novelraw Chapter 46 : Chapter 46
Chapter 46 : Chapter 46
Chapter 46. Number 1 (3)
Number 1 stared blankly at Rude's dazed face.
‘Why is that man here?’
Rude the sage.
The man who had visited the Durani Empire alone long ago and found their headquarters.
Not long ago, he had visited Akaba, the northernmost fortress city of the Durani Empire, and after that, he had also shown his face in Oviedo, the capital of the Kingdom of Asturias.
But to meet him again here.
Perhaps because he saw him so often, he even felt a sense of familiarity now.
It was understandable, as those who had seen the face of an Unseen One and survived were few enough to be counted on one hand.
Noemi, who was between him and Frank, was also someone he had met in the two previous cities.
On the other hand, this was the first time he was seeing Adel.
‘So that's Frank's eldest daughter, the one Number 11 was wary of.’
An extraordinary aura could be felt from her entire body, but the twin swords at her waist particularly caught his eye.
Then suddenly.
Number 1 belatedly noticed the identity of the twin swords.
‘Isn't that the Demon King's sword, Anceps? How can she be fine wearing that?’
However, instead of a sinister aura, it was filled with a sacred aura, which was different in many ways from the information he had about Anceps.
‘From one to ten. It’s all things I don't know.’
Number 1 realized anew how ignorant they were about Frank and the people around him.
To think they had changed so much in that short time.
If their strength had been at this level from the beginning, he would never have allowed Iris to order the withdrawal of the agents in the north.
‘They are much stronger than expected. Now I understand why Number 7 called them one of the three pillars.’
Another peculiar thing was that, unlike what Iris said, the two Children of God trusted and followed Frank very much.
Look at them now.
There was no sense of incongruity as they stuck close to Frank and were wary of this side.
‘Did Iris lie to me? But then again, her anger towards Frank was not small.’
Iris had said that there was no worse man than Frank.
As a father.
And as a person.
Didn't she say he was a human she couldn't possibly associate with?
But Frank, now in front of Number 1, seemed to maintain a very close relationship with his two daughters, excluding Iris.
What other father would personally move to prepare chairs for Adel and Noemi, just because they looked uncomfortable standing?
Adel and Noemi also didn't awkwardly accept Frank's kindness, but sat down on the chairs with a bright smile.
‘Was it just Iris' own misunderstanding? It’s possible. The relationship between parent and child is endlessly complex.’
Perhaps it was the harmful effect of excessive education?
Frank might have just wanted to teach many things, but Iris might have perceived it as abuse.
‘If not, there’s no way to explain the current situation.’
But Number 1 couldn't continue his thoughts on this any longer.
Because as soon as everyone was seated, Frank brought up these words.
“Half of the curse I received from the Demon King has been lifted.”
“Half of it has been lifted? What does that mean?”
“It’s just as it sounds. During the day, my power is still sealed, but as you saw just a moment ago, my power returns from six in the evening until six in the morning.”
“……How is that possible?”
Frank explained the whole story, saying that it happened because he drank the Magic Potion.
“A strange thing. To think that a potion that turns dragons into slaves could partially lift the Demon King’s curse. But I don’t think it’s impossible. Poison sometimes acts as medicine.”
“My thoughts are similar. However, I don’t think it cured it completely, but only partially lifted it.”
“In any case, it is a fortunate thing. With Anticus becoming a slave and half of your power returning, the probability of us defeating Primus has become much higher.”
For the first time, Number 1 thought that they might be able to defeat Primus with this combination.
The Unseen Ones, an organization formed long ago to stand against Primus.
The Goddess Cult, which has great support in the northern part of the continent.
And the Hero who has regained his former power, albeit partially.
Furthermore, the ancient dragon who became his slave and the Children of God who support the Hero.
‘It's true that Primus is powerful, but with this much force combined. We have a sufficient chance of winning.’
Of course, this was just a possibility.
A faint glimmer of hope would only emerge if we squeezed out all the power we had.
Therefore, this alliance was not an option but a necessity.
Number 1 slowly nodded and began to talk about the Unseen Ones.
He had to reveal their side of the story to get their cooperation.
***
“Many people know us only as the masterminds moving the Durani Empire from behind the scenes, but we are in fact an organization far from that.”
“How so?”
“In the first place, we were formed to stop Primus.”
At Number 1's words, Anonymous, who was standing a step behind, let out a sneer.
“Pfft. So what? Haven't you been reduced to the dogs of the powerful without producing any results so far? It's not even funny.”
Nevertheless. Number 1 didn't retort a single word to her and continued speaking.
“We continuously sent comrades all over the world to find the location where Primus sealed himself. Then, fifty years ago, we were finally able to find it.”
“Oh. Where is it?”
“Primus was not on the continent where his main activities were. He hid himself in a distant island country to the east, and even within that, he went into a very deep area and sealed himself. To avoid being discovered by anyone.”
A distant island country to the east?
The map shown in Princess Produce only showed one huge continent.
The entire world was just the Continent of Ista, divided into north and south by a long river.
Of course, among the settings, there was a subtle mention of a separate country in the east, but that was limited to the description of an item.
‘Not on the map, of course, and there wasn't even a character from that place.’
Perhaps with the update of a DLC, a place other than the continent appeared.
A golden island country in the east, commonly found in RPG games.
That is, a place like Zipangu is not an unfamiliar location in a fantasy world setting.
While thinking about that, Rude stepped up and opened his mouth, saying he knew about it.
“If it's a distant island country to the east, it must be Reubungwo.”
“Oh. You know of that place?”
“Of course. I haven't been there myself, but the East Camellia that grows naturally here originated from flower seeds brought from his hometown by a sage from the east long ago.”
