All of them had become weird.
Cale sat down on a bench near the fountain and looked around.
First, he looked at Choi Han.
"..."
Choi Han was meditating in a lotus position on top of a boulder. A black aura was coming out of his body.
Choi Han seemed like a typical martial arts master.
Cale started to speak.
"Hans, how long has he been training like that?"
"19 hours, young master-nim. Aren't you proud of him? Ah, that passion!"
'…Not at all.'
Cale was more scared than proud.
Cale lifted his head and made eye contact with Hans.
"…And how long are you going to stay like that?"
"I'm not sure."
Choi Han had been training Hans as well. Since Hans was someone who was always at the house, Choi Han thought that he should at least know some basic defense.
'But to stay in the invisible chair position-'
Cale could see that Hans's legs were shaking. Hans must have noticed Cale's gaze, as he started to awkwardly smile.
"Haha, young master-nim, I will definitely get stronger in order to protect you. That is a butler's duty."
"…Sure. I trust you."
Cale answered that way since he had nothing else to say.
"Yes sir! I will not let you down!"
Hans responded in an energetic voice. Cale just turned his head away from Hans only to see someone else.
Eruhaben was standing next to the stone pillar that was wrapped with the metal chains. Cale found it odd that Eruhaben and Raon were not together.
Eruhaben must have noticed his confusion and thus gave him an explanation.
"The Dragon's way is to figure things out on our own once we are given a sense of direction."
Raon was currently training in Cale's room on the fifth floor. Cale let him train there because Raon had said that he would not destroy anything during his training.
'Human, I will go through my first growth phase before Fall. I'm sure that you are already aware of my greatness, but you will feel it even more!'
That was what Raon had said before he started to train. He seemed to be full of confidence.
Cale recalled the image of the tiny Black Dragon flying up to the fifth floor with confidence and held back his sigh. He then started to smile.
It was because of what he saw in front of him.
Meeeeeeow.
Meeow.
"Ahem, ahem."
Hong, who was still a baby kitten, as well as On, who would soon reach her growth phase, slowly approached Eruhaben and started to meow.
The ancient Dragon let out some fake coughs and pretended not to notice them, but he slowly started to smile. Cale started to think while watching what was going on.
'I guess he will teach On and Hong as well.'
Cale recalled what Eruhaben had said about the two Cat tribe children.
'He said that they are pure-blooded Cats who have mutated.'
Eruhaben seemed to have a lot of knowledge about the Cat tribe. It was only natural that an ancient Dragon who had lived for close to 1,000 years would have such knowledge. He could leave the Cat tribe siblings to Eruhaben since nobody else had any information to help them out.
'The Blue Wolf tribe children as well.'
Cale turned toward one side of the square.
"Ahhhhh!"
"Ahh!"
"Eeeeeeek!"
The Wolf children were all training together. Some of them were nearing their first berserk transformation. They would get even stronger after that.
'Lock is training with Beacrox and Ron.'
Cale blankly watched the Wolf children train like they were the main characters of a drama. Someone approached him at that moment.
"Young master Cale."
"Miss Rosalyn."
Rosalyn peeked over at Hans before approaching the bench and sitting down next to Cale. She looked around the square before starting to speak.
"Everybody seems to be hard at work."
"Indeed. They're amazing. Is everything going well with you, Miss Rosalyn?"
Cale's gaze turned toward Rosalyn. She was currently focused on research. She just needed to take one more step in order to reach the level of a highest-grade mage.
"Just so-so. But it is helpful that I have the most amazing teachers."
Rosalyn started to smile. As long as Raon and Eruhaben were around, she could learn a lot by just watching them, even if she didn't ask them for any guidance.
She was a smart woman, so she naturally was putting this opportunity to great use.
"Yes, amazing teachers for sure."
Cale nodded his head and continued to speak. The greetings were done and they could get down to business.
"Have you received any news from Tasha?"
The Dark Elf Tasha was currently heading over to this location with Mary. Cale would need to start moving again once Mary arrived.
"Yes. And Miss Tasha and I have a message to deliver."
"A message?"
Cale's expression turned odd. Tasha was representing the crown prince while Rosalyn was pretty much the representative for the Breck Kingdom. There was only one thing that both of them would need to tell him at once.
Cale started to speak.
"Looks like everyone has decided to meet up."
"…I knew you would figure it out right away, young master Cale."
Rosalyn smiled and nodded her head before explaining the details.
"The Breck Kingdom, Roan Kingdom, and the Jungle have all agreed to meet. However, we have a problem."
"…There is no response from the Whipper Kingdom?"
She did not mention anything about the Whipper Kingdom, so they must be the source of the problem.
They needed the Whipper Kingdom in this meeting. Although it would be fine without them, the Empire's escape route through the Eastern shoreline would be cut off as well.
Not only would that cut off the Empire from communicating with the Eastern continent, but it would also make it easier for the Whales to move.
