The Knight King Who Returned with Gods: Chapter 75
Translators: Nyx and Ririi Rain
Episode 75: Han Hari, Priestess of the Sea and Waves
Thirty-two hours after the confirmation of the Dragon
Palace Gate.
Departure had been decided.
The flagship of the Korean First Fleet, the Gwanggaeto,
and an Aegis destroyer warship from the US Seventh Fleet, the Arleigh Burke,
were preparing to embark together.
"Hmmm... quite a big ship."
Leon gazed toward the east coast from the stern of the
Gwanggaeto, which was about to set out.
The scenery was surprisingly clear and pristine for an
approaching typhoon. The calm before the storm, so to speak.
As he continued to stare out at the sea, he heard a
slight noise.
"Load up the troop rations! Load up as much reserve
weapons as you can! What do the American hunters say?"
"They're doing their own thing. Should we at least set
the radio to a shared channel?”
"It'll be useless once we get through the gate, so
why bother?"
Lee Yong-wan and the hunters of the Phoenix Guild were
bustling around. Indeed, their actions were swift.
The Pantheon Guild was composed mostly of low-level
hunters and Academy cadets who were about to graduate.
On the other hand, those guys were professionals at
raiding gates. They pride themselves on being one of the Top 10 guilds in the
country. Without out-of-standard Holy Grail Knights like Leon and Yappy, it
would be rude to compare the two guilds.
“I’ll contact Mr. Park, so you can take care of the
rest.”
Lee Yong-wan finished his instructions and came out to
the stern, stopping short when he saw Leon.
"You're pretty good at directing things."
"...Well, it's been over a decade since I've been on
the wheel."
He still looked young, but with ten years of experience.
Leon remembered his first impression of the man.
"Have you given up your dirty tricks yet?"
"Dirty... it's called business, something a medieval
king wouldn't understand."
Yeah, he doesn't.
Leon died normally and was reincarnated.
The country he was born into was honorable, righteous,
and looked after by the gods.
There, Leon was able to be upright. He carried out
justice and lived by his convictions.
Sometimes he would beat up on his unruly neighbors,
sometimes he would exterminate filthy beasts, sometimes he would bury
barbarians.
But the premise of all his actions was for the sake of
light and justice.
"You seek money. You care only for riches and
influence."
“Isn’t that what powerful people usually do? Your Majesty
is not much different.”
Lee Yong Wan was aware that the Lion King of the
otherworld was using his power and divine miracles to expand his influence.
He already revolutionized the domestic food market and
turned the Hunter Association into his pet dog.
So what made Yong-wan any different from the Pantheon,
except that they did it in a more refined way?
"No, we're different. You and me, Lionheart, are
very different."
"......."
Leon dismissed the gaze directed at him.
"Food and riches are for the consumption of man,
after all. What's the point of having an infinite supply of goods if you keep
them to yourself?"
"What is the point of having a medicine that can cure
any disease if it is not given to the patient?"
"What is the use of hoarding gold and silver
treasures in an unloving world?"
"......."
Looking at this sage-like man, Lee Yong-wan suddenly
remembered a man. The name was immediately mentioned.
"What did you see in Sir Geobrick?"
"All of a sudden?"
"Not only Sir Geobrick, but the men under my
command. What did you sense in the knights of my kingdom?"
"......."
Yong-wan recalled what happened at the Jeju Island gate.
He saw their courage, and was saved by their sacrifice.
And it wasn't because they were transcendently powerful.
There is one reason why they fought against the distantly
powerful beast gods and against the endless army of beasts.
"Justice. Thou shalt only follow justice. It's the first
thing the Goddess Arianna teaches."
"How childish, what is justice......."
"Childish, yes, to those who view the world
cynically and live calculatingly."
Justice is childish.
Doing good is a losing proposition.
Such notions existed in Leon's world as well.
The humanists of the Empire mocked it, the wise wizards
scoffed at it.
"Aha, to scoff and be cynical is something anyone
can do."
"Justice may seem childish, good deeds unprofitable,
and living in pureness may seem foolish."
"But those who live in unrighteousness can save
nothing."
"Those who live wickedly may be wise, but they are
not courageous."
"Those who are not corrupt cannot love."
Leon gave this unrighteous man a rare amount of advice.
This was the life that Geobrick and the knights saved by
giving up their own tales. Lee Yong-wan had to realize. He had to prove it.
That their sacrifice, their valor, their justice, was
worth it.
