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(264)
“It was amazing. I was so shocked because the mana didn’t move properly. You used the touch of electricity even though you barely had any practice. As expected, even our souls are special.”
Sereraji smiled contentedly.
It was a voice full of sincere praise.
Eric shook his head as if embarrassed.
“No. Rather, since long spells, seals, and reagents were part of my daily routine, situations where I had to make a seal for a long time were not that unfamiliar.”
Sereraji shook her head as if there was no need to be humble.
“Still, what is great is great. Accept my senior’s praise. You too are a seeker of truth, aren’t you?”
It was praise from a wizard who used two high-level spells while surrounded by Mana's Exiles and under a powerful sound absorption barrier.
These were words that would send any wizard into a state of ecstasy.
But Eric frowned for a moment as if he was thinking about it, then shook his head.
There was a slight regret about the road not taken on that beautiful face and a certainty that this was the right thing to do.
“No, sir. I am not a wizard, I am a member of parliament, and I am not looking for unchanging answers or truths, but for answers that change with each election season.”
Sereraji looked like he'd been hit once.
“But… … our souls are different. We are special. After all, the awl has no choice but to stick out of the pocket, and the eagle chick cannot live in the henhouse.”
Eric closed his clear blue eyes and shook his head gently.
“The wizard tried hard to be special and ended up being special. But I don’t want to be that special.”
“That’s not it. From the moment I was born-.”
“I think that the profession of a magician and the position of a court chief may be noble and special. However, I think that no matter what profession you are born with or what position you perform, the person itself is equally noble. Yes. There may be noble and base occupations, but there is no noble and base person.”
“… … .”
“I am a person chosen by those equally precious people. The imperial family and nobles may be the ones to draw the line, but I am a person who must value those outside that line just as much.”
Sereraji let out a soft sigh.
“They chose you?”
Eric nodded, smiling brightly.
“Yes, my lord.”
Sereraji asked coolly.
“Does that make sense?”
Does change make sense?
If you give your heart to something that is destined to disappear, change, and cease to exist, won't you end up being betrayed?
To the question of the sorcerer standing alone, the councilman standing with many people smiled and nodded.
“Yes, Wizard. I will change as well.”
“!”
This time it was Sereraji's and my turn to keep our mouths shut.
Eric said with confidence.
“The world changes and people change. I guess I have to change with them to be the same person.”
“If it were my brother… … I would have told them to think about leading, whether they change or not.”
Sereraji said with some hesitation.
Eric muttered, “Your little brother?” and looked back and forth between me and Sereraji.
“… … Excuse me, Your Highness.”
“If you had called me senior, I would have forgiven you.”
She tried to argue for a moment, but Eric brushed it off gently.
“Your Highness, it may be right to say so. However, I am not a noble, but a member of the House of Representatives. I am not a being born in heaven, but rather someone who was elected by the people. I must not forget that.”
Sereraji sighed in regret and smiled awkwardly.
Eric passed Sereraji and came up to me.
“Your Majesty Valencian.”
There was a desperation in his voice that he had no intention of hiding.
“Can you tell me what the heck is going on here?”
I slowly opened my mouth and finished my long explanation.
“… … I needed an excuse to capture Archduchess Helena. I thought that if I did this, Benoa would return.”
Eric looked as if the sky was falling down.
“How could you do this! You took so many people hostage? I, I, I thought that even Archduke Valencian valued human life. I was amazed at how hard he tried to feed the citizens of the capital during the crisis.”
I put ten sheets of iron on my face.
“There was no other way. This wasn’t just my task. There was also Archduchess Helena. Don’t worry. If Benoa doesn’t advance any further, Helena won’t attack either.”
“Are you planning to use me to attack both the military and civilians of the Republic? Wait, so you’re saying that Archduchess Helena is in a position to attack the camp right now!”
“I won’t confirm or deny it. I hate lies.”
Eric was clutching his head in confusion.
“Now, Benoa is not preparing to retreat. If this continues, Archduchess Helena will attack the soldiers of Langso and the Republic, and the aliens sent by His Majesty Valen will lay waste to the borders of the Republic!”
I felt a chill down my spine.
Isn't this it?
“… … That’s too bad.”
“Eww!”
The night was passing steadily.
* * *
Like any other border town, the village of Ager in the Republic of Langsowa was quiet.
Cows and sheep ran around in the pasture, watermills turned in the river, green barley sprouts swayed in the fields, and the village youth formed a vigilante group and went around chasing goblins.
Occasionally, when orcs appeared, one or two would be seriously injured or killed, but as soon as they were reported, soldiers from Langsowa would arrive and patrol the entire border.
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The village of Ager was very excited.
The council resolved to invade the empire, and a large army of 100,000 men gathered at the border.
“What in the world is going on?”
“I hope everyone returns safely.”
“They say the Imperial Knights are incredibly strong.”
Of course, not all of them passed through the village of Ager, but even a small number of scouts and wine merchants were enough to liven up the village.
The threat of orcs was also eliminated thanks to a group of soldiers who handled the Western Front taking up residence in the village.
