Balance
by Afuhfuihgs
I received elixirs as a gift. Two of them, in fact. They were elixirs related to magic power and the body. At Illiad’s urging, I drank all the elixirs in front of him. As befitting expensive elixirs, the effects were excellent. It wasn’t that my magic power immediately increased or that I gained muscle, but my body felt refreshed.
After the elixirs were absorbed, Illiad suggested we have a meal together, but at Raelan’s wink, I postponed it until next time and left the Frax household. Illiad seemed disappointed, but he didn’t hold me back.
I arrived at the restaurant in the Perkus family’s carriage. The walls were thick and the rooms were far apart, so it seemed unlikely that anyone could eavesdrop. Soundproofing artifacts were also installed on the doors. In short, it seemed like an expensive place.
As soon as we sat down, numerous dishes filled the table on their own. I glanced around, but I couldn’t see a menu anywhere. It seems like places like this don’t have menus. I guess they want you to leave it entirely up to the chef for one meal. It’s nice to not have to choose, it makes me feel comfortable.
Looking at the table full of food, I felt like I was at a Korean home-style meal restaurant after a long time. It would be nice if there was kimchi here. I wonder if there aren’t any kimchi artisans in this place either. While having such futile thoughts and eating the deliciously cooked fish, Raelan, who had been silent since we left the Frax mansion, finally opened his mouth.
“Why didn’t you come to me first?”
I stopped eating, raised my head, and looked at Raelan. He wasn’t even touching the food and was glaring at me. I didn’t feel scared or afraid of his gaze. Rather, I simply felt that the sight was typical of Raelan.
Yes, it’s an impression. I wasn’t seeing Raelan as a person, but as the character Raelan. Perhaps it was because I completely understood the character Raelan that I felt that way.
As I was thinking such things in my head and remaining silent, Raelan frowned. It seems the time has come to express his pent-up dissatisfaction.
“If we only had the magic stone bomb, there would have been no need to cooperate with the Frax family. No, rather, Perkus could have swallowed up the Frax family. The ways to use it were endless.”
With eyes sharpened like a snake in front of its prey, Raelan added in a low voice.
“Do you still not believe my words that I would be loyal to you?”
I was about to answer, but I felt the seasoning remaining in my mouth, so I took a sip of the tea in my cup. It’s warm. It seems that expensive places take care to serve tea at the right temperature. As I put down the cup, I gave a nonchalant smile.
“I completely believe you.”
At my quiet answer, Raelan burst out laughing. But his eyes weren’t smiling. As if acting, Raelan abruptly stopped laughing at some point and glared fiercely.
“You completely believe me?”
“Yes.”
“But you didn’t say anything to me and went to the Frax family first.”
Raelan scoffed and said sarcastically.
“Isn’t that too contradictory?”
As I met the gaze of Raelan, who was staring intently at me while saying that, I chuckled.
“The reason I was able to completely believe you is because of what Raelan said.”
The expression disappeared from Raelan’s face. Raelan, who had been deliberately showing expressions on his face to wear the mask of humanity, had become sincere.
After thinking for a moment, Raelan opened his mouth as if he had found the answer.
“You’re talking about the words that you are the last hope to save all the worlds, which remains unchanged. Why, were you so moved by that consolation that your heart fluttered?”
There’s no sarcasm. No, there was no intonation, no emotion, nothing in Raelan’s voice.
“No, I never thought of it as consolation. Because that’s not a word that suits the Mad Strategist Raelan. I just thought you were saying your true feelings.”
“Anyone there could have said that. To completely believe me with just that is a weak and risky, foolish choice. Disappointing.”
I tapped the cup of tea with my fingertips. I can feel the warm warmth. Enough to raise the body temperature that is lowered by Raelan’s cold gaze.
“It’s not consolation. But those words were sincere. So I thought about what the real meaning of those words was. So, as I said, I was able to completely believe in Raelan. Because I completely understood the person Raelan.”
It’s not eyes filled with murderous emotion. Rather, dead eyes with no emotion, like the eyes of a corpse, stare at me as if to pierce through me. At the words that I understood him, Raelan asked me with a pale, corpse-like appearance, without denial, anger, or any emotional change.
