Kaka had a shard filled with dark energy in her hands. The dark energy started to flow out from her tiny hands.

What it was wasn’t entirely known, but Ian’s eyes were fixed on that item.

‘Wha… What is she carrying?’

Ian who was puzzled asked Kaka,

“Kaka, what is that?”

Ian took the item then a line of system message popped up.

[Obtained the item ‘Underworld King’s Necklace Fragment (A) (Sealed)’]

“…!”

He thought that it wasn’t much, but it seemed like it was something useful based on the name of the item.

However, that was all the information that it had.

Since it was a sealed item, the information window of the item wasn’t open.

Ian’s head started to work again.

‘As the name of the item contains fragment and (A) in it, is it an item that can be unsealed if all the fragments are collected?’

Whether or not the RPG had been built like that, it was the only reasoning Ian could come up with.

Kaka who was in front of Ian said,

“I’ve lived for a thousand years, but I have never even dreamed of seeing this stuff, master.”

Ian began to become more interested in the item upon hearing what Kaka said.

“What the hell is this?”

Kaka was looking at the shard in Ian’s hand. She then spoke with gleaming eyes,

“This is the stuff which contains the power of the King. Looking at the shape of it, it probably is the necklace of the Underworld King, master.”

Ian replied immediately,

“Even I know that.”

“How did…!”

“It looked like a necklace right from the start. So, explain how this item can be of use.”

Kaka scratched the back of her neck and spoke,

“Was that so? Anyway, this necklace of the king…”

The explanation given by Kaka was quite long, but it wasn’t that complicated.

The Underworld King’s necklace consisted of three fragments, and when all three fragments were collected, the seal would get released just like Ian’s guess. That was when the necklace would be completed.

“The Underworld King’s Necklace is the only medium that allows the summon of the king of underworld, master.”

Upon hearing those words from Kaka, Ian’s eyes began to shine.

“Underworld King? What kind of Underworld King? Someone who can be summoned?”

Kaka shook her head and explained,

“To call a king as a summon… maybe like a ‘god’. The Underworld King is the kings of the world—a watchman who guards the way to the afterlife.”

“…!”

“Perhaps, once you complete the necklace, the king will appear in front of you, master.”

Ian once again asked with gleaming eyes,

“And so? If summoned?”

“I don’t know what’s going to happen after that, master. I heard that only a few powerful Warlocks of the past managed to summon the king.”

While listening to Kaka’s explanation, Ian’s eyes widened.

It was a questionable item, but it was more valuable than the other items they got since it was associated with the King of underworld.

‘Maybe this… maybe this is a clue to the Underworld.’

The Underworld King was playing the role of a watchman who was guarding the path to the afterlife.

Which meant that if he was the Underworld King, then he would know the way to the underworld.

Rather than a bit of clunky information which the Lich King could provide, this source seemed to be more specific and certain.

‘Oh ho, this is an unexpected harvest.’

“Huhu, it has been a very long time, but I’m a very great one, master.”

“Yeah, well. By the way, where did you find this fragment?”

“This is what Lacamer dropped upon his death, master. I picked it up since I didn’t want to bother you.”

“… you did?”

As Kaka said, Ian had the tendency to ignore catch items since they seemed like nothing to him.

He was doing that not because he didn’t need them.

Their hunting efficiency would be reduced if they picked those items up.

Nevertheless, Ian learned today to always check all the items that were being dropped.

‘Huhu, it was obvious. To tame a servant with low leadership power only for the item picks…’

Ian kept the item in his inventory and completed his maintenance.

One after the other, all the prisons started to open up, and the prisoners were released.

In the prison handled by Lacamer, most of the prisoners were Imperial Knights.

After all the search work was done, Ian was able to cleanly clear the remaining quest.

The quest was called ‘Tears of King Elrika.’

Ian succeeded in finding ‘King Remus Elrika’ the former king of the Elrika Kingdom.

Tring-!

[You have successfully completed the quest titled ‘Tears of King Elrika (Hidden) (Epic)’]

[Remaining Time: 35 minutes]

[Clear rank: SSS]

[Gained 17,805,500 experience points.]

[Acquired fame of 200,000.]

[You have obtained the item ‘The mark of Elrika Kingdom’]

[Affinity with ‘Rems Elrika’ has been increased greatly.]

