But that show was still a long time away and there were a ton of issues to take care of prior to it.
'But those issues aren't my problems to take care of.'
Cale leisurely took a sip of the tea that was a special item of the Jungle. Cale was currently drinking tea and chatting with Queen Litana.
Tap.
Cale could hear Litana's voice as soon as he put his teacup down.
"According to the information given by the Saint, there was a lot of research for war and killing at the Alchemists' Bell Tower."
Litana's face looked disgusted as she said that. Cale could imagine what was making her put on such a disgusted face. He started to speak.
"They probably needed to do a lot of experiments for such research."
Litana nodded her head at Cale's comment and gulped down her tea.
'Isn't it hot?'
Cale was worried about Litana burning herself.
Bang!
However, he did not say anything after seeing Litana bang the teacup onto the glass table. Litana's black pupils were full of anger.
"I cannot forgive them. How can they kill so many animals and humans in such a cruel manner?!"
Cale looked toward the angry Litana and took another sip of his tea.
Both alchemy and magic required a significant amount of experiments when creating war-related or killing-related items. The majority of those experiments were completed on the orcs or goblins.
Although Cale didn't think that was necessarily a good method either, the methods of the Alchemists' Bell Tower that the Saint shared with them was even crueler.
The Empire is one of the few kingdoms that still allowed for slaves.
They used these slaves for the experiments.
They also killed a large number of animals as well.
That was why the citizens of the Jungle, people who did not have slaves and lived in harmony with animals, could not help but be angry.
Litana looked toward Cale and asked.
"Don't you think that it is cruel as well, young master Cale?"
"It is."
"Right. That is why we need to save them."
'Hmm?'
Cale was holding up his teacup as he looked toward Litana. For some reason, her fierce gaze made him get the chills.
"Young master Cale, I have bad blood with the Empire and the Alchemists' Bell Tower."
This was because the Imperial Prince and Alchemy were responsible for the fire in Section 1.
"However, I have no plan for conquering the Empire's land nor do I want to kill the Empire's citizens. I want to kill the basta-, no, mm, anyway, I just want to get rid of the person in charge and prevent future experiments like this."
"…Do I just need to deliver this message to crown prince Alberu?"
Litana smiled and nodded her head.
"Yes, please inform his highness that this is our position."
Cale nodded his head.
The Roan Kingdom was currently working as the focal point to connect all of these other nations.
They had no other choice, as only Cale and Alberu had knowledge about the current situation of the continent.
The Whipper Kingdom, the Breck Kingdom, and the Jungle.
These three nations only knew that the Empire was working together with the Northern Alliance. Only Cale, Alberu, and their people knew that Arm was involved with them as well.
Cale nodded his head as he lowered his teacup.
"I will deliver the message. By the way, Miss Lina."
"Yes?"
Cale put the teacup on the table and clasped his hands together with a serious expression. Litana looked at him with a stiff expression as well.
Cale started to speak.
"Wouldn't it be better to just destroy the Alchemists' Bell Tower while you're at it?"
"… Excuse me?"
"Ah, I guess destroy might be too strong of a word. How about we change it to break down?"
"Excuse me?"
Litana looked toward Cale as if she could not comprehend what he was saying. Cale's calm voice responded back.
"That was just a thought I had after hearing about their cruelty. Don't you feel the same way, Miss Lina?"
"…Of course. But it is not easy to take that Bell Tower down."
Although it was called a Bell Tower, other than the large bell on the roof of the tower, it was a fortress that was even stronger than the Magic Tower.
Cale showed his agreement with Litana's comment.
"You're right. It is not easy to do so."
Litana felt odd, but picked her teacup back up after seeing Cale agree with her before she started to speak again.
"I think it will be difficult to break down the Bell Tower that has been standing for hundreds of years. I want to do it though."
"I suppose so."
Cale agreed with Litana as he started to think.
'Looks like I'll be able to take a couple of the Jungle's warriors when I go to destroy the Bell Tower.'
Cale already had planned on destroying the Bell Tower. He needed to do so.
That would destroy one of the pillars of the Empire.
The Empire could be said to consist of Alchemy and the Church of the Sun God serving as the pillars of the Empire while the royal family served as the roof.
People were saying that the Church of the Sun God was currently in the process of being destroyed. However, Cale was planning on destroying the Bell Tower and creating a new pillar for the Empire.
It would be a new and upgraded Church of the Sun God.
'No, it is better to call it the foundation rather than a pillar.'
Pillars are created on top of foundations. Cale was thinking about recreating everything, starting from the foundation.
However, that was not something for Cale to do.
He was planning on making other people destroy the Bell Tower before observing what happened next. Of course, he had plans for it, which was why he was working his ass off right now in order to set up the pieces.
