Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 384

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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 85. Choice

But there were those who held me back as I tried to move forward.

“Human! Are you alright? Can you move?”
“I don’t think you should move. You might collapse.”

Raon and On circled around me, constantly examining my condition.
In particular, Raon, hovering in the air and spinning around me, held a slice of apple pie in his front paw.

I paused for a moment, then glanced at Bud.

“What?”

Burd Illis asked back with a somewhat disgruntled expression, and I simply said what I needed to say regardless.

“Water.”
“Huh?”
“Do you have water?”
“…Why?”
“To rinse my mouth.”

Bud pulled out a water bottle from his spatial pouch with a slightly irritated expression and handed it to me.

“I’m not the type of person to do this!”
“Sure, sure.”

I nodded absently, set Hong down from my arms onto the ground, and rinsed out my mouth. I needed to wash away the red liquid I had used as camouflage from inside my mouth.

“Ugh! My life!”

Bud thumped his chest in frustration, but no one paid him any attention.

“…Kale.”

The Ancient Dragon Erhafen took a position beside me as I continued rinsing my mouth.

“Not all of this liquid is blood, is it?”

His gaze remained fixed on Kale’s hands and feet, which trembled slightly. There was no sign of him losing consciousness, but he appeared considerably exhausted.

“No, it’s not blood.”

Kale answered flatly and stopped rinsing his mouth. Then he lifted his head.

I could see my companions surrounding me.

Choi Han, Raon, On and Hong, Ron, Vicross, Erhafen, Bud, and Sherit, who had been leading the way. They all cast worried glances toward me in their own ways.

I let the strange emotional wave rising from deep within my heart pass and opened my mouth.

“Erhafen.”
“Mm?”
“You look pleased.”

The corners of Erhafen’s mouth, who had been looking at me with concern, lifted.

“Caught, huh?”

At that moment, Raon shouted.

“Grandpa’s smiling like the Crown Prince now! Let’s show White Star!”

Sigh.
Erhafen barely swallowed a sigh. Then he opened his mouth, looking at Raon.

“You’ve got it easy, kid.”
“What? What are you talking about! Our human and the smart Choi Han are both hurt! Both! I’m not happy at all! I want to smack White Star!”
“…Where did this kid learn to say ‘smack’?”

Erhafen’s gaze turned toward me.

‘Was it you?’

I shrugged my shoulders.
But Erhafen nodded while looking at me. Then his expression changed.

‘It was you all.’

Kale had much to say in response to that gaze, but he pressed his lips firmly shut. Something about it felt as though he were looking at his own reflection.
Kale ignored Bud’s twitching smile and sidelong glance. In that moment, Erhaben fixed his gaze directly upon Raon’s eyes.

“Why, why are you staring like that? Has Grandpa finally recognized my greatness!”

As Raon rambled nervously under that penetrating stare, Erhaben’s lips parted and he spoke with sudden bluntness.

“Little one, you’ll be able to live with your mother now.”

Flinch.
Raon’s wings froze mid-flutter.

“The little one must be delighted.”

The Ancient Dragon Erhaben gazed at Raon with a gentle smile, and Raon’s wide eyes slowly shifted toward the figure behind him.
Standing behind Raon was Lord Sherit.

The Black Dragon and the pale woman exchanged an awkward glance.

In the interim, Kale posed a question to Erhaben.

“Have you found a way to relocate the castle?”
“Yes. I have.”

Raon’s wings fluttered excitedly, and he turned back to Erhaben, bursting out eagerly.

“What is it! Grandpa, what is it! I’d love to hear it right away!”

Then he stiffened slightly.
Erhaben chuckled softly at the sight and continued speaking.

“This is something Lord Sherit understands better than I do. Isn’t that right, Lord Sherit?”

Hmm.
Lord Sherit cleared her throat quietly before opening her mouth.

“This castle, its walls, and I are bound as one. If the castle’s master moves all three of us to another location at once, it should be possible.”

Erhaben took up Lord Sherit’s words with a solemn expression.

“The issue is that Raon alone cannot move this castle, its walls, and Lord Sherit all at once. It would strain him too much.”
“Why not? I can do it! I am magnificent!”

Erhafen shook his head as he looked at Raon.

“You lack sufficient mana. Even if you and I combine our strength, it would be difficult. Lord Sherit is bound to this castle, so her mana cannot be utilized.”

