What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 696

Sub-Male Lead’s Strike – Episode 696 (696/920)

#696

Animal Crossing in Silence (5)

A moment later.

“Where is this…?”

-Swishhhhh…

Pushing aside the vine curtains and the hanging fruit beads, a place completely different from the forest we were just in revealed itself.

Holding the dozing baby, I stood there with my mouth agape.

My friends and the troublesome ones also looked very surprised.

The crescent moon peeking out from the clouds dimly illuminated the ground.

The stars, densely packed like sesame seeds in gimbap [Korean seaweed rice roll], seemed to welcome us.

-Screech

“…Wow.”

-Pat, tap, patter…

This place, where the children and animals of the duchy were said to hide, was set up like a kind of campsite.

Everyone’s gaze scattered in all directions before converging again.

In the center, there was a large fire pit, but it seemed they intentionally didn’t light a fire at this late hour, as only the red-hot embers crackled.

The steep dirt ground from just moments ago was now surprisingly flat, and newly sprouted spring weeds grew sparsely.

Around the bonfire, several tents were irregularly spaced apart.

However, it was difficult to estimate how many there were or the overall size because it was too dark.

Still, overall, there were no large rocks or bushes blocking the view, giving it an open feel, and it looked much better to live in than I had imagined. I had been worried because the children were living alone, but I felt a little relieved.

“Welcome to our cave. I’ll let you use the tent in that corner for now. It became empty recently.”

“Ah, okay. Thank you.”

“We won’t be imposing for too long.”

“It looks more like a mountain village than a cave.”

Koby proudly led the way, and Isabel and I added a word each.

When the Crown Prince coldly added a comment, the child shrugged.

“Still, you have to call it a cave. That way, the duchy’s people will only poke around the caves in the mountain range and won’t find us.”

“Ah.”

-Keeha

So that’s why ‘cave.’ Demi and I nodded our heads (tails).

All the other children must have been asleep, as the campsite was generally quiet and deserted.

We soon arrived in front of two small tents.

One had a thatched roof like a Korean traditional house [Hanok], and the other had a dark-colored cloth patched over the roof, making it look like it was wearing a hat.

The thatched roof tent was slightly larger.

“The men can use this one, and the two women can use the small one here. With the baby.”

“You’re letting us use two?”

“It’s empty anyway. And I’m close to the leader. Oh, you have to clean it yourself.”

Koby, who answered curtly, looked up at the baby in my arms.

Then, she wrinkled her nose as if she was troubled.

“…You’ll need toys too, right?”

“Huh?”

“You’re still a baby. I’ll try to find something to play with. Something the other kids aren’t using.”

“Ah… Thank you so much, Koby.”

When I smiled brightly and called her name, the girl was startled and shrugged her shoulders.

I entrusted Lynn to Gain for a moment—she froze as soon as she held the baby—and rummaged through my bag.

When I placed the black pouch on my palm, Koby’s eyes widened.

“Here. Can you accept this?”

“…What is it?”

“It’s a high-grade magic stone that emits heat. When it cools down later, you can throw it into the fire and take it out again to use it. It’s good for warming hands and feet, and if you put it in your bedding at night, it’s very warm. There aren’t many, but…”

“Hey.”

“The children here need it much more than I do.”

Then, Jibril Diop sighed as if he couldn’t help it.

I exchanged glances with Cedric and smiled slyly.

Even the person who gave it isn’t saying anything, but that wizard is acting like he has something to say.

“You can take it. Think of it as a thank you for giving us a place to stay.”

“…Thank you.”

The child moved her lips several times, then turned away from us and disappeared.

My friends and I burst into a pleasant laugh for the first time in a while.

*

Some more time passed, and we were sitting together in the thatched roof tent.

There were no magical lights, so Cedric lit a small sacred fire in the middle of the shelter.

The horses, who had suffered a lot, were resting in a temporary stable with a roof.

However, we couldn’t sleep yet.

We had to organize the clues we had obtained while passing through the terrible underground cemetery, and we had to share our opinions, even if briefly.

And…

“Fortunately, the clothes fit well.”

