◈ Episode 282 Unequal Equality (1)
A dark alley in Lindebrunn.
Although Lindebrunn is a city of tourism and full of beautiful architecture, not all districts are created equal.
The stronger the light, the stronger the shadow.
It’s not comparable to Ledervelk, but sloppy back alleys existed in Lindebrunn.
Leo walked through the alley and stopped in front of a shabby house.
“Write. Whoa.”
After taking a deep breath, I knocked on the door, and a response came as if I had been waiting from the inside.
drooling.
The small sliding window above the iron door opened, revealing a human pupil.
The two pupils looked around, then looked down and found Leo.
rattle!
The sliding window closed, and then the door opened wide.
“You’re a little late.”
He was a man in plain trousers and a cotton shirt.
He looked like an ordinary worker you would see anywhere, but the sharp momentum that subtly radiated from him was far from that of an ordinary worker.
Carl, an intelligence agent belonging to the Liberation Army.
He looked at Leo and nodded.
“Do you want to come inside and talk?”
“I’m busy, just do it here.”
Leo’s blunt reply had many meanings.
From the point of not going into the house, Leo was clearly drawing a line against the other person.
I’m different from you guys.
Carl frowned at the answer.
“You must have ears to hear.”
“Are you afraid I won’t know that you settled down after checking that no one was around here anyway?”
“That was a while ago. The eyes of the Imperial advance guards have been very sharp lately. And today… … .”
“know. Even the Knights of Nightcrawler and Knights of Cold Steel showed up.”
Among them, the Knights of the Nightcrawler were truly a symbol of fear to the liberation army secretly moving in the Empire.
“okay. It’s a dangerous situation where you could get caught if you don’t do it right.”
“You know that, so you must have called me separately. It’s because I’m the only one you guys infiltrated as a student in Seorn. That’s why I’m sure you won’t get caught.”
“… … .”
At Leo’s words, Carl twitched his lips.
There was not a single word wrong.
“If you argue here, it’s just wasting time. If you really want to finish quickly, tell me quickly.”
“… … What is the route of the three students?”
“What do you do knowing that?”
“The plan will proceed as scheduled.”
“what?”
Leo raised an eyebrow.
“Did you go crazy? To proceed with the plan in the current situation.”
“Are you crazy? No, this is a noble act.”
“A noble act? What on earth is noble about attaching a bomb and rushing to self-destruct?”
“If we eliminate one ruler with our lives, countless compatriots can live comfortably.”
“Do you think life in the world revolves around such a comfortable arithmetic game?”
Leo stared at him and argued, but Carl’s expression did not change as he was genuinely proud of his actions.
Leo has already had a headache.
It was because he realized that no matter how much he persuaded him, it wouldn’t work.
“… … The Knights of Nightcrawler and the Knights of Cold Steel are everywhere now. Even if you hide and plan for the future, you’re going to force it here when it’s not enough?”
“So now is not the time. The enemies will want us to take care of themselves and hide, but if we go the opposite way, they will be embarrassed.”
“No matter what it is, the opponents are those who have been named among the 3 major knights of the empire. Truly elite power. Do you think they’ll be surprised and embarrassed by just that much? Wake.”
Leo had to stop this madness.
To be honest, Leo didn’t care too much about how many liberators died.
In fact, there was no way that camaraderie could arise from the position of being half-forced to receive a label for the Liberation Army.
However, if they go ahead with their plans blindly, then Leo will not be able to see others as well.
There are knights everywhere, but they are terrorizing?
Of course, the scale of the damage will be much smaller than originally planned.
However, it could not be said that there was no damage at all.
And if you think that Aidan, Tacy, and Iona are mixed in among the deaths that happen.
Leo will never be able to forgive himself for the rest of his life.
But I couldn’t appeal to friendship here to stop bullying my friends.
There are some things that the original personality can’t say such words, but the reason why the person in front of me is a person who doesn’t work at all with such persuasion.
“Besides, now the students are with their mentors.”
“It’s the perfect goal for a mentor.”
