Chapter 138
Chapter 138
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 138
Chapter Title: The Saintess's Facade
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Alicia Orin.
The reason she was revered as a saintess stemmed from her character and deeds, but more than anything, it was because of the Great Cathedral in Platon.
This had established Platon as the center of faith. It was also one of the reasons Ballast could maintain its neutral status alongside Pensilon Academy.
Students with deep faith adopted reverent postures upon seeing her.
“My apologies. The noon prayer at the cathedral ran long, so I ended up late.”
Alicia elegantly bowed her head. The male students gasped at her beauty and grace. The female students marveled at her nobility.
‘She really is something else.’
It was an intensity that could captivate anyone with the slightest lapse in attention.
It wasn’t particularly relevant now, but she had been my favorite character. Even her middling performance perfectly matched my tastes.
Her rank was UR, the highest tier, but her combat stat was only 88, and she didn’t show any particular intellectual prowess.
However, one of her unique skills, ‘Guidance of the Gods,’ was ridiculously overpowered. It was a kind of agitation skill that, in specific situations where it could be used, elevated her beyond first-tier to zero-tier dominance.
“I’m truly delighted that so many of this year’s entrants have a passion for the arts. I hope you all refine that noble spirit to become lights that illuminate the continent.”
As she began her speech, everyone was drawn in, listening intently. I observed her every move closely.
Estelle did the same.
Estelle was frowning deeply.
I wondered if she was jealous of me showing interest in Alicia, but that didn’t seem to be it.
“What’s wrong?”
“No, it’s just…”
Was Estelle’s radar activating again?
The protagonist being empty-headed or harboring feelings for me—her radar’s reliability had dropped, but I still wanted to hear it.
“If something comes to mind, tell me without holding back.”
“She seems like she’s wearing a mask… But that’s true for everyone, so it’s nothing special.”
“A mask, huh.”
Everyone wears a face for show. Even I do.
Here, I treat those around me with a prickly demeanor, but it’s different with my retainers. With Ymir, it’s so affectionate that people tease we’re flirting.
‘No, this isn’t pretense or anything.’
In any case, it wouldn’t be strange for anyone to put on airs. Ordinary people do it all the time.
The problem was that the one putting on airs was the saintess. A saintess is revered precisely because she has no facade. If she’s pristine on the outside but rotten within, she’s no saintess anymore. Just a con artist.
“Don’t mind what I said too much. It’s the same with that guy from earlier—it’s just my gut feeling.”
“You’re right.”
I let the protagonist stuff slide to some extent.
But the saintess was different.
I’d suspected her from the start.
‘One of the seven retainers with high odds of being the traitor.’
Verifications on the other seven retainers were mostly complete.
Ilya’s master was from the west but had Guderian’s guarantee. Gaspar and Lutger were cleared.
Meisen and Olaf were a set, and Master Luke was dead.
If there was no traitor among the seven retainers, that would be fine, but if there was, elimination left only one answer.
‘Hmm, perfect timing to make the first move.’
I’d gauge her with this one strike.
After Alicia’s speech ended, I approached her when an opening appeared.
She seemed to have business with me too, holding her breath in wait.
As the distance closed, she spoke to me.
“You must be the Wade who’s been stirring up storms in the academy lately. A pleasure to meet you. I’m Alicia Orin.”
“I’m Als Ilrain.”
I stared piercingly into her eyes. She met my gaze without backing down, trying to read me as well.
This was the moment. A critical strike I couldn’t use twice.
“I have one question for the esteemed saintess.”
“A question for me? What could you possibly…”
“How’s the collusion with the west going?”
“…!?”
Got her.
When hit with a surprise like this, people show one of two reactions.
If there’s no western connection, they’d express displeasure at the nonsense.
Conversely, if there is, some reaction is inevitable—surprise being the classic.
Of course, she could just be shocked by my words, but then she’d quickly show displeasure.
But Alicia panicked.
“What nonsense is this?”
She regained composure in seconds, but it was already over.
‘So that’s it. Alicia really is the west’s puppet.’
She might not be a western spy per se. Could be Svenner or Byulang’s. Either way, she wasn’t pure. She was plotting something.
