Chapter 649

Just Listen to Me (1)

Ghislain was utterly confused.  

Originally, he had planned to name the cosmetic product Lovely Bling Bling. However, since everyone opposed it, he had no choice but to go with the name he already knew.  

The name that the Duke of Delfine had given it in his previous life.  

But to think that it was the name of the Saintess!  

‘Why... did the ducal house name a cosmetic product after the Saintess?’  

The product had become the most popular cosmetic on the continent. It was the same in his past life and again in this one. There was no one who didn’t know that name.  

‘Could it be... they were trying to find the Adversary?’  

That name had spread far and wide across the continent, coincidentally sharing its identity with the Saintess from a thousand years ago. Anyone familiar with the name would naturally be curious.  

‘Ereneth didn’t react much.’  

That was likely because she had already met Ghislain. Since she knew it was a product he created, she must have assumed it was just a coincidence.  

But for the Adversary, it was different. Perhaps the ducal house or even the Adversary himself would come looking for him, demanding to know why he had chosen that name.  

Could it be that the Salvation Church, lurking behind the ducal house, had intended for this all along?  

‘If that’s the case... then they clearly don’t know the name of the Adversary.’  

If they had known, they would have named the product after him instead. Just as Ereneth had mentioned, most records had been lost to them as well.  

It seemed that only the name of their enemy, the Saintess, had survived by sheer chance. That was probably why they had chosen to use it.  

Hearing Ghislain mumbling to himself, Deneb tilted her head in confusion.  

"Cosmetic? What do you mean by cosmetic?"  

"Never mind. I got a little mixed up for a moment. Anyway, now that I know your name, let's get along."  

At Ghislain’s nonchalant response, Deneb let out a chuckle.  

He had always been a quirky friend, but now he seemed like a completely different person.  

Following Julien into the building, they found a large group of people trapped inside.  

"Please save us!"  

"Help us!"  

"Get us out of here!"  

They were all locked behind iron bars. Judging by their appearance, they seemed to have been captured by bandits.  

Julien unleashed his mana and slashed through the bars. The imprisoned people stumbled out, thanking him profusely.  

As he continued to rescue them, Julien shouted,  

"Kyle! Where’s Kyle?!"  

"Here..."  

A faint, dying voice called out.  

Following the sound to the innermost corner, they found a blond-haired boy lying in a battered state.  

The boy, called Kyle, spoke with a swollen face,  

"Damn... I was gonna rest up a bit and then kill them all myself, but I guess it's already over..."  

Kyle’s body was covered in mana restraints and thick chains, likely placed there by the bandits to prevent him from moving.

Julien and Deneb quickly released the restraints. Deneb scolded him.  

"Why did you go alone? The soldiers were waiting below, so we could have just scouted the location in secret! If things had gone wrong, you could have died!"  

"A man... follows his heart... Because... that's what it means to be a man."  

At those words, Ghislain chuckled. Even after getting beaten up, he was still saying things like that, he seemed to have some guts.  

'Hmm, who is that guy?'  

He had to be one of the Hero’s companions, but there wasn’t anyone that immediately came to mind. Most of their faces had been obscured.  

Judging by his way of speaking, he seemed like that talkative man from before, but Ghislain couldn’t be sure.  

'Even if he is that person, he’s probably not my ancestor.'  

The name was different. The founder of Ferdium was not named Kyle. Of course, most records had been lost over time, so there weren’t many surviving details.  

‘Hmm, maybe that person passed down his swordsmanship to someone else? That would make more sense.’  

Ghislain nodded slightly to himself. That possibility couldn’t be ignored.  

It was an event from so long ago that he needed to observe further to find out the truth.  

Either way, it seemed that the Hero’s party had come to rescue the people captured by the bandits. In the process, this Kyle fellow had gotten himself caught.  

With his power as a 5th-Circle mage, Ghislain was certain he could have wiped out the entire bandit hideout on his own.  

In fact, hadn’t just three of them managed to take down all those bandits?  

'Still, these bandits are way too skilled for mere outlaws.'  