Choi Han, who had been listening quietly, posed a question.

“Did you not move all the Mercenary Guild’s records lightly?”
“That’s just a book, so it’s different.”
“What do you mean by that?”

Sherit answered Choi Han’s question in place of Erhafen.

“When I was alive, I poured an enormous amount of mana into this place. This space, formed by the harmonious union of the castle, its walls, and myself, can be thought of as a massive concentration of mana.”

Of course, the walls and castle itself were made of ordinary construction materials. However, to maintain the castle, protect the children, and enable comfortable living, I inscribed countless magical formations and poured mana into them.
Before Lord Sherit’s death, she had poured all her mana into creating this masterwork of a castle.

“That is why this castle and its walls possess superior defensive capabilities compared to ordinary fortifications.”

In truth, “ordinary” was hardly the right word to describe it.
It was far more extraordinary than that.

Unless one possessed strength rivaling the White Star himself, most would find themselves unable to destroy or breach this castle, though they might damage portions of it.

Erhafen shrugged and drew his conclusion.

“In any case, to move this concentration of mana without the slightest flaw, one requires mana that exceeds it.”

The castle, its walls, Lord Sherit—mana sufficient to encompass this entire mass was necessary.

“To summarize: moving this castle requires three things—the land where it will be relocated, the knowledge to inscribe a massive teleportation formation centered on this castle, and finally, the mana to activate that formation.”

Bud, who had been listening in silence, spoke.

“The first two exist, but the mana needed to activate the final formation is insufficient with just Erhafen and Raon, is that correct?”

Erhaben nodded, and as Kale watched, their eyes met.
In that instant, I flinched at the gaze of the Ancient Dragon.

Something felt off.

‘Why… why does the back of my neck feel cold?’

It had been a long time since I felt this way.
A sensation as if I were about to be completely exposed washed over me.
Then Erhaben’s mouth opened.

“Kale.”

His voice was remarkably soft and affectionate.
Moreover, he had even equipped the bright, radiant smile that Crown Prince Alberu used for public appearances. With that combination, his destructive charm was enough to reduce someone like Kale to nothing more than a passing mosquito.

My expression crumpled helplessly at the discomfort.

Something about this feels suspicious.

Then Erhaben’s mouth opened again.

“I… you see.”

Why was this Ancient Dragon acting like this?
My expression grew increasingly uneasy. Yet Erhaben spoke even more gently.

“I have no money.”
“…Pardon?”
“No jewels either.”

My expression went blank for a moment.
Meanwhile, Erhaben spoke cheerfully.

“I was cleaned out.”

Erhaben’s Lair had been stripped bare by Dark.
That was why Erhaben, after the battle at the Caro Kingdom, had come searching for Kale while bringing the Elf Fendrick along.

Kale heard Lord Sherit’s cautious voice as well.

“…The White Star stripped this castle of all its treasures.”

The White Star, who had destroyed the castle and stolen the eggs, naturally took the jewels and precious artifacts within as well.
Those gems and treasures likely became the foundation for establishing the Mercenary Guild and building a life on the Eastern Continent.

Erhafen spoke gently.

“It seems my mana and Raon’s mana alone won’t be enough. Even with Rosalind and that boy helping, it still won’t be sufficient. The best way to fill the mana shortage is with mana stones, isn’t it?”

He was right.
Using mana stones to compensate for the mana deficit was the cleanest solution.
There was no need to unnecessarily involve others and expose the Lord’s identity, and no side effects from the magic circle’s execution.

Raon glanced around before quietly retrieving his piggy bank from his subspace. On and Hong pressed against Raon’s sides, silently signaling him to take out theirs as well.
When Raon pulled out two more piggy banks, On and Hong discreetly pushed them toward him. Raon’s wings fluttered.

There was no time to worry about children averaging nine years old.
Everyone’s gaze turned toward Erhafen and Kale.

“Kale, you have plenty of money, don’t you?”

Erhafen spoke with a radiant smile.

“Let’s buy some mana stones.”

In that moment, Kale’s mouth opened.

“…I can actually obtain mana stones.”

The highest-grade mana stones obtained from Jungle Zone 1. I had used quite a few, but a considerable amount still remained.
Of course, those had been handed over to Crown Prince Alberu, the Roan Kingdom Mage Corps, and Rosalind, but I still had quite a bit left, and I could even request to get some back from them.

