Chapter 392

One day was enough to bask in happiness.

Any more than that was a luxury for me now.

I calmly collected my thoughts and sat up…

*Mmph.*

Ugh?

I flinched at the soft, warm touch of skin against my arm.

I was startled because I wasn’t used to having someone next to me when I woke up.

“Mmm.”

Regina turned towards me.

Her blue eyes slowly opened.

“Ah, sorry… Did I wake you?”

I said cautiously.

It had been a tiring schedule, from the wedding preparations until yesterday.

So, my waking up this early might have been an inconvenience.

Regina blinked a few times.

Then her lips parted.

“Your eyes have changed.”

“Huh?”

“They’re filled with grim determination.”

Regina’s words.

Perhaps.

As the fateful hour approached, the tension was steadily building.

That wasn’t all.

I felt a new sense of responsibility.

I now had a partner to share my life with.

“Are you already regretting getting married? That was fast.”

“W-What are you talking about?”

I was flustered, even though I knew she was joking.

Regina smiled.

“Now you have a good expression.”

“R-Really?”

“Yes.”

Regina’s hands warmly enveloped mine.

Then she spoke softly.

“Don’t try to carry everything by yourself. You heard what Junior Elaine said yesterday, right? That she wanted to protect Your Grace.”

“T-That’s…”

No, no, why bring that up all of a sudden…

At this point, aren’t you enjoying my flustered state?

“It’s the same for me.”

Ah, so that’s what she wanted to say.

Sorry for misunderstanding.

You really are a good woman…

“It’s probably the same for the High Elf. The same for Her Majesty. The same for Junior Riviera.”

“C-Cough, cough, cough!”

I finally couldn’t hold it back and bent my neck down, coughing violently.

If there had been a referee, they would have declared a TKO.

Barely calming my cough, I cautiously raised my head and observed the victor’s eyes.

But those eyes.

They were incredibly warm.

“What I mean is, Your Grace isn’t the only one who wants to protect. So, unburden your heart as much as you can. Wanting to protect everyone by yourself is too heavy a burden, no matter how great and strong a person is, right? As your wife, I don’t want Your Grace to carry that alone.”

“…”

“That’s what I wanted to say.”

Honest emotions and words that resonated deeply.

“Thank you.”

I also expressed my gratitude honestly.

Because I could clearly feel the sincerity with which Regina had spoken those words.

Her sincerity melted away the tension that had built up inside me, bringing a sense of comfort.

I smiled.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Good.”

A smile also touched Regina’s lips.

“Then today, let’s sleep in comfortably.”

Suddenly, Regina hugged me and pulled me back into bed.

“Uh, uh, uh?”

I could only let out a flustered sound as I was enveloped in her embrace.

“Don’t worry. No one will scold a newlywed couple for sleeping in on their first night.”

“Uh, uh…”

My face turned red.

S-So this was it.

The lead of an older wife.

This is nice…?

…It seemed okay to bask in happiness again for now.

* * *

“Congratulations again, Senior.”

“Congratulations, Senior.”

Meeting in the lord’s private chamber, my juniors congratulated me again.

“Thank you.”

I smiled once and then continued.

“And as your senior, I’m grateful that you came all this way despite being busy.”

“Not at all, it’s the natural thing to do.”

“Yes, Senior. If it’s your happy occasion, we should naturally drop everything and come running.”

Camian and Annette replied with expressions that said, “What are you talking about?”

I had good juniors.

“And didn’t you say, Senior? That what is seen is not all there is, and if we want to know the truth, we should come to the wedding.”

Camian said, his eyes shining.

Annette’s eyes also sparkled with curiosity.

“Ah, yes. You must be curious about that.”

I walked towards a certain place.

It was where the bookshelf was.

From there, I took out a map.

And I spread it out on the table.

“This is?”

“A map of the Holy City.”

The most accurate and detailed map currently available, obtained from the black market merchant Carson.

It was one of my weapons.

Because I knew it was always important to see both the forest and the trees.

“Why this all of a sudden?”

But Camian didn’t seem to have his eyes opened that far yet.

It would be a problem if he were alone, but it didn’t matter.

Because I, someone who could teach him, was by his side.

“Thoughts follow sight. Because human sight is narrow, thinking tends to see only the trees. In such cases, it’s helpful to consciously look from a higher place. Like looking at a map like this. If you can see the forest, your thoughts will naturally open up.”

“Ah, I think I know what you mean.”

Annette nodded.

“M-Me too…”

Camian belatedly and awkwardly joined in.

I chuckled and opened my mouth again.

“You both know what the situation is like in the Holy City, right?”

“I know.”

“Yes, Senior explained it to us before.”

There was no need for an introduction.

I got straight to the point.

“Yes, as you know, the Holy City is currently enjoying a precarious peace. The calm before the storm would be the perfect description.”

The Holy City, where Red Rain had intentionally stopped its activities, was certainly peaceful now.

But I knew that a storm would soon begin to rage.

Camian and Annette also knew.

That was why I had arranged this meeting.

“I know. That’s why Senior’s strength is even more…”

“Desperate? I know. I have no intention of leaving the Holy City either. Because I know it’s an irreplaceable, important place where the fate of the world hangs in the balance.”

“T-That means?!”

“S-Senior! You’re staying in the Holy City?!”

Camian and Annette shouted in excitement.

That alone showed how desperately my juniors wanted me, their senior, to be there.

I chuckled.

“Yes, I’ll be in the Holy City.”

Camian and Annette exchanged glances that said, “That’s settled.”

Their joy was immediately apparent.

