What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 326

#326

Wreckage! Grand Adventures (4)

-Charrrrr······!

The Admiral’s magnificent warship floated imposingly in the air, impaled by the spines of the Sea Urchin Great Demon King.

Beneath the moonlight, the white sails emitted a hopelessly romantic glow.

Christel, dumbfounded, let out a hollow breath. She was experiencing all sorts of things in the middle of the ocean.

She was soaked from head to toe!

“Wow, it’s like riding with Vikings! Natural Vikings, natural!”

‘Swishhhhh······!’ Fine buckwheat flowers fell like a waterfall from all directions.

‘Kuaaaa!’ Soldiers, tied up with ropes, clung to the railings and masts, barely holding on.

Fortunately, thanks to the keel being made of magic stone, the ship was spared the tragedy of having its bottom pierced and sinking.

This was a custom-made item by Emma Corleone to counter pirate ships’ rams.

The designer was none other than François Duhem, so there was no need to doubt its durability.

Gain wrapped his limbs around Guild Leader and looked down at the dizzying drop below.

Wheeeee―! The salty wind swept his bangs wildly.

The Obsidian Sea Urchin was moving slowly.

“Heo······. It’s going, it’s going! It looks like it’s pulling back again!”

-Swaaaaaaa······!

No sooner had he finished speaking than the monster withdrew its torso.

‘Splash!’ The ship safely landed on the water, creating a fan-like spray.

This bought them roughly 20 minutes until the next collision.

Between the obsidian-like, sharp spines, sparkling bubbles and a brilliant crown could be seen.

Bluish-green metal and water-colored transparent jewels flashed incessantly.

Gain looked down at it and sighed as if to extinguish the sea.

He knew what that was because he had read the book.

The problem was that the content wasn’t very friendly.

‘Here, there are also fairy tales about sacred objects. Evelyn the Great Duke wrote them as well.’

‘He must have loved his son very much. He even wrote fairy tales himself.’

······Evelyn the Great Duke Alexandre Liester’s book, .

It was a fairy tale that the Prince had recommended to him last year in the Imperial Archives.

It was a precious children’s adventure story that introduced not only the Empire’s sacred objects but also the sacred objects of the Temples of Boundary and the Holy Nation.

The work, in which the Emperor himself drew illustrations for his young son, playfully depicted the legends and characteristics associated with each sacred object.

However, it was not 100% accurate, and there were some parts where the explanation was lacking because he had never seen the real thing.

Gain had been diligently chewing over the contents of the book since earlier.

-Chwaaaaa······

That thing is called the ‘Crown of the Ice Silkworm’.

It is famous for its ability to control snow and frost.

It is a crown made by the primordial silkworm that weaves the clothes of the Main God―

“It’s not falling off again. It won’t fall off even though the waves are so strong!”

“Uuuuu!”

It doesn’t rust even when wet, doesn’t burn even when touched by fire, and has a sticky property, so it never moves from where it has settled!

The soldiers, witnessing the intact crown, dropped their thumbs down and jeered.

Suddenly, a scene from the fairy tale flashed through his mind.

‘Wonderful, Eve. The crown suits you well.’

‘Of course. Because I am the one who will become the ruler of the continent.’

‘For once, you’re not talking nonsense.’

Damn it! Gain clenched his fist and turned around.

The Admiral, hanging from the foremast with his hook arm, was calmly looking at him.

Is it a bed or what? Why is he so comfortable without shaking?

“Are you going to just keep enduring this?!”

Christel shouted loudly.

She hated just being on the receiving end, and she felt seasick, which would normally never happen.

The situation was not much different for the commander and the soldiers.

People were fainting or vomiting everywhere.

Fortunately, their prey was only attacking the Admiral’s ship.

The rear sailing ships under her command had never been hit by the sea urchin’s headbutt.

Does it pick people?!?

“It probably does, damn it······.”

Gain muttered curses.

The monster must have sensed the ‘Blessing of the Azure Sea’ long ago and was desperate to stab him.

Of course, it was a hundred times better for him to be in danger than for others to be in danger. Well, it was!

“If it knows it can’t sink us because the keel is strong, it will back off.”

The Admiral said loudly, puffing on his cigar.

In short, it was a ‘survival of the fittest’ strategy. That damn cigarette must be waterproof.

Like its owner, it doesn’t know how to go out.

Of course, Emma had been fighting back until just now, using up all her mana.

She used her specialty, ‘Buoyancy,’ to sink the sea urchin to the bottom of the sea, and when that didn’t work, Christel froze it solid to add weight.

The result was the same. The monster overcame everything by emitting tremendous body heat and mana!

