21st Century Archmage

“Count Kyre!”

“Haha! It’s been a while, Lady Chrisia.”

‘Ohh, impressive.’

Pretty much no one on the Continent knew about the Kesmire Kingdom’s royal castle. From what I saw from the air, the massive royal castle was situated on an island several times larger than Jeju Island. Moreover, the huge wyvern transport carriers and various warships docked at the port imprinted deeply upon me that these people were the rulers of the ocean.

‘He who rules the sea, rules the world. If these guys were to grow a little more, who out there would be able to oppose them?’

The Kesmire Kingdom was able to sail all the way to the not-very-well-known eastern continent and even the continent past it. They were the masters of the future world and had a potential that the Laviter Empire could not compare to.

“What brings you all this way without any notice?”

‘She’s always so fit and hale.’

The fully suntanned Chrisia welcomed me with a pearly smile.

“Am I unwelcome here?” I asked with a mischievous expression.

“N-No. If it’s you, Count Kyre, you are welcome anytime,” said Chrisia, flustered. Her voice was a few pitches higher than usual.

‘The number of wyverns here exceeds 300, and if you add in the wyverns on the wyvern carriers out at sea, they must have at least 1,000 wyverns.’

There wasn’t any information about the Kesmire Archipelago. Chrisia had told me a few things, but that was only the tip of the iceberg.

“It’s truly impressive. I never even imagined that the Kesmire Kingdom would be so grand.”

“How could it compare to Nerman, which is famous all over the Continent? From what I hear, you have constructed a great castle on par with any imperial castle, so when will you invite me to sightsee?”

Chrisia beamed when I complimented her kingdom and reciprocated with a compliment in turn, asking when I would invite her to my mansion in Nerman.

‘Don’t you worry a bit. I’ve already marked you as a Paradise resident. Huhuhu.’

It occurred to me that I might be putting the cart before the horse, but for now, Chrisia was another woman I couldn’t concede to anyone else. Of course, I had no intention to force her. I was someone who 99.9% respected the woman’s wishes, the last remaining romanticist of this age.

“Your presence would grace my home. I would welcome you anytime.”

“Truly?”

Even though my words could be taken as a mere formality, Chrisia was obviously happy to hear them. She was so obvious that I was willing to bet Nerman that she had strong feelings for me.

“As long as you believe me, you’ll find happiness.”

Like some panhandler on the streets, I shamelessly spoke of finding happiness to a woman.

“Hohoho. I’m already happy.”

Chrisia showed her pleasure, as if words had the power to enspell.

Zinnngg.

‘Haah, what’s with these uninitiated youngsters?’

Bebeto and I had landed in the covert of the Kesmire Castle, where I was immediately greeted by Chrisia while caressed by the sea breeze. A group of knights were shooting blatant looks of dislike at me. It was what pitiful people who hadn’t yet felt my hot fists of love usually did.

“Lady Chrisia, I apologize, but would it be possible for me to have a brief audience with His Majesty the King? I came today to discuss something important.”

“Huh? Yes… Royal Father is in the castle. But what is it…?”

She must know that I wouldn’t have come all this way out of boredom. Also, even though she was living on a remote island, Kesmire’s powerful intel gathering capability definitely had Chrisia well-informed about what was happening on the Continent. But she probably could not guess what I wanted to discuss. No, it was something that could never become public knowledge, not until the day it was carried out.

“To discuss it here is a little…” I said, glancing at the Kesmire knights who were still looking askance at me.

“Princess, he must follow formal visitation procedure. A mere lord cannot meet the King at his fancy.”

“Exactly so. We cannot allow a noble from the Continent who regards us not as the Kesmire Kingdom, but as pirates, to enter the castle.”

‘Would you look at these guys?’ These guys flaunted their turf when they were weaklings who wouldn’t even be able to raise their heads in front of me on the Continent. ‘It’s tiresome and unpleasant, so I’ll just come as an emperor next time.’

It wasn’t good to judge a person by their appearance or rank, but these knights made their hostility towards me very obvious. In all truth, they weren’t wrong. But Nerman and the Kesmire Kingdom were in an alliance, and they should know clearly what kind of position Nerman and I held, yet they showed their pride as knights of the Kesmire Kingdom. I started feeling that I should send them on a short sightseeing trip in hell before meeting the king.

