik’s sarcastic remark.

ㅡ W-What is this? Why is this guy like this?

ㅡ What else? Your face itself is a weapon.”

Jaeho’s chest ached at Wansik’s words, which struck to the bone.

ㅡ But we have to watch for now.

Wansik said with a serious expression.

ㅡ To do this properly… this person has to go through ‘that ordeal’ as well.

***

Jaeho felt sorry for unintentionally threatening Huka, but Huka didn’t care at all.

On the contrary, he was thrilled at the incredible opportunity he had just caught.

Not only was he free from a slave life, but he also obtained exclusive broadcasting rights about Jaeho!

“Haha! Nice to meet you all! Sorry for suddenly ending the broadcast earlier! But now I’m able to deliver huge news to everyone!”

ㅡ Eldyd: What? What happened between them to cause such a change in mood?

ㅡ ham6787: Did they get lucky?

ㅡ nomind: Huh? What? The surroundings aren’t a forest.

ㅡ 4_day: Wow? Could it be that they entered inside the Elysia Garden?

The chat exploded in chaos.

“Hoho, don’t be surprised. During the brief outage, what happened was…”

“Hey, you there!”

At that moment, a passing Elf called out to Huka.

“W-What is the matter?”

Huka bowed immediately, half-automatically, at the Elf’s waist.

But the sharp-eyed Elf’s gaze was fixed on the flower ring worn on Huka’s finger.

“So, you received it too. But that alone is not enough.”

“Huh? W-What… H-Hold on? Where are you taking me… uh?”

Huka was dragged away to the back alley!

“W-Wait… AAAAH!!!”

ㅡ nomind: Holy skirt…..

ㅡ ham6787: ㅗㅜㅑ

ㅡ Eldyd: ㅗㅜㅑ

ㅡ danpat: ㅗㅜㅑ

The chat was flooded with “ㅗㅜㅑ.”

This was the most lively the chat had ever been during a broadcast.

***

Jaeho’s declaration of the Elysia Garden spread throughout the New World.

Naturally, it drew attention from countless kingdoms in the game, with the Rasel Kingdom especially sensitive about it.

They were extremely displeased that a newly-formed country had been declared right above their heads without warning.

Even in the Rasel Kingdom’s Nobles’ Assembly, there was heated debate over the incident.

“Let’s just accept them as a vassal state under Rasel Kingdom. The Elves had been occupying the Luxi Forest, our territory, without permission.”

“You must have forgotten that the Luxi Forest was acknowledged as the Elves’ sacred domain by King Rasellius himself, under a pact with the Spirit of Vitality.”

“I don’t know what era you’re talking about. So far, everything Rasel Kingdom has done is to indulge their reckless nation-building!”

“The Fermasa Desert was granted land. Rasel Kingdom never neglected it. It was handed over to the Elves as preparation for possible emergencies there.”

“No, you’re saying we should overlook their blatant disrespect toward Rasel Kingdom?! I think we must mobilize the army immediately!”

As emotions flared, a previously silent noble spoke.

“The Martap supports them.”

With a single phrase, he silenced the assembly.

This was Arif Grand Duke, one of the most powerful figures in Rasel Kingdom.

“According to the Rasel Kingdom Guard’s testimony, the Martap officially provided magical support to the mages.”

[Red Mage Tower]

It was impossible to take lightly.

Although physically located within Rasel Kingdom, the Martap was completely independent of the kingdom’s control.

In fact, even the Midst Empire on the Hasper Continent dared not provoke the Martap.

“Damn it! Why do those bastards have to stir up trouble like this!”

Such complaints naturally erupted.

“There is room for dialogue. The Martap’s interference in inter-nation conflicts is prohibited.”

Arif Grand Duke’s wrinkled eyes sharpened keenly.

“His Majesty was also quite displeased but asked us to show some consideration. So it would be wise to first send an envoy to convey our stance.”

“W-Well… if His Majesty says so…”

When the king gave the order, what could the other nobles do but comply?

“Hmm? From Rasel Kingdom?”

Jaeho, busy making potions on Kru’s order, perked up at the news of an unexpected visitor.

“Damn, do we have to fight again this time?”

“Ah, I’m not here to fight.”

As Jaeho grabbed his weapon, Samantha hurriedly added,

“It seems to be an envoy.”

“Ah, is that so? Well then, let’s meet them.”

Samantha immediately brought the Rasel Kingdom’s envoy inside the flower shop.

Flinch-

The envoy’s representative and escort froze upon seeing Jaeho.

But they were even more flustered by the mismatched surroundings.

“Rasel Kingdom, huh… You must have had a hard journey.”

Gugu gu gu-

As Jaeho stood, it sounded like laughter in the envoy’s group’s ears.

Swallow—

Honestly, all the envoys who first arrived in Elysia had sneered.

No proper castle, only a haphazard cluster of log houses and flower beds.

Even the place where the king supposedly stayed was laughably shabby.

But the moment they faced Jaeho, those thoughts vanished.

His innate aura as a natural strongman emanated so powerfully that even NPCs could feel it.

“K-Khm…!”

The envoy took two steps back from Jaeho and mustered courage.

“I bring the royal decree from His Majesty King Rasellius VII of the Rasel Kingdom! The Elysia Garden Principality shall show proper respect!”

Raising two fingers high, the envoy shouted.

At this moment, he was indeed the king of Rasel Kingdom.

“?”

An awkward silence flowed.

“What? What do you want?”

[Insulted <Rasellius VII>]

[Your notoriety increases greatly.]

[Your fame slightly increases.]

“Eh???”

