novelraw Chapter 168 : Chapter 168
Chapter 168 : Chapter 168
Chapter 168: Greed (2)
Time is fair to everyone, but how they use it differs for each person.
The Liberation Faction is using it very thriftily and fiercely.
Arika, who briefly stopped by last night, told me so.
It’s a rare opportunity.
Where is a land without the Church common? Moreover, they even have Serzila as their backer.
As long as they weren’t caught using magic red-handed, the secret was guaranteed until the grave.
“Anton and Ocellin are especially fine.”
Arika saying they were fine was close to high praise.
Considering the opponents are mages.
Most mages aimed for an ordinary daily life, but Anton and Ocellin chose to remain mages.
Of course, the praise for Ocellin was likely due to her administrative abilities.
Anton was a capable manager.
Also, he was a mage that the Intelligence Bureau would inevitably covet.
Ears. That Origin eavesdrops on many things even from afar.
Everything he eavesdrops on is information.
If he put his mind to it, Anton could gather all information within the territory.
However, to do that, he had to wander around without rest.
Because the range the ears can hear is smaller than Serzila.
Anyway, the Liberation Faction is adjusting well.
However, I haven’t visited them in the past five days.
To be more precise, Harad has never left his annex. He slept, and slept again.
He slept until he couldn’t sleep anymore.
But he didn’t dream.
‘Why?’
If Elaine dreams, Harad dreams too.
It wasn’t originally like that, but it became so a while ago. It is because the effect of regression deepened.
‘Was it a coincidence?’
That cannot be.
Mages do not dream. Yet Harad has already dreamed several times.
It was a clearly abnormal phenomenon, and the fact that he dreamed the same dream as Elaine made the influence of regression obvious.
‘Did it just give me a brief experience? Or a whim?’
No way.
If it were such a meticulous magical item, the constraint would have been stricter.
‘She didn’t dream?’
That was the only remaining conclusion.
If I were to quietly accept it, it would mean Serzila has narcolepsy as a hereditary disease.
Otherwise, there’s no reason for Elaine to suddenly collapse.
It was a conclusion Harad couldn’t accept.
The Elaine of the previous life never did that.
It was that evening that Ellen visited.
Normally, she should have come as Elaine and told him what dream she had.
Since that was the promise.
“Why have you only been at home lately?”
But Ellen came in her original form.
Acting as if nothing happened.
“I heard you were only at home too.”
Harad was only in the annex, but Kubel came and cooked meals for him.
For the past five days, Harad wasn’t the only one who wasn’t seen.
“I belong to the Intelligence Bureau. I have to work.”
It must be Serzila work, not Intelligence Bureau work.
She must have been observing Ocellin’s work as the Grand Heir, then changed to Ellen to come here.
“Do you know? Actually, there is a hereditary disease in Serzila. Sometimes we fall asleep.”
Harad let out a hollow laugh.
Ellen used what he had thought as an excuse.
Because only Elaine dreams.
Ellen needed to explain why she suddenly fell asleep five days ago, and in Ekampote and Alfenor.
“That is the first I’m hearing of it.”
“Because I’m saying it for the first time.”
Harad just let it slide, but from Ellen’s perspective, it must have been uncomfortable.
Ellen was in a position where she had to hide her identity, and Harad had to pretend to be deceived.
“No wonder. So that’s why you sometimes collapsed.”
“That’s right. Don’t tell anyone anywhere. It’s a secret.”
She probably said that because it’s a lie, not a secret.
‘He’s putting less effort into it as time goes on.’
But Harad nodded.
At times like this, he had to pretend to be stupid and move on.
There was no reason to poke at it unnecessarily.
‘He didn’t forget the promise.’
She was conscious of falling asleep and prepared an excuse.
It means Ellen also considers dreams important.
But since she’s not telling me.
“What is the Grand Heir doing?”
In the end, it was Harad who was anxious.
“Probably working?”
“He agreed to tell me if he dreamed.”
“Dream? He said he didn’t dream.”
Ellen said it casually.
“Ah. If it was a dog dream (meaningless dream), he said she had one.”
“What dog dream?”
“A dog dream is a dog dream, well.”
Ellen didn’t say more.
She had a nonchalant face, but Harad found that hard to understand.
‘That cannot be.’
She collapsed suddenly.
Anyone could see it was a dream caused by stimulus.
But Ellen was calling it a dog dream.
‘Is it a dream he can’t talk about? There shouldn’t be such a thing.’
Ellen didn’t seem particularly trying to hide it either.
It meant she really thought of it as a dog dream.
‘He dreamed. But it was a dog dream not worth talking about.’
That cannot be.
There is no worthless dream. Because it is a past life. Anything would be a stimulus to Ellen.
‘What is it really.’
Just what did she dream about.
‘This is a bit annoying.’
She should have just not shown him dreams in the first place.
It was like letting someone taste meat and forcing vegetarianism again.
“What kind of dog dream was it?”
“It was really a dog dream. Don’t tell me you don’t trust the Grand Heir now?”
Ellen spoke as if she was the one being suspected.
