What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 328

#328

Wreck! The Great Adventures (6)

“Quiet. Just listen without saying anything.”

Modest Bakari whispered, his eyes gleaming beneath his glasses.

Heineken nodded, startled.

“Ugh.”

“Good.”

The Commander removed his hand from Heineken’s mouth, wiped it on his robe, and glanced around.

The space was cramped, a narrow passage between tents, obscured by stakes and ropes, making it difficult to navigate.

Fortunately, it was a deserted area, and they seemed to have gone unnoticed.

*This one was a nuisance, attracting unnecessary attention.*

He was here, there, and everywhere all day, working and volunteering, making him hard to find even for the soldiers.

In the end, the Commander had to search for him personally.

*For the Leader of the Fleur-de-lis to be doing this in the middle of the night.*

Modest grumbled inwardly.

“You remember my warning, right? That because of you, the future of the Imperial Army is obscured.”

“Ah, yes.”

“I told you not to answer.”

The youth’s eyes narrowed.

Heineken said, “Sorry,” then covered his mouth, embarrassed.

The long overcoat seemed ostentatious, but it was a good thing for now.

“So, I was going to transfer you to the rear, but David opposed it.”

“······.”

“He said you were hired as a servant to His Highness the Crown Prince?”

The young man’s brown eyes widened, and he nodded as if it were true.

The Prophet sighed deeply and looked up at the sky.

All sorts of worries floated above his hooded head.

He had never thought his life was ordinary, but the events of the last year or two were truly…

Ha. Never mind. No time for this.

“I don’t know what he’s thinking, but I can’t keep protecting you without the Prince’s orders.”

“······.”

“The situation is serious. You know about the Tyrant Dragon incident.”

Again, a nod. Then, his blue-green eyes turned serious.

The Prophet’s voice became smaller than the chirping of insects. Srrr, srrr…

“This time, we were just lucky. We had evacuation drills, and His Highness sensed the demon early, so we had no casualties. There won’t be a next time.”

Sparkle! Heineken raised one hand. He looked like he had something to say.

Modest let out a long sigh and nodded.

The young man smiled in relief and whispered.

“Are there really no casualties? I heard that too, but I wasn’t sure since it was just a rumor. The priests at the relief center are all busy. No seriously injured have come in, but I’ve been anxious…”

“That’s not the point.”

*Why does he only hear what he wants to hear? He didn’t need to be like ‘him’ in this aspect too.*

Modest made a face and abruptly pointed his index finger.

It meant to shut up and focus. His brown eyes turned round.

“Leave the military camp immediately. I can’t see ahead because of you. This isn’t a metaphor.”

“······.”

“Not foreseeing such a disaster is ‘negligence.’ Don’t hinder me.”

The young man looked perplexed.

Then, he glanced at the other side of the barracks, which wasn’t even visible.

He looked as pitiful as a trapped wild animal. Modest steeled his heart.

“David might be displeased if he knew, but my justification is clear. I can’t stand by and watch you, who are neither a noble nor a soldier, become a hindrance to our forces. Do you want a precious person to shed blood?”

“······No. I understand.”

“Good. What’s that?”

Modest gestured with his eyes over Heineken’s shoulder.

The young man shrugged his backpack and smiled wistfully.

“It’s my luggage.”

“That’s good too. Follow me.”

He immediately turned and left the side passage.

It was quiet behind him, so he glanced back to see Heineken staring at the air with a troubled look.

Why is he doing that since earlier?

“Did you leave something behind?”

“No, yes. No.”

“What is it? Then hurry. If you truly care about the Imperial Army, don’t hesitate.”

At those words, the young man’s expression hardened as if he had made up his mind.

“······Yes.”

And he quickly caught up with the Prophet’s pace.

Modest didn’t understand why he was spending time on an unknown commoner, but since it had come to this, he decided to do his best.

He decided to attribute it to the fact that Heineken resembled someone too much.

He thought that he, too, wanted to show kindness to someone in the harsh battlefield.

“I’ve prepared a carriage to the southern part of the Empire. The lord there is known as a virtuous man.”

“······.”

“You might be concerned about not saying goodbye to the residents, but you can at least write letters.”

“······.”

So, he even offered clumsy comfort. The only response was the sound of quiet footsteps.

Tap, tap, tap. Modest pursed his lips and strode forward.

He didn’t apologize. Hadn’t he been lenient enough so far?

This was all for Liester and His Highness the Crown Prince.

*

It was past midnight.

August 13th at the front line passed quietly, because today’s protagonist didn’t want any commotion.

