What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 694

#694

Animal Crossing in Silence (3)

-콰콰콰콰앙······!

“Huuuuh!”

Meanwhile.

“Protect your head! Protect your head!”

“Oh, my God!”

The eyes of an old, yellowed cardinal were carefully observing the Imperial Army, as if trying to record a page of history.

“Calm down! Walk with steady, deep breaths. Quickly!”

-Urrrrrr······!

“This way! Press corps and general laborers, this way!”

“The wounded are coming in!”

“Combat mages are returning! Clear the way!”

-Clatter, clatter, clatter······!

The rear guard of the Liester main camp seemed to be slowly moving towards order from the chaotic situation of a few days ago.

Trained warhorses and huge military wagons were constantly crisscrossing the area, following the torches in the night.

It was the result of the extreme war situation at the forefront gradually turning in favor of the Empire.

The ‘Black Magic Airship,’ which would be recorded as the worst weapon of mass destruction in history, was finally completely destroyed by Crown Princess Elysee Venetian, and the front line was slowly piercing through the Puppeteer’s Path of Heaven.

The main camp had escaped the crisis of defeat, and the rear guard was once again preparing for battle.

However······.

“Squad Leader! There are not enough barracks for the mages, what should we do?”

“The drill field! We’re going to the drill field no matter what. The spirits are waiting, so prioritize getting life force and purification for the seriously wounded!”

“Understood!”

“Company Commander, the condition of the Magic Bureau Chief is critical······!”

In the battles that followed, there was no law or agreement.

This was because the subject of the war effort was in disarray due to the division of the Venetian Divine Kingdom.

There was no longer the concept of a night truce or a morning opening of hostilities.

The two countries were randomly mixed, screaming and killing, and it was said that only Frederick Liester and her commanders maintained their composure.

Ronald Rupert stared blankly at the distant night sky.

-Ziiiiing······!

“Waaaaaa······!”

Beyond the cheers that sounded so distant and dreamlike, a magnificent shield of light protecting the Imperial Army in the air could be seen.

It was Duke Lorenzo Corleone’s specialty, the ‘Constellation Shield.’

Everyone, friend and foe alike, trembled day and night at the presence more intense than the constellations of God.

Even while the Imperial Army’s combat mages were successively entering periods of rest due to exhaustion of stamina and mana—they were like glass marbles that suddenly lost consciousness on the battlefield—renowned high-ranking mages steadfastly guarded the front lines.

At this rate, the Path of Heaven would not last long and would be captured.

Next was the ‘vessel’ of the Divine Kingdom, the Royal Capital.

The Grand Chamberlain’s eye sockets darkened further.

“Your Highness. The carriage is ready. All personnel have completed preparations to return to the Papal States.”

“······.”

The old man remained motionless for a while, lost in thought.

The rumors of the battlefield were like a storm, rampaging and scratching everyone’s ears without hesitation.

In particular, there were rumors that Elysee Venetian and Wilhelmina Schneider had completely broken up, and that the Crown Princess was leading the Divine Kingdom army that followed her to attack the Duke’s army.

It was truly a precarious flow.

“The national fortune······. Is walking an irreversible path.”

The Grand Chamberlain said quietly, gazing at the constellation.

Then, a question returned from directly behind him.

“But why are you leaving without doing anything?”

Pause. And eye contact.

“······.”

“······.”

They were clerics belonging to the Papal States who had come out to see off the Grand Chamberlain.

In the midst of the war, where everyone was moving busily, taking care of each other and moving forward, only the old man and other old men were silent.

The group looked like fragments of a temple that had been left as fragments of history.

While everyone was raising their voices and linking arms to live and see the sun of tomorrow, they stood apart like lives separate from the world.

Finally, Cardinal Ari Scott protested.

“If you intend to save the Divine Kingdom, do so, and if you intend to side with the Empire, you must do so······. If you have any intention of stopping even this war, you must do so immediately!”

“······.”

He wildly waved his cane with his wrinkled hand.

The hazelnut-like eyes gleamed with contempt.

The cardinals of the Papal States who accompanied him were also sending the Grand Chamberlain deep looks of disappointment instead of adding words.