“Impudence! To call the liege lord of an important allied nation who came to see Royal Father… a ‘mere lord’! Apologize. Insulting Lord Kyre’s honor is no different from spitting on the honor of me, Royal Father, and our kingdom.”

Chrisia unleashed a frosty bellow at the knights.

“…”

At her completely unexpected reaction, the knights blinked at her like startled rabbits.

“Not apologizing?”

“B-But Princess…”

The knights continued to cling to their precious pride.

“Then it cannot be helped. I can only ask Lord Kyre, whose reputation precedes him as a Blade Master, upper circle magic swordsman, and high summoner, to personally restore his honor.”

“…”

The knights paled at her words.

‘Kya, so there was a lady juggernaut here as well.’

The sight of Chrisia threatening her own kingdom’s knights for me made me happy. Now that she mentioned it, I was confident that I could turn the Kesmire Kingdom into a sea of fire all on my own if I wanted to. With the peerless Bebeto’s experience and flight abilities and my own brute strength on top of that, it was certainly possible. Messing with me, someone who hadn’t much to fear in the world after ascending to the 7th Circle, was like a witless orc writing their name with their butt directly in front of a dragon.

“P-Please forgive our offense.”

“Please forgive us.”

Thanks to Chrisia’s reliable help, I didn’t even have to pull out my sword as the knights meekly lowered their heads on their own. I had pegged most of them as Skyknights and Royal Guard knights who lived and died by their honor, but it seemed that they knew the preciousness of their lives.

“Such things can happen in life. It’s fine by me. Hahaha.”

I let out a generous laugh that contradicted my feelings. If I managed to get permission from the King, I would have to receive their help as well. There was no need to burn any bridges.

“Thank you for your magnanimous understanding.”

My hearty laugh had quickly eased Chrisia’s angry expression. She probably knew very well that nothing good would come of messing with me, someone who didn’t even fear the Laviter Empire. Moreover, I was someone receiving a great deal of attention from the Haildrian Tsarina and her daughter, important figures that even Kesmire were helpless towards.

“Sir Hackear, go at once and inform the castle that the Lord of Nerman, Sir Kyre, requests an audience with Royal Father.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

A knight on standby next to Chrisia barked out an energetic salute.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

Because my helmet was off, the sunlight on the island surrounded by the ocean was stingingly hot, and that sensation was relieved by a strand of wind. I filled my lungs with the salty air.

‘They must have a lot of seafood, right?’

I thought about the dinner I would be getting in Kesmire Castle. My meeting with the King was important, but to me, eating was a matter of almost equal importance.

* * *

“Let us raise a glass.”

‘Woah, we’re going straight into the drinks without a bite to eat?’

Thanks to Chrisia’s friendly reception, I was able to meet the King of Kesmire right away. Kesmire Castle was constructed with a very different style than kingdoms on the Continent. First of all, it was tall. Although it was a single-story building, it boasted a height that matched five floors in other royal castles, as Kesmire was trying to grandstand or something. Dozens of buildings that appeared to have storied histories were scattered on the grounds. Escorted by Chrisia and the knights, I entered a palace in the center a good bit larger than the other buildings.

There, I came face to face with the big boss of the seas, King Havirock. He was the head of the pirates as well as their king. He was also a man who used a strange title called ‘Tartutu, Ruler of the Storm’. He looked to be about 50 years old and had a full, rough beard, and I could see a big, long scar running from the right side of his lips to his chin under his beard in dashing kingpin fashion.

“What, don’t want to?”

The King, who spoke informally to me from the moment we met, suddenly said he wanted a drink and had alcohol prepared right away.

‘Sigh, like they say in German, kein Bier vor vier. No beer before 4 o’clock, man.’

“Hahaha, no. If you’re a man, what difference does day and night make when you’re craving a drink? I will gladly drink.”

“That’s right! A man’s got to drink, and can only be called a man if they love all of the women who come at them!”

Even though Chrisia was there, King Havirock blasted morally questionable words without reserve.

“Very true words, Your Majesty!”

“…”

Chrisia was right there, but I had no choice but to beat his drum. Actually, it wasn’t all wrong, was it? The King’s words were a little similar to the Paradise ideal I was pursuing. It almost felt like I was meeting an old brother in arms for the first time in a while.

