541 – Eavesdropping (3)

Karas, who would later become the emperor of the Matra Empire. His greatest strength was his ability to read people.

While I know the future to some extent and thus know the nature of the major people, Karas is a natural talent.

With excellent insight, he quickly grasps the opponent’s personality and essence, and employs various tactics accordingly.

He is especially good at exploiting his opponent’s weaknesses. Just look at his twin brothers.

It’s not just that the twin brothers are so different, but because they have such a hard time pinning down their weaknesses, they can’t even rebel.

‘That doesn’t mean they don’t have any ability. It’s the kids like that who are the most dangerous.’

He predicted that I would come here any moment now. It’s a good thing I’m hiding, otherwise I would have been helpless.

Maybe I can say this now, considering that I’m eavesdropping. I’m not without thought either.

So I held my breath as much as possible and listened to the words coming from beyond the barracks.

“First, after this meeting is over, I will give orders to the soldiers. By the way, I heard that several soldiers’ armors have recently disappeared.”

“The armor is gone? Then, as the Crown Prince said, there is a high probability that there is a spy hiding there.”

“Yes. But don’t rush it. It’ll just cause unnecessary confusion. The work will be over tomorrow anyway.”

There are roughly three people in the barracks. They are most likely the commander, the knight commander, and Karath.

If possible, I would like to see the Hwan Empire’s personnel come as well, but that would be too greedy.

For now, I have to get some fragmentary information through that conversation.

“By the way, Crown Prince. Are you really going to leave the Huan Empire like this?”

“What does that mean?”

“His Majesty the Emperor also said that we should take this opportunity to delve deeper into the Huan Empire.”

It seemed like important information was about to emerge from the trivial conversation. I listened carefully.

I’m not a huge fan of politics, but I’m destined to get involved in it countless times in the future.

The moment Dan Ye-rin becomes the emperor, our relationship will be revealed to some extent.

With the future so distorted, these little details are invaluable.

“Abama’s words make sense. However, from now on, it would be better to pay more attention to the religious order than to the Hwan Empire.”

“The church… Are you talking?”

“Yes. Gaia and the Gulag Cult. As you’ve heard, the demons have begun their full-scale activities.”

It is quite surprising that the focus will be on the religious sect rather than the empire.

Currently, the Huan Empire’s government is virtually paralyzed as the imperial palace has been completely destroyed.

It’s fortunate that the generals are still alive. If all the generals had disappeared, terrible chaos would have ensued.

Moreover, since the justification was clear, it was an appropriate time to interfere in internal affairs. However, Karas said that they should focus on the religious order rather than interfering in internal affairs.

“Honestly, I don’t like the cult. Especially the Gaia guys, not the Gulag. Oh, by any chance, is there anyone here who believes in the cult?”

“I’m not religious, but······”

“Me too.”

“That’s fortunate. After all, it’s a fact that the saint herself confirmed. She said that a devil, and a purple devil at that, has appeared.”

What does that have to do with keeping the church in check? I asked myself.

Just then, someone in the barracks spoke, perhaps having had similar thoughts to me.

“If the devil has taken action, an agreement with the sect is not an option, it is a necessity, Your Highness. But what do you mean by checks and balances?”

“Yes. Now that the demons have come out, there will be chaos in the world······”

“The Hwan Empire is an external enemy, but the religious order is everywhere in the world. That’s what I see as the greatest danger. Fortunately, it’s not an enemy.”

So, the Hwan Empire is already a fish that has been caught, so you should start worrying about the religious groups that will be bothering you in the future.

I think that’s what it means. As demons actually appear, the authority of the religious order will also grow day by day.

Historically, the emperor and the pope were in conflict with each other. After all, this is where people live.

The Gulag Cult, however, has a strong tendency to worship power and is far from authority, but the Gaia Cult is not.

The more the devils run wild, the more people will come to the church and lose the hearts of the people.

Karas is concerned about that part. Moreover, the sect has a presence in many countries.

The Holy Kingdom of Byzantium is also a symbolic union of three religions, but the religious orders themselves are widely scattered.

“I see what you mean. Then what will the Huan Empire do?”

“Can I be honest with you? I’d like to get everything I can, but it’s going to be hard.”

“What do you mean······?”

“As you’ve heard, the palace itself was blown away. It’ll take at least several years to rebuild. What if we tear it down in these chaotic times and the other side gives us something strange?”

I’d rather eat it while I’m still healthy. Of course, I’ll get a promise that I won’t forget this.

It was a truly vicious method, but at the same time it exposed the naked truth of international relations. Karasu is normal.

The Huan Empire was already on the verge of being uprooted, including its pillars. It was a precarious situation where even maintaining the country was a matter of course.

“So, let’s agree to either enthrone Dan Ye-rin as emperor or appoint General Dan Jin as regent. And tell them to build the palace themselves.”

“All right.”

“You’ll be busy tomorrow, so go and rest first.”

“I’ll stay here······”

“No. Just go. I have something to think about.”

At Karas’s command, the sound of the barracks going out was felt.

Just when it seemed like there was no more information to be gathered, Karasu opened his mouth.

“If you’re eavesdropping, come in.”

“··· ···”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know. You’ll embarrass people.”

Did he already know? No, to be exact, there is a high probability that he predicted it.

