Overlord of Blood and Iron

It was a strange thing to say.

He smelled like someone that can see the future? 

The nuance of this was strange enough to grab Kang Chul-In’s attention. He knew the future? Did she guess the fact that Kang Chul-In had returned to the past too?

... There was no way.

“The smell of a fortune-teller… I don’t have any thoughts to set up a place anywhere.”

Kang Chul-In spoke calmly.

“I also am not interested in things like tarot cards, or crystal balls. You’ve got the wrong man here.”

“No, I haven’t.”

“What do you mean then.”

“I can smell a the ability of a fortune-teller, or more precisely one who can somehow foresee the future with his ability.”

Thankfully, Skadi didn’t seem to know the truth. 

“I didn’t think that the Lord that was ranked 5th would be one that was this deep into the occult. I thought you were a mage?”

“Magic and Occult has a very close relationship.”

“Is that so?”

“Of course, most mages tend to want to disagree with this statement.

“Well… that’s your problem, not mine.”

Kang Chul-In turned his head around. It wasn’t interesting for him to talk about magic or occults. 

And… Skadi was going to die soon anyway.

She had died exactly three days after she had risen to the rank of Overlord. Just like Baruk Al Yusuf, she was a dead man standing.

“I don’t want to talk to you anymore. Go away from my table.”

Kang Chul-In said.

It made sense.

What would he gain from talking to a person he knew was already going to die anyway? After 3 days, she wouldn’t be here.

“No, wait a minute.”

Skadi held on to Kang Chul-In.

“What else do you have to say? If it’s about this fortune-telling or occult nonsense…”

“You know about it.”

“About what.”

“The future that’s coming. Even if you say no, you cannot trick my eyes. You have the same aura that comes from those that can see the future. Though your powers may not be powerful, it should be enough for you to look into the future by a few days…”

And what Skadi said afterward was enough to pique Kang Chul-In’s interest.

“Meaning… that you probably know that I’m going to die soon.”

Actually, it more than piqued his interest. She had completely surprised Kang Chul-In.

T-This woman… she knew she was going to die?

It was something new.

A person who knew that she was going to die.

“Sometimes, a little learning isn’t good at all. What, are you planning to suicide or something?”

Though Kang Chul-In was astonished, he didn’t show it outwardly. An experienced Lord shouldn’t show emotional changes so easily.

“You don’t seem to trust me.”

“Maybe I’ll trust you if you say something that makes sense.”

“And isn’t it just you trying to hide the fact that you can also see the future?”

“Haha!”

Kang Chul-In laughed.

“Skadi… Skadi Andvari.”

And for the first time, Kang Chul-In turned his head to face Skadi.

Lush black hair.

Purple eyes.

Jade white skin.

Light pink lips.

Skadi seemed more like an innocent girl than a Lord.

“If you’re going to talk about this ridiculous nonsense, go somewhere else to preach.”

It was the truth that he knew the future. Because he was a returner.

But predicting it?

If he had the power to foresee the future, he wouldn’t have been betrayed by Aleister in the first place. Same for his head being chopped off and his heart being stabbed by that damned Rothschild.

“B-But…”

“I thought I told you already.”

Kang Chul-In cut off Skadi’s words.

“I don’t want to talk about this anymore.”

“...You’re very adamant about this.”

“Well, of course. Why do I need to talk to someone that has no worth talking to?”

Though Kang Chul-In wasn’t sure how Skadi could foresee her own death, he wasn’t planning to change the future by saving her.

Skadi ‘had’ to die.

The Esmerelda territory that she controlled was an absolutely key strategic point that lied between the Baldur Area, and the Gulveig Area.

Once Skadi died, her territory would become the area where a lot of terrible fights would take place. The never-ending fights between Alex Rothschild and Albrecht Vilhelm to take control over this strategic checkpoint.

But the person who would reap benefits from this would be Kang Chul-In.

The reason Ishtar was able to maintain a three-way power balance was through the distrust between Rothschild and Albrecht, after the death of Skadi.

“...Is that so.”

Skadi’s face darkened.

“My fate doesn’t change. My death.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I’m sure you saw an unavoidable death for me. I thought maybe it would be different in the eyes of another person that could see the future, but… I guess it’s the same.”

At this point, even the cold Kang Chul-In was speechless. He didn’t have the powers of foreseeing the future, yet he was being treated like someone that did.

“No matter how much I shuffle the cards, how I like into the crystal ball… The only thing I see is death. This is the first time I felt such a strong certainty about the future. Maybe… I’ll be able to live another 3 days. No matter what, I’ll probably die within that time. If another foreseer, like you felt the same…”

Skadi seemed as if she was going to cry at any moment.

“It seems that destiny cannot be overwritten, huh.”

“That depends on how someone sees it.”

“That’s right, I spoke foolishly.”

“Go now.”

Kang Chul-In said once more.

It was a meaningless conversation.

Though he didn’t understand why Skadi thought he had an ability to see the future, Kang Chul-In didn’t have the slightest intention to save her or do something for her.

Though people may see he was being terrible, or ruthless, there was nothing worse than having worthless sympathy.

If Kang Chul-In helped Skadi, he would be causing a huge problem.

And the price for that…

Would be something that Kang Chul-In, and his citizens would have to pay for.

“I mean… I’m sure you don’t have much to say… For someone who’s going to die soon.”

Bitterly, Skadi rose from the table. It meant that she would finally stop bothering him.

“Thanks for your precious time. Goodbye.”

Answering politely, Skadi rose from the table and started to walk away. 

“Don’t tell me…”

Skadi suddenly stopped and turned to face Kang Chul-In with her purple eyes. Then…

“Ah, I see now.”

She spoke something that he didn’t understand.

