A Regressor's Bucket List

Chapter 219 : Enthronement Ceremony (3)

“…What do you mean by that, Mr. Seo U-jin.”

Louis asked back at U-jin’s sudden words, which had come without any context.

“…‘Screw that guy over’?”

Of course, Louis didn't mention the name 'Isaac Einstein' directly.

The name that U-jin had casually uttered was, in fact, practically a taboo word for Priests.

No matter how private the location was, the habit of using the roundabout expression 'that guy' showed that it was not a name to be uttered carelessly.

Especially for leaders of secret organizations within The Order, like Louis and Ludwig, whose identities must not be revealed, they had to be even more careful with their words and actions.

It was a name that all Priests had to be wary of in the first place, but in the case of the UMC and the Exorcists, their duties were such that it wouldn't be strange for them to encounter Isaac Einstein directly.

Besides.

At the current remark, Ludwig couldn't help but be more surprised than Louis.

Louis had some acquaintance with U-jin and had maintained a connection, so he was relatively used to such bombshell statements.

But for Ludwig Allegro, who had only met him once recently and this was the second time, the very fact that U-jin spoke as if he knew Isaac Einstein well was bound to be shocking.

They had been tracking U-jin's exceptional nature since before.

But simply confirming it through reports or text was a different matter entirely from experiencing it firsthand.

The two were already flustered by the sudden 'Isaac Einstein' remark.

But U-jin, unfazed by their reaction, didn't even bat an eye.

Instead, he went a step further and asked the two, who hadn't yet managed to compose their surprised feelings.

“The Northern Subjugation War.”

“……!”

Ludwig Allegro's eyes widened.

“…How do you know about that.”

He had no choice but to react that way.

It was a 'top secret' matter that most High Priests of The Order didn't even know about.

It was information from the highest echelons of The Order, known only to those who could participate in the 'Inverted Cross Council'.

To make matters worse.

U-jin wasn't even a Priest.

No matter how much the Hero was a direct supporter of The Order, he was inevitably a step removed from the Priests who were raised by and constituted The Order.

It would be astonishing enough if any ordinary High Priest claimed to know about the ‘Northern Subjugation Plan’.

The fact that U-jin, the Hero, knew about it couldn't be explained away by saying he was 'quick-witted' or had 'good intuition'.

Ludwig Allegro was also well aware of U-jin's unique exceptionality, having tracked him at the UMC level for a while.

But even considering that, the current situation was not something he could comprehend.

…Of course.

Some might say.

That the Order wasn't some backwater guard post, and when an army of that size began to move, how could they possibly keep it a secret?

They would have to declare war anyway, so wouldn't it be found out within a day once they started moving, regardless of military secrecy?

…However.

The declaration of war, considered an essential part of war, was not as essential as people thought.

It was merely a practical procedure to prevent interference from other nations.

To prevent other countries from joining the war or backstabbing them for the sake of justification or practical opportunity.

However.

The War against Demons in the Upper Plane was a war between two massive coalitions, incomparable to the small wars between individual nations.

As the Church Allied Forces and the Demon King's Federation Army had been at war for a very long time, dividing the continent, at this point in time…

The remaining third-party nations or factions were all so insignificant that both coalitions could afford to ignore them.

Therefore, the process of declaring war couldn't be said to be essential.

Their reputation might take a hit, but one could only worry about saving face when their neck was still attached.

Well, in the first place, even in other ancient wars besides the War against Demons, declarations of war were often made retroactively long after the actual invasion or air raid had occurred, which also proved its non-essential nature.

That wasn't all.

The argument that it was meaningless because of the large scale was also wrong.

Rather, because both sides were massive, military operations had to be kept even more confidential.

Large-scale war countermeasures were already set like puzzle pieces depending on the attack, without the need to devise new ones. What was more important was securing time for preparation.

That 'one day', which could be easily overlooked in a normal war, could actually determine the entire course of the war.

The larger the scale of the attack, the larger the scale of the defense would naturally be.

Supplies, troops, defense lines, etc.

A large-scale army inevitably required more time to prepare.

Especially in a strategic-scale siege war like this, a single day's difference could drastically change the level of preparation. If a clash occurred with insufficient preparation, it was as good as one side fighting the entire war in a disadvantageous environment.

“……”

Therefore, from Ludwig and Louis's perspective, they could not stand by and watch the current situation.

The fact that U-jin knew this information naturally made them suspect a leak of military secrets regarding the Northern Subjugation War.