[The Rasel Kingdom’s evaluation of you has dropped.]

[Other countries’ evaluation of you has dropped.]

ㅡ What is this?

Jaeho sent Samantha a helpless message.

ㅡ Did she write this?

But Samantha, having no experience with such things, couldn’t answer.

“T-This is outrageous! Kneel at once and show respect to His Majesty the King!”

“Ah, you want me to kneel?”

“Seriously.”

Jaeho scratched his head and laughed bitterly.

Because he couldn’t understand it.

“Why should I?”

Why would he do such a foolish thing?

“How dare you insult the Rasel Kingdom?!”

“When did I ever insult the Rasel Kingdom?”

Jaeho, as a human in reality, did not fully understand the rules of this world.

Moreover, with his short New World experience, he had stepped into the top echelons of this world’s hierarchy, so it was natural his understanding was lacking.

And now, this primitive being was being told to kneel to a piece of paper?

“Are you the king?”

It was only natural for such words to fly.

“I’m saying to show respect to King Rasellius VII of Rasel Kingdom!”

“Oh, is that so? Then why don’t you show me respect? I’m a king too.”

“?”

Such protests might hold up in reality, but not to NPC, for whom this world was everything no matter how much he complained.

“Ah, forget it. Here.”

Pakㅡ

“?!!”

Jaeho outright snatched the royal letter from the envoy and unfolded it himself.

Everyone was shocked by this reckless act, but no one dared intervene.

They were afraid.

“Hmm…”

As Jaeho carefully read through the letter, he sighed.

“… Such pretentious nonsense.”

It felt like trying to understand a language exam.

Whether the king’s writing was normally like this, Jaeho couldn’t understand it no matter how many times he read.

“You were going to just verbally explain this complicated content?”

“Y-Your Majesty’s royal decree is not something just anyone can see!! Only those permitted! Your rude behavior will surely be reported to His Majesty!!”

“Right, you scammers.”

“W-What…!!!”

“Wait a moment. I think we need a proper translation.”

Spreading the letter flat on the table, Jaeho concentrated on deciphering it.

[Your evaluation by the Rasel Kingdom has significantly dropped.]

He paid no heed to the warnings as his mood darkened further while reading.

“Are these idiots serious?”

The core message was this:

[The Fermasa Desert and Luxi Forest, once Rasel Kingdom’s territory, are actually part of Rasel Kingdom. However, since the Elves have achieved a grand unification, they shall be recognized as a principality.

However, Alsia, who claims the throne of Elysia Garden, must visit Rasel Kingdom on the appointed date to receive the title of Grand Duke.]

In other words, Jaeho was being appointed as a Grand Duke of Rasel Kingdom, thereby recognizing Elysia Garden as a principality.

“So that’s what they mean by principality?”

Jaeho looked at the envoy with a stiff expression.

“Ughhh…!”

Kudang-tang ㅡ

The envoy, stepping back from Jaeho’s fierce aura, ended up collapsing.

“Who do you think you are? You wrote this ridiculous ‘eat it raw’ letter?”

“I-I don’t know anything about it!”

Fearing for his life, the envoy shouted hastily.

“Well, those who sent this will know.”

Jaeho crumpled the letter and threw it aside.

“Tell them not to talk nonsense. If they think I don’t know anything, they’re sorely mistaken.”

He already knew the stories about Luxi Forest and Fermasa Desert.

Rasel Kingdom had handed over this land, which had been like a ball and chain, through a trade involving the Spirit of Vitality.

And now they wanted to forcibly make Elysia Garden a vassal state of Rasel Kingdom out of spite.

Since a long time had passed, they probably thought they could sneak it in quietly.

Jaeho had no intention of standing by and watching such nonsense.

“And if you wanted to say something like that, you should’ve helped when the Brown Bears came. What kind of nonsense is this?”

“You’ll regret this!!! If His Majesty finds out about this garbage letter, he’ll burn it all to ashes… con—”

While the envoy fled, pointing fingers at Jaeho, a stone shot by a passing Elf hit the envoy’s back.

“How dare you insult Lady Alsia.”

“Unforgivable.”

“Hey, hey, wait, wait, stop.”

No matter what, beating up an envoy from another country was unthinkable.

[<The Spirit of Vitality> says, ‘The culprit has already gone too far with their actions.’]

Which made it even worse.

The envoy kicked up dust and disappeared into the distance, and Jaeho asked Samantha quietly.

“But how strong exactly are the Elves?”

“… Well, among the 40 I’ve seen so far, they are the strongest.”

“Even if Rasel Kingdom declares war, could we win?”

“Th-That’s written…”

Who could say?

***

In politics, every word and gesture carried meaning.

The Nobles’ Assembly in Rasel Kingdom gathered again to reconsider what kind of intentions the strange nation called Elysia Garden’s king had for committing such acts.

“They’ve insulted us!! I’ll personally lead the army and turn their land back into desert immediately!!”

“Don’t act rashly! They must have some reason to behave this way.”

“So we should just watch while we’re humiliated?!”

“Be cautious. Our opponent is the Elves. Also, the Brown Bear Kingdom suffered a devastating defeat.”

“Hmph! Such rootless bastards causing a rebellion!”

“In truth, Elysia Garden’s claim isn’t entirely without basis… Recognizing them as a principality would also mean acknowledging Brown Bear Kingdom’s territorial incursion.”

“That’s not all. Elysia Garden… damn it! I hate even saying their name! And it’s suspicious that they know the secrets of Fermasa Desert!”

“What does that have to do with anything?! Those tribal creatures…”

“That’s enough.”

Once again, Arif Grand Duke intervened to restrain them.