Sasha Cn, the undisputed top figure and King of Cn Kingdom, looked at Kim Hyunwoo in front of her and thought,

    ‘His appearance is surprisingly ordinary.’

    Of course, one could not know a person just by their appearance.

    If the abilities of the Lord of Lartania were as unremarkable as his appearance, the territory, which was once in ruins, would not have been revived like this.

    Moreover, even if Kim Hyunwoo were just an ordinary person, Sasha could not afford to treat him carelessly.

    No, more urately, she could not.

    Because Sasha knew.

    That the Lord of Lartania was a beloved entity of the true power behind Cn Kingdom, the Absolute Ruler of Darkness, who had, in fact, made a contract with her to raise Cn Kingdom.

    Of course, the Absolute Ruler of Darkness had not told Sasha such things.

    Initially, when Cn Kingdom was practically a duchy with nothing to its name, and she had be King at a young age due to her parents being poisoned, the Absolute Ruler of Darkness had always maintained a business-like rtionship with her.

    In other words, Sasha had not heard anything concrete about the Lord of Lartania, even from the Absolute Ruler of Darkness or the Five Swords of Cn.

    Yet, the reason Sasha had some knowledge of this fact was precisely because she knew the Absolute Ruler of Darkness was once affiliated with Lartania.

    Additionally, having entered politics at a very young age and having maintained the King’s power against cunning old snakes and foxes, Sasha had already guessed how things would turn when she heard that the Lord of Lartania had returned.

    Furthermore, knowing that the Absolute Ruler of Darkness had gone to Lartania and returned powerless, she had already deduced three things:

    I. The Absolute Ruler of Darkness still harbors affection for the Lord of Lartania.

    II. The Absolute Ruler of Darkness attempted to return to Lartania but failed.

    III. The reason the Absolute Ruler of Darkness failed to return to Lartania was due to infamy.

    Although these were just spections, she thought they were quite urate.

    The infamy of the Absolute Ruler of Darkness was such that, while a greatly expanded Cn Kingdom might manage, Lartania alone could not withstand it.

    Furthermore, having vaguely verified what the Absolute Ruler of Darkness was doing behind the scenes, she was confident in her deductions, albeit not perfectly, thus she could not treat Kim Hyunwoo lightly.

    In fact, beyond not treating him lightly, she concluded that she must build a certain degree of affection.

    That was the reason she, as the King, personally visited Lartania.

    “You are truly remarkable. After all, you are the one who created the Lartania of ten years ago.”

    “I will graciously ept thepliment.”

    Furthermore, she nned to build affection with Kim Hyunwoo and also with the Absolute Ruler of Darkness, with whom she had maintained only a business rtionship until now.

    ‘Now that I have a rough understanding of the situation…’

    Of course, she had no intention of tantly bringing up the topic of the Absolute Ruler of Darkness.

    She did not know what had transpired between the Absolute Ruler of Darkness and Kim Hyunwoo and, although she had spected, she was not yet certain why the Lord had expelled her.

    However, one thing she was sure of was that it was better not to bring up the Absolute Ruler of Darkness to him if possible.

    ‘If I carelessly say something wrong and step on andmine… it won’t be easy.’

    Naturally, she had grown with the help of the Absolute Ruler of Darkness, and she possessed the power and ability befitting the King of Cn Kingdom.

    However, she very much wanted to avoid any situation that would sour her rtionship with the Absolute Ruler of Darkness.

    …No, it was something she absolutely had to refuse.

    After all, she was one of the key figures who had created the current Cn Kingdom, and she knew that turning her into an enemy would be more terrifying than anything else.

    Therefore, as she naturally conversed with the Lord of Lartania,

    “By the way, do you have anything you like?”

    “Something I like?”

    “Ah…! It’s just that I heard there were a few inconveniences with territories affiliated with our Kingdom, so I thought about making amends.”

    Through their conversation, she began to build a certain level of affection and started gathering information that the Absolute Ruler of Darkness might like.

    “…Ugh.”

    About an hourter.

    Recalling Sasha, the King of Cn Kingdom, who had left after a torrent of words, Kim Hyunwoo thought with a somewhat dizzy expression,

    ‘What was that all about…’

    Of course, the sudden start of diplomacy with the King had ended without major issues.

    No, on the surface, it had ended quite well.

    Before Kim Hyunwoo could properly cater to her tastes and lead the conversation, Sasha seemed to have taken a liking to him.

    Of course, he wondered why the King of Cn Kingdom would do this, and checked the rtionship diagram with Cn Kingdom out of caution, but indeed, the rtionship had improved.

    In other words, her visit to the territory indicated that she had nothing to hide, and after a moment of puzzlement, Kim Hyunwoo shrugged it off.

    Although he was not sure why Sasha, with her status as a King, had personally visited Lartania, it ultimately wasn’t bad news for Kim Hyunwoo.

    After all, he was in a position where he had to walk a tightrope between Norba Kingdom, Cn Kingdom, and the Eastern n Alliance to grow Lartania.

    He had just finished pondering, thinking it wasn’t too bad.

    A ★★★ hero 'Golden Witch' has entered the territory.

    The Tienus Merchant Group has arrived at the territory!

    Kim Hyunwoo was once again stirred by the notification that popped up in front of him.

    A littleter in the office.

    “Hello, leader of the Merchant Group.”

    “Yes, ye- hello, hello-”

    “…? Are you okay?”

