Extra in a Romance Fantasy

chapter 152



152 – War (9)

Bang!

With a loud noise, the chair was flung back.

It was the man, Allen, who had violently stood up from his seat.

His expression was terrifyingly rigid.

“…What the.”

The carefully crafted plan.

The war that was finally supposed to realize his dream.

It was flowing in a direction far beyond his expectations.

Originally, the two empires were supposed to raise their spears against each other here, and with that, a war that would scorch the continent should have begun.

However, suddenly, the armies of both empires began to attack not the enemy, but their own allies.

That was certainly not something that had been planned.

Yet, if it had only been that, the man would not have shown such a violent reaction.

The real problem was the identity of those being attacked.

The man recognized them. They were those planted by the Order, those under the Order’s influence.

Something.

Something was going wrong.

And it was serious.

It was at that moment that the thought crossed his mind.

“I apologize…! We are receiving simultaneous reports of attacks from those planted in Elbrent and Rainberg…!”

His loyal subordinate, the Shadow, appeared and reported urgently.

It was the first time the Shadow had shown such urgency, and the first time he had appeared so suddenly without even observing formalities.

“…….”

However, there was no room to pay attention to such a display.

The information the Shadow brought was far more important to him at that moment.

He felt as if he had been struck from behind.

And only then did he understand everything.

“…So this was the plan from the beginning.”

The two empires, Estelle and Kairn, had never intended to wage war from the start.

Rather, under the pretext of preparing for war, they had gathered their forces, consolidating their power as much as possible, and then, taking advantage of the chaos within the empire caused by the news of war, they had found the hidden forces of the Order.

And now, at this moment, they began to eradicate those forces in one fell swoop.

But that was not the end of it.

Allen was still maintaining the magic that surveyed the plains.

And in the images that magic revealed, it was visible.

The armies of both empires had begun their advance toward Ferdion.

In this situation, it was not difficult to guess their intentions.

They were coming here, towards the Academy.

Perhaps, knowing that they were here.

“…Ha.”

The man could only let out a hollow laugh.

He had been perfectly blindsided.

He had been completely played by Estelle and Kairn.

“…Master.”

The voice of the shadow was heard.

A voice that usually revealed no emotion was unable to hide its tremor.

He knew as well.

How dangerous this situation was.

How much the order was facing a crisis.

“…What will you do?”

The shadow asked the man.

The slight quiver in that voice was barely perceptible, but the man recognized it.

He understood that a deep sense of despair had already settled in the shadow’s heart.

It was not impossible to escape from that military force.

Perhaps the shadow knew that too.

However.

Even if they fled, it would be a problem.

Though they had lost a great power, the order still had its strength.

Yet, that alone would make it difficult to pursue great ambitions, and if the situation continued like this, it would be hard to rebuild their forces.

The Empire, having noticed the existence of the order, would never allow Estelle and Kairn to quietly watch as the order regained its strength.

Having eliminated internal enemies and seized greater power, they would wield the sword of absolute authority to completely uproot the order.

While a considerable amount of the order’s influence still remained in other kingdoms, if Estelle and Kairn joined forces to actively oppose the order, there would be no future.

The shadow was well aware of this, which was why it reacted this way.

The man was no different.

He could not have been unaware of that fact.

Thus, he felt a momentary sense of despair, as if the path ahead had become completely blocked.

Originally, this should not have happened.

He must have read the future in advance, avoiding this situation and preparing for it.

But the man did not read the future.

No, he ‘could not’ read the future.

However, he was not overly worried.

Given the circumstances, he thought it was impossible for war not to break out.

But then.

The situation had turned out this way.

His expectations were off; war did not occur, and instead, the order found itself cornered.

It could truly be said to be a situation of utter despair.

Yet.

“…Not yet.”

The man did not collapse.

“…Not yet, it’s not over.”

With eyes wide open, he glared at Estelle, Kairn, and Wade on the screen.

Eventually, he left the room.

*

To catch a bug, one must be thorough.

As those words echoed, I saw Estelle’s gaze shift toward Ferdion, and I realized.

What that meant.

“…Is it at the Academy?”

Perhaps the head of the order, or someone of equal standing, might be at the Academy.

That was the moment the thought crossed my mind.

“No. I don’t know.”

Estelle returned an answer that was far beyond my expectations.

“…What?”

At that response, I could not help but ask back in disbelief.

You don’t know? What does that even mean?

“I don’t know if their leader is there.”

“…….”

In the utterly calm tone of her voice, I found myself at a loss for words, silently staring at Estelle.

“Ho ho. To make such a face at me. How utterly cheeky.”

Estelle looked at me with a playful smile.

At that smile, I subtly averted my gaze.

Estelle, in that state, quietly observed me for a moment before continuing.

“I’ve succeeded in filtering out the forces of those who have infiltrated Rainberg and Elbrent. And I’ve also managed to gather information on them. However… I could hardly obtain any information about their leader. Not even their gender, age, or any trivial detail.”

“…….”

It didn’t seem strange to me.

After all, the cult was an enigmatic organization whose existence had not been revealed to the world until this situation arose.

The fact that no one had known of their existence despite their considerable power meant they were thoroughly controlling their traces and information.

If they were the leaders of such a group, obtaining information would not be an easy task.

“So, I decided to change my approach.”

Estelle wore a confident smile.

“If we don’t know where they are, let’s draw them out.”

At those words, a single word flashed through my mind.

“…Bait.”

She had said it.

This situation was bait.

At first, I thought it was a term used to reveal the forces of the cult hidden within the Empire, but that wasn’t it.

This was bait aimed at something higher.

“Given their actions, it’s clear they wouldn’t miss the moment their purpose is achieved, especially since they seem to desire war.”

“…….”

“Moreover, the circumstances suggest that they hold the Academy in quite high regard. While I may not know about the leader, I calculated that there must be at least one high-ranking official.”

“…I see.”

I couldn’t help but admire it.

Not only had they perfectly deceived a cult with immense power, but they had also managed to root out everyone influenced by the cult, ultimately cornering the organization itself.

“This much is nothing special.”

Estelle beamed with pride.

“…or at least, I’d like to say that.”

However, there was a caveat.

“It’s not something we accomplished solely through my and Kairn La Elbrent’s own efforts.”

“Y-Yes…? Then…?”

It wasn’t something accomplished solely by my own strength.

Does that mean there were other collaborators?

I looked at her with a puzzled gaze.

“There are those who provided the information. They suddenly appeared and… leaked information about the cult.”

“……!”

Those who provided information about the cult.

“At first, I doubted the authenticity of the information… but upon checking, it turned out to be quite accurate.”

“…….”

A face popped into my mind at Estelle’s words.

None other than Johanna’s face.

“However, that doesn’t mean we collaborated. The other party is an unknown group, and there was a risk of information leaking about our operation if we recklessly joined forces, so we merely used the information they threw at us. Well… I suppose it was helpful in its own way.”

As I listened to Estelle, I recalled something that had happened not long ago.

The conversation I had with Johanna inside the hero’s tomb.

The moment Johanna had proposed collaboration to me.

My response back then had been a sort of ‘pending.’

It was true that the offer was tempting from my standpoint, but trusting Johanna completely and collaborating with that group in that situation felt like a stretch.

However, it was also true that my own strength was insufficient to fight against the colossal enemy that was the cult.

In the end, I presented conditions to Johanna.

I couldn’t trust them right away, so I would observe the situation.

I asked her to show me proof that they were enemies of the cult.

If that was proven, I would collaborate with them.

Johanna accepted that request.

And she provided me with a means to contact her separately.

Through that means, she said she would provide not only information about the cult but also full support if I reached out to her.

Shortly after, rumors of war reached me, and I couldn’t make contact, but I had originally intended to reach out to Johanna immediately.

However.

Now it seemed there was no need for that.

Johanna’s, and the group she belonged to, purpose was now on the verge of being achieved.

Feeling a strange sentiment about that fact, I quietly followed the army advancing toward Ferdion.

A thought suddenly crossed my mind.

“…But if it was going to be like this, was it really necessary for you to scold me like that?”

Kairn outright denied my words, which were meant to persuade him to prevent the war.

And he did so thoroughly.

At that moment, I felt a deep sense of despair, thinking that persuading him with words would be impossible. But now, reflecting on it, I didn’t see it as a necessary procedure.

So why did Kairn go so far as to scold me?

With that question in mind, I looked at Kairn.

“…….”

However, Kairn didn’t even glance my way, as if he couldn’t hear my words at all.

“Indeed, it was an unnecessary procedure. It was rather excessive. As for why he did that… I can’t say for sure.”

Listening to Estelle’s words, I shot a look of disbelief at the back of Kairn’s head, but he didn’t turn around.

For a while, my gaze, which had been fixed on Kairn’s back, eventually darted toward Estelle.

“…Your Highness, you could have intervened instead of just watching.”

Estelle was someone who could easily cut off the situation if she wanted to.

Yet, she merely watched as I was mercilessly crushed.

Feeling a twinge of disappointment at that fact, I looked at her.

But Estelle smiled back at me, as if to say she found my gaze amusing.

“I was a bit annoyed with you for not contacting me at all while you’re still alive. I thought I’d have a little fun.”

“…….”

Her words left me with no choice but to fall silent.

There was a clear reason for it, but it was also true that Estelle had been worried about me, suffering in silence.

I could easily guess that just by observing her agitation when I revealed my identity.

Having run out of words, I closed my mouth and quietly followed the army.

If it were true that there was a head of the academy or someone of equivalent status, this military force was an unavoidable move.

With such a large army, they could easily encircle the academy, ensuring that not a single ant could escape.

Once they perfectly sealed off the academy and began a thorough investigation, that would be the end of it.

No one would be able to leave the academy, and gradually, their breathing would become constricted.

Even if the investigation was somewhat coercive, the academy and those within it would not protest.

After all, they were up against two empires.

In the end, even if they chose to escape using force, there was no need for concern.

At that moment, the full might of the empire would chase after him, and I too would pursue him with all my strength.

Thus, this was an endlessly crude yet powerful move.

I hoped that with this, everything could come to a conclusion, and finally, I had reached the academy alongside the army.

Kuwung—

With a tremendous roar.

Suddenly, vibrations began to stir.

“What…?”

It was a violent tremor that could not simply be ignored.

Because of this, everyone showed signs of confusion.

“Th-That…!”

At that moment, someone shouted and pointed a finger at the sky.

Everyone turned their gaze upward, following that finger…

And saw.

Countless cracks beginning to form in the sky.

And then.

Kruk—

Krrr—

From within, figures began to emerge, creatures of an unfathomable number.

“What is… happening…?”

Listening to the multitude of voices filled with shock, I was certain.

Something extraordinary was unfolding.


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