The Extra Strategist’s Royal Road Chapter 274
Dorofei spoke with a tired face about past events.
Listening to him, it seemed the Alliance had gone through a tumultuous time both internally and externally.
While Ellan Kingdom had managed to sort out the power dynamics before the Great Chaos, the Alliance was at a time when the Upper and lower-middle Alliance were about to engage in a power struggle.
“The Upper Alliance members pushed the lower-middle Alliance members, who didn’t receive the Teleportation Scroll benefits like us, into dangerous dungeons.”
“Didn’t they refuse?”
“Once a state of emergency was declared, the justification and command rights were with the Upper Alliance.”
The Upper Alliance used this to suppress the resistance of the lower-middle Alliance.
After driving the lower-middle Alliance into a corner, they reportedly captured their executives, either trying to persuade them or, if persuasion failed, torturing and killing them.
Elliot was such a case.
He looked shadowed, as if he had undergone severe torture.
I shrugged my shoulders and said to him, “Elliot, you’ve lost quite a bit of weight compared to when I last saw you.”
“Ars! Is that what you’re saying right now!?”
Dorofei was shocked, but Elliot seemed to understand my meaning and gave a bitter smile.
“Are you saying it’s just deserts?”
“Well, yes. I told you to stay with the kingdom side until the situation calmed down.”
It was Elliot’s choice to refuse and return to the Alliance.
“I had no choice back then. I thought you were the mastermind behind all of this.”
“And now? Has your thinking changed a bit?”
“…I still can’t trust you completely, but I’ve clearly identified who the real enemy is.”
“That’s enough.”
The Alliance was currently experiencing a period of turbulence.
The Upper Alliances that had trampled the lower-middle Alliances established a centralized supreme Alliance called ‘Irarden’ and reorganized the governance structure.
The leader of this Irarden held absolute power within the Alliance and essentially became a king.
‘Irarden…’
I thought this would be the final opponent.
Only after unifying the Central Continent, destroying Irarden, and integrating this outside world could I conclude everything.
If the force that incited Svenner to invade Tunkai was Irarden, the war that would break out in the Central Continent could be an indirect confrontation with this Irarden.
“Anyway, I’m glad you’re safe. You were absolutely necessary.”
“Are you talking about tracking magic?”
“Yes. I’ve brought the belongings of the missing persons. I wanted to ask right away, but…”
“If it’s that, just wait a moment. I’m in a hectic situation myself, and I want to confirm the well-being of our Alliance members who were rescued together first.”
“…Okay. But please do it as soon as possible. We don’t have much time either.”
“Understood.”
Elliot leaves the room, supported by someone.
Dorofei watches his back with concern.
Then he speaks softly, “Since the Alliance leader passed away, Elliot is now temporarily taking the Alliance leader’s position. Despite how he looks, he’s a person with a strong sense of responsibility… He seems worried about the unseen Alliance members.”
“Anton said they didn’t rescue many Alliance members.”
“Yes… That’s why he’s feeling even more devastated.”
A heavy silence fell.
Dorofei seems to want to change the atmosphere, changing his expression and raising his voice, “More importantly, Ars! I can now create the Teleportation Scroll!”
“Really…? Wasn’t it supposed to take at least two more years?”
“Recently, there was no time to consider such things. It’s like using it with the mindset that it’s better than nothing, so I’ve learned the knack for it.”
“Oh…!”
Being able to use the Teleportation Scroll on the spot was quite a merit.
“From now on, I’ll accompany you, please take care of me.”
With Dorofei joining, the power has been strengthened once again.
If they could find all the missing persons, the situation would be perfect.
* * *
Elliot required quite a lot of time before using tracking magic.
He said it was because of his poor physical condition, but in reality, he was buying time for his Alliance members.
He seemed to think that if he readily used tracking magic, I would discard him and his Alliance members like disposable items.
So he was reluctant to use tracking magic until he found all his Alliance members.
Dorofei was in the process of persuading him.
Thanks to that, I was able to take a vacation.
Although Sophia brought several new dungeons to be conquered, master Ilya told me to rest and took Anton, Gunther, and others to conquer them, giving me some leisure.
“Ugh!”
Stretching out, feeling boredom after a long time.
“Eeng…!”
As I moved, Ryuna, who was sleeping with my arm as a pillow, whines in her sleep.
“Sorry.”
I provide the arm pillow again, and she starts sleeping soundly.
I spent quite a while looking at her face.
Then, with a knock – ‘Knock knock!’ – Yumir appears.
“Young master, you should wake up now. It’s almost mealtime.”
“I’ve been awake since earlier. I was watching Ryuna sleep.”
“Oh, young master, haven’t I told you before that you’re being too indulgent lately?”
“What can I do? It’s cute how she follows me.”
At that moment, Eonia appears, holding the twins.
“Yumir, is Ars awake?”
“See for yourself.”
Eo looks at Ryuna and my appearance and speaks with a slightly pouty expression, “Ars, if it’s like that, please hold Ernie and Ed too.”
“Okay, lay them here.”
Ernie and Ed were still at an age where they needed to sleep in a cradle, so they couldn’t sleep together like Ryuna.
Eonia carefully placed the twins’ heads on my arm.
However, the twins weren’t sleeping and started causing a ruckus, giggling.
Ryuna wakes up, seemingly annoyed by the noise.
The three of them start playing and fighting on my arm, turning it into a battlefield.
