Debuff Master

Chapter 615

“Oh? It’s here of all places?” Siegfried grumbled with a grimace. Who could have known that the soul energy emitted by the soul fragment would be detected within the Espadrille Province of all places?

“What? Do you know something?” Cheon Woo-Jin asked.

“Who knows?” Siegfried replied with a grin.

Cheon Woo-Jin grimaced and asked, “What’s with that face? Hey, you know something, don’t you?”

“Nope. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Then what’s with that face?”

“Ah, that is...” Siegfried proceeded to tell him everything that happened with the local nobles of the Espadrille Province. He also shared how he planned to use diplomatic means to quell them rather than brute force.

“We were having problems from over there.”

“Oh?”

“I’m sure they feel wronged, too, so I plan to resolve things diplomatically with them.”

“You will?”

“Do you want to die?”

“N-No...”

Cheon Woo-Jin hurriedly cowered down after Siegfried gave him a death glare.

“They say people are nearing the end of their lives if they start doing things they don’t usually do...”

“Do you have more than one life?”

“...”

“Are you sure you want to risk it?”

“Haha...”

“Anyway, I was about to go there, so I guess it works out.”

Cheon Woo-Jin nodded and said, “Yeah, you can go take a look for any signs of the soul fragment while you’re there.”

“Exactly,” Siegfried replied. Then, he grinned and laughed, “Hehe!”

“W-What’s with that stupid grin?” Cheon Woo-Jin asked with a disgusted look.

Siegfried suddenly composed himself. Then, he tried to look as intellectual as possible and replied, “I guess... You really don’t know what life can throw at you.”

“...?”

“Justification is a powerful thing.”

“What nonsense is this...?”

“You can do anything you want as long as you have the right justification.”

“What the hell are you talking about...?” Cheon Woo-Jin muttered, looking very confused. Then, he asked, “Are you into philosophy these days? Why are you speaking as if you’re writing a manifesto?”

“Because I’m into moneyfesto.”

“Y-You’re a monster created by capitalism...”

“That’s a good thing, right?”

“It can be good or bad. That depends.”

“Let’s just say it’s a good thing then,” Siegfried said with a shrug. Then, he got up and said, “Alright, I’m going now.”

“You’re going already?”

“They say you gotta strike while the iron is hot. I figured I’d go take a look since you mentioned it.”

“I guess that’s not a bad idea.”

“Alright, I’m going to look for the soul fragment and the justification I need,” Siegfried said before walking away.

“What the hell is he talking about?" Cheon Woo-Jin grumbled.

"What justification is he—” Cheon Woo-Jin stopped mid-sentence when a thought suddenly popped up in his mind, causing him to gasp in horror. “Heok?”

He looked at Siegfried’s back, and his eyes went up above Siegfried's head.

Shiver!

A chill traveled down his spine after seeing what was on top of Siegfried’s head.

Flash! Flash!

The title "I Am Backstabbing" was shining brightly above Siegfried's head.

“Just what the hell are you planning...?” Cheon Woo-Jin muttered under his breath.

***

Siegfried did not waste time and headed straight for the Espadrille Province with Hamchi.

‘I’ll be Level 299 once I collect two more souls. Let’s do our best,’ Siegfried thought while making his way to the Espadrille Province.

Cheon Woo-Jin promised to raise his level to Level 299 once he had gathered and destroyed all of the soul fragments of Apocalius, so it was only normal for him to focus on this quest.

In addition to the soul fragment, he also had to resolve the issue with the local nobles, so he had no time to waste.

Meanwhile, an important guest arrived at the Proatine Kingdom while Siegfried was on the way to the Espadrille Province.

“Hello, I am the Minister of State of the Proatine Kingdom, Michele de Petronas.”

Michele received word that the leader of the Espadrille Province’s nobles, Count Gunther, had arrived without notice, so he personally went to receive him.

“Hello, my name is Count Gunther.”

The count looked around the reception hall, seemingly displeased by the reception.