“You… really weren’t able to foresee the future. Sorry, it seems like I was unable to tell the truth.”

Saying this, Skadi’s face turned quite ominous.

“Near you… Is a very powerful fortune-teller and foreseer.”

“......!”

“They’re too powerful, that they weren’t able to see their own abilities properly. How strong were they that their aura left their mark even on you…. Sigh…”

Skadi sighed in astonishment.

“Lord Kang Chul-In… There’s an existence near you with an incomparably powerful fortune-telling ability. Please take care of that person well. A strong ability to foresee the future normally means a shorter lifespan. If you aren’t able to control them well, that person will definitely live a short life. The person that lives near you with such an ability…  I hope that they’re able to live a happy life, as a fellow fortune-teller.”

Saying this, Skadi got further and further away from Kang Chul-In. Her footsteps seemed incomparably lonely.

“...What a weird woman.”

Shaking his head, Kang Chul-In muttered.

------

After the ‘weird’ conversation with Skadi, the ball went on for another 2 hours.

Erasing Skadi’s words from his brain, Kang Chul-In roamed around the Hall. 

There was someone around him that possessed an incomparably powerful fortune-telling ability?

...Who?

Was it Lucia? Alfred? Timothy? Kwak-Jung? Nilus?

No matter how he thought about it, there was no-one around him that would fit this description. James, Michael and Podolski were also people that seemed far away from the fortune-telling. 

He also knew that it wasn’t his daughter, Arshelly. If it were Arshelly, there would have been at least a small hint when he first saw her. 

And thanks to this, Kang Chul-In was able to cleanly erase this memory from his brain, and focus on his work(?).

But…

“Will you dance with me?”

“E-Excuse me… will you…”

Unluckily, Kang Chul-In’s main ‘job’ was to run away from the female Lords that asked him for his hand in dancing. That was how much the merit of being the 1st ranked Lord was.

“Milord… you look tired…”

“I am tired.”

In the worry-filled words of Lucia, Kang Chul-In nodded. Even for him, who never said that he was tired had to admit that he really was sick of this problem with never-ending requests from women.

“Mr. Dorian seems to be enjoying himself though.”

Lucia pointed at Dorian.

“...That’s not enjoying himself.”

Dorian was caught by a female Lord Margarita who was 190cm and had to dance with her forcefully. 

“Huu… Mr. Chul-In truly is an amazing person.”

Lee Chae-rin said, shaking her head.

“Like what Ms. Lucia said, you should rest your body if you’re tired. After this, maybe you should go back to earth and relax. I’m sure your mother also misses you after all this time.”

“Is that so…”

“If not for Arshelly going in and out of Earth and Pangaea everyday I don’t know what would have happened.”

Kang Chul-In felt something touching his heart while listening to Lee Chae-rin’s words.

I almost made a mistake again.

In the past, he was unable to take care of his mother well, since he was so caught up and crazy with his work.

“Alright. I’ll rest for maybe 3 days after the end of the Lord Meetings.”

It was at that moment.

-The auction will be held soon!

Akan signaled the end of the ball. Now, it was time for the auction, where Lords were able to exchange and sell items.

-----

It was quite a boring time.

Though quite a lot of items were placed on auction, none of them were able to catch Kang Chul-In’s attention. 

No, there was no way that there could be such an item.

All the good, powerful items were kept by the Lords to use. 

Though there were some Lords selling this item since they needed some quick cash, how good could the items be at this point, where all the Lords were at a considerably lower level than they would be in a few years.

It’s almost time to show that present to Rothschild.

Just as the auction was finishing off, Kang Chul-In prepared to show his gift to Rothschild.

In his previous life, Rothschild had gone around the ball with his fake smile, and tried his best to warm up as many Lords as he could.

And even in this life, that effort had paid off, as Rothschild currently sat next to Baruk Al Yusuf, discussing something.

Seems like you’ve used that glib tongue of yours, Rothschild.

Looking at the crowd of Lords, Kang Chul-In could tell that some of them showed hostility to him. 

But Kang Chul-In didn’t care about that.

Pzzt, Pzzt!

Kang Chul-In brought out a black chest from his inventory.

“Oh, you’re going to sell something too?”

Dorian who had just bought a lot of items due to his curiosity, asked.

“Can you show me first? I’ll buy it off of you if I think it’s alright.”

“I didn’t bring this for you to buy this, Dorian.”

“Wow… so mean. Does it get damaged if you show me just once? And also, I have quite a lot of money.”

It was true.

Since Dorian went around dungeons all around Pangaea as he pleased, he had plenty of gold in his pocket. Dorian was kind of like the final evolution of an adventurer.

“Stop annoying me, and go away.”

“Wow, that’s cheap man.”

“I’ll give it to you for free if no-one bids for it. There’s a high chance that it’s not going to get sold anyway.”

“Really?”

“Of course.”

“Kya~ As expected of my friend, Kang Chul-In. I like that integrity.”

Not knowing what it was, Dorian laughed happily. Without knowing what was even inside the chest.

Let’s see if the other Lords trust you after they see this, Rothschild.

Kang Chul-In was extremely confident in this, and he quickly moved up to show his item for the auction.

“Kang Chul-In seems like he’s going to sell something!”

“An item from 1st place… don’t you think it’s going to be incredibly expensive?”

“I can’t imagine what he’s going to put up for auction.”

The Lords spoke, with anticipation. That was how much attention Kang Chul-In was getting in the First Lord meetings.

Bang!

Kang Chul-In placed the black chest on top of the auction stand. It was in order to gain the attention of the crowd.

“I’ll start with 1000 gold.”

And…

Click!

The chest opened.

“What in the world…”

“W-What the hell!”

The Lords shouted in panic, and shock.

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