## C399
Sohyi, the Wanderer.
Without her realizing it, the wounds in her eyes had already healed and were no longer bleeding; but, with them closed, she could see nothing.
“…You-”
She recognized Cale’s voice.
“Who are you, really?”
Ha, ha!
She could hear Cale’s crystal-clear laughter, right in front of her face.
From there, a voice was heard:
“Is it only now that you have that doubt?”
The voice had a playful tone.
“We are ‘Arm’. We are the secret faction of the God of Chaos.”
“Lies!”
Sohyi glared in the direction from which the voice came.
“Don’t talk nonsense! Do you think I’ll ignore that you made me think that?”
Anger began to boil inside her.
In that underground prison, where the passage of time had become indeterminate, Sohyi Wanderer had reflected at length and had understood that Cale’s group belonged to an “unknown force,” that is, that they were actually a different enemy.
“You made me believe you were a subordinate of the god of chaos…!”
But before she could continue, her voice fell silent.
“And then?”
Cale asked in a low voice.
Next to him, inside the cell, an immense energy was gradually filling, a force that evoked chaos, imbued with terror.
“!”
Sohyi’s body began to tremble.
Only the power bestowed by a god could crush a Wanderer like her in that way.
“So, you made me believe you were subordinates of the god of chaos…!
Or at least I thought so!
Sohyi, swallowing her fear, asked in a trembling voice:
“…Which god is it?”
Ha!
Cale let out a stifled laugh, and hearing it, Sohyi’s shoulders slumped.
The powerful Dominating Aura that Cale had unleashed in the cell, demonstrating the extent to which he had released his power, sowed overwhelming fear in her.
Tap, tap.
Cale, delicately, patted those slumped shoulders.
“Sohyi…”
In a soft and sincere voice, Cale addressed the Wanderer, and his voice reached her ears:
“Gods freeze to death.”
It was a voice without artifice, charged only with sincerity.
“I… hate gods.”
Sohyi hesitated at those words, not reacting immediately.
“And, besides, I hate the Absolute God you intend to create.”
“…!”
At those words, Sohyi reacted noticeably; she opened her mouth as if wanting to reply, but just then:
“Choi Han.”
Choi Han immediately stepped in, covering Sohyi’s mouth.
“……!”
Although she tried to say something, Cale simply watched her in silence.
—It’s not as simple as it seems…
The Heavenly Demon commented to Cale.
“I’ve passed on several pieces of information to Choi Han, but from what I could find out, it’s all lies. The Wanderer still seems to think she can escape. She’s probably just talking nonsense.”
The Heavenly Demon shook his head repeatedly.
As he said, Sohyi still believes she can escape; in fact, because of that same belief, other Wanderers have come to this place.
“Sohyi…”
Cale spoke to the Wanderer, without covering his ears:
“Don’t you think another Wanderer will come to rescue you?”
“…….”
“There is no hope for you anymore.”
“……!”
With those words, Cale gestured to Choi Han.
Choi Han, covering Sohyi’s ears well, prevented her from seeing, hearing, or speaking; he even covered her face with a cloth, immobilizing her limbs, and lifted her up with a jerk.
“Let’s go!”
“Yes, Cale-nim.”
Cale and Choi Han left the solitary underground prison, taking Wanderer Sohyi with them.
Thus, she disappeared from the Kingdom of Lan.
* * *
Paaah!
But the place where Sohyi appeared was not the Kingdom of Lan, but the Eastern Empire, Reenti; the imperial palace itself, in the most heavily guarded place in Huanan, the capital.
Between midnight and dawn, at the moment when night reaches its greatest darkness…
“Hmm.”
Cale, along with Choi Han, stopped abruptly as they crossed the teleportation portal to that place.
—There are 100 people.
Super Rock sent a warning.
“Srrr!”
Choi Han was carrying Sohyi on one of his shoulders, while with the other hand he rested on his sword scabbard.
At that moment, a knight clad in armor stepped forward.
“Are you a close friend of the Crown Prince?”
Cale nodded and replied:
“That’s right. But the welcome seems a bit excessive, don’t you think?”
Nearly 100 people, all clad in armor and who seemed to be members of the palace’s royal guard, surrounded the teleportation portal, resting their hands on their scabbards.
It wasn’t so much a welcome as a demonstration of alert.
“We will escort you.”
The knight, without offering further explanations, turned around and began to walk.
—Cale, Choi Han!
At Super Rock’s words, Cale turned in surprise.
Tap, tap.
Quickly, he hit Choi Han’s shoulder, which softened his stern face.
Finally, Cale felt relieved and followed the knight.
“Have they heard who we are?”
The knight replied:
“No.”
“Really?”
“This place is right next to the palace where the Prince resides. Therefore, it is natural that this should be the procedure.”
That is, gathering such a number of people to watch over is normal, and there is no reason to complain.
The knight, who was probably the head of the palace guard, was saying just that.
“I understand. But I told the Prince that it was of paramount importance to keep it secret.”
Seeing that Cale was not addressing the prince with deference, the knight frowned slightly, and then stopped upon hearing Cale continue:
“They’ve already seen our faces, a hundred people! This is serious.”
Although the words came out in an almost carefree tone, the content was truly serious.
The knight, without realizing it, stopped and turned back, startled to see Cale looking at him with a serious face, not smiling.
Cale said calmly:
“We need you to provide us with your personal information, please.”
Cale sent a message to Ahn Roh Man through Alberu:
<“We have secured a person of paramount importance to confront Transparent; we must lock the person in the underground prison. Swift action is required.”>
Isn’t it obvious that, in such a matter, security is fundamental?
Cale was annoyed by Ahn Roh Man’s way of proceeding.
This matter was of the highest security, and although he couldn’t see Sohyi’s face, her complexion and silhouette had been exposed.
Therefore, Cale forcefully stated his position to the supposed head of the guard.
“…….”
Mmm.
The knight, after a long silence, spoke:
“For now, let’s get out of here.”
The knight finally resumed his march.
—Cale.
Super Rock spoke again:
—Choi Han must have realized: the knights following us are not ordinary people.
These 100+ knights, who are supposed to guard the palace, looked extraordinary from their armor to their bearing.
Even their way of walking and their attitude was unsettling.
—And now, there’s no one around us.
The Prince’s palace,
the path from the portal to the palace,
apart from these knights, there was no one.
Neither servants nor servants passed by.
Perhaps because of the late hour, but there weren’t even patrols.
That showed that Cale, Choi Han, and Sohyi’s security was being closely guarded.
Cale’s gaze fell to one side.
Choi Han had not yet relaxed.
—The knights are truly formidable, aren’t they?
Upon hearing even Super Rock express himself with astonishment, Cale spoke:
“Is it allowed to see the Emperor this way?”
“!”
Fifty or a hundred knights stopped.
In front of the palace entrance, amidst those knights, absolute silence reigned.
The knight who was guiding Cale turned again.
“…….”
With complex eyes, the knight looked at Cale and sighed.
Just as he opened his mouth:
Kkiiiik!
The palace entrance door opened with a slight sound.
“They invite us in.”
An elder, who seemed to be the butler, bowed to Cale.
“Let’s go.”
Cale gestured to Choi Han.
As expected, Cale, Choi Han, and Sohyi entered the open door together.
Kkiiiik!
The door closed again.
The elder said to Cale:
“The First Corps of Palace Knights exists solely for the Prince. Don’t worry about security.”
Cale looked at him with a strange expression.
“They say they are very close friends of the Prince, and because they are in charge of his security, these inconveniences arose. I apologize for the excessive treatment.”
The elder, after conveying those words, pointed to the corridor.
Or, more precisely, he pointed to the door that was at the end of the corridor.
“We will accompany you. Someone is waiting for you.”
Cale nodded and followed the elder.
Here too, there was no one.
Except for the corridor, the lights were off.
Although the ascension ceremony has not been held, Ahn Roh Man’s residence, recognized as Prince, was deserted.
It was all because of Cale’s visit.
The room at the end of the corridor.
There was the Emperor.
It was said that Ahn Roh Man’s brother, an AI, resided there.
“Steinsen.”
That was the name of the Emperor.
Exactly!
Upon reaching the end of the corridor, the elder knocked on the door.
Kkiiiik!
The door opened softly with a faint sound.
There, a knight opened the door.
Beyond that knight…
A person could be seen with their back turned, standing by the window.
“You can enter.”
The elder spoke to Cale, and the knight who opened the door left.
The room, where only the man by the window could be seen, was deserted; Cale and Choi Han entered it.
Sohyi, of course, too.
Kkiiiik!
