Chapter 98
Chapter 98
Chapter 98
Training (2)
The Kingdom of Rohans to the east and the Ergon Kingdom to the north.
Even if the Ergon Kingdom was uncertain, the Kingdom of Rohans had long been filled with demons or their vassals among all its top-level power holders.
War with them could now be considered inevitable.
'How peaceful...'
Rudian had come out to the streets after a long time.
Now that Rudian had officially risen to the rank of Count, Rudian had become someone who needed several attendants accompanying every move.
However, Rudian sent all of them back to the mansion except for Yev, who always followed Rudian around.
"The usual. And... The usual for this one too."
"Order received!"
The cafe Rudian used to visit with Maria had somehow become a regular haunt.
The staff recognized Rudian and greeted Rudian warmly.
Rudian rested his chin on his hands while looking out at the street from the terrace.
The street was considerably quieter than usual due to the major chaos that had occurred just a few days ago from the large-scale sweep operation in Nevan.
"One cafe latte and one chocolate parfait!"
"Thank you."
After some time passed, the staff brought the ordered items.
As soon as the parfait arrived, Yev immediately ordered another cup before even starting to eat.
"Why don't you just order two cups from the beginning?"
"Tastes bad when cold."
'...When cold?'
At Yev's resolute words with strange grammar, Rudian felt an odd sensation and fell silent.
'Yev has adapted very well to civilized society.'
When Rudian first met Yev, Rudian couldn't understand what Yev was thinking at all, but lately, Yev's thoughts seemed to become slightly visible.
The fact that the cause was gluttony gave Rudian a somewhat peculiar feeling...
Rudian pouted at Yev while thinking about the bloody battle with Marbas a few days ago.
"If you had helped me back then, it would have been much easier."
Yev, who had been hurriedly devouring the parfait, suddenly looked up at those words.
Then Yev firmly stated:
"A promise is a promise."
"Right..."
"That power itself is also a loophole. More than this is dangerous."
"......"
"A power that doesn't match this world. Show restraint."
The three promises made when Rudian and Yev first met.
Not to use power carelessly without Yev's consent.
To hide the power so as not to be detected by other otherworldly beings.
And lastly...
'Receiving tribute and giving compensation in return.'
Although Rudian couldn't obtain the power of the underworld from Baphomet's head, Rudian was able to obtain otherworldly power through this method as a substitute.
Outer Force was a power inherently connected to the purple world, one of the seven-colored worlds.
Far from complaining, Rudian should be grateful for obtaining such power without any particular effort or dissatisfaction.
"Sigh... I know. I was just complaining once."
Yev showed no particular reaction to those words and turned her gaze back to the parfait.
Rudian hung his head low, reproaching himself for being unusually impatient.
'Ugh, how pathetic...'
The reason for Rudian's impatience was simple.
War would break out soon, but Rudian hadn't thought about what comes next.
'Above all, Eldorado being sealed again is fatal.'
Although Rudian had only experienced it once, Eldorado's power was absolute.
If just one summoned space battleship could easily destroy a top-tier Demon King, what would happen if Rudian actively utilized what slept within Eldorado?
'If things go well, I might see the ending before the main story even starts...'
This level of power wouldn't be inferior at all compared to the seven-colored worlds, which are the main theme of .
'Adi, how is Eldorado?'
At Rudian's question, Adi popped out and answered.
-It's in a forced dormant state. It fell asleep after exhausting all the power that was stored at the time.
'Can't we inject magic or something to wake it up?'
-Eldorado's power source cannot be replaced with this world's ordinary power. As the demons attempted, pure biological energy would be possible though very inefficient...
'Damn, that's not possible.'
Those bastards gathered biological energy from as many as a million people to operate Eldorado.
This was both difficult to do and something that shouldn't be done.
-The fastest way is to link with another terminal and draw power from my sealed main body.
'What about other methods?'
-If we must find another way... We'd need to find something with a large amount of condensed divinity, the pinnacle of all power.
"......"
An object with condensed divinity.
This referred to artifacts classified as 'Mythical grade' - the highest among Normal, Advanced, Rare, Epic, Legendary, and Mythical.
It was a term for supreme treasures that reached the pinnacle in this world, including the seven-colored worlds.
'The Sands of Time that the Kepler family possesses is Legendary grade...'
If a space-type artifact was at that level, it was hard to imagine the rarity and power of Mythical grade.
'But I can't use the green world either.'
Setting aside that the green world wasn't Rudian's possession, the seven-colored worlds were essential items for the ending itself.
"Damn, so the conclusion is that I have no choice but to go out and retrieve them myself?"
Rudian buried his face in the table and mocked himself.
The world of adventure that Rudian had dreamed of was right before Rudian's eyes, but reality was never easy.
Now that Rudian had gained some power, Rudian's heart wanted to boldly set off on an adventure, but...
'The biggest problem right now is that war is approaching.'
Since most of the demon forces within the empire had been eliminated, naturally the Kingdom of Rohans wouldn't remain idle.