"Prove it. that you are worthy of being saved by
those honorable knights and loyal soldiers."
Otherwise, I will punish you.
Lee Yong-wan tensed as he swallowed his saliva at Leon’s
cold declaration.
And inwardly, he was also.......
-Boouuuuung!!
It was then. On the deck, marines retrieved the rope
connecting the ship to the land, and a loud horn began to blare.
The ladder connecting to shore was removed, the South
Korean flag was hoisted, and tugboats adjusted the direction of the warship.
The great Gwanggaeto cut through the water and was ready
to leave the harbor. The U.S. Navy's Arleigh Burke-class Aegis warship
followed.
"Finally, we're leaving."
"Right on time."
The admonishment session was over naturally. But that
wasn't an unpleasant time for Lee Yong-wan.
This may be because their attitude toward life, living
with justice and good will, was deeply engraved in his heart.
“Your Majesty, if it is okay with you, I would like to
repay you for what I owed you before——huh?”
It was then. On the deck of the great Guanggaito, a
strange cheering noise could be heard.
-Hup, hup, hup, hup!
“Pantheon?”
Cadets and soldiers, carrying a long pole over their
shoulders, make their way across the deck. Someone was on the pole they were
carrying.
"T, there's something wrong with this! I thought I
was supposed to be a priestess?! There's something wrong with treating a
priestess like this!"
"Hunter... Han Hari?"
In response to Lee Yong-wan's gaze, Leon explained with a
satisfied expression.
“Putting a woman on a boat is a way to attract
misfortune. But on the other hand, there is a way to prevent that."
You mean, strapping a woman to a mast?
"How dare you look at it that way. The sacrifice of
that child, a maiden chosen by the god of the sea and waves, has allowed others
to be safe aboard."
He was proud.
This man who had done such a heinous deed had no shame in
his actions.
Something like this... Justice?
* * * * *
When Hari was told that she had been chosen as the
priestess of Poma, the god of the sea and waves, she didn't know whether to be
happy or not.
"Well... at least I'll be able to participate in the
raid thanks to that......."
She wanted to think, maybe it wasn't such a bad thing,
but.......
"Han Hari. But there's something I need you to do
for me."
"What is that?"
"By nature, when you put a woman on a boat, you're
going to have a rough voyage. Storms will rise, rain and wind will come, and
sea monsters will attack.”
Isn’t that too prejudiced? Hari gave up on that question
early.
But there is a way to fix this. It will make the ship
sail well, the sea be calm, and ensure safe navigation. Can you do it?”
"J, just leave it to me! I can do anything!"
At this time, Hari should have at least asked what the
method was.
How could she dare to imagine the idea of strapping a
person to a pole and honoring them as a priestess?
"T, there's something wrong with this! I thought I
was supposed to be a priestess?! There's something wrong with treating a
priestess like this!"
Hari complained of this injustice as her entire body was
tied with rope and secured to a pillar, but the cadets and soldiers carrying
her thought otherwise.
"Senior... please work hard, it's easier for
everyone if you do it."
"Junior Jaehyuk? You, you! And Suho! My little
brother, Suho!"
"Noona... I'm sorry, I can't speak for you."
"T, traitor! Juniors! Hunters! Someone! Someone with
a rational mind has to stop this!"
""Hup! Hup!""
"Are you all listening?!"
Meanwhile, the great Gwanggaeto continued to cruise
along... until... they spotted a rumbling typhoon in the distance.
"Typhoon approaching! It's a Nabi! 64.5 meters per
second!"
The marines got busy. The goal, the Dragon Palace Gate,
was in the direct path of the typhoon. They had to prepare for a collision with
the typhoon.
Of course, during this process, Hari was left strapped to
the mast.
"Kaaaaaaaah! Help! Help! Help!"
There was even thunder in the dark clouds. Does this guy
really intend to enter that extraordinary dungeon from the front, and keep
tying her up?
"Help, help, help me!"
"Quiet!"
"Your Majesty?!"
At the source of the shouting, Leon was sitting casually.
A fishing rod was propped up.
“Be quiet, won’t all the fish run away?”
"Fishing? Are you fishing?!"
Hari was stunned. Casually fishing with a person attached
to the mast?
"If you are out in the sea, you must catch fish.
Tsk, tsk, it looks like the fish got away thanks to you."
"W, with such a big warship like this, there can't
be any fish in the forefront!"
"I can catch them all. I used to fish on a whale
when I was the guardian of my port city of Langqual."
