798
[Chapter 202]
[Foundation of a Monarch(2)]
What do I want to do from now on?
Noh Eun-ae had been attending gardening academy while thinking a lot.
And when the 2-year curriculum ended, she opened a small flower shop in downtown Hyehwa-dong.
Her family offered to support her financially, but she's not a young child anymore and it's awkward to rely on mom and dad's hands.
It's not like I don't have money.
Noh Eun-ae, 19 years old.
Her flower shop was made entirely with money she had earned so far.
It's a flower shop she opened completely on her own.
So she cherished the flower shop very much.
"I did well listening to dad. If I had recklessly opened a big flower shop from the start, it probably would have been hard to work alone."
On the other hand, the flower shop was very successful.
The plants she grew had something that caught the eyes of passersby.
Of course, she could hear the emotions of plants.
A gift of the <Empath > line.
Thanks to that, it was possible to provide the optimal growing environment that plants wanted using her gift.
And there was also the reason that family and people around recommended Eun-ae's flower shop to others subtly.
Anyway, she was living fulfilling days.
"Since it's a day off today, I should go see unni and oppa!"
Still, there had to be days off.
Once a week.
On her regular holiday, she didn't operate the flower shop and relaxed comfortably.
'Even if you like something, you'll feel tired if you do it every day. You should change your mood by doing other things sometimes. Can you promise mom and dad?'
It was her parents' advice.
Noh Eun-ae accepted the advice.
But there wasn't much to do on holidays.
Friends her age weren't easy to meet often due to exam preparations.
So her parents advised her to try finding a new hobby since she now made her favorite thing her job.
It was right.
But she hadn't found a notable hobby yet.
So on holidays, she often visited Pandora Clan where her unni and oppa were.
They haven't seen each other because everyone was in Uijeongbu. With oppa's personality, he might disappear somewhere soon after creating some strange incident.
The 2nd Uijeongbu Recapture War must have ended.
Noh Eun-ae decided to visit Pandora Clan after a long time.
There was also a reason she couldn't see oppa even after the 2nd Uijeongbu Recapture War ended.
It couldn't be helped because─.
─Oppa is too busy these days so I have to go see him, can't be helped.
Unni was busy too.
But oppa was in a situation where he was so busy he could hardly make time.
Noh Eun-ae understood oppa's circumstances.
"Oppa's picture is hanging there too. It's a bit strange...."
Recently, wherever you go on the street.
Or when you turn on broadcasts.
People were constantly talking about her oppa.
The hero who stopped the military's coup.
The representative of the golden generation, the golden sword.
There were many nicknames for oppa coming from their mouths.
It was a part that showed how much oppa had played an active role in the Uijeongbu Recapture War.
And it also meant the country's political situation wasn't that good.
『<Cardinal > Noh Eun-ha
for the monarch of this country!』
The military's coup.
And the military's bombardment of Uijeongbu.
The disbandment of the military because of that.
People were thoroughly angered.
The situation was so bad that there were even voices saying her oppa should be made the monarch of this country.
For her, it was just scary.
It feels like oppa is becoming a person I don't know.
It felt like oppa was growing distant.
Unknown, unfamiliar, and scary.
Moreover, since they hadn't met for a long time, it seemed like they were growing apart.
Because she had such feelings.
Noh Eun-ae visited Pandora Clan today to meet oppa.
"Ah! Eun-ae, did you come to play?"
"Ah, Min-ji unni hello. Yeah! I came to see what oppa is doing for a bit. Is he very busy now?"
"He is very busy. Sorry, I don't think I'll be able to take care of you much today."
"No! Rather, I'm sorry for suddenly coming during your working hours! I'm fine!"
Jung-gu, Pandora Clan Hall 1st floor.
Eun-ae met Kim Min-ji by chance.
She seemed very busy, and unlike usual, she quickly left saying she was going on a request.
Not just her.
Afterwards, all clan members she encountered seemed to be chased by work.
Well, it can't be helped. The situation isn't very good now....
