The Extra Strategist’s Royal Road Chapter 209.
Knock knock! As I knocked on the mountain lodge door, I felt a presence inside like a frightened herbivore.
“Um, it’s me. Can I come in?”
“C-Come in.”
A trembling voice.
As I opened the door and entered, I saw Estelle sitting at the table, fidgeting nervously. She was sweating profusely and her eyes were darting around.
Seeing her silly appearance, I felt my tension easing.
“Haha… Are your wounds okay?”
“Y-Yes! I’m fine!”
“You’re too nervous.”
I sat across from her at the table. Estelle seemed to have trouble making eye contact and didn’t know what to do.
“I’m sorry. There were various complicated circumstances at that time, but whatever the case, I ended up seriously injuring you.”
“No!”
Estelle spoke strongly, as if she couldn’t yield on this point.
“Ars, you did nothing wrong. It was all my fault.”
“You don’t need to comfort me like that.”
“No, it’s not comfort. It’s just the truth.”
“Huh?”
“While you had no way of recognizing me, that wasn’t the case for me. When you were fighting with Mr. Cuthbert, you used both sword and spear simultaneously, right? If I had been calm, I would have realized it was you then.”
That was true too.
Of course, I understand. The battlefield is a place where your mind is as chaotic as riding a roller coaster, so it’s not strange that she couldn’t think clearly.
“So don’t say it was your fault. Rather, I received help from you. You infiltrated Iswakan for me and g-gave me a blood transfusion…”
“Come to think of it, are there any side effects? The old lady named Nimus said there might be some effects.”
“So far, not really… But I can feel it. Your blood, flowing in my body.”
I thought Estelle was exaggerating. A blood transfusion shouldn’t be that big of a deal.
Well, I’ve never received a blood transfusion in my life, so I’m not in a position to say anything.
‘Maybe a blood transfusion through blood magic is different.’
The awkward atmosphere gradually eased. Estelle also relaxed her body and regained her smile.
“By the way.”
“Yes?”
“You’re not using honorifics with me? You used to always speak formally. Now you’re speaking naturally.”
“Ah, without realizing it.”
“Without realizing…?”
“I’ve come to talk like this with Erina. Maybe I’ve gotten used to it.”
“Erina…. She’s with you, isn’t she?”
“Remember that lightning mage from back then? That’s Erina.”
“I thought it might be her. I saw the Elaine family crest drawn on her back.”
“I drew that. I did a good job, didn’t I?”
Estelle pouts her lips, seemingly envious.
“It seems you’ve gotten quite close with Erina.”
“Yeah. I guess it’s because we’ve been in situations where we had to rely on each other.”
“Hmm…”
Before, I tended to keep a distance from Erina and Estelle, except for Yumir and Eo. That distance seems to have disappeared now.
Estelle seems to have noticed this too, looking surprised.
“I feel like you’ve become more affectionate somehow.”
“Hah, if you say so, it must be true.”
“Will you tell me about everything that’s happened so far?”
“Let’s talk about that all together.”
It must have been about 20 minutes because master came into the lodge leading the group.
Estelle brightened up upon seeing my mother, but then froze when she saw Eonia’s belly.
“Ah, Ars?”
“Yes, it’s exactly as you imagine. The night before the transfer… It turned out like this.”
“I-I see… Following Yumir… C-Congratulations.”
Anyway, the situation was sorted out and we were able to talk calmly.
* * *
I calmly explained the current situation.
Master Ilya sighed with admiration upon hearing the names of the people I had found.
“To have found that many already. You’re really amazing. We were just worried about our own situation.”
“Your side might have had it harder. Suddenly falling into the Forest of Lament.”
“It was quite shocking indeed. There was friction with Article at first too. Come to think of it, you fought with Cuthbert, right?”
“Yes, he was a terrifying guy. Was he called the Knight of Terror enslaved by a dark mage?”
