30 Years Have Passed Since the Prologue

35 – 8. Night of Counting Stars (9)

*

“Oh Lord, use me as an instrument of your peace!!”

“Don’t talk nonsense, focus!!”

Eugene continued to shoot down the elves with eyes ablaze.

Seeing the burst of white light shimmering on the edge of his sword with each strike, it seemed his ‘deity’ was rather pleased with his prayers.

Yet no matter how exceptional they were, they were still students. Being more skilled in terms of grades didn’t equate to the sheer quality of experience.

“We’re falling behind! We’re falling behind!!”

“I know! Hold on!”

Oswald and Yuri gritted their teeth and relentlessly swung their hands. The attacks were consistently blocked, and the advancing army, in their sturdy defenses, showed no signs of being penetrated.

They were soldiers who had lived through the era of demon wars. Barely four years had passed since the onset of peace, and although they might have slackened a bit, they still remembered their active duty days.

In essence, facing elite troops like them was excessive for the 21st-century individuals with almost no combat experience who had been reincarnated into this world.

If their aim had been slaughter from the start, the battle would have ended long ago. The deck commander chuckled and shouted,

“Students? It’s about time you put your weapons down.”

“When is Ivan coming?!”

As Yuri’s tearful cries grew sharper, the deck began to tremble.

-Creak…!

“What…?!”

“To the helm! Get to the helm! What’s happening?! Man the stations!”

“What about the captain?!”

From beneath the deck, a bone-chilling, reverberating sound echoed, and a massive impact struck the deck as if the hull had exploded.

Soldiers and the reincarnated ones alike staggered or fell, tumbling to the floor helplessly.

“What is this?”

“Is this Ivan’s doing…?”

Oswald, balancing as he stepped on the floor, suddenly raised his head.

A tremendous magical power… No, a flow of magic infused with advanced techniques was visible.

Emerald-green magical power surged into the cabin like a torrent. Bang, kwang. The thunderous sound drew closer.

“No, it’s not Ivan. This is…”

Oswald narrowed his eyes. Soon, dense magical power gathered on the deck.

“Take cover!”

-Kwaaah!

Throwing Eugene, whose eyes were dazzled by the bravery buff, Glass grabbed the back of Oswald’s neck and leaped backward. A large crack appeared in the middle of the deck, and something bounced out.

The object that bounced spun in the air, turning upside down, and landed next to the possessed individuals. It was a neatly executed fall, as if measured.

“Ivan!”

“Hmm.”

A pungent odor emanated from Ivan’s body. He calmly faced the front, axe in hand.

“Excellent! Cultivating such determination in a world preserved by peace!”

“Be, Beolgreen…?!”

The eyes of the sailors widened as if they were about to pop out. In response to their reaction, Ivan squinted his eyes. What, even fellow elves were deceived?

Why bother? If the Kalyon Guild wanted to support Alexander on a national level, there was no need to attempt such a needless and clandestine method.

“Uh, Ivan. Could you please explain what’s going on here…?”

Oswald looked up at the floating Beolgreen with a perplexed expression.

As an elf, he had met Beolgreen a few times. A tremendous… truly overwhelming magician.

Now, such a being was floating above their heads, preparing an attack spell.

“A little short.”

“Almost succeeded.”

Beolgreen looked down at Ivan with a face mixed with laughter. He had lost one arm. August would be sorry about that. He spoke with a bitter smile.

“It was unexpected that you appeared, but well… it seems I stimulated Princess Elizabeth more than I thought. I planned to sneak away in a more friendly situation.”

Raising the remaining hand, the emerald-green magical power surged intensely. Ivan prepared to throw the axe, watching the scene intently.

If even one possessed individual could attract Beolgreen’s attention, they could turn the tide.

But the battlefield and the situation were not favorable.

“We’ll meet again later. The situation isn’t good now.”

“Beolgreen.”

“How much do you know about Crown Prince Alexander? Are you loyal to your sovereign despite knowing ‘that’?”

“…What?”

Beolgreen waved his hand, and a powerful magic coalesced into a hand shape, lifting the carriage that had been stuck in a corner of the deck.

Inside the carriage, there was commotion and screams. Soon, with a thud, the door opened.

“Come out.”

“W-What is all this commotion for…! We came for the elixir…”

“Hush. Quiet.”

Beolgreen swung his remaining arm. The middle-aged man who had stuck his head out of the carriage, drawn by the magic, floated in the air.

“As expected, it’s you who didn’t come. What’s your name?”

“I, Nikolai Sllapanovo Ryurik…! I, I was entrusted with the plenipotentiary of the foreign ministry of this country! You can’t harm me!”

