Ch 17

Once the servants served the food, Perseus began to eat in a hurry, as if he hadn’t eaten for a few days.

"Hey, I doubt you were starving. Why are you eating like such a glutton?"

He looked pathetic. Perseus said something, but couldn't pronounce it properly because his mouth was full.

"Woong! Becwas uahah ahng ah!”

"Say it after you finish eating."

"Mmm! Gulp! It hasn't been long since I last came to this city, and I spent all my money on getting here, so I've been getting by on just hardtack!... Sir."

The "money" he was talking about was probably money that he had pickpocketed. Considering Perseus's ability to recognize the rich and his skill with his hands, I figured he must have stolen a lot of money, but if he only ate hardtack, he must have met many swindlers too. Indeed, considering his age, it was natural for him to know little of the world. I touched my forehead, feeling a headache coming on at how obvious it all was.

Perseus slowed his eating down and began to talk about his adventures so far. The journey my cousin was talking about was violent and full of foolish actions. If he weren't a Crow, he'd likely have died screaming in a secluded alley. To think that my cousin was such a fool, I couldn’t believe it. Actually, maybe I could. Most people in my family acted before they thought. It was the same with my wise grandfather and a shrewd aunt, so the same trait could be passed on to the others in the family. But Hestia noona and I, who thought first before acting, were different.

Hillis, seeing Lan and Perseus eat as much as they could, looked at me and asked, "Come to think of it, Den, you seem to eat less than other Crows. Even though I can count the number of Crows I've met so far with one hand."

I answered Hillis's question as I cut meat. "You’re correct. Considering the metabolism of the Crows, I should eat more, but if I eat too much, my body becomes dull and I might get caught when trying to run away, so I made a habit of eating less."

Of course, it was meaningless in the face of my father. But it was just a habit with a different pursuit in mind.

"Then aren't you hungry?"

"I eat high-calorie energy blocks separately, so it's okay. Oh, Lan, you'd better make a habit of eating less too. We may run short of money and food while traveling."

Just because a pocket space was a convenient storage space did not mean that food in it could last forever. It was just easy to store for a long time because the inside was almost in a vacuum, but decomposition was inevitable because time did not stop.

Lan flinched at my advice and nodded with a sullen face, "Uh... All right."

The group laughed cheerfully at the sight. I decided not to tell them that, in the worst case scenario, I was going to have the entire party eat energy blocks and vitamins for every meal.

* * *

A temporary embassy residence for Crows was located near the Republican congress building. Hermes sighed as he entered the temporary residence, which didn’t have any assistants to aid him. While he was busy moving around due to the Empire’s war, the departure of the Crow tribe’s council of elders, and the disturbing movements from the Demon’s Territory, his son had run away from home.

His wife was busy looking for Perseus as she also took care of the newborn. Hermes also wanted to give up all his work and find his runaway son, but he couldn't let go of his work. There were signs of political strife even inside the Republic, at a time when there were many situations emerging at the same time. Besides, the Republic was not a dangerous place like Olympus Forest, and since he had taught his son how to survive, Perseus wouldn’t die.

"Phew, nothing goes the way you want in life."

Hermes sat on the sofa, wrapped his arms around his head, and murmured words of resentment.

"Ah, sister-in-law. I'm not good enough to maintain your plan. I just want to go back to my hometown."

Anemone had made several plans for the Crow tribe when she still had some life remaining. One of them was to borrow forces by sending ambassadors and government officials to the Republic to exert a direct influence. There were three main things that the Crow tribe could gain from influence on the Republic. The first was securing a market in which to trade, in addition to the Empire, so that they wouldn’t be swayed by the Empire. Second, they could benefit in the middle by mediating trade between the Empire and the Republic. Third, it would be possible to secure a trade port that was safe and freely available with little interference from other countries.

The last one was the most important, as it was supposed to be the stepping stone that Anemone made available to her children. Hermes was distressed because things were suddenly breaking out all at once and there was no one to assist him, but usually, things proceeded smoothly. All the Republic wanted from the Crow tribe was force, so it was okay for Hermes to stay neutral in peacetime. That was why Anemone decided that if there was someone there to help Hermes with the paperwork, he’d be all right.

As Hermes lay down on the sofa, sighing and muttering that he did not want to work, suddenly there was a breaking sound from the front door.

"Hahaha! Hermes! Have you been well!? The door is a bit weak! The Republic doesn't seem to like spending money."

The man came in, smiling and pushing away the broken front door with his muscular hands.

"Huh? Achilles hyung?"

Hermes rose from the sofa and welcomed his friend.

"Hyung, come on in. Ah! Should I call you an elder now?"

At Hermes' greeting, Achilles laughed loudly and hit Hermes hard on the back.