The people on his side were abnormally strong for their age, but even so, the bandits had been suspiciously formidable.  

Their leader, in particular, was at least at a knight’s level. Hadn’t he even used mana to escape?  

It was unclear whether people had been stronger in general a thousand years ago or if these particular bandits were just exceptional.  

Ghislain subtly turned his head. Julien was soothing the rescued people and guiding them.  

"If you follow this path down, you’ll reach the foot of the mountain. Soldiers are stationed there. We were actually preparing to subjugate this place."  

Upon seeing Julien’s gentle smile, the people visibly relaxed.  

His smile had an inexplicable power that inspired trust. It was the brightest of all.  

Perhaps that was why he was able to become the Hero who would save the world.  

"Thank you. Truly, thank you."  

"You saved our lives."  

"We won’t forget this kindness."  

The people bowed their heads several times before leaving the bandit hideout.  

Julien watched their retreating figures with a satisfied smile. Ghislain, for some reason, couldn’t get used to it and kept staring at him.

Once things had settled, Julien looked at Ghislain and asked,  

"Sigh, today is even worse than usual. So, who came in this time?"  

Ghislain was slightly surprised and impressed. He had planned to hide the truth and wait for the right opportunity.  

But wasn't Julien already onto him?  

"Oh... You already know that I'm someone else?"  

Ghislain asked curiously. Instead, Deneb shrugged and answered in his place.  

"Why are you even pretending to be someone else today? Normally, you just space out or say that someone has entered."  

"Hmm..."  

Hearing that, Ghislain stroked his chin in thought.  

'So, this mage friend... has experienced this kind of thing often? But this is the first time someone has completely taken over his body?'  

Based on their conversation, Ghislain assessed the situation. Judging by the atmosphere, his guess seemed to be correct.  

That was why, while they were surprised, they were also somewhat accepting of the situation.  

‘Huh? Now that I think about it…’  

When discussing Ereneth and the Adversary, Jerome had also mentioned something about his Magic Tower.  

At that time, in passing, he had even talked about the founder of the Magic Tower.  

Though he hadn't explicitly stated that the founder was one of the Hero's companions, Ghislain had inferred it through his dreams.  

— "The founder of the Magic Tower was a rather strange person. He would suddenly claim to have seen the future or insist that someone from the future had possessed him. He even said that the result could change the cause."  

‘Whoa. Isn’t that exactly what’s happening now?’  

It was a story he had previously ignored. He had dismissed it as an exaggerated or distorted legend.  

But now, all those stories he had overlooked were coming together. Even if they weren’t entirely accurate, they were at least based on something real.  

The countless scattered fragments all contained pieces of the truth.  

Ghislain clapped his hands in amazement.  

"Wow, this is incredible. Everything is actually making sense."  

"......"  

Julien and Deneb stared at Ghislain in shock.  

They had never seen Astion react so intensely to a "possessed" person before.  

Kyle, whose face was swollen beyond recognition, asked,  

"What’s going on? Did he lose it again? Why is he pretending to be someone else today?"  

Ghislain nodded. It was certain now. It seemed that other people had occasionally entered this body besides himself.  

Whether that was true or not, everyone here seemed to believe it.  

'Now I understand why that mage has such dark circles under his eyes.'  

He had probably been treated like a lunatic, suffering immense stress and struggling to sleep.  

Ghislain fell into deep thought.  

'Hmm, she told me to follow my heart, right?'  

The Saintess had definitely said that. There had to be a reason for it.  

'Isn't this practically a dream anyway?'  

He had turned back time and changed both the past and the future, but the situation now was a bit different.  

He had entered this place through a dream. And he had no idea what had happened during this time period. Acting as he pleased probably wouldn't drastically alter his already established reality.  

'Maybe this is just a journey to reveal hidden truths? Truths that I need to see.'  

He still didn’t know why he was being shown all of this, but he had a feeling that there was something he needed to ask of his real self in the present.  

Wasn't that why she had mentioned a "promise"?  

After all, the Saintess he met in the future had already known who he was.  

