Chapter 733

Chapter 733

That's Exactly It! (2)

Ghislain said he'd create a problem since there wasn't one.

It was an incredibly radical yet creative method of problem-solving.

Ghislain, who had somehow become just another thief, murmured to himself.

“Wouldn’t it be nice if people just let you meet someone when you ask politely? Why do they always make you do bad things? I’m really a pacifist, you know.”

“……”

No one could say a word. Their thoughts had momentarily come to a halt.

But they couldn’t let Ghislain go through with this. This wasn’t something on the same level as overturning a kingdom—it was a matter of an entirely different dimension.

Even Julien, who was usually quiet and obedient and would normally go along with whatever Ghislain wanted, urgently grabbed his arm.

“No!”

“What?”

“Just no!”

“I haven’t even told you what I’m going to do yet.”

“You’re going to cause trouble! Not with the elves!”

If he caused trouble in the kingdom, they could somehow manage the aftermath. It was, after all, just among humans. But messing with the elves risked escalating into a full-scale racial war.

And it would be even more dangerous if he caused trouble in a place where the Great Chieftain, who led all the elves, resided.

Ghislain shook off Julien’s arm and said,

“Ah! I’ve got a whole plan, okay? At least hear me out before trying to stop me!”

“Can you take off the mask first?”

Even the fact that his face was covered made Julien uneasy. At his request, Ghislain clicked his tongue and lowered the mask slightly.

“Listen closely. The elves are in a very peaceful state right now, right? There’s no trouble, and nothing they’re lacking, so there’s no reason for them to agree to our request, right?”

Everyone knew that much. But still, wasn’t it wrong to go and create a problem ourselves?

Julien asked in a trembling voice,

“S-So what exactly are you going to do?”

Ghislain continued with a look that said “Don’t worry.”

“Let’s keep it simple and quick. I’m not looking to cause unnecessary problems. I’ll strike directly at the core.”

“How?”

“What we need is the Sacred Stone, right?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ll sneak into the forest and find out where it’s kept.”

“And once you find out…?”

“Then we just take it.”

“Y-You mean steal it?”

“Hey now! Steal? I’ve never done anything like stealing in my life!”

At some point, Dark had silently appeared beside Ghislain and joined in loudly.

“Yeah! If the owner gets looted, then that’s what it is! But we’d never stoop to sneakily taking it!”

“B-But you just said you’d sneak in and take it…”

“We’re just borrowing it without saying anything.”

“…We call that stealing.”

Ghislain gave a frustrated expression and said,

“Listen carefully. If I borrow the Sacred Stone without saying anything, it’s going to cause a huge uproar, right? The elf army might march all the way to this city.”

Just imagining it was horrifying. History books might end up recording the start of a racial war as a mistake caused by Julien’s mercenary corps.

Ignoring the now-pale faces of those around him, Ghislain continued,

“That’s when you step up, Julien. Say you’ll retrieve the Sacred Stone. Then you catch me and solve the problem!”

“……”

“And in return, you ask them to let us borrow the Sacred Stone for a bit!”

“……”

“What do you think? Not bad, right? I think it’s a brilliant plan.”

“……”

It really was a brilliant plan. Brilliant enough to start a massive war. No—before that even happened, the chances were high Ghislain would be caught and killed in the forest.

Come to think of it, Ghislain was always like that. Whether it was a plan or an operation, it was always some outrageous madness.

The problem was… that madness always worked. That’s why everyone just went along with it.

But this time… it really felt like too much. The danger and the fallout afterward were on a whole other scale.

Everyone was too dizzy to even refute him.

‘Where did this mercenary corps go so wrong?’

‘Maybe being subjected to the Inquisition would be better than going down in history as criminals.’

‘Living an ordinary life really is the hardest thing.’

As everyone sat there in a daze, Ghislain spoke soothingly.

“We can’t return empty-handed now anyway. We’ve already strained our relationship with the Seraana Order, haven’t we?”

They all wanted to say, “Isn’t that your fault?” but no one said it aloud. After all, each of them owed Ghislain their life at least once.

Ironically, Ghislain himself, who had brought up the Seraana Order, didn’t seem to be particularly bothered by it. He had confidence he could resolve that much on his own.

He had a reason—regardless of the issue with the Order—to obtain the Sacred Stone no matter what it took.

‘I need to find out whether the Sacred Stone is related to Deneb’s awakening. I have to confirm that before deciding my next move.’

No matter how strong Julien, Kyle, and Astion became, it would be meaningless if Deneb couldn’t awaken.

Without the ‘Saintess,’ there would be no hope of winning the war against the Demonic Abyss.

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that the fate of humanity rested on whether Deneb and Julien awakened.

The Sacred Stone was a vital clue in unraveling that mystery. Ghislain had to confirm it—even if it meant taking it by force.

But Julien, who didn’t know Ghislain’s reasons, could only sigh.

“Reconciling with the Order only works if your plan succeeds. If you get caught stealing the Sacred Stone, you won’t even make it out of the forest alive. Did you forget Sylarn’s warning?”

“Don’t worry. I can handle myself in the forest. I’m not scared of some so-called fury of nature.”

“Ghislain, dying of natural causes doesn’t mean dying in nature.”

“…I can’t believe you can say something like that. You’ve really grown.”

“Can’t we come up with another plan?”

“No matter how I think about it, this is the only way. It’s difficult, but worth attempting.”

“Even getting into the forest won’t be easy.”

The city’s mayor had explained about the forest when he talked about the elves.

Humans, driven by greed, had occasionally tried to trespass into the forest. In response, the elves had established their own defenses.

They built watchtowers and outposts along the forest’s entry points to monitor for intruders.

