Chapter 130
Chapter 130
I couldn’t stay in Seike for long.
The original purpose of coming here was to change the game board.
To avoid being helplessly dragged along on the board that Leilyranda Jackmüller had laid out.
So I tried to persuade Sian, who was somehow estimated to be eliminating demonic beasts… and ultimately succeeded in bringing Sian completely to our side.
“This feels so reassuring.”
“You may consider it an honor.”
“Yes, sir.”
[It really is fortunate…]
[I know, right.]
[But Irina, we really didn’t abandon Sian…]
[We really didn’t ㅠㅠ]
Well, I’ll learn all the truth later when I see the quests related to “System Error.”
[Hmph]
“I’m sad to see you go, sis.”
Ijin was beside himself with disappointment as he watched us on Vroom-Vroom.
If I had known he would welcome me this warmly, I would have visited more often.
“Sorry, it was a short time, but I really enjoyed it.”
“If you leave this time, will you not come back again?”
“…No. I’ll definitely come back soon.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
After I nodded vigorously, he finally stepped back a couple of paces from Vroom-Vroom with drooping eyes.
Only then did I sit in the driver’s seat with relief. Beside me, Sian sat in the middle with eyes full of suspicion, and next to him, Yen sat with a resigned expression.
Yen had meticulously fastened his seatbelt but was still anxious, firmly gripping the handle above.
“…He’s making such a fuss, but Vroom-Vroom’s ride is actually very comfortable.”
“…”
“Better than a carriage.”
And so I returned to the capital unnoticed, riding Vroom-Vroom.
There was a reason why they were so desperately searching for me in the capital.
The period I spent in the South looking for Sian Terezia was just over four days. During that time, it seemed a rather big incident had occurred at the border.
“Why are you only coming now!”
“What’s happening?”
“There are reports of unusual movements among the demonic beasts at the border.”
I urgently checked the report documents.
“…Are they all in an active state simultaneously?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Even Luka, who had left for Luwin not long ago, was now in the capital.
Judging by his heavy winter clothes, he too must have hurried down to the capital.
“The number of demonic beasts hasn’t changed much compared to before.”
“But… is this the first time so many have been activated at once?”
“Yes.”
Demonic beasts are usually divided into active and inactive states. This means they don’t always rampage around dripping with demonic energy.
The inactive state is when they wander around awkwardly, making strange moans like “uoooh.”
Those who began researching demonic beasts said that the inactive state is a kind of sleeping state.
When inactive demonic beasts become active, they rampage and attack like the demonic beasts typically encountered on battlefields.
And if their demonic energy becomes even more intense, they begin to rampage with incomparable strength than before, which is called the awakened state.
Usually, demonic beasts have different cycles, so the number of those in an active state was typically limited.
“Normally, if there are 100 demonic beasts in total, about 20-30 would be in an active state. These beasts take turns cycling between active and inactive states.”
The transition from inactive to active state happens in an instant. That’s why in every battlefield against demonic beasts, the most important thing to be careful of is the inactive beasts.
With so many demonic beasts already present, it’s overwhelming just to manage the ones currently active.
But the data reported to the imperial family through Isiel was quite shocking.
“But currently at the border, if there are 100 demonic beasts, 70-80 are in an active state.”
“…”
“Meanwhile, perhaps because of ‘that,’ the number of demonic beasts is also increasing exponentially.”
“…Is it possible for this to happen so suddenly?”
I murmured a question that was almost to myself.
Sian, standing next to me, took the documents from my hand. He scrutinized them for a long time and then frowned.
“Technology has really improved these days. Even things like this are possible now.”
“…!”
That’s right, now I have the best ally!
“Lord Sian…!”
“Yes?”
“Please help us!”
And he’s even a former hero.
I had Luka brief Sian on the current situation. Luka quickly and intuitively explained the current circumstances.
“Hmm…”
“Do you know anything about this situation?”
“The fact that they started activities simultaneously… would mean that the concentration of demonic energy in this zone is abnormally high.”
Sian flipped through the documents quickly and then let out a short exclamation, “Oh my.”
“If the demonic energy keeps rising like this, the demonic beasts will enter an awakened state. With so many awakening, that region might as well be lost to total annihilation.”
What? No!
“T-then what should we do?”
“…It’s not easy for the numbers to rise this sharply.”
To the puzzled Sian, I shared what I knew about Leilyranda.
Leilyranda’s abnormal behaviors, her half-crazed actions, and even the moment when she suddenly transformed into a demonic beast in front of me.
“…Interesting.”
