◈ Episode 531. Delegates (3)
This, surprisingly…….
“You deserved it.”
Maybe I’m a late bloomer?
“It’s just so refreshing.”
……Seriously, learn magic now?
Why, I thought you said magic wasn’t a skill.
Even a simple, ignorant berserker can learn one, right?
Leonie’s imagination was running wild.
What pulled her back down to reality.
It was Jesse, walking alongside her.
“I’ve never seen proof like that before.”
“What? This is your first time?”
Did I mention Matisse Dean Karl?
That guy seemed so natural for his first time.
First of all, the overwhelming ease.
Wasn’t that the feeling?
“That’s how angry he must have been.”
“Angry, what was that?”
I don’t know about his personality.
Matisse’s reaction to the press was a bit of a razor’s edge. Anyway, the effect was great, with so many cameras and reporters entering the crystal hall, the Magic Tower.
Druk.
“How come there wasn’t even a single article?”
I ask in disbelief.
Leonie fiddles with her phone.
Looking at Leonie, the cone hat said.
-It seems like you really didn’t know about your world.
I thought if you had a brain, you’d be able to think.
A few times. No, it was a world of adventurers who had been saved by Chief Lee dozens of times, which meant it could be destroyed again and again and again by his change of heart.
-I thought they knew that and still did it.
I should be glad of that.
-I never thought the day would come when I would be relieved by my ignorance.
In that sense, Senior Matisse, you are kind.
You know how to make a proof at the level of your audience.
If I were a Tower Master, I’d make you an Elder Mage at once.
I’d keep you around, feed you, and pamper you…….
Jesse interrupted the cone hat.
“We still need to watch.”
“Watch again? You’re still a bit of a mild steel…….”
“Just to make sure that this proof is enough to wake everyone up.”
“……Ah, that’s what you were talking about?”
Tower Master was stunned by Jesse’s words.
-Jesse, you can’t possibly be that stupid…….
You can’t be.
I was going to tell you.
And now that I remembered, it was true.
Jesse jogged Tower Master’s memory.
“Did you know, Ms. Leonie? How many times the Shining’s guild house has been raided since Lox left the Shining?”
“I don’t know, the article didn’t come up.”
Dodo-dodo.
A quick search revealed that the Shining article hadn’t been updated.
What that meant was simple. The Shining, with Lox and most of the rest of the guild gone, was no longer in the news. They’d fallen behind in the ranker group.
Leonie glared at her.
“Seeing as how Camilla isn’t following you around……. It looks like you’ve been attacked, like, five or six times, maybe seven?”
Jesse held up another unit.
“No, it’s been over a hundred times already.”
“What, what, over a hundred times?!”
Wait a minute.
Those words were spoken while Jeju Island was burning with Paimon’s curse. Even when humanity was literally on the brink of destruction. And by players, you mean that the fuckers were drooling over Shining’s guild house and raiding it……?
Leonie shuddered.
“This is seriously making me despise humans. How great are those assholes? Jesse, don’t you think those assholes know you’ve rejoined the Shining, since you said so in your interview?”
Jesse nodded.
“That’s why I can’t relax.”
The media.
For now, they were keeping their mouths shut and not releasing any footage from the shoot at the Magic Tower. But as time passed, as the memories of today faded, they could always turn around.
Not only that.
In the Crystal Hall, in the audience, there were countless players. Players not affiliated with the Holy War Alliance, of course. There were also many players who had only put their names on the list with half-hearted intentions.
Jesse spoke meaningfully.
“Fire Moths are everywhere.”
So the two of them hurried their steps.
Soon, Jesse and Leonie were standing in front of a portal in the Magic Tower.
Their destination was the Kingdom of Yusra.
Gooooo.
Time was running out due to the unexpected proof, but discipline has to be strict since ancient times. The purpose was to attend a pre-scheduled meeting of the Holy War Alliance.
Leonie bit her chiseled lip.
“Let’s see. See who’s up to no good.”
.
.
.
True story.
“……No, if that bastard is like this, what am I?”
Leonie couldn’t look Jesse in the eye.
She couldn’t help it.
A player who was practically a member of the Great Alliance, working with them.
Skal.
Because the asshole wasn’t there.
Nam Taemin.
And Hisagi.
“…….”
“…….”
Unusual.
The reaction of two people who don’t say anything.
makes the gravity of the situation more palpable.
On time.
Hakuna, King of Yusra, spoke up.
“There are many empty seats today.”
Skal was only the beginning. Guildmaster Guyver of the Bohemians, the most powerful of the purely European guilds, was nowhere to be seen, nor were the officers who would replace him.
Leonie gritted her teeth.
” ……You’re an embarrassment to Europe, you crazy bastards.”
The Holy War Alliance, a subtle undercurrent was forming within it.
*
“The early bird gets the worm.”
A shameless snout announces the morning.
“However, we will skip breakfast today.”
10:00 AM.
It’s never too early.
It’s been a while since I’ve overslept.
Still, Mr. Grandfell doesn’t admit it easily.
“It’s called intermittent fasting.”
It’s a weird way to show pride. …… Anyway, I fell asleep like I hadn’t passed out in a long time. Clearly my body was at its limit. A quest message flashed in the corner of my vision.
‘Seeing as how you forgot to do the fitness quest.’
Of course, the effects of the [First World Tree Blessing] were still great. What would have been months of treatment in a hospital room for anyone else was offset by a day’s worth of sleep.