* * *

“So you were the hero of the Luspel Empire, the Grandee—Ian. No, now you are the king of the Lotus Kingdom.”

Remus Elrika who got released from his prison correctly identified Ian.

With a puzzled expression, Ian asked him,

“How do you know me?”

“Your fame during the Imperial War has reached all the continents, so it would be rather strange to not know.”

“…”

Remus wasn’t saying anything out of exaggeration about the fame of Ian reaching the entire continent.

And it wasn’t a bad situation for Ian.

‘As, my fame is already over 20 million… there was no way I wouldn’t have been a celebrity in Kailan.’

While looking at Ian who was smiling, Remus continued to speak,

“And you might not remember this, but in the past, I was the high general of the Luspel Empire. I fought on the same battlefield as you.”

“You did?”

In fact, it was no surprise that the former King of Elrika was a general in the Luspel Empire.

Most of the Kingdoms that were currently established were once under the former nobility of the Luspel Empire.

It was only natural that Ian didn’t remember Remus.

The three years Imperial War was replaced with a six-hour trailer episode for the users.

Nevertheless, Ian had no choice but to be cool about it.

It was embarrassing and a very sorry situation to be in. It was like not remembering an old friend.

Although he was an NPC, it was lucky that Remus was taking it calmly.

“I’m very sorry for not being able to remember.”

“There is no need to be sorry. I should actually be thanking you instead, right?”

“Well in that case…”

In any case, Remus continued his story in a very friendly manner.

“You, King of Lotus, have found the underground prison in the Rataphel… which means that you are at war with my kingdom.”

“Well, it’s kind of like that, yes.”

The Elrika Kingdom was a kingdom that was founded by Remus.

It was natural for Remus to have an attachment towards his kingdom, but that wasn’t the case with the Lotus Kingdom.

Even though the Lotus Kingdon wanted to attack his kingdom, Remus didn’t really mind.

“So Ian, I would like to make a deal with you.”

“Huh?”

“Yeah. And it won’t be a proposal that would hurt you.”

Ian nodded to show that he was interested in listening to his story. He then placed his hand under his chin.

“Well, let me hear it our first.”

The moment those words came out, a new quest window appeared in front of Ian.

Tring-!

– – –

Tears of King Elrika II (Hidden) (Connected) –

You succeeded in rescuing King Remus who was trapped in the underground prison in the Rataphel Domain.

King Remus has taken a great liking on you for rescuing him from the hellish prison cell.

And King Remus has offered you a deal.

If you give him the position of ‘noble’ in your Lotus Kingdom, he is willing to easily give away a secret about the Elrika.

For Remus, who was the king of a nation, this is an exceptional offer since he was throwing away his pride.

If you reject the offer, Remus will be very disappointed with you.

Quest Difficulty: None

Quest Condition:

A person who cleared the Rataphel Manor Underground Prison Dungeon.

A person who has completed the quest title ‘Tears of King Elrika’.

Time Limit: None

Reward:

Active Linked quest.

Increased affinity with Remus Elrika

* If you decline the quest, your affinity with Remus would be reduced greatly.

– – –

Ian quickly read the contents of the quest and felt a little troubled.

‘This is probably a side quest, but…’

Ian any case, to appoint Remus as a general was the same as making him a member of the Lotus Kingdom.

For Ian, giving him a title and a manor meant that Ian had nothing to lose.

The only concern he had was he didn’t know what kind of abilities Remus had.

Remus, the king of a kingdom, might not be of the lowest level, but if he didn’t possess the stats that he was expected to have, he would only slow down the growth of the domain.

However, Ian’s concern didn’t last for long.

It was because there was a lot more to gain from this than its risks.

Ian nodded and asked Remus to shake hands.

“Okay, let’s do that. But this should definitely be of help.”

At those words from Ian, Remus looked bright.

“Of course, This plan can only be executed with my help. If you successfully executed this plan, you won’t be having a difficult time in conquering the Elrika Kingdom.”

At the end of Remus’ words, a new system message came in front of Ian’s eyes.

Tring-!

[Elrika Kingdom’s Puppet (Hidden) (Connected) quest has been activated.]

The content of the quest came up, and it contained interesting things.