“Do you really have to go?”

Kim Seon-Hyeok’s face was full of regret as he looked at the men, which included Clark and Jonasson, who had packed their bags as if they were going somewhere.

“Now that there is nothing to do in the territory, I feel like I have become a carnivore who only eats rice. I feel very uncomfortable about not doing anything, sir.”

Clark responded with a soft smile.

“Think it over again. You’ve worked so hard all this time. Now that you’ve received a title, you should be able to live quite well, so why do you have to leave…”

Kim Seon-Hyeok continued to try and persuade him somehow, but soon, he shut his mouth looking exhausted.

He realized that no matter what he said, Clark and the cavalrymen wouldn’t change their minds.

“Do you need anything? There are warhorses commandeered from Nocetein, and there are high-quality weapons from the Central region. Ah, that’s right. There are also the new magic orbs developed in the capital. I heard that it’s quite useful to have. Let me go and grab a couple of those…”

The moment Seon-Hyeok realized that, he fretted like someone who wanted to pack even one more thing more for them.

“Grand Duke, no, My Lord.”

Seeing him like that, Clark called quietly out to him, with a smile still on his face.

“You don’t need to do anything more, sir. We’ve already received an abundance, and even if you gave us more, we can’t take any more.”

“Then, at least, a little bit more money.”

“My Lord.”

Clark stopped him once more.

“You don’t have to be that apologetic, sir. We’re not leaving because we’re upset with you, My Lord.”

Kim Seon-Hyeok trembled when Clark’s words hit bulls-eye.

Clark had shown him the way forward when he had been lost as to how he should move forward, and once again, it had been Clark who had supported him from the back so that he could survive on the battlefield where death was rampant.

Had it not been for Clark and his comrades, he might’ve been defeated in the first battle without being able to withstand the harsh battle.

They were the men who had followed him through the enemy country and ran to the far Central region of the continent all because of his dragon subspecies. But he had done nothing for them, let alone repay them.

That was why Kim Seon-Hyeok didn’t want Clark and his men to leave. He wanted them to stay by his side so that he could start repaying them now.

But Clark and his men didn’t give him the chance.

“I will soon be forty, sir. Soon, my thighs will become fat and it will be difficult to ride a horse. If I want to do something, now is the time.”

“But why does that ‘something’ have to be being a mercenary?”

“The only thing I know how to do is ride a horse, and wield a sword or spear, sir. Even if it’s through my sword, I have to eat, sir. Thanks to your Drake and Dragon, we have horses that won’t shy away in fear from most monsters, so wouldn’t it be perfect to hunt monsters?”

Clark had said he would become a mercenary and wander through several kingdoms in the Central region that hadn’t been subjugated by the Empire and exterminate monsters.

“But still…”

“I’m not saying I’ll become an ordinary and boring mercenary, sir. We’ll become the best mercenaries in the Central region.”

Kim Seon-Hyeok looked dumbfounded as he looked at Clark who was speaking pompously.

How could he not be? They had been born as children of noble families and had wandered around the frontier, but now, these men were saying they would become mercenaries and wander the world.

However, the present world where it was suppressed by powerful superhumans and there wasn’t a single conflict, however small it may be, would be too boring for a man as hot-blooded as Clark was. Since Kim Seon-Hyeok himself was someone who felt the most alive when he was on the battlefield, a part of him understood what they were feeling.

“By the way, may we take on the Drake name, sir?”

The Drake Cavalry had only existed for a short time, but it seemed like that period had been the most splendid time for Clark and his men.

“So you’ve made up your mind.”

Seeing how Clark and his men had already decided on a name, it was clear that they had been thinking about establishing a mercenary group for a long time.

“Then I will assume you will allow it, sir.”

Kim Seon-Hyeok had come all the way to the far Rheinperle from the Imperial Capital to dissuade Clark from leaving, but in the end, he couldn’t achieve his goal.

His only solace was that he had been able to shove more things at Clark and his men to take before they left.

“Then, we’ll be leaving, sir.”

“If you ever need help, come find me. Wherever that might be, I’ll fly over right away.”

“I will contact you once we get settled, sir.”

Having said a brief farewell to Kim Seon-Hyeok, Clark and the men turned to the jolly man standing next to Seon-Hyeok.

“Hansen, you bastard, if you make Emma cry, I’ll beat you up.”

“You better have lost some weight next time I see you. You’re like a pig now.”

“Tsk, what does Emma see in you? Jackson is a million times much better.”

Surprisingly, the chubby man was Hansen. Even more surprising was that Emma, the woman the 24th Regiment’s heavy armored cavalry had rescued and supported, was next to him.

“What’s wrong with me, you bastards? I’m so much better than the weak-looking Jackson.”

“What do you mean what’s wrong with you? You have a middle-aged face and now, you turned into a pig. At least before, you had your body going for you. Compared to you, Jackson looks rich, and now he’s a senior knight. On top of that, he’s inherited an estate. No matter how you look at it, Emma’s made a mistake this time.”

When the men repeatedly teased them, Emma’s face turned crimson as she looked down. The heroine who had steadfastly taken care of the orphans even during the war was nowhere to be seen.

“Die, you bastard! What’d you do to our Emma!”

“Ughh. If only My Lord hadn’t popped one, but two. Then Emma wouldn’t have been given to someone who looks like an orangutan.”

The men must’ve gotten angry seeing her like that because they started pounding on Hansen.

“It doesn’t even tickle, you old bachelors.”

But even in the middle of such a fierce thrashing, Hansen was chuckling and laughing. He was laughing, elated as if he was victorious.

“Ugh. This muscular pig. He’s wearing a fleshy armor over his muscles.”

Perhaps they found him even more annoying for that because the men’s fists became even more ferocious.

