Chapter 59.5

‘This world is quite comfortable, other than the fact that you need mages for things every so often.’ The mage seemed to be flustered as he set the device to the palace and reported to Cale. “It looks like it will be difficult to connect right now, but you should be able to leave a voice message for his highness.” Cale preferred to talk face to face, but it wasn’t really necessary. Cale nodded his head and the mage started the device before heading out of the room. Once Cale was certain that the mage was out of the room, he started to speak toward the device. “Your highness, it is Cale Henituse.” He got straight to the point as usual. “I plan on buying the Whipper Kingdom’s Magic Tower.” The first use of the golden plaque. Cale imagined the look on the crown prince’s face once he heard this message. Cale also knew that Alberu had no choice but to approve. Alberu might act flustered and annoyed, but he would actually like what Cale was doing. He would also be curious. That was why Cale added on another sentence. “For your information, I will not be able to communicate via video or voice communication for a week. I need to head somewhere for a bit. I just wanted to let you know in advance.” Cale then pressed the button the mage told him to press once he was done. A blue light appeared on the device to signal that the voice message was left. He then called the mage back in and the mage looked at the light before starting to speak. “It looks like the message was left properly.” “Good.” The mage saw the smile on Cale’s face and decided to speak. “It looks like you left a pretty happy message?” “Well, I guess so.” The crown prince would probably hear the message tomorrow. Cale was smiling about how the crown prince would be waiting a week for his return. -...I feel bad for the crown prince. The Black Dragon suddenly started to feel bad for the crown prince. Cale ignored the comment and headed out of the communication room before heading toward the estate to look for Count Deruth. He wanted to take care of everything at once while he was here. *** “You want to go to Harris Village?” “Yes.” Cale nodded his head at Count Deruth’s question. He had told his father about both the ancient power and Harris Village. However, Count Deruth was focused on Harris Village. Deruth looked down at the, ‘Harris Village Incident Report,’ in Cale’s hands before looking up at his son. Cale’s gaze looked serious. He really meant it. Harris Village. Count Deruth had headed over after hearing the report from the investigation squad. He felt anger and sorrow once he saw what had happened. The village really was completely destroyed, and there were no signs of the perpetrators. That was why he had asked for cooperation from the nearby territories, as well as reaching out to the Information Guild to keep their ears open for any information. “...Is it because you are concerned about that young man named Choi Han?” Count Deruth had found signs of a battle at Harris Village. That allowed him to estimate the level of Choi Han’s strength. There was no way that his son, who had spent a longer time with Choi Han, would not know about his strength. “I guess you could call it that.” Cale nodded at Deruth’s words. That was the only excuse he could give anyways. He could not say that he wanted to go there for the Wolf children’s berserk transformation and wild instinct training. He could not say it was for the Black Dragon’s growth. He definitely could not say that he was going to the Forest of Darkness to find a solution to the Whale tribe’s war against the mermaids. Cale continued on, as he could see that Count Deruth was contemplating. “The investigation squad has already completed their investigation, but I wanted to see it with my own eyes. Plus, I don’t even need to worry about the monsters. It is not winter.” “That is true.” The monsters of the Forest of Darkness. There was a large man-made stone wall between Harris Village and the Forest of Darkness. It was to protect against these monsters. There have been no monster attacks in the last 150 years. maybe people were scared because there are so many stories about how you’ll die if you go into the Forest of Darkness, but it was very rare for an actual monster to appear. The problem was that any monsters that actually came out were extremely strong mutant monsters. The Count found the fact that no monsters have appeared in 150 years to be odd, and so he had sent multiple investigation squads, but they could only roam around the Forest of Darkness without actually going in. Finally, Count Deruth started to speak. “There are still soldiers in Harris Village, so it should be safe.” He seemed to have made up his mind and continued to speak. “You have to take care of the people you have taken in.” Cale slowly shook his head. It was an unbelievable misunderstanding. “Choi Han is not my subordinate.” Have Choi Han as his subordinate? Cale would never do such a thing. Deruth smiled at his son before nodding his head. “Sure. Whatever you say. You are all grown up now.” “Of course. I am 18 years old.” “You grew up so fast. Alright. You can go now.” Cale bowed to his father before turning around to head to the door. He could hear count Deruth’s voice behind him. “Cale.” Deruth continued to speak as Cale turned back around. “The golden turtle has not always been our family crest. We are a family of warriors who are sworn to protect our family and anything else.” The two of them made eye contact. “We protect everything with our strong shell. However, you must remember that the most important thing is to protect yourself. That is why we are a turtle.” A turtle that protects itself with its strong shell. Count Deruth, who was known for being mediocre in all aspects by others, reminded his son once more. “That is why you should always remember to put yourself first.” He then smiled gently and added on. “The ancient power you have earned is very cool.” Cale smiled similarly to Count Deruth, as he jokingly answered. “Isn’t it? It is a very cool power. Oh, and I always put my own safety first.” “Good. Then I’m glad.” Cale observed Deruth nod his head and look back down at the report on the desk before heading out of the office. The Black Dragon had a question for him as soon as they left. -The two of you are family, right? Cale nodded his head at the question. The next day, Cale got onto the carriage as he started to speak to the Whale siblings. “Not bad for my new guards.” Witira with her whip in her hand and Paseton with a sword in his hand, both smiled toward Cale. They were still under the Black Dragon’s appearance magic. Cale started to head toward Harris Village, well, the Forest of Darkness, to be more accurate.