“But I can’t be happy about it.
He had no face.
‘…… Is everyone going to be okay?’
Scenery of the rising magic tower healing school’s separate room.
Vangrit Tom.
Bensch William.
Kotein Revel.
Maia Deian.
Senior mages who would need at least two to three months of intensive healing, plus Kichi, a former member of the Shadow Mercenaries, and now a new member of Akshan.
‘If you’re happy to see them in that condition, you have no conscience.’
I couldn’t even blame Grandfell this time.
‘It’s all because of my own mistake.’
Status Abnormal, [Blackening] triggered.
You’ve done something that will take forever to clean up, haven’t you?
Speaking of undoing it.
I don’t know how embarrassed I was when I talked to my eldest sister on the phone.
‘Not to mention how embarrassing it was to hear my sister’s voice…….’
I don’t know what it was.
I don’t know what they were watching, what was I looking like on TV, because they were cheering me on and telling me to be strong. Did my sisters, even Wensu, say that?
‘……I’m honestly too scared to look back, really.’
But if I had a record, I would look back.
During the [Blackening], I was floating in the infinite darkness of Grandfell. I just saw what happened afterward, saw the black magic marks, and inferred the whole situation. I don’t know the details.
‘I also need to see how the battle with Paimon went.’
Sure enough, I wasn’t the one who defeated Paimon.
It was Bael’s giant forearm that came out of nowhere.
Which means I need to check it out even more.
‘Bael. I have to hunt him, after all.’
Let’s see.
Like organizing my clothes.
I angle and organize my bedding.
I reach for my phone.
It was then.
“There’s a reason for everything.”
……No, I’m just checking, so what?
“Don’t forget your pre-arrangements.”
What do you mean, the green tea?
I told you, we haven’t gotten past the limits of reversal magic yet. Let’s put that promise on hold until we’ve overcome the limitations of the reversal magic and reversed the green tea fields of Jeju Island.
‘I thought we had an agreement?’
Anyway, back to ……!
Didn’t I forget to grant you a wish?
‘What kind of wish are you trying to make, Grandfell.’
A moment of silence.
Grandfell clears up the misunderstanding.
“It won’t be too late to check in hell.”
……Oops.
I overlooked that.
Hell is already tomorrow, isn’t it?
‘I got caught up in the cleanup and stretched out…….’
I hadn’t gotten everything done yet.
Before it’s too late.
I’ll have to stop by Garnet Hall and pick up a few more decisive battle magic tool.
‘Actually, it’s just me.
Akshan’s only named NPC, Gabriel’s Legacy. I’ve already gotten my hands on a pretty valuable item, the [Lucifer’s Chain of Atonement], but I’m not traveling to Hell alone this time.
Player, Kinver.
An elf, Elsidor.
And finally, the romantic explorer, Lorenzik.
‘Elsidor is nothing to worry about.’
For Lorenzik and Kinver, Hell could be dangerous.
Especially when faced with the karma they’d accumulated.
Wasn’t it called Hell?
‘If it had been named among the supernovas, I would have said everything.’
I’ll have to stop by the Kingdom of Yusra as well as Magic Tower to pick up some useful equipment and supplies, if for no other reason than the fact that they’re willing to go to hell for me.
‘What goes around comes around.’
You have a point, Grandfell.
I’ve conceded, you’ve conceded.
Just one article.
An exploration of anomalies, to say the least.
Can’t let the world go to waste, can we?
Shhh.
I sneakily pick up my phone to check.
But…….
What’s so quiet?
‘I’m not overly self-conscious.’
Surely, I thought, there would be a flood of articles about me. It was business as usual. Isn’t it because I survived the Paimon attack without any major crisis?
No way.
‘Everyone freaked out when they saw me?’
And it was bad enough when it was quiet.
Apparently, there was an article about Jeju Island being restored by reversal magic……. But there was no article about how Jeju Island got to that point.
To be precise.
‘There is only an article about those few hours.’
Netizens were as puzzled as I was.
I tapped on the main article and checked the comments section.
Reactions popped up.
After scanning through them, I realize why.
‘What happened while I was unconscious?!’
Proof at the Magic Tower!
‘Is that Matisse……?’
It made sense until I realized that the sparks were on the Magic Tower and on him. As for the black magic power, the only person who could answer my [Blackening] question was Marcelo and Matisse.
So I was prepared.
Chief Lee Hoyeol has blackened……!!!
Even if it was announced by Marcelo or Matisse, I would gladly accept it.
It is said that he was so prepared that he passed out in bed.
But proof?
The proof was attended by the world’s media.
And yet.
-Wasn’t it organized? Why didn’t they write about it?!
– Did I tell you? Because that anonymity thing is bullshit lol.
-Didn’t you get a warning when you wrote it as an official letter?? LOL
I can’t believe it’s been so quiet.
“That must have been a great proof, Matisse.”
No, no matter how important a prior promise is.
I’m not going to let that happen.
But despite my pleas, he turns to his desk.
I lift the feather pen.
Scribbles.
──────
Soon, I will visit Garnet Hall.
──────
Just a quick note.
I’m delivering a message to Kiko Armin, Senior Enchantment…….
Wait, I can see the words on the parchment.
But what is this?
‘I’m busy, but why is it so long and wordy?’
But I can’t let such a sincere note go unnoticed, because it’s too formal. I read all the words that came to mind, and I recognized the exact situation.
……Wait a minute.
Time is running out.
Who?
Me?!!