What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 555

Sub-Male Lead Goes on Strike – Episode 555 (555/920)

#555

Taking a Deep Breath and Hell Diving (5)

-Kkieueu?

“······.”

I bit my lip, clutching Demi’s front paws tightly.

A myriad of thoughts flashed through my mind. Naturally, there were several possibilities.

‘Jeong-Hye.

‘Why.’

‘You’re not thinking strange things, are you?’

‘Huh······?’

However, the voice cutting through that complex, shimmering thread was singular.

Amidst the bustling opinions in the barracks, I alone was sinking into contemplation.

As his mother always did, the Crown Prince did not particularly restrain the knights and soldiers engaged in heated debate.

His Excellency, Grand Duke Stanislas, and Admiral Emma Corleone were whispering to each other, and Jibril Diop was in conversation with the naval mages, arms crossed.

Several priests who had followed also gathered in small groups, wearing serious expressions.

Thanks to this, I was able to indulge in my thoughts without anyone’s interference.

“······In that case, was it the same when a hole opened in the sky last time?”

“When the ‘Sword of the Chief God’ fell on the land of the Divine Nation? I don’t know about that! Back then, the Grand Preceptor was guarding the Imperial Palace, so we had no way of confirming it on our end, and the front lines were far in the rear······.”

“It was probably similar. Surely the paladins of the Divine Nation went up to the sky to see? Anyway, they had to close the hole to survive.”

“Ah, that’s right. The swords were stuck everywhere, causing chaos······.”

“As you know, the affairs of the sky are the will of the Chief God. How can humans govern it? I guarantee that neither then nor now will the Venetian be able to solve this. That’s why they’ve been quiet so far.”

“Are you saying that this time, too, we can only wait for that spear to disappear naturally?”

“Ahem, well······.”

My brother, as far as I know, was the only outsider who could leave his mark on this world.

Really, besides me, there was only my brother.

In fact, there had always been parts that bothered me from the early days of my possession.

It’s just that I either had no way to confirm it, or I was too afraid to test it.

Or they were just too trivial to even suspect.

More than anything, if I had started digging up even those points and making a fuss······. I might not have survived here for long.

No matter how friendly the world was to me, too many variables would have arisen.

But it’s different now.

“······Personally, I don’t think the sky will heal naturally unless His Holiness the Pope appears. How many cardinal-level priests are there in the Divine Nation, and how many cardinal-level paladins? Yet no one has solved it so far, have they?”

“His Holiness the Pope? That makes sense.”

“Goodness, I don’t know. I’m a Pope skeptic······.”

“Good heavens. You were an ‘incredulus’ [Latin for ‘unbeliever’]? Aren’t you the most devout believer among us?”

“It’s separate from faith. It’s hard to have faith that the Pope will return. Think about it, in this day and age······.”

“Indeed. Among the priests of our younger generation, there’s a feeling that Ireneus was the last Pope······.”

If my brother is the author of , most of the questions I’ve had so far are resolved.

Even the subtle conversation I had with my brother when I returned home······.

If my brother is the ‘Creator God’ here, the being who governs everything, then the unsettling parts can be largely explained.

Although this is not Toegye Gong [a reference to a famous Korean scholar, Yi Hwang] but a different world line derived from it, the Chief God is the only God anyway.

Judging from the contents of the warning window, the two folders are about to merge into one.

Then the only person who can stop it is my brother.

Probably through the ‘No (N)’ button, theoretically very simply.

“······Cristel, did the small window on the lower right just flicker? Were there any other movements besides that?”

“Yes?”

As I whispered so that only she could hear, Ga-in, who had been standing blankly, sat down with a rustle.

I carefully took out a notebook from my Gaga bag, wary of being seen.

Then I showed her the page where I had transcribed the contents of the warning window.

Sir Johann also gently tilted his head this way. Soon, his water-blue eyes sparkled.

“······Um. I can’t read this either, Palace Lord.”

