Chapitre 237: Leaving
"No."
"------Beatrice?"
Leon paused at Beatrice's sad gaze.
"Your Majesty, the agent of all the gods, the valiant knight-king, the one who blessed my knights and saved me from the bondage of corruption."
Her grip on Leon's hand tightened. Leon wondered how such strength could come from such slender hands.
"Where do you think you're going to go, please--- please don't leave us and go somewhere without me."
"------"
Leon realized what had worried and saddened Beatrice so much.
It was to discuss the succession of the Lionheart King, and it meant that Leon would be giving up his position as the gods' representative and heading to the feast to join them.
For countless Grail Guardians and Knights have ascended to choose their own successors, if not slain on the battlefield.
"Three hundred years, Beatrice."
Leon had lived long enough, and was an old man who would have been reincarnated or headed for the banquet table if he were a normal human.
"By nature, human life is not long, and I was destined to leave one day, but the love of the gods saved me from that."
Leon was wealthier, more respected, and more honored than most, even if his life was an endless cycle of struggle and fighting.
He had no regrets about life. Three hundred years was enough for him, he thought, and he looked forward to the day when he would ride to the feast of the gods, just as his great ancestors and knights had done.
"Then, when you go, take me with you, too, for I am the Goddess's priest, and I am sure I deserve it!"
"Beatrice--- you are still young. You have spent countless years repeating yourself. Take your time."
"I have never imagined a life without your Majesty, so please------"
Leon was speechless.
He knew that parting was bound to come.
He had always been a victim of breakups, always leaving family, friends, and coworkers behind.
And now that he realized he would be the perpetrator, he didn't dare say anything.
For a long time, he could only remain silent.
* * * * *
The experiment was a success.
Beatrice's Dragon Fear Crystallization Stone had stopped the monsters that had poured out after the dungeon break.
They dared not venture outside of the crystal's range, and only slipped out when it was time to mutter within its narrow radius.
In the end, the monsters were destroyed by Leon and Beatrice, and the experiment with the dragon-energized byproduct was an initial success.
"You go ahead, then. This king is going to check out the area."
"Yes------"
Landing in front of the Ryugyong Hotel, Leon watched Beatrice's back for a while, helpless despite the success of the experiment.
[Leon, my knight]
"Yes, my goddess."
Leon replied in an uncharacteristically weak voice.
[Your goddess is always sorry for my knight]
"How can you say that?"
Leon was puzzled by her tone. It is his fault, as a devotee, that he has made her sad.
[I remember when you left Wolfric Dragonia's arms and set out on your wanderings, and your goddess watched over you the whole time.]
You must have been around seventeen.
Trained by the Holy Knight, Sir Gordic, Leon set out on his journey as a young man.
After many years on the road, the Goddess's embrace was beautiful and divine.
Leon remembers the words he heard as he stared up at the goddess.
[You took my quest, you performed it well, and you became the youngest Holy Knight ever.]
"An honor unworthy of thee."
[But perhaps that was my mistake]
"------Why do you say that?"
[Leon, you are my first knight to bear the lion's heart at such a young age, after Argent, and you have lived a life of fighting for far too long]
Leon's life was one of endless fighting.
He took up the path at seventeen, became a Holy Knight, became King of the Lionheart, and fought beasts, barbarians, and demons.
He's had to turn his sword on old allies, facing imperial overreach and betrayal, and he's had to bathe in the blood of fellow humans.
In the end, he was left without family, without friends, without subjects and alone, but he continued to fight.
His three hundred years of life are filled with nothing but the dense history of war.
[Leon, your goddess, we all owe you an unpayable debt, for all the souls of the vanishing paradise owe their existence to your steadfastness]
The goddess appeared in a faint form and caressed Leon's cheek. My long-suffering child forgot happiness too soon, filling the void with memories of steel and blood.
[All the gods wish you happiness; your place at our table is always reserved, but I hope that day is far, far away]
If you ask Leon if his life was not a happy one, he would surely shake his head.
