This Emperor Is Running a Marriage Scam - Chapter 251

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 251

That Hailey had escaped the hallucination so quickly, and that information revealed in Bloden’s hallucination, came as a genuine shock to Iturn.
“Hey! You jellyfish bastard! Spit out my sister and my master!”
“Crunch! Yelp yelp!”
“Shriek! Squeal!”
And now he understood why some of the Commanders hadn’t vanished even after he’d swallowed Bloden—they were still thrashing about.
The Commanders visible before his eyes now were the same ones he’d seen in Bloden’s hallucination.
‘In the past, he gave them freedom so they could live even without a master.’
Because of that, their loyalty to Bloden seemed even fiercer, and with experience accumulated over time, they appeared unusually strong.
But that was all. A handful of Commanders dodging and thrashing about couldn’t inflict any meaningful damage on him.
The one mimicking Bloden’s appearance had an oddly sharp bite, so he just needed to keep that one in check. Eventually they’d all tire, and then he’d simply crush them—end of story.
“I’m back.”
Nelloa returned, having slipped outside while Bloden and Hailey were swallowed by Iturn. She’d relayed the current situation to Anna hiding in Duke Roan’s Residence, and brought back food for Iturn.
Iturn kept the Commanders distracted as they fussed over the head that had swallowed Bloden and Hailey, while his other head consumed the food Nelloa had brought.
“What’s the situation? Are they both dead?”
Lest the Commanders hear, Iturn answered Nelloa in a whisper.
-No, they broke free from the hallucination just now. Surprisingly quick.
“What? Then what happens now? Don’t tell me they’re trying to escape?”
-What could humans possibly do inside me? They’re trapped, so they’ll die… ugh!
Iturn trailed off and groaned.
“What’s wrong?”
-Something suddenly went strange in my belly where they are. Crunch!
Iturn’s body convulsed mid-sentence.
-Aaaahhh! What, what are these bastards doing?!
The head that had been shrunken since swallowing Bloden and Hailey now extended its neck again with a shriek.
“Grrrrrnch! Hack! Accckkk!”
As the agonized head gagged and let out a massive belch, the distinctive aroma of gochujang began to spread.
“Kyahhh! What is this smell?!”
Nelloa hastily covered her nose.
Dantarion and the Commanders clinging stubbornly nearby also recoiled, shielding their faces.
“Ugh! It’s spicy!”
“Why is this jellyfish giving off such a pungent spicy reek?!”
“Kuoooo! Haaa!”
Iturn began slamming his head against the ground and walls, tears and mucus streaming down his face.
“I, Iturn! What’s happening?!”
-My insides are burning and aching so much!
Iturn was deeply distressed.
Even after all those ages, this was pain he’d never experienced—something beyond his ability to describe.
-…Huh?
But his thrashing subsided, and Iturn’s head suddenly jerked up.
-My mana… it’s building up.
“What are you talking about?”
-Just what I said. My mana is building, and my strength is returning!
That was when it happened.
“Graaah! You bastard! I don’t care what anyone says, that smells exactly like gochujang! Did you eat my sister’s food?!”
At Dantarion’s outcry, Nelloa nodded.
“Hailey must have had mana recovery food with her. That’s probably being digested.”
-So there’s something like that? How interesting.
His insides burned terribly, but if his mana was recovering, he just needed to endure it a bit longer.
“Can you selectively regurgitate items? Like the food you just tasted, for instance…?”
-No, I can’t do something like that…
Iturn shook his head at Nelloa’s question, then scowled. He’d sensed the Spirit King sealed within his belly squirming more than necessary.