“Now, take this glass. Kesmire warriors talk only after drinking this alcohol.”

The King poured me a glass of some alcohol that looked and smelled so strong it was practically screaming ‘you’re dead if you drink this’. He filled a large mug that was used in Nerman for beer all the way to the brim with this spirit.

‘It’s not even a birthday spanking… Why’s he trying to kill a person.’

It was so much alcohol that you could easily overdose on it, but King Havirock was pouring and pouring with a smile of satisfaction. Before I knew it, the glass was full.

“Please allow me to pour you a drink as well.”

I couldn’t be the only one to die.

“Haha! Fill one up for me.”

These huge glasses were on a different level. I poured alcohol into the King’s glass, it was a good two times bigger than a wine bottle.

As I poured this alcohol you could get drunk on simply by looking at it and smelling it, the King looked at the glass with anticipation.

“R-Royal Father… Draco’s Tears may be too strong for Lord Kyre.”

Unable to watch on, Chrisia tried to stop the King.

“What are you saying? Even you can knock back a bottle of the stuff.”

‘Kek…! A bottle?’

“But I’ve had it since I was a kid. There’s almost no alcohol like this on the Continent. I’m just worried it will be dang—I mean, unadvisable for our valuable guest…”

Chrisia couldn’t bring herself to say dangerous.

“The first glass is for the Goddess of the Ocean, Herfia. You’ve got to drink it in one go.”

What the hell, a one shot of hard alcohol from a frickin’ beer pitcher?

“Of course. People who only go halfway on the first glass are half-baked cowards,” I said with bravado.

‘Fine then, let’s do this.’

I didn’t have super high alcohol tolerance, but I was also no lightweight. People whose mana reached a certain level would be protected by mana, so their physical abilities were significantly enhanced. That was why mages whose only exercise was breathing were able to live cooped up in their towers until the day they kicked the bucket.

“Entrust your life and death to Lady Herfia!”

Like a real man of the seas, the King raised a prayer to the Goddess of the Ocean, who didn’t even rank among the Twelve Gods.

“To Lady Herfia!”

I didn’t want to lose my life in this toast to the Goddess, so I also shouted a toast as I raised my glass.

‘I won’t die, will I?’

My voice was energetic, but I had no confidence. However, it was too late—the glass was already raised. I brought it to my lips.

Gulp.

And then, I took my first gulp of this strong-smelling, brown liquid called Draco’s Tears.

‘Gughhh…’

Only one sip went down, but I couldn’t breathe and it felt like a knife of fire was blazing down my throat. I had never consumed such an intense, tear-inducing alcohol before.

Glug, glug.

The crazy king was chugging it down like it was some sort of valuable tonic.

‘It’s all or nothing!’

If it was a hurdle I had to face, I couldn’t give up. I squeezed my eyes shut and followed him in tipping down my mug.

Gulp, gulp.

And then, I drained the glass like I was trying to pour it directly into my stomach rather than drink it.

‘Mommyyyy!!!’

My mom’s name popped up in my mind at the agony coursing down my throat. Unbeknownst to me, tears were running down my cheeks.

“Goodness…”

At some point, there was no more alcohol to drink.

Clap clap clap!

“Hahaha. You’re a pleasing fellow.”

“L-Lord Kyre…”

My dazed ears picked up their voices. For a moment, it felt like my mental faculties blue-screened and then rebooted.

‘So this is what it means to die while drinking.’

You learned all sorts of things in life. Today, I was able to personally experience yet another one of the hundred ways to die.

“It tastes great. Please give me another glass.”

“Right? It’s so damn tasty you could die twice over and not realize.”

This was no audience with a king. It was a life or death party with an alcoholic.

How the hell was I supposed to know what this stuff tasted like? I had tossed it down my throat like it was beer. All you had to do was throw a lighter into the heat surging from my stomach, and you’d have a Cirque du Soleil fire show.

“Where I come from, there was a proverb that went something like this: If you’ve finished the first glass, you’ve got to have a taste of the second.”

I was one to bet my life on trivial things. My stubbornness reared its head again.

“Ohhh! To think there’s a place where such a beautiful proverb exists. Now I see, you can act the way you do because you received a proper upbringing from such a place.”

