Ch.51Chapter 51. Becoming Well Known to the Continent (2)

‘Could it be….’

White hair.

Unless it was an old man, white hair wasn’t a common color among young people.

If it were just the hair color, that would be one thing, but even the eye color matched the gray eyes of the man she had faced in her dreams.

The dream she had repeatedly.

The moments when, for some reason, a corner of her heart tingled every time she woke from the dream.

The nostalgic feeling she had forgotten since swearing to live as the lord of Serpina’s army, inheriting the blood of Einhart.

The person from that dream… had appeared in the real world just like that?

Naturally, the one restraining her as she couldn’t help but get excited was Jenna, the national advisor of Serpina’s army standing beside her.

“My lord. Please calm yourself!”

“…”

Only after Jenna’s restraint did Serpina regain her composure and release Julian’s hand.

“Kuh… kuhkek.”

Serpina let out a small sigh, then asked calmly.

“…So, are you claiming that man summoned a huge boulder from the sky?”

“Y-yes. It’s true, my lord…”

Julian said, still trembling as if he couldn’t believe it himself.

“That man… was no ordinary person. It was like… like a god descended to earth. As soon as he stretched out his hand and shouted… a boulder fell from the sky…!!”

“…Huu.”

Serpina let out a brief sigh.

It was already an absurd situation that a soldier had suddenly died, and now the vanguard commander she had sent was spouting even more nonsensical words.

However.

Julian, while not an exceptionally talented commander, was one who performed above average.

And not just Julian, but the few soldiers who survived and returned were also telling the same story.

So, it wasn’t just nonsense after all.

A huge boulder suddenly falling from the sky.

And the white-haired commander of the enemy army performing a bizarre ritual…

‘….’

If she thought about it calmly, there was no guarantee that someone with white hair and gray eyes would necessarily match the person from her dreams.

Nevertheless, what Serpina was feeling now was an intense attraction.

A sensation she had never felt before, like the compelling force of destiny.

‘I need to find out about that commander.’

Serpina spoke to Julian, who was standing before her, half-crazed and trembling with fear.

“It’s an unprecedented defeat, but if it was due to a natural disaster, it can’t be helped. I won’t specially reprimand you, so rest until new orders come. However, if you continue to ramble incoherently without regaining your senses, you’ll find yourself in a very difficult situation. Understand?”

“…B-but…!”

“…”

Instead of answering, Serpina slightly raised her head and looked down at Julian very coldly.

“Ah… I understand…”

“You may go now.”

After Julian left the audience chamber.

Serpina sighed deeply, then asked Jenna who was standing beside her.

“What do you think?”

“About the boulder falling from the sky, you mean?”

“Yes.”

Jenna bowed her head and said.

“I believe that part is true. There are fragments of what seems to be a shattered large stone scattered throughout our territory, and all the survivors are consistently testifying to it. It doesn’t seem like they were deceived by some illusion or phantom.”

“Then Jenna, do you also think that the white-haired man might have used some kind of magic?”

“It’s a bit cautious to say, but yes.”

Jenna spoke in a calm tone.

“Magic only exists in legends. However… in the few historical records passed down from the old empire, although they contain many mythical contents of questionable credibility, there seem to have been several similar incidents.”

“Similar incidents?”

“Things that could only be seen as the use of magic by anyone’s standards. Of course, no record mentions anyone using magic like ‘summoning and dropping boulders from the sky,’ but then again, no one knows what the limits of magic itself are.”

After saying this, Jenna continued in a somewhat uncertain tone.

It was quite different from her usual self, who always spoke with near certainty.

“So… I suspect that man might really be a magician.”

“On what basis?”

“Well, it’s a much more plausible guess than sudden natural disasters occurring just because someone performed a ritual to the sky.”

Jenna took a breath and continued.

“To begin with, one cannot control natural disasters at will just by performing rituals. I think that’s completely impossible. Then the remaining answer is ‘that man knew a boulder would fall on that day, at that time,’ but in my personal opinion, the ability to read everything that will happen in the future is far more unrealistic than the magicians who exist in mythical records. So…”

She gazed intensely into Serpina’s eyes.

“Although I still find it hard to believe… he might be a magician. The fact that he deliberately performed a noisy ritual in a position where enemy soldiers and vanguard commanders could confirm his existence, when he didn’t need to, was to create the perception that ‘all this happened because of a ritual to the sky.’ The reason being-“

“To hide the fact that he is a magician.”

“Exactly.”

Serpina fell into thought for a moment, then asked her again.

“So Jenna, are you saying that the first magician of this era has appeared in the Brans army?”

“When you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.”

When you eliminate the impossible, what remains is the truth…

“And checking the historical records, magicians typically appeared during times of chaos. Timing-wise, it’s not that strange.”