It sounded like bullshit, but it was Leon, so it was
believable. Hari asked with an anxious look.
"Are we really going to be heading into the typhoon
like this? It's not too late!"
Hari was terrified of the approaching typhoon. If the
pole she was attached to broke in the tempest, she knew she'd be doomed.
"Your Majesty, there's got to be a way! There's got
to be a holy law or something, I believe you, I believe you, Your Majesty, I
believe you!"
Had Hari's desperation reached him? There was a response
to Leon's float.
"Hmm, quite a tough one!"
Leon pulled in the rod. In the midst of all this, perhaps
with the skill of a professional, Leon caught a fish in no time, and a large
sea bream was caught at the end.
"Commander Choi. Get ready."
"Yes, yes, Your Majesty...!"
At that moment, marines flocked in and immediately
started preparing something.
Leon placed the instantly killed fish on an altar that
served as a ceremonial altar for the voyage.
"Thou art the gracious lord of the sea. Please
appear before those who dare to step into your territory.”
Then something amazing happened. The ship, which had been
rocked by all manner of weather and waves, became still and then the waters
began to churn and take shape.
The water formed into the shape of a giant shark.
A phenomenon too strange to be explained using the
mysteries of Mother Nature. Everyone had a hunch.
That is ‘god’.
[Ah~ Lionheart, my dear beacon. Protector of my temple,
Langqual].
“Foma. God of the sea and waves.”
Foma happily accepted Leon's greeting as he knelt on one
knee. He let out a lamentable voice as he saw the typhoon approaching from the
East Sea and beyond,
[What a frivolous sea. It's not graceful. As Fleur said,
I feel that divinity does not exist in this land.]
The shark-like water, the god of the sea and waves,
looked down at the warship he could swallow in one bite.
[What is this, a ship without even a sail, and a crew of
fishermen who do not know the grace of the sea!]
"It cannot be helped, for the world has not yet
received the teachings of the sea. Please consider this and embrace them."
[No! There is no reason to embrace those who are not even
my followers; for grace is bestowed only in fear and respect!]
Foma's words struck fear into the hearts of the marines.
They didn't know why he was raging, but the mere sight of
the great being's anger sent shivers down their spines and crushed their
bodies.
In front of the whims of that being, they would be no
different from grains of sand being swallowed up by the waves.
"......."
Leon is favored by many gods, but that doesn't mean it's
always easy for him to deal with them.
Among them, Foma was a particularly temperamental and
eccentric character, and while he never turned his wrath against Leon, he often
imposed unreasonable demands on his other worshippers.
"Excuse me for asking, but why did Foma choose that
child as a priestess?"
[Heuhahahaha.......]
Foma let out a rumbling laugh as he stared at Hari, who
was still suspended on the mast and shivering.
[I barely convinced that guy, Pethos, but it was worth
it. This child was born with a good vessel to serve gods.]
"Hmm?"
[Of course, not as much as you. Because you are outside
the standard for bearing all the gods.]
“I felt like it was a blessing in disguise, but I never
thought it would really be like that.”
[It is a blessing, how can it be considered a
misfortune?]
“For those who lack faith, the gods’ attention can be
poison.”
[I will trust that my beacon will take care of that.]
With that, Leon sighed and leaned back in his fishing
chair.
[Han Hari, my new priestess.]
“M-me?”
[I will give you the blessing of the waters and the power
to rule the waves; accept this with joy and spread my ways and teachings far
and wide.]
"Ah, yes, yes, yes...! If you would only let me be
released from this!"
Foma exclaimed,
[As long as there is the sacrifice of my priestess, no
wave shall ever breach your ship!]
"......Yes?"
Hari shook her head, but Foma only rinned and put the
pretty priestess through an ordeal.
[Your sacrifice shall kindle the flame of life.]
With those words, the gigantic water figure fell. Like a
bubble of a soap at one point.
"......... Uuh?"
Hari was devastated. Suddenly, someone shouted,
"Typhoon approaching up ahead! 10 meters!"
In response, the marines and hunters scrambled for cover
inside the deck. Leaving Hari alone.
"................"
Are you really going to leave me alone? Are you leaving
me like this?
She made eye contact with the Academy's juniors, who
peeked out from beyond the dock.
-Fighting!
-Noona, you can do it!
-Good luck, Senior!
-Show them what you're made of!
Hari, who only heard silent cheers, had to face the
approaching wave.
-Kwaaaaaaaaaah!!!
***
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