If that were true, all the plans for the subjugation war, which they had painstakingly prepared for a long time, would go down the drain, and they would have to start over from scratch.

A moment of silence flowed amidst the considerable confusion in their minds.

The two needed time to grasp the situation and organize their thoughts, but unfortunately, they couldn't.

The reason was simple.

The words that followed from U-jin's mouth.

“Because it's a trap.”

“……!”

“One laid entirely by Isaac Einstein.”

…contained even more serious information, as if everything said before was merely an introduction.

* * *

“…What kind of ridiculous nonsense is that.”

Ludwig Allegro retorted, his face scrunched up in utter disbelief.

It was only natural.

The Northern Subjugation War, meticulously planned by the Order, was a trap?

It was the most absurd thing he had ever heard in his life, second only to being told he looked old for his age.

This was going too far.

The reason Ludwig Allegro knew the military secret of the Northern Subjugation War was, of course, because he had a part to play in the operation.

As such, he couldn't help but react sensitively to that part.

If there was a problem with it, the responsibility would fall squarely on him, the head of the UMC.

“We handled that ourselves.”

“……”

“I have no idea how you found out, but calling it a trap is ridiculous, especially since the UMC investigated it directly.”

He had a point.

The UMC was, by name and in reality, The Order's top intelligence organization.

Especially when it came to handling information in the shadows, they possessed skills and know-how that were second to none.

Beyond simply 'taking pride' in their work, there was no organization in The Order that could replace the UMC.

If the UMC failed, it meant no one in The Order could succeed.

Logically, if the entire Northern Subjugation War was a trap as U-jin claimed, it was impossible that the UMC wouldn't have uncovered it during their investigation.

That was why Ludwig Allegro had berated U-jin's words as nonsense.

However.

“…Come to think of it, there was an organization like that. The one that told me they were a secret organization.”

“……!”

At least to U-jin, Ludwig Allegro's words couldn't help but lose their persuasiveness.

Although he hadn't done it himself, the UMC had once left a bad first impression on U-jin.

Ludwig Allegro flinched, startled by U-jin's words, which seemed to be referring specifically to 'Tan'.

U-jin's narrowed eyes turned to Ludwig Allegro, and Louis Button, who was next to him, seized the opportunity to fill his bright eyes with contempt.

“…Anyway, it wasn't some grunt, I checked it myself, so it's certain. It can't be.”

“……”

“There are risk factors, sure, but they're at a significantly lower level than in other subjugation wars, and the information on the north has been verified and re-verified based on The Order's vast data.”

Nod-

“Of course, if you think about it with common sense, you'd have no choice but to think that way. That is……”

“……”

“If you think ‘logically’.”

U-jin's reply, given with a nod, seemed to be an expression of agreement with Ludwig Allegro's words.

But ironically, the expressions on Louis's and Ludwig's faces were not good.

Because they knew very well that the true meaning behind those words was not that.

The 'common sense' that U-jin had uttered with emphasis.

The person furthest from that word was none other than 'Isaac Einstein'.

In other words, U-jin was emphasizing that the assumption 'if you think logically' did not apply in this case.

And the two of them as well.

“……”

“……”

…were the ones who knew that fact better than anyone.

That no matter how absurd something was, if that man was involved, things would somehow go awry.

They had experienced it countless times while carrying out the duties of the UMC and the Exorcists.

If U-jin was saying this much, it was impossible for the two of them to blindly dismiss it as nonsense.

If they made a judgment based on their own thought that 'it can't be' and there really was a trap in the Northern Subjugation War, it wouldn't be a simple mistake but a 'dereliction of duty' that would throw the continent into the maw of evil.

But even so, they couldn't just take U-jin's word for it simply because he said, 'It's a trap.'

U-jin wasn't some Demonic Species nobody sent by the Demon King's Army, so he wouldn't be lying, but the Northern Subjugation War was planned to involve a force equivalent to one-fifth of The Order's entire military strength.

It was impossible to decide the fate of such a large-scale army based on a vague feeling like 'he's trustworthy'.

Even if Ludwig and Louis believed U-jin's words, it would be meaningless.

The Order's Headquarters wouldn't change its decision for such a reason.

And to go through another verification process was physically impossible, as the planned start date for the Northern Subjugation War was just around the corner.

To really make a change here, something more precise…

…'evidence' was needed.

“…It's not my words.”

And U-jin didn't have that 'evidence'.

“…The Saintess asked me to tell you so.”

But a testimony existed.