Chapter 344: Chapter 344 - (Hellish) Party (1)

“I see.” Kim Si-Hun nodded with a heavy expression.

He sighed in pity. After finding out that Iris’s brother was Reyland, Oh Kang-Woo gathered his party members and told them of her circumstances.

“I never thought that Satan’s actions would have influenced another world as well...”

Si-Hun bit his lip in frustration. Satan, the Prince of Wrath, had been the decisive factor for Si-Hun’s resentment for the demonic. Just thinking about Satan made Si-Hun’s blood boil. Kang-Woo grabbed Si-Hun’s arm to calm his thick bloodlust.

“Calm down, Si-Hun.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, hyung-nim.” Si-Hun looked down at his hands while smiling awkwardly. “Even after a year since Satan died... I can’t seem to forget.”

There was no way that he would ever be able to, since Si-Hun had never actually won against Satan even once. The one who had killed Satan was none other than Rakiel, one of the Four Heavenly Kings.

- I am death. I am the end. I am the father of all wrath, and I am wrath itself.

Si-Hun recalled the golden eyes staring at him. A chill traveled down his spine, and he clenched his fists.

- I am Satan.

The memory of back when he had first met Satan, and him kneeling powerlessly without being able to do a thing lingered in his head. Si-Hun still trembled in fear whenever he thought of that memory. He became so scared that he could barely do anything.

“Si-Hun.” Kang-Woo clenched Si-Hun’s arm even harder. He smiled and said, “Don’t make that kind of face. Satan is dead.”

“Yes... You’re right.”

Si-Hun nodded, still with an awkward smile. He put his hand over Kang-Woo’s hand on his arm.

‘It’s warm.’

He could feel Kang-Woo’s warmth chasing away the chill that had spread throughout his body. Si-Hun took a deep breath and calmed his mind.

“Then does that mean Princess Iris’s personality is... related to Reynald’s death?” Si-Hun asked.

“But how does it make sense that someone becomes that much of a bitch just because their older brother died?” Cha Yeon-Joo interjected in irritation. She pounded her chest in frustration and complained, “My God, I barely held in my urge to smack that bitch’s head. How did her personality get so twisted?”

Although the other party members did not insult Iris like Yeon-Joo had, they seemed to have the same opinion just from looking at their faces.

“I don’t like Iris. She keeps coming onto you, Kang-Woo.” Echidna pulled on Kang-Woo’s arm while grinding her teeth.

Echidna seemed to have been bothered by the fact that she had barely been able to talk to Kang-Woo on the way to the capital because of Iris. It was cute how she was pouting in dissatisfaction.

“I-I agree! To M-Master Kang-Woo... She was so...! So...!”

Halcyon clenched his small fists while trembling.

Balrog also nodded in agreement and remarked while grimacing,“She is far too disrespectful to the king. If it had not been for the king’s command, I would have long since ripped her head off.”

Lilith grinned. “I think she’s cute.”

“That’s cute to you?” Yeon-Joo chuckled.

Lilith simply giggled without a response.

“Yes, I think she’s cute too.” Han Seol-Ah answered in Lilith’s place unexpectedly. “I... would like to get along with her.”

Seol-Ah giggled while covering her mouth. She was smiling, but her eyes were not. Chills ran down Yeon-Joo’s spine.

“Y-Yeah.” Yeon-Joo nodded in puzzlement.

Kang-Woo groaned.

‘Pretty much everyone hates her.’

Everyone other than Lilith was practically grinding their teeth. It was a little awkward since Kang-Woo had decided to take Iris’s side.

‘Fixing Iris’s personality takes absolute priority.’

However, that was easier said than done.

“I agree with Yeon-Joo. I don’t think she became like that just because of Reynald’s death,” Kang-Woo stated.

Her attitude toward Fidelio was far too extreme for that to be the case.

‘I have a feeling that Fidelio had something to do with it.’

If that was the case, it was good for Kang-Woo since it would be naturally resolved once they took Fidelio out of the picture.

‘But...’

A different thought crossed his mind, but he shook his head. It was still too soon for him to be sure of such a guess.

“How about I go talk to her?” Si-Hun suggested while raising his hand.

“No, I got this. Si-Hun, you focus on deepening your bond with the princess while keeping the same distance from her as now,” Kang-Woo responded.

“Mm. I understand.”

It would be right to leave it to Si-Hun to fix Iris’s twisted personality, but he could not trust Si-Hun to take care of it.

‘Considering Si-Hun’s personality...’

He would be the worst person for such a delicate matter. Since it would be a bother to tell him every single line for him to recite, it was better for Kang-Woo to just take care of it himself.

“Then will we be staying in the imperial palace?” Yeon-Joo asked while pouting.

Kang-Woo fell into thought for a moment, and then answered, “No, that would be inefficient.”

This plan did not need so many people to execute.

‘No.’

This many people would actually be a detriment to the plan to raise Si-Hun up.

‘It’s not like there’s a certain date for when a high elf will manifest.’

