Free Web NovelThe grand barrier control core lay quietly within this inconspicuous hidden compartment. It itself looked equally ordinary—a silver-white full moon neatly split in half, becoming a silver-white semicircle.
Yet it was precisely this ordinary semicircle that made even Muen’s heartbeat quicken.
He had not expected the thing Aurier left behind to be this extraordinary.
At first, when he had just received this emblem from Aurier, he had thought Aurier had left behind something meant for rebellion. For example, hundreds of sets of armor, thousands of weapons, hidden manpower concealed in the shadows, and perhaps newly developed Kingdom magic cannons prepared in advance.
Of course, in reality, it was indeed something meant for rebellion. Only, it was not:
“I have hidden hundreds of sets of armor in the backyard. Once the time comes, you and I will put on armor and storm the palace. We’ll definitely chop up that dog king and seize that damned throne...”
Instead, it was...
“I’ve already grabbed that dog king by the balls. Once the time is right, all I need to do is squeeze... and the dog king will die in agony.”
Yes.
That was roughly the difference.
Although the actual situation was not quite so exaggerated, it was enough to illustrate the gap between ordinary weapons, ammunition, armed men with blades and axes... and this tiny control core.
No matter how thoroughly the former was prepared, when facing an old thing who had sat on the throne for decades, who was both cowardly and spineless, and who would use every possible means for the sake of his position and his miserable life, the probability of success was about the same as the probability that the Love God’s true form was actually a sharp-tongued tsundere little girl.
Basically zero.
But the latter... meant that Aurier had truly grasped Saint Peron V’s fatal weakness.
His greatest fatal weakness.
Combined with the fact that the old thing was already advanced in age and the royal capital’s situation was treacherous and ever-changing, if not for this incident, Aurier might truly have taken first place in this grand competition for the throne.
One could even say... before that happened, it might not have been impossible for him to force that old thing off the throne early.
Unfortunately...
“No matter how thorough the preparations were, he still lost to fate in the end?”
Muen sighed regretfully. His gaze swept over the information written next on the wall, and he already roughly understood Aurier’s plan.
First, accumulate enough prestige. Build enough power. Draw in enough nobles willing to support him. Then find an opportunity to deliver a fatal strike.
That strike might have been used against his brothers and sisters after Saint Peron V died.
Or perhaps before then, if Saint Peron V stubbornly refused to die and Aurier himself came under suspicion, then that strike would undoubtedly have been aimed at the highest throne itself.
Everything had already been planned out, just as Muen had guessed.
Many details had been analyzed in painstaking complexity.
There were even backup plans. However, when Muen opened those documents, he found that they had already been completely blacked out, as though they were discarded drafts.
But no matter what, merely glancing through these things was enough for Muen to imagine how much hair Aurier must have torn out while thinking alone in this place.
Unfortunately, if only remained if only.
Aurier did not possess Muen’s ability to rewind time. Thus, the moment he chose to head to the front lines in order to build prestige and status for his future actions, he had already decided the outcome of his failure.
He had still underestimated the indifference of the man seated high upon the throne. From the very beginning, he had failed to realize...
No suspicion was needed at all. Simply because that person “wanted” it, from the moment Aurier became commander of the Kingdom army, he had already been treated as a disposable pawn.
“How pitiful and tragic. No wonder he died so full of resentment. Nobody would accept that willingly.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll help you finish what you couldn’t. As a pure-hearted golden man, I never go back on my promises.”
Muen stretched out his hand and grasped the grand barrier control core.
It felt cold in his hand, like stone.
Yet Muen could clearly sense a faint pulse hidden within this core.
Like ripples spreading across a lake.
Muen’s consciousness naturally followed those ripples into the distance. Suddenly, the entire city became clear beneath his eyes. He saw smoke and flames beneath the night sky, saw killing and fury in the streets and alleys, and saw tears and despair amidst the splashing blood.
“So it really was premeditated, starting the slaughter from the western district.”
Through the grand barrier control core, Muen discovered that although the killing was still confined to the western district and had not yet spread outward, already half the population had fallen into this sea of blood and fire.
Ninety percent of this city’s people were followers of the Goddess. They had all been drawn in by Liya’s procession, which was why they had gathered in the western district, making this slaughter horrifyingly efficient.
And...
“The fact that I can see this scene means...”
That old thing could see it too?
It seemed he had not been entirely bewitched by the Salvation Society’s honey trap after all. To some extent, he understood exactly what he was doing, yet he still...
“Animal.”
Muen cursed under his breath as his consciousness continued farther away, because he could vaguely sense that he was about to find that beast.
Find that beast first. Lock onto him. Then—
“No!”
Muen abruptly snapped awake and suddenly severed the connection.
For a moment, immersed in this observer-like state of surveying the entire situation, Muen had almost overlooked something...
If he could see Saint Peron V through the control core, then Saint Peron V could naturally see him through it as well.
The effect worked both ways, but Muen absolutely could not allow himself to be seen.
If Saint Peron V learned in advance that Muen had obtained the grand barrier control core, it would inevitably alert the enemy, and his following actions would definitely be heavily affected.
Last time, he had already exhausted everything he had. Naturally, it would be impossible to clear this stage now if the opponent was already on guard.
“I can’t waste anything else. I can’t afford to waste anything anymore. In any case, knowing this thing is useful is already the best possible news.”
Muen put away the grand barrier core.
When he first obtained it, he had worried that using it might require some special condition, like royal blood or something...
Right now, he did not have time to go searching for someone with royal blood.
Fortunately, the requirements were not that harsh. Muen could use it very easily.
“I can’t rely on this thing. The overall difference in strength between both sides is too extreme. If I use it openly, I’ll just be giving the Salvation Society directions straight to me so they can kill me. So the plan still has to proceed as before. I’ll only use it at the critical moment.”
Muen thought briefly and realized that this time, the plan did not need to change at all.
In the end, the only thing that had blocked him had been the grand barrier itself. He had already successfully reached Saint Peron V.
And now, the grand barrier would no longer be an obstacle.
“Then everything will proceed according to last time.”
Muen took out his pocket watch and checked the time.
“At this point in time... I should head to the orphanage. Hopefully I’m not too late.”
...
...
Pero opened his eyes.
A familiar scene entered his vision: the shabby building, the desolate yard, the swing swaying beneath the crooked-necked tree. Everything was so familiar.
In fact... overly familiar.
So familiar that this exact same scene, this exact same angle, even the remaining leaves on the crooked-necked tree, felt as though he had already experienced them hundreds, thousands of times.
And at this moment, the memories of those hundreds and thousands of repetitions suddenly flooded into his mind all at once, causing unbearable pain, as if his head were about to explode.
“Pero? Pero? What’s wrong with you?”
“Forget about him for now. The important thing comes first. Aviva, hurry and gather everyone together. Bring them all into the prayer classroom.”
“Okay, I’ll immedia—”
“Wait!”
Pero suddenly snapped awake. Some scenes surfaced before his eyes again. Ignoring the pain, he shouted at Aviva, who was preparing to leave:
“We can’t go to the prayer classroom! We can’t gather everyone there!”
“What kind of nonsense are you spouting now, Pero!”
The matron beside him frowned.
“This isn’t the time for your tantrums. We don’t know what’s happening outside. If we don’t gather everyone together, how will we look after each other if something happens?”
“Gathering together... yes, we definitely have to gather everyone together. But we can’t go to the prayer classroom.”
Blazing flames appeared before Pero’s eyes once more. The fire was so clear, so real. Although the true flames had not yet risen, he could already feel the despairing heat and suffocating smoke. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
“If we go to the prayer classroom, we’ll get trapped inside, and then someone will set it on fire, and then we’ll...”
Not die.
Pero froze, suddenly realizing something.
That’s right. They wouldn’t die.
Absolutely wouldn’t die.
Because within those repeated hundreds and thousands of memories, at the final moment when the flames burned everything away, a savior would always descend from the sky and rescue them from the disaster.
Pero was absolutely certain of this.
In that case, was there really any need to change anything?
Since they would be saved anyway, wouldn’t it be enough to just follow the original course of events and obediently wait for rescue?
“No...”
Pero suddenly remembered a face. A face that had been stained with blood before him hundreds, thousands of times, yet whose name he still did not know.
“If we do that, not everyone will be saved. That nun, and some of the people who fail to reach the classroom in time... they’ll all die...”
He could not just stand by and ignore it. Otherwise, what was the point of these extra memories? So he could lie down and rot with a clear conscience?
“Pero, what exactly are you talking about? Fire? There’s nobody here, and there’s no fire.”
Seeing Pero muttering incomprehensibly to himself the whole time, the matron was beginning to grow impatient.
“I already said, this isn’t the time for you to throw a fit—”
“I’m not throwing a fit!”
Pero grabbed the matron’s wrist and pleaded:
“Matron, please believe me. I know what’s about to happen. If we rely on the prayer classroom to stall for time, we can survive, but that won’t save everyone. I have a way to save the entire orphanage. Please trust me...”
“You...”
The matron had intended to continue scolding him, but when she looked into Pero’s eyes, she suddenly froze.
She had never seen this slippery little troublemaker, who had made her lose who knew how much hair over the past two years, reveal such a sincere and pleading expression.
It was as though he had suddenly grown up, no longer using cheap jokes and forced cheerfulness to conceal a heart already covered in scars.
Even though everyone had long known those scars existed and merely pretended not to see them.
“Matron.”
At that moment, Aviva also walked over and said,
“I think we should at least hear Pero out. Whether what he says is true or false should be easy enough to determine.”
“...Fine.”
The matron pondered for a moment before finally nodding.
“Then let’s hear what you have to say first.”
“Thank goodness!”
Pero let out a sigh of relief. Then, under [N O V E L I G H T] the matron’s urging gaze, he hurriedly said:
“First, hiding is useless. That’ll only trap us in a dead end. I think we should take the initiative and deal with the source of the coming crisis first.”
“The source?”
“Right! We need to—”
“Hm?”
The matron was still thinking about what Pero meant by “the source,” when she suddenly noticed that Pero’s expression toward her had become strange.
“W-What is it?”
“Matron.”
Pero stroked his chin and carefully sized up the matron’s “sturdy” figure that even the nun’s robes could not conceal.
“You’re pretty good at fighting, aren’t you?”
“???”
