Birth of a New King (1)
Three years had passed.
The top floor of a skyscraper offered a panoramic view of the sprawling Tokyo skyline. In this place, which had become the new heart of the History Compilation Committee, I sat with my back to the window, receiving a report.
“My King, this is the report regarding the cooperation agenda between the History Compilation Committee and the Greenwich Assembly—the British magic association—from the previous quarter.”
Standing before me, Shinomiya Kaoru flipped through documents with a stiff expression. The version of her from three years ago, who had despaired before the King’s judgment, was nowhere to be found. She had evolved into my proxy and the de facto ruler of the Japanese magical world—a cold, competent leader at the peak of her power.
The past three years had been both long and short. After striking down King Arthur, any lingering attachment I had to returning to my life as Min-jun Jeong, a normal university student, had turned to ash and vanished. My very existence was already a cataclysm that defied the logic of the world; paradoxically, controlling that power and maintaining order was the only path left to protect my own peace. While I clashed with gods and engaged in precarious power struggles with other Kings, Alessandro Gaspare and Alice Louise of Navarre became my most reliable sword and shield. Once I finally finished cleaning up the chaos, I found myself sitting upon a massive throne I had never asked for.
“…That concludes the report.”
Kaoru’s report ended, but I remained silent. It was dull. Power, governance—everything had become familiar and tedious. This wasn't what I truly wanted.
It was right then.
Thud!
The heavy doors to the office were thrown open, and Alessandro burst in, drenched in sweat. It was extremely rare for his perfectly composed appearance to be this disheveled. Kaoru looked surprised and tried to stop him, but he ignored her and knelt before me.
“My Liege! An emergency report just came in from Italy!”
His voice was a mixture of uncontrollable excitement and tension.
“A new King…! The eighth King has been born!”
Kaoru’s face stiffened at those words. I, however, merely leaned deeper into my chair and let out a low sigh. Again? Why must this world always be so noisy?
“Don’t make such a fuss, Alessandro. It’s just another freak like me added to the pile. What’s the big deal?”
Alessandro seemed momentarily flustered by my cold reaction, but he quickly spoke again.
“However, my Liege, the new King born this time… is Japanese.”
“…What?”
I finally dropped my indifferent expression and looked back at Alessandro. My current domain spanned Korea, Japan, and Britain. And in the midst of that, a Japanese person had been born as a new King? I felt Shinomiya Kaoru’s shoulders flinch beside me.
She didn't dare lift her head, staring at the floor while sensing my reaction. Her face was clouded with extreme tension and embarrassment—the anxiety of an unpredictable variable appearing outside of the King’s control within her own country.
I closed my eyes for a moment. A new King is born, and of all things, he's Japanese. It was a tiresome combination.
“You’ve piqued my interest a little. Fine. Report. This new King fellow—what kind of person is he?”
Meanwhile, at the same time. A quiet cafe terrace in Sardinia, Italy.
Daily life was peaceful, as if the desperate struggle against a god a few days ago had been a lie.
However, the heart of Kusanagi Godo was not peaceful at all. He lay slumped over the table as if he were about to bash his head into it, not even touching the espresso in front of him.
“It really wasn't a dream… It was all real….”
At his muttering, Erica Brandelli, who was sitting across from him elegantly sipping tea, let out a chuckle.
“It seems the reality is finally sinking in, our new King?”
“Don't call me a King! How many times do I have to say I’m not that? I just came to deliver a stone tablet my grandfather asked for, and I got caught up in some weird business! It’s all over now, so I’m going back to peaceful Japan! I want to go back to being a normal high school student!”
Godo lamented, looking like he was on the verge of tears. The memory of killing a god was faint, like a nightmare, but the sensation of the alien power dwelling within his body constantly reminded him that it was all real.
In response to his denial of reality, Erica put down her teacup and sighed. Her blue eyes held a hint of trouble mixed with a playful dilemma about how to domesticate this naive King.
“Whew… Godo. Unfortunately, I think that’s going to be a bit difficult.”
“What? Why! I have my passport, and all I have to do is book a flight!”
“No, I’m not talking about a physical problem like that.”
Erica began to explain the cruel reality to him with a smile. Her voice was sweet, but the content was as sharp as a dagger.
“The current you probably won’t be able to return to Japan. While you weren't looking, the magical world of Japan changed drastically.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Japan’s magic associations are currently not independent organizations. They are merely a part of a much larger power. They’ve been incorporated into the domain of the seventh King, who was born three years ago in the neighboring country, Korea.”
Godo’s face went blank at Erica’s explanation.
“The King of… Korea?”
“Yes. As soon as that King descended, he organized his surroundings with power beyond imagination. He subjugated Korea’s Four Divine Guardians and Japan’s magic organization, the History Compilation Committee, and even brought the magic council across the sea in Britain under his command. Currently, the magic associations of the three countries—Korea, Japan, and Britain—are all being managed integrally under that King’s rule. Japan is no longer the ‘peaceful hometown’ you think it is; it’s just one of the seventh King’s vast territories.”
Erica continued, driving the point home.
“The birth of a new King is the greatest threat to an existing King’s domain. Furthermore, if that King is Japanese, born within his own territory? The seventh King will never leave you alone. Right about now, he might be sending his sharpest blade to ‘handle’ you.”
Godo shook his head violently as if he couldn't understand the reality before him.
“No way! I’ve never heard of such a thing! A Korean King ruling Japan and Britain? That sounds like something out of a fantasy novel!”
Despite his denial, Erica simply shrugged. A massive storm was gathering for the new Devil King, Kusanagi Godo, coming from the very hometown he longed to return to.
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