Rupert recognized them at a glance.

The so-called ‘neutral’ clerics.

Some of them had left for the Empire for a royal visit when the current Crown Prince was a child in critical condition.

“We acted according to our beliefs. We truly did. Knowing that it was an act of abandoning my hometown, knowing that I would be branded as a traitor for the rest of my life! We helped the Emperor of the Empire materially and spiritually, believing that this was the only greater good!”

“······.”

Saliva splattered from Scott’s mouth, and his moist eyes were bloodshot.

He trembled all over, but did not stop his anger.

However, the Grand Chamberlain only felt the unnecessary repetitiveness of this conversation.

Cardinal Aurelie Boutier of this Liester main camp had also criticized him earlier for not acting.

“I could understand the clerics who abandoned the facade of the Papal States and quickly returned to the Divine Kingdom to take care of their families. Do we not know their desires? Do we really not know their desire to be with their families and protect their territories and property?”

“······.”

“But does the Grand Chamberlain have no soul at all? A conscience that feels, repents, and resolves on its own?”

The old man’s sagging cheeks trembled.

He had grown even older in the meantime, going through the arduous war.

The Grand Chamberlain quietly watched him and then walked towards the carriage.

The priests were shocked and covered their mouths, and other cardinals, unable to bear it, shouted with stiff necks.

“How can someone who holds all the great wealth and power in their hands only stand by and watch this hell? Are you not ashamed of past and future Popes!”

“Please look at the lives dying on all sides!”

“Please—! Please do something too!”

‘Clatter!’ Finally, the cane fell from Scott’s hand and rolled on the floor.

It was the desperate struggle of an old man who had never even imagined violence in his life.

The rolling stick barely touched the Grand Chamberlain’s shoe.

-Tak!

“······If you knew what I know, you wouldn’t say that.”

What kind of feelings that aroused, the lips of the one who seemed like they would never open slowly opened.

Naturally, everyone held their breath.

“······You wouldn’t be able to speak like you are now.”

“······.”

“······.”

“What······.”

‘What does that mean?’ Someone whispered.

Even at that moment, the Imperial Army and laborers were diligently moving their feet as if the group was invisible.

The world truly went on breathlessly, leaving them behind.

The Grand Chamberlain defended himself for the first and last time.

“The heart of the Divine Kingdom······. If you knew what secrets that Royal Capital was hiding, you wouldn’t point fingers at me like this.”

“Grand Chamberlain Your Highness.”

“Please examine the history books yourself. Which Grand Chamberlain, which steward of the Papal States, dared to usurp His Holiness’s authority?”

“Your Highness, that is cowardly······!”

“It’s not a problem I can intervene in.”

The cardinal said sharply in a solemn voice. The other cardinals had blank faces.

“I am merely an elected official and administrator, and I do not have the power to influence such a great destiny.”

“······.”

“So I am only waiting for His Holiness’s preparation.”

“······.”

In the end, it was that sound again. Ari Scott’s face turned pale with frustration.

The other cardinals also sighed in the same way.

It was impossible to know what information the Grand Chamberlain had obtained since taking office.

However, one thing was clear: Ronald Rupert was showing a clear madness of inaction.

When there was no response from the group, the Grand Chamberlain grabbed his clothes and boarded the carriage with a noble step. It was the moment when a young priest hurriedly approached to close the door of the compartment.

“But if His Holiness comes to this land.”

Flinch.

“······The whole world will change from it.”

“······.”

Rupert said, fixing his gaze on the east.

“Even a grain of sand in the neutral zone will not be the same as before.”

‘Squeak, clatter.’ And the door closed.

-Clatter, clatter, clatter······

“······.”

Even as the carriage, which had become distant, turned into a black dot, the clerics stood there as if nailed to the spot, unable to move.

It was a long time after that Scott closed his eyes. It was to offer a sincere prayer.

Whispers like lamentations poured out.

‘His Holiness the Pope, who will come to the continent in the future······.’

“······Please run away.”

*

“See, Young Master. I’m glad we didn’t leave them behind!”