“Anyway, be well. Take good care of Emma and assist Our Lord.”

When the long beating was finally over, Hansen looked completely ragged. But, even as his nose bled, Hansen set off his old comrades with a smile on his face.

“So they’re gone.”

Kim Seon-Hyeok sighed as he looked at his men, which included Clark and Jonasson, disappearing into the distance with a cloud of dust.

***

Some time passed since Clark and the men left. Soon, rumors of the Drake mercenaries started coming in from far away.

Rumors that they saved a village by fighting monsters for three days and nights straight for the reward of just 1 gold. Rumors that they were wandering around a completely destroyed kingdom and collecting orphans and widows. They were all rumors that made it ambiguous whether they were a mercenary corp or a volunteer organization.

“That’s just like Clark.”

It seemed like the man’s nature of rescuing and supporting orphans on the Western Front hadn’t changed.

In the midst of such heartwarming news, a magic message arrived in the Imperial Capital after going through several intermediaries.

‘We took in orphans thoughtlessly and things got bigger than expected. Please help me out a bit, sir.’

It was a message without beginning or end, but Kim Seon-Hyeok came to know its meaning soon. News was delivered to the capital that the Drake Cavalry had left hundreds of orphans in the hands of the Imperial border guards and left.

Naturally, Kim Seon-Hyeok used his authority as the Grand Duke to send the orphans to Iberia and had the Iberian Grand Duke take care of it.

That wasn’t the end. As if they planned on rescuing all the orphans in the world, the Drake mercenaries continued to send the children who had lost their parents and siblings. As this process repeated itself, it was reported to Ophelia.

“Although there have been multiple great wars, the Empire’s finances aren’t so bleak that we cannot accommodate them.”

After giving birth to Victor, Ophelia’s sense of motherhood became stronger. She sent a message to the Grand Duke of Iberia, beseeching him to take good care of the orphans. She also sent a separate message to the border guards to allow easy passage for the Drake Cavalry.

Thanks to that, it allowed the Drake Cavalry to move freely across the Imperial borders and rescue the orphans.

But the Empire’s help didn’t end there. The Empire didn’t reach out and help the kingdoms that defied them. Those kingdoms were an example of how harsh it was outside the Empire’s reach for the countries that had taken oaths of vassalage.

Kim Seon-Hyeok objected multiple times to such diplomatic policies, but Ophelia really didn’t listen to him this time.

“Someday soon, the day will come where we will also take them in. But that is not now.”

It seemed like Ophelia was hoping that the Empire would become stronger and band together because of those outside the Empire.

“Don’t forget. The peace and solidarity created by merely one person can sometimes be broken too easily.”

In the end, Kim Seon-Hyeok decided to actively support the Drake mercenaries instead of feeling sorry for those outside the Empire who were suffering from monsters.

“I will join the Drake mercenary as well.”

Who knows how he found out, but Park Joon-Min, using Maram’s body as a vessel, came looking for him.

“Right now, I’m locked inside a sword and can only mooch off of Maram, but if I go there, there’ll be something I can do.”

Although Park Joon-Min had lost most of his strength as a Warrior, he was still a strong man with more power than any other superhuman. If Park Joon-Min joined the Drake mercenary corp, it would be a tremendous help.

Kim Seon-Hyeok readily accepted Park Joon-Min’s request.

[What a complicated life you live.]

After Park Joon-Min left and he was alone, Edda spoke to him.

“Because we’re human. Because it’s not something I can do all on my own.”

Kim Seon-Hyeok’s gaze turned to somewhere outside the window.

“I may not like it, but I believe Ophelia is right. I can’t live forever in the Empire.”

[Because of me, you will live a life close to eternity. If you wish, you may be able to protect the Empire forever.]

He frowned at Edda’s words.

[The monarch of the Empire will also enjoy time that transcends that of human beings. Since she is quite wise for a human, she may be able to fully utilize that time and build an Empire that would last a thousand years.]

There was a subtle thought creeping into his mind.

[The birth of a thousand-year Empire has never happened before in the past, but it will not be difficult for you and the monarch of the Empire.]

It sounded tempting.

“Don’t say such terrible things. An empire that endures for a thousand years without generational change. Just thinking about it is making my skin crawl.”

𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

However, he immediately rejected the Dragon’s words with a face that said there was nothing for him to think about.

“She and I don’t want an Empire that is like a sandcastle - one supported by a single superhuman.”

[Only flowing water does not rot, so you are not wrong.]

Her tone was placid as she nodded. It was as if she never really wanted him to support the Empire for a thousand years.

“But more than anything else, you want me to do this for another thousand years?”

It hadn’t been long since they had waged a war against the formidable enemy known as Chaos. And just recently, he had to chase out the cavalry from the north that had been heading down south with a giant wolf from who knows where. Occasionally, he had to traverse east and west of the continent, and go up and down, north and south, to defeat the ancient monsters who weren’t afraid of the Dragon.

While Kim Seon-Hyeok might feel the most alive on the battlefield, it was still quite tiring for him to travel all over the place to fix the problems that were constantly popping up.

But to tell him to continue this kind of thing for a thousand years? The mere thought of it was terrifying.

“Nope, I won’t. No, I can’t.”

[I think the same as you.]

Edda also said that she had no intention of being bound to a mortal’s empire for a thousand years.

Just as Kim Seon-Heok was having a conversation with Edda, the door swung open and a child with black hair and golden eyes ran in.

“Father!”

“Hey! It’s Victor!”

Until just now, Kim Seon-Hyeok’s face had been serious, but it relaxed until his expression quickly turned silly.

“Are you talking to her again?”

However, that was only for a moment. He smiled awkwardly at Ophelia when she questioned him after following Victorius inside.