Chapter 43

2 hours ago.

"Hey, let's go drink now."

- Really?

"Yeah."

- Oh!

Kairos was incredibly excited—though the expression might be a bit off, if any lewd thoughts came to mind, he would lose—when Auto allowed his body to be taken over.

- Hehehe! Brat! You're finally keeping your promise! Hehehehe! Yeah! That's right! How could you forget a favor? If you received my favor, you should naturally repay it!

"What favor?"

- Come on! Hurry up! Your body!

"Yeah."

Auto readily let Kairos take control of his body.

It wasn't difficult to give up his body.

As soon as Auto opened his heart, Kairos's soul naturally took over the body, and Auto's soul settled into the iron mace.

'Phew. How did you endure for hundreds of years in a place like this?'

The inside of the iron mace was a space of absolute nothingness.

Nothing existed, and nothing could be seen.

It was just a void where his soul existed alone...

"Hehehe... Do you understand now? How much I suffered?"

'Yeah.'

"Since you understand, remain silent and behave until I finish drinking."

'Whatever.'

As soon as Kairos took control of Auto's body, he immediately left the residence.

"Master, where are you going?"

The head of the royal guard blocked Kairos's path.

"I'm going to drink."

"Excuse me...?"

"Are you deaf? I said I'm going to drink."

"If you want to drink, you can tell the servants, and they will provide you with as much as you want..."

"What?"

Kairos glared.

"Are you telling me to lock myself in this small room and drink alone like a fool?"

"Well, that's not what I meant..."

"Take me to the city immediately! After all, drinking is best enjoyed in a lively atmosphere!"

"Master, it's dangerous now. The security outside is..."

"Damn it!"

Kairos shouted.

"How can you protect me, you punks!"

"Excuse me...?"

"No one can protect me in this world! Only I can protect myself!"

"..."

"Can't you take me there?"

The head of the royal guard was very confused by the sudden 180-degree change in Auto—Kairos.

'What's going on? Why has his tone changed? And why does he refer to himself as 'I' when he's not the emperor?'

At that moment.

"Sir, Head of the Royal Guard."

Camille whispered to the head of the royal guard.

"There's a reason, so don't be alarmed and just go along with it."

"What do you mean?"

"I'll explain later."

"Um... but there are many people targeting Master..."

"This isn't a situation where we can talk him out of it. Please bear with it for just one night. I beg you."

"If Sir Camille says so... I will do as you ask."

In the end, the head of the royal guard took Kairos to the city of Kuntachi.

To the most crowded place...

* * *

Kairos, who had gone to the city and found a spot at an outdoor bar, ordered over ten dishes and drank the strongest alcohol by the bottle, indulging in a wild drinking spree.

"Ughhhhhh!!! This is great!!!"

Kairos was incredibly happy to have alcohol and food after so long—after hundreds of years.

Having been trapped in the iron mace for hundreds of years, spending lonely and desolate times in a space of nothingness, he was deeply moved by the delicious alcohol and food he hadn't tasted in a long time.

On the other hand, Auto was worried.

- Hey, you crazy bastard!

Auto cursed at Kairos.

- Stop drinking so much! You're already on your fifth bottle!

'Be quiet! It's just five bottles!'

- What...?

'I've never been drunk! In my prime, I drank over a hundred bottles for three days and nights without stopping!'

- Are you crazy? That's my body!

'Promise is a promise! I'll give it back after I've had my fun, so stop complaining!'

Kairos enjoyed the alcohol and food to his heart's content, regardless of what Auto said.

"I'll pay for all the drinks here today! Everyone, eat and drink to your heart's content!"

He was so happy that he even treated the other customers in the bar.

Despite having no money.

"Hey! Don't just stand there stiffly, come over and have a drink! Wasn't your name Camille? Have a drink with me! You must be tired from taking care of that brat! Hahaha~!"

Kairos even dragged the royal guards and Camille into the drinking spree, pouring them each a drink.

'Wow. This guy is a total social butterfly.'

Auto was amazed at Kairos's behavior.

Kairos was a typical party atmosphere maker.

Watching him easily mingle with people he had never met before and drink enthusiastically, Auto felt a sense of admiration.

'Well, with that level of charisma, it's no wonder he became emperor. An emperor needs many followers, after all.'

As the party atmosphere, which was almost like a festival, reached its peak...

A middle-aged man and a group of swordsmen appeared and ruined the mood.

"I'm sorry, but you cannot see Master Auto right now. Please leave."

"What?"

Kuzo glared at the head of the royal guard.

"Are you daring to block my path?"

"It's by the order of His Highness the Duke."

"Ha!"

Kuzo looked incredulous.

"Are you saying I'm going to openly kill him?"

"Of course not, but meeting him like this seems inappropriate. Please leave today. We can arrange a proper meeting later..."

Crack!

Kuzo's palm slapped the head of the royal guard's cheek.

"......!"

"......!"

"......!"

The good atmosphere froze instantly.

Kuzo was a candidate for the next king of Kuntachi.

For him to slap the current king's head of the royal guard was a serious matter.

"...Do you know what you've just done?"