“That guy is special even among them. Besides that contract, he’s also connected through a special blood magic. That regenerative ability comes from there.”
“Anyway, he’s an opponent I never want to fight again.”
“…That might not be possible.”
“Pardon?”
“Ars, do you know what happened to Article?”
“No. Only that they’re stationed in Freyja.”
Master and Estelle’s expressions darkened.
“A big problem has occurred in Article. First… The leader, Mr. Kieran has died.”
“I don’t know who that is, but since you say he’s the leader, he must have been an important figure.”
“Yes, he was Article itself. He died while controlling a dragon.”
“While controlling…? Does that mean he died during the war?”
“Yes. It seems it was a surprise attack by the allies.”
“…!”
It was similar to Prince Proud’s death.
“Did they fail to control the dragon because of that?”
“Probably. The executives of Article think that not only that, but the control of that dragon was also taken by the villains.”
“So that’s why the dragon suddenly flew far away.”
“It’s still at the speculation stage, but it’s better to think that way.”
With this, the special weapon protecting Article is gone. If the kingdom learns of this fact, they might try to subjugate Article again.
“And one more thing. Cuthbert secretly left Article with 300 dark mages who shared his views.”
“With that scale…”
“Yes, he has no intention of operating in the shadows. And he’s not likely to operate in the kingdom either. Which means…”
“Did he go to the Savior Alliance?”
It was easy to guess that the Savior Alliance was behind this incident.
‘Not bad. To think they would take such thorough advantage of the situation.’
They made Article and the Ellan Kingdom clash to reduce the Ellan Kingdom’s military strength, and took away the control of the dragon that Article possessed and Article’s core military strength.
“Only the Savior Alliance gained from this war.”
‘It seems there’s a considerable schemer on the Alliance’s side.’
Speaking of the Alliance, I explained to my master my plans to operate in the Northern Continent.
“Indeed, it might be difficult for me and Estelle to operate in the kingdom.”
“Yes, so I was hoping you could go to the Northern Continent with Gaspar and prepare for the establishment of the Alliance.”
“To catch a tiger, one must go to the tiger’s den. But is there any reason to be hostile to the Alliance?”
“There is. To help my acquaintance, Rinoa Branford. Moreover, Aggert was sold as a slave to some alliance. We need to investigate the Alliance, if only to extract Aggert.”
“That’s more than enough reason. I understand. I’ll go to the Northern Continent with Gaspar. Is that all?”
“No, the main point is yet to come.”
I first pointed to Gunther.
After hearing about Gunther’s situation, Estelle tilted her head.
“Mental magic that causes loss of free will usually breaks when the caster dies. This is strange.”
“Is that so? Then why is Gunther…”
“There are a few cases. Typically, it’s when the person being controlled also agreed to have their free will taken away. In that case, the brainwashing doesn’t break even if the caster dies.”
“Come to think of it, I heard Gunther did agree.”
“Then that must be it. Hmm… This case is a bit overwhelming for me. It might be better to ask Grandma Nimus.”
Estelle smiles awkwardly, as if apologetic.
“Hehe… I’ve only been learning black magic for a few months. I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine as long as there’s a way. Then, would it be difficult to find Eo’s memories too?”
“That might actually be easier. Let me take a look.”
Estelle gently placed her hand, filled with magical power, on Eo’s head and closed her eyes.
At that moment, Master Ilya whispered quietly.
“Estelle is amazing. She seems to have a talent called Banshee, I think.”
“Yes, indeed…”
With Erina and Dorofei too. It’s amazing how many people with rare attributes or talents are around me.
Well, on the flip side, there are also those like Princess Sophia or Ash who have no talent at all.
From what I’ve heard, Master Ilya also has no talent for magic. She can only use simple body enhancement magic and Stoneskin, the most basic of earth attribute magic.
Gaspar is in a similar situation, so it could be said that among my acquaintances, those born with magical talent are actually in the minority.