The door closed.
“…….”
Cale didn’t bother to speak immediately.
Silently, he observed the figure of the man looking out the window and then continued walking.
Finally, without showing concern, he headed towards a sofa and sat down.
“Sit down too. Leave that thing on the floor.”
Cale, pointing to Choi Han, indicated the seat next to the sofa.
“Yes!”
Choi Han, without hesitation, dropped Sohyi and sat down next to Cale.
“…Ah.”
At that scene, the Emperor, Steinsen, looked on in silence and chuckled.
Turning around, he was already heading towards Cale.
“Sit here, please.”
Cale vaguely pointed to the main seat and continued:
“I’m busy. Enough with the formalities.”
In Reenti, the country of the knights of the Eastern Empire,
in Brez, the country of the arts of the Western Empire,
and in the Kingdom of Lan, the country of martial arts in the north,
they are nations endowed with immense military power.
It is understandable that in such a warlike country, upon receiving Cale, the first thing is the knights.
Leaning back on the sofa, Cale asked the Emperor:
“Do you wish to be treated as an Emperor?”
“…….”
At the Emperor’s silence, Cale suddenly blurted out:
“I came to see Ahn Roh Man’s brother today.”
Emperor Steinsen’s eyebrows rose slightly.
Finally, his voice could be heard:
“But, isn’t permission from the Emperor required to use the palace’s underground dungeon?”
Are you supposed to, since your position depends on the Emperor, is it right for you to come to see Ahn Roh Man’s brother?
To which Cale replied:
“From the beginning, I can’t entrust my badge to someone I don’t trust.”
Whether it’s the Emperor or anyone else, the fact that he is Ahn Roh Man’s brother made it possible to trust him.
“They say that, although Ahn Roh Man is trustworthy, there are those who can be easily manipulated, and I wasn’t wrong.”
Emperor Steinsen sat down on the sofa opposite Cale, instead of the main seat.
“As your brother’s companion, this place suits you, don’t you think?”
Cale nodded playfully pleased.
“That’s right. Therefore, let’s dismiss the servants and talk privately.”
“That’s right. After all, I must fulfill my duties as Emperor before everyone in this world.”
Cale commented:
“So that they don’t discover us, right?”
The Emperor smiled conspiratorially without answering.
Then, he asked another question:
“When will I be able to see Won?”
“When they contact me.”
He was referring to Won, the AI derived from the system.
She wanted to meet with Emperor Steinsen.
“It seems that the system is moving enough for Transparent to intervene in this world.”
The Emperor’s gaze fell on Sohyi, lying on the floor.
“Are you talking about the Five Colors Family?”
“Yes. Being a secondary NPC, it must be kept well hidden in the underground dungeon, without anyone knowing.”
“Leave it to us.”
The Emperor, without hesitation, affirmed that he would take care of it.
“I will make sure she can’t escape, watching her closely.”
With those words, he conveyed his security.
To Cale, who had heard that the Eastern Empire’s dungeon was even more fearsome than the Kingdom of Lan’s, this seemed enough to trust.
Furthermore, Emperor Steinsen seemed to be closer to Cale than the King of Lan.
Although it was the first time they had met, that closeness could already be noticed.
“I’ve heard quite a bit about what you do with Ahn Roh Man.”
“Really?”
The Emperor changed the subject, leaving Sohyi’s matter aside.
“With this latest update, this New World is now conducive to a ‘great war’.”
“That’s right.”
Although the change of subject was sudden, Cale listened attentively.
“Although it may seem that users will be able to build new countries, it is actually an episode for Transparent to help its allies establish a presence in New World.”
“Yes. Exactly.”
Transparent, Five Colors, the god of chaos, the Demon Kingdom…
All this to consolidate itself in New World.
“Or, perhaps the chaos of war is needed as part of the preparatory process for the Absolute God.”
Cale decided not to mention that part to the Emperor.
“I’ve always thought that’s how it would be.”
Cale stared intently at the Emperor.
In Reenti, the country of knights, according to the game’s history, that name is no more than 20 years old.
Emperor Steinsen, since his ascension, has seen the number of knights increase dramatically.
“Your Majesty, are you preparing for war?”
“That’s right.”
What war will it be?
The answer is deduced by thinking about who the conflict would be fought against.
“Do you intend to fight against the Transparent faction in New World?”