I heard from Eun-ah unni last time that they have to keep having meetings to distribute the trophies obtained from Uijeongbu....
Eun-ae understood their situation.
So she wasn't disappointed.
Originally, it was bad that she suddenly came during their working hours.
It can't be helped.
If clan members look this busy, new unnies and unni and oppa must be busy now too without fail.
I should just give the flowers I brought as a gift to refresh their mood and quickly leave the clan hall.
She resolved to do so.
Right at that moment─.
"─Ah! Baek-ryeon, hello? Have you been well?"
"Ah, unni. Hello."
While heading to the elevator.
Noh Eun-ae met Ha Baek-ryeon.
She greeted her first.
Ha Baek-ryeon was glad to see Eun-ae.
"Wow, unni. What's that flower? It smells really good."
"It's chamomile. How is it? Smells good, right?"
"It really seems good. Is this perhaps for tra..., Eun-ha ahjussi?"
"Yeah, that's right. Is oppa upstairs now?"
"Hmm, he's probably there. I bet he's working with his hair standing on end in the office as usual."
Trash ahjussi.
Noh Eun-ae caught the words Ha Baek-ryeon was about to say for a moment.
But she pretended not to know.
Ha Baek-ryeon was young too.
Above all, she could feel Ha Baek-ryeon's emotions to some extent through her gift.
Interpreting those emotions─.
─She likes our oppa but is too shy to say it.
Ah, how cute!
That's how it was.
On the outside, she was like a cat that didn't like human touch.
But peeking at her inner self, she was a cat wanting someone to pet her quickly.
Because she knew that inner self.
Noh Eun-ae found her very cute and often took care of her whenever she visited Pandora Clan.
"What are you going to do now?"
"I finished my homework and was about to go to my room. Hmm..., aren't there any unnies playing with unni today?"
"Yeah, that's right.... So I want to spend time with you before leaving, will you play with unni?"
"Yes, that's fine."
"Good, good. Right, we can call Yu-jung unni too."
"Yu-jung unni should be upstairs too."
"That's great. Then shall we go meet oppa with me first, and then go meet Yu-jung unni?"
"Eun-ha ahjussi?"
"Yeah! Why? Don't you like it?"
"Hmm.... Yes, that's fine. I haven't seen that ahjussi's face properly these days either."
These days Eun-ha ahjussi doesn't play with me!
Noh Eun-ae interpreted Ha Baek-ryeon's words as she pleased.
She smiled brightly.
Soon she held Ha Baek-ryeon's hand and got on the elevator.
Ding
Soon after getting off the elevator, she decided to head to Eun-ha's office.
She knew the way well.
But─.
"─Huh?"
"Unni, what's wrong?"
"...It's nothing."
She heard some voice.
Eun-ae stopped for a moment.
Then she hurriedly smiled and glossed over it to Ha Baek-ryeon who was curious.
Is that sound coming from oppa's office?
What's in there?
Fragments of emotion transmitted through her gift.
Eun-ae wondered as she headed towards Eun-ha's office.
☆
Somehow I ended up becoming the representative of the 2nd Uijeongbu Recapture War.
Because of this, Eun-ha had no choice but to live a life far from leisure after returning to Seoul.
He had no time to deal with his wives, and no time to visit his parents.
My authority has risen too high.
Today too, he was swamped with work.
A very brief rest before moving on to the next task.
Eun-ha leaned back in his chair and let out a deep sigh.
The world was going crazy.
He thought people's emotions would calm down somewhat if the military was disbanded.
Contrary to his expectations, people were expressing more dissatisfaction with the Fairy Government.
To think such words would come out.
"Make me the monarch of this country? Do they think someone who only knows how to use a sword can become the leader of this country?"
<Cardinal > for the monarch of this country.
It was a slogan he encountered often recently.
It was burdensome for Eun-ha.
It was beyond his imagination.
On the other hand, it could be said that people were enthusiastic about the opening of a new era.
I have no intention of becoming a monarch, for now....
There's still so much to do.
Even if I had thoughts of becoming a monarch.
He couldn't suddenly say he would become monarch as people wished.