At that moment, Estelle opened her eyes.
“It’s quite something. The person who cast this mental magic is a black mage with considerable skill.”
“They say it was done by the elven executives. Is it still difficult?”
“No, in cases where the magic has a form like this, it’s actually easier.”
“Isn’t it the opposite? I learned that mental magic with form is harder to destroy.”
That’s because trying to break it could potentially collapse the mind itself.
“Usually, that’s true. But I’m different. If it has a form, I can make it mine.”
It seemed Estelle had made part of the memory sealing magic cast on Eonia her own through magic contamination and then released it.
“Phew! The level of magic was high, so I could only manage to make a small hole rather than completely remove it, but this should be enough.”
“Huh…? I don’t feel any different.”
Eo asks anxiously. There was no sign of her regaining her memories.
“The memories will return little by little. It will take some time, but not too long.”
Eo looked at me as if asking if that was enough.
From my perspective, it was actually better. I hoped that even when her memories returned, her current innocent demeanor would remain as much as possible.
With this, the matters of Gunther and Eonia were settled for now.
Lastly, I brought up the topic of blood stones.
“Blood stones?”
“Yes, I know someone who’s a master of tracking magic. I was thinking of asking that person to put a trace on the blood stones.”
“That’s innovative. I’ve never heard of using them that way.”
“I’m not sure about it either. I’m trying this because there’s no other way.”
“Ah, so that’s why your mother came. To find aunt Julia.”
“Also, make a blood stone with Gaspar’s blood.”
“Huh? Why that…”
“Don’t ask about that part.”
Estelle nodded.
“I’m sorry, but we’ll have to ask Grandma Nimus for that too. I haven’t learned blood magic…”
“Really? I heard all the mages of Article learned blood magic.”
“That’s only for those who weren’t born with the darkness attribute. They need to receive Kieran’s blood to use the darkness attribute. So they had to learn blood magic. But I was born with the darkness attribute, so I didn’t need to. Oh, but I’m planning to learn it now. Since I received Ars’ blood. Even if only to deal with any effects that might occur.”
“Then we’ll have to ask that grandmother for the blood stones. When can we meet her?”
“She’s become unwell and has returned to Article. If we go now, we should be able to meet her by evening. Article is empty now, so it won’t be dangerous either.”
“That’s good. Let’s go right away.”
At that moment, Estelle seemed to have something on her mind and hesitantly spoke to me.
“Um, Ars? When making the blood stones, would it be possible to make one for Ars too?”
“Huh? Why mine? There’s no one who can be found with my blood stone, right? It won’t be of any help even if we make it.”
“H-how can you say it won’t help? What if Ars’ whereabouts become uncertain? We could track you with it. Besides, since I’ve received Ars’ blood, I might be able to find you too. Is this still not helpful?”
Her tone seemed somewhat lifeless.
Even so, what she said made sense. Mother and Master agreed as well. They seemed to think it was necessary, as it could be used to find me in case of emergency.
Having reached that conclusion, we decided to move to Article where that grandmother was said to be.
***
Meanwhile, Erina, who had returned to Baien, was strolling in the palace gardens amidst an ominous atmosphere.
The palace was preparing for the funeral of the deceased 1st Prince Proud and the missing 3rd Prince Paris.
Although no one was wearing mourning clothes yet, wearing black was encouraged as much as possible.
“What business brings you here?”
“I’ve come to see Princess Rosa. Could you relay that message?”
“Please wait a moment.”
After requesting an audience with Rosa, Erina recalled Ars’ request.
-Erina, when you return to Baien, please meet with Princess Rosa. I have something I want to tell her.
She exuded an air of gravity as if she were a spy. She was busy stealing glances at passersby with sharp eyes.
‘If the information from Ars is correct, Prince Joseph seems suspicious.’
Erina didn’t particularly harbor ill feelings towards Joseph.
She quickly realized that he liked her, but he had never approached her in an annoying way and was generally gentlemanly.