“Yes, I expected as much. Just like you couldn’t read the contents of the Holy Ark that Herrit wrote down the other day.”

“Ah! That’s right! That happened······?”

The Princess made a loud noise again before quickly lowering the volume.

Fortunately, the room was noisy, and no one was focusing on us.

I nodded solemnly.

I had been very busy performing official duties for the past few days, but I always had two or three hours of free time at night.

The young knights persistently followed me around, urging me to go in and rest (now that I think about it, that was probably an order from a certain pig).

Thanks to that, I also had time to review my notebook, so it was good in many ways.

I looked back and forth between Ga-in and Sir Johann and whispered.

“In the past, Her Highness Aurelia took Herrit and infiltrated the Sanctuary of the Boundary Temple. Ganael, Sant, and Sir Erbe were also with them. They stopped by there before coming to see us in the Statia Plains, do you remember?”

“Wait a minute, time. What was the Sanctuary again?”

Ga-in made a T with a serious hand gesture.

Sir Johann smiled gently at his disciple.

“It’s a forbidden library located deep within the temple. There’s a sacred barrier at the entrance that only cardinals can enter, and you can’t steal even a bookmark from what they keep there. I thought it had all collapsed back then, but it managed to survive.”

“······.”

‘Back then’ here means when I died once.

But there’s no need to point it out, so let’s move on quickly.

Just thinking about it makes me want to punch Jeong Hyun-seo hard in the gut.

Of course, that wasn’t my brother’s intention or wish.

Looking back at the atmosphere when I returned home, it’s right to say that my brother didn’t know at all.

“Ah, I remember. But what was the Holy Ark?”

“The Chief God’s record box. Only the Pope can open it, and what else······.”

“It’s an old space where the will of God is stacked up. It’s practically the heart of the library, protected by the World Tree.”

“It’s like a stone tablet with the Ten Commandments written on it.”

Sir Johann and I explained diligently. Ga-in scratched her forehead and made an ‘Ah!’ sound.

“Is that the day Herrit transformed into that Grand Vicar grandpa and infiltrated? The baby copied the contents of the document by hand! Sir Erbe distracted everyone outside with his handsome looks!”

“That’s correct. I didn’t tell you at the time······. Several settings of ‘Toegye Gong’ were written on that paper.”

“Settings?”

Ga-in asked, barely making a sound.

I glanced at Sir Johann and took a deep breath.

Yeah, let’s not talk about this in detail. It’ll only hurt more.

“······Yes. In short, the Holy Ark is a kind of setting collection. So, if you consider the Chief God as the author, it’s a perfect analogy. A box containing the will of the Chief God, a collection of materials containing the author’s ideas. Like that.”

“Wow. That makes sense.”

“So when Herrit dropped the contents, the World Tree was torn. Because it was such an important document.”

I looked at her and spoke carefully.

At the same time, the conversation I had with Ganael echoed in my ears like an apartment management office broadcast.

‘Herrit opened the Holy Ark, and there was no problem up to that point. Everything was normal until he saw the contents and wrote them down······.’

‘Somehow, a piece of paper fell to the floor. As soon as it touched it, the roots of the World Tree went ‘Pajijik! [onomatopoeia for a crackling sound]”

‘It burst out with a terrifying light!’

As if it had short-circuited.

Or like when I destroyed the World Tree with growth in the underground labyrinth of the temple.

“But the World Tree is not just a sacred tree that protects the center of the continent. The roots of the temple are not enough to describe it.”

“Then what is it?”

I looked around again, checking if anyone was watching us.

Of course, there’s no need to worry about the sound leaking out because Sir Johann is here—look at that. That Crown Prince bastard is glaring at us with a furious look on his face.

It’s sickening, really.

“······It’s the only being that protects this ‘world line’ [a concept from theoretical physics, referring to a possible history of the universe]. It means that the World Tree alone is protecting this place derived from Toegye Gong. So when the roots are damaged, sparks fly, and sap made of black ink flows. It even smells like burning plastic.”

