Chapter 152
Chapter 152
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 152
Chapter Title: The Real Protagonist
-----------------------------------------------------------------
I’d had that thought once before.
If they were going to throw me into this game anyway, why not put me in the protagonist’s body?
Why stick me in some side character? In a doomed character’s body, no less?
And that turned out to be spot on.
That hypothesis I’d dismissed as a slim possibility up until now.
It was true. Als was the protagonist.
As long as Cassius Lloyd, the supposed protagonist, wasn’t Prince Arios, it was certain.
Because there was no way Crossing’s spy could be the story’s hero.
Cassius was a fake. The real protagonist was the one and only crown prince, Als Ilrain.
Only then did I fully grasp the entire story.
Als, exiled by the protagonist or his faction, would learn of the Western schemes surrounding the protagonist. And finally, he’d uncover the truth behind Ymir’s protagonist assassination attempt, realizing the protagonist was Crossing’s spy and learning about his own past.
“That much is certain.”
The problem came after that. Would Als, knowing all this, join hands with Crossing?
“Probably not with the West or Svenner either. He’d raise his own force alone, or maybe revolt from Caliper Kingdom. Plenty of options.”
By that point, Als would have his seven retainers as a support base. Sure, one of them, Saintess Alicia, was a spy, but as the protagonist, he’d handle it somehow.
What came after that was a total mystery. No more clues.
“W-What is this…!?”
Prince Eldric had gone pale. His face was like he was trapped in a nightmare.
Cassius’s bombshell had the conference hall in an uproar.
“Crossing!?”
“What does that mean!?”
Chaos gripped the hall.
That was when it happened.
“…Pfft!”
A sneer that mocked the entire world.
“Puhahaha! Ahahaha──!”
Juras burst into mad laughter.
The sight sent shivers down everyone’s spines, making them tremble without exception—whether civil officials or generals. All felt fear toward him.
Juras shouted amid his laughter.
“I told you, didn’t I? You’d pay for insulting me! Ahahaha──!”
Madness that overwhelmed the protests. What made him truly terrifying was the impenetrable cunning hidden within that madness.
I’d thought it occasionally.
How lucky that this guy was on my side.
If he were my enemy, what kind of anxiety would I live with?
I felt a pang of sympathy for Prince Eldric.
Having realized who was behind it all, the prince screamed.
“Juras…! You…! You…!!”
Betrayal from his most trusted subordinate. On a whole different level from Dalmore Sting’s treachery.
His feelings toward Cassius were plain on his face.
Blood vessels burst in his eyes, tears of blood streaming down.
“You… always…! Always like…! Cough!?”
He spat blood in his rage. Unbelievable.
“Gah! Gack…!”
He vomited blood several times before finally losing consciousness and being carried out by his attendants.
Juras turned his gaze to the Albad side next. Toward Gillas, who’d mocked him as a rat.
“What a shame. I wanted to see Teacher Kaien’s shocked face.”
“You…!”
“Heh, care to call me a rat again?”
“Guh!”
That was when it happened.
“I-I won’t accept this!”
A protest erupted from the Svenner side. Their diplomat shouted in agitation.
“S-Suddenly Crossing!? This is fishy! Invalid!”
“Invalid? Don’t be ridiculous. You and Albad orchestrated this whole thing. It’s all on you.”
The situation was over.
Juras’s cunning trap had made it airtight.
Ballast, now subservient to Crossing, had signed non-aggression pacts with all nations for five years. No one could touch them.
Touching them meant ignoring international diplomacy outright.
It would mean self-isolation.
Even neutral Europer and Tunkai had to honor the treaties they’d signed, no matter the circumstances.
That led to attempts to turn things around another way.
Stir things up inside Ballast again.
The coup forces were still intact. Use them to oust Cassius and seize power once more.
Crossing wouldn’t fully intervene yet. It would take time.
Albad planned to move first during that window.
But Juras wasn’t so sloppy as to miss that.
Soon, a spy approached the Albad side and whispered something.
“What!?”
Gillas jumped in shock.
Before long, soldiers in Crossing uniforms appeared, occupying the hall.
They were the troops Juras had secretly stashed in Platon.
Around 30,000 strong.
They seized the conference hall. And the palace.
“Als. Did you know?”
It was Duke Helian’s question.
“No. I had no idea. Hiding troops in Platon…”
Probably disguised as civilians. But such elaborate, noisy operations were easy to spot.
And yet no one knew.
“…!?”
That’s when I recalled that intel.
The info I’d gotten through Caliper’s spy network.
—Backroom dealings active in Ballast. Over 60 spies from all nations eliminated just this year. Some force aggressively purging spies.
Back then, I’d only focused on the investigation into King Gares’s incident 17 years ago, so I hadn’t paid much attention. Now I got it.
Juras’s doing.
To sneak in troops undetected.
In other words, he’d foreseen this situation about a year ago.
“Monster of a guy.”
I couldn’t find a better way to describe him.
*
*
*
The situation wrapped up quickly.
Juras occupied Platon and the capital, then absorbed the coup forces.
With Crossing’s troops already inside the territory, the coup had no choice but to surrender.
Reginald Duke, leader of the coup, was executed. Saintess Alicia was deemed useful enough to spare.
With that, the continental power struggle over Ballast ended.
Ballast was effectively Crossing’s puppet. The five-year non-aggression pacts ensured neutrality for now, but in five years, it’d be sucked into the continental chaos.
I sensed the continent entering a lull after this.
The last two years had seen too many wars and battles.
Every nation had suffered massive losses.