One of those pieces was brought up by Litana.
"Then will you be looking after the Saint and the Holy Maiden?"
Cale had told Litana that he was taking Jack and Hannah with him.
"Yes. I wish to do so if it is okay with you, Miss Litana."
"It does not matter to me."
A real Holy Maiden and Saint would be helpful to pressure the Empire in the future, however, they were a pair of a fake Holy Maiden and a half-Saint. Litana did not need the two anymore as she had already received all of the information from the Saint.
"Then I will take them with me."
Litana quietly looked at Cale who was planning on taking on these baggage, or even potential time bombs, with him. Cale gently smiled at her.
"And you know about the black robe, right?"
"I know. I will definitely keep it a secret."
Alberu had told Litana that they had someone to deal with the dead mana bombs. Cale had brought that person over with him, and this was, of course, something that needed to be kept a secret. Litana had not told anybody other than Bin and a couple other direct subordinates.
Litana looked at the empty teacup and got up from her seat.
"Let us get up now."
Cale followed her up as he did not have anything else to say either. She looked toward Cale and asked.
"Will you leave right away?"
"I plan to move as quickly as possible once the Holy Maiden has healed."
Litana nodded her head as if she had expected his answer and started to smile.
"I feel like she will recover quickly with you by her side, young master Cale."
'I think that she'll be able to get the greatest revenge.'
Litana did not say that part. The greatest revenge that Cale had talked about, living happily ever after. She thought that Cale would give that to the twins.
'How could someone always be putting others before himself?'
She did not have the confidence to live like Cale. In return, she decided to do the best she could in her role.
"Young master Cale, I will take responsibility for safely escorting you to the shore."
"Great, thank you very much."
Cale wanted to tell Litana that she didn't need to do that but thought it would get annoying to have to explain himself, and so he just accepted her offer.
'I have two Dragons with me.'
Cale's group did not need an escort.
***
Clunk. Clunk.
The carriage clunked as it traveled on the dirt road. This single carriage was heading to Harris Village.
Click. Shhhhh.
The window by the driver's side opened. Ron, who was serving as the driver, looked inside.
"Young master-nim, the road seems to be rough because of the couple days of rain we had. I ask for your understanding."
"It's fine since the seat is soft."
Cale answered as he looked around.
Eruhaben was across from him, sitting with his legs crossed and looking out the window. Tasha was sitting on top of the carriage.
She said that it was because the seats were tiny and because it was suffocating sitting in a carriage with two Dragons.
As for the people next to Eruhaben and Cale, that was a mess.
First, the swordmaster Hannah, who was wearing a white robe, had taken up a large portion of the chair and was leaning back while holding Mary's hand.
Raon and the Saint, Jack, were next to the two women.
Raon started to speak.
"Hey little Saint, have you ever been to the Forest of Darkness?"
He sounded like an emperor talking to one of his subjects. Jack respectfully responded back.
"No, Dragon-nim. I have never been outside of the Empire's capital until recently when we were on the run."
"I see! I will show you around! I will show you around the village as well!"
Mary, who had been quiet, started to speak as well.
"I had never seen the world before until Dragon-nim showed me around either. There are many amazing places in the world."
Mary and Jack were two innocent souls who did not know anything about the world and seemed to fit right in with Raon.
Cale, who was observing them while internally clicking his tongue, made eye contact with Jack. Jack bowed toward Cale. Both of his hands were wrapped up in bandages.
Cale had introduced his group to Jack and Hannah as he was taking them to the Super Rock Cave. This included the two Dragons.
At that moment, Jack had responded back with a voice that was full of admiration.
'As expected, the light seems to be by someone with such a big heart.'
Cale didn't really like that response. However, Hannah gave him quite a favorable response.
'Great. We should be able to do it properly.'
He didn't need to ask what she was thinking about doing.
Hannah seemed very happy that there were two Dragons. Hannah was excited about the thoughts of getting her revenge.
That type of response was what Cale preferred.
"Huuuuu."
Cale heard a sigh and thought that he had subconsciously sighed.
However, it was not him. Eruhaben was staring at Raon before turning back to look out the window. He then started to mumble.
"My goodness, I have never seen a Dragon acting as a guide. I'm definitely getting too old."
Eruhaben seemed to be saying that quite often these days.
Cale was now used to it, and so he started to lean back in the seat. He was planning on resting until they arrived at the underground villa.
They soon arrived at the underground residence with their new party members. The people who had been at the residence came up to greet them.
However, their gazes while looking at the Saint and Holy Maiden were not warm. Cale observed the expressions on the group's faces.
"Oh, new family members!"
