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The Extra Strategist’s Royal Road Chapter 154

The Extra Strategist’s Royal Road Chapter 154

There was about a week’s time before the Rainpol Academy was opened. 

When I suggested taking a trip during that time, everyone readily agreed. Not only the vassals, but also the acquaintances.

Sophia was delighted at the thought of being able to see the interior of the Crossing and agreed. Gunther, as her escort, said he would come along.

Ash didn’t really want to go, but Lysithea dragged him along, thinking he would just wander off and go hunting if left alone.

Erina hesitated, not knowing how to insert herself among the group, but Estelle brought her along. As for Meissen, Olaf didn’t make a separate proposal, but Dorofei persuaded him. It seems they had become quite close after working together in the previous war.

In addition, there was Bisketa Kren. And Claire, Julia’s mother, also decided to come along. Including the baby Gawain, there were 21 people in the travel group in total.

Just the acquaintances alone made it 21 people. It’s quite exhilarating.

We decided to use five carriages for transportation. I told them to board the carriages in groups of four, and I would observe how the pairings formed.

‘As expected, this is how it turned out.’

As predicted, people paired up with those they were familiar with.

However, there were some awkward combinations where people weren’t close.

The assigned groups were as follows:

[Carriage 1 – Lysithea, Ilya, Eonia, Bisketa]

[Carriage 2 – Gaspar, Anton, Rutger, Ash]

[Carriage 3 – Estelle, Erina, Meissen, Sophia]

[Carriage 4 – Yumir, Claire, Ars, Julia]

[Carriage 5 – Olaf, Gunther, Dorofei, Aggert]

The lack of familiarity between the occupants of Carriage 2 was obvious, but since they all had good social skills, it wasn’t as awkward as it seemed.

The most awkward carriage was actually Carriages 2 and 3. At least Carriage 3 had Erina and Sophia, who had high sociability, and they were all women, so it was understandable. But Carriage 2 was a different story – there was no sign of any conversation.

I became curious about how awkward the atmosphere was in Carriage 2, so I decided to switch carriages and ride with them after we arrived at the relay station.

“Oh, Ars! You’re the one who’s joining us!”

Ash had an expression of being saved. It seemed they hadn’t properly exchanged a single word so far.

After I joined their carriage, the atmosphere loosened up a bit.

“Ash, why are you riding here?”

When I asked, Ash lowered his voice and whispered, “Do you think I wanted to be here? Lysithea forcibly pushed me in!”

It seems she was trying to prevent Ash from approaching the other women. Good move.

Ash expressed his dislike for the stiff atmosphere with a deep sigh.

Gaspar and Rutger seemed unfazed by the loneliness, but Anton was different.

“Anton, you’re the most unexpected one. I thought you’d be riding with your wife, Ilya.”

“Haha, it’s because Mirabel’s gaze was so piercing. I thought it would be better for the women to ride together, so I exchanged places with Lysithea.”

“What about the child?”

“Ilya is taking care of him.”

The conversation trailed off, and the suffocating silence returned. Given their taciturn personalities, the talk didn’t flow well.

I wanted to create a lively atmosphere somehow, but it was impossible, especially with Gaspar being so uncooperative.

‘Now, what kind of topic would interest Gaspar?’

I decided to bring up that subject this time.

“I’d like to ask you four for advice. It’s about the child that will soon be born. What do you think would be a good name?”

At that, Gaspar’s ear twitched.

Rutger also seemed interested and nodded as he spoke.

“Normally, people name their children after family members or parents. Since it’s Ars and Yumir’s child, if it’s a son, Almyr would be nice. And if it’s a daughter, Schmyr.”

What a depressing naming sense. Gaspar was about to explode in anger.

“Ugh! What kind of names are those?”

“What’s wrong with them?” Rutger asked shamelessly. I barely held back a hollow laugh.

“I have a question. Estelle’s name, you didn’t come up with that, did you?”

“Th-that, well, of course my wife chose it, but is there something strange about it?”

The topic of names hit the mark. Gaspar started talking more actively, and the atmosphere in the carriage loosened up.

We also made some progress on the baby’s name options.

For a son, Ganz, Noris, or Yulfin.

For a daughter, Erny, Elly, or Alisa, and so on.

I returned to my own carriage and consulted Yumir about those name suggestions.

* * *

When we arrived at the Kuravel Kingdom, we unloaded our luggage at the prepared inn.

Since it was still before sunset, we were able to engage in some activities.

I immediately headed to the military management facility to receive a progress report on the excavation.

Last time, when Eo, Bisketa, and I visited this place and confirmed the Elves’ Forest, I had taken one measure afterwards.