‘…’

King Havirock didn’t just have a 4D mentality, but a 5D mentality at least. I picked up the bottle on the table.

“Princess Chrisia, I think we’re almost out of alcohol, so please bring a few bottles for us.”

“Huh?”

The Kesmire Kingdom wanted to drown me in alcohol before I could eat a single mussel. I was determined to clear out their alcohol stores before returning to Nerman.

‘Tch, alcohol’s fine and all, but you should still give some snacks to go with it!’

In Korea, even a poor youth craving a drink could whet their appetite with shrimp crackers to go with cheap soju. The Kesmire Kingdom didn’t even come close.

Today, they really met their maker.

* * *

* * *

‘As expected of a pirate boss.’

They called themselves a kingdom, but the entire world saw Kesmire as a den of pirates. And King Havirock, who looked like a real pirate boss, downed several bottles of alcohol before finally asking me why I had come.

No matter how impressive your mana was, drinking so much hard alcohol would harm the body. However, because I stayed on guard, it only felt like I drank a few glasses of beer.

“I came because I feel that it is time to let the world know my name in proper fashion.”

At some point, Chrisia left. While I was engrossed in preserving my life while exchanging glasses with the King, before I knew it, Chrisia had fled that suffocating atmosphere, leaving just the two of us.

“Huhu… I don’t think there’s anyone left who doesn’t know your name, but you want to make it more known? Why, you want to become a god or something?”

I could see quite the haze of intoxication from King Havirock’s eyes.

“It’s not just my name. I will make it so that all empires and kingdoms acknowledge Kesmire.”

“…”

At those words, the King went from looking at his glass to looking at me.

“You’re an arrogant fellow, aren’t you.”

“I have the power to do so. And like I promised through Chrisia, I will make an exclusive Kesmire Kingdom port and commercial area in Nerman.”

This was the king of a nation. Others might call him a pirate boss, but it was obvious that, in this world, being a pirate boss was harder than being a king. In a conversation with such a person, meaningless vanities were merely unwanted interruptions.

“Does Nerman have the power to do so? The Bajran Empire might have declared a blood alliance and the surrounding kingdoms are being careful, but I don’t think Nerman has the power to convince the other kingdoms to accept us.”

“You are mostly correct, but there is something you are mistaken about.”

“Something I’m mistaken about?”

“Nerman… will not convince the other kingdoms, but will only make a declaration. Also, it is not that we lack the power, but that we are simply not abusing it.”

“Puhahahahahahahahaha!”

When I finished, King Havirock burst out in a belly-shaking guffaw, spraying spit as he laughed in a manner that suited his title as Tartutu, Ruler of the Storm.

“But why come to me? If you have that much confidence in yourself and Nerman, why come here?”

The Pirate King knew that I had come here with an important goal.

“Everything has a price. Since I am accommodating the Kesmire Kingdom to such a degree, one would expect that Kesmire would exert themselves for me and Nerman as well, no? It is because an opportunity to fulfill that has come up that I have come to notify you.”

When talking, you always had to know where you stood. When a merchant sold their wares, they had to keep an eye on the situation around them and know when to be bold or when to back off. Only then would they become a successful merchant.

However, I was different. Rather than getting passively dragged by the currents around me and judging whether I had the advantage or not, I wanted to live with constant boldness and do whatever I wanted. Even now, I absolutely needed the wyvern carriers of none other than the Kesmire Kingdom in order to carry out my plan. However, I didn’t bow my head to beg.

“So what you’re saying is that I and the people of Kesmire should be grateful to you for coming all this way and telling us about this opportunity?”

“Yes. I have brought you an opportunity that may never come again,” I said brazenly, nodding. “You cannot live forever while being scorned by the entire world as pirates. It is time for the Kesmire Kingdom to be reborn as a true kingdom.”

“Pirates, you say… Kukuku, pirates…” The Pirate King laughed coldly while muttering. “You are truly one fearless fellow. To use the word pirate while knowing where exactly you stand…”

‘What else would you call a pirate but a pirate? Should I call you my elder?’

They were in an alliance with me, but the primary income of the Kesmire Kingdom was still looting and pillaging. They consigned all the ships from empires, kingdoms, and merchant groups alike to the watery depths and earned a pretty profit doing so. Such a name was the karma they had no choice but to accept.