“The Grand Heir is also curious about dreams as much as I am. If it seemed like a real dream, he would have told you.”
Ellen didn’t seem to intend to tell him about the dream.
‘Does he mean it was really a dog dream?’
Harad nodded slowly.
Since Ellen came out firmly, he couldn’t ask further.
‘There must be a reason he judged so.’
The Stone of Regression.
Harad didn’t know everything about that magical item either.
There must be things he doesn’t know yet hidden.
Perhaps, as Ellen said, it might really have been a dog dream.
“Did you eat?”
“I didn’t, but I might have to eat a bit late today?”
Postponing a meal?
Harad’s eyes widened.
“……Do I look like a pig to you too?”
“Did I not mention it? I like people who eat a lot.”
Ellen’s eyes narrowed.
“Why?”
“Because I naturally can’t eat much.”
It was a habit from the previous life.
He could eat if told to, but he didn’t want to.
Overeating makes the body sluggish.
Ellen relaxed her eyes and nodded as if she liked the answer.
“His Highness the Grand Duke summoned us.”
“Us?”
“Only you. It probably won’t be anything big.”
Ellen was confident.
It seemed Grand Duke Aratus’s anger had ended.
“But why eat late?”
The Grand Duke summoned only Harad.
It means only Harad eats dinner late.
“To eat together with you.”
The answer coming back was quite touching.
“Do you dislike it?”
“That cannot be.”
* * *
Ellen was nonchalant.
Whether she really had a dog dream or not, it meant she wasn’t particularly influenced by that dream.
So Harad also folded his lingering attachment for now.
‘I will find out next time.’
Whether it is a temporary error or if Harad will never dream again, he will find out through the next dream.
Harad moved his steps toward the Grand Duke’s residence.
Actually, it feels like he summoned him quite late.
Not because of indifference, but it seemed he gave him time to organize.
That Grand Duke, while scary, had occasional meticulous points.
Shura being free in the Inner Fortress was also thanks to that.
‘Perhaps it was time to cool his anger.’
His daughter went on a trip alone with some guy.
And for nearly 3 months at that.
From a father’s perspective, it was something hard to endure.
They weren’t even promised to be married.
But the door of the Grand Duke’s residence was slightly open.
‘The angrier he was, the wider it opened.’
The leaking Aura was also faint.
Grand Duke Aratus seemed to have calmed down. Perhaps Ellen had worked on it in advance.
The office door was closed.
Harad opened it confidently and entered.
Grand Duke Aratus was sitting as if standing. It was an amazing spirit whenever he saw it.
“Establish merit.”
The Grand Duke’s business was plain.
He brought in fifteen mages to Serzila.
It seemed the merit accumulated so far was insufficient.
It was reasonable even in Harad’s opinion.
It was like bringing fifteen bombs, not fifteen people.
The Grand Duke was being very lenient.
It must be because of Ellen.
Perhaps that was all the business, the Grand Duke didn’t open his mouth further.
He didn’t crush him either.
Indeed, Ellen’s threat not to hurt Harad was effective.
It was an opportunity for Harad.
“Is that all?”
The Grand Duke’s eyebrow twitched.
His hand left the chair for a moment and came back down.
“……Speak.”
He hasn’t cooled all his anger.
He hasn’t fully unraveled yet. And he was holding back in real-time.
To be precise, he had to hold back.
Otherwise, Ellen would get angry.
“What is the hidden verse of the prophecy?”
The prophecy the Grand Duke knows and the prophecy the Otherworld knows are different.
Circumstantially, the Grand Duke knows more verses.
“……I believe I disallowed it.”
He almost got crushed.
Harad didn’t tread the line precariously; he crossed it by far, but the Grand Duke held back.
‘So it’s not an opportunity.’
He just doesn’t get crushed even if he crosses the line, but it didn’t seem like he could obtain anything.
“Since you told me to establish merit, I intend to go to the boundary, through the tunnel.”
“Butter up your words first. Even if it’s not merit, you will go.”
True.
Even if he doesn’t treat it as merit, Harad will go out to the boundary.
Mage’s curiosity, Ellen’s experience, hindering the Otherworld…… the boundary resolves many things.
“Do you have any advice this time? Like contact from the bad friend Sage. You gave me some last time.”
Fire will descend.
Last time, Grand Duke Aratus sent such an order.
Like that, he sent Harad out to the boundary and made him contact Aroshu of the Bonfire.
“Where do you intend to go?”
As expected.
The Grand Duke also had to butter up his words.
The Grand Duke wants Harad to poke around the boundary.
Because the more he does, the more the Moon Tower will react.
“I intend to go to a dreamlike place, Ellen said she wants to go.”
Harad said indirectly that he would go together.
The Grand Duke’s eyebrow twitched, but that was all.
“Second Stage.”
“Yes.”
He doesn’t like it, but he doesn’t stop it.
Like this, the Grand Duke wanted Harad and Ellen to hang out.
‘Am I the objective, or is the experience I provide the objective.’
Or both?
“Do not take mages.”
