Chapter: 346
I sat alone in the pastry club room, staring blankly out the window at the sky. Maybe it was because of the storm of events that had piled up one after another, but my head was a mess and throbbed incessantly. Honestly, I felt like sleeping for three straight days.
— If a person sleeps that long, they’ll just wither away.
The voice piercing directly into my head was driving me to the brink of madness.
‘It’s just a thought I had. I can’t sleep like that anyway.’
— Oh? Then I’m relieved.
I let out a small sigh at the calm voice of the woman—the voice of the Eternal Azure Sky.
It wasn’t the first time the Eternal Azure Sky whispered in my head. Just after relocating her dwelling from my body to the World Tree (which was supposed to evolve), she did the same thing. Of course, a few days later, the remnants of the deity that lingered in my body disappeared, and I thought that was the end of my connection with her.
Until I realized my precious weapon had… weirdly evolved.
‘This wasn’t the kind of evolution I wanted.’
I looked down at the sword hanging at my waist with a bitter expression. The sturdy, well-loved sword had unexpectedly transformed into a divine artifact.
But thinking it through, the evolution made sense. I mean, the spear used to confirm Jesus’ death became known as Longinus’ Spear, treated as a holy relic. But my sword? It wasn’t confirming deaths; it was leading to them! A blade that directly cut an apostle and was stained with blood—what a crazy thing!
I had let that sword sit around for three years without any purification or actions, so it was only natural for it to evolve into something linked with the Eternal Azure Sky.
— Oh? Huh? What is this? How come I’ve never seen this before?
It’s strange that the actual deity didn’t even know about it. Is this some Schrödinger cat situation where you can’t know until you observe it?
— But you’re really giving me a divine artifact, right? You’re sure you’ll give it to me once your business is done?
‘I already mentioned I’d give it first. I won’t lie.’
Amidst everything, I casually responded to the Eternal Azure Sky, who had repeated her question for the umpteenth time.
I felt a bit sorry about handing over my precious weapon, but knowing it was drenched in Kagan’s blood made me uncomfortable carrying it around. Not to mention, if I returned the divine artifact to the Eternal Azure Sky, wouldn’t that speed up the World Tree’s evolution? Giving it up seemed more beneficial than keeping it.
I attached a condition that I’d only give it after my business was finished. But considering I’d receive something for free that I thought was lost, I couldn’t complain about that.
— Hehe, I’m sorry. I haven’t seen a divine artifact in ages, so I got kind of excited.
Once I got a confirmed assurance about the artifact, the Eternal Azure Sky’s voice was filled with glee. It’s not like her voice was annoying because she’s a deity or anything—but—
‘By the way, I have a question.’
— Oh? What is it?
‘Why do you, the one at the World Tree, keep talking to me? There are elves and fairies nearby, you know.’
Since earlier, I had been harboring this fundamental question, and the Eternal Azure Sky suddenly fell silent.
But it’s really strange, isn’t it? She’s not homeless, so why cling to me? At first, I thought she was just enamored with the divine artifact, but even after hearing my assurance, she still speaks to me.
— The others are tired.
‘Huh?’
The answer I got back was unexpected.
— I appreciate the support, but I’m super tired. I’m interrupted every hour with greetings and branches, and it’s driving me nuts.
I slightly bowed my head at the heartfelt exhaustion pouring out of her words.
— Especially the fairies—they don’t stop chattering. How does Constantina manage to take care of them…?
For some reason, this divine presence sounded like an aunt who ran away from annoying nieces and nephews.
The mood at the academy recently has not been good. To be precise, it started going downhill from the day the Emperor issued a summons.
The summons involved Prince Ainter and the Principal, who was treated as an upper management-level person, so the news spread quickly across the academy. It was unavoidable for everyone to notice that both the Prince and the Principal left hastily during regular class hours.
Crucially, the Emperor had also shaken down the nobles’ private armies and military supplies, which meant even the noble students had to hear about the declaration of war. It would be weirder if they didn’t know when their families were jumping into war preparations.