“Have you ever encountered this guy before?”

“No. That’s why I tried it. It’s as tough as the rumors say.”

She spat out acrid smoke through her slightly parted lips.

Even in this situation, he was unnecessarily handsome, which made her angry.

The Obsidian Sea Urchin was unaffected by the Admiral’s attacks, as well as the various airstrikes by combat mages and naval bombardments.

It didn’t even have a scratch!

“I’m going crazy, really. Monsters are weak against water!”

It was the fifth time she had repeated her annoyance. Emma steadily pointed out.

“That guy’s shell is made of magic stone with a hardness of 11.”

Just because they are weak against water doesn’t mean they can’t live in such an environment.

According to her explanation, there were many monsters similar to the Obsidian Sea Urchin.

In fact, seafood dishes made from captured monsters are famous in the Corleone fiefdom.

There are even monsters that disguise themselves as rocks in deep mountain valleys and secretly approach human bonfires to hunt prey.

They are afraid of fire, but they know that humans are around it.

National Geographic is nothing compared to this, right?

“Why is it wearing a sacred object on its head? Monsters originally hate sacred objects. Wasn’t that the legendary something or other that sank in the deep sea of the Holy Nation?”

Eve Unnie’s [Older Sister Eve’s] Great Adventure didn’t have any stories about sea urchins!

“It probably got caught on a thorn while taking a walk.”

The Admiral answered nonchalantly, and the commanders who were clinging to the deck like barnacles burst into laughter.

Everyone looked like they were used to the war with the sea urchin.

‘Sir Langbuillet, just give up. Rumor has it that it’s been doing that for about 13 years!’ The soldier in the crow’s nest shouted, waving his arms.

“But Admiral, isn’t it possible that the crown is stuck on its butt?”

“Wahahahaha!”

Someone made such a joke and received a great response.

Christel swept her hair up and huffed.

The people of the fiefdom are sometimes too optimistic, which is a problem!

“Still, we don’t know how many hours it will last. There’s a possibility that the ship could be damaged. We need to come up with other measures.”

She never gave up.

And she tried to think lightly of the opponent, thinking of sea urchin roe and sea urchin seaweed soup.

What would the Prince do? What would he be thinking and how would he resolve the situation?

I need to resolve this guy quickly so I can sleep soundly. Where on earth did something like that come from······.

Uh?

“Soldier! You said it’s been about 13 years, right? That it appeared wearing the crown.”

Gain threw the question in a flurry. He had a strange feeling. Maybe.

“Yes? Yes! That’s what I heard. I’m not sure though!”

“Then the Obsidian Sea Urchin didn’t appear before that?”

“Uhh······. Probably not! We’ve been islanders since we were born, so we’re sensitive to the Sea King. That’s around the time we first heard that name!”

“They say it rams anything if it thinks someone is on board.”

“There’s no reason for it to appear. It’s a species that lives in the deep sea.”

The Admiral added leisurely, crossing his legs. Christel’s mouth slowly opened.

She hugged Guild Leader tightly and looked down.

The Sea Urchin King, who had retreated some distance, was bubbling and preparing for the next strike.

‘Splash, splash······!’ Rough waves rose in a circle around it.

Each and every magic stone spine was shaking desperately.

······Oh my god.

“Emma!”

“My mermaid.”

“It’s asking us for help!”

Christel shouted with a rapidly brightening complexion. The Admiral dropped his cigar.

The scar on his right cheek twisted slightly.

“······What?”

“You said it’s a monster that originally lives in the deep sea. Why would it be ‘legendary’? It’s legendary because it’s hard to see!”

“······.”

“You’re right. I don’t know how it happened, but that guy who lived in the deep sea got a sacred object stuck on its spines. It may have accidentally found it and rammed it first. Monsters hate sacred objects, after all. Anyway, the important thing is that it couldn’t remove the crown after that!”

“Mamma mia!”

The commanders looked at her in astonishment.

Among the soldiers, murmuring began to surge like waves.

A clear smile spread like watercolor on Christel’s lips.

“It must have been painful to suddenly carry around a sacred object. Of course, it couldn’t destroy it either. It may have become estranged from its family and friends because of that.”

“You mean,”

“Yes. So it came out to shallow waters and asked humans for help. Please take this off, it’s saying. For humans, it’s shock and horror! A legendary monster suddenly appears, destroys the ship, and points its spines at them, so how could they think that? They didn’t even have the 余裕 [leeway] to consider its situation. For 13 years!”

A camellia bloomed on the young knight’s face. The surprised navy’s mouths were rounded.

Emma rarely opened her eyes wide. The pupils, which were always half-closed, swirled with life.