“Ugh…”

“Ah, she’s being fussy.”

-Awoo

The baby clothes that Koby brought were a bit old, but they were good enough for Lynn to wear comfortably.

The sleeves and pants were long, but that was much better than being too short.

As a bonus, there was a small fur hat, and it fit perfectly when I put it on her.

Isabel skillfully finished dressing the baby, and then Francoise skillfully took the baby into her arms.

Gain, who was carrying Tete on her back, was watching the two of them with a dazed—or rather, admiring—expression.

“Okay, let’s discuss that first. What are we going to do with the baby?”

“…”

“…”

Today’s opening statement was, as expected, from Duke Diop.

I flinched while feeding Ether beads to Master Ropi, who was sitting on my lap.

The group all had troubled faces.

“As you know, we can’t take her with us like this. Even if that girl is no longer the woman who almost killed me, nothing changes. The 33rd Cavalry will infiltrate the royal capital, and there’s a high probability it will become a battlefield.”

“His Majesty does not favor urban warfare… But war is not a creature that moves as one wishes.”

Francoise, who had started patting the baby’s back to put her back to sleep, said.

I also have a younger sibling, but as expected, the experience of the eldest son who raised four siblings was different.

Sant mustered up courage to speak while looking at his friends.

“But… But I think that child already recognizes us as her guardians. If not us, there’s no one else to take care of her. For now…”

“Because her vessel is not complete and she is not yet fully human, she will continuously need the Ether of a priest.”

I carefully added. As if waiting for it, all eyes turned to me.

I’m most scared of times like this.

“I don’t know anything for sure either, but… Do you remember? At the temporary military camp of the guild meeting hall in the northern part of the Holy Kingdom, the day we communicated with Wilhelmina Schneider through the crystal ball.”

“Ah, that time. That old hag was ranting about how she was a god-like being.”

“Yes. That day, the Duke clearly…”

‘《Don’t worry about it. She will get a new body in a few years.》’

‘《That’s right. The stigma of Princess Lynn Isenia is to purify a body in a state of suspended animation with water for several years and be reborn. In the process, some memories and abilities are lost, but the ability to continue existence infinitely is a miracle.》’

…That’s right. He certainly said that.

“It was said that it would take several years for the dead Lynn Isenia to be reborn, but this child was defeated by Lord Christel and Duke Diop less than a year ago. No, in fact, it’s only been a few months. Considering that the Duke’s statements about the resurrection were consistent, it wouldn’t have been a lie.”

“There was no need to lie about the dead. Then…”

“I guess some special factor accelerated Isenia’s resurrection.”

Francoise fell into deep thought after hearing my answer. I carefully continued.

“The growth rate is also too fast. The puddle of water turned into a three or four-year-old child in the blink of an eye. Moreover, we know too little about this baby. There is the issue of responsibility, but before that, there is also the issue of safety. If we were to entrust the baby to someone else…”

“She might grow up wrong.”

‘Like her life in her previous life.’ Those words came from Gain.

This time, the group’s gaze gathered towards her.

The paladin belatedly realized this and smiled in surprise.

But I couldn’t easily shake off the somehow bewildered look on her face.

“No, I mean. Are you saying that kid is like a walking time bomb?”

Gain spat out words like a machine gun. I calmly chose my words.

“Um. To put it aggressively, yes. We don’t know what the growth rate will be in the future, or what will happen as she grows up… First of all, she was once a cardinal. I think fostering her out could be dangerous. Not only for the person taking care of her, but also for this baby.”

“…Tch. This has become a headache.”

‘You’re not wrong.’ Diop grumbled and swept back his strawberry blonde hair.

Cedric and Sir Johann had anticipated this conclusion early on and hardly resisted.

We had a moment of collective sigh.

Then, we slowly reviewed what had happened underground.

The murmur of voices flowed, and the paint of the night mixed with it spread into the dark blue dawn.

“The reconnaissance planes that the Holy Kingdom army kept sending to our main camp… I think they were probably test flight vehicles for that black magic airship.”