“Oh, you’re speaking such words against yourself. What’s your purpose?”

Beolgreen chuckled and approached the man slowly.

He placed his right hand over the man’s head and whispered as if speaking softly.

“Tell me. Where is Crown Prince Alexander right now?”

Under his hand, emerald-green magic surged. Like a snake, the magic crept into the man’s ears and eyes.

The man’s expression gradually disappeared from his face. He mumbled with a blank face.

“He is waiting at the foreign ministry right now…”

“You knew nothing. It was a waste of time.”

With a crunching sound, the man’s head drooped. Beolgreen, who threw the man like throwing away trash, descended slowly onto the deck.

“What is all this? Beolgreen, what were you planning?”

Ivan narrowed his eyes.

Stimulating Elizaveta to make contact with Alexander, naturally, he thought Kallion was trying to interfere in the internal affairs, supporting Crown Prince Alexander.

It was an impossible situation to speculate anything else.

But Beolgreen suddenly killed the envoy. And on top of that, he asked about Crown Prince Alexander’s location?

“The Crown Prince in this city is not himself. Well… There are plenty of stories left between us, but it’s hard to bring them up.”

Beolgreen pursed his lips several times, then frowned.

“Confidential. If you couldn’t figure it out yourself, I can’t tell you the story. Unfortunately, wizards are not known for making things easy.”

“Why didn’t you say so from the beginning? If you didn’t intend to join forces with Alexander and the elixir, you should have told us in advance…”

“Then I couldn’t confirm your qualifications. I wouldn’t know where you stand. I thought you were dead. It was necessary.”

Beolgrin shrugged his shoulders. His magical power was slowly diminishing, fading away.

“There isn’t much time left. Someday, you will come to Kalion’s tower. Perhaps you won’t be able to confront me directly, but… Ivan, our vanguard. You are qualified.”

“What do you mean by qualified?”

“The qualification to turn the last page of truth. The qualification to gaze upon the grips on this game board. Oh, damn it.”

Gold streaks appeared on Beolgrin’s face, and he touched his face, exhaling heavily.

“It’s too cruel not to say even this much. Wizards are generally quite talkative.”

“What should I do?”

“Prepare. This game board seems to be a university beneath our feet. Many threads are spread out below.”

“Prepare…?”

“Those fellows down there aren’t bad, but their words aren’t prepared from the beginning. Suddenly appearing on the chessboard… Yes, let’s call them playing cards. So pay attention to the chess pieces as well. Take good care of my daughter.”

Beolgrin’s face gradually faded. Just before he completely disappeared, he looked straight at Ivan and grinned.

Although no sound could be heard, Ivan reflexively read Beolgrin’s lips with lip-reading technique.

“Maximilian may not be gone.”

With a small laugh, Beolgrin’s magical power completely faded away.

The commotion on the deck did not reach the citizens of Prichenkaya. It seemed to float silently in the sky, as usual.

Ivan and the possessed ones received a farewell from the terrified captain and could descend to the ground. With the overturned carriage left in a corner, Ivan scanned the possessed ones.

A game board.

Like cards on a chessboard. Can it be accepted as a sign that a game different from the rules is mixed in?

What story do they need? What story was prepared, and what flow is being induced?

Whose hands are on the game board?

God?

Ivan looked at Eugene, who could use divine magic. Perhaps because the [Courage Granting] buff had ended, Eugene had a very tired face, making a foolish expression.

“Divine spell slots. Do you still have them?”

“Yes? Oh, yes.”

“Hmm.”

Unlike magic, divine spells are a kind of blessing given directly by the gods. It is a spell that unfolds using the human body as a conduit, acting on behalf of the will of the gods.

In other words, the term “divine spell slots” means nothing more than Eugene’s ‘status window’ has received the approval of the gods.

No, perhaps the gods… the personality gods of this damn pre-modern fantasy world may have created a dialogue interface.

If you consider the detailed implementation, like the quest window and such.

“Today was a tough day. Let’s rest and see each other tomorrow.”

“Oh, sir. Is it really going to end like this?”

“Tomorrow.”

Ivan scanned the departing subordinates once and turned his back.

It was not appropriate to bring them to the reporting session. Especially in a case like this, they should not get involved any further.

If it were just a matter entangled in the struggle between the princess and the prince, it would be better to clearly choose a side and win.

But since the prince in Fricenca was not himself, this case had surpassed the level that a student could handle.

Especially young kids in their fourth year of possession.

It’s been a few years.

Ivan walked through the night streets, lost in thought.

Recalling the last appearance of Colonel Kirilovna, Ivan headed to the Intelligence Headquarters.

It was time to face the princess.

*