As expected, this much is nothing to us! I stood with my hands on my hips with a proud heart.

‘Kihuuu!’ The excited lesser pandas were running around the captured soldiers.

‘Kkat.’ Lofi tripped those burdens for no reason.

Overall, it was a peaceful ending.

It was literally a lightning-fast decision, since we had discovered the knights and soldiers of the Rasso Duchy about fifteen minutes ago.

‘-Urrrumble, Kwagagang!’

‘Hwaaaak!’

Half of them were knocked unconscious by planting lightning right in front of their noses.

‘-Jjeojeojeok! Jjeojeojeok!’

‘Huh? Huh, why doesn’t this fall off!’

The other half suddenly had their feet frozen solid to the dirt floor and hardened.

And as for the advance party that was closely chasing the mountain children—

‘-Hwiiiiiing! Ssaeeeeeng!’

‘Ugh, everyone hold on! Grab the trees and hold on!’

Suddenly, they encountered a whirlwind in the forest and suffered here and there, and ended up rolling down to where we were.

And finally—

‘[Stop resisting and keep your mouths shut, everyone.]’

‘Hap!’

‘[Is there anyone with rhinitis? Breathe only through your nose.]’

I carefully zipped up everyone’s zippers. It was a perfect operation.

I was smiling to myself, proud of our lightning-like movement, when Djibril Diop, who was stealing the knight’s money pouch, grumbled at me.

“Let’s get the facts straight. You agreed to leave those kids behind, but the situation changed because some third-rate novel villains showed up.”

“Jesus. I’ve never seen a guy who loses points with his mouth as much as he does.”

“There’s probably one more, Pink Princess.”

“No, seriously, you’re the worst.”

“Anyway, it’s a good thing. I was also secretly worried about the children.”

Isabelle approached me and said kindly.

Francois and Sant also had similar relieved expressions.

I looked back at Duke Rasso without being too obvious.

Then he smiled at me as he stroked Alison’s mane.

It seemed that he was a little, very little, relieved that he had put out the fire in front of him.

“······That’s a relief.”

I finally whispered, pretending to poke Cedric in the side (it only hurts my elbow if I actually poke him).

“The results turned out well, but you really should apologize for setting fire to the family.”

“Djibril Diop is not my family.”

“Hey, sixth cousins are close. Our siblings meet our sixth cousins twice a year. We even have each other’s contact information.”

“······.”

Then the man raised one eyebrow with a surprised expression.

His expression was subtly sullen, which made me laugh.

You also meet your relatives during the Week of the Great God’s Descent.

If I had had the time, I would have told him about Chuseok and Lunar New Year in Korea, but unfortunately, today was not the day.

We put our heads together and carefully discussed what to do with the captured people before deciding.

-Saaaaaa······!

[Start clapping three times.]

“Eup, eup, eup······!”

[Very good. Now go back to Micah Rasso, whom you serve, and tell him that there was nothing in the forest.]

“Eube······?”

[Not even a strand of hair, let alone young children or sick animals. Report that you didn’t see anything that he could take as property. And of course, don’t tell anyone about us. If they ask you in detail, make up something appropriate.]

“Eu······.”

[Say that everyone seems to have been attacked by monsters. Or that they all ran away to the Count of Roseharde’s territory in the middle of the night. There are many excuses.]

-Sarararara······

As I smiled and sprinkled ether, the middle-aged knight and others nodded their heads as if possessed.

Thus, the incident was quickly concluded.

They deliberately chose a complicated descent route to follow my oracle to ‘return late without causing unnecessary suspicion,’ and did not open their mouths while leaving the group.

We watched their backs for a few minutes before silently exchanging glances.

“······.”

“······.”

“Then, shall we depart now?”

Finally, Francois suggested. Everyone nodded.

With this, the mountain children would be safe for the time being.

I handed Tete over to Sir John, adjusted Ongdangi, and slung Gagabang over to the other side.

No, that’s what I was really going to do—

-Suddenly!

“That was delicious. Give me more!”

“Euaaaak!”

“Mommyyyyaaaak!”

Some kid popped out of my stomach!