I Will Become the Queen of the Enemy Country

Besti is the last shaman. That’s why she received harsh teachings from her grandmother and mother.

She learned so much that it is a wonder if a person could really remember it all.

She wondered if it would be useful, but there are actually people who need it.

“We need mana. Someone’s mana needs to overflow into Elise’s body,” Besti said strongly.

“Is it filling up what was taken away?”

“Filling up the amount that was taken away is not enough. Just as a drought cannot be quenched by dew, we need a downpour.”

Besti, who had raised both hands high, pulled her hands down sharply. Her hands were like rain.

Just then, the sound of rain hitting the window intensified.

“Do we need a magician?”

“Yes, we do.”

The atmosphere became heavy. There are no magicians in Tetris. Moreover, magicians with abundant mana are currently only in Bedrokka.

“As time goes by, more mana will be needed to wake Elise.”

Magicians with abundant mana won’t easily step forward. They don’t necessarily need to help others.

“I’d like a moment for the two of us to talk.”

At Karan’s words, Haltbin and Trish immediately stood up from their seats, but Rosh and Regina hesitated.

“Ah, I want to be with the lady.”

Regina mustered up her courage. Haltbin was surprised and looked back at Regina.

She was directly opposing Karan’s uncomfortable command, whether it was commendable or insane.

Haltbin expected a prohibition order to be issued.

“It would be better to leave.”

Haltbin’s prediction was completely off. Karan did not get angry.

Although his tone was not soft, Haltbin saw that he was showing as much kindness as he could give.

“I don’t want to say it twice, Haltbin.”

An order for Haltbin to take the people out immediately was issued. The temperature felt from Karan’s tone dropped moment by moment.

Next, it seemed like a sword would fly out instead of words.

“Let’s go.”

Haltbin grabbed Regina’s arm and pulled. Regina did not take her eyes off Elise until the end.

‘It’s annoying.’

The time delayed because of Regina was precious. Nevertheless, Karan did not get angry at Regina.

‘Elise cherishes her. Let’s endure.’

It was because of Elise.

Karan was careful not to damage the things that Elise cherished.

If Elise does not wake up, he will break everything, but because she might wake up.

“Okay, please take care. Please wake up my Miss. Please!”

Regina, holding onto the doorknob, repeatedly pleaded with Besti.

Thump. The door finally closed.

For a moment, the smell of rain and clean air came in through the gap in the door. Karan took a deep breath and spoke.

“Question. Is a magician or mana needed to wake Elise?”

Magician and mana, what’s the difference? Besti pondered and chose one.

“It’s mana.”

Karan lifted the corners of his mouth. He got up. His head seemed to touch the low ceiling.

Besti looked up at him, raising her head high.

“Here. Feel free to draw.”

Karan pointed to himself.

“Are you, Your Highness, a magician?”

“The last shaman seems to be blind. I am a warrior. Not a magician. A warrior who carries useless mana.”

Karan clearly revealed his identity.

****

Whether in Tetris or Bedrokka, when a child is born, a mana response test is conducted.

In Tetris, it was a test conducted with the desperate hope that even one magician would be born, and in Bedrokka, it was a test to filter out children without talent for magic.

Karan also took the test. And he made the Lysandro family stir.

[Ma, ma, mana is tremendous!]

The mana response stone, which is said to be as hard as a dragon’s tooth, was about to crack due to the amount of mana that Karan was born with and carried.

The administrator conducting the test was surprised and fell down, and the king could not hide his joy.

However, that joy did not last long. Karan could not use mana. Every time he tried to use magic, pain invaded.

Karan’s father tried to cure Karan through various routes, but it was in vain.

It took exactly 5 years, from him having a large amount of mana, to be defined as a good-for-nothing persimmon.

The child who couldn’t even speak properly was rolled around by the hands of adults and received a defective product judgment.

From then on, all support for Karan was cut off.

Despite his young age, Karan was exceptional and quickly learned what it meant to live a life that fell short of expectations.

He completely abandoned the small hope of becoming a magician like others.

Instead, he strived to become a stronger warrior.

In case it was revealed that Karan was defective, the king destroyed all documents related to Karan and killed those who had treated him and the administrators who had helped with his test.

The only ones in this world who knew that Karan possessed an enormous amount of mana were Haltbin, the king, and Karan himself.

‘Now there are four.’

Karan looked at Besti, who was preparing to transfer his mana to Elise.

Besti, who was surprised after hearing Karan’s story, quickly regained her composure.

“Unlike a magician pouring mana directly, transferring mana through a shaman requires preparation.”

Karan said he would wait as long as necessary. And he flipped the hourglass twelve times.

The sun, which had been half over the eastern mountain, was now above the ceiling full of holes.

In the meantime, the rain had stopped.

“It’s done, Your Highness. Please lie down here.”

Besti pointed to the floor next to the bed where Elise was lying. There was a blanket on the floor.

Nothing much had changed after two hours of busy movement.

Only the air in the room became more pungent as more incense was burned.

Although his trust in Besti had greatly decreased, Karan obediently lay down as there were no other options at the moment.

