Chapter 413
Chapter 413
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 413
Chapter Title: 2-36. The Second Parallel Line
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The first thing that caught my eye was a grimy brick wall.
"Ugh, fuck..."
My head was spinning.
It felt exactly like drifting in a barrel only to get swept up in a typhoon.
I'd never gotten seasick this bad even when crossing the Dawning Sea on a raft.
"Where the hell am I...?"
An unfamiliar street.
Still, it was clearly another parallel world.
And one that hadn't been fully overrun by the baldies yet.
The reason was simple.
Buildings were still standing.
I was sitting with my back against a wall identical to the one across from me.
The chill of the bricks was unpleasant.
'A back alley?'
I looked up, and a narrow strip of sky came into view.
The two buildings I was facing blocked off my sight.
The weather was overall damp and muggy.
Clusters of dark clouds looked ready to unleash a downpour at any moment.
A lukewarm breeze carried the scent of water.
'At least I landed properly.'
Thankfully, no crash landing.
I let out a sigh of relief and first checked my waist.
My sword was safely sheathed.
Before I could glance at my limbs, Lin's voice rang out.
"Checking that first, huh... I might be a little impressed."
"Shut up."
"Hehe, no need to be shy. Big sis gets it."
If not for the nausea, I'd have sanded her down.
A swordsman checking his sword first is just common sense.
Fortunately, my limbs seemed fine.
All ten fingers and toes accounted for.
The important items—the vial of Akasha's blood and Seniel's fragment—were safe too.
I clutched my head and retraced my memories.
"Right... I remember now."
Fragments coming back.
I'd bid a tearful farewell to Navardoje sis and entered the rift.
The inside of the rift, on the verge of collapse, was pure hell.
The straight path ahead crumbled away, and the dimensional gate to the parallel world felt thousands of meters farther.
They'd even layered security magic on top, so escaping took every ounce of effort.
"Akasha."
I clenched my fist.
The image of its five eyes glaring at me was still vivid.
It had acted inexplicably in that last world, but that didn't change the fact that I had to hunt it down for a peaceful future.
Plus, payback for killing my flying squirrel without permission.
But I couldn't guess its goal.
'What the hell does that thing want?'
I got that it had some grudge against society.
Something in the future pissed it off, so it dragged baldies from parallel worlds to rampage.
But why drag out and smash that damn Seniel?
Why?
And how did it even know about it?
Plus, according to Navardoje sis, it hadn't attacked her directly.
"Ugh, got tangled with a real psycho."
I gripped my throbbing forehead and lit my pipe.
Normally, you don't try to understand a madman's thoughts, but this was different.
"Fwew... Feels like I'll live."
The smoke eased the nausea.
Being in a life-filled space made it taste even better.
'I'll never quit this in my lifetime. No way.'
White smoke scattered into the air.
My lifelong companion through a turbulent life. I'd bet I'd still be smoking even after marriage.
I'd seen plenty who quit after becoming dads, but they were all cowards.
No chance.
Love has nothing to do with this.
"Alright."
A few puffs in and out, and I felt better.
Pipe in mouth, I stood.
Sitting too long had numbed my ass with cold.
As I exited the narrow alley, a desolate residential district unfolded before me.
"What the fuck."
And I froze like a statue.
The street layout looked familiar.
The atmosphere and building conditions were totally different, but it was definitely the same place.
"No way this is... Huh?"
Suddenly sensing presence, I turned.
Not far away.
From a half-open second-floor window of a house, a shady old man glared at me.
First person I'd met in this world.
"Oh, someone's here. Gramps, is this by any chance..."
I approached with a friendly smile.
Bang!
The window slammed shut like it would shatter.
"Damn, old fart must've mistaken me for something."
I startled back.
The dull thud echoed down the street.
Curtains drew almost simultaneously.
Thick blackout fabric that blocked even a sliver of sunlight felt like a wall severing house from society.
"Come to think of it..."
Even a zoo escapee wouldn't get treated like that.
Suddenly, I noticed nearly every building's windows covered in such curtains.
What the hell had happened in the city?
Some plague outbreak?
"Alright."
Needed to check.
Thud!
I lightly leaped onto the roof.
The house the old fart had been in.
"Eek!"
A dry scream from below.
Sounded like he'd fallen on his ass, but it was intentional, so no sympathy.
From the rooftop, the surrounding view came into sight.
"What, it really is the capital?"
I scanned slowly and let out a hollow laugh.
My wild guess was spot on.