“I am also a mage, though.”
“You are none of my business.”
It means do not take Kubel.
“Can I take knights?”
“If you truly desire.”
The Grand Duke answered nonchalantly.
“I will take them next time.”
The Grand Duke nodded.
It seemed he could really take them if he wanted.
‘Serzila must not leave the search route.’
That was the punishment the Empire gave to the Grand Duke who brought down the Imperial Palace.
It was also an Imperial Order not to provoke the Otherworld.
But the Grand Duke said he could take knights.
It meant he wasn’t conscious of the Imperial Order.
‘It was the Imperial Palace that collapsed, but they blocked the boundary. Precisely, it must be the Otherworld.’
In the previous life, he heard it was because they were concerned about the Grand Duke’s ferocity.
That there was no reason the person who brought down the Imperial Palace wouldn’t rashly attack the Otherworld.
“Why is it a sabbatical year?”
Can such ferocity be stopped by an Imperial Order?
“Is it because of the Empire?”
“That trivial Enverque.”
Grand Duke Aratus snorted.
In time with that breath, the atmosphere rippled once.
‘As expected.’
Who worries about whom. It is Serzila.
That excuse Kalinos, the 3rd Knights Commander, used once was correct.
To Grand Duke Aratus, the Empire is nothing.
He is not receiving punishment. He is just volunteering for a sabbatical year himself.
“Then why are you doing that?”
That Grand Duke not leaving the Inner Fortress is because there is another reason.
“Are you that curious about it.”
“Yes.”
Harad answered honestly.
It had to be different from the previous life. Grand Duke Aratus was a figure who must live.
“Is it because of the Moon Tower?”
“If you want to know, go to the boundary.”
The Grand Duke answered to poke around the boundary.
To Harad, it sounded like he meant to poke around and make the Moon Tower come down.
“If you succeed, I will show you personally.”
The Grand Duke bared his teeth and laughed fiercely.
It was the face of a hunter who set a trap and was waiting for the beast.
“Understood.”
Harad laughed back.
Another reason to enter the boundary was added.
It was curiosity. What will the Grand Duke show.
“By the way, Your Highness.”
“Speak.”
“How close should I be with Ellen?”
“…….”
“Don’t tell me I have to be like that?”
The Grand Duke’s face became vicious.
It was the face of a hunter who found his prey.
“That is a bit troublesome.”
Maybe more than that.
* * *
He crossed the line, and very greatly at that.
It wasn’t intentional.
Grand Duke Aratus was answering so smoothly for once, so he just.
“How did it go?”
Harad discovered Ellen standing in front of the Grand Duke’s residence and let out a hollow laugh.
‘I wondered why I was unscathed.’
The Grand Duke noticed Ellen was waiting and held back firmly.
“It was a meaningful time.”
“Really?”
“Of course.”
Grand Duke Aratus’s sabbatical year was voluntary.
The goal must be the Moon Tower, naturally.
The reason for bringing down the Imperial Palace must also be there.
‘What is it.’
Honestly speaking, Harad became more curious about Grand Duke Aratus’s business than the prophecy he didn’t even know in the previous life.
Just what happened with the Moon Tower that that ferocious Grand Duke is stuck in the Inner Fortress.
‘He wouldn’t just be staying still.’
Just what is he doing in the Inner Fortress.
‘Like a mage.’
Harad felt the Grand Duke’s sabbatical year was like a mage’s preparation.
Preparation to squeeze out everything possible before meeting the enemy.
“Nothing happened, right?”
“None.”
Ellen scanned Harad’s entire body meticulously and nodded.
She seemed to be checking if the Grand Duke touched him by any chance.
“If anything happens, tell me anytime, I will solve it.”
Ellen was reassuring.
“Ah. I intend to go to the boundary, through the tunnel.”
Ellen’s eyes shone.
It was for a moment.
“Let’s talk about that while eating. I’m hungry.”
The sun had set long ago.
Certainly, she waited a long time.
To Ellen, being hungry right now was more important than the boundary they would go to later.
Harad and Ellen moved their steps for now.
“About Imja.”
“You said let’s talk while eating.”
“This, I will do now.”
Ellen became serious.
“Is she pretty by any chance?”
“She is pretty.”
Harad answered immediately.
The end of the previous life was still distinct.
Elaine, who revealed her true form, was a beauty unrivaled in the world.
“……How much?”
At those words, Harad stared intently at Ellen.
Another beauty unrivaled in the world was right in front of him.
Then are there two, or one.
“As much as you?”
“…….”
“No? Is Imja slightly prettier.”
Harad unknowingly added.
“No. I think she would be equally pretty.”
“Where are you looking and talking right now…….”
Ellen, who covered her chest, soon widened her eyes.
“Did you perhaps…… see?”
“I didn’t.”
“Not mine, Imja’s.”
“…….”
“You saw?”
Ellen smiled.
Harad found that eerie.
“You said you didn’t even hold hands?”
“I didn’t hold hands.”
“But you saw her chest?”
“Imja showed me forcibly.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
It’s true though.