Chapter 57
CHAPTER 57
The Majesty's Pride (3)
Inside Shamo Meirim's office.
Across the elaborately patterned floor, rows of kneeling figures lined up. They were the representatives of the Majesties who governed each worldline. Not a single one dared raise their head. Even their breathing was cautious.
"We beg you."
The figure at the very front pressed his forehead against the floor.
"Your Majesty, please... save our world from its food crisis. If only the locust swarm could coincidentally migrate into the neighboring world, we will offer you anything."
"Your Majesty! Please let the rebel commander coincidentally die of illness. If you grant us victory, we'll surrender half the shares of our world."
Shamo Meirim looked down upon the petitioners in silence, reclining lazily upon her golden throne.
Her voice carried nothing but boredom.
She never questioned their circumstances. She never demanded explanations. There was no need.
Then, she casually raised a single finger.
At that instant, a feather lying in one corner of the audience hall suddenly trembled.
[Blue Bird of the Queen Mother of the West (5-Star)]
The divine messenger bird sent by the Queen Mother of the West to deliver news. A sacred familiar that brings glad tidings and auspicious omens.
Shamo Meirim made a light flicking gesture.
A silent permission.
"Very well."
As she waved the feather, it transformed into a flock of blue birds.
Fwoosh!
The blue birds soared into the air, each flying toward a different dimensional gate.
At the same time, her Authority activated.
[Authority: Fortune]
Battles that should have been lost would come to a halt.
Those destined to die would survive.
Experiments fated to fail would succeed on the very first attempt.
It had always been so.
Not once had her judgment ever failed.
And yet—
Shamo Meirim's hand froze.
Flutter!
The very first blue bird abruptly crashed into empty air.
As though it had struck an invisible wall.
But that wasn't all.
Its blue feathers instantly turned black.
"...?"
The anomaly didn't end there.
The blue birds flying toward every worldline began dropping helplessly before they could even cross the dimensional gates.
Even the few that barely reached their destinations were no longer normal.
One bird sent to stop a war let out a crazed shriek instead of delivering peace before plunging straight into the enemy ammunition depot—
BOOM!
Another, carrying rain to end a drought, suddenly fell from the sky, caught fire, and ignited a massive forest blaze.
Where fortune should have arrived...
Misfortune descended instead.
[Transmission of Fortune has failed.]
[Due to contamination, it has been converted into an Omen of Misfortune.]
The kneeling representatives turned deathly pale.
"W-What's happening?! Instead of good fortune, disasters are raining down!"
"Your Majesty! The birds... they've turned into crows and are destroying our worlds!"
For the first time, Shamo Meirim lowered the hand she had been holding aloft.
"...Why?"
Her eyes narrowed.
It felt as though something was blocking the very path through which fortune flowed.
Could it be... because of that misfortune they reported earlier?
But she quickly shook her head, dismissing the thought.
...No. He hasn't even met him yet.
At that moment—
She heard the sound of a worldline cracking.
"...I survived thanks to you."
The elderly Majesty, Rigam, bowed his head deeply.
Seo Ju-Heon merely curled the corner of his lips.
"Don't misunderstand. This wasn't charity."
"...Charity?"
Ju-Heon snapped his fingers.
"Now then. Let's settle the bill."
Rigam's eyes quivered.
"What... bill?"
Ju-Heon's gaze shifted behind him.
There stood Majesty Yu Jae-ha, acting as though nothing had happened, although cold sweat soaked his collar.
"My companion's lifespan."
"Seventy years' worth."
At those words, Yu Jae-ha's face visibly twitched.
"So you're finally bringing that up!"
"Of course."
Ju-Heon nodded.
"You settle accounts while you're still alive."
He looked back at Rigam.
"Saving your life cost us that much lifespan. You understand what I'm saying, right?"
Rigam fell silent.
Calling it a rescue hardly seemed accurate.
This man had clearly put his own interests first.
Yet it was equally true that he had risked himself, even cutting off the disaster that had been hanging over Rigam.
"...Even if I wished to repay you, I have nothing left."
"Well, can't be helped. Then..."
Before Ju-Heon could finish—
Yu Jae-ha cut in sharply.
"Don't say something ridiculous."
He glared at Rigam.
"Working it off or becoming someone's subordinate isn't a trade."
His voice turned icy.
"Between Majesties, only things with tangible value count as currency."
"You used to be a Majesty too, didn't you?"
He paused deliberately.
"Then hand over your Majesty shares."
The atmosphere instantly turned cold.
Everyone's eyes slowly shifted toward Yu Jae-ha.
It wasn't because they thought he was cruel.
Rather—
"Since when did you get to dictate the terms?"
Unaffected by their stares, Yu Jae-ha continued.
"I spent my lifespan."
"That means I have the right to collect."
"..."
"A trade isn't valid unless the payment is worth that much."
"A Majesty's heart—"
At that moment, Ju-Heon nodded.
"That's right."
"A Majesty's heart."
The corners of Yu Jae-ha's mouth lifted.
"See? You catch on fast—"
Ju-Heon cut him off.
"Hand over your world."
"...?!"
Yu Jae-ha froze on the spot.
"What? I think you've got something mixed up..."
"No. I heard you just fine."
