Episode 51. His Existence Becomes Known on the Continent (2)
“Could it be…?”
White hair.
White hair was not a common hair color among young people, except for the elderly.
It could have been a coincidence if it was just the hair color, but the eye color of the man she encountered in her dreams also matched as gray.
The dreams she had over and over again.
The moments when, for some reason, a part of her heart tingled every time she woke up from those dreams.
The nostalgic sensation she had forgotten since she swore to live as the ruler of Serpina’s army, carrying on the blood of Aingardt.
The person from her dreams… appeared in the real world?
Naturally, she couldn’t help but be excited, and the one to calm her down was Jena, the state advisor of Serpina’s army, standing beside her.
“Master. Calm down!”
“…….”
At Jena’s urging, Serpina finally regained her composure and released Julian’s hand.
“Cough…cough.”
After a small sigh, Serpina regained her composure and asked.
“…So, are you claiming that man summoned a giant rock from the sky?”
“Yes, it’s true, Master…”
Julian was still trembling as if he couldn’t believe it himself.
“That man… was not ordinary. It was as if a god descended to the earth. As soon as that man stretched out his hand and shouted… from the sky… the rock fell…!!”
“……Huh.”
Serpina sighed shortly.
It was ridiculous enough that the soldiers suddenly died, but the vanguard she sent was spouting even more unbelievable words.
However,
Julian wasn’t an outstanding general with exceptional abilities, but he was a general who played more than an average role.
Not only Julian, but the few soldiers who survived and returned also said the same thing.
So, it wasn’t just nonsense.
A giant rock suddenly falling from the sky.
And the enemy’s white-haired general performing a bizarre ritual…
“…….”
Thinking about it calmly, just because he had white hair and gray eyes didn’t guarantee he was the person from her dreams.
Yet, what Serpina felt now was a strong attraction.
It was a sensation she felt for the first time, like the force of fate.
“We need to find out more about that general.”
Serpina decided, looking at Julian trembling in fear in front of her.
“It was an unprecedented defeat, but if it was due to a natural disaster, it can’t be helped. I won’t particularly blame you, so take a rest until new orders are given. However, if you continue to be delirious, you will find yourself in a very difficult situation. Understand?”
“…But…!”
“…….”
Instead of answering, Serpina looked down at Julian with a very cold gaze.
“Ah… I understand…”
“Then, you may leave now.”
After Julian left the audience room,
Serpina sighed deeply and turned to Jena.
“What do you think?”
“About the rock falling from the sky?”
“Yes.”
Jena bowed her head and said,
“I believe that part is true. Our territory is scattered with pieces of a giant rock that seems to have shattered, and all the survivors unanimously testify to it. It doesn’t seem like they were fooled by some illusion or mirage.”
“Then Jena, do you also think the man with white hair might have used magic?”
“It’s a bit cautious to say, but yes.”
Jena spoke in a calm tone.
“Magic only exists in legends. However… in a few historical records handed down from the old empire, although their credibility is doubtful due to many mythical contents, there seem to have been a few similar incidents.”
“Similar incidents?”
“Incidents that could only be seen as the use of magic. Of course, no records mention someone ‘summoning a rock from the sky,’ but no one knows the limits of magic in the first place.”
Jena continued with a somewhat ambiguous tone, quite different from her usual confident manner.
“So… I speculate, perhaps, that man really could be a magician.”
“On what grounds?”
“Because it’s much more plausible than a natural disaster occurring just because someone performed a ritual to the sky.”
Jena took a breath and continued,
“Performing a ritual doesn’t control natural disasters at will. I think it’s utterly impossible. Then, the remaining answer is ‘that man knew a rock would fall at that time and place,’ but personally, I find the ability to read all future events more unrealistic compared to the magicians mentioned in mythological records. So…”
She intensely gazed into Serpina’s eyes.
“Though it’s unbelievable… could he not be a magician? Perhaps, performing an ostentatious ritual in a position where the enemy’s soldiers and vanguard could witness it was deliberately done to convey the impression ‘all this happened because of the ritual to the heavens.’ The reason being-”
“To hide the fact that he is a magician, right?”
“Exactly.”
Serpina pondered for a moment before asking again.
“Then Jena, are you saying this? A magician has appeared in Brans’s army for the first time in this era.”
“When you exclude the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.”
When you exclude the impossible, what remains must be the truth…
“And if we check the historical records, the existence of magicians mainly appears during times of chaos. I don’t think the timing is too strange.”
“…Understood. We need to investigate further.”
Serpina drummed her fingers on the armrest, lost in thought.