-Crack, crack, crack…

Cedric Liester was standing in the middle of the majestic barracks, looking into the flames.

The brazier, surrounded by rough sand, burned with the same color as the man’s eyes.

A bandage was tightly wrapped around his recovering right arm.

Outside, the cicadas at the end of summer were chirping noisily.

Occasionally, the emblems of the Imperial Family and the Crown Prince hanging from the ceiling swayed, and the shadows of the knights and their low voices flickered on the tent.

If he wasn’t going to celebrate, he should rest. But he couldn’t sleep.

As always.

“······.”

He slowly lowered his gaze and looked at his palm.

The empty Holy Stone necklace caught his eye. Immediately, the commotion of that day stirred in his mind.

He had never drunk alcohol in his life, but he felt like he knew what it was like to be drunk.

[…How could this happen in sacred Venetian!]

He remembered the viscount’s tearing voice.

That was all the Crown Prince heard from outside the carriage door.

At the time, he was barely sane.

He felt the short but distinct ether [a mystical energy] of the Prince, and he was obsessed with chasing after him, unable to think of anything else.

He didn’t care that his body was being torn and bleeding. It wasn’t a hallucination.

-Kwaaaang!

‘······.’

But there, ‘he’ was.

He saw a trembling body with two insignificant ether particles.

Only then did Cedric realize how ridiculous his belief had been.

It was a miserable illusion, a futile mirage.

‘Is that your ether?’

The Prince was asleep in the distant Juliette Palace.

He was the first to confirm his death.

He had forcibly swallowed the poison that he no longer breathed, that his soul had left the world.

So there was no way the Prince could open his eyes in a place like this.

He had to stop overlapping him with a mere commoner.

Throughout the history of the entire continent and islands, the resurrection of the dead was an absolute impossibility.

Unless it was a miracle from the Main God.

‘Is that your power?’

‘Ugh, ugh.’

So there was no way that commoner could have the same ether. It shouldn’t be.

‘······Take him to the torture chamber.’

‘Ugh! Ugh!’

But what the man absorbed was pure and clean ether, without a speck of dust.

It was an eerily identical energy to the Prince’s power.

The man had survived the past five months with only the Hwaseong’s Hyegom [a type of holy artifact], without any ether supply from other priests.

So there was no mistaking it.

All external stimuli were excessively clear, and the memories in his heart were neat without any contamination.

‘Please use the Holy Stone! I’ll refill it for you!’

Squeak. The Crown Prince gripped the necklace tightly.

“······.”

Then who the hell are you?

“Your Highness.”

Flinch. David’s call came from behind.

The Crown Prince ridiculed himself for not even noticing his loyal servant’s approach. It was pathetic.

Was he going to get hit by an enemy’s spear in front of the soldiers?

“I apologize for the late hour. There’s an urgent report from the torture chamber.”

“What is it?”

“······Viscount Trossart, who was the lord of this area, has reportedly suffered a mental breakdown. He couldn’t withstand the priests’ fifth interrogation.”

“······.”

“We approached as cautiously as possible, but the report suggests that he was likely under the mental control of a powerful high-ranking cleric. The analysis suggests that if a bishop-level priest’s mind was broken, the brainwashing must have been going on for more than 10 years. We may need to exchange information with Duke Mute of Bouterlot in Baute.”

Cedric slowly turned around. The middle-aged man bowed with a calm face.

“······All we secured was a statement about the ether.”

The confession that the two ether particles belonged to that commoner.

“That’s right. We didn’t obtain any meaningful information about the mountains, demons, or dungeons. The testimonies of the townspeople are all we have.”

It was a concise summary. The Crown Prince stared at the air with a deep gaze.

The legendary demon he encountered three days ago was much larger than the one he had killed in the Demon Subjugation.

Its body was covered in scars, and its movements were fast and cunning.

Perhaps it was the demon’s mother.

-Krrrroooar―!

‘Kuk!’

‘Kwaaaang!’ The man ultimately failed to kill it and was thrown back by its foreleg attack.

Fortunately, the Tyrant Dragon was also seriously injured and hid in the forest.

He had clearly stabbed the Hyegom, which was spewing holy fire, into the demon’s belly near its heart.

It might be lying somewhere, rotting away.

For the past three days, the mountains had been quiet.

“Send the reconnaissance team again. Include many mages, and this time, have them focus on searching the mountains. If it’s an area where legendary demons appear, there’s a high probability that a dungeon exists.”

Fwick. Trossart was no longer useful.

Those who returned from the last reconnaissance reported that the New Nation Army’s elite unit, led by Princess Elysee, was gathered in the basin for training.