Take the West, who’d ambitiously declared continental expansion. They’d taken 100,000 casualties combined from the Bekavia expedition and this Ballast war, getting thoroughly thrashed.
Word was, the West now feared me.
Probably because I’d fought in both battles that humbled them.
They needed to recover from those losses. A step back for future advances.
And they weren’t alone.
Every nation was hunkering down, rebuilding for the war years away.
“So? What’s the plan going forward?”
I was meeting Juras alone to hear the rest.
He shrugged.
“Nothing set in stone yet.”
“Cut the crap. No way you have no plans.”
“Heh. Not really. I’m thinking it might not even matter if we don’t.”
“What’s that mean?”
Juras smirked.
“This showed me. If you and I team up, continental unification isn’t that hard. Terrain manipulation to induce plagues, right? Even I didn’t think of that. Though if I were that Western general, I wouldn’t have fallen for it.”
Agreed there. No way petty tricks worked on Juras.
To catch this guy… what method would even work?
“Als, focus on building strength for now. Next two years… no, maybe three, with the shift in dynamics. Then revolt from our southern territories and conquer Byulang.”
“The dynamics shifted a bit? Feels like a lot.”
The key to that world-bifurcation plan was my nation and Crossing appearing hostile. Exposure of our ties would draw interference.
That was harder now that Wade’s identity was out.
If I revolted from the south, other nations would suspect Crossing connections.
Juras nodded in agreement.
“I’ll study that angle more. Let me know if you have ideas.”
Got it.
Juras planned to devise a new unification strategy during this three-year lull.
So no plan yet wasn’t surprising.
After discussing the future with Juras, I got to the point.
“Anyway, time to spill. About Cassius Lloyd.”
“Haha, knew you’d ask. Simple story.”
Juras started with the truth of the incident 17 years ago.
“I found your mother first. Couldn’t leave to hide you. By the time I returned, it was all over.”
“All over…?”
“Yes. Everyone massacred except you and that beastkin woman.”
“As expected…!”
Prince Arios was among the dead.
“I thought, this is too boring to end here. So I used Arios’s info to create a spy. Factions craving legitimacy—like the Western peoples—would approach that spy for sure.”
That spy was Cassius Lloyd.
“Special Forces Unit 1, Cuckoo. Als, know how cuckoos lay eggs?”
“Brood parasitism.”
“Right. They lay in other birds’ nests. The hatchling pushes out the host’s chicks and takes over. Gave Cassius that mission.”
“He was so young then. Risk of betrayal later. Lots of variables, no?”
“True. That’s why I hold his mother and sister hostage. Still do.”
“…”
“Why that face?”
“…At least guarantee their lives. For my sake.”
If those hostages were dead, how tragic would Cassius’s life be?
“Ha, Als. Remember Lilia, the girl?”
“Don’t recall.”
“You must’ve missed her. Friend of Melodyana princess and Estelle Diante.”
Hearing that jogged a vague memory. One of the girls at Estelle’s house was named Lilia? Maybe.
“By context, she’s his sister?”
“Yes. Mother’s living comfortably too. Most Special Forces members are. No perks, they wouldn’t follow me.”
Fair enough.
“Anyway. Cassius exceeded expectations infiltrating the West. Turns out he had talent in martial arts and scholarship.”
Let him worm deep into the core.
Even became one of the Three Great Generals, close to Prince Eldric.
“But a slight miscalculation. Eldric tried using Cassius to infiltrate me.”
“That’s why you kept him as a slave!”
“Right. Hilarious, right? Trying to turn my spy against me.”
Cassius under him was useless, so Juras dragged him as a slave to sell to another nation.
If I’d won him in that chess match, Cassius would’ve spied on me.
“When I did that, Eldric panicked at the thought of Cassius suffering elsewhere and bought him himself. Adopted into Byulang’s Lloyd marquisate.”
The rest played out as we saw.
Cassius succeeded in brood parasitism, stealing Ballast’s nest for Crossing.
A 17-year operation. No wonder they fell, with Juras pouring that much into it.
*
*
*
Talking with Juras was honestly enjoyable.
Like being awed by his sharp insight.
But it left a nagging unease. His unique way of speaking.
As if he knew everything.
If it were just talk, fine. But he actually did.
He sipped his tea and said,
“Als, I have something for you.”
“You, gifting me? Rare.”
“Nothing special between us.”
“Between us? Don’t say weird stuff.”
“Heh. Anyway. Take it.”
He handed me a book.
The fourth volume of the magic research journal.
“This…!?”
“You were looking for it, right?”
How’d he know? My thought must’ve shown, as Juras grinned.
“Knew you were into magic from the Kurabel Holy Kingdom ruins visit. And getting Caliper’s king support. King Gares led magic development in Pensilon Empire days. Easy to guess you got magic info from him.”
“Normal people wouldn’t think that far. Where’d you get this?”
“Ballast’s king had it. Cassius handed it over. Made me think Caliper’s king had something similar. Wrong?”
“Quit acting like you know everything!”
The four volumes held by various kings. This fourth was Ballast’s.
I decided to ask Juras about it now.
About destroying Kurabel Holy Kingdom.
When I mentioned the barrier protecting it, Juras nodded.
“So it was magic. Figured it was weird.”
“How’d you break it?”
“Nothing special. Had soldiers check every odd spot and wreck the terrain.”
I was sure it wasn’t easy.
“What do you think of magic?”
“Dunno. Don’t see the need. We’ve done fine without fancy spells.”
“True.”
I didn’t need magic either.
Still, since I had the book, I’d read it.