* * *

-Kyaaahhh! What is this?! This hellish taste! Huff! Ha! Huff! Wheeze! Ha!
Inside Iturn’s belly, shaking as if struck by an earthquake, Bloden barely endured—when a voice unlike any he’d heard before suddenly echoed from all around him.
“Who’s there?!”
Bloden leveled his sword at empty air, wary of an opponent he couldn’t see.
The strange voice cut off, and silence fell. Yet the sound of ragged breathing still reached his ears, faint but unmistakable.
“Reveal yourself!”
The voice returned moments later.
-So you can hear me. Descendant of Ilpein, Bloden.
It was the same voice as before, but the manner of speech had changed entirely.
“Who are you?”
-I am the Spirit King, who created this world alongside the Creator.
“The Spirit King?”
-Can you not sense it? That I mean you no harm.
Bloden, who had been scanning their surroundings, lowered his sword and asked quietly.
“What brings you here?”
-That is…….
At the hesitation in his reply, I sighed.
“The Spirit King didn’t appear. He’s trapped here, Your Majesty.”
“Hailey, what are you talking about? The Spirit King is trapped?”
“Yes. Iturn told me—he said the Spirit King’s Mana is nearly exhausted. He can barely move a single stone.”
-Ahem! Human woman, Hailey.
The Spirit King’s voice resonated through the space again.
-Not only did you awaken my will with a powerful incantation, but you wielded a cruel ability—transforming truth into an arrow more poisonous than venom itself, piercing straight through my heart.
“A powerful incantation?”
-In the depths of my consciousness, I heard your words. You called me a bald-head at the mercy of a mere jellyfish.
‘Did he really hear that?’
“Hailey, you called the Spirit King a bald-head?”
Bloden stared at me with bewildered eyes, and my face flushed. I looked away.
“No, I—I didn’t mean it as an insult. I was just so desperate when it seemed like Your Majesty was dying.”
-At first I was angry. But in the end, it brought an unexpected benefit. I discovered what I could do with the power to move barely one stone.
Both Bloden’s gaze and mine naturally drifted to the ribbon fastened at the end of the sword’s hilt.
“Ah, so it was the ribbon.”
-Yes. I did that. I thought that if you had to die, at least dying locked in each other’s arms would ease your resentment toward me.
I glared at empty air.
“Who’s dying? We ate well and we’re leaving now.”
-I know.
The Spirit King let out a quiet laugh.
-I’ve only just changed my mind about that.
“What do you mean, Your Majesty?”
-When you spilled that red paste, it was absorbed into this monster’s body.
“Ah, you mean the Gochujang?”
-Is that its name?
“Yes, it’s a cooking ingredient.”
-I see. The moment that Gochujang touched the stomach lining, this monster suffered greatly. It nearly retched at this unfamiliar taste.
“Really? Is it because the flavor is so intense?”
As I tilted my head in confusion, Bloden nodded with a serious expression.
“Gochujang is quite spicy. It seems this monster’s stomach hasn’t adapted to such strong flavors.”
“Then if we pour in more Gochujang, it’ll force itself to vomit! Oh, and Soy Sauce is incredibly salty—that might make it even worse!”
I quickly pulled out jars of Gochujang and Soy Sauce from my Pocket Dimension.
“Thank you for the hint!”
-Wait. Before you use it, there is something you must know.
I paused before opening the lid, tilting my head at the Spirit King’s warning.
“Yes?”
-Whatever this monster consumes is also absorbed by me, sealed within its body. That Gochujang’s flavor was shockingly intense to me as well—hellishly hot.
“Oh, then you’ll suffer too…… Should I refrain from using it?”
-No. Use it, even if pain follows. However.
“?”
-That food has the ability to restore Mana.
“Is that how Iturn recovered?”
-Indeed. It is unbearable agony, but it generates strength in equal measure.
“That’s unwelcome news.”
I exhaled heavily. But the Spirit King spoke again, his voice suddenly grave.
-Yet my Mana too has been restored. And so I can now speak to you thus. Descendant of Ilpein and your companion—listen well to what I say from this moment forward.

* * *

I pulled all the jars from my Pocket Dimension, and Bloden took them to place near the upper wall of Iturn’s body, leaving the lid open.
After that, we each withdrew two Hooded Cloaks from Bloden’s Pocket Dimension and put them on.
The last thing he pulled out was a One-handed Spear and an extraordinarily sturdy, lengthy Rope.
Bloden tied the Rope securely to the haft of the spear. Then he bound the middle length of the Rope around my waist.
With our preparations complete according to the Spirit King’s counsel, we turned toward the lower end of Iturn’s esophagus. Bloden gazed up into that bottomless black passage, drew a deep breath, and gripped the One-handed Spear tightly in his hand.
“Spirit King, grant us thy blessing.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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