He had the love of his life, he had children, and he had friends and colleagues he could look up to.
He sat in positions of power that many would look up to, he was honored, and he lived an honorable life.
"Do you remember the days when I was impious?"
[More ignorant than impious]
Leon wasn't always so blind.
He was a young man, a new soul reincarnated in a world he didn't know, a young man who sought chivalry out of romance and fantasy.
There was no faith there, just a young man with a fantasy.
He was confronted with a real God and changed his mind.
"In the holy books of this world, there is a saying. He who believes without seeing is truly believing."
[It's not wrong]
"In that sense, I was never a true believer, was I?"
[Who has the right to say such a thing to you?]
Leon smiled gratefully at the goddess's generosity.
"I am a lesser man than the gods would believe. I'm no different from any other believer who, when he realized the gods were real, was so thrilled by the existence of Paradise."
Paradise, as described in the Bible, is a heavenly place, a world of eternal happiness and abundance. Leon dreamed of it, too.
"Like all believers and knights, I have a desire for the Great Hall, and that is to face the gods themselves------"
The Holy Knight is himself an immortal saint who never ages, blessed with youth and strength that can be monopolized until his death.
Despite this, Holy Knights don't hesitate to ascend once their successor is determined.
"We live in a different time than those we love, and eternal youth is too alien to blend in among those we have loved."
Leon smiles bitterly. If only his lifelong companion had been a saint like him--- what about his friends?
With the exception of Antoine, who became a Holy Knight of the Iron and Blacksmiths, Gunnar is now an old tree, slow to see the world, and Gildus is a grandfather who brags about his grandchildren.
His father, who had given him so much, died telling his young son to take his time, not unlike his granddaughter, and his beautiful mother, who as a baby he thought would never have his love life problems, became a wrinkled old woman and followed in his footsteps.
It's natural for children to bury their parents. But what if it's the other way around?
"Karina is indeed a filial daughter, because she will not die before her father."
Leon was afraid that Karina would die before him. He shuddered at the thought of digging her grave and covering it with his own hands.
When he realized that she had become a Holy Knight of darkness and vengeance, he was deeply disappointed, but in hindsight, he was glad.
At least Leon would never have to make her tomb.
"A man must go when it is his time. I've lived too long."
[------]
Leon walked wordlessly down the street.
The demon lords had been eliminated. There are still some of their forces left, and he plans to travel to the Demon Realm one day to defeat them, but when that is done, what then?
Having fulfilled his duty, Leon can only wait for the next day, when the end will come.
"Hmm? Your Majesty. Why are you making such a sad face?"
Suddenly, a knight in red armor arrives, having just returned with a fully recovered Ha-ri, Soo-ho, and Jae-hyuk.
"How's training going?"
"Hmph, well, not so good."
Knowing Vulcanus' training methods, Leon felt a little sympathy for the three. But his training methods are sound.
Indeed, only those who passed Vulcanus' training could join the Knights of the Flaming Sword.
"Your Majesty, would you like a drink?"
It was a sudden, but not unreasonable offer so Leon accepted without a word.
* * * * *
When you're a Holy knight, you're used to luxury items.
It's a necessary upkeep, even for their own dignity.
Holy Knights were all promising knights, and most were scions of noble families. Even if they are not, they are pledged to a family and become a member of that family.
In that sense, Vulcanus was an outlier in the old-fashioned upper echelons of Lionheart.
"That should get us through the rest of the night!"
Vulcanus poured out a large keg. The stainless steel kegs are not for civilian consumption, to say the least.
"Did you rip it open?"
I asked him where he got the kegs, but I was surprised at the source.
"Some party cadre or something in this city has a lot of good stuff in his house. There's also a lot of gold and jewelry, so why don't you loot them when you have a chance?"
"You've never been able to unlearn your old habits, Holy Knight."
Leon said nonchalantly as he picked at the snacks Vulcanus had served.
"It's times like these that the lowly call the ships. If you've had a good night's sleep, you should give them some."