Hans, who did not know anything, had a bright expression, while the Wolf children looked toward Beacrox and Ron for guidance. At that moment, Beacrox started to speak.
"It looks like we will need to prepare food for two more people."
Seeing Beacrox being okay with it, the Wolf children all relaxed. Cale's gaze then turned toward Choi Han and Rosalyn.
Choi Han was looking off at a distance while Rosalyn smiled as soon as she made eye contact with Cale.
Rosalyn and the swordmaster Hannah had fought once over the ocean. Cale recalled the conversation the two of them had while fighting.
'Wow, unni, you are so strong.'
'Right? I am a pretty strong mage.'
'…Unni, you have another mage as well?'
'Didn't I tell you that we are a secret organization?'
Cale recalled how the golden aura and magic had filled the air. Cale put on an awkward smile in response to Rosalyn's smile.
It was at that moment.
The swordmaster Hannah had pulled off her hood.
"Mm."
"Ah."
Hannah's face that was covered in the spider web-like scar was revealed. Some of the group could not help but gasp.
Hannah looked toward them and bowed her head.
"Thank you for your hospitality."
A hand reached out in front of her. Hannah lifted her head to see Rosalyn reaching her hand toward her. Hannah started to reach her own hand out before stopping after seeing her now disgusting looking hand.
However, the other hand quickly grabbed her hand. Rosalyn started to speak to Hannah.
"Welcome."
Rosalyn and Cale made eye contact and Cale nodded his head. Rosalyn was really the person who best understood Cale.
Cale stepped forward and started to speak to everyone.
"Let's get some rest first."
He was tired and wanted to lay down.
* * *
A few weeks passed by.
It was now the middle of the summer and extremely hot. Cale was lying down on top of the marble floor.
'The marble is the best when it's hot.'
He had pushed aside the carpet on the fifth floor in order to lay down on the cold marble and relax.
Aaaaaah!
Ooaaaaah!
The energetic voices were still shouting outside the window. They were in the midst of their training. Of course, this had nothing to do with Cale.
Plop. Plop.
He was eating grapes one at a time as he started to mumble to himself.
"It's about time they contact me."
At that moment, a chilliness that was incomparable to the marble landed on Cale's neck. His gaze immediately headed toward the desk.
The video communication device was glowing red.
'It's the crown prince.'
That color meant that Alberu was contacting him.
"Haaaa."
Cale lifted himself off the floor. He had been waiting for this call.
He had been rolling around doing nothing in order to gather enough energy for this moment. It was now time to put that energy to use.
Cale headed toward the door to find either Rosalyn or Raon to answer the call.
However, he didn't need to go very far.
Screeeech.
The door had opened with a weak noise and Raon entered.
"Ra-."
"Don't talk to me."
'Hmm?'
Cale flinched.
Raon's shoulders were down as he flew in. There was no strength as his wings fluttered. Raon's eyes were down as well.
Rather than flying, Raon was actually floating with his paws down as if he had no energy.
'Why is he like this?'
Cale had never seen Raon like this before.
At that moment, one more person entered the room. No, another Dragon entered the room.
"Eruhaben-nim."
It was the Gold Dragon, Eruhaben.
Eruhaben peeked toward Raon before looking back toward Cale and starting to speak.
"Ahem, hem. I'm not saying this because I was the one to teach him."
"Excuse me?"
"He is pretty smart. He learned things that he should learn in three months in just one month."
'Why is he suddenly telling me this?'
Cale could not understand Eruhaben's random comment and Raon's depressed appearance. Eruhaben continued to speak as if he could not see the confusion on Cale's face.
Eruhaben also seemed to be confused.
"But he is not growing."
"…What?"
'Now what is he saying?'
Eruhaben started to speak as if he had no idea what was going on.
"He's not reaching his first growth phase."
'Hmm?'
"It should be time, so what is going on? He needs to create the plate in order for his body to grow as well." (Plate here refers to something similar to an individual's foundation. I'm going to keep it as plate because it is used multiple times in future chapters and it'll be easier to remember. )
Cale finally understood what was going on. He turned his head to look at Raon and the two made eye contact.
"…Human, don't talk to me."
Raon then crawled underneath the blanket.
"…But I am great, so I will still do what I need to do."
He then proceeded to connect the video communication device.
Cale saw that the video communication device was glowing blue with Raon's magic before turning his gaze over to the bed.
A lump the size of Raon was now at the center of the blanket.
Eruhaben sighed before leaving the room while Cale looked toward Alberu's face that was over the video communication device on the opposite side of the room.
Alberu commented as soon as he saw Cale's face.
– Why do you have such an expression on your face? Did the heat get to you?