Francoise, who was looking at the map together, replied in a serious voice.

“Yes, I also think so. However, what I’m curious about is the current state of the war. How did such an extreme civil war break out in the Holy Kingdom… The rumor that the Crown Princess had different intentions from the State Preceptor had been hovering around the border for a long time, but I never imagined that the Schneider family and the Venetian royal family would divide the country.”

“Princess Elysee is a righteous person by nature. Perhaps she learned most of Wilhelmina Schneider’s dark secrets. So she couldn’t stand it anymore…”

I whispered, looking down at the puppeteer’s path.

Thinking of Elysee made me feel uncomfortable, as if something was stuck in my throat, and my heart felt heavy.

Then Isabel nodded.

“She may not have known about the late King Lilianer Venetian’s evil schemes, but the Duke took the lives of thousands of people to operate that airship. Such a horrific black magic would have been hard for anyone on the continent to imagine.”

“…There was a reason why the Holy Kingdom’s black market was so prosperous.”

Cedric, who had one arm resting on his raised knee, said quietly.

“If the late king was a black magician, the capital that flowed into that place would have been unimaginable. After the king’s death, the Schneider family would have exercised that control.”

“As we saw there. Perhaps there was more than one king who was possessed by black magic.”

Sir Johann replied in a cool voice.

We thought about the meaning of his words for a moment and then fell silent.

As he said, perhaps… This country may have been sick for too long.

It may not have been just the corruption of Lilianer alone.

“Ah, and earlier. Didn’t the child named Koby talk about the blue wheel mark? What do you all think about that?”

Suddenly! Gain raised her hand and spoke. Oh, that’s right.

“Certainly, it seemed similar to the mark that Werner Venetian is said to leave behind. There is a possibility that the State Preceptor passed through here.”

“But according to Koby… She says they have never let outsiders in here except for us.”

Diop pointed out, and I quickly offered the information I had obtained while talking to the girl earlier.

“I need to search the surroundings more after it gets light, but she said that the wheel marks haven’t been there for very long.”

“Anyway, that guy is still alive. And this time, it seems he’s heading towards the royal capital.”

Gain muttered, creating a piece of ice above her fist.

The weapon-like crystal began to emit a chilling blue light.

I wanted to say once again what I had been feeling for some time.

“That, Werner, I mean. It seems that his goal has changed. I think…”

“Uwaaa.”

“Oh, something seems to be bothering her.”

Around that time, Lynn, who had been sleeping wrapped in a worn blanket, burst into tears.

Francoise seemed a little surprised for a moment, but this time he familiarly embraced the baby.

She’s not a newborn, so she should be sleeping through the night, so why did she wake up?

I forgot what I was going to say and looked at Lynn with concern.

“Uwaaa, Mommy, Mommyyy… !”

“Poor thing. She’s looking for her mother.”

The Marquis gave a bitter smile and quickly checked the baby’s condition.

The baby’s cheeks, which were still a bit chubby, were flushed red with tears and fever.

I thought I should give her Ether since she doesn’t have a mother, so I asked Sant to take Perry and hurriedly moved on my knees.

It was then.

“Princess Consort.”

Sir Johann blocked my path with a gentle arm movement.

Not only me but also my other friends were surprised and looked back at him. Why are you doing this?

“I think I know vaguely why this baby’s resurrection was so fast.”

Rarely, the man’s mint-colored eyes sparkled ominously.

That was Sir Johann’s unique ‘mischievous’ look.

At times like this, he would do something very shocking, so I tensed my whole body despite being tired.

Why is this person suddenly doing this again?

“Heuaaang, Heuaaaang… !”

“Excuse me for a moment. Give her to me.”

“Good heavens, Sir Haines!”

As the Cardinal snatched the baby from the Marquis’s arms with lightning speed, he and I were almost in despair.

Sant covered his mouth with both hands, a surprised Diop unfolded his arms, and the moment Cedric blinked—

-Snatch!

“No, why, why me… !”

The baby with dark water-colored hair snuggled into the arms of the Waterdrop Paladin.

“…Mommy.”

Huh-uh.