What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 711

Mistakes Are Forbidden! (1)

“So, to summarize, our Spirit is having some very mystical dreams.”

*Thump!* Karme plopped down on the dirt floor, crossing her arms.

Her dark brown hair, piled high to keep it out of her face while farming, and her eyes, their color now natural after she stopped using the eye drops, were a clear, deep brown.

She was even wearing baggy, practical clothes she’d borrowed from the Imperial Army knights.

Karme had always prioritized her appearance, but like anyone at a turning point, she was changing every day.

Now, a striking figure or flawless skin didn’t seem so important.

The restraint around her neck glinted like a medal in the sunlight.

“So, because of this dream, you have to leave the Imperial Army and go to the capital? That’s the conclusion?”

“Uu… That’s right.”

The Spirit of Iran, a sacred being, nodded, squatting in front of Karme.

The large horns on its head shook like a chandelier, and its innocent eyes darted around, as if afraid someone would discover their secret meeting.

Actually, calling it a ‘secret meeting’ was a bit of a stretch, given the Spirit’s majestic size. Anyway.

“But why are you telling *me* this? There’s that glasses-wearing wizard here, and plenty of other higher-ups. They’d do anything if the great Spirit asked.”

Karme said, readily taking a snack from the basket beside her.

Today’s refreshments were baked potatoes and sweet potatoes, clean water, and a handful of sweet strawberries grown by the Spirit itself.

It might seem like a simple meal to some, but for her, who had been accustomed to hunger since childhood, it was a perfectly satisfying meal.

Especially since this was a battlefield.

“Uung. I was going to tell the Kaleidoscope Child [likely a reference to a powerful mage or individual with diverse abilities] about the dream, but…”

The Spirit’s gaze fell to the ground.

The flowers adorning its sacred form drooped sadly.

Karme munched on a potato, looking up at it.

“…My memory isn’t clear.”

“Roses. Beautiful, red roses were blooming profusely. There…”

“I planted empty seeds.”

*Gulp.*

“The Spirit planted seeds in a rose garden? And that’s in the Royal Capital of the Holy Kingdom?”

“Maybe.”

“When? Oh, in the dream?”

“Maybe.”

“So, you have to go check it out?”

“…Yes.”

The Spirit nodded obediently. Karme scowled.

“Let me guess. The glasses-wearing wizard said something like this? ‘Unfortunately, dream interpretation is not my specialty. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have important state affairs to attend to.’ And his expression was like *this*. Forehead all tense.”

“Wow, how did you know?”

“Those young masters trying to act grown-up are all the same.”

“Just like the Kaleidoscope Child…!”

‘Amazing!’ The Spirit’s whole body seemed to exclaim, scattering pollen.

Karme quickly covered her food basket, worried it might get on her snacks.

She didn’t forget to hold up a finger to its brightly smiling face.

“Anyway. I can’t do anything about what the higher-ups won’t allow, sorry. You know what my position is here, right?”

“…”

Then, the sacred creature blinked its round eyes innocently.

Karme momentarily wore a blank expression.

Surely, it didn’t think she *didn’t* know, even after seeing her wearing two restraints and working day and night?

She’d been here for more than a day or two, after all.

That’s when it happened.

*Kugugugung…!*

“Waaaaa…!”

“Ugh!”

Suddenly, the ground shook violently, and a roar like an echo erupted from the distant front lines.

As she had been trained, Karme covered her head and flattened herself on the ground.

The Spirit, looking terrified, embraced Karme.

The shallow tremor continued for several dozen seconds, and groans and screams occasionally erupted from the tented area of the main camp.

The basket spilled, and innocent sweet potatoes and strawberries rolled across the dirt floor.

Karme gritted her teeth and clenched her fists.

She knew very well that the fighting wouldn’t reach this far.

She had definitely heard the noble lords say that the battle zone was far away.

*Gugugugu…*

“Damn it…!”

But still, war was truly terrible.

She had seen too many bodies of those who had died here or before even reaching here.

Every day, medics ran around, and carts with white flags, filled with urns, raced toward the Empire.

During the day, the stench of blood and the acrid smell of medicine permeated the air.

And at night, there was the smell of burning corpses and the scent of incense from the priests who bid them farewell.

A place more desolate than the parched desert, with not even an oasis of hope. That was the battlefield.

*Kugugu…*

“Hoo. Haa…”

Soon, the rumbling stopped, and the main camp became quiet again, as if the commotion had never happened.

Karme slowly raised herself, sighing.

She hoped this damn war would end soon, no matter who won.

Though she was secretly rooting for the Liester Empire…

“You must go.”

“Mom, you scared me!”

At the sudden whisper, Karme jumped back in surprise.

Its face, larger and more sacred than her entire body, was already right in front of her.

Why was it being like this all of a sudden?

“Honey! You almost gave me a heart attack! Who’s going to manage the crops here if I’m gone?”

Of course, there were other people who could replace her, but the point was that she was also a valuable person!

“I know it sounds strange, child. I know it’s hard to believe.”

“But…”

The sacred creature turned its gaze to the distant East. The holy sun was still hanging there.

“The time of harvest is approaching.”

