Chapter 105
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 105
Chapter Title: Sudden Change
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The moment I heard the elves' story, a multitude of thoughts branched out in my mind.
I'd known from the start that they didn't look kindly on elves.
But after listening to what they had to say this time, it wasn't hard to guess that some kind of clash was likely to erupt soon.
The first thing that came to mind was Anonymous (2).
I could leak the news to him first and reap some benefits. In exchange for the information, I could demand whatever I wanted.
It was a perfect opportunity.
A chance to naturally reveal that the forces of evil were hostile to me while borrowing their power.
But it wouldn't end that simply. I had to weigh my options carefully.
When two groups collided, casualties were inevitable.
And Maron's group was, after all, the ones pressuring compliance with the covenant no matter what.
Would their plan failing be a good thing for me right now?
Just as they'd weighed the importance of my situation against the elves', I needed to put everything on the scales and measure both sides.
From the perspective of the weak, having the covenant upheld immediately felt safer... but honestly, we'd entered an era of chaos where anyone could break it without a second thought.
They couldn't deny that.
In such circumstances, what I truly needed—even if it meant shattering the covenant—was the overwhelming might of the elves' forces.
With a clear enemy, and a terribly powerful one at that, what mattered most was having another ally to stand against them.
But openly siding with the elves and dooming the human transcendents' plans to total failure was risky too. My edge in the current situation was my ability to freely switch identities and operate while everyone else stayed silent because of the covenant.
On the other hand, preventing the clash entirely would strip away my justification. My information would become worthless, and I'd lose any pretext for leveraging the elves' power.
Was there no way to untangle this web of conflicting interests?
A method that would let the elves prepare adequately while allowing the human transcendents to hold back and spare some manpower.
Me.
My current identity as Ivan Vieirn.
All I had to do was ask them.
I was in a precarious spot right now and needed protection.
They saw me as a potential hero, so they were seriously inclined to abandon the elf conflict and focus entirely on safeguarding me.
I'd never planned on accepting their full protection in the first place.
I couldn't freely reveal my secrets to them, and more importantly, accepting their complete protection would be tantamount to implicitly agreeing to side with them.
I couldn't afford naive thoughts that they'd protect me out of simple goodwill.
If I accepted their help, I had to prepare appropriate compensation.
The problem was the people around me.
Would these guys, who'd stirred up trouble right in the heart of the capital, even care about anyone else?
I could hold my inner circle hostage.
But sticking by their side myself would only invite greater danger.
So the favor I planned to ask was something else entirely—a way to resolve both my earlier dilemmas and my current predicament in one stroke.
"Please protect my family. This isn't just a casual request."
"Ah... right. That must be more important to you right now. You're hiding that you're a transcendent, and no one knows what those guys might do."
Merin nodded in understanding, then tilted her head.
"Now that I think about it, it's pretty infuriating. You fooled me? How the hell did you hide it all this time?"
Ever since Maron had figured out I was a transcendent, I hadn't bothered much with disguising my natural mana.
So it was blatantly obvious now, but I'd originally concealed it by making my natural mana completely unaffected.
As I glanced toward the distant mountains, Merin let out a dry chuckle.
"You've gotten awfully comfortable around me, haven't you?"
"No, that's not it. Reaching the 7th rank was thanks to you, Senior."
"Wow, anyone who doesn't know you would think you're such a polite guy."
She shook her head, then quickly schooled her expression into something serious.
"If that's what you want, we'll protect the people around you too. But that doesn't mean you can just head off on some solo trip in this situation. And no need for separate compensation."
The reason for their goodwill? Because I might be the hero.
Merin glanced at me and let out a deep sigh.
"To be honest, I do want to keep you by our side."
"What if I'm not the hero?"
"It'd be the same. Even back when we never dreamed you could be the hero, I said I wanted to bring you over to our side."
"But I—"
"I get it. You just became a transcendent and don't want to start racking up debts already."
That's when someone cut into the conversation.
"But aren't you in a position where you have to take on some debt?"
It was a massive bald man.
I'd been talking with Merin, but all the other transcendents around us were listening anyway.
"Reality's harsh like that. You're not strong enough to ignore everything, and it's true you need help right now."
"Watch your mouth."
Gabina snapped at the bald man.
The bald man just shrugged.
"What? It's the truth. He might not even be the hero yet. If he turns out to be the real deal, we'll protect him with everything we've got."
"I think you'd be more helpful if you shut up right now."
"Agreed."
When Merin and then Joart voiced their agreement, the bald man faltered for a moment before shooting Merin an aggrieved glare.
"No, is what I'm saying wrong? Aren't you usually the first one to point stuff like this out?"
"...You need to read the room."
Merin's voice grew quieter, as if she was short on words, but Maron stepped in to wrap things up.
"Then just don't think of it as a debt."
"..."
"Accepting our help doesn't obligate you to do anything in return—whether you're the hero or not, whether you join us later or not. Consider it our investment in the possibility."
"...What does that make me, then?"
The bald man grumbled, but Maron continued calmly.
"And if he wants to leave, holding him back would be no different from imprisonment."
"What? You're just gonna let him go like this?"
"You plan to force someone who says no?"
"No, you gotta stop someone walking into danger on their own. He doesn't know anything."
"Hmm... Doesn't seem like he knows nothing. And from what I saw, even while being chased, he didn't look all that endangered. This trip of his must come with circumstances we can't pry into."
"His arm's broken, though."
"Sigh, your parents must be rolling in their graves."
"Shut your trap, baldy."
Maron gave a small smile.
"If he gets in danger, I'll go myself."
He summarized the situation.
"We have two tasks: the plan we've been preparing, and protecting this young man's people."
"Both at the same time?"
"No reason we can't."
Maron looked at Merin as he spoke, and after some thought, she nodded.
Before departing Maron's hideout, I exchanged final goodbyes with Merin.
She'd actually followed me all the way out.
"What kind of errand could possibly make you leave this safe haven?"
Staying here under their protection and monitoring the situation from within was, of course, one way to steer future events.
But in front of them, I couldn't pull out my manaphone or switch identities. It would tie up more than half my arsenal.
I casually pulled out my communication orb.
"With this guy named Maron helping out, it doesn't seem all that dangerous. He's got some utterly ridiculous abilities."
I'd given Maron one of the orbs linked to mine.
"That... is pretty ridiculous, but... if you say so."
I changed the subject.
"Aren't you busy, though? Seemed like you were prepping something major."
"Well, prepping or not... we've still got a mountain of issues to handle first."
"If you're up against elves, looks like it takes a lot of preparation."
"You have no idea how much of a headache they are. They've been holed up in one spot for hundreds, even thousands of years without budging. When you think about all the monsters crawling around there..."
Merin shook her head as if the very thought made her sick.
"Monsters?"
"High Elves. How many transcendents do you think have lived there for centuries? Conservatively, dozens. Facing them means a ton of prep."
Merin fell silent for a moment, then gave me a strange look before continuing.
"The forces of evil are starting to stir again too... Something's definitely accelerating. You showing up right now—it really could mean you're the true hero."
She hadn't thought that way before, but now Maron had said it, so she was starting to wonder?
I considered pressing for more details on this "preparation," but held back. Digging deeper at this point might seem suspicious. Joart probably could've asked casually.
"Well, I'll be off then."
"Don't die."
I bid Merin farewell one last time and left the hideout.
Once I was far from the hideout, I pulled out my manaphone.
[(0): Anonymous (2), get ready.]