Chapter 532
There’s a Monster. (1)
Suddenly, a bright light burst forth from the necklace, leaving everyone stunned.
Ghislain had no idea what was happening. The divine power contained within the necklace was supposed to be activated only when transferred into the goblet he had taken before.
He didn't know why it was activating. He had no clue what effect it had. As far as he knew, it was only used to verify relics.
And yet, the same light as before was now radiating from the necklace, even though he hadn’t even touched it.
‘Why?’
There was only one possible explanation.
‘Julien?’
It had reacted to meeting Julien. There was no other way to explain this situation.
Julien narrowed his eyes and stared directly at the necklace.
Despite the blinding radiance it emitted, his vision remained strangely unaffected.
‘This is odd. It hurts.’
Alongside an inexplicable sense of longing, a pain that seemed to tighten around his heart surged within him. That only made it more confusing.
‘What exactly was this light?’
Why did the Duke of Fenris, whom he had never met, and this necklace, which he had no recollection of ever seeing, stir such emotions within him?
But the other man looked just as confused.
The light gradually faded and soon disappeared entirely. No further anomalies followed.
Julien calmly asked,
"What is that?"
"Hmm… How should I explain this?"
Ghislain scratched his chin before deciding to be honest. It wasn’t a secret, after all it was well known throughout the Ritania Kingdom.
"This is something I took from those Salvation Church bastards..."
The more Julien listened, the more confused he became. The item didn't seem to have any particular connection to the Duke of Fenris.
After a brief moment of contemplation, Julien closed his eyes and then reopened them.
Things have definitely been strange lately.
His senses had become razor-sharp, growing keener by the day. That heightened sensitivity must have been causing this confusion.
While it was beneficial for his combat skills, situations like this were a bit troublesome.
No matter how much he searched his memories, there was no connection between himself and that object. Wasting time and emotions on pointless speculation would be meaningless.
So, he erased all thoughts of the necklace from his mind.
Unlike Julien, who quickly regained his composure, Ghislain fell into deep thought.
There's definitely something to this.
He had long been curious about the true motives of the Salvation Church and the Duke of Delfine's faction. Ever since hearing Ernhardt's account of his dreams, Ghislain had become convinced that they had their own hidden agenda.
Yet, he still hadn’t unraveled the mystery.
‘It seems like Ereneth knows something…’
But she pretended not to and kept her mouth shut, making it difficult to press her for answers.
And now, the necklace had reacted to Julien. It felt like he was sinking even deeper into a labyrinth.
‘Wait, now that I think about it…’
In his past life, Ereneth had left the alliance and moved independently. There were several reasons for that, but one of them was—
‘Julien.’
Ereneth had been extremely wary of him. So much so that she had fought him the moment they met. Just like she had when she first encountered Ghislain.
Ghislain had joined the alliance before Ereneth, which meant he had personally witnessed the fight between her and Julien.
At the time, he had just laughed and watched, thinking it was amusing.
‘Ereneth had been incredibly confused.’
It seemed like there had been some misunderstanding that led to the fight, but she hadn’t explained the reason. As for Julien, he hadn’t been curious in the slightest and had just let it slide as if it didn’t matter.
Ereneth had watched Julien for days on end before eventually leaving.
‘How frustrating.’
He had planned to figure out the Salvation Church’s objective and how Ereneth had become entangled with them while dealing with the organization.
He had thought it didn’t matter if he didn’t find out. After all, they were all people who needed to be wiped out anyway.
But as incomprehensible situations kept unfolding, frustration welled up inside him. He could no longer bear it.
‘Next time, I’ll just ask outright.’
When Ereneth returned from her so-called "vacation," he planned to get straight to the point.
‘She’s bound to pick a fight the moment she sees Julien. That’ll be a good opportunity.’
There was no use in thinking about it any further. Julien clearly didn’t know anything either.
Ghislain spoke with a lighthearted expression.
“We’ll find out more about this necklace as we capture members of the Salvation Church. Anyway, this is our first time meeting… but we seem to be of a similar age. How about we speak comfortably?”
“Sounds good.”
That was the best part about Julien he didn’t waste time with unnecessary traditions or formalities.
As they continued their conversation about their respective armies and future operations, they made their way to the capital of Sardina.
Marquis Gideon was the nominal commander of the Turian forces, but even he didn’t dare assert himself. The true leader was Julien.
Marquis Gideon, serving in an administrative role, ended up traveling with Claude, who had joined the campaign later.
“Ah, so at that moment, I threw open the gates, and Marquis Roderick’s army Oh, and see that lunatic Alfoi back there? Don’t even talk to him. That guy even fought a goddess… By the way, do you like gambling?”
“Ah, uh… yeah…”
‘What the hell is this guy’s deal?’
Marquis Gideon felt like his ears were about to start bleeding. That Claude fellow wouldn’t stop talking not even for a second and he never seemed to tire.