“Help us. I swear on my name that I will turn Kesmire into a kingdom no one will scorn.”

In fact, I knew the Kesmire Kingdom’s true dream—to live not on an island, but on a piece of land on the Continent. However, I could not promise them that. If they, the rulers of the ocean, were to possess land ashore, the Central Continent, no, the entire Kallian Continent would jump in fright at a single sneeze of the Kesmire Kingdom. It was obvious that a kingdom with overwhelming sea superiority would seize the top spot on the Continent in no time at all.

‘I cannot satisfy that wish.’

I knew what the King wanted, but I couldn’t lie to him for my own convenience.

“But what are you asking us to help with? Even we know that you are shaking the Empire with your strength alone. What is there that we could possibly help you with?”

It was an important moment. If I had come out with this right away, I would have been talking from a great disadvantage. But I could tell from the King’s much calmer voice that I had the initiative now.

“Please lend me your ships.”

“Ships? What ships?”

“Lend me just twenty of your wyvern carriers.”

“Ah! T-Twenty wyvern carriers?”

The King hadn’t blinked once to anything else, but now, surprise was clear on his face.

‘Is it impossible?’

I knew it wouldn’t be an easy request. Twenty ships was an easy thing to say, but it was the equivalent of asking Kesmire to lend us half their strength. On land, you could strut all you wanted if you had a lot of wyverns, but on the sea, only those who possessed transport carriers could play king. Nothing beat wyverns in scouting and attacking ships on the expansive sea, and the ships that could carry them were like the Kesmire Kingdom’s very lifeblood.

“I will use them carefully and return them.”

“What will you do, attack the Empire somewhere? With twenty ships, you could carry hundreds of wyverns alone.”

‘Woah, how’d he know?’

He said it like a joke, but it was actually right on the mark. It was like throwing a stone out of boredom and headshotting a frog on the roadside.

“That’s correct. I want to attack the Laviter Empire’s capital.”

“…”

The King’s eyes widened in another dazed expression.

“A-Are you in your right mind right now?”

“Objectively speaking, I think I am a little drunk.”

“R-Right. You just said that because you’re drunk, right?”

“No, not at all. Please just lend me twenty wyvern carriers, and I’ll return them in one piece! Ah! While you’re at it, please lend me wyverns and Skyknights at the same time. I will establish the Kesmire Kingdom name using this opportunity in one fell swoop.”

“Huhh…”

King Havirock looked like he’d never seen such a brazen person in his life. A hollow groan came from him as he stared at me, flabbergasted.

“What you are saying right now is the same as asking me to lend you half of our kingdom’s forces. If it were you, would you carelessly lend your Nerman knights and soldiers?”

The pirate boss in front of me tried to talk things out logically, as if trying to suppress his anger.

“No. I would never lend my men to anyone, no matter who it was.”

“Th-Then why are you asking me to lend them to you so easily?!”

That finally did it, and the King yelled out in anger. Considering how much stress he was experiencing today, he would probably have to watch his blood pressure when straining on the toilet later.

“Haha. Your Majesty, are we outsiders? Nerman and Kesmire are allies, are we not? Moreover, Princess Chrisia and I are already…”

I trailed off, giving the King a knowing smile.

“Mm…”

At my words, the King sighed and fell into thought. His mind was probably as frantic as a computer program infected with a virus. I was a little sorry about selling out Chrisia, who wasn’t here, but I already knew that Chrisia had some degree of feelings for me. King Havirock had to know that the moment his daughter was linked to me, the Kesmire Kingdom would be able to stand proudly among all the other kingdoms, like I said I would achieve.

‘Huhu. I’ve shown you all my cards now. All that’s left is for you, the leader, to make his decision.’

No matter where it was on this planet, all the matchmaking matrons would label me as S-grade husband material. Alas, no one knew of my fierce spirit of sacrifice(?). This was all just me sending myself on the path of a martyr for the sake of Nerman and world peace. It was simply that I wouldn’t live the martyr life without any pay, and I was confident I could martyr myself beautifully when my paradise was complete.

As long as I could live for about 100 years with my rich, healthy, and gorgeous wives, that is.