After a moment, Camian, his excitement slightly subdued, said, “But why are you telling us this only now…”

“The decision must have been delayed.”

“Hmm, well, there was the big event of the wedding.”

“No, it’s not like that.”

I denied it.

“The answer is because it has to be a secret.”

“Pardon?”

“A-A secret?”

My juniors looked at me with puzzled eyes.

“Yes.”

“W-Why?”

“The reason is simple.”

I adjusted my posture and answered.

“What is seen inevitably becomes a target of caution. But what is unseen moves away from caution. That’s what I’m aiming for.”

My juniors looked dumbfounded for a moment.

But then, as if they were beginning to grasp the meaning, they hurriedly asked, “A-Are you saying you’re going to hide without being seen?”

“Does that have any meaning?”

They still didn’t seem to understand.

I smiled meaningfully.

“It might not mean much if I were alone. But.”

“But?”

“I’m not alone. I’ve been secretly building up my forces in the Holy City for over half a year.”

Finally, I revealed a secret known only to a very few.

A very important secret for the salvation of the world.

“Is that even possible?”

“H-How?”

Camian and Annette asked, their faces full of doubt.

“Of course, it’s possible. Because I cooperated with the Saint.”

The Saint, the supreme authority in the Holy City.

Everything was naturally possible because of her cooperation.

“Ah…”

Annette blinked her wide eyes.

But Camian still seemed to have strong doubts.

“Even so, is there a suitable place for that?”

“There is. Of course, there is. You two have probably figured it out by now?”

“What do you mean?”

“Right here.”

*Tap!*

My finger tapped the map.

“Underneath the Holy City.”

“U-Underneath?”

“Don’t tell me…?”

“Yes, underground. No one will notice it there.”

My juniors froze with blank expressions, as if my answer was a shock.

I smiled and continued my explanation.

“Listen carefully from now on. I’ll explain my plan.”

* * *

“U-Underground passages?”

Annette’s eyes widened in surprise.

It was understandable.

They probably couldn’t even imagine in their dreams that such construction was happening beneath the Holy City without their knowledge.

“Yes, even at this very moment, the underground passages are continuing to multiply like a spiderweb.”

The pen in my hand moved.

Lines spreading out from the center of the Holy City to various places.

That was the underground passage system.

This probably wasn’t even the latest information.

Because, as I had said, the underground passages were constantly expanding even at this very moment.

“That’s impossible. The amount of soil from such large-scale construction alone would be…”

Camian made a sharp point.

But.

“Soil like that can be put into a subspace bag and taken out at an appropriate time.”

I answered nonchalantly.

“T-There’s such a method…”

Camian couldn’t refute it this time and conceded.

He must have personally experienced the power of subspace bags when he had provided all sorts of supplies, including weapons, food, and other goods, to the former underground dwellers.

“But the reason for such construction is…?”

This time, Annette asked.

“For a surprise attack.”

“A surprise attack?”

“Hmph, yes.”

I looked my juniors straight in the eye and said.

“This time, I’ll ask you. Where will the enemies come from?”

“Wouldn’t that be from the outside?”

Camian answered immediately.

“Why do you think so?”

“Didn’t you and the Saint wipe out all the Red Rain bastards in the Holy City six months ago, Senior?”

“Yes, that’s true. But the answer ‘outside’ is half right and half wrong.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Naturally, the main attack will come from the outside. But they won’t give up on attacking from the inside either. A two-pronged attack from inside and outside is a basic strategy.”

“Do you think that’s possible even in the current situation?”

“It’ll be more difficult than before. Because their roots have been cut off. But.”

I continued, as if certain.

“The Red Rain bastards will undoubtedly and constantly seek and attempt internal sabotage. Besides, their roots within the Holy City probably haven’t been completely severed yet. Remnants will be holding their breath somewhere.”

“…”

My juniors fell silent at my conviction.

They must have sensed that it was no trivial matter.

“Then shouldn’t we prepare countermeasures?”

Camian said with a serious face.

“Yes, but that’s your job.”

“Pardon?”

“I told you. I’ll be out of sight. Do you think someone like me can intervene in every internal incident?”

My juniors looked surprised.

The fact that they couldn’t expect my help seemed to be a shock.

Until now, they had taken my help for granted and overcome crises.

“No, but still, that’s an important matter…”

“Yes, it’s important. But I also said, didn’t I? The outside is the main attack. To bring down the Holy City, they will undoubtedly move an enormous force. And eventually, they might even break through the city walls. That’s when.”

*Thump!*

I slammed the table.

“That’s when my hidden forces will truly be needed.”

The underground passages that had been dug like a spiderweb all this time.

Using those underground passages, we could move like ghosts, deceiving, ambushing, and cutting off the enemies.

As if they understood the meaning of my words, my juniors’ wavering eyes widened.

“Don’t worry. Even without me, you have comrades like Leon. You have seniors like Elaine. You have professors like Regina. You have people outside the academy who can help, like Sister Marianna. Ask for help honestly. That will be your strength.”

My sincere advice.

My juniors looked as if they had realized something important.

That was enough.

This game was never one that the protagonist could clear alone.

They weren’t strong enough, nor could they become strong enough.

Humans are not alone.

They are beings who form relationships and live together.

The strength that comes from those relationships.

I was more certain than ever that this was the key to clearing this game.

“I’ll leave the inside to you. But the external attack that will come someday. When that time comes, I will definitely make my move.”

“Understood.”

“Yes, Senior!”

Seeing the determined expressions on my juniors’ faces, I realized that no more words were needed.

* * *

And time flowed by quickly.