"No. We received a response from the Whipper Kingdom. Commander Toonka personally responded."
Toonka was basically the voice of the Whipper Kingdom. Of course, Chief Harol was next to Toonka to help him.
"What did he say?"
"Young master Cale."
"Yes?"
"He wants to chat with you."
"…Toonka does?"
"Yes."
'Why me?'
Confusion was evident on Cale's face. However, Rosalyn started to smile as Toonka's actions were understandable to her.
'Toonka and Harol have not had any contact with the Roan Kingdom or any other kingdoms for that matter. Having someone that they trust at the meeting is one way of protecting themselves.'
Cale was the only person that Toonka trusted in the Roan Kingdom.
It was similar to how Queen Litana had asked Cale to connect her to the crown prince.
Rosalyn started to speak to the confused Cale.
"I think I can connect you to him right away. What should I do?"
"Well."
Cale stood up from the bench and noticed that his legs were slightly numb. He was woken up early by the shouts of all of the people training and had been sitting on this bench since he had nothing else to do.
It was fun watching these scenes that reminded him of cartoons and dramas.
"…Young master Cale, are your legs okay?"
"They are numb because I have been sitting here for so long. I feel like I am getting weaker by the day."
'Do I need to at least stretch twice a day? But that's annoying.'
Cale grumbled internally as he stretched his legs. Rosalyn started to speak as he stretched his legs.
"You don't know how much of a motivation you being here is for them."
"Excuse me?"
"Nothing."
Rosalyn shook her head and smiled as if to say it was nothing.
She looked around the training ground. Everybody was looking toward Cale. Cale had been sitting on the bench watching them train since early in the morning. The only time he had left was to eat.
Everybody already knew that ancient powers did not have the possibility of growing stronger. They were things that only had one level.
That was why they knew that Cale had no reason to train.
That was also why they understood how Cale must have felt while sitting on the bench and watching them train.
This was the reason the energetic shouts did not stop all morning.
"Shall we go?"
Cale pointed toward the villa and Rosalyn followed behind him.
Ahhhhhhh!
Cale flinched as the loud shouts started up once again. He found this to be scary and quickly headed toward the villa.
***
This was the first time Cale had used a video communication device to chat with Toonka.
– Long time no see.
Cale was surprised.
"You are alone."
– Yes.
Cale did not see Harol nor any other subordinates with Toonka. Toonka was chatting with Cale alone.
'Well, I understand that there may not be many people around him because they can't let it be known that they have a video communication device.'
You needed a mage in order to use a video communication device.
The Whipper Kingdom was currently using the mage and video communication device that Alberu had sent over in order to be able to communicate with the other kingdoms.
They had no choice because they were facing an urgent situation.
But Cale still found it odd that neither Harol nor any of the Chiefs were with him.
Cale could clearly see Toonka's face through the device. Cale started to frown a bit.
"You don't look so good."
Toonka flinched at Cale's observation.
Toonka did not look very good at all.
Currently, the Empire and the Whipper Kingdom were only having small scale battles. The Whipper Kingdom was only aiming for a few palaces by the border rather than charging toward the Empire's capital, but even that was not going as they had planned.
Cale, who didn't think Toonka would be the type to worry about that, quickly figured out what was going on.
'There's only one reason that this idiot would be this upset.'
Cale looked toward Toonka, who was fidgeting, and started to speak.
"Did you find the traitor?"
Toonka flinched before starting to frown.
– Yes.
"Based on your reaction, I'm guessing it was one of your direct subordinates."
– … Yes.
Cale thought about Toonka's subordinates. There was his left-hand woman Felicia, who was a talented strategist who wielded a spear. Then there was his right-hand man Hota, who was similar to Toonka and focused on his physical strength.
– … I didn't know Hota was such a person.
Toonka started to speak as if he was full of pain.
– How could he fall for the Empire's plots! I didn't know he wanted to take my position!
Toonka's hand started to shake in anger at Hota's betrayal. He then felt an empty void inside of his heart.
He wanted to share these feelings with someone, but he didn't know who he could share them with until he thought of Cale.
Chief Harol had located the traitor. Toonka didn't know how Harol had done it, but they found a magic device among Hota's belongings, and although it was not a video communication device, it was still something that sent a similar type of signal.
Toonka shared these details with Cale.
Cale, who was listening to Toonka's explanation, clicked his tongue quietly.
'I guess even the Empire does not know that Harol is a half mage who can feel the flow of mana.'
That was why the Empire probably did not hide their communication with Hota.
However, there was no way that Harol would miss the magic device Hota was carrying.
– That is why last night, last night, I beheaded that traitor.
Cale finally understood why Toonka had slowed down his attack on the Empire.
"But you figured out that he was the traitor prior to yesterday, didn't you?"
– … I found out a week ago.
'Looks like he struggled quite a bit with his decision.'