“Ooh, ooh······.”

“Even the walls of the labyrinth are made of white printing paper. That’s why it doesn’t feel like a plant and feels eerie.”

“It’s like a sci-fi movie!”

Ga-in said, her beautiful eyes sparkling.

I sometimes admired this side of her.

Even if it’s her own problem, she only skims the surface of overly complex issues.

It’s probably her own defense method that she’s built up over the years.

I forced a smile and confessed softly.

“······I was the one who first injured it.”

“Huh?!”

Then her voice faltered.

At the same time, Cedric glared at us with an even more ferocious face.

No, which reader would think of a romance fantasy male lead when they see that expression?

Why are you giving me the stink eye from earlier when you can’t even hear us!

“······Should we go out and talk among ourselves for now? We have to see the spear anyway.”

In the end, I cautiously suggested, and Sir Johann nodded readily and got up.

Then François, who had been sitting next to him all along, came into view. Wait a minute······.

“Heo······.”

“Marquis, your jaw! Close your jaw!”

You’re going to drool!

*

-Wheeewoo······

-Kkiee! Kkieea!

“Demi, just run around here. Don’t bother Gyu too much.”

-Kkieeo!

The inside of the barracks was already so crowded that no one noticed that the four of us—eight if you include the divine beasts—were gone.

The discussion about the warning window was actually a topic that was difficult to find an answer to.

By the time François finished saying a few words to Prince Diop and came out, the topic of conversation had already changed to a report on the achievements of the North Sea Fleet led by Admiral Corleone.

I thought it was rather fortunate.

The sentries at the entrance tried to escort me, but I dissuaded them several times, saying it was okay.

-Krrrreureung······

“Lopi, you can’t touch the reverse scale. You know that, right?”

-Nyaawoong

The wind was quite mild. It was thanks to the Four Dragons, who were coiled around the tent village.

The giant and sacred Divine Dragon was gently looking down at us, its neck arched like a rainbow.

Warmth and the passage of time were evident in its deep eyes.

The long, flowing beard and large horns were so wonderful that you wouldn’t get tired of watching them for hours.

The lesser pandas and Lopi jumped up and down on the scales, clinging to the dragon’s back like fruit.

François stared at the scene for a long time before turning to me with a dazed look.

“So······. You’re saying that by Herrit touching the already injured and weakened World Tree, a full-fledged crack began to appear in our world. Is that correct?”

“Yes. It’s just a guess, but it seems to fit roughly.”

I stretched out my arm and pointed to the warning window in the clear sky.

Ga-in and Sir Johann’s gazes followed.

“There, the top horizontal line. The event that occurred when that appeared was ‘Contact of the World Tree with the contents of the Holy Ark’. It was definitely an event that could cause a crack. Next, the left vertical line was added, as I recall, after a massive flood occurred in the Divine Nation. I remember the rain stopping around the time I left Bethani’s apothecary. I don’t think this was anyone’s fault in particular······.”

“Could it be a side effect of the world suddenly weakening, or something like that?”

“Hmm······. I think so too for now. The damage to the World Tree would have been the direct cause.”

I then counted on my fingers. My friends’ eyes moved in unison.

“The third white line appeared when I released Iran’s spirit in the black market. That was also a big deal in the history of the continent. And the last fourth line is······.”

“When the Palace Lord got really angry at Duke Sneider. You blew up half the barracks and smashed the crystal ball to smithereens.”

“······Yes. It was when I used power close to Crown Ether. But before that, the Four Dragons had regained their power, so I think the ripple effect was significant. Divine objects are treasures directly bestowed by the Chief God.”

I sighed and lowered my hand.

It felt like everything was becoming clearer as I looked at it and talked about it.

The reason that warning window appeared isn’t because of my brother.

At least it’s not the influence of a being outside the world.

In that case······.

“So maybe we’re the ones who have to close it.”

Not Jeong Hyun-seo.