Public sentiment wanted him.
But he had to consider the sentiments of those with wealth, power, and force too.
Above all, if he accepted readily, it would be like blatantly showing his true intentions to people.
Han Gaozu Liu Bang refused the throne three times.
Even if Lim Ga-eul proposed to him, he could say he should refuse at least three times.
Of course, he really had no intention for now.
"It's tight just deciding how to distribute trophies now, how could I decide how to handle state affairs? I should do this first."
Eun-ha changed the topic.
There were trophies on the desk.
They were trophies that Pandora Clan decided to take after discussing with commanders recently.
"Hmm...."
Goeshini's skill stone.
Cobalt Knight's helmet.
<Florist >'s jewel.
Other high importance trophies were assigned to other clans.
Trophies of one lower importance than those were distributed to sub-lords, asking them to distribute to party members as they saw fit.
So Eun-ha just had to distribute the trophies placed on the desk.
"Ugh...."
Who to distribute to.
There were many worries.
First, he picked up Cobalt Knight's helmet.
"Giving this to someone is a bit... it's not a skill stone.... Should I let people who need it use it in a rental format? Or give it on indefinite loan to one person while allowing it to be loaned to people who accumulate merits whenever they appear...."
Anyone can use it without needing compatibility tests.
In such cases, quite a few clans made artifacts clan property and loaned them out.
Eun-ha decided to do that too.
"The helmet will be handled like that.... How should I handle this?"
Then Eun-ha turned his attention to Goeshini's skill stone.
When he infused mana into the skill stone, it emitted a bright light.
As confirmed in Uijeongbu, besides himself, people who reacted to the skill stone were Han Chang-jin, Jin Pa-rang, Yu Nam-hoon, Hoshimiya Kaede, Kim Min-ji and others.
There were quite a few compatible people.
That was the cause of worry.
On the other hand─.
─It's a skill stone proficient in espionage. I need to think carefully and decide on this.
The performance of the skill stone was a concern.
As Eun-ha remembered, in the previous life a skill stone proficient in handling shadows came out.
It was a skill stone with excellent effects in espionage, search, and combat aspects.
A skill stone that increases his mobility while enhancing information acquisition ability.
So he had to pick a compatible person who would be of great help to him.
The people who would be most helpful are Chang-jin hyung, Hou....
Eun-ha couldn't decide readily.
Besides those two.
One more person came to mind too.
"Let's think about this later."
In the end, Eun-ha couldn't decide.
Finally, he looked at <Florist >'s jewel.
"What is this used for...."
It was a really perplexing item.
Not a mana stone or skill stone.
Not a soul stone either.
'It looks like it has something? You can melt these in a furnace to check! Eun-ha, hand it over to me. I'll check it well for you.'
To this, Byeok Hae-su had said with his eyes rolling back.
The Maestro's intuition probably judged it excellent as a crafting material.
But Eun-ha stopped Byeok Hae-su.
"Ah, come to think of it, I forgot to ask Hae-su hyung to make a sword too. I keep forgetting these days because I'm busy.... Right, I haven't received the military merit medal based on contribution points yet."
Recalling Byeok Hae-su.
Eun-ha remembered things he had forgotten.
He was truly busy.
Anyway, since I don't know what this is, I should leave it to the person receiving it to decide how to handle it.
The person to receive it... can only be Ara. She was the biggest help in defeating <Florist >.
I should tell Ara to handle it as she sees fit.
Soon Eun-ha finished worrying.
He decided to pass it on to Jo A-ra.
Jo A-ra would have thoughts too, so she probably wouldn't sell it somewhere else.
She probably doesn't know how to use it either and will request Byeok Hae-su to use it as artifact crafting material.
Thinking that, Eun-ha decided to finish the difficult task.
It was right at that moment─.
"─Oppa, can I come in?"
"Eun-ae?"
Knock knock.
Someone knocked on the door.
It was Noh Eun-ae's voice.
Eun-ha's face brightened.
☆
"The flower smells good. I've been so busy lately that I'm out of my mind, I should compose myself smelling the flower scent."
