Chapter 303 - IMPERIAL CAPITAL (2)

Terms used in this chapter:

Mind map – a diagram used to visually organize information such as ideas and concepts. It is based on a central idea, and branches out into different ideas and concepts.

The group couldn’t stay long in Kaplan’s house because they were in a rush.

Two hours after Leon and Lucas battled it out to understand each other’s skills, the group immediately packed up and left Kaplan’s house.

“I’ll be going then. See you at the Imperial Capital Academy.”

As Kaplan chuckled and said, Kajsa tilted her head.

She didn’t understand on whether Kaplan had a different destination or why they had to go separately when their final destination was the imperial capital.

‘Is he afraid of attracting attention if we go as a full group?’

Kajsa tried to think of a possible reason, but shook her head.

If that was the case, they could just split the group into two or three rather than letting Kaplan go alone.

They already had a lot of people, so it didn’t matter if a dwarf joined them.

Lucas also tilted his head as if he had a similar thought as Kajsa, but not for Jude and Cordelia.

Jude awkwardly smiled while Cordelia pursed her lips inwards as she looked apologetic.

“It’ll be bad if something happens on the way. We’ll see him later.”

They were in the empire and not in the wild lands where they could randomly meet monsters whenever and wherever, but that did not mean that Kaplan’s “ability” wouldn’t be in effect.

There was a possibility of minor accidents on the way to the imperial capital, so it was better to go separately.

“But don’t you think his expression looks better than before? He’s no longer hunching his shoulders.”

“Yeah, I think so too.”

It seemed like the various events in the wild lands had a positive effect on Kaplan.

Jude and Cordelia stood still for a while and watched the back of Kaplan who had gone ahead. They both recalled their time in the wild lands.

Back then, Kaplan took the lead and they followed his back.

They also fished for named monsters.

The memories the three shared together were quite warm.

‘Uh… I don’t think it was to the point of warm though?’

Anyway, good things were good.

After having sent Kaplan away first, the group prepared for their journey to the imperial capital.

It was only within the imperial capital where the coup actually happened, and the place had become chaotic due to the border blockade, but that did not mean that martial law was imposed on the entire empire.

Therefore, they thought it would be best to just ride a carriage just like how they came from Asain Pass to here in Manaple.

“Well… how about we disguise ourselves a bit just in case?”

Unlike Jude and his group who were originally foreigners, Leon and Sarah were Royal Knights so it was hard for them to openly move around.

In Leon’s case, he was famous enough that even Kirara who had only lived in the empire for a year knew him.

“I don’t think we need a complete transformation, so let’s just change it a bit.”

At the time when Cordelia said so and raised Moonlight.

[I agree. Even a slight change in hair or skin color can make a big difference in one’s impression. Especially in humans who look completely different if their facial features differed by a few millimeters.]

Melissa’s remarks were rather sudden, but it somehow sounded desperate.

Her explanation was quite long too.

“Uh, yes.”

Cordelia briefly replied and swung Moonlight to activate her magic despite Melissa wanting to talk more.

As she herself declared, it was a magic that partially changed one’s looks.

She learned the spell from the witch, and it was a magic for disguise.

“Oh, this is nice.”

Kajsa smiled in contentment as her black hair became blonde, and Lucas who likewise became blonde was also pleased.

T/N: I think this is a mistake by the author. Lucas had been first described as blonde in episode 23, so I don’t understand why he became ‘blonde’ here when he’s already blonde in the first place. Maybe his hair turned into a lighter or darker shade of blonde?

‘Hehe, they’re a nice pair.’

Having satisfied her self-interest, Cordelia continued to use her magic and turned her reddish pink hair into black hair. She then turned Jude’s black hair into a gorgeous platinum blonde hair, and Kirara’s black hair into silver hair.

‘As I thought, it looks good on him.’

Jude with gorgeous platinum blonde hair.

If the previous Jude was like a black gem that seemed to absorb light, the current Jude was like a brilliantly shining diamond.

One could say that he looked like a male protagonist from a romance manhwa. If it belonged to the fantasy genre, he would either be a prince or a duke.

Cordelia did all that to satisfy her own interests, but it didn’t change the fact that the disguise was necessary.

So she looked back at Leon and Sarah, asking.

“Will you allow me to cast magic on you two?”

“It’s fine with me. What about you, Sarah?”

“Okay.”

Leon agreed without any hesitation perhaps because he saw the group’s hair change right in front of him.

Sarah carefully took off the helmet she had been wearing since they first met, and Kajsa was amazed at that moment.

“Ooooh.”

Sarah’s hair was pink.

Her hair wasn’t long as she was a knight, but the pink color really stood out because of her short and luxuriant hair.

Moreover, as a playable character, Sarah was beautiful and also had a very innocent look.