“It is painful. This is all I can convey in human language.”

*Whoooo…* The Spirit’s flower vines swayed like hair.

Karme felt a strange premonition and rubbed her goosebump-covered arms.

For some reason, dark clouds were gathering in the clear sky, and the wind, which had been calm, suddenly began to slap her cheeks.

“…”

She was only a priest-level paladin and a second-rate mage.

Her abilities were far too inadequate to recognize anything significant, and she had never dared to dream of such a thing.

Until recently, she had lived by doing the worst things she could.

Because that was the only way she could get her hands on some money.

She was ashamed, but she thought that was the only way.

But this was…

“Ominous, subversive, and uneasy.”

“It seems that something contrary to the will of the Chief God is about to happen in the name of the Chief God.”

“…”

It was a flow of something far beyond Karme’s abilities, something too vast and overwhelming for her to interfere with.

She had learned nothing and knew nothing, but she could be sure of this one thing.

She didn’t want to admit it, but she was a little scared.

Karme put on a nonchalant face and jumped up from her seat.

No matter how she thought about it, she wasn’t the right person for this kind of adventure.

“Sorry, honey. Thanks for the offer, but look for someone else.”

“…”

There was a time when she was famous as the pilot of the golem Armando.

But that was all in the past. Days when recklessness and stupidity were her only means of survival.

“There are plenty of lords who will take your side right away. I don’t even know how to get to the capital!”

“…”

“And, if you didn’t know, you should know. I’ve committed a lot of sins and I’m atoning for them now. If I go around recklessly, I’ll really lose my head, you know? The glasses-wearing young master and the higher-ups here are really scary.”

“…”

“Hey, don’t look at me pitifully. See these things around my neck? One is an Aether Restraint, the other is a Mana Restraint.”

With that, Karme washed a few of the dirt-covered strawberries in water and brought them to her mouth.

The sacred creature stared intently at the things around her neck.

Its large eyes sparkled with curiosity.

“The only time you saw my abilities was when the knights came with the keys and released these. Normally, I’m just plain ordinary—”

*Tap!*

“Huh?”

… ‘Tap’? What ‘tap’?

*Clatter, clatter!*

“Ehhh! Honey? What did you just do?!”

Along with the feeling of her neck becoming light and airy, the two restraints fell to the ground.

The Spirit’s fingers, stretched out like tree branches, quickly hid behind its back.

Karme, horrified, frantically picked up the things that had fallen to the ground, her mouth agape.

Not knowing where to put them, she hesitated, finally stuffing the restraints into the snack basket.

No, why was the usually kind and gentle sacred creature acting like this today!?

“Restraints… Aren’t they unnecessary?”

“Unnecessary? Will my life be better if they’re gone?”

“You’re much prettier without them. Your energy is like a poppy in a sandy field!” The Spirit said with a bright smile.

At the same time, colorful petals burst out and poured down on Karme’s head.

The thick fragrance enveloped her body. This was driving her crazy.

“Haa… Ptooey.”

The paladin filtered out the petals entering her mouth, falling into deep thought.

To live again like a poppy, or to live simply as a farmer. That was the question.

* * *

Back to the Venetian Holy Kingdom.

Near the Memphis Mountains, at the entrance to the Raso Lord’s Castle.

“Thank you for coming so far. Please, come right in. Accommodations and food have been prepared.”

“Thank you.”

*Clatter, clatter, clatter…*

The carriage carrying the seventy-seventh birthday gift for Duke Maiker Raso passed through the sharply pointed, descending iron bars and through the wide-open wooden gate.

Those who served Maiker were lined up in front of the castle gate, eagerly welcoming guests.

Soldiers stood guard in preparation for any situation.

Some checked the guests’ identities with invitations, others compared those identities with documents.

There were those who roughly wrote down the list of gifts and those who commanded them all.

“…Tsk.”

Among them, one who appeared to be in charge quietly clicked his tongue.

A subordinate stopped moving his quill and quietly watched him.

“Captain, what’s wrong?”

“That was only the sixth carriage that passed by, the sixth. If this isn’t a disgrace, what is?”

“…”

“In previous years, thirty carriages would come in a day carrying gifts for our lord. But this year… We barely get thirty carriages even after a whole week?”

“Well, we are at war, after all. Many nobles must be participating in the war.”

“If they participated themselves, they should at least send their children. Or at least show some token of sincerity! Who is Lord Maiker? He’s a great man who single-handedly takes responsibility for the Holy Kingdom’s animal troops [likely a specialized military unit].”

“…”

“Even those who *did* send gifts are all second-rate, third-rate nobles…”

‘They don’t know how scary the royal family is.’ He muttered threateningly.

The subordinate tried to add something, but only wet his lips with his tongue.

He didn’t want to be berated all evening for being nosy.

The man scratched his temple with the end of his quill and turned his gaze.

“Heeok!”

*Clatter, clatter, clatter…*

And he almost lost his jawbone forever.

The sound of creaking really came from his wide-open lower jaw.

The other knights and soldiers had reactions that were not much different.

The superior glared at his subordinates as if they were pathetic, then rolled his eyes.