“…I see. We need to investigate further.”

Serpina, lost in thought, tapped the armrest with her finger.

‘Whether that person is the man from my dreams… or truly the first magician… someday, I will inevitably have to face him.’

She let out a short sigh.

Even her sighing appearance was extremely seductive, possessing enough beauty to captivate others.

“Jenna. Information about that man. Anything will do, can you collect as much as possible?”

“My lord. Not ‘can you,’ but ‘do so.’ I will carry out any order.”

“…Hmm. Then I’ll leave it to you.”

“Yes.”

If he was indeed a magician who had finally revealed himself, as Jenna said.

For the unification of the world, she couldn’t afford not to collect the chess piece called ‘magician.’

And incidentally, she could also confirm if he was the person who kept appearing in her dreams.

Serpina set a short-term goal.

It was ‘to meet the white-haired man.’

And at least until this moment, she had never failed to achieve the goals she had set.

* * *

Valhart Castle.

Although all the glory of the old imperial era had faded since it became a battlefield-

It was still a massive city located in the eastern part of the central continent, housing a large population.

The color hoisted above this castle was a deep red.

A red flag, reminiscent of bloodstains, danced freely according to the direction of the wind.

The blood-colored flag, symbolizing the Aeshus army.

The lord, Baranga Yurie Aeshus, quite liked this color, saying it represented the blood bond between herself and her comrades who followed her.

And.

In the royal castle of Valhart, Baranga Yurie Aeshus – called ‘Yurie’ by her comrades – was conversing with an old man with a long beard.

“So. You failed?”

“Yes. I am deeply sorry.”

Sitting on the throne, the absolute ruler of the Aeshus army, Yurie, smiled regretfully and said.

“Epinel must have had a hard time cleaning up. By the way, even you have moments of failure in your strategies.”

Her long black hair gave a very elegant impression.

Her attire was also incredibly simple for that of a ruler. It could just as well have been the clothing of an ordinary general.

The only thing proving she was the lord was the fact that she was sitting on the throne.

If there was anything unique about her, it was the color of her eyes.

One eye was a deep blue, and the other was a light sky blue.

These two differently colored eyes gave her a peculiar charm that couldn’t be felt from others.

Yurie encouraged the old man, then fell into thought.

The plan to clear out all the troops from Laclaine Castle, located on the eastern border of the Brans army, then immediately invade Laclaine Castle to advance into the central region while making the Charam and Allepel armies virtual satellite states to somehow balance against the Brans army, had been completely foiled.

“But how did they find out? Did they know? Did the Charam people run their mouths too cheaply?”

“No. The strategy was perfect. However… it seems there was someone in the Brans army who noticed our plot from the very beginning.”

“Are you talking about Farfalle? You said so yourself. She’s the smartest among those who studied under you?”

The old man shook his head and said.

“Miss Farfalle is certainly intelligent… but I don’t think she has the capacity to see through a strategy from the very beginning.”

The Aeshus army’s strategy.

[Spreading false rumors about planning to attack the Allepel army after secretly communicating with the Charam and Allepel armies, then inducing the Charam army to attack the Brans army first].

This seemingly perfect strategy had apparently been accurately predicted by someone from the execution stage.

“Then who else could it be?”

“I’m not sure about that… but ultimately, it was all my misjudgment. I apologize once again.”

“It’s alright. You did your best, didn’t you? I think it’s fortunate that you realized it when the Brans army didn’t move as expected.”

The fact that they were able to wrap things up without getting entangled in the Brans army’s counterattack was largely due to the old man’s contribution.

Yes.

The long-bearded old man before her.

A man who had intended to spend his life buried in obscurity, nurturing future scholars.

Yurie had spent nearly a month with her comrades at his residence, persuading and persuading him to become her advisor.

What the Aeshus army lacked was not outstanding generals, nor the mysterious and tight bond spread among the commanders, nor the will to open a new sky without succeeding the sky of the Einhart Empire – but someone to take the position of advisor to be their brain.

A rumor that reached her as she searched for an advisor.

The story that ‘that person who once worked for the Einhart royal family is staying not far from Valhart Castle.’

She didn’t know why such a heavyweight was hiding within her territory… but from Yurie’s perspective, it was an enormous stroke of luck.

So.

From Yurie’s standpoint, it was okay if a strategy or two failed.

In fact, this was a situation where a completely exposed strategy had been well managed.

She encouraged the old man and called his name.

“Don’t worry too much, and continue to lend me your wisdom. …Ginor.”

“Yes, my lord. I, Ginor, will work with the sole determination to make you the unifying ruler.”

The Empire’s Sage · Ginor Nighthart.

Now, he was working as the national advisor to the Aeshus army.