Cale realized that Toonka must have debated what to do with Hota for a while. That was why the Whipper Kingdom had slowed down their attacks.
– I thought that at least Hota, that at least the citizens agreed with my vision. I trusted him so much.
Toonka looked down at his two hands.
He had personally beheaded Hota. He thought that he needed to do it himself.
At that moment, Toonka heard Cale's voice through the communication device.
"It must have been hard on you. Good job."
Toonka lightly clenched his fist after hearing Cale's words. Nobody had ever said such a thing to him before.
Cale continued to speak.
"A lot of soldiers did not end up losing their lives thanks to you."
This was the truth.
Cale wanted to praise Toonka for not becoming weak because of his friendship with Hota.
Toonka slowly raised his head.
The two of them made eye contact through the communication device. Cale put on his usual relaxed smile on his face as he continued to speak.
"And it seems like you trusted me. Did you tell Harol to find the traitor because of what I said?"
Cale expected that Toonka would trust him and look for the traitor, but he felt kind of odd after learning that it had actually happened.
"Thanks for trusting what I said."
Although Cale casually said that, those words hit Toonka pretty hard. At the same time, Toonka thought about the traitor, Hota's face.
However, Cale's continued words made Hota's face disappear.
"But don't trust me. I am not on your side. I am also not a good person."
Cale told Toonka the truth. He was not on Toonka's side.
Although he now hoped that the Whipper Kingdom would be victorious in this war, he did not want them to have a dominating victory.
The balance of power between the Roan Kingdom, Breck Kingdom, the Jungle, and the Whipper Kingdom would become skewed if the Whipper Kingdom has a dominating victory over the Empire.
That was why Cale wanted Toonka to barely win.
'How could someone with such thoughts be a good person?'
Cale decided that it was about time to end the chat.
"Toonka, this isn't like you at all. Weren't you going to sweep the Empire away?"
Cale could see Toonka's eyebrows start to twitch.
– … You are right. I need to sweep them away.
Toonka hated the Empire even more after what had happened with Hota.
Toonka's eyes returned to their usual glow. Cale had one last thing to say to Toonka.
"Be yourself."
'Be myself.'
The corners of Toonka's lips started to go up. He soon had his usual smile that made him look like a simpleton.
He then got up from his seat.
– Yes, I need to live a life that is true to myself.
Toonka said that as he looked toward Cale. Cale nodded his head.
Toonka's smile became even thicker. At that moment, Cale said something else in an indifferent voice.
"But pay some attention to your soldiers as well. Maybe it is because I am a weak person, but it hurts me to see weak people die."
That comment made Toonka start to think.
'He says that he's not a good person? After saying something like that?'
Toonka had made up his mind to live a life that was true to his style. His style was not one that took care of the weaklings.
However, he still responded back to Cale.
– I'll think about it.
Cale flinched a bit.
'He'll think about it? Toonka can think?'
He thought that Toonka would either ignore him or say no. Toonka did not care that Cale was shocked and instead said one last thing before ending the conversation.
– Chief Harol will be at the meeting in my place.
Cale nodded his head.
The Whipper Kingdom will be present at the meeting as well.
And someone like Harol was enough to be at the meeting.
Although the Whipper Kingdom was in a war against the Empire, Harol was a Chief based on the way he led the citizens with Toonka. He was not there as a strategist, so it would be fine if he was missing for a bit.
"Got it. Get some rest. You've been through a lot."
– Puhahahaha. Get some rest? Alright, I will.
Toonka suddenly started to laugh out loud. Cale started to frown at Toonka's ever-changing mood. However, Toonka did not care as he said goodbye before turning off the communication device.
– See you next time.
Cale looked toward the empty screen and started to think.
'Why would I see you again?'
He had no desire to see Toonka again.
Cale sighed before leaning into the couch. At that moment, he heard a knock on the door of the video communication room.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
"Young master Cale."
It was Rosalyn. She continued to speak.
"Miss Tasha and Miss Mary have arrived."
Cale got up from his seat.
It was now time to head back to the half Saint and fake Holy Maiden.
Click.
The door opened and Cale made eye contact with Rosalyn.
"…Young master Cale."
"Miss Rosalyn, what is it?"
Rosalyn could see that Cale had a very mischievous smile on his face. She didn't know why he was smiling that way, but she started to smile as well after seeing Cale's smile.
It was a similar smile to the one on Cale's face.
"Please return safely after taking care of business."
"Thank you very much. I'll be able to do so thanks to you."
At that moment, Raon came down from the fifth floor.
"Human, human! Hmm?"
Raon looked at the smiles on Cale and Rosalyn's face before starting to speak again.
"What are you planning to do now? That smile of yours means that you are up to no good, human."
Cale didn't have much planned for this trip.
"I'm just going to go help heal someone in pain.
However, nobody, especially Raon, actually believed his words.