They couldn’t just wait while twiddling their thumbs, relying only on a plan to have a high elf manifest. To make the most use of their time...

“Let’s split the party into two,” Kang-Woo stated.

“Split the party...”

“Into two?”

Yeon-Joo and Seol-Ah became wide-eyed.

“While the first party works on making Si-Hun a savior, the second party will look for information related to the Demon God’s corpse,” Kang-Woo remarked.

“W-Wait, that means...”

The faces of a few party members paled. If the party was split into two, it meant that half the members of the party would be separated from Kang-Woo.

“I-I’m going to stay with you, Kang-Woo!” Seol-Ah shouted urgently.

Kang-Woo smirked. “I already have five people in mind for the second party. Balrog, Yeon-Joo, Echidna, Halcyon, and Layla.”

They were all people that would not be of much help for this plan. Lilith was one of the very few party members that he could share his true plan to, and as for Vernaak, he could add more realism to the plan by making use of Undead. There was no need to even mention Si-Hun.

‘Seol-Ah is a bit of an odd one out.’

Kang-Woo sighed in relief after seeing Seol-Ah smiling brightly. As for her, she required special care from him because she had already fallen from grace once before.

‘She’s still mentally unstable.’

The only ones who could control Seol-Ah at the moment were Kang-Woo and Lilith. Since both he and Lilith were in the first party, Seol-Ah also needed to be with them.

“Ah...”

“Wh-What the hell?! Why me?!”

Joy and sorrow intermingled from Kang-Woo’s choice. Yeon-Joo sprang up in anger while grinding her teeth.

“Why? You don’t want to be separated from me?” Kang-Woo asked.

“O-Of course not! It’s just a hassle to travel all over the place!”

Kang-Woo turned around while snickering. “You’re the leader of the second party, Balrog.”

“Understood.” Balrog nodded without complaints.

He seemed to know that there was nothing for him to do even if he stayed here.

“Kang-Woo...” Echidna pulled on Kang-Woo’s clothes, teary-eyed.

Kang-Woo patted her head. “We’re not gonna be separated for very long. Besides, you can fly over in a flash in your true form, can’t you?”

“Urgh. Okay.” Echidna nodded while pouting. She then snorted while clenching her fists. “Hm! I’ll find tons of information for you, Kang-Woo.”

“Okay. I’ll look forward to it.”

Although Kang-Woo answered with a smile, he did not have high expectations for them.

‘They’d be lucky to even find a single clue.’

There was a reason why Kang-Woo had gone with the bothersome choice of bringing Aernor to the brink of collapse to make the high elves manifest. It was near impossible to locate the Demon God’s corpse with no information whatsoever. Kang-Woo had split the party into two because he wanted to focus on supporting Si-Hun for the true plan.

‘Next up...’

Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes and recalled what Fidelio had said.

- It seems we’ll have to hold a grand party soon. I will have to tell the other nobles of your heroics.

‘A party, huh?’

Kang-Woo smiled widely.

‘A perfect stage.’

***

Balrog left the imperial castle along with the second party. Iris was bewildered to hear the news at first, but was relieved after hearing that Si-Hun had remained.

Kang-Woo made several preparations for the party, and one of them was figuring out the exact situation that Aernor was currently in. In regards to that, he received help from the second party that was currently traveling around the continent.

‘An era of peace, huh?’

If the situation of Aernor could be summarized in one phrase, it was exactly that. The forces worshiping Evil God Lucifer had been reduced to only a few due to the sudden disappearance of Lucifer a few years ago. Even Demon King Vaal Zahak, who had invaded several kingdoms in the northern region, had been subjugated through Reynald’s heroic sacrifice, or that was what the public believed. The continent had entered an era of peace for the first time since the appearance of Evil God Lucifer.

‘It doesn’t feel like an era of peace, though.’

Kang-Woo smiled bitterly. The situation in Arnan was not good enough for them to enjoy the era of peace.

‘But one good thing about it is...’

The fear of demons was still rooted deep within the people of the continent. Surprisingly, life in Arnan was far better compared to when they were at war.

While Kang-Woo was organizing the information that he had gathered about the current situation in Aernor, someone knocked on his door. Clack. The door was carefully opened.

“Are you ready, Kang-Woo?” Seol-Ah asked.

“Oh, yeah.” Kang-Woo paused his thoughts and turned his head toward Seol-Ah’s voice. “Wow.”

He could not take his eyes off of Seol-Ah in a pure-white ball gown.

“Does it... look good on me?” she asked while looking down at her gown that had a bit too many laces.

“You look absolutely gorgeous.” Kang-Woo gave her a thumbs up.

Seol-Ah smiled.

“Shall we go?” Kang-Woo stood up and lightly grabbed Seol-Ah’s hand.

Today was the day of the party that Fidelio had mentioned. The imperial castle was bustling with nobles that had arrived since morning. They were showering Si-Hun with gifts to gain his favor after hearing of his overwhelming combat prowess.

Kang-Woo smiled while looking down through a window of the imperial palace.

‘Today...’

A (hellish) party for Si-Hun would commence in the imperial palace.