"It's not smell but fragrance! Oppa! How can you say smell for a pretty flower?"
"Right, sorry."
Noh Eun-ae came after a long time.
Eun-ha welcomed her gladly.
He was glad he could take a break under the pretext that she came to see him.
It was a very valid excuse that didn't even make him feel guilty.
"I didn't know you'd come to play too, Baek-ryeon. Come play often in the future too."
"It's reeeally awkward if I run into ahjussi's wives?"
"What does that matter? It's not like they all dislike you."
"Hmph."
Ha Baek-ryeon was beside Eun-ae too.
Eun-ha's smile deepened.
He felt good seeing the two.
Though it was a sorry thing for Noh Eun-ae, having conversations with the two like this made him feel more stable than the flowers she brought.
"But oppa, where's unni?"
"Noona is probably attending a Mana Management Organization meeting? She'll be very busy."
"I brought flowers for unni too. Then oppa deliver this flower."
"I will. Is the flower shop okay? Did any bad guys cause trouble while I was gone?"
"Yeah, it's fine! There are troublesome customers sometimes, but scary people don't come! And there aren't any bad people among those who
"Yeah, it's fine! There are troublesome customers sometimes, but scary people don't come! And there aren't any bad people among those who like flowers!"
"Aren't troublesome customers bad people?"
"Troublesome customers... I can still tolerate them for now."
"If you need flower shop security, just say the word. I'll send some clan members."
"Nah, it's fine. Everyone's busy, I can't make it hard for them."
Eun-ha exchanged conversation with Eun-ae.
Eun-ha was proud of her.
She was running a flower shop well despite not even being an adult yet.
Dad has people watching to make sure no strange guys come around the flower shop... She doesn't seem to know yet.
Anyway, I'm glad she looks happy. At first when she said she'd open a flower shop, I was worried because she was young.
Eun-ha wished for Eun-ae's happiness.
On the other hand, he moved his gaze.
Ha Baek-ryeon was sticking out her tongue.
"Baek-ryeon, why?"
"It seems ahjussi likes Eun-ae unni much more than the married unnies. Si... strange."
"..."
"Right? Oppa likes me the most!"
Siscon.
Eun-ha didn't miss the words Ha Baek-ryeon glossed over while watching Eun-ae's reaction.
Eun-ha smiled bitterly.
Then he asked jokingly.
"Why, are you jealous?"
"Hmph, why would I be?"
Sometimes I want to hear a 'yes'.
Even when asked jokingly, Ha Baek-ryeon rarely answered.
Eun-ha felt disappointed.
Still, she gave me carnations this year too so she probably doesn't dislike me.
Meanwhile, Eun-ha recalled the carnations Ha Baek-ryeon gifted him recently.
She gifted carnations every year on Family Day.
"Come to think of it, oppa."
"Hm, what?"
At that moment, Eun-ae suddenly asked.
Eun-ha tilted his head.
Then she pointed her finger at Eun-ha's desk.
"What are those over there?"
"Those? Ah, those are trophies Pandora Clan received from this recapture war. Want to take a look?"
Eun-ae showed unusual curiosity.
Eun-ha got up from his seat and brought the trophies from the desk.
As he placed them on the table.
Eun-ae grabbed the jewel.
"─It was you."
"What?"
Noh Eun-ae with narrowed eyes.
She examined the jewel this way and that.
Eun-ha recalled her gift and quietly let her examine the jewel.
Was it right that it's a seed, not a jewel?
Then is that something to grow, not artifact material?
Eun-ha fell into thought.
Soon Eun-ae put down the jewel.
"Is it a plant?"
"Yeah, it seems to be a plant seed. I don't know what kind of plant seed it is either, but it doesn't seem to be a bad one."
"Hmm...."
Hearing Noh Eun-ae's assessment.
He looked closely at the jewel.
If that's a seed─.
"─Eun-ae, do you want to try growing it?"
"Huh? Me? Is that okay?"
"You'd be able to know what environment this seed grows well in, right?"