“But where is the king? Why have you come out to receive me? Is it not customary for the king to personally receive me, as I am a count?” Count Gunther said curtly.

“Yes, Count Gunther,” Michele replied. Then, he bowed and said, “I am afraid His Majesty is currently on the way to the Espadrille Province, so he is unable to receive you.”

“Espadrille Province? Tsk... It seems we missed each other.”

“Yes.”

“I wouldn’t have come all the way here if I had known that he'd be walking to us with his own feet. Tsk... I just wasted my time...”

Michele raised a brow and almost lost his composure, ‘Hmm? Look at this guy.’

He could not believe how Count Gunther was acting toward him.

He was a Marquis, and the Minister of State, but a mere count was actually talking down on him? To make things worse, this mere count was actually daring enough not to address Siegfried properly. He even dared to say things like “walking to us with his own feet,” which could be enough reason to be charged with Lese-Majeste.

Michele would have ordered the soldiers to arrest Count Gunther, execute him, and hang his decapitated head on the castle walls, but he decided against it, as he was capable of keeping himself calm even in these kinds of situations.

‘He’s probably looking down on us because he used to be a noble of the empire, but I didn’t expect him to look down on His Majesty, too,’ Michele thought as rage boiled inside of him while he exerted superhuman self-control to put on a poker face.

There was no reason for him to act out now, as Siegfried was on his way to the Espadrille Province to try and diplomatically convince the nobles to cooperate.

“Would you prefer to wait for His Majesty or—”

“Is that even a question? How do you expect me to stay in this tiny castle? I’m going back right this instant, as I can’t stay another second in this place worse than a pig’s pen.”

“I apologize for not living up to your expectations, Count Gunther.”

“Whatever. I’ll be going back now.”

“Please have a safe journey back.”

“Sigh...” Michele let out a sigh after Count Gunter finally left. Then, he muttered under his breath, “Perhaps Emperor Stuttgart should be made aware of this incident—no, we can’t do that.”

He considered informing the emperor regarding the nobles’ attitude, but he figured that wasn't the right way to deal with things.

The emperor had granted the Proatine Kingdom complete ownership over the Espadrille Province and its people, which obviously included its nobles, too, so this was a problem the Proatine Kingdom had to solve by itself.

Asking for help from the emperor was no different from advertising to the world that the Proatine Kingdom and its king, Siegfried van Proa, were so incompetent that they could not even control their own nobles.

The whole continent would ridicule Siegfried van Proa for being a fool who could not even maintain what was given to him. Besides, it would not be too late to seek assistance from the emperor once things got out of control and the nobles rose up in insurrection.

Siegfried was probably aware of this, too, which was the reason he did not bother mentioning the emperor during the meeting.

“I guess I should just place my trust in His Majesty,” Michele grumbled before walking back to his office.

***

Siegfried stepped into the Warp Gate that connected to the Espadrille Province.

“Ah! This feels good!”

He was in a good mood after exiting the warpgate and walking down a path lined up with trees.

“You seem to be in a good mood, owner punk! Kyuuu!”

“Of course, it has been a while since we got to go out,” Siegfried replied with a huge grin.

“Kyu?”

“It was tough being locked up.”

Siegfried had been itching to go on another journey but he could not afford to do so due to the looming threat of the Church of Osric. He could not risk dying during the tournament period, so he stayed cooped up in his castle until the tournament ended.

Alas, the tournament ended, and he was free to journey once again, but his first journey was to babysit a bunch of old men rather than venture out into the continent.

“It feels great to have fresh air in my nostrils again.”

“Kyuuu! Hamchi is happy if my owner punk is happy!”

“Let’s go for a stroll. We gotta look for the soul fragment while looking around this place anyway.”

“Kyuu! Sounds like a plan!”

“Alright, shall we get going?”

Siegfried and Hamchi went to the Marmont Territory. They revealed their identities and requested to meet the feudal lord.

“We... greet the king...”

