God-Tier Enhancement: My Upgrades Never Fail-Chapter 94: Episode 19 _ Don_t Worry, I_ll Sell It for a High Price(1)
1.
The gazes of the people were filled with absurdity.
Needless to say, the absurdity felt by the Royal Knight facing Han Simin was even greater.
’So what he said yesterday was bait for this.’
The Royal Knight frowned deeply.
’This despicable bastard!’
Surrounded by roughly twenty rabbits, Han Simin’s body offered no gap to thrust a sword.
Of course, if he wanted to stab, as a Royal Knight, he could stab without killing the rabbits, but that was only if Han Simin stood still.
Even if Simin’s body had become somewhat dull, he would naturally move to win. If the knight thrust his sword toward an opening and accidentally killed a rabbit?
He would instantly become a piece of trash who repaid kindness with enmity.
How could he fight without caring?
Even if Simin was an adventurer and looked immature, he was still the benefactor who helped their growth, the Emperor’s son-in-law, and now a rising power holding the title of Viscount!
Above all, knights did not break their oaths.
They pursued pride, trust, and justice more than their own lives!
Therefore, they did not make promises easily.
But they had made a promise, and they had to keep it.
"Haah."
The Royal Knight let out a deep sigh.
’Is there any way to win this?’
Even fighting normally wouldn’t be easy.
He had seen enough of Han Simin’s defense and the tenacity of the rabbits that clung persistently to him.
In the end, to keep the promise and win the match, he had to use his full strength, but that would increase the probability of killing a rabbit.
He hesitated.
Most importantly, he must not show that he was going easy on him!
Recalling Han Simin’s request from last night, which he had thought was innocent, the Royal Knight shuddered.
He wasn’t innocent.
He was a devil.
He was pretending it was a newly developed strategy to pique people’s interest, but if they knew the truth, they might curse him for being cowardly.
But what did that matter?
There was no way it would be known.
’Indeed... He is worthy of being His Majesty’s son-in-law.’
It was ridiculous, but he admitted it.
Han Simin knew his disadvantage and pulled out a card he could use to lead himself to victory.
Failing to see through that was entirely the knight’s fault!
"Phew."
He steadied his breathing and composed his flustered mind.
He still had to fight.
And there was no giving up.
The only fortunate thing was that this was still the Quarterfinals.
’The knight commander will probably take the fall.’
The Royal Knight Captain was standing on the stage of the finals.
How would he react and deal with the current situation?
"Raah!"
The knight charged.
* * *
"...Cunning fellow."
"Pfft. He really is an interesting person."
"Interesting, my foot. He is cowardly beyond measure."
"But if he hadn’t done that, he wouldn’t have won, would he?"
The Emperor did not respond.
The Emperor already knew that there had been a secret meeting between Han Simin and the Imperial Knights who advanced to the Round of 16 the previous night.
There were no secrets within the Imperial Palace.
However, he overlooked it because there was no way the Imperial Knights would agree to a request to lose on purpose.
Even if the Emperor didn’t explicitly bring it up, knights were people who valued their pride more than their lives.
Even if it was a benefactor—nay, even the savior of their lives—such a request would never work.
But looking at the situation now, it seemed the cunning adventurer son-in-law hadn’t made that kind of request.
The Emperor’s sharp eyes grasped the situation.
His intuition, honed over a long time amidst war and conspiracy, was just that sharp.
’He appealed to their compassion for the rabbits instead of rigging the match.’
"What shall we do, Your Majesty?"
"Just leave it be."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Even though sufficient suspicion had arisen, the Emperor did not stop it.
As always, he valued people based on ability.
Ruling the continent, maintaining it, and fending off invasions.
If he weren’t like that in the first place, he wouldn’t have accepted an adventurer—an unheard-of stranger—as his son-in-law.
Nor would he have endured being outwitted by him every time.
"Perhaps, as you said, the symbol of the Empire might fall into that guy’s hands."
"It’s not such a bad thing. Just the fact that the Viscount is holding it will give the Empire a good image among the adventurers."
"That is assuming he keeps it properly."
"Pardon?"
At the princess’s question, the Emperor shook his head.
Common sense dictated that few people would think of selling such an important sword.
It would be like selling a championship trophy to buy taffy just because it was gold-plated!
Since it hadn’t happened yet, he hesitated to voice such profane words, but he felt that Han Simin was capable enough of doing just that.
’Maybe...’
Then what should be done?
He had pondered it briefly yesterday but decided to trust the Imperial Knights and put the thought aside.
Seeing the Royal Knight admit defeat without being able to penetrate the rabbit shield, he had to fall into contemplation again.
And it was the same in the finals.
The Royal knight commander displayed brilliant swordsmanship based on tremendous growth, but he could not penetrate Han Simin’s shield.
Attacks thrust into gaps lost their power as they were forced in, only to be neutralized by the defense of the armor worn underneath.
There was no way to shake off the attacks of the rabbits, which were judged to be conditionally invincible.
The crowd was stunned.
And so, Han Simin grasped the victory absurdly and, at the same time, magnificently.
2.
The award ceremony was the next day.
Han Simin, having won, walked around the Imperial Palace with his shoulders squared high.
Naturally, he also met the Emperor.
"Yo! Father-in-law!"
The Emperor glared at him.
The Emperor frowned at the frivolous tone of Han Simin, whose mood had pierced through the sky.
"Do you think I don’t know you cheated?"
’It’s over anyway, but let’s give him a hard time about it!’
But Han Simin was not a human to be swayed by such things.