“Whether the man in my dreams is that person… or if he truly is the first magician… eventually, I will have to face him.”
She let out a short sigh.
Even her sighing was enchanting, with a beauty enough to captivate others.
“Jena. Information about that man. Can you collect anything you can find?”
“Master. It’s not ‘can you.’ It’s ‘do it.’ I will carry out any command.”
“…Hmm. Then, I ask of you.”
“Yes.”
If it turns out to be the magician who finally made his appearance,
For the sake of unifying the world, she couldn’t afford not to gather this ‘chess piece’ called a magician.
It would also allow her to verify if the person from her dreams was real.
Serpina set a short-term goal.
That was ‘to meet the man with white hair.’
And until this moment, she had never failed to achieve a goal she set.
* * *
Valhart Castle.
Although the glory of the old empire’s days had faded after becoming a battlefield,
It still remained a huge city located in the eastern central part of the continent, holding a large population.
The flag hoisted above this castle bore a deep red color.
A flag of blood-red color, swaying freely in the direction of the wind, reminiscent of the color of bloodstains.
The blood-red color, the symbol of Aeshers’s army.
The lord, Varanga Yuri Aeshers, loved this color, saying it represented the blood bond between her and her comrades.
And.
In the royal castle of Valhart, Varanga Yuri Aeshers – a woman called ‘Yuri’ by her comrades – was conversing with an elderly man with a long beard.
“Yes.
It failed, didn’t it?”
“Yes, I am deeply sorry.”
Sitting on the throne, the absolute ruler of Aeshers’s army, Yuri, smiled regretfully.
“Epinel must have had a hard time cleaning up. That aside, even you have moments of failure in your plans.”
Her long black hair gave off an incredibly elegant impression.
Her attire was too simple to be that of a monarch’s. It could have passed for a regular general’s clothing.
The fact that she was sitting on the throne was the only proof of her being the lord.
If there was something unique about her, it was the color of her eyes.
One eye was dark blue, and the other was light sky blue.
The two different-colored eyes gave her an odd charm not felt from others.
Yuri encouraged the elderly man before falling into thought.
After completely clearing the forces at the eastern border of Brans’s army located at Lacline Castle, the plan to invade Lacline Castle immediately, advance into the central regions, and practically make Charam and Alephel armies satellite states to balance against Brans’s army had cleanly vanished.
“How did it get exposed? Did you know? Did the people of Charam talk too much?”
“No. The plan was perfect. However… it seems someone in Brans’s army had noticed our strategy from the very beginning.”
“Are you talking about Parfalle? You said so yourself. Among those who studied under you, she was the smartest, right?”
The elderly man shook his head.
“Parfalle is indeed intelligent, but… I don’t think she has the capability to see through the plan from the very beginning.”
Aeshers’s army’s strategy.
[Conspiring with Charam and Alephel armies in advance to spread false rumors about attacking Alephel army, then enticing Charam army to strike Brans’s army first].
This seemingly perfect strategy was precisely predicted by someone from the execution stage.
“Then who else could it be?”
“I’m not sure… but ultimately, it was my misjudgment. I apologize once again.”
“It’s okay. You did what you could, right? I think it’s fortunate that you realized it didn’t go as Brans’s army expected.”
Not getting entangled in Brans’s army’s counter-plan and somehow managing to wrap things up well was largely due to the efforts of the man before her.
Yes.
The elderly man with a long beard before her.
A man who intended to spend his life in seclusion, nurturing his successors.
Yuri had persuaded this man to become her advisor, spending nearly a month at his residence with her comrades.
What Aeshers’s army lacked was not outstanding generals, the mysterious and strong bond among the officers, or the will to open a new sky without inheriting the sky of the Aingardt Empire, but someone to take the position of an advisor to be their head.
The rumor that reached her,
“[That person], who once served the Aingardt royal family, is staying not far from Valhart Castle,” was a tremendous fortune from Yuri’s perspective.
Why such a significant figure was hiding within her territorial jurisdiction, she didn’t know… but from Yuri’s standpoint, it was an enormous stroke of luck.
So,
From Yuri’s perspective, it was okay to fail in one or two strategies.
In fact, considering the situation, it was also well managed despite the strategy being completely exposed.
She encouraged the elderly man and mentioned his name.
“Don’t worry too much, and lend me your wisdom in the future. …Ginor.”
“Yes, my lord. I, Ginor, will dedicate myself to making you the unified monarch with this single-minded intention.”
The sage of the empire, Ginor Nighthardt.
Now, he was serving as the state advisor of Aeshers’s army.