The plunder of war is a valuable opportunity for soldiers and knights to increase their fortunes. Although a portion of the plunder should be given to Petos, the god of war and fire, the tithing system was not applied.
On such occasions, soldiers and knights would raise even a single golden finger to present to their wives or lovers.
"The manor you gave me is no longer available, and I must work hard to build a cottage and get land to be a lord."
"Do you still want a manor?"
"Yes! I've had a great deal of fun harvesting the produce of my own home and the vastness of the land. I would like to have a larger estate."
Leon smiled bitterly, but did not deny Vulcanus' ambition.
"You are a peculiar barbarian, my lord."
"GARARARA-land is power and power is land."
With a clang, Vulcanus popped the cap off the keg and spilled a giant gulp of beer on the unknown treat.
"------"
He shouldn't have opened the keg like that---Leon gave up trying to talk with him.
"By the way, Your Majesty, this city of Pyongyang, I hear you have no intention of ruling it yourself."
"Yes, I intend to leave it to the soon-to-be-born Tree Men and Elves. It will be a shrine to Irmin, the Goddess of the World Tree."
The Lionheart Kingdom was an expansionist one, not that its territory was small, but it had the power to expand even further.
This was because the Lionheart Kingdom was essentially a human-only kingdom and sought to live in harmony with other races, such as fairies, dwarves, and woodmen, who had different lifestyles.
"I'm the opposite."
"Hmm?"
"Of course, the elves and tree men are the ones who know harmony and balance, they are wise and have a noble spirit that will not betray their faith, but do you think that is possible with the young ones that are just being born?"
"Hmph------"
When the world's destruction was all but certain, Lionheart devised a plan for an ark that would later retrieve the Seal from Paradise and resurrect the species once again.
The Black Dragon was created by infusing the Dragon Factor with the life force of the Saint of Life.
The survival of Leon, who kept Paradise intact in his heart, was a prerequisite, but the resurrection of the species by the factor was also problematic.
The newborns were infants who inherited only knowledge.
"This world, Earth, is not a hospitable place. Even if they are able to grow under His Majesty's favor, it will take time for them to reach maturity."
Whether that will be a hundred or two hundred years is unknown. Both elves and tree men are long-lived creatures, incomparable to humans.
"What then? It's natural for their race to leave their growth to time."
"Temporarily, but we must establish a lord."
"A lord?"
"That's right. Your Majesty, won't you continue to pursue expansionist policies? Right now, this Republic of Korea has a legitimate owner, so even if you leave it alone, the central plains to the north are no different."
By north, he meant the former Chinese mainland. At Vulcanus' words, Leon sips his drink and speaks his mind.
"That land also has a master. There are dozens of countries claiming to be the successor to China."
"GRARARA──! Don't speak from the heart. It's a land without a master, with endless chaos and civil wars. Are you not thinking of pushing them out if you have a good reason?"
Vulcanus had been briefed on Koo Dae-sung's performance in the Heilong People's Republic, and he gave an example.
"They are fools who can't even protect their own people. In the name of protecting them, we'll take over the country!"
"You mean like your lordship's insistence on conquering the old empire?"
"Yes! I think it was your mistake not to take me up on my offer then."
"------"
Leon could not deny Vulcanus' stern words. The summoning of Malus, the Chaos Lord who had actually hastened the destruction of the world, had been the result of the Empire's excesses.
"Well, that's all good, but don't you want to be the lord of this city called Pyongyang after all?"
"GRARA──! I will not deny it."
"But you and this king are the ones who will be leaving for the banquet soon. How many decades of ruling do you think you'll be able to do without land?"
"------"
For a moment, Vulcanus' voice trailed off. His gaze, which had just been blazing, was now fixed on Leon with a subtle expression.
"I will enjoy wealth and glory for a thousand years"
"???"
[No!]
Petos was stunned by the unexpected remark.
Novel Ended
thank you very much to all the Readers who followed me !!
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone