What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 882

Gaho (5)

“Huh, wow······!”

I shot up the moment I opened my eyes!

“Hukk, cough. Where is this······.”

For starters, it wasn’t the cold night sky of Seoul with its biting wind.

It wasn’t the middle of the swirling, black gate scattering mana, nor was it my familiar home or the Riester Imperial Palace.

With a blank look, I busily scanned my surroundings.

This place had an endless ceiling, an infinite floor, and unreachable walls, all as white as snow······.

“······This is insane! It’s the pure white Interstellar Space. We did it, Gu-Gu! The readers pulled it off!”

I reached out to pet the fire lizard next to me, but I was horrified by the sensation in my hand.

Then, my eyes met the playfully curving mint-colored eyes. Oh, Sir Johann!

“You have a rather lecherous side, Princess.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. That’s not what I was trying to do, no, I thought Gu-Gu had turned into a pot lid, and I was surprised at how wide and hard it was, why am I talking like this, but I didn’t know it was you······.”

The sentences became a jumbled mess, and the mistaken fingers wandered aimlessly.

Then, the man slowly straightened his back, his Adam’s apple bobbing.

Fortunately, he didn’t seem to be in bad shape either.

He had used some Ether [a magical energy source], but he said it was nothing compared to when he faced enemies on the battlefield.

Still, I was about to replenish his power right away, but······.

“No. Just being close is enough for now.”

The Cardinal refused firmly, showing his palm.

Only after seeing the veins that stood out clearly on his red neck and the back of his hand did I understand the reason.

“······Ah, right. That’s right. I’m sorry.”

Crown Ether [a powerful form of magical energy].

He had used the ultimate skill that only a handful of priests could use when crossing the dimensional gate a moment ago, so a strong Ether trace would remain around me for several days.

I had learned how to deal with Holy Knights, so I acted quickly this time.

I sat down about twenty steps away from Sir Johann, organized my Gaga bag, quickly tidied myself up, and stood up again with the Sacred Artifact in hand.

By that time, the Cardinal seemed to have finished preparing to leave as well. I turned to look at him with a serious expression.

“······Sir Johann, I definitely saw Gu-Gu earlier.”

“Yes.”

For a moment, I thought it was a hallucination, but there was no way I could not recognize that clear orange body and the colorful patterns.

The quickly passing gray eyes were sparkling brightly.

“How did that kid······. Were they the kids who followed Cornelli? I don’t think they’re around us now, but could it be······.”

“I sent him on the wind. He’s probably being protected at my brother and Eunseo’s house by now.”

-Fwoosh!

A small flame ignited from Sir Johann’s fingertips. My jaw dropped involuntarily.

“Oh my gosh, really?”

Still······. Is that okay? Is that really okay?

New question marks kept popping up in my head, but as always, there was no set answer in our world line.

Gu-Gu is an entity temporarily contracted with Sir Johann, so he may have crossed over following his traces.

Since he is a part of the Sacred Artifact ‘Heart of the Four Dragons,’ it didn’t seem like anything would go wrong even if he fell to Earth (Ttuk-shim was fine the whole time he was at my house).

Besides, I can’t go back to check on him right now······.

······I have no choice but to trust my brother and Eunseo. They will take good care of Gu-Gu.

“So, it’s good that we crossed the gate······. The key is to find someone here who can help us.”

I muttered in a heavy voice, looking around.

The three sisters who guarded the plausibility were pierced by the arrows of the Sacred Artifact ‘Divine Bow of the Tree’ and disappeared, so there would no longer be anyone here wielding a scythe to maintain order.

In the first place, the ‘order’ they pursued was not a just order······.

‘Evil is right, and right is evil. Cheers.’

“······.”

Suddenly, Jung Hyun-seo’s cynical voice echoed in my head.

I clenched the Sacred Artifact with a stiff face. I still had strong feelings against the three sisters.

But the things that could have been ‘done’ because of them will have to be fully acknowledged someday.

I don’t know when that will be.

“Find someone here to help us, or if not······.”

“My disciples may have crossed over.”

“Yes. If things went well.”

I smiled faintly and nodded.

Then, Sir Johann smiled without looking at me.

“You must only have wonderful imaginations.”

“······I will. Now that Sir Johann is also a secret fragment of the Main God, please have wonderful imaginations as well.”

“I will obey your command.”

“Hahaha.”

The man seemed to be struggling a bit with the aftereffects of the Crown, so I moved about ten steps further away.

Then, I started walking through the space, calling out my friends’ names loudly.

“······Gain! Cedric! Answer if you can hear me!”

‘Answer, swer, wer······!’ The echo reverberated in the pure white space.

At this point, it seemed like opening the Crown while crossing the gate was a wise choice in many ways.

If my friends are nearby, they will be able to sense my energy easily······.

‘Right. The Main God’s universe is a space connected to the pure white Interstellar Space. To be exact, the Interstellar Space is the outskirts of the universe, and the God’s abode is in the center of the universe, or something like that?’

‘Thanks for the good information, Mom.’

“Hmm······.”

Come to think of it, this is said to be the outskirts of the universe. Far away from the God’s abode······.

“······It seems like an enormously vast area. Can we find them in a place like this—hey, I said only have wonderful imaginations!”

Get a grip, smack! I lightly slapped my cheek and shook my head.

I heard Sir Johann asking from behind if I was okay.

Of course, I had to be unconditionally okay until I met my friends.

Yes, I’m very okay. I’m as okay as I can possibly be—!

Meanwhile.

Gain was having a serious discussion with the five Romero Riester mini versions that had grown in number.

“······I’ll carry Herrit on my back, so please support His Highness the Crown Prince and move him.”

Then, the Romero who spoke to her first—I’m a little confused, but this is probably the one—looked up at her with a serious expression.

To be exact, it was a look that said, ‘I didn’t think you were that kind of person.’

「······The lady’s request is excessive.」

「You are larger than the combined volume of all of us. Therefore, it is right for you to carry Cedric.」

“No, you’re his great-grandchildren. You gathered piece by piece to welcome your precious great-great-grandson, but why can’t you lift him?”

「This is a separate matter.」

「As a knight, hold your tongue. The man before you is the heir to the Imperial Family.」

“This guy is lucky to be alive······. Please understand.”

「Also, he is a child who has reached the rank of Archmage at the young age of twenty-six. My mother, Grand Empress Dowager Junieve, was also a great battle mage.」

“Yes, that’s also something to celebrate······.”

I’d rather die than suffer. Gain sighed deeply and gently laid the sleeping Herrit on the floor.

—That’s right, Herrit Haynes.

Their beloved nephew, who they wouldn’t want to hurt even if they put him in their eyes, was also here!

The first to discover Herrit lying far away were Romero’s fourth and fifth fragments, not Gain.

The late Emperor had protected Gain and his party from the attacks of the plausibility hag and nameless souls when he was last seen here.

He shattered the solid Interstellar floor with Durandal [a legendary sword], allowing everyone to escape, and took all the attacks from the soul group commanded by the hag alone.

For a while, the Princess was worried, saying, ‘Could it be that the late Emperor Romero completely disappeared there?’······.

To be exact, it wasn’t annihilation, but that he was shattered into thousands of pieces that day and scattered throughout the Interstellar Space.

It would take a long time for all the pieces to come together and become one (or two or three) Romeros again.

For reference, this is the punishment that Yuliter received after opening the interdimensional space in Mankrans Village.

Today’s couple TMI [Too Much Information].

Anyway, I don’t know how Herrit followed us all the way here······.

Once he had entered, there was no way to send him back.

Gain was now the only guardian of the two.

“Wow, damn······. So heavy. Did the pig gain weight?”

「Valerie, good heavens.」

One of the Romeros was politely shocked by her exclamation.

Gain staggered, but still carried the bloody Cedric on her back, who was also covered in blood.

Fortunately, the man was still breathing, and he was holding his unbroken staff tightly in his left hand.

Gain glanced at him once and let out something that was neither a laugh nor a sigh.

Well, I can’t do anything about his legs dragging. If you’re upset, you can shorten the length yourself······.

“Ha······ Can’t I just lay him on the floor and drag him like a sled by grabbing his arm?”

「······.」

“······It was half a joke, so don’t look at me with such contempt······. How can the great-grandfather and great-grandson have the same look in their eyes? Isn’t there really something in their genes?”

The grumbling Gain finally started to move forward.

The five fragments of Romero grabbed the hem of young Herrit’s clothes and dragged her along with her.

For a while, there was no conversation between them.