Feeling more at ease, Ghislain confidently introduced himself.  

"I am Ghislain Ferdium."  

"...And who is that supposed to be?"  

Julien asked with a blank stare, and Ghislain responded by exaggerating even more.  

"The Grand Duke of Ritania, Lord of Fenris, Ruler of the North, Invincible Sovereign, Commander of the Northern Army, Grain King of the North, Saint of the Capital, Genius of Blitzkrieg, Mage Hunter, Savior of the Continent, Inquisitor of the Salvation Church, Guardian of the Order, Commander of the Fenris Knights, Dragon Slayer, Conqueror of the Seven Territories, Kingdom’s Strongest Swordsman of Ritania, Heir to the Kingdom, Mediator of the Magic Towers, Best Soldier of the Royal Army, and… the King of Mercenaries."  

"......"  

"......"  

"......"  

The three of them gaped at him with their mouths wide open.  

They had never met anyone with so many titles in their entire lives.  

But Ghislain hadn't spoken a single lie. Every one of those titles referred to him.  

In fact, he had even left some out, though he had simply forgotten them while speaking.  

Since he was half-treating this like a vacation, he had decided to have a little fun with it.  

Julien let out a few incredulous chuckles before speaking.  

"Wow… A truly great person has taken over Astion's body today."  

"Well, I wouldn’t say I’m that great… but, hmm… I suppose I’m not exactly an unremarkable person either."  

After listing all his titles, Ghislain felt a bit embarrassed, so he closed his eyes and simply nodded.  

Julien sighed before continuing.  

"Sigh, today is really something else. So then, where did Astion go?"  

"No idea."  

Ghislain shrugged. He had no clue where the original owner’s consciousness had gone.  

Kyle rubbed his swollen eyes and asked,  

"Then what do we do now?"  

"Why are you asking me?"  

"You always gave us advice. You said wise men entered your mind and told you things - what kind of experiences would make us stronger, how we could improve faster. I want to get stronger as quickly as possible."  

At his words, Julien and Deneb also nodded in agreement.  

"Ah, I see."  

Ghislain understood a little more now. It seemed that this mage played the role of a guide on their journey.  

He must have been using the knowledge of the various people who had entered his mind.  

‘So that’s how he became a 5th-Circle mage at this age?’  

It was hard to believe completely, but since he himself had entered the mage’s body, he couldn’t exactly deny it either.  

‘Hmm… What should I do?’  

The group still hadn’t fully outgrown their youthful inexperience. Thanks to their exceptional talent, they were already far stronger than others their age, but compared to the warriors they would become in the future, they were still lacking.  

While Julien was the leader of the group, it seemed that the mage was the one guiding their path.  

In other words, he played the role of a strategist, as a mage should.  

But now, Ghislain had taken over the mage’s body.  

‘Then… does that mean I have to train them myself?’  

Since he was in control of this body, he couldn’t just sit back and watch.  

Then, a thought suddenly occurred to him.  

‘Ah-ha.’  

He had already seen their strength and techniques. He knew exactly how they fought.  

These were the people who would one day be the central force in the battle against the Salvation Church. They were the ones who would save humanity.  

That meant they had to grow stronger, no matter what. If the mage had been advising them up until now, then Ghislain could simply take over that role.  

‘So, this was all part of the plan. My role here is to train them so they can save humanity, huh?’  

If the mage had been giving them guidance all along, then Ghislain could just do the same.  

‘Even if it’s the past, as long as the result stays the same, it should be fine.’  

This was probably why the Saintess had told him to follow his heart… Probably?  

So, this time as well, he decided to simply go with his instincts.  

Ghislain grinned and spoke.  

"You… want to get stronger?"  

Julien, Deneb, and Kyle nodded.  

Ghislain nodded as well, smiling.  

"Good. I’ll make you strong. Just trust me and follow my lead. You need experiences that will make you stronger? That’s my specialty. If you listen to me, you’ll go through all kinds of experiences."  

For a moment, the three of them shuddered.  

Even though he was smiling, for some reason, he looked a little terrifying.