“How did you understand me, that you could completely believe me?”
“A person similar to Roel.”
For a moment, one emotion settled in Raelan’s dead eyes. Since that’s the only emotion that best expresses Raelan, there’s no mistaking it.
“Like Roel, who doesn’t break even in endless trials for the sake of everyone’s salvation, the Mad Strategist only moves for the sake of victory.”
I took a breath. And I immediately added without a break.
“Because I’m the last hope to win. Like you said, even if I act fickle, change plans on the fly, and get annoyed for no reason… you can’t throw away the only card that can win. So I could completely believe you.”
Raelan’s eyes, gleaming with madness, contained a faint joy.
“Then let’s get back to the main point. The reason you took the magic stone bomb to Frax, not me, whom you completely trust. How do you explain that contradiction?”
For a moment, I could glimpse the anticipation hidden beneath Raelan’s joy. I wouldn’t have known before. Because I couldn’t observe Raelan objectively like I can now. Understanding Raelan’s intentions from the author’s point of view was as easy as reading a sentence.
Raelan wants to confirm whether I am the last joker for victory, rather than the reason why I took the magic stone bomb to Frax.
I drank the tea. Because it had cooled down moderately, the scent of the tea felt richer. As I put down the cup, I smiled.
“The reason I wanted Frax, not Perkus, to invest in the magic stone bomb is simple. If we defeat the God of Chaos and eventually win, then the biggest enemy after that will be you.”
Just because we reach the desired ending doesn’t mean the story ends like in a novel. We will continue to live in this world. Then what kind of victory should a strategist who lives for victory seek in a world where peace has come?
The answer is surprisingly simple. Raelan will always look up and look at the one at the highest place, as always. And the one in that place will be Roel, the hero who defeated the God of Chaos and saved the world.
“If the magic stone bomb falls into Perkus’s hands, Frax will be absorbed within a few years, and when everything is over… Perkus’s north will become the biggest enemy of the continent.”
Raelan burst into a mad laughter. I could feel that he was satisfied with the momentum that seemed like he would strangle my neck right away.
“You’re assuming we’ll win. Against a god who has trapped countless worlds in a cycle…!”
“Of course. Because I am the last Ross who will break all cycles.”
I don’t think about losing. So, thinking about what will happen after defeating the God of the Chaos Church, I handed over the magic stone bomb to Perkus’s competitor, Frax. Because that’s the image Raelan wants from me.
Raelan grabbed the end of the table. He said as he bowed his head and shook his shoulders finely while laughing.
“The other guys think you’ve just become nice because you got the hope that the Saintess delivered. You got hope, but you didn’t lose your madness, you know. Keuheuheuh.”
Raelan raised his head. For the first time, I could feel a living, wriggling heat in his corpse-like eyes.
I got goosebumps for a moment. Raelan saw through me. With the perspective of the Mad Strategist, my plans and thoughts.
“There was no need to go so far as to convey your memories to persuade Frax. Because you, my liege, know better than anyone that the fewer people who know a secret, the more valuable it is.”
It seems he noticed my intentions. As expected of the Mad Strategist. I didn’t think he would notice already.
But I trust Raelan. The Mad Strategist who can do anything for victory.
“After meeting the Saintess, you’re looking much further ahead. Is that the author’s point of view or… the Captain’s point of view?”
The answer I can give to Raelan’s question is as good as determined.
“The author and the Captain are both me.”
At that answer, Raelan gave a snake-like smile.
“Even if you get hope, our liege’s innate temperament can’t be fixed. You pervert. Good, if that’s what my liege thinks, then I’ll help you more diligently. Because I’m a surprisingly compassionate person.”
Raelan, who had been holding the end of the table, let go of his hand and said with his arms crossed.
“Go to Estelle right away.”
When I sent him a questioning gaze at his out-of-context words, Raelan stretched his lips long like a snake and said quietly.
“Learn how to wear a real mask from Estelle. It will definitely be of great help in maintaining the balance within you.”
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