The Marmont Territory’s knights reluctantly paid respect to Siegfried and hurriedly called for their feudal lord.

The reason they were reluctant to pay respect to him was that they were knighted in the Marchioni Empire. They had sworn an oath under Emperor Stuttgart’s name to serve their feudal lord faithfully, so there was no way they would feel comfortable paying respects to someone like Siegfried.

‘Haha...’ Siegfried smiled bitterly at the attitude of the knights, but he suppressed his emotions and decided to be patient with them.

Ten minutes later...

“Welcome, Your Majesty.”

The feudal lord of the Marmont Territory, Viscount Roberto, came out to receive Siegfried.

“I apologize for coming abruptly without any notice,” Siegfried said.

“N-Not at all; it is an honor that Your Majesty has visited our home,” Viscount Robert said, looking obviously flustered by the sudden visit.

This didn't seem like a big deal, but a king visiting without sending any notice was very rare on the continent.

“Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Siegfried van Proa, and I am the king of the Proatine Kingdom,” Siegfried introduced himself.

The two proceeded to exchange pleasantries and chat about trivial things, lightening the atmosphere.

It was then.

“You must have been utterly confused by what happened.”

“P-Pardon me, sire?”

“Your nationality suddenly changed overnight, and your territory is now under the weakest and poorest nation on the continent. If that did not catch you by surprise, then I have no idea what will.

“T-That is...”

“I completely understand how you feel.”

“...!”

“I would have been disgruntled, too, so I can only imagine how you feel.”

“A-Ah!”

Viscount Roberto was shocked by what he heard. Siegfried not only understood his feelings but understood the feelings of every noble in the province.

‘Hmm... I heard he was just a greenhorn Adventurer, but it seems the rumors were not true. He’s truly someone worthy of His Imperial Majesty’s favor,’ Viscount Roberto saw Siegfried in a new light.

“I sincerely thank Your Majesty for your understanding and benevolence.”

Was this what spitting on one’s own face looked like? Viscount Roberto had no other choice but to show respect by bowing his head.

On the other hand, Siegfried’s strategy of using a diplomatic approach seemed to have worked, but he had no plans on ending it here.

“Unfortunately, we cannot cry over what has already happened, right?”

This single statement from Siegfried caught Viscount Roberto off guard.

“Yes, but...”

“I believe we will have to work hard to get along from now on since what happened has already happened.”

“Your Majesty is correct, but—”

“I will acknowledge your right to rule.”

“...!”

“I will guarantee your autonomy as long as you reduce your army to the minimum required for defending your territory and swear to cooperate with the kingdom’s requests.”

“T-That is—”

“I know having your own army is important for security reasons, which is precisely why I have not requested you to disperse them. And...” Siegfried trailed off. Then, he looked the viscount straight in his eyes and said, “Let me ask you something, viscount.”

“Please ask me whatever Your Majesty wishes.”

“In your opinion, viscount. We're working on quite a few national projects, and for whose sake do you think we're doing that? What do you think is the purpose of these projects?”

It was then.

‘Oh my god...!’ Viscount Roberto realized he had been swept up in Siegfried’s pace, causing him to feel as if he was struck by a hammer on the back of his head. Then, he shrieked in horror inwardly and trembled in fear, ‘J-Justification! He’s looking for justification!’

For whose purpose were the projects? What was the kingdom trying to achieve?

‘P-People! This king is telling us to cooperate because this is for the people!’

In other words, Siegfried held the trump card that could not and would not lose to any logical argument, and this card was called a justification.

“Viscount Roberto.”

“Y-Yes, Your Majesty...?”

“Please help me.”

“...!”

“Once the kingdom’s great undertakings are finished, our economy will flourish. Our people will live prosperously as well. I will need your help to achieve this, so please lend us your strength,” Siegfried said and was even about to bow to the viscount.

It was then.

‘...Ah.’

Viscount Roberto realized that he couldn't beat the king, whom he initially thought was a lowly greenhorn Adventurer.