Chapter 226 – Raising Talent 5 (1/2)

“I should start preparing to head off.”

Together with the three women who cared for him during the period of his unconsciousness, Woohyuk headed to Heidelberg, the capital of the Rhine Kingdom.

Swordmaster Granver was supposed to come to find him.

Though he was the incumbent teacher of Princess Eleonora, thanks to Woohyuk’s success in conquering the Northern Front, Woohyuk was able to obtain permission to use Granver from Emperor Tiberius.

“… But why are we moving in a wagon? If we use the shuttle, we’d reach Heidelberg in one day,” Helena, who was sitting next to Choi Kayoon, complained as everyone else was keeping quiet inside the carriage.

Woohyuk shook his head, turning his gaze towards her,

“The flying shuttle can’t be controlled by anyone. For now, only Aris can fly the shuttle, and she’s busy with her research assignments right now.”

“If it’s research, are you talking about the Qliphoth Fruit? Obviously, there’s a need to take a countermeasure against it. Because of its proliferation, several small kingdoms are in a financial and civil crisis.”

The Qliphoth Fruit transformed non-demons into Awakened people, and at the same time, it made them into faithful servants of Aleister.

And in the latter case, one could become a servant even if one didn’t become an Awakener.

People couldn’t avoid this fate if they even took a bite from a Qliphoth Fruit.

As the topic turned to something serious, Choi Kayoon spoke up with an anxious expression,

“Then, not only should you develop a cure, but you should also find the supplier of Qliphoth’s Fruits, right? If the number of hosts grows exponentially, the supply of the treatment may lag. Aleister may even manipulate the hosts to reject the treatment.”

“As for finding the origin and production center, I’ve had informants investigating for a while now,” Woohyuk answered.

Up to now, while he traveled around, his other vassals had been busy trying to find out the whereabouts and movement of the Witches Cult and the supply channels of Qliphoth’s Fruit.

Even though he was busy, he didn’t gloss over these small details.

The talented individuals under him, who were not yet developed to immediately enter the battlefield, were entrusted to educational institutions to develop their skills. Additionally, those who were not capable of joining them on the battlefield were given other required tasks.

Leifina nodded in admiration at Woohyuk’s explanation.

“He is truly my Lord. You are skillfully deploying so much manpower in the right places and with great efficiency.”

“Thanks to the painful experiences I acquired from the recent past.”

When he first came to the Eeth Continent, he lost many clan members in his clash with other clans, and several vassals were sacrificed due to misjudgment in the wars with the regional overlords.

However, through trial and error, Woohyuk was able to learn many lessons from his mistakes.

As Woohyuk raised his head as if deep in thought, Leifina hesitatingly spoke,

“Uhm, my Lord…”

“Yes? What is it?”

“When do you plan on having your marriage with Princess Eleanora?”

The Kazak tribe members, who had been raging in the north, were almost eliminated, and the demonic camp’s provocations had declined noticeably these past few days.

So, at least, there was peace in the western continent, for the time being.

There was still quite a bit of time left before they had to leave for the eastern conquest, so now was the best time to build internal solidarity and develop his human resources (these individuals will be referred to as ‘talents’). It was probably also a good time to consummate the marriage if that was wanted or needed.

However, for personal reasons, Woohyuk decided to postpone his marriage with Princess Eleonora indefinitely.

“To be honest, I have no intention of marrying Eleonora. It was an engagement due to political necessity. Furthermore, in the present situation, the Holy Aperia Empire can be fully controlled behind the scenes. Therefore, I plan to maintain a continual postponement, using the crisis as an excuse.”

He didn’t want Leifina to feel discouraged or concerned, as he knew she loved him.

Of course, he also had unspeakable feelings for Leifina.

Was it because of the relationship that originated from his previous life?

Once his fragmented memories started piecing together into a more holistic picture, he started to view Leifina as more than a knight.

As Woohyuk stared at Leifina, Helena opened her mouth to speak with a gloomy look,

“When I see that he’s giving up on one of the finest-looking princesses, there must already be a woman that he loves in his mind. Well, I can’t bring myself to verbalize who that is.”

“… So noisy, Witch of Annihilation. Let me make it clear right now, you’re not her.”

Helena’s sexual approaches were often done so that she could help him relieve his repressed desires and to prevent Verserios from taking over his conscience.

In other words, she was thoroughly fulfilling her duty as a member of Ethereia Rodinus.

Personal feelings and attraction followed this main objective.

‘Lucretia will probably have to give up on him now, too.’

After returning to the Rhine Kingdom, they heard, from the Holy Pope’s information network, that Lucretia was engaged to a young man in the same clergy.

Woohyuk couldn’t hide the bitterness that came from his heart, but what was done was done.

Nothing could be done as he and Lucretia were getting farther apart as time went by.

So, he decided to forget about the past and focus on Leifina.

With a determined expression, Woohyuk stared out the window.

Their current location was at the border between the Floren and Serendia Province.

The rugged mountain range disappeared from view, and a wide plain emerged.

“Lord, when do you plan to plant that oak tree seed? There are still many suitable places, but…”

“As soon as this schedule is over, I plan to plant the seed.”

[Oak Tree Seeds containing Lyla’s Wish].

It was a hidden item obtained from the Primordial forest, which was the tutorial area, but it remained unused.

It must be an important quest, as Lyla was the manager of Paradise Lost.

The place where he planned to plant the seeds was already set, a place inside Neustein Castle in Inotia, the Hextech city.

There were two more catastrophes still to come, so the land within Inotia would be the safest place for a growing plant.

‘By now, Inotia’s reconstruction must have progressed to a considerable level.’