That explained her actions in the game.
Her being Als’s lover was probably a fake relationship. A spy to monitor him up close.
‘…Hold on?’
That would make Alicia one of the good guys.
After all, Als was the villain.
But would a good guy character go so far as honey traps and spying? That’s villain territory.
‘…….’
The slim possibility I’d long considered grew stronger.
The hypothesis that Als was the game’s true protagonist.
But one obstacle remained.
The protagonist’s existence. As long as that held, Als-as-protagonist didn’t stand.
Alicia could be a separate villain from the protagonist and Als—complicated, but acceptable. Or Als was the traitor and Alicia his ally—somehow workable.
“I’ll ask again. What nonsense is this?”
“Pretending calm won’t help. What’s your goal?”
“I’m asking what you’re talking about!”
I lightly formed a hypothesis.
Pensilon Academy crumbling in the game for unclear reasons. What followed wasn’t hard to infer.
“Trying to pull Ballast out of neutrality?”
“…!”
She tried not to show openings anymore, but I hit the mark, and she reacted again. This was subtly fun.
“Indeed, neutrality can’t last forever. Sticking to it dims the nation’s future. That must be the internal judgment. I don’t know which nation you’ve pulled in, but you support one of them.”
Hit the bullseye again.
“I can’t listen to this anymore!”
Alicia turned and fled.
Her retreating figure couldn’t hide the anxiety.
‘She’s dumber than I thought.’
To think this was my favorite character. You really have to meet people to know them.
‘Even so, a saintess plotting conspiracy. This isn’t minor.’
I’d easily uncovered the traitor among the seven retainers. But it wasn’t over. I intuited that the incident she’d bring was the core of this affair.
*
*
*
Thud! Thud! Alicia hurried her steps.
Her destination was the office in Platon where Duke Reginald was handling reports.
Bang! She flung the door open, startling Duke Reginald, who shot to his feet.
“What’s wrong, Princess?”
“P-Problems arose.”
Her expression was utterly shattered.
“What kind of problems? Calm down first.”
“How can I calm down! Wade figured out our plan!”
“What…!?”
Alicia recounted what had just happened.
Duke Reginald’s eyes widened impossibly.
“Is that true!? How in the world…!”
“He’s a monster! I felt it. Eyes that see through everything… He knew from the start!”
“There were rumors. The mercenary Wade—a monster on par with the impenetrable Juras.”
Als would hate hearing it, but the whispers had already spread.
“What do we do now? If he noticed, Crossing and Caliper have too!”
Worse, Als had said it loud enough for all to hear. Students looked confused, but rumors would spread. Even if dismissed as nonsense, it came from Wade himself. They couldn’t ignore it.
Duke Reginald clutched his forehead.
“Ugh…! If other nations learn our plan, it’ll all fall apart.”
No nation would cheer Ballast abandoning neutrality.
Even within Ballast, the independents were a minority. Once exposed, they’d be rooted out and eliminated.
Alicia might survive thanks to her saintess and royal status, but not Duke Reginald.
He could lose everything.
Power was like that.
Success in a coup made you the top dog; failure stripped it all away.
He’d gambled knowing that.
His eyes burned with venom.
“No choice now. We launch the plan immediately!”
“B-But!”
“It’s fine, Princess. The recent war has everyone on high alert, speeds up responses. Our allies can mobilize forces quickly.”
“What about Wade?”
“Assassination’s impossible. The only way to remove him is an army, but we lack authority to use one in Platon.”
Even then, it’d take nearly two thousand troops.
Each nation’s forces in Crossing and Caliper zones numbered a thousand apiece—two thousand total.
Urban combat with that scale risked losing Als entirely. It’d just stir up a hornet’s nest.
“Nothing we can do about him. If he interferes, we’ll deal with it somehow.”
“I-I’m scared. What he might do next. What he’s scheming right now…!”
His first impression had been that intense. She felt primal fear toward Als, who’d read her heart and pierced her plan.
She trembled, imagining what plot Als was weaving now.
But contrary to her imaginings, Als was enjoying a blissful time.
Clink! Glasses circulated.