So when that combined with her pink hair, one wouldn’t think that she was a knight when they saw her face.

“Woah…”

When Lucas saw Sarah’s face and unconsciously exclaimed in awe, Kajsa instantly reacted. Her eyes slightly turned sharp and she nudged Lucas by the side as she jokingly asked.

“What is this? Does my Lucas like innocent-looking older women?”

“N-no. It’s not like that…”

Lucas stuttered, so Kajsa frowned and nudged him even more to the side. And Cordelia brightly smiled at the sight.

[Jude, Jude. What do you think? There’s a possibility for the two, right?]

[Yes, anyway, do it quickly. Sarah is embarrassed.]

Sarah usually wore a helmet due to her shyness, so she was at a loss on what to do when she saw the ‘quarrel’ in front of her.

“Umm, let’s do this.”

[I think brown would be nice.]

Melissa interrupted once more, and Cordelia nodded before turning Sarah’s hair color into brown.

Because Cordelia wanted to heed Melissa who had expressed her opinion after a long time.

‘Leon has bluish black hair so red hair would be better.’

Their purpose was to drastically change their image after all.

The hair color of everyone in the group changed, and Cordelia also cast magic that lightly obscured one’s facial features.

“Wow…”

Kirara blankly stared as she watched the appearance change of the group and her eyes sparkled again.

‘My master is really amazing! She’s a god!’

She wasn’t surprised by the disguise magic itself.

She was surprised that Cordelia could also use disguise magic.

It was easy for ordinary people to mistake wizards for being good at everything, but even wizards had their own specialties.

Like those who specialized in attack magic, auxiliary magic, and recovery magic.

But while traveling for the past few days, it seemed like there was no magic that Cordelia couldn’t cast.

Based on Kajsa’s story, she was a wizard who specialized in attack magic, but she could also use recovery magic and knew how to use magic to disguise themselves. She even summoned a spirit.

And she was also skillful in using various auxiliary magic, so she was close to an all-around wizard.

“Ahem, ahem, that’s my Cordelia.”

Jude said when he sensed Kirara’s gaze, and Cordelia blushed as she lightly pulled Jude’s sleeve and said.

“Why do you look embarrassed? This is nothing.”

“Yes, yes. Let’s stop here. You two are going to exchange glances and go flirting with each other again.”

Kajsa said as she blocked the unnecessary skinship in advance by pulling Cordelia’s arm, and then immediately said to the group.

“Okay, everyone. Let’s go!”

[That’s a good idea.]

“Let’s go.”

With Melissa and Lucas agreeing, the group hurriedly left Manaple.

***

The journey to the imperial capital was surprisingly smooth.

As they had expected, martial law had not yet been imposed in some places, but there was one more basic reason.

‘It’s money.’

It was true.

Money.

There was a lot of money here.

A border blockade had been issued and it had only been a week since then, but the kingdom’s gold coins were still in circulation within the empire.

Because what mattered in the first place was the gold itself rather than the face of the person embedded on it.

Unlike modern currencies where the societal value was more important than the materials used in the currency, the value of money itself was important in civilizations that used gold or silver coins like in Pleiades.

Gold and silver coins were literally made of gold and silver.

In any case, Jude and Cordelia were rich so they used their wealth in the empire too.

Two sturdy and costly carriages.

Two skilled coachmen who would lead the group to the imperial capital.

Tolls to pay on the way and a few bribes to shove in moderation.

There was nothing to worry about at this point. It was only a matter of getting into the carriage and going out when the time to eat came.

Therefore, Jude made up the most of this time.

He closed his eyes and meditated, suppressing his desire to travel leisurely with Cordelia.

He recalled the topic that Valencia gave.

The reason why he was fighting.

Why he had the will to fight.

To survive.

That’s the obvious reason.

I want to keep living because I’m alive.

I don’t want to die.

I want to protect my surroundings.

I want to protect Cordelia.

Maja, my father, my older brother, and the count’s people – I want to protect those close to me.

Those were the answers that immediately came to his mind.

But he still felt troubled.

Because he felt like it was too vague.

‘She had raised that topic to help me with my enlightenment.’

The enlightenment needed to open the seventh door of the Ninth Heaven’s Nine Doors.

Valencia seemed to have withdrawn her initial statement of not intervening because Jude was having a hard time figuring it out, so she suggested a topic. Unfortunately, it was not something definite and perceptible.

Because the answers he came up with had very naturally come to his mind.

I want to live because I’m alive.

I want to continue living.

Isn’t this something natural?

Can I really gain enlightenment through this naturalness?

I’m not really being asked to figure out why I’m fighting, but something else – a reason that is much deeper.

‘It would have been better if it was a math problem.’

I don’t know what I’m supposed to think about.

