“Then give me the letter again. I’ll seal it for you.”

At the old emperor’s words, Hyeonu pulled out the white paper.

[Samsungga’s Consent has been cleared.]

[Experience has been acquired.]

‘The reward is really...’

It was insignificant—merely experience. The annoyed Hyeonu threw the paper in the air. A man dressed in black appeared, snatched the paper, and put it in front of the old emperor to make it easier for him. Upon receiving the paper from the man, the old Emperor put it on his desk and grabbed his seal. Then he silently lifted the paper again and handed it to the man who, in turn, returned it to Hyeonu.

[Reply from the emperor of the Yuxin Empire of the East Continent 1/1]

Hyeonu showed a strange smile at the message that appeared before his eyes. “Thank you, I hope for the endless glory of the Yuxin Empire.”

He gave a polite greeting and left the hall. Hyeonu didn’t want to stay there any longer.

‘In any case, it’s a mess.’

He was deeply dissatisfied with the quest rewards. Perhaps it was his crushed expectations that led to his greater dissatisfaction.

‘I don’t know.’

Everything was already over. Hyeonu’s hand tore the return scroll roughly.

***

Hyeonu walked through the imperial palace quickly. No, he was running. He rushed through the imperial palace like a wild horse in the mountains.

-The emperor is gone. He left a few letters. One of them is for you, Earl. According to what was written in another letter... Your letter was placed on the throne of the emperor’s palace.

This was what the guard leader had told Hyeonu. The emperor had already left, but the imperial palace was quiet. No one talked about the emperor’s disappearance. It was because he didn’t want that.

‘He placed it on the throne?’

Hyeonu had very bad memories of the throne. The feeling of being oppressed was never a good experience.

‘Surely it won’t be like that this time?’

Hyeonu tried to suppress his anxious mood and entered the emperor’s palace. The palace was empty this time; no one revealed their presence.

‘He really isn’t here.’

After passing through a long passageway and arriving in the space where the emperor usually was, Hyeonu shook his head at the empty hall.

‘Is there a letter over there?’

Hyeonu’s gaze turned to the throne that was covered with gorgeous decorations. He could obtain a letter from the emperor if he just climbed a certain number of steps to reach the throne. Hyeonu moved carefully, taking one step, two steps…

As the distance to the throne grew smaller, Hyeonu’s walking speed became slower.

‘It is still high.’

The throne he looked up at from the front now was much higher up from the floor than it appeared from a distance.

Hyeonu slowly climbed the stairs as he reflected on his previous experience. The emperor’s heavy pressure still existed, and it weighed down on Hyeonu’s shoulders. He climbed the stairs slowly while taking deep breaths regularly. Hyeonu wasn’t in a hurry. His steps up the stairs weren’t as heavy as he thought they would be.

‘It is a bit more comfortable than last time.’

He was climbing the stairs when he felt a pressure that was less than what he’d experienced while climbing to reach the advanced academy, Rondal.

‘Is this it?’

A thought popped up in Hyeonu’s mind. It couldn’t be confirmed right now, but it wasn’t unreasonable.

‘Is the emperor joking around?’

The most suspicious one was the emperor. Of course, Hyeonu had achieved a lot of growth, but that didn’t explain the difference in pressure. Hyeonu quickened his walking speed from the moment he realized the pressure was weak. He climbed the stairs without stopping. This weak pressure couldn’t stop his movements.

After a while, Hyeonu was able to climb to the end of the stairs where the throne was located. There was a letter on the throne, just as the guard leader said. Hyeonu opened the letter quickly. There was no time to dawdle. He wanted to go to the emperor right away.

-Earl, if you are reading this letter, I guess you got the official seal from the emperor of the Yuxin Empire? I will already be out of the imperial palace by then.

The beginning of the letter was full of useless words that just made Hyeonu angry. There was no value or information in them.

‘Who is he teasing?’

Hyeonu continued to read the letter with burning eyes.

-It’s been a while since I’ve been away from the palace. So Earl, don’t think about interrupting. I know what you are thinking, but I promise I won’t make that happen. Don’t come over until a week after you find this letter.

This next part of the letter was even more shocking. It was simply ridiculous. After all, the demon world didn’t belong to the emperor. In other words, it wasn’t up to the emperor if Hyeonu went to the demon world. Hyeonu was a player with free will.

‘I should believe this, shouldn’t I?’

Hyeonu was worried for a moment. The emperor might joke around, but he never lied. If he said he wouldn’t do it, that meant he wouldn’t do it. He always did as he said. The emperor was such a person.

‘Still, I’ll take the rewards.’

Hyeonu still had something to receive from the emperor, so he chose to head to the demon world to find the emperor.

‘What else is there?’

The letter wasn’t over yet. There was more left to read. At the bottom of the paper, there were words that were hard to understand like they had been written hastily.

-Right, don’t I have to give you the rewards? Earl Gang Hyeonu, you are a marquis starting from today. That is the reward.

“What? Marquis?” Hyeonu muttered with a dumbfounded expression. Just then, many messages filled Hyeonu’s vision.

[Emperor’s Ambition has been cleared.]