However, my expression as I said this was not pleasant.
Because Erhafen would certainly know this fact well too.
An Ancient Dragon who had been by my side all this time and understood roughly how the magical situation around me had been unfolding.
Yet this Ancient Dragon was asking me to buy mana stones.

My expression twisted into something strange.
That was when Erhafen spoke with an awkward laugh.

“It won’t be enough, will it? Hahaha!”

He swallowed hard, then added with forced levity.

“You’d probably need about 10 billion Roan Kingdom currency?”

Gasp!
Bud drew in a sharp breath.

’10 billion?’

That wasn’t some trivial sum—10 billion was an astronomical amount of money.
Even Bud, the Mercenary King himself, would struggle to liquidate and gather that much cash on the spot.
No matter how wealthy Kale Heniatus was as the eldest son of a noble Count’s household, he was still just the eldest son.
How could someone who spent all his time rescuing others possibly have that kind of money?

‘How much is my emergency fund?’

Bud began calculating his emergency reserves.
The Mercenary Guild’s finances were stretched thin as they stockpiled weapons and provisions in preparation for the final confrontation with the Dark. The money he could use would have to come from his own emergency fund. In truth, he’d already poured most of that reserve into the Mercenary Guild, leaving himself with only enough to flee and hide from the White Star for a few years.
As Bud’s eyes performed the calculations, his surroundings reflected in his pupils.
Bud’s pupils reflected his surroundings as he was doing the calculation.

Raon’s shoulders, who had pulled out his piggy bank, sagged. On and Hong’s expressions looked sorrowful.
Raon’s shoulders sagged as he pulled out the piggy bank. On and Hong’s expressions looked sad.

“Yeah, let’s use the emergency fund! We’re not going to starve to death anyway!”

That was the moment.
That was the moment.

“Well, that’s about it.”

Bud’s gaze shifted.
Bud’s gaze shifted.

The one who had just said “oh, that much?” was clearly Kale Heniatus.
Kale muttered with a refreshed expression.

“I thought it was something difficult when I felt a chill down my spine, but it’s not.”

…But it is difficult? It’s 10 billion?
Burd’s expression grew strange.
Meanwhile, Kale relaxed his furrowed brow and spoke matter-of-factly.

“Let me try to get it. It’s not even that difficult.”

During the previous Caro Kingdom auction, Kale had earned 23 billion Counds from Night’s Joy and 30 billion Counds from the Fire Crystal.
He had received only a portion of it in cash and held the rest in the form of promissory notes or certificates.

Last time, hadn’t he spent 10 billion of those 53 billion Counds to strengthen Destructive Fire and Jjandol?
Moreover, there was also the Crown Prince’s golden badge. He could obtain about 5 billion Counds from that.

Kale spoke thoughtfully, tossing out his words casually.

“Well, I had to go to the Imperial Capital anyway.”

He looked at Erhafen and asked as usual.

“Would 10 billion suffice?”
“Huh?”
“Do you need more?”
“…No.”
“Then I’ll bring it. Would 10 billion Counds be enough? Or I could gather about 10 billion Counds worth of magic stones instead.”
“…Either works.”

Kale nodded at the Ancient Dragon’s response and began to gauge his plans ahead.

“I’ll visit the Mogur Empire, and if it’s difficult to convert to cash immediately, well, I’ll ask the Crown Prince to cover half.”

Burd’s pupils trembled.

‘The Crown Prince?’

…So this guy has enough power to demand money from the Crown Prince?
No, wait—where did he even make that much money?
He’s genuinely wealthy, isn’t he?

Bud’s pupils trembled, but Kale paid it no mind.
Whether it was the apple pie he’d eaten or simply the brief respite, his body felt considerably better—enough for him to rise from his seat.

“Then, after I visit the village with Choi Han, I’ll head to the Western Continent for a short time. In the meantime, please organize the matters you just mentioned.”

Erhafen nodded, then opened his mouth with curiosity evident in his gaze.

“Seems you discovered something in that village?”

Kale glanced at Choi Han as he spoke. Choi Han awkwardly averted his eyes from Kale’s gaze.

“We found the record book you mentioned, Lord. The text within contained two different scripts. One of them was an unknown language, but Choi Han believes he might be able to decipher it, so we plan to investigate.”