This was the capital's eastern residential district.
The grid-like cityscape stretched to the horizon.
"Feels damn nostalgic."
I rubbed my nose bridge, exhaling smoke.
It evoked old memories.
Ballon, not yet invaded by giants, looked far better preserved than my world.
Streets and buildings matched my memory, majestic presence intact.
'Why's it so quiet?'
But the vibe was off.
The whole city felt depressingly sunken.
The central palace was still grand, but lacked vitality somehow.
Markets usually bustling with merchants and visitors from across the continent now had just a few wagons.
'Did the emperor die or something?'
The mood made it seem less like the continent's top metropolis and more like a backwater mining village.
The gloomy weather only amplified it, dragging my mood down too.
Before tracking Akasha, I needed to figure out what happened and the timeline.
I'd climbed a chimney for a closer look when...
"Huh."
My scanning eyes locked on one spot.
Far west beyond the palace, a familiar structure shimmered through the heavy air.
Dozens of sharp, towering spires.
A familiar name slipped from my open mouth.
"......Phileon."
No doubt.
The City of Hundred Towers.
The millennium-old institution sharing history with the capital stood firm even in a world on the brink.
Faces of alumni and mentors flashed in my mind.
'Maybe the principal or Instructor Naviroje is still there.'
No reason not to go.
Even one would be a huge help.
Like a man possessed, I headed for Phileon.
Every rooftop hop elicited shrill screams.
"Eek! Thief?!"
"W-We haven't hidden anyone! Long live the Regent!"
"Yes, yes. Sorry. Just passing through."
Ignored the weird noise.
The capital's vastness meant focusing on travel still took time.
Thud!
After hundreds of roofs, I finally leaped down.
"Whew. Been a while."
Phileon's grand gate stretched toward the sky.
The gate I'd slinked through for weekends and club activities was undamaged, unlike my original world.
Straight through led to Gallerion Hall.
A bit farther, right turn to Navardoje Dorm where I'd stayed; into the adjacent woods revealed the romantic clearing for secret meets with Adeshan.
'Good times. Damn right.'
Years later, felt like yesterday.
I headed to the gate, reminiscing fondly.
No clock, but this hour should've had uniformed students milling about.
Arriving at the gate, I frowned.
"Huh? What's this?"
Hadn't noticed earlier.
A translucent barrier sealed the gate.
Rigid enough to block even a mouse. Words floated above it:
"Regent?"
My brow furrowed.
Not a word I liked.
A regent instead of the emperor? Trouble for Ballon's dynasty, unbroken through 44 generations.
"Whoever it is, must be a real slacker."
Whatever the details, probably some pathetic reason.
In my original world, Phileon closed only for all-out war with Nebula Klazie.
Not even when the Winter Witch descended or ice beasts charged students.
No intention of cooperating, naturally.
I drew my sword with a smooth rasp.
'Anyone around?'
Glanced about just in case.
Streets dead silent.
Creepy as hell.
Normally, Phileon area bustled like a summer beach.
No eyes on me? Perfect.
The blade arced swiftly back to sheath.
No effort needed.
Slice!
Like cutting tofu, the barrier split.
"That's more like it, fucker."
I grinned unwittingly.
My skills weren't broken.
Akasha's magic was the weird one.
Fucking bastard.
Whistling, I stepped forward.
About to cross the threshold.
Flutter!
A tattered paper flew and wrapped around my shin.
'Can't even pick up trash properly? How do they run this place?'
Never happened in my day.
Texture suggested it'd been street trash for ages.
I picked it up casually. Words were written on it.
I read slowly.
"......What?"
Felt like a massive weight dropped on my heart.
Took time to process what I was seeing.
Josef Sinivan de Grancia was definitely Schlieffen's father.
Head of Grancia, one of the empire's two great houses.
A traitor?
"Fuck, what the hell happened..."
"You there! Halt immediately!"
Mid-confusion.
A loud voice boomed from behind.
Sensing killing intent, I twisted my shoulder.
Swish!
An arrow grazed my chest.
Tip coated in what seemed paralysis poison.
Color suggested fat toad secretion.
Imperial army issue.
"H-He dodged?"
Disbelief from the arrow's direction.
I turned slowly.
Five or six soldiers armed with armor, spears, bows.
They'd snuck up while I was distracted by the paper.
The highest-ranking one spoke sternly.
"Finally showed yourself, Grancia spy. Here to meet your master Schlieffen?"
"What kinda bullshit is this?"