A sinister smile appeared on the head of the royal guard's lips.

He was Conrad's closest confidant and a trusted aide.

Kuzo's actions were tantamount to openly ignoring King Conrad.

"That... That's..."

Kuzo finally came to his senses and realized the severity of the situation.

Losing his composure due to the thought of being deprived of the successor position by Auto was the root of the problem.

Despite avoiding trouble and being extremely cautious for decades...

'Damn it...'

At that moment.

"How dare you... ruin my long-awaited drinking session...?"

Kairos slowly stood up and started to approach Kuzo.

* * *

"Kneel."

Kairos ordered Kuzo.

"If you beg for forgiveness, I will be lenient."

"What...?"

Kuzo was taken aback.

"This insolent brat... daring to disrespect an elder of the family..."

That's as far as he got.

Crack!

Kairos's hand grabbed Kuzo's face.

"Ugh!"

"I don't repeat myself."

"Ughhhh!"

"The crime of ruining my mood is great."

Kairos said this and then grabbed Kuzo's hair, slamming his face into the ground.

Crack!

A terrifying sound echoed, and the floor was stained with bright red blood.

"Master!"

"How dare you!"

Kuzo's bodyguards rushed forward.

But Conrad's royal guards did not allow them to rescue Kuzo.

"This is a matter between the direct descendants of the Kuntachi family. No one should interfere."

Meanwhile.

"How dare you."

"Ouch!"

"Me."

"Aaaaah!"

"Interrupt my fun?"

"Ugh!"

Kairos mercilessly beat Kuzo.

"Y-You...!!!"

Kuzo, even in the midst of this, tried to draw his sword and counterattack Kairos, but it was futile.

Kairos was an absolute powerhouse who had dominated an era in the past.

Even with Auto's body, his class was incomparable.

"What? Trying to resist?"

"Ugh!"

"Let me warn you."

Kairos growled, still holding Kuzo's hair.

"Never act insolently in front of me again."

At that moment.

"Wh-What?!"

Kuzo, who made eye contact with Kairos, saw a hallucination.

It was like a vision of hell.

A battlefield after a war.

Black crows flew in flocks in the sky, which was red with the setting sun.

Piles of corpses and a sea of blood.

In the middle of it all, a one-eyed demon with a blood-dripping iron mace stood.

The demon smiled like a devil at Kuzo.

As if to say, "Next is your turn..."

"This is your final warning. If you ever interrupt my fun again... I will rip off your arms and legs with my bare hands and throw them away. Do you understand?"

"Y-Yes! Yes! Aaaah... Aaaaaah!"

"Scared, are you?"

Kairos chuckled and threw Kuzo away as if he were an object.

"Clean this up."

He then turned to Kuzo's bodyguards and walked back to his seat.

"Did everyone get a good show?"

Kairos shouted at the frozen crowd.

"If you enjoyed it, let's keep going! We'll drink all night! Let's die together! Until our noses are crooked! Hahaha!"

"Ooooh!"

"One shot!"

Kairos downed the alcohol in one go and then shook an empty, enormous glass upside down over his head.

Camille, watching Kairos, closed his eyes and shook his head.

"...This is the worst of the worst."

Dealing with Auto alone was already a challenge, but the thought of also having to clean up after Kairos made Camille want to quit.

* * *

The next afternoon.

"Ugh... Ugh... My head... Ughhh... I'm dying... Ughhhh..."

Auto was in immense pain as soon as he woke up.

Because Kairos had partied until 5 AM, the hangover was all Auto's.

"Ah, still drunk... Uuuuugh!"

He was so bad that he vomited on the floor as soon as he woke up.

"Are you okay?"

Camille brought honey water and handed it to Auto.

"Am I okay? Ugh... I can still taste the alcohol in the honey water..."

"..."

"Uuuuuugh!"

While Auto was suffering from the hangover.

Bang!

Conrad burst into the room, almost breaking the door.

"Auto, you brat! Where are you!"

Conrad, with a red, angry face, bellowed and searched for Auto.

"Are you not here, you brat! Auto!"

"U-Um... I'm... here... Uuuuugh!"

"..."

"Ughhh..."

Auto, in front of Conrad, looked very disheveled.

"S-Sorry... Ugh..."

"..."

"Because I drank too much last night..."

"Auto, you brat."

Conrad glared at Auto with a terrifying look.

"Is it true that you beat up Kuzo last night?"

"Um... W-Well, I..."

Auto, thinking he was in trouble, hesitated to answer.

'This crazy guy caused an accident, and now my reputation is taking a hit. Sigh.'

At that moment.

"Did I not ask you? Did you beat up Kuzo last night? Answer me!"

"W-Well, it seems that way... But I drank too much... I don't remember clearly..."

Auto, bracing for a reprimand, closed his eyes and answered.

Because of the sensitive situation regarding the successor, he didn't want to stir up trouble.

However.

"Well done."

"Excuse me...?"

"Very well done!"

"......?"

"Hahaha! Just like my grandson! Beating up that Kuzo! Well done! Very well done! Hahaha~!!!"

What?

Why is he happy?