And he gathered his wrists together and reached out to Besti.

“Tie it.”

“Tie what?”

“Tie my arms. Unless you want to die.”

He said the process of extracting mana was the same as using magic. Enough pain was expected.

The pain Karan experienced was enough to paralyze his reason. Depending on the type of magic, the more mana required, the greater the pain.

He said she needed mana like a waterfall.

‘I might see the hem of the Grim Reaper.’

Karan lightly shook his hand, considering the pain that would come to him.

“Tie it.”

“Your Highness, if you think your body will be hurt, we can also stop.”

Besti was worried about Karan. Precisely, she hoped that he, who would have to fight Ragnaros in the future, would be safe.

Besti, who lived in the village closest to the gate, had seen countless people killed by monsters.

She saw the life ruined by the horrible corpses and the death of family and friends.

Besti hoped that people would no longer suffer. For that, someone had to defeat Ragnaros.

Karan was one of the candidates for that someone.

It would be a big problem if he got hurt through this ritual.

Karan said ‘extracting mana puts a strain on the body’ succinctly, but considering that he kept it a secret just by being revealed as a magician, there was a possibility that ‘strain’ was more than imagined.

“What you need to worry about is Elise. Don’t delay any more and tie it.”

Karan spoke stiffly. Besti tied his hand with a slow touch, while thinking that no good would come if she tried to stop him here.

“Tighter.”

Besti tightened it as hard as she could. Still not satisfied, Karan pulled his hand, grabbed the end of the knot with his teeth, and pulled.

After tying it so tightly that it seemed to cut off the blood flow, Karan lay down flat.

“Your Highness, I will start.”

Besti looked at Karan. He was wearing the most comfortable expression she had seen since she met him. It was hard to believe that he knew all about pain.

Besti murmured and brought the incense to Karan’s nose. The scent that induced sleep put Karan’s consciousness to sleep.

The ritual began.

****

A warm breeze tickled Elise’s cheeks.

Elise woke up from a long dream.

Ragnaros appeared in her dream, and it was furious when it saw Elise.

‘I think it said something important…’

For some reason, her memory was faint.

‘What did it say?’

She tried to recall, but only her consciousness became clearer. Then, a soft voice was heard.

“…The gate of Bedrokka has opened. His Highness David has been selected as the leader of the subjugation team, and he is forming a team.”

“Do you know what the boss monster is over there?”

It was Rosh’s voice. Elise was glad and wanted to talk to her, but she found she’s unable to open her mouth yet.

“There is no information at all. We are the first to go in, we have to go in to know what kind of monster is in the gate.”

It was Haltbin.

Elise agreed with Haltbin’s point.

There was almost no information about the gate that had been tightly closed for hundreds of years.

Wandering minstrels sang about the inside of the gate, but no stakeholders listened to their songs.

‘Fools.’

The gate depicted in the song of the minstrel was not all correct, but there were often meaningful cases.

Especially, it was very helpful to infer the characteristics of the boss monster.

‘One wind, two heats, three downpours, four earths. These lyrics exactly match the characteristics of the boss monster.’

The gate monster opening in Bedrokka this time was a monster that attacks with fire attributes.

And the boss monster of the third gate to be opened in Magnus specializes in water attribute attacks.

‘I need to contact Princess Illaria quickly.’

Many casualties occur in the conquest of the gate because they collide with their bodies to get information until they learn the method of destruction.

‘Many casualties will occur. I can’t just watch that.’

And there was no time for that. Less than a year was left until Ragnaros woke up.

If you pour a lot of energy into closing the gate in the meantime, you will be exhausted when you have to fight Ragnaros and will be annihilated.

‘I need to contact His Highness David too…’

It was when Elise was fidgeting.

“Ah, it seems that Miss Elise is about to wake up!”

After the excited voice of Leber, a shadow fell on her face.

Elise’s eyelashes fluttered. Elise tried to open her eyes.

“Miss Elise, are you conscious?”

A day has passed since she was conscious. Contrary to Besti’s words that the ritual was successful, Elise was asleep like a squirrel in hibernation.

There was no doubt that Besti’s ritual was wrong, and it was hard to dissuade Haltbin who said he would kill her.

[His Highness wouldn’t want it.]

Rosh, who finally dissuaded Haltbin, spoke. What does Karan want, Haltbin seriously pondered.

After being immersed in thought for a while, he quietly put down his sword and volunteered to stay by Elise’s side.

So Haltbin, Rosh, and Leber stayed up all night by Elise’s side.

They couldn’t even blink comfortably in case Elise regained consciousness while they were looking away.

“Ah…everyone…”

Finally, Elise regained consciousness. Haltbin and Leber hugged each other.

Rosh knelt down next to the bed and held Elise’s hand tightly.

“I’m glad, really glad.”

At Rosh’s sobbing, Elise realized that she had been asleep for quite a long time.

Leber, who pushed Haltbin away and approached Elise, urged her.

“How is your body? There is no external abnormality…”

“I’m fine. My head is clear enough that it feels strange. But where is His Highness?”

At Elise’s question, everyone shut their mouths.