    As usual, Kim Hyunwoo greeted Adria, but with a puzzled look, he asked her because Adria didn’t seem to be in a good condition.

    The hand she extended to shake his was trembling, and her eyes seemed to be wandering aimlessly.

    The hand she reached out to him was trembling, and her eyes were wandering in the air as if she didn’t know where to ce them.

    He asked with a puzzled expression as he saw her body shaking slightly.

    “Yes, of course everything is okay Lo- “

    “Lo…?”

    In response to the following answer, Kim Hyunwoo repeated thest word with a questioning look on his face.

    Suddenly trembling and as if struck by anxiousness, Adria returned with an awkwardugh in just a few seconds.

    “…?”

    Kim Hyunwoo looked puzzled at the clearly strange behavior.

    “Well, the thing is, I usually carry a makeup artifact, and it seems to be malfunctioning.”

    “Makeup artifact?”

    “Yes. Since I meet a lot of people here and there, there are many times when I shouldn’t show my emotions on my face… Well, there are also times when I need to act differently.”

    “There really are some fascinating artifacts out there.”

    “Right? I was very surprised when I first used it. Shall we sit down and talk?”

    Adria,ughing awkwardly, showed the ring on her finger and quickly seemed to try to cover something up.

    Soon, Kim Hyunwoo and Adria sat down and had a simple chat.

    “It’s really the first time I’ve seen a territory grow this fast; it’s unbelievable.”

    “Is that so?”

    “Yes. Since I run a tradingpany, I visit various territories all the time. But even if the items you sell are extraordinary and bring in Gold Coins, developing a territory to this extent in just a few months is not an easy task.”

    “I don’t know how to react to such praise.”

    After exchanging a few more words following Adria’s praise and his bashfulughter,

    “Hmm, by the way, Lord, may I ask you something?”

    “Yes. Feel free to ask.”

    Kim Hyunwoo nodded and answered Adria’s words, who cleared her throat unnecessarily.

    “Then, by any chance, do you have something else you like?”

    “Something I like?”

    Kim Hyunwoo answered like that but involuntarily tilted his head, feeling a sense of déjà vu.

    ‘I think I heard something simr from the King of Cn Kingdom earlier… Why is she asking?’

    The question arose in his mind.

    But Kim Hyunwoo didn’t show his confusion and shared with her, naturally continuing their conversation.

    “Now that I think about it, I used to be like that too.”

    When the conversation naturally shifted to the past,

    “Ah, while we’re on the subject, there’s something else I wanted to ask. What do you think about the heroes of Lartania from ten years ago?”

    Kim Hyunwoo asked in response to another question from Adria.

    “…The heroes from ten years ago?”

    “Yes.”

    “Don’t you want to see them, now that they’ve returned?”

    Kim Hyunwoo pondered Adria’s question, wondering what her intention was, but,

    “…Well, if I get the chance, I would like to see them, yes?”

    He soon answered, shrugging.

    And then,

    “Eek-!”

    “…?”

    Kim Hyunwoo looked puzzled again at Adria suddenly clutching her head.

    Despite his puzzled look, she couldn’t maintain her state for long under his questioning gaze.

    And for good reason.

    [The Master wants to see me, the Master wants to see me, should I go right now, should I go to the Master right now, would that be right, no, then I might die, no, but the Master says he wants to see me, should I go right now, huh, ahhh, I want to see, I want to see───────]

    Adria was overwhelmed by the many thoughts flooding her mind, unable to focus.

    An hourter.

    King Sasha of Cn Kingdom was still in Lartania.

    “Hmm-”

    Of course, there was no particr reason she didn’t return to the Kingdom immediately; she remained here solely to tour the territory.

    “Hmm, it’s been a while.”

    [What’s the matter??]

    Moreover, she had a slight intention to hint something to the Absolute Ruler of Darkness.

    “It’s just that I stopped by Lartania.”

    […I heard, but why did you go there?]

    The Absolute Ruler of Darkness frowns slightly from beyond the crystal ball.

    However, Sasha continued speaking without showing any sign of shrinking back at her words.

    “It’s all about the territory’s diplomatic issues. I was curious because I heard Magic Stones are produced there indefinitely. Plus, I thought of providing my partner with some useful information.”

    [Useful information…?]

    “Yes, information about the Lord. I thought it might be necessary.”

    Sasha speaks with an easy smile.

    The Absolute Ruler of Darkness, looking intently at her, snorts and begins to speak-

    [I don’t need such things. After all, I will only return after I’vepleted all my tasks…?]

    -She stops speaking.

    “…?”

    Sasha looks at the Absolute Ruler of Darkness, who suddenly stopped speaking, and soon realizes that her gaze is not on her but elsewhere.

    And the moment Sasha turns her head.

    “Uh?…The head of the Tienus Merchant Group? I knew there had been frequent exchanges with Lartania recently, but it’s surprising to see someone you’d barely see once a year here.”

    Soon, realizing that the Absolute Ruler of Darkness was looking at the head of the Tienus Merchant Group, Sasha opened her mouth but…

    […The head of the Merchant Group?]

    “Yes. Tienus, you know? Some of the things you were looking for came from the Tienus Merchant Group.”

    [No, that’s not it.]

    “…Yes?”

    Adria looked puzzled at the following words, but…

    [Are they sneakily tailing me from behind…?]

    “…!?”

    At the chilling voice that followed, Sasha couldn’t help but show a startled expression.