The Interstellar Space was all white, so it was difficult to even check their progress.

It goes without saying that they couldn’t even be sure of the basic direction of travel.

Sweat was already beading on Gain’s forehead, who was completely exhausted.

-Jeeek, jeeek, jeeek······

“Ugh, deja vu is driving me crazy······. Huff.”

I’ve crawled around carrying men on my back like this before, wondering if I should die or live.

I thought about just staying put, but I felt like I would lose consciousness if I ran out of energy.

I didn’t know what would happen if I fainted in a place like this, so Gain decided to move blindly.

Carrying the Crown Prince, who seemed to have entered a mana hibernation, and taking good care of Johann’s lovely child.

Finding someone who could help them, anyone would do. If not······.

「Knight, where is your destination?」

“······The door to that world might be somewhere here. Hoo······.”

Gain answered, fumbling for the pendant around her neck.

Princess. She never wanted to leave us like that······.

‘[Always, always······. I’ll be thinking and waiting, looking out the window.]’

“······Yeser said she’s waiting for us.”

「······.」

‘[Until the day you come to see me. I promise.]’

“She’s not the kind of person who would forget us for the rest of her life, so this time······. We’re going to pick her up. Hoo. That’s why His Highness the Crown Prince did such a crazy thing earlier.”

「······.」

“She jumped from the 12th floor of an apartment to come see us. She stubbornly endured in the middle of the battlefield without any connections. We have to do that much too······.”

‘The balance is right. Don’t you think so?’ The Cardinal smiled and checked the ‘Mirror of Hope.’

The pendant, which always showed the Princess’s face these days, had not shown any pictures since entering the Interstellar Space.

Her heart was pounding with unnecessary fear and anxiety.

But Gain decided not to acknowledge her fear.

‘Good thoughts.’

‘Please have wonderful thoughts like you.’

······Yeser Prince’s voice was her only lifeline.

“Wonderful thoughts. Wonderful thoughts······.”

New ideas. Positive mind. Future-oriented attitude······.

Gain closed her eyes tightly and repeated it like a madman.

······Suddenly, an idea came to mind!

“Your Majesty. Emperor Romero!”

She stopped abruptly and called out to the late Emperor. The five fragments of Romero answered.

「Yes.」

“You said that you are in a state where you are fragmented and cannot help us. You can’t even use Durandal’s power right now.”

「That is so.」

“Then, is there anyone here stronger than Your Majesty?”

「······.」

Then, all the Romeros fell silent as if they had made a promise.

Gain staggered greatly, but never let Cedric off her shoulder.

“Yuliter, as well as Your Majesty, were shattered into thousands of pieces and lost your abilities. Then, is there anyone here who has never been shattered even once?”

「······.」

Then the Romeros looked at each other. Gain felt a premonition.

“If there is such a person, that person must have quite a strong power. Right? This feels like it’s going to work.”

「······This is the land where souls who have left the world wander.」

There is. Such a person.

“That’s right! Let’s look for someone quite famous, not those wandering without a name—I have no regrets at all for them—Wouldn’t that person be able to help us? This feels like it’s going to work?”

「······Also, it is a place where fragments of the past touched by the Main God’s gaze gather.」

“Then the biggest fragment!”

Gain’s voice grew louder and louder. Of course, she was very desperate.

“I know very well what kind of beings we are. I know who the Main God is and how we were born in essence. So, in our world line, we must be the most ‘important’ people. No, not now, but we must have been important in the past!”

「······.」

“If that’s the case, there must have been the most important fragment here. Am I right? Let’s go find that person!”

「······.」

The Romeros’ faces hardened as they looked at her. But Gain did not give up.

This was a clue. A clue to save them all and reunite them all.

“No, just tell me that person’s name! Then my Mirror of Hope will tell me the direction. Inecker Bass is so accurate, even the clue to the alchemist Anpeta······!”

「······Young knight.」

At that moment, the Romero in the center cut off the Cardinal’s words.

Gain looked at him with a blank face.

Only then did she feel a presence.

「He is behind you.」

—Behind her and Cedric.

“······.”

An indescribably strange sensation ran up her spine.

However, this was neither misfortune nor tragedy.

No one told her so, but Gain had a rootless belief.

She slowly moved her gaze backward.

Very slowly, so that the surprised opponent would not fly away like a butterfly······.