To be honest, I don’t even know what I keep thinking about.

I just keep thinking whatever comes to mind.

My mind map is a disordered mess.

“Haa…”

Jude eventually opened his eyes.

Enlightenment was a very abstract concept to him who relied on calculations to any problems he encountered.

‘Should I cultivate myself to reach enlightenment?’

Jude murmured quietly out of frustration and lowered his gaze. He saw Cordelia leaning on his chest and sleeping soundly, though he didn’t know when she stuck to him. He also saw Kirara slumbering next to Cordelia.

So Jude stroked Cordelia’s head very slowly.

Cordelia leaned a bit more to him as if responding to his touch, and he lightly hugged her before looking out the window.

Four days after they left the academy city of Manaple.

The group arrived at the imperial capital.

***

Elasium, Argon Empire’s capital that was more known as the Imperial Capital, was highly known as the largest city on the continent, but unfortunately, the group did not have the time to tour the imperial capital.

As soon as the group crossed the gates of the imperial capital, they moved to the outskirts instead of admiring the grandeur of the center. They then entered a small commercial building near the slums.

“Leon! Sarah!”

Three knights welcomed the group after the squire guarding the door let them in.

They were all Royal Knights and somewhat familiar to Jude and Cordelia who were rotten waters.

“Where are Hans and Jean?”

“They went out to gather information. They will be back in a little while.”

The one who answered Leon’s question was a big and friendly-looking knight who made them think of a bear.

“Who are these people?”

“Ah, these are the two people of destiny and their companions.”

Leon said and introduced the knights in the room to the group first.

There were two men and one woman named Baine, Meine, and Jaine respectively.

‘How lazy.’

The way these three were named gave the impression that they were just extras.

Jude thought to himself and soon introduced himself along with his group.

“What the Empress Dowager said was true. It’s a relief.”

“I believed from the beginning since what the Empress Dowager says is always right.”

Jaine said with a confident voice at the words of the big knight, Baine.

After all, meeting a person from the kingdom, and not from the empire, in the academy city of Manaple was something truly unrealistic.

‘Heavenly voice.’

A mysterious existence that gave advice to the Empress Dowager.

And he or she might have a deep connection with Crown Princess Daphne of the S?len Kingdom.

“Did anything change while we were gone? Has the Empress Dowager contacted us again?”

At Leon’s question, the knight who appeared to be in his mid-thirties, Meine, answered.

“There are no big changes, but there are a few things we’re concerned about. We’ll talk about it when Hans and Jean return.”

According to what Leon first said, the Imperial Family would be moved in two days from now.

Perhaps because the time was short, the faces of the knights all turned gloomy upon recalling that.

And about an hour later.

When Hans and Jean returned, the meeting began in earnest.

***

[What do you think?]

[A trap?]

Cordelia replied to the question of Jude who nodded.

A trap.

Moving the Imperial Family was highly likely to be a trap.

In fact, he had guessed it when he first heard it from Leon, but he was even more convinced that it was the case when he heard it from Hans and Jean.

‘Is their goal to eradicate the Royal Knights?’

According to Hans and Jean who were holding their breaths now, the ones in this place were not the only active Royal Knights.

All the leaders with the ability to lead the knights, including Knight Commander Galahad, were imprisoned, but like the people here, there were also some knights who escaped the Imperial Palace and were looking for an opportunity.

In Pleiades, the imperial knights of the palace, especially the Royal Knights, had the strength of superhumans so it was very foolish to ignore their numbers even if they were less than ten.

‘Transferring the Imperial Family is bait to attract the Royal Knights.’

Moving the Imperial Family was clearly not just a bait. The current situation was chaotic and the borders had been closed, so if there was really a war after a while, the superpowers of the kingdom led by Kamael would infiltrate the empire.

So before that, they planned to move the Imperial Family to a safer place.

‘The Royal Knights will not let this opportunity go.’

A trap they would willingly jump into.

However, there was still one good thing.

‘The Royal Knights are prepared for it.’

The target of the trap were the Royal Knights. It also restricted superpowers like Galahad, and only targeted those at the level of Leon.

[Lions don’t get caught in mousetraps.]

Cordelia said just then.

She grinned and turned to Jude as though she knew what he was thinking.

A trap prepared for the Royal Knights.

But if what was caught was something more than a Royal Knight, the trap itself would be broken.

[But Cordelia.]

[Yes, Jude.]

[Even lions get caught in mousetraps. Humans get caught too, right?]

[Eh? I-is that so?]

[Yes, it’s true.]

[W-well then… ah, that’s right. Elephants don’t get caught in mousetraps.]

Cordelia quickly corrected her words and said with a slightly elated face, so Jude silently smiled.

And two days later at night.

The operation to rescue the royal family began.