“I’m saying this because you don’t know what, but there are a lot of mentors who are 5th tier mages. And even this time, the greatest number of 6th tier wizards ever gathered. Each one of them is a Lexarer-class wizard worthy of a strategic weapon. Surely you wouldn’t say you don’t know their powers?”
“… … .”
For the first time, Carl stayed silent instead of refuting Leo’s words.
No matter how noble they say they fight, it’s because it’s outside the standard that there’s even a 6th tier wizard.
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Leo rushed because he wanted this time.
“Their [Silence of Fire] alone will render your explosives useless. In the first place, this is called hitting a rock with an egg. So just don’t do anything for now… … .”
“No, force it.”
Leo frowned at Carl’s stern words.
“What did you hear me say now?”
“I heard you right. But this is not my decision to make in the first place. It has already been decided from above that it will be enforced. So please cooperate.”
“what? Do not be ridiculous! Do you think I will follow you?”
“You should do it for the sake of your family.”
“… … .”
Leo fell silent at Carl’s words.
“I know you are uncooperative with us. But you should know that. Your family’s well-being depends on who it is.”
Awesome.
Leo gritted his teeth and glared at the knife.
However, Carl did not show any regret or guilt towards Leo.
As if he had done what he had to do, he was even feeling proud of his actions.
“… … You’re committing something like that by jumping into a fire pit in the first place?”
“We have that much power and ability.”
“this… … .”
The moment you try to say crazy people.
Leo suddenly felt something and shut his mouth.
“Anyway, the story ends here. The operation will proceed as planned. So go ahead and spit out the information.”
“for a moment. I don’t know all the routes of those who have already scattered.”
Leo said it was difficult to answer, citing practical limitations.
It was an ulterior motive to somehow pass the time.
Carl, who could not have known what was inside, looked at Leo with a sneer.
“Leo. Did you think in the first place that we had nowhere else to turn except for the information you gave us?”
“what?”
“From the start, you were not the main intelligence agent.”
Leo widened his eyes at those words.
The sword grinned as he saw Leo clenching his teeth in shock.
“Of course you’re great as an intelligence agent, but you don’t completely trust us to say things you can’t do properly.”
“you… … !”
“Well, if you want to report it, you can do it. But I don’t know if people will believe you. Rather, there is a high possibility that they will be regarded as one of us.”
Carl said that and giggled.
“Above all, we can’t guarantee the safety of your family, so shouldn’t we follow it even if we don’t like it?”
“… … .”
“Then let’s go. I trust you will know what will happen if you move freely.”
Carl said and slammed the door.
Leo, who was left alone, stared at the door, then trudged to his place.
Leo’s head got complicated.
If you don’t listen to them, your family is in danger.
However, if you go on like this, you will endanger your life and the lives of your friends.
‘No matter how much the Liberation Army is mad with hatred, they’re not the type to blindly run into impossible things. From that confident response, it’s clear that there’s something I don’t know.’
Leo realized again.
That he was abandoned, unable to properly belong to either Ceorn or the Liberation Army.
Leo thought of himself as something floating on the water.
Even if you have the will, you don’t even have the strength to move.
There is no choice but to be swept away by the flow.
such a float.
‘I am… … .’
How powerlessly did he walk?
Leo stopped walking when he saw the person standing in front of him.
“… … Leo.”
“Aidan?”
Leo, who was about to ask what was going on here, was speechless the moment he saw Aidan’s expression.
There was no smile on his friend’s face, who always smiled innocently.
Rather, there was only a gaze of shock and concern mixed in this direction.
Leo realized.
That Aidan had revealed his identity and his current situation.
* * *
“So what are you going to do now? Seniors.”
“Let’s get rid of that senior.”
Rudger spoke with a straight face to Pasius, who called him by a strange title.
Pasius nodded in agreement.
The two people from the imperial family were talking while walking on the street.
“haha. sorry. Still, since he was a person from my previous generation, I was so curious about it that I couldn’t stand it.”