Rude also showed off his knowledge without reservation, saying that he could obtain fragmentary information about that place from records carved in ancient ruins.
He was a coward, but there was no one as knowledgeable as Rude.
Number 1 also spoke with a surprised expression.
“That's true. The person you called the sage from the east was also a member of our Unseen Ones.”
“What?”
“He contacted us a very, very long time ago and became our member, and since then, he has been the one who has provided us with a lot of information. Unfortunately, we lost contact along the way, so we don't know what happened to him now, but thanks to him, there are none who know as much about Reubungwo as we do.”
The explanation about the sage from the east and Reubungwo continued for a while.
I cut him off in the middle.
“Let’s stop that story there. So, what exactly is Primus' purpose? Why is he trying to destroy this world?”
“A good question. According to the information we've gathered, he felt severely betrayed by the Goddess.”
“Please explain in detail.”
Number 1 slowly nodded and continued his explanation.
“Originally, Primus manifested in this world as the Goddess' representative. You must know the fact that he is the ancestor of many of the Demon Tribe and humans.”
I couldn't help but let out a bitter smile.
“If there is a father, it’s the law of nature that there is also a mother, isn’t it?”
“Surprisingly, it is said that he created the Demon Tribe from his left rib and humans from his right rib. He had to lose a lot of power because of that, and it seems he felt that the Goddess turned her back on him and only favored the humans he created. In fact, the Goddess sent another Child of God to the earth after that and ordered them to protect the humans.”
This was information I hadn't heard from the setting book or even from Anonymous.
Only then did it feel like all the tangled threads were unraveling.
‘So, a pathetic child who felt betrayed by his mother is throwing a tantrum, is that it?’
While thinking what kind of setting this was.
It seemed to have something in common with the many creation myths I knew, and I also thought that from Primus' point of view, he could have felt sufficiently betrayed.
He created the Demon Tribe and humans as the Goddess said, but the result was that the Goddess favored only humans and turned her back on him, her first child.
‘Is this the main story of this DLC? It's a reasonably convincing setting.’
A villain who tries to destroy the world for no reason would be unattractive.
It seems the Princess Produce production team also put some thought into designing the final boss.
‘To think he easily subdued Anonymous even when he had lost his power, I can’t even imagine how strong he is.’
I glanced at the clock and it was already close to midnight.
Number 1 continued to explain various things about Primus and the Unseen Ones for a long time after that, and at the end, he emphasized these words.
“Now you must understand why I came here. We desperately need your help, Hero. Will you join hands with us?”
I silently extended my right hand to him.
What more words were needed?
At the point where the world's mastermind had become clear, the Unseen Ones were no longer our enemies.
***
A few days after Number 1 left.
Alvarez, whom I had sent to the marquisate, returned.
“Why did you come back so quickly?”
“The Marquis ordered it.”
A tone devoid of any emotion.
His appearance was shabby, but there was no sign of fatigue.
‘It would be so. Since he has now become an undead.’
However, being an undead didn't mean he was all-powerful.
He would probably be accompanied by various adverse conditions, such as becoming listless in the harsh midday sun.
Just like me now, who only regains power at night.
I told him he had worked hard and asked about the situation there.
“What is the situation in the marquisate?”
“Some soldiers from the Lombard Kingdom were seen.”
“I see. It seems the Marquis has already joined hands with the Lombard Kingdom.”
“Circumstantially, that is highly probable.”
“Is there anything else to report?”
Alvarez paused for a moment and then said these words.
“The Marquis has returned to the royal palace with Bruno. As soon as I left, they departed in a carriage.”
“Bruno? Why is that man there?”
“It seemed he came to pick up the Marquis. He also asked in detail about Anonymous' current situation.”
Crazy.
One rotten fish is spoiling the whole pond.
‘It's certain that the Marquis has betrayed the kingdom, but why is he taking that guy to the royal palace? Don't tell me he hasn't noticed the Marquis' betrayal at all?’
It seems it would be best for me to go to the royal palace myself.
The distance from here to the marquisate is about a week.
Since Alvarez said the Marquis also left for the royal palace when he left, they too will
arrive at the royal palace in about a week.
‘If the Marquis arrives at the royal palace first, it may be difficult to report his betrayal. He would have established numerous collaborators in the royal palace.’
So it might be better for me to go to the royal palace first, announce this fact, and arrest the Marquis.
Alvarez had diligently submitted various pieces of evidence to prove this, so the nobles would find it difficult to defend the Marquis any longer.
Don't they say a preemptive strike is the key to victory?
The sooner, the better for this kind of thing.
“You, go through the marquisate to the Lombard Kingdom.”
“What should I do there?”
“Just like this time, gather information from behind the scenes. It seems the Demon Tribe has infiltrated there, so be careful not to be discovered as much as possible.”
“I will follow your command.”
With those words, Alvarez turned his back and left the house.
Seeing him, Adel tried to stop him, but Alvarez had already disappeared from sight.
Adel returned to her room with a heavy face.
‘It seems she still has lingering feelings for Alvarez. A typical reaction from Adel.’
It probably wasn't because Adel had a crush on Alvarez.
It was just that Alvarez was once a childhood friend and her subordinate, so she would be worried about him becoming an undead and leaving for a dangerous place again.
In any case, in the current situation, there was no spy as competent as Alvarez.
‘Since he has already been revived as an undead, there is nothing more foolish than dwelling on the past. Now I can only wait for him to carry out my instructions well.’
I entrusted Adel and Noemi to Rude and called for Anonymous.
Because right now, there was no other way to get to the royal palace the fastest than her.