Chapter 60
Chapter 60
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: 28. Monster (2)
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Yuri opened his eyes, and someone was sitting beside him.
"Water."
A water bottle was immediately handed over.
But he couldn't drink it while lying down. Yuri made another demand.
"Lift me up."
His counterpart refused.
"Get up on your own, Yuri Brioll."
Only then did he realize who it was.
Lifting his head from his lying position, Sibylla was seated there.
She wore casual clothes that were worn out and stained in places from her long march.
"What brings you here?"
"Brioll requested a priest, so I came. I'm skilled in holy magic, after all."
"In person?"
"There's something I needed to confirm."
"Confirm?"
Yuri slowly raised his body.
Pain flared throughout his entire frame. His energy pathways hadn't fully healed yet.
For Yuri, who had made mana circulation second nature, it hurt far worse than injured muscles.
"Did you lie about your age or something?"
Sibylla asked as he leaned against the wall.
Yuri let out a hollow laugh.
"What kind of nonsense is that?"
"The things you pull make it seem that way."
"I'm eighteen."
"No way."
Yuri chuckled.
He could understand Sibylla's mindset.
She too had been acknowledged for her talents from a young age. Hers were the kind worthy of being called genius. And yet Yuri had soared to accomplishments leagues beyond even hers.
But what could be done about it.
His body might only be eighteen, but he was living his second life.
"You're a monster, you."
"Something like that. How long was I out?"
"Two days."
"What?"
Yuri reflexively lurched forward and clutched his shoulder.
"I slept that long?"
"Yeah."
"Then all that time..."
"We marched on. Carried you laid out like that."
Yuri stared at Sibylla.
A knight who had reached such a realm couldn't possibly be toted around for two days without noticing a thing.
"I put you under with magic since you needed to recover. Even slapped minor levitation on the carriage to keep you from waking. The knights fussed over you plenty."
Her tone carried a hint of envy.
Yuri forced his body into motion and swung his legs off the bed.
"Must be rough..."
"I'm fine."
Sibylla didn't bother trying to dissuade him. Knights had their own ways of doing things.
She cast another round of recovery magic on him.
Yuri stood on the floor. He then picked up Guilty, which had been leaning nearby.
"Mind supporting me?"
With Sibylla's help, Yuri stepped out of the tent.
The sun was setting.
The glow stretched long shadows across the Allied Forces' camp.
After such a grueling campaign, bloodstains marred most of the soldiers' uniforms, though the dusk light concealed them.
"Judging by your state, you've been fighting nonstop."
"Spot on."
"Wake up."
"We managed fine without you."
Sibylla shrugged her shoulders.
"Lord Raymond handled Brioll's command masterfully."
"Naturally."
"The Empire's handled most of it lately. Impressive when they fight for real. Knight orders seemed to be holding back until now."
"The Empire's the cunning sort."
"Better to rest up proper and recover than push too hard and crumble. Look over there."
Sibylla pointed into the distance.
Flags fluttered near the horizon.
Yuri gaped at the sight.
"We're all here."
The Allied Forces had now closed to where Oqua's horde was visible to the naked eye.
"It's come at last."
It had been a long road.
They had departed Brioll, passed through cities beyond the border, shaken off orc harassment. And now they stood before Oqua, entrenched in the deepest grasslands.
"Your Highness! You're awake!"
"Thank goodness you're safe."
"We survived thanks to you!"
Soldiers spotting Yuri called out greetings as they passed. But they were unfamiliar faces.
"Sacred Kingdom troops."
"What? My fame's on the rise?"
"What you've done has spread. You've racked up achievements, and you even tracked down and slew that tunneling monster."
Soldiers from other nations recognized Yuri one after another and offered their respects. The mood felt different from before. Yuri waved back.
Grinning, Yuri said,
"Final battle's ahead. They need someone to pin their hopes on."
Besides Yuri, the Allied Forces buzzed with tales of knights' exploits.
The soldiers were forging their own heroes to steel themselves against the formidable foe known as Oqua.
Yuri said,
"Sibylla."
"Yeah?"
"Mind doing me a favor?"
"What?"
He had been mulling this over for ages.
With the Allied Forces' expedition reaching its climax, he could delay no longer.
Yuri said,
"Pretend to date..."
Sibylla's eyes went wide.