"Well, that's true."
Eun-ha decided to entrust it to Eun-ae.
He doesn't know what kind of plant will grow.
But he couldn't rashly give it to clan members.
If it's an elixir, they needed to seek ways to manage it at the clan level to obtain it continuously.
Noh Eun-ae could do it.
She had already proven her ability by cultivating Eunranghwa.
"Okay, then I'll try growing it. But listening to it, it seems it needs an environment with sufficient mana. So I think it would be better to grow it here with unnies' help rather than at my shop."
"Alright, let's do that then. But won't it be hard for you? You'll have to go back and forth between the shop and here."
"I can leave work an hour early for a while and stop by the clan hall. It's fine! Rather, it's good that I can be helpful to oppa!"
"Yeah, thank you. Only you can do it."
Noh Eun-ae smiles.
Eun-ha patted her head.
Then his little sister lowered her head asking to be patted more.
She didn't mind her hair getting messy.
The two laughed happily.
"Yeah, I'm glad."
"About what?"
"That oppa is the oppa I know."
"When was I ever an oppa you didn't know?"
"Never! Not even once!"
Incomprehensible words.
Eun-ha smiled slightly.
And Ha Baek-ryeon who was quietly watching the scene─.
"─Don't play just the two of you excluding me."
Sulked and.
She grumbled with puffed cheeks.
☆
That day, important news was announced.
People who were shouting to make Eun-ha the monarch were shocked hearing that announcement.
[─Therefore, I intend to step down from the head of the Twelve Seats to take responsibility for this incident. The same goes for my position as Mana Management Organization Minister.]
A living legend.
<King of Darkness> Baek Seo-jin.
He expressed his intention to retire.
<Iron Fortress> Moon Jun, <Divine Spear> Nam Gung Seong-un.
The last of the three legends who contributed representatively to overcoming destruction along with them was stepping down.
People were agitated.
Following that, Lim Ga-eul also announced to the media, partially accepting people's reactions.
[I apologize once again to all citizens like this. So, with the intention of reforming after this incident, I will dissolve the 2nd generation Twelve Seats and newly select the 3rd generation Twelve Seats to create a new political situation.]
Dissolution of 2nd generation Twelve Seats.
Recommendation of 3rd generation Twelve Seats.
The two pieces of news partially met the wishes of people wanting a new country.
Originally, the 3rd generation Twelve Seats had to be announced as <King of Darkness> stepped down.
It could be said that Baek Seo-jin and Lim Ga-eul's intentions meshed appropriately.
Anyway, because of this incident, the Twelve Seats came to be reorganized anew.
The 3rd generation Twelve Seats composition tentatively announced by the Fairy Government was as follows:
<First Sword> Ji Yong-hyeon
<Time Witch> Priscis Memory
<Thunder God> Lee Do-jin
<Yamma > Kang Hyeon-cheol
<Holy Mother> Park Hye-rim
<Silent > Yu Su-jin
<Great Tree> Seon Gi-jun
Including the head position, a total of five vacancies occurred.
Also, <Index > Yoon Seong-jin and <Big Data> Mo Ra-yul came to be excluded from the Twelve Seats.
<Index > decided to only perform the role of library manager, and <Big Data> the role of controller.
""""...."""
A new wind blew.
People felt that wind.
Meanwhile, Lim Ga-eul and Baek Seo-jin announced they would recommend <Abyss > as the person designated for the head position.
3rd Generation Twelve Seats Composition Plan
Fairy Force Year 20
Division
Affiliation
Name
Hunter (Head)
Mana Management Organization
Seon Woo-hwa-ryeong
Dealer
Zenith
Ji Yong-hyeon
Supporter
Mana Management Organization
Priscis Memory
Dealer
Silla
Lee Do-jin
Dealer
Blaze
Kang Hyeon-cheol
Supporter
Regulus
Park Hye-rim
Sniper
Tempest
Yu Su-jin
Guardian
East Sea
Seon Gi-jun
4 other Twelve Seats members to be selected.
─ Fairy Lim Ga-eul ─