718: Aftermath (2)

Aftermath (2)

Billy accepted the handshake, satisfied because the tribesmen didn't have that costume. Still, they had grown used to the way others did such things. Luso also silently offered a handshake. While they had to deal with some bumps along the way, they got some powerful allies, and Billy couldn't have asked for more. He finally felt that him and his friends weren't the only ones carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders1

Before heading to the next destination, Billy left Edward, Nikola, Leo, and Lucy back in his hometown. They helped quite a bit during those days, but they had work to do back home as well. Watching their grandkids grow wasn't a joy that they could have all the time.

After that, they headed toward the new capital of the Korpal state, and they frowned when they saw numerous armies situated around the capital, waiting for something to happen. Billy forgot to tell them one important thing, it seemed.

"I made the leaders here save us some time by gathering the soldiers and adventurers that they had under their command," Billy said. "While the state as a whole was involved in the shady business of the previous ruler, it wasn't like they had much of other choices. When it comes to that kind of thing, the rulers have to give good examples for their people."

"Antagonizing the people here would only breed trouble in the long run as well…" Kate said and then sighed. "I suppose you can lead this state to a new path by using Jeannete's powers."

"I don't like to use that unless I am forced to," Billy said. "That is why I only used on the rulers and on bandits to prevent crimes from happening again. That is a good enough reason for me."

"I guess that is for the best," Kate said.

As someone who is the daughter of a ruler herself, Kate knew the best ways to do that, and with Billy's powers, it was almost impossible to make a mistake and lead the state to its doom. However, she was an idealistic one at heart, and while she could see things from an emotionless point of view, those two points often made her agonize.

In any case, things went as smoothly as possible in the Korpal state. The soldiers and adventurers of the place were too loyal to the new leaders since they held the strings of the economy of the state. Moreover, they had heard about the famous individuals in the north who had developed new techniques and could use magic, and they were interested in learning that.

While they learned things a bit slower than the tribesmen, overall, Billy's group stayed around the same time since they had fewer people and were more obedient. One week before they could finish their business there, Billy sent a message to Sei saying that they would head there soon enough and that they should prepare.

"The temperature will decrease the further south we go, so you guys should prepare," Billy said. "Let's buy some more clothes for the kids as well."

"Leave that to me," Sarah said.

"No way, I want to buy clothes for my kids as well," Billy said.

"Sometimes you sound so weird and find pleasure in the weirdest things," Sarah said and then shrugged.

The last week they spent in that state passed in the blink of an eye. Billy thought that Hector, Christina, and Helen would dislike the change of scenario and the traveling after a while, but they showed no signs of that. Besides, instead of sightseeing, they tried to copy the adults as much as possible and train for as long as they could.

In any case, Sei sure liked to put Billy in a bad spot. When the day came for the group to head to his hometown, he brought many carriages. Sure, Billy decided to hide berser-car while going south to prevent annoyances. Still, they had bought some for their personal use, and there was no point in him bringing those luxurious ones to transport them. Unfortunately, Billy knew that Sei had to save face in the situation.

"My apologies for this," Sei said. "Our ruler was quite excited about meeting you, so he sent all of this to make the trip a lot more comfortable."

"You know that we aren't here on a vacation trip, right?" Billy asked. "We don't have time to waste with pleasantries and formalities."

"Yes, I know," Sei said.

"What about your ruler? Does he know that?" Billy asked.

"Yes, but our current leader currently is a woman, so don't call her him out loud like that," Sei said. "Nevertheless, many rumors about you have crossed our state over the years, so she is quite interested in you."

Billy's wives began to pinch his sides. It wasn't his fault that he was so awesome that many people talked and wanted to meet him, so Billy just shrugged. Still, putting jokes aside, Billy could no longer delay the meeting with the rulers of that state. While they owed him quite a lot due to the help he gave them over the years, they would need to meet directly to cooperate in the future.

"It seemed that your previous adventure was quite the intense one," Sei said when they began to move after entering the carriages. "Some rumors reached our lands, but for the first time, people are thinking that the rocks' rain was a lie and that no one could have stopped that."

"I suppose it is better that way," Billy said. "Many people lost the will to fight after almost having their hometowns destroyed that way."

"So, it was true…" Sei said. "It will be hard to convince everyone of that."

"It won't trust me," Billy said. "Still, I am getting kind of tired of using that method so often to make others see my point. Regardless, I hope that you have managed to prepare everything because we can't stay here for more than two weeks."

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