On top of that, half the things he was saying were incomprehensible. He rambled on endlessly, spouting things that only made sense to himself.
If it had been anyone else, Gideon would have immediately shouted at them to shut up. But Claude had introduced himself as the second-in-command of the Ritania forces.
So, Marquis Gideon had no choice but to endure the agony and listen.
And so, the armies of the two kingdoms came together, laying the foundation for a true allied force.
* * *
“Huh? This isn’t the Ritania Kingdom?”
Jerome asked, looking bewildered.
The merchant leader nodded and replied.
“That’s right! This is not the Ritania Kingdom!”
“Aren’t we supposed to be going to Ritania?”
“We are heading in that direction, but our destination isn’t Ritania itself.”
“……”
Jerome folded his arms and thought. Now that he considered it, he had vaguely heard something along those lines.
The problem was that he hadn’t been paying attention he had just climbed aboard, not bothering to listen properly.
The merchant leader bowed deeply and offered his gratitude.
“In any case, thanks to you, Mage, we arrived safely. We truly appreciate it.”
The caravan had been attacked by bandits on the way, putting them in grave danger.
Jerome had saved them by hurling stones at the bandits, allowing the caravan to complete its journey safely. To the caravan members, Jerome was nothing short of a hero.
As he watched the merchant leader bowing in gratitude, Jerome smacked his lips.
“Ah, but I need to get to Ritania…”
The mercenary captain hired by the caravan bursted into laughter and said,
“That land was ravaged by war, leaving little room for entertainment. There are no renowned restaurants to visit, and sightseeing is entirely out of the question. It was truly a difficult world to live in. At the very least, Ritania managed to hold off the Salvation Church and the rebels, allowing life to continue at a barely sustainable level.”
"This is why peace is so important."
Jerome clicked his tongue as he wandered through the city. The economy had collapsed, and the hardships of daily life had drained people of their vitality.
But that only meant rumors spread even faster. People were keenly attuned to any news, and Jerome was no exception.
"Wow, the Ritania Kingdom has ended its civil war? And Count Fenris has become a duke?"
As expected, he had chosen the right person. If only he had visited earlier it would have been much more entertaining.
"Hmm, so they’ve formed an alliance and gone to support another kingdom. That means I don’t have to go all the way to Ritania."
What a relief. He found it tedious to travel far, so this was perfect. He could simply track down the allied forces and join the battle.
"Well, since I’m here, I might as well help out for a bit. Can’t just laze around all the time."
He was planning to join the fight somewhere anyway, so he might as well do some good stuffs while he was at it.
With a leisurely stride, Jerome made his way to the front-line fortress, where battles against the rebels were raging.
Since the kingdom was holding up well, he wasn’t particularly concerned. If he helped out for just a few days, the rebellion would likely be completely suppressed.
It wasn’t difficult to join the fortress.
"Hmm… You’re a mage, you say?"
"Yes!"
The knight conducting the inspection gave him a suspicious look. His attire seemed appropriate, but he lacked the distinctive aura of a mage.
If anything, he had the image of a mischievous troublemaker.
"Can I see some magic?"
"Of course!"
Fwoosh.
A small flame flickered to life above Jerome’s hand.
"Hmm…"
He was indeed a mage, but he didn’t seem particularly powerful.
Still, mages were valuable. Even a single one could be a great asset. As long as he wasn’t a spy, the knight was inclined to accept him.
"Which magic tower are you from?"
"The Tower of Dawn!"
"And… where is that, exactly?"
"Uh… It’s in a small rural village, next to a place called Greenhill in the Kingdom of Polred."
"Where is that village?"
"Uh… next to the Tower of Dawn."
"……."
"……."
'Is this guy a spy?'
The knight furrowed his brows. Jerome, seeing the knight’s expression, grew frustrated as well. He found it difficult to explain.
He had never really left the village around the tower. He had been a true homebody.
"It’s quite far away. Most people don’t know about it."
The knight sighed. He couldn’t possibly know every magic tower on the continent. It was normal for smaller towers to go unnoticed.
After a deep breath, the knight nodded. Jerome was too sloppy to be a spy.
He just seemed like a slightly dim-witted mage. If he had been a real spy, he wouldn’t have even made it this far.
"The mage unit will verify him anyway."
Once he joined the mage corps, they would conduct their own assessment. Thanks to his status as a mage, he managed to pass through relatively easily.
"Oh, by the way, what’s your circle level?"
"8th Circle. Unfortunately, I haven’t reached the 9th yet."
Jerome answered with a bright smile, and the knight scoffed.
A mage of the 6th Circle would already have a known reputation. Yet, he had never heard the name ‘Jerome’ before.
‘At least try to make your lies believable.’
But Jerome was telling the truth.
He was none other than the third-ranked member of the Seven Strongest on the Continent, known in Ghislain’s past life as the One-Man Army—
The Eternal Archmage.