“… … It’s strange that the Royal Guard is in charge of dirty work.”
Usually at the level of the Royal Guard, they move for loyalty, but even so, they have the honor as knights.
To them, sword skills were also skills, but chivalry was also important to them.
This was the reason why Terryna Lionhowl turned down the position even though she had the skills to enter the Royal Guard.
As the leader of the Nightcrawler Knights, she did something unsuitable as a knight.
It was to prevent the mud from tarnishing the name of the Royal Guard.
I did, but I never thought the princess’ shadow dagger would be the royal guard.
It would have been a surprise if the other knights found out.
“So I keep it a secret. It’s something only the princess and I know about.”
“Now I know too.”
“Aren’t we on the same boat anyway? And since he was a swordsman in my previous generation, it’s okay to call him a stranger.”
“Still, I hope you don’t call me senior and just call me like before.”
“Ah, the shy type?”
“… … .”
“All right. I’ll end the joke here.”
Ludger, who had been glaring at him with a serious expression, shook his head at the sight.
“So, Mr. Rudger. What are you going to do now? Are you going to go underground right away?”
“I don’t have a hobby of picking beehives for nothing. Unless we know what they have prepared below, we will be the only ones who will see blood if we go in first.”
“That too.”
“You just have to wait. My men are scrambling to find out.”
“Are you okay? I don’t know what lies down there, and I don’t think sending my men will put my mind at ease.”
“Well, it would be if we sent ordinary people.”
With that one word, Rudger revealed the competence of his subordinates and his firm trust in them.
Having said that, Pasius didn’t dig any deeper than that.
“Then are you going to stay still right now?”
“… … .”
Upon receiving that question, Ludger stared at Pasius.
Pasius asked with an awkward smile.
“haha. What did I say wrong?”
“I want you to stop knowingly and deliberately thinking about it.”
“Ah, dear.”
Pasius shrugged his shoulders at the thought of being caught.
“To give you the answer Sir Pasius wants, I plan to wander around the capital for now. The places they will be targeting are usually places where students go around. If you search around there, you will find something.”
“I agree. Not all of them are underground. Somewhere in the city, there must still be those who bring the news.”
“yes. However, since the Knights of Nightcrawler and Knights of Cold Steel are on the move, they must be as careful as possible.”
“Then it will be hard to find.”
“If that side is as careful as possible, this side should look for it as carefully as possible.”
It wasn’t as easy as it sounds, but when Rudger said that, Pasius felt a strange sense of trust.
‘Hmm. After all, isn’t the princess the one who pointed out a fortune for nothing?’
Seven years ago, Pasius was not a member of the Royal Guard.
I had some talent, but there were times when I was conceited.
But later, when he heard the news of the coup and learned that the imperial family he was trying to protect was in danger.
I was shocked by the fact that the Guardian Knights did not know anything even though the crisis of the country was right around the corner.
And what is even more surprising is that it was the first princess Eileen, not the incompetent emperor of the time, who solved this coup.
A beautiful but delicate woman who had no support base of her own, escaped from the imperial family and traveled outside to save the empire from danger.
At that moment, Pasius decided to pledge his allegiance to Eileen von Exilion.
At the end of such efforts, he was able to rise to the position of the Royal Guard and became the right-hand man of the 1st Princess.
Aileen also trusted Pasius, and that’s why he told the truth of the day.
About a man who was helped when he solved the coup.
About a man who could get all the glory and yet faded into a dark shadow.
And now.
Pasius was walking down the street with a person he had only heard about.
He said that he didn’t know what the world would be like, and he really sympathized with me.
At that moment, Rudger suddenly stopped, and Pasius had to reflexively stop as well.
“Is there a problem? Mr. Rudger?”
Pasius asked, but Ludger did not answer.
He just stared straight ahead in silence, and Pasius, too, was curious and turned his head to where the gaze was heading.
and could see
Students and a mentor coming towards us from the other side of the street.
Casey Selmore.
When she spotted Rudger standing across the street, she stopped.
Complex emotions swirled violently on her face.