No matter how I thought about it, that Elves’ Forest seemed suspicious.

Both Bisketa’s mention of the Elves’ secret warehouse and the mysterious voice Eonia heard made me think there must be some secret there.

And if there was a secret, there was only one possibility – the underground space. Apart from the trees, the forest was nothing more.

However, the soldiers who first searched that forest were unable to find any clues about the underground space. Therefore, I judged that the underground space must be much deeper than I had imagined.

Since I had ordered the military’s specialized personnel to thoroughly investigate the underground as deeply as possible, about 3 months had passed. It was about time to see some results.

Fortunately, the officer in charge was reporting with a joyful expression.

“Perfect timing. We’ve just found a clue about the underground space.”

“It took quite some time.”

“Yes, the depth was the issue. I don’t know how they dug it, but it was built in an exceptionally deep location.”

Apparently, it was formed at around the 10th floor underground. To carry out construction at such a deep point, there must have been a massive opening leading underground, but it had not been discovered, which slowed down the search.

Even the specialists I deployed were initially at a loss. They had to blindly dig down before finally discovering traces of artificial construction, and then began the search based on that.

“Now we’re trying to locate the entrance based on the scale of that underground space. If everything goes well, we might be able to find it by tomorrow.”

“That’s good.”

It seemed like the timing was just right.

And the next day in the morning, the military officer came with a bright expression.

“Mr. Wade. We seem to have discovered the entrance. Would you like to come and see?”

While I was preparing for the meritorious awards ceremony and a light party, I left the preparations to Olaf and went to the site with Bisketa.

I wanted to bring Eo as well, but she was reluctant to go, so I had to leave her behind.

The Elves’ Forest we arrived at was in total disarray. Where there was once majestic and beautiful nature, the traces of construction had left it desolate.

There were pits dug everywhere, and all the obstructing trees had been cut down.

Seeing this, Bisketa commented, “The Elves would curse us if they saw this scene.”

“Haha… Well, the vitality of nature should be able to recover quickly.”

The search team was gathered around a particular tree, examining and tapping on it.

As I approached, the officer in charge, who seemed to be a captain, lit up his face.

“Ah, you’ve arrived. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Wade. I’m Captain Yovis of the Special Forces Squad 93.”

“Yes, nice to meet you. So, is the entrance to that underground here?”

“It seems the entrance is hidden under this tree. That’s why the previous search team couldn’t find it.”

“The entrance is under a tree? Is that even possible?”

“Normally, it wouldn’t be. But I suspect they must have transplanted the tree to cover the entrance. However, the feasibility of moving such a huge tree is questionable. I can only think that the Elves had some special technique.”

Anyway, now that the existence of the entrance was confirmed, I was merciless.

“Then let’s start cutting down the tree.”

Chop! Chop! Under the successive axe blows, even the thick tree trunk couldn’t withstand it and came crashing down.

Thud! The tree fell with a sound like an earthquake. And after splitting the remaining stump, a hole about 2 meters in diameter was revealed.

The hole was blocked by a complex tangle of tree roots.

“This is the entrance…?”

“It’s certainly narrow. With this size, they wouldn’t have been able to transport materials to build the facility… But let’s go ahead and explore it.”

The Elves’ secret warehouse had finally been uncovered.

Of course, I couldn’t be the first to enter.

I said to the captain, “There might be some dangers. Yovis, only let those who volunteer enter this search. And let them know that I will provide an additional 20-fold reward in the name of Wade.”

“There’s no need for such consideration… Thank you.”

“No, it’s only natural. Then, I’ll leave it to you.”

Volunteers immediately came forward. They were causing a commotion, saying they wanted to be the first to enter since I was offering a 20-fold reward.

Noting their enthusiastic attitude, I returned to the place where the party was being prepared.

* * *

This trip was more of a team-building event, so the purpose was more about fostering camaraderie among the vassals rather than a meritorious awards ceremony.

To that end, I was in the midst of planning various events. This meritorious awards ceremony was just one of them.

I had decided to announce the awards up to 7th place.

In 7th place were Rutger and Gunther. In 6th place were Gaspar and Aggert.

“Next, in 5th place! Ash Dranvalt, Lysithea Dearwind!”

“Oh, what? Am I getting an award too?”

Ash had been eagerly anticipating the rewards given to the previous winners.

However, nothing was given to him. Instead, Lysithea was awarded a 10 million sillan bonus.

Ash protested.

“What? Why don’t I get anything?”

“Well, you’re not my vassal, are you?”

“But Lia isn’t your vassal either!”

“But she’s working under me for now.”

Lysithea was nodding in satisfaction. Ash looked at her with envious eyes. 10 million sillans would be equivalent to about 100 million in modern terms. It was quite a large amount, considering it was a personal honor award, not a national one.