In that moment, Kale caught sight of Sherit’s eyes as she looked at Choi Han. He noticed astonishment flickering within her gaze.

‘Choi Jung-gun said he never spread Korean to this world.’

So neither Lord Sherit nor White Star would know Korean.
However, unlike White Star, Lord Sherit had been friends with Choi Jung-gun. Perhaps she might have known that Choi Jung-gun was a dimensional traveler—someone from Korea.

“Raon.”

Kale called out to Raon.

“What is it, human?”

To travel to the village through the underground secret passage, having magic would make things easier.

“Raon, come with me and Choi Han.”
“Understood, human! As expected, I am essential to you!”

Raon answered enthusiastically, as if he hadn’t just been startled by the ten billion earlier and dropped his piggy bank.
Kale tapped Choi Han’s shoulder.

“Let’s go.”
“…Yes, Kale.”

I made my way to the Dragon Slayer Village once more through the underground passage beneath White Castle.

* * *

Visiting a place I had been to before was not particularly difficult.
In fact, without the immediate threat of White Star’s attacks, I arrived at the village with considerably more ease.

Yet my heart could not share in that comfort.

“Hah.”

Choi Han exhaled softly as he stepped into the three-story stone building within the Dragon Slayer Village.

Thump. Thump. Thump.
My heart pounded relentlessly.
I could see Kale ahead of me, already approaching the altar and retrieving the record book placed upon it.

My gaze fixed upon the record book in Kale’s hands.

‘Within that…’

Perhaps within it lay the reason for my coming to this place.
And perhaps I could discover whether Choi Jung-gun was truly my uncle, as I had suspected.

‘No, it’s just…’

It was simply that I had not seen Korean characters in so long—my heart was racing wildly.

“Choi Han.”

Kale extended the record book toward me. I reached for it, observing Kale’s characteristically composed expression.

Thud!

But perhaps my tension was too great.
My hand failed to grasp the record book properly, and it tumbled to the floor with a soft thud.

Whoosh—
The record book fell to the floor and splayed open in both directions.

“Oh, I’m so sorry!”

Choi Han was startled and quickly bent down to pick up the book.
His expression grew serious, worried the record might be damaged.

‘Get yourself together.’

He spoke to himself, trying to calm his mind as much as possible.
Choi Han’s hand reached toward the fallen record.
Then, he saw the open pages of the book.

The Eastern Continent’s common language was barely legible.
In Korean script, the characters left by Choi Jung-gun were starkly clear.

【…Though earth alone cannot defeat sky, with the aid of those who possess other natural attributes, combat could have proceeded more favorably.】
【…Sky may look down upon earth, yet it can never destroy it. Earth may look up to sky, yet it will never bend its will.】

Choi Han didn’t even pick up the book—he simply read through the open pages.

【In conclusion, I believe that one who possesses the power of earth is most efficient in confronting sky.】
【If that person were to possess both forms of earth’s power and face a sky attribute wielder in the future.】

Kale Heniatus, who possessed one of the two earth powers.

【Yes.】
【Though it may sound cruel.】
【If only that person who possesses all the earth’s power were to sacrifice themselves, wouldn’t everyone else suffer less, and wouldn’t the world draw closer to peace, making all of us more comfortable?】

Choi Han’s pupils trembled.
Kale quietly observed Choi Han’s bowed back.

【For this reason, I wish to ask of you who can read Korean. If you read these words, and a new wielder of sky’s power appears seeking to dominate the world, I hope you will prevent a hellish world from being created.】

【I know that I am a terrible person for making such a request. But having witnessed the world transform into hell, having seen everyone perish, and having done nothing, I can only leave behind this cowardly plea.】

The method to block it has been laid out thus far, so you should be able to guess. I must seize the power of the earth first.
Of the two earth powers, the one whose location I know precisely is the power that Jjandol once possessed. That power lies in an underground cavern beneath the Dark Forest on the Western Continent.

Choi Han—the same Choi Han whom Raon, On, and Hong praised for his intelligence—felt his mind go blank in that instant.
Kale continued to stare silently at Choi Han’s bowed back.

Kale had read Choi Jung-gun’s “The Birth of a Hero” and become certain of it.

The “Birth of a Hero” that Kim Rok-soo had read no longer existed.
The story had been twisted.
Only the reality of this present moment existed.
Within Kale’s mind.

-Will you sacrifice?

Jjandol’s question echoed.

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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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