“Oppa, do you really have to go? You’re already busy with academy matters. Can’t someone else go instead…?”
And the pastry club wasn’t much different.
No, it was actually worse. With Ainter and Marcilio having to attend the summons, along with me being decided to go to war, this lineup was enough to make anyone’s heart race. Even Irina, our guest, was the daughter of Count Flanbell, who was also among the summoned. Talk about a star-studded cast.
Because of that, I’ve been suffering under tearful persuasion since the summons. In the President’s office, it was Marghetta; in the club room, it was Louise and Irina.
At least Marcilio, who knew my involvement was the Emperor’s will, remained silent. But even he looked at me with pity in his eyes.
“Don’t worry! I’m just joining as the Executive Manager. I should be at the headquarters most of the time, so I won’t really have to fight.”
In any case, I kept soothing everyone with the same words each time this persuasion circus came around.
And it wasn’t annoying at all, even if I had to hear the same thing multiple times a day. They said it out of concern for me, so how could I find it bothersome? I just felt grateful and a little guilty.
“I’m not going as combat personnel. When there are a lot of troops, various things can happen, so I’ll just be going to check things out.”
Of course, that was a lie. The Emperor who handed over both a title and a territory to send me to war surely wasn’t just looking for a non-combat role. While it wasn’t a direct command to fight on the front lines, I probably had to act as a joker who could be thrown in during emergencies. That’s precisely what I wanted as well.
But I couldn’t say it straightforwardly. They’d freak out just hearing I was going to war; what would happen if I told them I might actually fight? Their reactions would clearly be fainting or bawling.
— A little white lie.
There shouldn’t be any hiding between lovers, but this was an act of kindness for my lover’s mental stability. In life, a little white lie is sometimes necessary.
I believed that.
“But going north is a problem in itself…”
Louise murmured almost with tears in her voice, and I gently ruffled her hair.
The other lovers, including Louise, weren’t just worried because war was dangerous. They knew what I had gone through during the last hunting war.
But what can I do? The reason Louise was worried was also the reason I wanted to head north again. This was also something I couldn’t openly share, so I kept quiet about it.
“I’m really okay now, so don’t worry. If I didn’t want to go, I would have just said so!”
That statement might sound like she was heading towards treason in the presence of a prince, but I had to say something to soothe Louise and Irina, who were quietly listening.
In the first place, Ainter was just silent while figuring out Louise’s feelings, so it wasn’t a strong message of me not wanting to go either.
“And I got a title now. I have something to pass down to my child—”
“Oppa!”
Louise shrieked while Irina’s eyes sharpened.
Crap! That was a mistake. It felt like I was almost past the point of no return when I just scored an own goal.
But isn’t passing down a title a good thing?
After the club time ended, I only realized my mistake after hearing Erich’s advice.
“If you mention passing something down in that situation, it gives the vibe you’re going to die in war.”
“Oh.”
That made instant sense. It was enough to justify being mad about the death flag.
“And just in case, don’t say things like, ‘Let’s get married after the war is over.’ Lately, Louise and Irina have become really sensitive.”
I nodded silently at the sincere advice. I should cancel my plans to discuss marriage with Marghetta tomorrow or the day after. If Baron Valenti’s treasure cries, I’d first spar with the Steel Blood Duke.
“And, Brother.”
Just when I was going to express my gratitude to Erich for giving me valuable advice, he opened his mouth again.
“I’d prefer if you didn’t participate in the war, but if you must go, I think you should stop by the territory first.”
I patted Erich’s shoulder at his words.
Right, I should definitely go. Before leaving, it would be right to pay my respects to the Patriarch and Mother.
“I’ll make sure to go before the war starts. Thanks for telling me.”
At my response, Erich’s expression turned a little mysterious.
“I think you should go as soon as possible.”
“Huh?”
That was a strange response. Wasn’t he just saying that I should go before the war?
“…Mother collapsed.”
My hand, which was patting his shoulder, froze.
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