My ambush is difficult to detect unless you are quite skilled.

And Karas is outstanding in his ability to plan and his political power, but his military power itself is weak.

There’s a good chance that one was taken too. Why?

“······Is it really not there?”

“··· ···”

“That’s strange. I thought you’d be here by now. It seems you don’t know everything.”

Because he was speaking in a truly embarrassed voice. I could also feel him scratching his head.

One way is to just let them continue to feel embarrassed, but then there is a high probability that you will not be able to obtain information.

After checking the surroundings several times, I carefully lifted the barracks curtain and went inside.

As soon as I peeked my face out, I came face to face with Karasu. He was holding a teacup in his hand.

“Ugh······?!”

“··· ···”

Karas is startled as soon as he sees me. It’s the first time I’ve seen him react like that.

What was even more surprising was that even though I was surprised, the car was still there. I snickered inside as I entered the barracks.

Just in case, he took off his helmet and revealed his identity. That would probably calm Karas down.

“Hmm. Hmm. As expected, you really came. My prediction was not wrong.”

“I heard you talking to yourself.”

“Ahem. Ahem!”

Karas coughed harshly. Regardless of whether the prediction was correct or not, it was still embarrassing.

I was worried that someone might come in the middle, but fortunately, I didn’t feel any such signs.

Since you said you wanted to be alone in the first place, you wouldn’t come looking for me unless your liver was swollen.

“So, this is why you came here, right? To ask for Dan Ye-rin to become emperor.”

“No. I just came here because I was curious.”

“You came here because you were curious? What are you curious about?”

“What are you planning to do in the future?”

It’s about making Dan Ye-rin the emperor. It’ll be a bit difficult, but it’s not that hard. All it takes is time.

But I came here because I don’t know what this kid is up to.

Fortunately, it is fortunate that the religious sect is being kept in check, but is this really the end?

Since I don’t know the inside of this guy at all, I’m confirming it by facing him like this.

“It’s my job. There’s nothing special about it, right? I always wish for the well-being of the Matra Empire.”

“It’s the process that’s the problem.”

“You don’t have to worry too much. I have no intention of being hostile to you whatsoever.”

That would be great. But it’s a problem because I also have a definite plan.

This time too, the Matra Empire intervened unexpectedly as Karasu became involved.

Originally, this could have been considered an Eastern affair, but now even the West has gotten involved. There is no guarantee that this kind of thing will not happen again.

“Rather, I would like to ask the opposite. What do you want?”

“me?”

“Yeah. I see, you had some kind of purpose for Dan Ye-rin… No, that’s too much. You probably helped her because you promised to help her.”

Fortunately, it seems like he doesn’t know that I know the future. Even Karas was shaking his head in denial.

Then Karas took a sip of his tea and looked down for a moment as if he was thinking. I waited for him to open his mouth.

Did you manage to organize your thoughts after giving me that much time? Karasu opened his mouth as he faced me.

“Would you like to make a deal?”

“What’s the deal?”

“If I hear any information about the sect in the future, I will pass it on to you. There is a saint, but she is ultimately an individual. I cannot know everything.”

“··· ···”

“I hear the Gaia Cult is keeping an eye on you? The Gulag Cult seems to be openly disliking you.”

Karas paused for a moment, rolled his eyes, and then corrected himself.

“No. Should we consider this not as a religious order but as an individual Gulag? Since Princess Kara is favored by Gulag.”

“You’re not wrong. You know quite well, right?”

“There is no way you wouldn’t notice the occasional clap of thunder or lightning strike. I’m sure many people notice.”

“··· ···”

This time it’s my turn to be embarrassed. Well, I’ve been struck by lightning quite often.

Anyway, Karas’s proposal is very good from my point of view. He also made it clear that he is not hostile to me.

But the question is what he wants. So I asked.

“Then you? What do you want?”

“What could it be?”

Karas pointed at me with the teacup in his hand and answered.

“Your cooperation. No matter what situation arises, one cooperation will be enough.”

“I don’t like doing state affairs.”

“I’ll take care of the politics. Just clear your head and focus on wielding your power. What do you think?”

“good.”

I don’t like using my head, but it’s okay to use strength.

Karas opened his eyes wide, as if he didn’t know I would give permission so easily, and then chuckled.

Honestly, it’s not a bad deal for either of us. In exchange for helping Karas once, we get an informant.

“Well, that’s it for now. Oh, before we go, I have something to tell you. Information about the Gaia Cult.”

“what?”

“The Gaia Church has been noticeably weakening in the past 10 years. Do you know why?”

“no?”

“That’s because Gaia is silent.”

Gaia is silent. It may sound quite strange.

If you perform a sacrifice to Gulag, there will be a definite reaction. The same goes for Gaia.

Even in Soul World, when you take the priest route, don’t you pray to Gaia in the church?

But if Gaia is silent? Then the growth of the clergy will be completely blocked.

“The Gaia Church is hiding this fact, but… well. Anyway, be careful. The Gaia Church is not a group of trustworthy authors.”

“··· ···”

Suddenly, that thought came to mind.

The words the spirit of the Gulag told me not to trust Gaia.

It felt very strange that someone of all people, Karasu, said something similar.

‘Is there something about the real Gaia?’

I think I’ll have to investigate this separately later.