The retainers had come to my mansion after sunset to celebrate Ymir’s pregnancy.
Ymir twitched her tail, unaccustomed to the mood, but when I lightly pulled her into one arm, she relaxed, tail drooping.
“Kahahaha! On a day this joyous, we drink till we drop! Aegert! Another round!”
“Ooh! Got it, Master Gaspar!”
Liquor poured freely. Gaspar downed it in one go. He’d already drunk with Aegert and Lutger at lunch and was half-sloshed.
Seeing this, Aegert voiced innocent curiosity.
“But Master Gaspar, why are you so thrilled?”
“W-What!?”
“No, just—you seem way happier than everyone else.”
Gaspar’s pupils shook for a moment.
“B-Because Als is like a b-blood brother to me!”
“Hmm. Is that it? I thought maybe you and that Ymir lady had something going.”
“Y-You brat! Shut it and pour!”
At “lady,” Ymir’s ears perked. But she’d grown numb, soon smiling.
Eonia was different.
“La…dy?”
Eonia shot Aegert a terrifying glare.
Dorothy, beside him, restrained Aegert.
“Aegert! Don’t say things like that!”
“Why not, weakling boss? Calling a lady a lady—what’s wrong with that.”
“Shh!”
Eonia’s shocked look amused Lisitea, who sneered.
“What can you do, Mirabel? Kids will be kids.”
“You…!”
The 25-year-old Lisitea wore a victor’s smile.
Aegert turned to her.
“Lia lady! Pass the bottle if you’re not drinking!”
“What’d you call me, you thunderbolt head!”
Lisitea sprang up, radiating killing intent.
“What!? Just gimme the bottle!”
“Not that! You called me lady!?”
“Well, you are one.”
Lisitea was speechless.
Aegert’s standards were odd, but not entirely wrong. Marriage came early in this world.
From my view, both Lisitea and Eonia looked in their prime.
Gulp! Then Estelle swallowed dryly and cautiously asked.
“Um, Aegert?”
“Yeah? Estelle sis.”
“…Heh.”
Estelle claimed obvious victory with a victor’s smile.
Lisitea bit her lip and yelled.
“I-I have someone I’ve promised my future to! So no issues! I’m different from Mirabel!”
Eonia reflexively shouted.
“M-Me too!”
“Me too, what?”
“M-Me too…”
Eonia clenched her fist.
“When I take first in majors, you’ll see!”
“Why bring up majors out of nowhere…? And you’re perennial second, I heard?”
“H-Hah! Just watch!”
Lisitea looked exasperated as Eonia forced a victor’s grin.
The party mood ripened pleasantly, if a bit off-kilter.
Around midnight, Olaf and Anton returned from an emergency trip to Carten. Having switched horses repeatedly for forced marches, they looked exhausted.
Olaf eyed the lively vibe with regret but brightened at Gaspar still drinking.
“O-Oh. Looks like I can join in? Gaspar, fill one for me! Be right back!”
He winked at me.
I slipped out of the dining room to the drawing room.
Olaf congratulated the pregnancy briefly before getting to business.
“Things are graver than expected.”
“Did Crossing’s merchants know?”
“Who knows how much that Juras Pamillion grasped. Couldn’t read the guy at all. Ominous… unpleasant enough I never want to meet him again.”
“Spot-on impression. Ability’s top-notch, though.”
Whatever Juras was, one thing was sure.
Unbelievably competent. Peerless. That’s why I’d chosen to work with him.
I could enjoy this party carefree because of him.
He’d handle everything perfectly.
Without him, I’d be anxious over every possible threat and countermove.
That’s the merit of a capable partner.
Only worry: he was too cunning. But he wouldn’t backstab me before the Divide-the-Land plot succeeded.
“He knows at least that Albad clashing with Svenner in the last war was for conquering Ballast. So he’s predicted to some degree.”
“Yeah, he said as much. Just didn’t expect it to escalate this fast.”
“Hmm.”
“And enemy involvement’s beyond expectations.”
“Where exactly?”
“Albad. And the western tribes.”
The western tribes eyed Ballast from the left, Albad from the right.