Even if they remained silent by any chance, the Morian Empire would rather officially announce the existence of demons first and drag in neighboring allied nations to enter war.
Either way, the result would be war.
In such a situation, could Rudian comfortably proceed with artifact recovery and such?
'But Diablo alone makes me uneasy.'
By eliminating Asmodeus and Marbas, Diablo gained great power.
Of course, Rudian didn't doubt Diablo's power, but what Rudian doubted wasn't the power but Diablo itself.
'That guy probably has tricks to break the contract, so it wouldn't be strange.'
Rudian didn't want to meet the same end as Crux from the original story.
'Besides, the companions' power levels need to increase too.'
Maria, who was virtually complete, didn't need to be worried about.
Elvin and Gray, and if possible, even Crux.
The 'human' class wouldn't suffice anymore.
Gray needed to break through at least 9th class, and Elvin also needed to become at least a Grand Master beyond Sword Master to be helpful in future affairs.
Originally, even considering their talents, this would take at least several decades of training, but...
'There isn't just one Tower of Trials.'
Though difficult to find, it wasn't impossible to find.
Suddenly, a gleam appeared in Rudian's eyes.
Should I push forward boldly?
The probability of spectacular failure was higher than success, but...
Still, if they somehow survived such places, they could achieve dramatic growth like Rudian himself.
'While retrieving mythical artifacts, I could take them along and dip them in for a bit...'
Rudian's thoughts were increasingly leaning toward adventure.
"...Hm?"
Rudian suddenly felt Yev's gaze from the front and lifted his buried head.
"What's wrong?"
At Rudian's question, Yev stared intently at Rudian's face for a moment, then finally said:
"Storm of fate. Approaching soon. Better to prepare."
"......!"
"To avoid being swept away. Handle yourself well."
"You can't tell me the details, can you?"
Nod.
Yev quietly nodded at Rudian's question.
'It seems... Taking a bit of adventure would be better.'
Yev was a god.
Not in a metaphorical sense, but literally a god. Not a single word from such a Yev could be taken lightly.
'Storm of fate...'
Though Rudian didn't know the exact meaning, it probably meant the same as trials approaching.
Rudian decided at that moment.
'After examining the situation with Rohans, if it seems somewhat manageable, I'll set out to search for Adi's terminal and the seven-colored worlds.'
The Morian Empire was mighty.
It was practically the strongest nation on the continent, and even if it went to war, it had enough national power not to collapse so helplessly.
And while at it, let's drag the other guys along and level them up!
Just as Rudian was making that resolution.
CLATTER!
Someone entered, opening the cafe door.
Seeing those familiar golden hair and emerald eyes, Rudian waved his hand in delight.
"Maria!"
"Rudian! When did you wake up?"
Upon hearing Rudian's voice, she widened her eyes and approached.
Maria was also a regular here.
This cafe was originally a place Rudian came to through Maria's introduction.
"If you woke up, you should have sent someone to let me know!"
"Haha, sorry. Actually, I just woke up not long ago."
Maria naturally sat across from Rudian and ordered black tea.
"I heard from Senior Elvin. You're building a Psychic Magic Tower?"
"Haha, it's all thanks to Rudian. Without the theory you gave me, this wouldn't have happened."
Maria sipped her tea with a pleased expression.
"You look surprisingly happy?"
"Yes, I've had much less work recently... Hehe!"
Though she should be busier than anyone given her position, she had apparently become dramatically less busy recently.
"Conversely, Father has become much busier. Since he officially became the Tower Master, a considerable portion of the work I was handling has gone back to Father."
Since the integration of the underground was mostly finished, Maria's work inevitably had to focus on the Magic Tower's affairs.
But since Matheus, not Maria, was designated as the Tower Master, it was natural that work would concentrate on Matheus, who was appointed by the Emperor, regardless of Maria's position in Psychic Luminous.
'Speaking of which, is this fate too? I didn't expect to meet by chance like this...'
Rudian's gaze toward Maria wasn't much different from how the psychics of Psychic Luminous looked at her.
So-called idol.
Or favorite.
Probably this gaze toward her wouldn't change much even as time passed...
"Ah! It's Rudian!"
"So you were here."
"......?"
Rudian was greatly surprised to see Rebecca and Luciella suddenly bursting in.
Rebecca was one thing, but... Even Luciella?
Rudian pouted at Rebecca.
"I told you not to come."
"Ah, I was going to do that, but when the Princess said she had to meet Rudian, how could I refuse?"
Rebecca's small grumbling about 'and that little one followed too...' passed by.
"Ugh...!"
This outing was just meant to take a rest alone without any interference.
Yev was a force of nature who wouldn't listen even if told not to come, so that was unavoidable.
Rudian shrugged and gestured to Rebecca.
"Well, can't be helped. Come here."
"Hehehe...!"
Rebecca laughed foolishly and immediately claimed the seat next to Rudian.
But then...
"......"
'...Hm?'
For some reason, from the moment they entered the cafe... Maria and Luciella had been continuously looking at each other, making eye contact.