"Hahahaha! Elder! How embarrassing! Just call me hyung as you usually do! Doom, that guy just calls me hyung, too!"

Achilles then sat on the sofa, took out a luxurious-looking alcohol bottle from his bag, and took a swig.

"Kyaa~! It's so nice that grain wine is easy to get outside the forest. I missed this subtle taste since there’s only fruit wine in the village."

There was not enough land to farm in Olympus Forest, so it was difficult to grow enough grain to make alcohol. The quality of the soil was good, but that meant even weeds had a very persistent vitality.

Hermes smiled bitterly at Achilles' words, "Well, on the contrary, the alcohol from our hometown is hard to get here."

Fruit wine itself was easily available here, but the flavor and taste of the fruit wine made from fruits surviving in Olympus Forest could not be matched. Hermes sat opposite Achilles and took a letter out of his pocket.

"By the way, I got goosebumps this afternoon. Just as Hestia predicted, Denburg came here," said Hermes.

Achilles was genuinely surprised, "What? Was it really Denburg?"

"Yeah. I was confused because he was taller than the last time I saw him, but when I attacked him, it was Den."

Achilles was astonished at the firm answer. "No way. Doom took Den to take care of the Demon King. So, do you think the small chief could have run away from the chief?”

"Didn't you come because of Hestia too, hyung?"

The main reason why he was here, not the capital, despite being a Crow tribe ambassador, was because of Hestia’s instructions, not because of the Republic’s emergency congress. For attending congress, it was enough to send an official under Hermes. He didn’t have to go himself. Achilles shrugged at Hermes' question.

"For now, I came because of the deputy chief and the great elder’s orders, but I really didn't think that that feisty kid could escape."

Hermes was convinced by that answer, until he saw his nephew during the day.

Achilles drank from the bottle until it was empty, and got up from his seat. "Since I know that the small chief is here now, I should follow the instructions of the deputy chief. Are you ready for a sea blockade?"

Hermes said with a nod, "I asked the consul for cooperation three days ago.”

"Good! Then I'll be waiting outside the city with other elders, so send me a signal anytime. Then the fifty elders who came with me will rush in at once."

Hermes and Achilles smiled at each other, just like they did when they were mischievous children, and lightly bumped their fists together.

* * *

"What are you thinking so deeply about?" asked Hillis.

I came out of my contemplation and answered, "It's nothing. I just have a bad feeling, so I was checking to see if there were any loopholes in my plan."

"Plan? Do you have any plans other than going south by boat?"

Oh, come to think of it, I didn't talk about the insurance to anyone except Lan.

"It’s just that it'd be annoying if there was a sea blockade. I have another plan for that, but there probably won’t be a use for it."

I swallowed the word 'probably'. Damian heard me and laughed as if he had heard something strange and said, "Sea blockade is impossible. Especially in a situation where the border is unstable like it is now, we have to prepare for evacuation just in case, so there’s no way a sea blockade could happen."

I smiled bitterly at those words. It remained to be seen whether or not the evacuation would be made for ordinary citizens. It'd be a good thing if the representatives weren't the first ones to run away. Considering that the congress was being held at Peritzbay, which was connected to Milion, and not the capital, it was obvious.

"Well, if that’s the case, then I'm glad."

Seeing Uncle Hermes in this city still bothered me. At first, I thought it was for quick communication between the congress and the consul, but there would be no need for my uncle to be there.

"Anyways, since we got the reward, let's go to the night market!" suggested Hillis.

Arwen and Arrieta showed interest, but I was reluctant.

"Market? I've already been there, and there's nothing much to see."

Hillis pouted her lips. "It's just the market that you went to. What we want to go to is the night market that opens until dawn once every 15 days! It just happens to be open today!"

"Ohh! Looking at the tourist pamphlet, they say they also do simple Peking opera and masked dance!" exclaimed Arrieta. [1]

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"… Republic money is also useless if it's not in the Republic anyway," mentioned Arwen.

Hearing this, I tried to tell them I’d give them money so they could go off and play, but I noticed strange presences that were trying to surround this place from outside the mansion. The presences were too weak for it to be Uncle Hermes coming here to catch me, and their hiding was too clumsy to be here for surveillance. Then they must be here for Cain. The sensitive Caesar and Tristan also noticed the presences and looked at me.

"Den, what are you going to do? Are you going or not?"

At Hillis' urging, I raised my hands and said as if surrendering, "All right, let's go."

The three clapped, happy at my answer. I called Perseus and Cain, who had become close already and were playing with each other.

"I'll buy you guys something delicious, so let's go together."

This mansion was where we finally could relax, so I couldn’t let it be ruined. Caesar and Tristan knew what I meant, nodded, and quietly packed their weapons in their coats.

1. Peking opera is a performance art incorporating singing, reciting, acting, and martial arts. ☜