“Next, the 4th rank! Sophia Veron! Anton Quinter!”

I could no longer complain about the joint awards at the year-end awards ceremony. 

Now I understood why they had been giving out awards in joint fashion. Otherwise, it would be difficult to avoid hurting people’s feelings one by one.

“They both performed excellently in the civilian rescue operation and played their roles well in the battles. That’s why they are 4th rank.”

“It’s an honor!”

Anton accepted the 30 million sillan award with a bright smile. But there was none for Sophia.

“Quite a generous amount. I thought it was just a joke when I heard they were suddenly doing these honors, but…”

Sophia smacked her lips.

The large amounts were obviously not just for show, but to demonstrate to those who were not vassals how well I was treating them.

“Next, 3rd rank! Meissen Roifeir, Dorofei Grimwood!”

“What? Me? Senior Meissen! Let’s go!”

Dorofei dragged Meissen in front of me. While he had been nervous during the national honors, he was now beaming with a wide smile, seemingly comfortable in this setting.

Meissen just gave an awkward smile.

I handed them an award worth 50 million sillans.

Honestly, the expenditure was quite substantial, but I had the excellent funding source of Juras, so the burden was not that great.

“Thank you, Ars. But I don’t want to accept this.”

“Huh?”

“I don’t really have any desire for money. This war was to rescue civilians, so I’d like it to be used for Balas’ civilian restoration work, if possible.”

Dorofei, as expected.

Meissen also declined the award, like Dorofei.

Applause erupted from around the venue. Ash subtly urged Lysithea, “Since it’s a good intention, let’s decline it too.” But Lysithea just pinched Ash’s side.

Anton also wanted to decline the award, but his wife, Ilya grabbed his arm firmly with a stern face, preventing him.

“The 2nd rank is… Eonia Mirabel, Olaf. Both of you.”

It was uncanny. Eonia had once again secured the 2nd rank.

“Eonia Mirabel, you disrupted the enemy’s intelligence network and achieved results in guerrilla warfare. Olaf, you constructed palisades and perfectly repelled the invading enemy. That is why you are 2nd rank.”

The award was 100 million sillans.

However, due to Dorofei’s previous refusal, their positions were now awkward.

Eonia, who was not interested in money to begin with, coolly declined. But Olaf was visibly disappointed.

“Could I just return half? 50%?”

This prompted jeers from the others.

“Then 70%! I’ll return 70%!”

So Olaf took only 30 million sillan, seemingly satisfied as he happily returned to his seat.

But Eonia was not like that.

She remained in her seat, looking disappointed yet with a glimmer of hope.

“Is… The 1st rank Sir Ars?”

She knew there was no one more deserving of the 1st rank than herself.

I honestly admitted it.

“That’s right. The 1st rank is me! So this is the end of the honors!”

To be honest, I didn’t have enough money to give as the award. 

According to the sequence, the 1st rank should receive around 200 million sillan. I didn’t have that much, and more importantly, with so many people, the meaning of the 1st rank had become rather special among the vassals. Since there was no clear 1st rank, I decided to take it myself.

“That’s the end of the honors, so now please enjoy the party.”

The atmosphere loosened, and everyone began chatting and starting their meals. The food was prepared by Bisketa, traditional cuisine of the Kuravel Kingdom.

I was also hungry and wanted to eat, but Eonia firmly grabbed my sleeve.

“…Ars.”

“What’s wrong?”

Eonia’s face was incredibly serious, as if standing at a major crossroads of her life.

“Since Ars has taken the 1st rank in this honors, can I consider myself the 1st among the vassals…?”

It was like a plea, seeking my permission.

I felt I shouldn’t answer this lightly.

Strictly speaking, 2nd place is just 2nd place, and if that were the case, Olaf would also be there, so she couldn’t really be called the 1st. But for some reason, my instinct was telling me not to say that.

After pondering for a long while, I answered.

“Yes, you can consider yourself the de facto 1st.”

Olaf would understand.

At my response, Eonia hesitated, as if surprised, but then resolved herself and said, “Then, tonight… There is something I would like to discuss with you. Can you hear me out?”

“Of course.”

“Yes, I’ll come see you tonight.”

It was only then that I realized what she wanted to discuss with me.

‘So that’s what it was.’

I also needed to prepare myself mentally for this.


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The Extra Strategist’s Royal Road

The Extra Strategist’s Royal Road

Score 9.2
Status: Completed Type: Author: Released: 2022 Native Language: Korean
I ended up possessing Ars Elaine, a supporting character in the game. Struggling to prevent my death, I pave my way.

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