[Experience has been acquired.]

[117,493 imperial contributions have been acquired.]

[You have become a marquis of the Yusma Empire.]

[Your title will be changed.]

[First to become a Marquis]

[You are the first player to become a marquis of the Yusma Empire. The title will grow as you rise in rank.

Effect: The stat ‘dignity’ is created, and the damage dealt by opponents below the rank of marquis is reduced by 35%. Damage dealt to those with a rank below marquis is increased by 15%.]

‘Why is this cleared?’

The quest was cleared even though the condition of reporting to the emperor wasn’t satisfied. Hyeonu wasn’t able to hide his bewilderment, but it was only temporary. He gave a slight smile at the reward the emperor gave him.

‘Marquis... It’s okay.’

In fact, the identity of the emperor’s special gift could be considered quite disappointing as it wasn’t a good item or skill. Still, thinking about it, Hyeonu thought a marquis title was quite useful. It wasn’t that bad.

‘The title itself is strengthened...’

His original title of ‘First to Become an Earl’ changed to ‘First to Become a Marquis’, and the effect was greatly strengthened. It was a pretty good effect that was stronger than what he’d get from changing his equipped items.

‘Then I should go to the demon world in a week.’

Hyeonu’s heart fluttered like a reed. He decided to follow the emperor’s words the moment he received a good reward.

***

Hyeonu lay on the sofa and spoke to Yeongchan, who was entering through the front door, “Hey, what have you been doing lately?”

“Me? I was meeting Surin?” Yeongchan retorted with an expression that wondered why Hyeonu was asking. Surin—she was Yuri’s high school classmate that Yuri had introduced to Yeongchan.

“Is it a neat start again? The beginning is the same. Will the end be the same?” Hyeonu couldn’t hide his ridicule as he looked at Yeongchan.

“No? It should be different this time, right? Surin isn’t like those I met before. She is different!” Yeongchan was furious at Hyeonu’s sarcastic remark.

Busy laughing at Yeongchan, Hyeonu didn’t say a word in response. After a while, Hyeonu decided to speak again when he saw Yeongchan appear in comfortable training clothes.

“Hey.” Hyeonu’s voice was quite calm this time, perhaps because he was sorry for the teasing earlier.

However, Yeongchan didn’t respond and just ignored Hyeonu. Despite Yeongchan’s attitude, Hyeonu continued to call out to him, “Hey!”

Yeongchan clicked his tongue at Hyeonu’s persistence and replied, “What is it?”

Hyeonu smiled when he finally got a response. It was a strange smile. The expression ‘stupid on the outside while sinister on the inside’ came to mind.

“Are you streaming today?” Hyeonu asked.

Yeongchan didn’t see Hyeonu’s expression and just answered the question: “Streaming? Of course. Today is my usual day for it.”

“Really? Where are you right now?”

“Me? The East Continent. Most rankers are in the demon world, so there are more people watching the East Continent stream than I thought there would be.”

Since the demon world was released, it became quite difficult to see the East Continent on streams. The number of rankers playing in the East Continent had decreased, so the number of streamers worth watching also decreased. Yeongchan aimed for this and continued to stream the East Continent. His goal seemed to have worked out well as the performance of his stream so far was very good.

“Really? Then shall we stream together today? I’m in the East Continent now too.” Hyeonu nodded several times like it was a good idea.

“The East Continent? Still? Are you doing a quest now? Is that why you’re calling me?” Yeongchan sensed something sinister.

It was impossible for Hyeonu to just offer a joint stream. However, Hyeonu’s answer was different from Yeongchan’s expectations: “Quest? It’s already over. From now on, it’s just free time.”

The main scenario was already over. So, Hyeonu was just going to the East Continent to hunt and raise his level as the emperor’s order meant he was unable to return to the demon world. Still, Yeongchan didn’t know this. Despite being so close to Hyeonu, even Yeongchan wouldn’t know anything unless Hyeonu showed him the relevant video.

Yeongchan cocked his head slightly at Hyeonu’s words, but he soon questioned Hyeonu: “What do you want to do on the stream today? Hunting? Or an eating show? Talk?”

“Today? Today, we will be streaming you and I showing our depths.” Hyeonu gave an unconventional answer. It was an answer that was unimaginable for Yeongchan.

“Showing our depths? How?” Yeongchan couldn’t understand Hyeonu’s words. Showing his depths was fine as long as Hyeonu didn’t joke around. During Yeongchan’s long streaming career, he had never broken the mask of his artificial personality.

‘This guy is the biggest problem...’

Yet, with Hyeonu around, Yeongchan was worried that would no longer be the case. He felt his reactions would definitely change dramatically depending on Hyeonu’s actions.

“Tell me more. Don’t just keep it to yourself. What do you want to do on the stream?” Yeongchan asked again.

At Yeongchan’s continued questions, Hyeonu slowly opened his mouth and answered, “In today’s joint stream... we will go to Buncheonru.”

“Buncheonru?”

“Yes, Buncheonru. There, we will spin the slot machines.”

“!!!” Yeongchan finally understood what Hyeonu meant about showing their depths.