"Eyy. Cheating? I’m disappointed you’d say that. If my Father-in-law knew everything and turned a blind eye, then it’s not cheating."
The Emperor was speechless.
His shamelessness left even the Emperor speechless.
Well, he probably only pulled a trick of that magnitude, expecting this exact reaction.
"Oh. Princess. Hi."
"Hello, Viscount. I watched the tournament well."
"Don’t mention it. I fought hard for you, Princess. Can’t have you being looked down on anywhere. Haha."
"Hoho. Thank you."
Leaving the dumbfounded Emperor behind, Han Simin approached the princess and flirted.
A sweetness on a different dimension from the insincere words he threw at the Emperor!
"Congratulations."
"I was lucky. By the way, what’s the winner’s reward? A night with the princess would be nice."
"Oh my. For a married couple, that doesn’t necessarily have to be a reward..."
"Ahem."
The Emperor, intervening between the two exchanging jokes, changed the subject.
"The winner’s reward is the Symbol of the Empire."
"...What?"
"The sword your master enhanced. That is the reward."
Simin blinked.
As he spoke, the Emperor’s chin lifted.
’Yes, whether this damn bastard sells it or not, it’s a good item for now, so he should be happy.’
He could just feel superior watching that reaction.
But contrary to expectations, Han Simin’s expression crumpled endlessly.
"What is that? That weird reward?"
"...What?"
"No, if you’re going to give something, you should give something that can be sold immediately. Is it like the Ain Kingdom’s symbol with a ridiculously high level requirement or something?"
The Emperor was stunned.
"I guess it is. Sigh."
Han Simin scratched the back of his head vigorously.
"No, Your Majesty. That kind of thing is a reward for knights who stake their lives in the Empire forever, or for people to stay stuck in their rooms to admire. What’s the point of receiving a reward that won’t sell even if I try to sell it?"
The Emperor looked aghast.
The Princess covered her mouth.
At Han Simin’s reaction, which was stronger than expected, the princess and the Emperor were at a loss for words.
Was there anyone in the world who would react like this when told they were being entrusted with the Symbol of the Empire?
Of course, his words weren’t entirely without logic.
The Symbol of the Empire was literally the symbol of a nation.
Taking it and selling it was no different from selling the Empire itself, so it was correct to cherish it.
Which meant it had little meaning to someone who only wanted money.
"Then I shall change the reward."
’Still!’
Even if he offered it, seeing such a reaction naturally didn’t make him feel good.
When the Emperor spoke with a sullen expression, Han Simin waved his hands.
"Eyy. I was just saying. Why are you sulking over something like that? Actually, you probably bet it not knowing I would win, so this time I’ll be generous and let it slide. Since you promoted me to Viscount and will be giving a lot of support to my territory."
He never said that, but Simin quickly hit and ran.
"Then see you tomorrow. Bye to you, too, Princess."
"Goodbye."
He caused the illness, then offered the cure.
Getting angry would make the Emperor look petty, but just giving it to him left him trembling from the insults.
"Phew. I won’t live out my natural lifespan."
"Still, thanks to the Viscount, it seems Father is showing many expressions."
The problem was that most of those expressions were negative.
Feeling that dealing with Han Simin was harder than conquering the continent, the Emperor grabbed the back of his neck and headed to his bedroom.
* * *
BLARE!
The sound of trumpets rang through the Empire, and the appearance of the aligned knights was magnificent.
Although they belonged to different kingdoms and might face each other with swords someday, their appearance, standing as one facing the Emperor today, possessed a dignity that seemed unlikely to waver even if demons appeared right now!
At the very front of those numerous knights and nobles stood Han Simin.
First place in this year’s Continental Knight Tournament!
The best knight!
Although his physique seemed to have no connection to the sword, his stride was confident.
Han Simin, standing on the podium overlooking not only the Imperial Palace but also the Imperial Capital at a glance, had eyes only for the glittering famous sword in the Emperor’s hand!
’How much would it be?’
The level requirement would be too high to sell to users.
Even if he sold it right now, it would be hard to get a fair price.
That meant he had to sell it to an NPC, but would there be anyone who would buy it?
He’d be lucky if they didn’t report him for selling such a thing while wary of the Empire.
"Phew."
Ultimately, it meant it was a white elephant—too good to throw away, but useless to keep.
Of course, it wasn’t that there was absolutely no way to get a good price.
That was why he was accepting it without complaint.
"To the best knight of the continent who has brightened the Empire, I bestow the Symbol of the Empire and an encouraging bonus of one thousand gold coins."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
"Long live the Emperor!"
"Long live the Emperor!"
Amidst it all, the thousand gold coins coming into his hand were satisfying.
As expected of the Empire’s scale!
A winning prize of $100,000!
’I’ll feed this to Squeaker.’
He was thinking of slowly gathering money to prepare a mount.
So, he knelt politely and received the sword the Emperor held out.
"Thank you. I will use this well."
"Even if you try to sell it, it will be hard to get a proper price."
"That is a problem for me to figure out."
The Emperor remained silent.
"Don’t worry. I have never sold anything at a bargain price so far."
The Emperor glared.
"I don’t know who will buy it, but I will sell it very expensively, ripping them off for ten times more than the original price."
Whispered words exchanged back and forth.
Buried in the sound of cheers, Han Simin’s eyes looked straight at the Emperor as he finished speaking.
As if implying you would be the one to buy it.
"Please arrange a spot for me to say a few words of acceptance."
Having conveyed his will, Han Simin shamelessly demanded.
* * *