Sian seemed to think for a moment and then shared what he knew.
“The princess… I think she has seen me before in the past.”
“What?”
“You’re aware that the princess, like me, has repeated regression, right?”
“Yes.”
“So, she met me during one of her regressions.”
Could that be when she learned about transforming into a demonic beast or controlling them?
“And back then… it seems I appeared in the world as a demonic beast.”
“That’s really surprising.”
Sian shrugged once and calmly concluded.
“It seems that Leilyranda Jackmüller knows more about demonic beasts than I do at present. Partly because the demonic beasts now are slightly different from the ones I faced.”
Ah…
“So this situation was most likely caused by the princess.”
As expected.
Hearing an answer that was close to confirmation from Sian, my anxiety grew. Cassis is currently with Leilyranda.
Leilyranda has continuously shown inexplicable hostility toward Cassis, and judging from the current situation, she possesses quite powerful strength.
Though Cassis wouldn’t just be passive, it was impossible not to worry.
“There’s no choice.”
In this situation, there wasn’t much I could do in the capital.
There was only one thing I needed to do in this situation.
“I have to go to the border.”
* * *
Cassis’s barracks were exactly as I had often seen through the video orb.
True to the name “barracks,” it couldn’t be as nice as a mansion, but it had everything necessary.
“This is more comfortable than I expected…”
After staying here for several months, traces of Cassis were evident everywhere.
There was a fountain pen on the desk showing signs of long use, and a well-worn notepad was visible.
There were also pills like the nutritional supplements that Luka had packed in a glass jar and sent with Roen when Cassis left for the border. Seeing that nearly half of them were gone, it was clear he had been taking them regularly.
Strangely, a lump formed in my throat.
It seemed like just yesterday when he came to find me in the South, barely surviving in a devastated state.
At that time, Cassis was living a life caught between living and never being able to die.
When I first followed Cassis to the North, I realized the seriousness of the situation upon seeing his utterly desolate office.
But now, I had been feeding him diligently, taking him around, feeding him some more, getting him fresh air, and occasionally taking him on outings to mountains and fields.
<I’d like some freshly baked bread.>
<Freshly baked scones would be good too. If possible, I’d like them topped with Seike’s grape jam.>
<Or slightly soil-dusted Sheriff berries would be nice, or even Sing Lemelle wine from 880 would be good.>
Once when I asked Cassis if there was anything he wanted to eat, saying I would tell Apple, he playfully listed all the things he wanted to eat with a smile.
Though there was still a long way to go, I felt relieved that he seemed much more at ease than before.
I stopped in front of a small three-shelf bookcase.
Most of the books on the shelves were tactical manuals or specialized books about demonic beasts or monsters, but between them, there were one or two novels or poetry collections. There was even a philosophy book.
Carefully taking one out, I could see marks from where the pages had been opened. They weren’t just books placed there for show.
He’s really doing well.
Because of Leilyranda, because of the pouring demonic beasts, each day was dangerous, and he must be struggling, but mentally, he seemed much better than when I first met him.
“That’s a relief.”
I whispered softly, as if muttering to the System.
“What is?”
The response wasn’t from the System’s chat window. I turned around in surprise and then smiled broadly at the familiar face I hadn’t seen in months.
“Lord Cassis!”
“What brings you here?”
Filled with happiness, I rushed to him, yet he remained unmoved, his face frozen and emotionless.
When I just looked around the barracks, he seemed to be doing well, but perhaps that wasn’t the case.
“Didn’t Lord Isiel tell you?”
There were many restrictions on going to the border.
First, I hadn’t received permission from the imperial family. That was expected.
According to Isiel, the current emperor was acting strangely, approving Leilyranda’s opinions unconditionally as if he were her puppet.
Because of that, the imperial family was half under the princess’s control, he said.
So… the reason none of my teleport gate requests were approved was because it was the princess’s will.
For that reason, I had no choice but to take out the teleport stone that I had been preciously keeping in my inventory window.
I planted the teleport stone near the Luwin Grand Duchy teleport gate stone and headed straight to the border area, asking Isiel and Isolini to inform Cassis in advance about my coming.
And now here I was.
Wondering if perhaps Cassis hadn’t received the news of my visit from Isiel, I asked, but Cassis shook his head.
“I mean, why did you come here, going to such lengths, even without imperial approval?”
“What?”
“You must know that this is a dangerous place.”
Cassis’s voice was quite urgent. He seemed to lack composure and appeared angry. It felt like he wanted to get angry but was barely restraining himself as he continued speaking.
“…”
“Go back.”