Though there weren’t enough elves to cover such a vast forest, they had a powerful ally—the spirits.

The spirits roamed the forest and filled in the gaps in the surveillance network.

When Julien pointed this out, Ghislain responded with a confident look.

“I can slip past that level of defense. And I don’t need to succeed in one go. I can make multiple attempts to pinpoint the location.”

Once Ghislain got this determined, there was no stopping him. It was better to help and ensure his success.

In the end, Julien decided to get involved.

“What should we do?”

“I’ll leave one of Dark’s clones behind. Stay on standby. If anything happens, I’ll call for you right away.”

“Got it. What else?”

“Let’s try to get a map. It’s an old forest, so someone must’ve entered it before. Even a rough idea of the terrain will help us move more efficiently.”

Julien nodded. To improve their chances of success, they had to gather whatever they could.

Soon, the mercenaries spread out and returned with a trove of information and maps about the forest.

Even the city’s mayor offered what he had.

Since it was an area forbidden to humans, there was no official map. But there were fragments passed down over the years.

Some were records written by those who had accidentally entered and escaped, others were maps drawn secretly by mages spying on the forest.

There was also information gained through interactions during wartime, and intelligence obtained by deceiving or seducing elves.

Piecing it all together produced a fairly decent map.

It couldn’t be completely trusted, but it was better than nothing—especially when the goal was to sneak into the center of the forest.

Once preparations were complete, Julien spoke with a tone of warning.

“If you’re discovered by the elves, whatever happens, you must not kill them. That’ll escalate things even further. Just knock them out if you have to.”

“That’s nothing to worry about either. Didn’t everyone hear what the mayor said? The elves who live in the forest have no resistance to humans. Someone like me can persuade them without fighting.”

Pure elves easily believed human lies and showed curiosity.

That was precisely why the elves who had experienced humans became extremely wary of them.

Suddenly recalling the elves he knew, Ghislain let out a quiet chuckle.

‘Future elves are totally worn down by life.’

They were just as good at lying and weaseling out of situations as any seasoned human.

Of course, even those elves couldn’t do anything when it came to Claude’s tricks.

Ghislain tightened his mask again and said,

“If I need you, I’ll call. Be ready to move right away.”

“Got it. Don’t worry about us—just go.”

The dye had been cast. Now all they could do was hope Ghislain succeeded.

Srrrk.

Lionel, who had been silently watching until now, drew his sword and pointed it at Ghislain.

“I’ve had enough.”

“What now?”

“Do you think the mission given by His Holiness is some kind of joke?”

“I put my whole heart and effort into everything I do.”

“I won’t tolerate this madness. Because of you, a war might break out between humans and elves. And His Holiness will be the one held responsible.”

“Hm, I think I’ve explained myself enough.”

“You haven’t. I won’t allow you to enter the forest.”

“But the Pope said, it’s fine no matter what methods we use. He even said he’d endure the loss of honor. And I don’t move with anyone’s permission.”

“That’s only because he doesn’t know how insane you really are. I’ll say it again—I won’t allow it.”

“Your opinion doesn’t matter. I’m going in now.”

“Stop!”

As Ghislain moved, Lionel immediately swung his sword.

Kaaang!

Lionel’s sword was blocked by Ghislain’s staff. Ghislain spoke in a low voice.

“Kyle.”

Kyle slowly drew his sword and asked,

“Should I kill him? I never liked the guy anyway.”

“No, you can’t do that to a friend. Just subdue him. Everyone, help Kyle—no killing.”

Julien also drew his sword, looking like he had no choice. The other mercenaries took up arms and surrounded Lionel.

They were used to ganging up on powerful opponents. Even if Lionel was a top-tier knight, handling this many alone was impossible.

Ghislain stepped back with a smile.

“These friends here haven’t done anything wrong. Let’s not shed blood needlessly. Once we wear you down a bit, take some time to cool your head.”

“S-Stop!”

Lionel tried to chase after Ghislain, but he had to halt due to a sudden attack.

Kaaang!

Lionel’s sword clashed with Kyle’s, sending sparks flying.

Kyle grinned fiercely.

“Where are you going? You’re supposed to play with me.”

“You bastard…”

Kang! Kang! Kang!

Their swords began to clash rapidly. Unlike the flustered Lionel, Kyle remained calm and composed.

Lionel had no room to worry about Ghislain anymore. Julien’s sword had now joined the fray.

“Grrgh! You bastards!”

Lionel was shocked. The mercenaries’ skills were far beyond what he had expected.

He hadn’t gone all out yet, but neither had they.

Kaang! Kaang! Kaang!

The three were evenly matched in skill. So naturally, being attacked by both Kyle and Julien at once, Lionel was being pushed back.

To make things worse, he was surrounded. The veteran mercenaries would strike him whenever an opening appeared.

Watching from a short distance away, Ghislain backed off, reassured. As long as Julien and Kyle stayed alert, Lionel wouldn’t be able to break through.

Lionel also couldn’t afford to go all out and kill them, either.

“Stop! I said stop!”

Lionel kept shouting for them to stop. But no one listened.

He had never experienced anything like this before and was thrown into confusion. This group just didn’t operate by common sense.

“I… I told you to stop…”

Once Ghislain disappeared, Lionel finally lowered his sword. There was no point in fighting anymore.

He was so frustrated he could cry. He was a noble Temple Knight. Everyone always listened to and respected him.

When he said stop, people stopped. When he said go, people obeyed. That was normal.

He had never been so blatantly ignored before. It was an unbearable humiliation.

In the end, Lionel bowed his head and let out the fury in his chest.

“Son of a bitch… goddamn… you insane bastards…”

It was the first time in his life that he had ever cursed.

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