“Exactly. I’ve been waiting for the moment when those from Transparent try to establish their power in New World.”
“To finish them off, right?”
“That’s right.”
When Ahn Roh Man mobilized to save the Third World, the Emperor moved through New World.
Forgetting about revenge against Transparent, he valued the importance of both worlds.
“They say you are currently fostering conflicts between Hunters, the Demon Kingdom, and the God of Chaos, isn’t that right?”
“Yes. Exactly.”
“Do you plan to make them fight each other?”
“That’s right.”
Emperor Steinsen’s gaze lit up upon seeing Cale admit it without hesitation.
“Eventually, that will lead to inevitable conflicts.”
Then, the Emperor asked Cale:
“Allow those enemies to manifest on the surface of New World, even if it’s in a small part.”
In other words, make the NPCs and users of New World clearly recognize them.
Cale, addressing the Emperor – the mastermind behind this realm of knights – asked:
“So, will you proceed to battle?”
“Of course.”
The Emperor immediately acknowledged, and added:
“I possess the power and, at the same time, I am in the position to shape public opinion.”
The Emperor of the Eastern Empire had considerable power.
“Isn’t it that the Absolute God is Transparent’s ultimate goal?”
And, as expected of someone in his position, he should know how to glimpse the big picture.
Emperor Steinsen had his own vision, and he shared it with Cale:
“I plan to propose an agreement when I meet with Won.”
That was the image he had.
“To save New World, imagine that all of New World rises up against the Absolute God.”
A proposition that, at first glance, seemed possible.
“I want a mission to be created. I’m going to propose it.”
The moment the system, avoiding Transparent, spreads that mission in the form of a global announcement, the Emperor will be convinced that that transcendental mission can draw countless scenarios.
With a burning gaze, he continued:
“We want to transform the Absolute God into a kind of ‘Demon King’ – a public enemy. Then, all the forces of New World, along with the users, will rise up to save New World and become heroes who overthrow the Demon King.”
This mission, much more capable of igniting the passion of users than the current one that urges them to become kings, will provide a legitimate reason for all of New World to unite.
“If you want to fight against Transparent, it is necessary to draw a picture of such magnitude, don’t you think?”
The Emperor, smiling broadly, said those words.
“Eh—”
Cale hesitated before opening his mouth.
“Hmm.”
No, he stopped again.
“Why? Speak freely.”
“Well…”
Finally, overcoming his hesitation, Cale said:
“That’s already in motion.”
“…Eh?”
“Well, it’s not a global server-wide mission, but…”
After all, Ahn Roh Man didn’t know yet.
Cale remembered that part that he hadn’t communicated to Ahn Roh Man and realized that it was time to tell him.
So he said:
“The system has already launched a mission for the hero to stop the Absolute God, and it’s already in progress.”
“…Eh?”
“Ha, ha.”
Our prince, Alberu Crossman, must already rescue his allies and stop the Absolute God.
“…Did they say the mission came out?”
“Yes.”
“And that the hero has already been chosen…?”
“That’s right. Even the sword the hero will use has been determined.”
“…When?”
“A while ago.”
“…Eh?”
In Reenti, in the country of knights, the iron Emperor, known as the Emperor of the Eastern Empire, looked at Cale with a stunned expression.
“Ha, ha!”
Then Cale, smiling somewhat awkwardly, pointed to his side:
“Here, Choi Han is the hero’s master, isn’t he?”
“…Eh?”
“Hmm.”
The Emperor, with an incredulous face, looked at Choi Han, who lowered his gaze timidly while letting out a sigh.
“…….”
“…….”
“Ha, ha!”
Amidst the silence of both, Cale simply laughed.
* * *
At that very moment, in the Temple of the God of Sun:
“Have you located the Sword of the Sun?”
“Yes. I think we can pinpoint its location.”
The saint and the pontiff were searching for the Sword of the Sun, that sacred object that awakened the divine spirit, the chosen one of the God of Sun.
* * *
“Hmm?”
Alberu felt a strange sensation and, without realizing it, stroked the back of his neck.
Suddenly, someone’s face came to mind:
“…Cale Henituse? Has this guy gotten into trouble again?”
He couldn’t get that feeling of annoyance out of his mind.
* * *
“Ha, ha!”
And Cale, watching the absorbed Emperor, simply continued laughing.
When there’s nothing more to say, laughing is best.