Ju-Heon answered calmly.
Before he could continue, Yu Jae-ha shouted in disbelief.
"I already told you my world was taken by Shamo Meirim!"
Ju-Heon replied casually.
"Exactly."
He turned his gaze to Rigam.
"So once you take it back from Shamo Meirim..."
"Hand that world over to me."
Rigam's eyes widened.
Was he saying he'd reclaim my world... only to ask me to give it to him?
"That's the better deal for you."
Ju-Heon spoke as though the math were obvious.
"Your world still has relics left in it, doesn't it?"
Yu Jae-ha looked ready to lose his mind.
"Don't be ridiculous! You're asking for a world we don't even know we can recover!"
He ground his teeth.
"Do you have any idea how valuable a Majesty's Heart is?!"
"That's the one with guaranteed value!"
Even as he argued, Yu Jae-ha's mind was racing.
A Majesty's Heart...
More than anything else, it gives you one extra life.
A Majesty's Heart could be used as nourishment for relics, but more importantly, it literally served as an extra life.
As though you had multiple lives in a game.
No one understood its value better than Yu Jae-ha.
A world?
You might recover it—or you might not.
Even if you did, someone could steal it away again tomorrow.
It was nothing more than highly volatile real estate.
But a Heart was different.
An extra life.
Majesties never knew when a relic would kill them.
The more lives you had, the more you could afford to do.
That's why, above everything else, Majesties valued their lives.
"...A Majesty's Heart is worth far more."
This wasn't stubbornness.
It was experience.
"You just don't understand yet."
He spoke quietly.
"Do you know who wins fights between Majesties?"
"In the end, it's always the one with more spare lives."
His hand rested over his own chest.
"A single Majesty's Heart."
"It's one more chance to survive."
There was a reason Majesty Hearts commanded such incredible value.
Ju-Heon tilted his head for a moment.
Then he laughed.
"Oh, right."
Very briefly.
"Extra lives. Insurance. Safety nets."
"I get all that."
He tapped his own chest with a finger.
"But here's the thing."
Ju-HeOn raised his eyes.
"You only need one life."
Yu Jae-ha's confident expression froze.
"...What?"
"One is enough."
Ju-Heon didn't hesitate for even a second.
"Having two doesn't make you braver."
"Having three doesn't mean you can overturn the world."
His eyes gleamed with dangerous intensity.
"If you can't even protect your first life, what good is another one?"
"You'll just throw that away too."
"But relics are different."
"They become power."
"They become leverage."
"They become the keys that open new paths."
He looked straight at Yu Jae-ha.
"I don't want to live a long life."
"I just want to take more with me."
Yu Jae-ha couldn't answer.
This wasn't courage.
Nor was it recklessness.
"To me..."
"One world full of relics is worth far more than a single spare life."
A completely different philosophy of survival.
"...You relic-crazed..."
Majesty Yu Jae-ha let out an incredulous laugh.
"Fine."
"I get it now."
His thoughts began spinning rapidly.
Good.
Then I'll use what this bastard actually wants.
"Then let's make another deal."
Yu Jae-ha spoke as calmly as possible.
"I'm a Majesty too."
"I can create relics."
"And I'm your senior. There are things I can teach you."
He swallowed before continuing.
"If you return even part of my lifespan—"
"Ah."
Ju-Heon cut him off.
The interruption was so abrupt that Yu Jae-ha blinked.
"So that's what you're trying to say."
Ju-Heon smiled as he tilted his head.
"Do you even realize what you're asking?"
"You're expecting me to do you a favor for free."
Just as Yu Jae-ha opened his mouth to object, Ju-Heon spoke first.
"You'll work it off."
"You'll become my subordinate."
"You were the one who said it earlier."
"Those things don't count as a trade."
Yu Jae-ha's face stiffened.
"Didn't you say that between Majesties, only tangible assets count as currency?"
This bastard...
Ju-Heon continued before he could respond.
"And you also said that, shabby or not..."
"You're still a Majesty."
Yu Jae-ha couldn't even maintain his fake smile anymore.
"...So?"
"So."
Ju-Heon grinned.
This time it was unmistakably the smile of a swindler.
"Then what you pay should be worthy of that title."
"...You want me to make relics?"
"That's labor."
Ju-Heon took another step closer.
"What I want..."
"...is an asset you can hand over right now."
A chill ran through Yu Jae-ha.
Ju-Heon nodded.
"You're a Majesty too."
"So you've got a world of your own."
"...Don't tell me..."
"That's right."
"Open your relic vault."
"Of course, I'll be the one choosing what I take."
Realizing what Ju-Heon was after, Yu Jae-ha's eyes widened.
"You rookie Majesty..."
"You seriously think you can rob me blind?"
Ju-Heon shrugged.
"You were the one who said Majesty trades have to be special."
"So who told you to butt into someone else's deal?"
Yu Jae-ha fell silent.
"...Damn it."
Is this revenge?
Seeing his expression, Ju-Heon chuckled.
"Or..."
"I thought you said you had plenty of treasures."
"Starting now, bring me the relics I ask for..."
"...and I'll return half your lifespan."
Majesty Yu Jae-ha's expression immediately brightened.
...Just what kind of relic is he going to ask me to find?