The soldiers of Langso and the Republic were not violent mercenaries, so they did not commit any atrocities against the villagers.
The village of Ager was peaceful, and it seemed it would remain so.
Until a sudden evacuation order was issued late at night.
“A huge number of foreign objects are coming from the Empire. Evacuate the village immediately and head to the nearby city.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“What’s that all of a sudden… Nari. It’s the middle of winter now.”
“No. Aren’t there a lot of soldiers around here?”
The soldier beat his chest as if he was frustrated.
“We still don’t know exactly what’s going on. The Commander-in-Chief hasn’t given any orders to defend, but rather to advance!”
“!”
That day, dozens of Jeonseoung flew across the night sky.
As with any other Jessori, the Jessori of the Republic of Langsowa was bred to be stronger than its wild cousins, and the desperate officers even imbued the Jessori with divine powers.
The messengers cut through the wind faster than an arrow, and the councilors of Langsowa learned that chaos had broken out in the night.
“Prepare to evacuate immediately. Just take the money and jewelry.”
There were also those who took care of my own interests first.
“We must evacuate the residents immediately. Distribute them to nearby cities and prepare food supplies. Then, order General Benoa to dispose of the foreign objects.”
There were those who did their duty.
It was fortunate for the people of Langsowa that the nights were long in winter.
The orders for those who had done their duty reached the front before nightfall.
As expected, the lights in the conference tent at the campsite were still on.
* * *
“Now! Immediately! We must return!”
Daniel shouted loudly.
No matter how urgent the situation was, the reason he was able to shout in front of the commander-in-chief was because the mood had already turned to the point where quite a few lower-ranking officers were already preparing to withdraw.
“If this continues, the western border of our homeland will be completely destroyed! Then the Empire will start black propaganda that the Republic has abandoned its people, and the flag of republicanism and equality of all people will fall into the gutter!”
“I won’t even bother talking about the moral aspect. If you just think about the pros and cons, it’s right to return immediately.”
“Don’t even mention whether Senator Eric is a traitor or not. Does that matter now? We are the only ones who can protect the people now!”
In other words, it was said that even though a considerable number of lower-ranking officers were preparing to withdraw, the order to withdraw had not yet been given.
Benoit stroked his reddish-brown beard with his hand.
“I have heard your opinions. Let us consider them carefully and decide. Right now, we will completely separate the southern and western parts of the Empire, and show the continent the strength of the Republic system.”
Daniel kicked the chair up and roared as if the lid of his head had burst open.
“Commander-in-Chief! Shut up and give the order to withdraw! Now, damn it! How can you talk about the superiority of a system when people are dying? Is that our republic?”
The officers followed him and shouted.
“Did any of those congressmen threaten you, Commander-in-Chief? Saying that if you don’t do well in the military you’ll be discharged in a few years? Just say the word! I’ll stab those bastards to death.”
“No! What are you hesitating for! What!”
Benoit got up from his seat, twitching his moustache, and headed to his personal tent to cool his head for a moment.
Daniel and his junior officers ran wild, and some of them tried to bribe the officer in charge of the mission by forging orders, but were caught by the military police.
As the military police officer was about to be beaten by the enraged soldiers and thrown into the stable trough after he threatened to deal with him according to military law, Benoit was opening a bag inside his tent.
His strong hands trembled, and a small needle flew out of his bag and pricked his hand.
It was a magic tool bag that recognized its owner by blood.
Tsk tsk tsk.
The bag opened like a monster's mouth.
The inside of the tent was pitch black without a single candle, but the moment the bag was opened, it was filled with an eerie blue light.
Inside the bag was a magical tool made from processed crystals, which were fragments of Kuiz Az.
And Benoit bowed to the magic tool.
It was so brutal that it was impossible to believe that he was the kind of person who had been talking about a republican system until just now.
“Isn’t this enough? Please allow us to withdraw! Our people are dying!”
“… … .”
“Didn’t you do everything you were told? Why did you do this to me? Isn’t it enough that you took my son away like that?”
Woohoo!
The blue crystal glowed softly, and black fog flowed out from the crystal.
Swish.
The fog lay thick on the tent floor, slowly rising and gathering.
What remained where the fog had cleared was Inyoung, wearing a black robe and a hood over her head.
The sleeves were so straggly that the hands were invisible, and the hole in the face was filled with a thick darkness that made it impossible to see anything.
The hood was flat at the top like a pagoda, and was so tall that it would be hard to imagine that a human head was inside.
The hood was raised high enough to touch the ceiling of the tent.
“Did you say you did as you were told?”
It was a voice that seemed to ring directly in my head, and it was an energy that would make any living thing in this world shiver.
“Hey, forgive me.”
Benoit trembled on the spot, unable to even think of saying anything.
The sturdy, middle-aged soldier's pupils contracted, and tears soon began to stream down his face.
It was a great feat just to not wet my pants.
“How can you say you did as you were told when you didn’t cause any damage to the empire?”
“!”
“Didn’t you tell me to soak the ground with the blood of the innocent?”
Benoah did not give the order to advance until dawn that day.