She was only slightly uncomfortable. As he was the twin brother of her dear Princess Rosa, she maintained an appropriate distance to avoid hurting each other’s feelings.
However, when she learned that he was trying to use that as an excuse to harass Ars, whatever affection she had left vanished, turning into a level of disgust.
‘Could Prince Joseph have joined hands with the Savior Alliance to try and steal the right of succession?’
And he was trying to use that to harass her and Ars.
To her, it was an extremely plausible hypothesis, but Ars didn’t think so.
‘What Ars is suspicious of is…’
At that moment, she saw the 2nd Prince Landis moving with his royal guards. Erina watched him carefully.
‘No matter how I look at it, it doesn’t seem to be Prince Landis…’
At the time, Erina had asked. Why suspect Prince Landis?
Ars’ answer was simple.
Result-oriented thinking.
With the death of the 1st Prince Proud, Landis could legitimately inherit the right of succession, and by surviving the assassin’s attack, he gained both sympathy and justification.
Moreover, conspiracy theories were emerging that Joseph might have tried to kill all his brothers, so Prince Landis ended up benefiting the most as a result.
Ars had speculated that Landis was the mastermind from a result-oriented perspective.
Erina was deep in thought. Just then, Princess Rosa appeared.
Rosa tried to smile with a pale face.
“I’m glad you returned safely, Erina. Did you make any progress with Wade?”
“Hehe, yes. Thanks to you, Princess.”
“Hmm? Seeing your expression, it seems you really did make progress. So, when can we expect to see a baby?”
“What!?”
“Why are you making such a surprised face? So, how is it?”
“Well… I might be able to give you good news… soon?”
“Wow, really?”
“Ah, I don’t know yet!”
Knowing that once Rosa started steering the conversation, there would be no end to it, Erina shook her head to gather her thoughts and asked with a serious expression.
“Princess, there’s something important I’d like to discuss with you.”
Rosa, who had been smiling thinking Erina would share travel stories, froze at the following words.
“Do you happen to know anything about the honeymoon relationship between Prince Joseph and the Savior Alliance?”
A direct fastball right to the body.
Rosa glared fiercely at Erina.
“Erina, are you trying to make me angry?”
“If I’ve offended you, I’m truly sorry. But I was told this is an urgent matter.”
“You were told? Hmph, I can guess who. What did Wade say to you? What did he say? Tell me, I’m curious too.”
Erina chose her words carefully, then looked around and said.
“He said that soon His Majesty the King will pass away due to unknown causes, and one of the princes will try to seize the throne. And he said the method could be quite malicious.”
“…”
Rosa’s expression turned serious, and then she sighed.
“Sigh, I understand your lovesick feelings a hundred times over, but…”
“…”
“Perhaps such a thing could happen. Anyone could think that way. But the credibility changes depending on who’s saying it. Even if he has some skill, the fact that he’s a junior student at the Academy doesn’t change. Are you asking me to believe the negative delusions of a junior Academy student?”
“Princess, he is a great general.”
“What?”
“In the Central Continent, he was one of the top generals in the entire continent and a superstar. He was also skilled in politics. He was set to become the king of a kingdom to unify the continent.”
“Central Continent? Are you joking?”
“It’s up to you whether to believe it or not, Princess. All I want to say is that Ars’ warning likely has the credibility you mentioned. So please don’t take it lightly.”
Rosa couldn’t hide her confusion. After meeting Erina’s serious gaze, she sighed and nodded as if telling her to continue.
Only then did Erina begin to relay Ars’ message to Rosa.
Hi guys, please check out the new novel I picked “I killed the Demon King. It was a mistake.”
TL NOTE:
Schedule: Everyday
Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you would like to support me or read up to 30 chapters ahead, you can do so via patreon.com/ChibiGiant. OR by unlocking chapters.
You can also Rate this series in your free time @NovelUpdate.
