God-Tier Enhancement: My Upgrades Never Fail-Chapter 218: Episode _Rose Gold Holy Dragon (4)

6.

In the end, Saint had to leave without saying any of the worried words he had prepared. He simply didn’t have the courage to fix his gaze on the Saintess, who was dressed in something that could hardly be called clothes, while Simin was so seriously engrossed in taking pictures.

Long after the photoshoot ended, just as he was about to start a conversation, someone from the Imperial Palace arrived and delivered a message to Simin.

“I have to go to the palace. Let’s talk later.”

“Ah, yes.”

A strange flutter of excitement returned. ’If Simin leaves, maybe I can spend some time with the Saintess here.’

“What are you doing? Aren’t you leaving? Let’s go together.”

“...Yes.”

It was but a fleeting dream, but Saint wasn’t disappointed. At least he had seen that the Saintess was safe. If he hadn’t mustered the courage to come this far, he would still be blaming himself, imagining that she had collapsed and not regained consciousness.

Still, disappointment was disappointment. Seeing his slumped shoulders, Simin, who was heading out of the Grand Temple, patted him on the back.

“Don’t worry too much. I’m going to rip out the roots of those money-grubbing worms who messed with our Hyegi.”

He fell silent.

With a face full of sincerity, looking as grim as someone who had been scammed out of his life savings, Simin left the Grand Temple.

*

Less than three hours after the Knight Commander had been dispatched, Simin arrived. He went straight to the Emperor and shouted without preamble.

“Your offer!”

The Emperor pinched the bridge of his nose at the sight of his guileless son-in-law, who had spoken without even assessing the atmosphere. ’Ah, right. This is the kind of man he is.’ He glanced at the Princess. In this situation, it wouldn’t be strange for her to ignore her father and the Emperor and lash out in anger. Logically, with rumors spreading that her husband had taken another woman as his wife and even had a child—a nearly adult daughter at that—it was unthinkable for a wife to remain silent. He would understand if she got angry. The Emperor was that magnanimous.

He was too stunned to speak.

But the Emperor did not see the scene he had expected and hoped for.

“My lord!”

“Oh. Have you been well?”

The coy Princess leaped into his arms with a bright smile, as if the shadow on her face had never existed. It was enough to make him wonder if he had been dreaming. When they were together, he had been so worried her depression might be contagious. So much for raising a daughter. The Emperor’s sigh, unfortunately, did not reach the two of them.

“You get prettier every time I see you.”

“Oh my. Do you really think so?”

“Of course. It’s true.”

As always, they exchanged cringeworthy sweet nothings without a hint of embarrassment. The Princess probably found comfort in that. He was no different from the Simin she knew. Of course, she wasn’t the type to suffer in silence, so she asked subtly. Cuddled in his arms. Gently.

“My lord, it’s not true, is it?”

“What isn’t?”

“That dragon and...”

“Ah! Of course not. What a horrible thing to say. I’d rather die alone than marry a dragon and have a child. Besides, why would I do that when I have such a beautiful wife?”

“Right? I knew it. I trusted you.”

’Trusted him, my ass. I can still hear the sound of her sighs ringing in my head.’ What couldn’t be solved by him telling her hundreds, thousands of times that it was okay, that it wasn’t true, was resolved by a single, nonchalant, and shameless remark from the man himself. The Emperor’s eyes grew moist.

Regardless, Simin gently set her aside and approached the Emperor. Business was business, and personal matters were personal. He had to finish the deal quickly and go punish the bastards who had made him blow his precious $45 million on a fireworks show. The smile on his face turned serious. Facing the ruler of the continent, he didn’t back down and even seized control of the pace, prompting the Emperor to adopt a more serious demeanor as well. Simin seemed more dependable than ever.

“I have some bastards to go screw over, so let’s make a deal. If I like it, I’ll go with the Imperial Knights, and with you, Your Majesty, if you wish. If the deal falls through, I’ll go screw them over by myself.”

His seriousness was matched by his audacity. Who else would dare to make such a one-sided demand of the Emperor of the continent? It was something only Han Simin could do. He could speak so boldly because he had consistently shown and proven to the Emperor that this was the kind of person he was. If he hadn’t, Simin would have likely struggled to keep his life, no matter how advantageous the deal was for the Emperor. But he had, and the Emperor nodded.

“Fine.” 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

He was an emperor who knew how to acknowledge a capable man. The two of them—no, the three of them, including the Princess—headed for the secret treasury.

7.

Thanks to the Princess, who insisted he stay and sleep with her instead of leaving after the deal was done, Simin prepared to depart the next day.

He was speechless.

Even though he had heard from the knights guarding the door that nothing had happened, and knew that Simin had only held the Princess’s hand as she slept because of her pestering, the Emperor’s glare couldn’t help but be sharp. ’What a thief!’ Today might have passed without incident, but Simin didn’t seem to lack feelings for the Princess, and in her case, it was clear she would fall for him if he so much as reached out. On top of that, they were already married, so there was nothing stopping them, and they might even have a child someday... The thought made him scowl.