“So it keeps ramming only us. If its sole purpose was to kill humans, it should have attacked the other sailing ships behind us equally. It’s desperately clinging to me because I’m here.”

“Because you’re a paladin?”

-Twoong!

The Admiral lightly jumped down from the mast.

His steps walking across the deck seemed to be joyful.

Gain calmly looked at Emma. Their gazes intertwined with her deep gray-green eyes.

‘Splash! Swishhhhh······!’ Behind them, the sound of the sea, like the writhing of a monster, echoed.

Suddenly, something came to mind.

‘I didn’t want to add to the great sin. Sarnese has already lost one of the Empire’s sacred objects! The Blessing of the Azure Sea!’

The man who was his father on the day he was sentenced to death.

‘I will talk about the sacred object, the ‘Blessing of the Azure Sea,’ later. That’s not the main point today.’

And Emperor Frederick’s words.

Surely there would be an appropriate time that he was thinking of.

Especially now that they were at war. But Gain was sure.

I’m sorry, Your Majesty, but that’s today.

To gain the true trust of his comrades and to help that poor creature, he had to reveal the source of his power.

From the blessed Liester’s Azure Sea.

“No, it’s because I have a sacred object too.”

“······.”

Even her Prince would have made the same choice.

“I have absorbed the Empire’s water-attribute sacred object, the Blessing of the Azure Sea.”

Everyone’s blank gaze was fixed on Christel.

The paladin straightened her body and continued to speak without hesitation.

She wanted to be recognized by those who lived together and wanted to fight as one.

She didn’t want to be on the outside anymore. Even if she had to return tomorrow.

“All the abilities of the sacred object are mine. That’s why the monster is looking for me. It expects me to be of meaningful help.”

Now this was her world.

Gain stood upright on the long, round body of Guild Leader, like chopsticks.

And he took out a whip from his chest.

Jewel-like dew drops dripped from his wet hair.

“Three-line summary. I am one with the sacred object. And although the opponent is a monster, I want to be of help. Because I can prevent future casualties.”

-Splash, splash, chaaaaa······!

The waves rose, and his blue-gray eyes sparkled like Rigel in the night sky.

Emma smiled brightly, looking at the dazzlingly beautiful mermaid and the sea urchin behind her.

Just staring at her dominated her whole body with dizzying pleasure.

Her hands and feet were tingling, and the back of her neck was chilling. The Empire’s only water paladin.

Even the incarnation of the sacred object that saves my sea.

“Do as you please.”

He would let her do anything if she wanted.

It was a crescent moon night when the light was slowly regaining its strength.

*

Thud, thud, thud.

Clang, clang, clang.

Outside, the sound of military boots and armor moving busily.

Frederick Liester, sitting in the highest seat, was quietly staring into the air, drawing the future war situation.

Soon, a shadow stopped in front of the tent and walked in, lifting the cloth. It was Elizabeth.

The Deputy Commander of the Imperial Guard paid her respects and reported.

“Your Majesty. His Eminence Cardinal Ari Schot has arrived.”

The Emperor nodded. The young man immediately guided the old man into the tent.

Ari Schot, wearing a cardinal’s plain clothes, gave her a grateful smile.

They were old acquaintances.

Last summer, he had stayed in the Imperial Palace for the Empire’s first paladin appointment screening.

“I see the sun descended on earth.”

“Welcome, Cardinal.”

The old man bowed politely. Unlike then, the Emperor was not in a welcoming mood.

She didn’t even offer him a chair, considering his age.

But everything was inevitable. Ari naturally accepted the situation.

It was wartime, and this was the desert that had been called the ‘neutral zone’ until recently.

The Empire’s monarch had set up a huge camp here and guarded the rearmost front line.

She respected the freedom of the Holy See’s personnel, but once someone left for the Holy Nation, she would not allow them to return to the desert under any circumstances.

Thus, only Chief Delegate Ronald Lüpert and ‘truly’ neutral clergy remained in the temple.

Even after that, the Emperor did not completely dispel her suspicions about them.

Most of them were from the Holy Nation, so it was a natural result.

“What brings you here? I have no business with you or other cardinals.”

Clatter, clatter. Frederick asked languidly, rolling an object in her hand.

It was a sacred stone sphere filled with beautiful aether.

Cardinal Aurelie Boutier’s power was evident.

It would be the perfect comfort for the imperial family, who had been separated from their religious partner.

The old man smiled gently, looking at the tips of her fingers.

And he slowly bent his back.

“Your Majesty, this old man······. I have come to hand over information about the Holy Nation. If the most honorable person desires it.”