The army’s morale was high, and their numbers were over three thousand.

Therefore, it was even more difficult to waste time and energy on demons.

The right thing to do was to quickly break through any passable paths.

‘Always look at the big picture, Seidi. If you dwell on the small things, you’ll get caught.’ That was his mother’s teaching.

“Yes. I will organize the team with experienced and agile individuals.”

“That commoner.”

Suddenly, a question fell from his lips. It happened unconsciously.

The Crown Prince gritted his teeth at his own contradiction.

“······Your Highness. Sending a stable hand with no combat experience as a scout is…”

“That’s not what I meant.”

A fire blazed in his orange eyes. David raised the corners of his mouth almost imperceptibly.

It had been a year since he had seen his master’s eyes like that. It was truly a jewel-like sight.

“What were you thinking when you brought him to me?”

“······.”

“Is there something you haven’t told me about him?”

“I simply wanted to soothe your precious heart.”

“You mean you used him as a substitute.”

A bitter smile hung on the attendant’s lips.

Seeing him not deny it made his stomach twist even more. He had guessed it early on.

“I don’t need it.”

“Someday, you will have to give someone your heart, Your Highness. Wouldn’t it be good to practice opening your heart little by little?”

“This is not something to say during a war.”

“I heard that his nickname is ‘Angel.’”

“Common.”

Cedric retorted, unbuttoning his shirt with one hand.

Even if he couldn’t sleep, lying down to rest would be better for conserving his strength.

David approached to take the shirt.

“But he possessed ether, didn’t he?”

“Not a priest’s soul.”

The Crown Prince spat out. It was true.

Two ether particles smaller than a pinky nail were all the power he possessed.

Nothing was felt in the man’s vessel. Really, nothing at all.

Just like the corpse that day.

“You must be wondering why he’s called an angel.”

“What I’m curious about is the secret of the mountains.”

“They say that friend fell from the sky.”

“······What?”

The man’s hand stopped abruptly. David drooped his eyebrows as if he were troubled.

“I did a background check before hiring him, and one of the village children testified to that. On the day the sky hole that dropped the Main God’s sword closed… They said the young man fell from there.”

His orange eyes widened.

At the same time, a scene mercilessly struck his mind.

A pool of blood staining the dirt floor red. The black crack that had torn through the autumn sky.

The blond man reaching out his arms and flying towards it. ‘Flapping, flapping!’

‘Eunseo,’

-Thud!

“Haha. It’s just a story from a six-year-old, Your Highness. I also dismissed it as a joke.”

“······.”

Cedric stared at the attendant with trembling pupils.

The shock was so great that he couldn’t even think of how to react.

At the end of the maze, an emotion that had lost its language was placed.

It was then.

-Kkirururu…!

From far away, the cry of a flying beast vibrating the deep earth was heard.

Urrruuung! At the same time, the barracks shook from side to side, and a fierce wind struck the tent.

Flap, flap! Squeak, squeak! It was a strong wind that seemed to pull out the stakes and break the ropes.

David looked at the Crown Prince with a bewildered gaze.

Without thinking further, the man grabbed the Hyegom and left the barracks.

His movements were so fast that they couldn’t be followed with the eye.

“Your Highness!”

“Take the civilians and get out of the military camp. Follow Winniete and move to the rear of the Imperial Army.”

“What is…”

Flap! Cedric immediately pulled back the tent.

From beyond the night sky, a demon the size of Juliette Palace was flying in.

‘Kkirururuk…!’ Knights and soldiers grabbed their weapons and rushed out from all over the military camp at the sharp cry.

‘Main God have mercy!’ Then, exclamations of shock and despair erupted. The mages were already summoning large magic circles.

The Crown Prince narrowed his eyes and observed the demon.

Then, he frowned slightly. Wait.

-Flap! Flap!

The Griffin’s direction setting was strange.

No matter how he looked at it, the demon’s speed and altitude wouldn’t allow it to strike here.

It was too fast and too high.

At that rate, it would fly past the rear and into the desert.

In fact, the Griffin was now crossing over the military camp. Just as the man felt puzzled—

“Goodness.”

He heard a familiar adolescent voice. Cedric immediately turned his head.

Modest Bakari, who had run out of the tent next door, was looking at the sky with a pale face.

“······I sent a carriage to the southern part of the Empire.”

“What?”

The Crown Prince sharply retorted. The Prophet took off his glasses with trembling hands.

It was a clear omen.

“I sent Heineken in the direction that damned demon is heading.”

A sentence like despair fell.

Cedric shot out like lightning to find Charlemagne.