Of course, Simin, who didn’t care about such glares, nonchalantly bid him farewell and headed for the Grand Temple with the Imperial Knights. It was a small contingent, but they were the Royal Elite Knights—the Emperor’s protectors, an elite force capable of destroying an entire kingdom on their own. The Emperor had considered going as well but refrained, thinking that too much interference from the start could turn a good opportunity into a bad situation. It wasn’t as if Simin would mess things up; if anything, he would make things better.

Still, it stung a little to see him lead the Imperial Knights away so naturally, as if he were the Emperor himself. The sight of his back kept reminding him of the treasure that had just left the secret treasury.

“Haaah.”

As always, a meeting with Han Simin ended with the Emperor’s sigh.

*

The six elders had, of course, made various preparations. The two days they were given was by no means a long time, but it wasn’t difficult to prepare.

“Insolent fool. How dare he slander the elders of the Grand Temple.”

“He must be taught a lesson.”

“To have nothing better to accuse us of than colluding with the demons. It’s absurd.”

“The Pope is also a problem for readily accepting it.”

“He must have disliked us for a long time.”

“It was probably also to buy time to protect the Saintess.”

“There won’t be any evidence, so all that’s left is to time our counterattack.”

“The Pope was hasty. We might be able to oust him with this opportunity.”

From the start, they were innocent.

“Still, just in case, let’s be honest with each other. Does anyone have even the smallest connection to the demons—no, the black magic mages?”

“How dare you!”

“We are priests. How could we possibly collude with such beings!”

Though they aimed for the papacy, they were, by birth, priests who served God. For those holding the position of elder, there wasn’t a speck of reason to join hands with the black magic mages. Even if it wasn’t solely due to their infinite love for God. That was why the Pope had left the opposition elders’ schemes alone until now. He was confident he could handle them, and as long as their foundation was protected, they wouldn’t make the worst choice.

In any case, the elders were confident. If the issue had been about the Temple’s slush funds, they might have flinched a little. But even those matters had been handled so well that they would suffer no damage. Yet now, they were to be investigated for the completely unrelated matter of black magic mages. A ridiculous claim!

“Do they take us for fools?”

“Let’s reject her, even if she is the real Saintess.”

“Let’s use this chance to pressure the Emperor as well. For the sake of the next Pope.”

They had planned everything from their defense to their counterattack scenario. Thanks to that, the elders were able to confidently greet Simin and the Imperial Knights as they entered the Grand Temple.

“Please cooperate with the investigation.”

“Of course! We will give you everything!”

To Simin, who asked politely with the dignified bearing of the Imperial Knights who truly protected the continent, the elders shouted back boisterously, as if they couldn’t lose. The investigation began.

*

Han Simin, of course, had never investigated anything in his life. The most he had done was rummage through footlockers and barracks to find missing supplies in the army; when had he ever searched for someone’s hidden, important secret documents? He wasn’t that sharp, nor did he have the experience. Furthermore, he had never been in a position to create such secret documents himself, so it was difficult to predict where they might be hidden. Most importantly, it was more likely that such secret documents didn’t exist at all.

’Unless they’re completely insane, there’s no way they’d be involved with black magic mages.’ What kind of ridiculous soap opera or cliché fantasy novel plot was this? If Betago had its head screwed on straight, it wouldn’t have created such a setting. From the black magic mages’ perspective, bribing a Grand Temple elder would certainly have immense merit, but for the elders, if even the slightest speck of evidence was found, they would not only lose everything they had but would also be tortured to death without the mercy of a quick end. Who would do that? In this fantasy world, it was unlikely they would be foolish enough to leave a record of their dealings with black magic mages. At most, it would be about them using the Temple’s overflowing funds as they pleased.

But that alone wasn’t enough. In any case, since they had decided to investigate, they had to find something to get the desired result. Otherwise, they would just arrogantly lift their heads again and refuse to acknowledge Squeaker as the Saintess. Just as Simin had decided to take revenge by framing them for a crime they didn’t commit after blowing $45 million, they too, being human, would never be able to forgive Simin for such an insult.

That’s why he had no choice. To survive, make money, and make the collaboration with the black magic mages work, this was the only way. All the knowledge he possessed was mobilized. And among that knowledge, the most relevant was from dramas. It was just the visualization of an absurd novel, but...

’This world is full of absurdities compared to reality anyway.’ Would it be a problem? Even if it was, it didn’t matter. In this world, the ability to create those absurdities was what mattered most.

Simin strode forward with dignity and raised his right hand.

“Search them.”

Clang!

A sharp command and a downward chop of his hand.

“Yes, sir!”

The Imperial Knights, who had already been coordinated with the promise of a level-up buff, steeled their faces, drew their swords, and escorted him with due ceremony. Simultaneously, the search of the six elders’ private quarters began.

It didn’t take long for the confident expressions of the elders who had opened their doors to freeze.

“Found something.”

“Found something here too!”

“It’s an item of the black magic mages.”

The thorough, no-stone-unturned search had only just begun.

*