Since the scene was heartwarming, I decided to postpone breakfast a bit more.
I came down to the dining room around the time the children were complaining about being hungry.
As I appeared carrying the children, Mirabel glared at me. She speaks with an awkward pronunciation, having apparently learned quite a bit of language during my time away in the Central Continent.
“Ernie, Ed, I’ll hold you.”
“Yes, please hold them.”
As I hand over the twins, Mirabel smiles triumphantly like a warrior who has obtained a legendary sword and shield.
Then Ryuna, who was walking with my coat, starts pulling at my pants leg and whining to be held.
When I arrived at the dining room holding Ryuna, Sophia was sitting there unexpectedly.
She was exchanging some words with Ash.
“Is it true? Did you really swear loyalty to him?”
“Shh! Don’t talk about it, it’s embarrassing!”
It seemed he was telling her about the situation in the Central Continent.
As I sat down, Sophia speaks as if she had been waiting.
“Wade, I came to report the current status of the dungeon subjugation.”
“Oh, quite a progress has been made.”
The dungeon subjugation was gaining momentum, and the areas around the capital had already been completely recaptured.
“It’s all thanks to you. The morale has greatly increased due to the subjugation of the Seven Deadly Sins.”
“I was just doing what I was told. You, Sophia, have worked much harder.”
“Hmph. Anyway, it seems Rosa is preparing to grant you a territory. Since you received the title of duke but didn’t receive a corresponding territory.”
“I’m thinking there’s nothing quite like a sudden rise to success.”
Because within the past two months, he had been granted the title of duke and also inherited the throne.
“Rosa seems to think she’ll give you whatever territory you want. What will you do?”
“Forget it. I’m already struggling just to govern my kingdom, so I don’t want to do such things here either.”
“I knew you’d say that. Then I’ll consult with Bisketa and handle that part.”
After that, the meal continued with quiet conversation.
At that moment, I suddenly realized someone was missing.
“Estelle? Where is Erina?”
“Well… She seems to have been feeling unwell since yesterday.”
“Unwell?”
I was worried because of the incidents in the Central Continent. It could be something like depression.
‘Should I go check her room?’
But then.
Kuang! Erina burst through the dining room door dramatically.
She looked incredibly happy beyond description.
“Sir Ars! It’s finally happened!”
She announced her pregnancy with an excited expression.
* * *
Rosa was the most delighted about Erina’s pregnancy.
Erina seemed to want to inform Rosa first and immediately headed to the royal palace.
I encountered an unexpected guest in the audience hall.
“Vandalin!”
He was sitting there with his characteristic dull face.
He seemed to have something to discuss and walked straight towards me.
“Let’s talk for a moment.”
“Oh, yes. Erina! Keep talking!”
As Vandalin’s expression looked quite serious, I guided him to my office.
He looked around my office once, then apparently losing interest, continued speaking.
“I heard there was an unclear sense of tension in the Central Continent.”
“Oh, that? Nothing has been confirmed yet. Although Svenner’s invasion of Tunkai was somewhat sudden, it’s not entirely incomprehensible.”
“No, it’s most likely due to the Mother Goddess intervention.”
“…What makes you so certain?”
“It’s because of that dungeon.”
“That dungeon?”
“I’m talking about Calvern’s Fortress.”
“…!?”
Calvern’s Fortress. One of the two major dungeons located in the north.
“The owner of that fortress, Calvern, has disappeared without a trace. If he had been eliminated, the dungeon would have disappeared with him, but that wasn’t the case.”
“Isn’t it similar to Mirabel’s case? Maybe he just temporarily left?”
“I thought so too. But the information you discovered has been bothering me. The resurrection through blood magic.”
“…No way.”
“That’s the very ‘no way’. It seems someone has used blood magic to resurrect Calvern.”
Vandalin’s expression was stiff.
His reaction made me curious about this Calvern character.
“Who is this Calvern?”
“He’s a human. A great hero and a great general.”
“Hmm…? Wasn’t the dungeon a trace of resistance by different races to prevent human invasion? So how could a human appear in a dungeon?”
“Because he fought against humans.”
“Against humans…?”
“He’s not a hero of humans. He was a hero of different races. Calvern led the oppressed races and fought numerous battles, killing hundreds of thousands of humans. He achieved miracles by winning several disadvantageous wars.”
“Wait a moment.”
Taking the side of different races and killing humans? That seemed strange.
“Isn’t the Mother Goddess’s purpose, the extinction of different races? So why would she recruit such a person? He would surely try to protect different races.”
“Right now, he has value just for that. Ars Elaine, now you answer. What is the status of different races in the Central Continent?”
“Ah…!”
“Yes, the beastmen are treated as slaves, elves have already disappeared, and all other different races have been extinct. What do you think would happen if Calvern were placed there?”
There was a high possibility that he would try to destroy all human kingdoms together with the beastmen of the West.
“The Mother Goddess has recruited Calvern to prevent you from unifying the Central Continent. A hero from the human race.”
“What’s the evidence that the Mother Goddess instigated this?”
“The act of resurrecting a body is beyond the realm of what an ordinary being can conceive. Moreover, the Mother Goddess would somehow be able to find a way to cross over to the Central Continent.”
Vandalin spoke solemnly.
“Be careful. Calvern was known as the God of War. Even you won’t be able to survive if you confront him head-on.”
Calvern, a mercenary brought from the past by the Mother Goddess.
This was the moment when the opponent of the great war was revealed.
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