"...me?"
Her dilated pupils soon settled back to their usual size.
"W-what's that out of nowhere?"
"Pretend we're dating."
"Why?"
Yuri sighed.
"It's just..."
He hadn't wanted to make this request. Yuri hated owing anyone.
"All because I'm too damn impressive..."
Yuri laid out the circumstances.
It was the terrifying tale of how Ragna favored him so much that he aimed to pair him off with his niece Ekaterina.
War kept the pressure at bay for now, but once the Allied Forces wrapped up, Ragna would move to tie him down in earnest.
"Gotta strike first."
If the Empire's crown prince set his sights on him, escape would be no easy feat.
The worst part was how, on the surface, it looked like an ideal match for Yuri.
Sibylla's response was right on cue.
"Why refuse? Word is the princess is a knockout beauty, sweet personality to boot, way better family and fortune than yours. Sounds perfect for you."
"No, I'm a prince too..."
Ekaterina's pedigree was indeed superior.
"Don't need some imperial lineage. And that personality? All an act, far as I can tell."
"Her looks?"
"Sibylla. You gonna live off a pretty face? A person's heart matters more than their shell."
"That's how you see it...?"
Sibylla narrowed her eyes in a smile.
Yuri froze for a split second.
It was an expression she rarely wore. Sly was the word that fit.
And the fact that it flickered across her face so briefly only made it more unsettling.
"Then I'll end up with some guy because of you?"
"Better than the alternative. Nail this Allied Forces gig and head home—think your brother'll let that slide? He'll pawn you off to some gut-protruding noble. Get tangled in rumors with me, and he won't dare."
"That's just your take."
"Yeah, got it..."
Yuri sighed.
She wanted something in return.
The Sibylla who once demanded bows on first meeting had grown up.
"Fine. What do you want?"
"Hm..."
Sibylla said,
"One wish."
"What?"
Yuri shook his head.
"Ridiculous."
He never entered into such reckless pacts as granting wishes.
A single slip in backing could topple households and shatter societies—what disasters might a wild-card "wish" invite?
"Scared I'll wish for the impossible?"
"Not scared. Just prudent."
"You don't need anything right now, that's all. Spring a sudden favor on me out of nowhere—what am I supposed to do?"
"Well..."
"Hate it? Drop it."
Sibylla's stance was firm.
Yuri shook his head.
No way on the wish. Time to brainstorm alternatives.
He was in the midst of running through options.
When a hearty voice boomed from behind.
"Yuri! Awake already!"
The last person he wanted to see right now came striding up with booming laughter.
"Was just about to report to the Empire. Sleeping through a battlefield? You're one mad bastard."
"Th-thank you, Your Highness."
"And get this—my niece's been hanging on every scrap of Allied Forces news, especially your heroics. Yuri Brioll, you magnificent son of a gun."
Ragna threw an arm around Yuri's shoulders.
Before Ragna's bulk could fully block him, Yuri shot Sibylla a desperate glance.
Wish, whatever—your call.
Sibylla nodded, that sly look flashing across her face again.
Yuri was already regretting his choice.
But it was too late. Events had spiraled out of control.
"Your Highness. Greetings."
"Ah, the Sacred Kingdom's princess. Name was...?"
"Sibylla Arseint."
"Right. Close with Yuri?"
"More than close, actually."
"More than...?"
Sibylla flashed Ragna the brightest smile Yuri had ever seen from her.
She then seized Yuri's wrist, still gripped by Ragna.
"We share feelings for each other. We're dating."
Ragna's gaze shifted straight to Yuri.
The shoulder hook twisted into a headlock. Yuri groaned.
"Ughhh..."
"That true?"
"Yes."
Ragna's forearm tensed harder in an instant. Yuri tapped out.
Ragna's adjutant, standing nearby, spoke up.
"Your Highness, the Third Prince just awoke..."
"Right, yeah."
Ragna released him.
"Brioll's prince and the Sacred Kingdom's princess. Fine match."
"Thank you."
"Young man and woman seeing each other—perfectly natural."
Ragna cleared his throat. Regret tinged his tone, but he voiced no further complaints.
"We'll pick this up later..."
"Later?"
"Out?"
"No, sire."
He swiftly pivoted to Allied Forces matters.
"Anyway, you get the gist of things?"
"Yes."
"Oqua's right in front of us. We'll rest up plenty, then advance."
Yuri nodded and peered toward Oqua's encampment alongside Ragna.
The Allied Forces had reached the endgame.
A fresh wave of emotion washed over him.
He had joined with the singular resolve to overturn his previous life's failure. And without a single defeat, they had marched right up to Oqua's doorstep. Far better results than before.
The Allied Forces were united. They had even acquired the weapon known as Moyongchan.
Confidence swelled that they could pull it off this time.
Ragna said,
"Once this war ends, the whole continent will know your name."
Yuri agreed.
He had joined the fray and stacked up shining feats.
And through it all, his experiences had elevated him to a realm where he could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the continent's finest knights.
Things were shaping up for him to achieve his aims.
Clutching that hope, Yuri offered Ragna a formal bow.
"Your Highness's name will echo across the land as well."
"It had better."
He grinned.
"Of course, that's after we bag Oqua."
"Indeed."
"But I'm not worried."
Ragna glanced at Sibylla as he continued.
"Empire, Brioll, Sacred Kingdom holy knights—the continent's champions all gathered. No way we lose to mere orcs. Those revolting abominations of unknown origin need exterminating root and stem."
Yuri recalled the orcs' origins he'd glimpsed in the ancient grassland kingdom ruins and simply nodded.
"After the Allied Forces disband, I plan to propose permanent troop garrisons."
"You mean..."
"Set up an ongoing organization to hunt them down and keep them in check—so they never regroup."
Ragna's proposal evoked the ancient kingdom's hunter bands from Yuri's memories, poised for revival.
Perhaps history did repeat itself.
Yuri endorsed the idea.
"Excellent notion, Your Highness."
In his past life, Oqua had maneuvered as if tied to the Empire itself.
Eradicating such a force early would reshape the continent's balance entirely.
"Exactly. Benefits the Empire and the grassland-border kingdoms alike."
Yuri took the chance to reaffirm that Ragna marched to his own beat, not the Emperor's.
The greater the Allied Forces' success, the more it would irk the Emperor.
He was probably fuming and snapping at courtiers even now.
Yuri tested the waters.
"Any word from the Empire?"
"Ah, that monster from before. Seems it lingered in the records after all. How the orcs ever tamed an extinct beast..."
The Empire's most exalted and secretive enclave.
The Imperial Palace.
Within lay a salon reserved for the Empire's luminaries—a venue crafted for luminaries of every field to mingle.
But time had eroded its purpose. It had devolved into a mere haunt for gossipmongers.
"Heard the latest on the Allied Forces? Utterly riveting."
"What's the word these days?"
"They're gearing up for the final clash."
"Not a single loss yet, right?"
"His Highness the Crown Prince is a marvel."
Of late, the Empire fixated on Crown Prince Ragna's Allied Forces.
"They say the orcs command a burrowing monster. Whatever happened there..."
"Talk of orcs wielding black magic, even."
"Maybe some bizarre ritual revived an ancient horror?"
"Heard they nabbed an elf and stole its magic."
"Elves never stray from their forests."
"Kidnapping, then."
Rumors without verified sources swirled endlessly.
Then someone threw open the salon doors.
An official from the magic division, tasked with relaying Allied Forces updates as of late.
All eyes locked on him.
"Greetings. I've got piping hot news."
"Out with it."
He basked in the attention, let the suspense build, then spoke deliberately.
"Brioll's Third Prince, who's been starring in the Allied Forces."
"Yuri Brioll, you mean?"
"He's reportedly dating the Sacred Kingdom's princess."
"Pardon?"
"Brioll's prince and the Sacred Kingdom princess?"
"Love blooming on the battlefield?"
Others' romances were always a delight.
The salon's atmosphere surged in an instant.
Fanciful tales spun in every mind. They broadcast their speculations as gospel, birthing fresh rumors on the spot.
That was when it happened.
"Is that really true?"
A slender, exquisite voice wafted into the salon.
Not loud, yet it commanded utter presence, hushing the room at once.
The magic official blanched upon spotting the voice's owner.
"Princess."
The Emperor's daughter—Ekaterina, hailed as the Empire's supreme beauty.
She smiled demurely, fan veiling her face.
"Care to elaborate on that tale?"