Chapter 213

As Karas reacted with enthusiasm, it only fueled the fire even more, but it was meaningless.

Karas pushed through with a grin like a lone wolf, and the others threw up their hands in surrender.

Though people usually avoid filth, Karas was frightening enough that they felt there was nothing they could do.

“There’s no need for the command center to be stuck in its place, right? If need be, we can just send Sivar.”

“Couldn’t we have sent him earlier? Why put ourselves through this hassle?”

“An uncontrolled power is extremely dangerous. It’s better to use 70% power at a 90% chance than 100% power at a 50% chance.”

“… …”

On top of that, he even made a rather persuasive statement. Karas wasn’t just being unreasonable.

Even Karas, with his wealth of experience, could only reluctantly concede to that point.

As Godin repeatedly mentioned, this test is all about cooperation and communication between us.

No matter how reckless I might be, if the other side takes advantage of the situation, things will undoubtedly go awry.

‘The professors are really serious about this, so they won’t let me fully use my power.’

It’s a kind of dilemma. The more people there are, the less time it takes to conquer.

I need to pay attention to how I distribute personnel and where to put myself.

Three people would be ideal for balance, but there lies another problem.

That problem is communication. Godin told us to come up with a code among ourselves.

‘I only know the common language.’

At this point, having three people would make things quite ambiguous. Plus, the risks are too great.

If even one person goes missing, there’ll be huge issues in relaying commands.

The professors must have devised their own plans.

Maybe Karas considered this and put me in the command center.

‘Though probably not.’

He probably just thought it would be fun. Knowing his personality, that’s for sure.

It’s unbelievable I should care more about our side than the enemy’s. Especially since he’s filled with madness.

How will this practice unfold? Will it go as the professors want, or will an unexpected situation arise?

Soon, there will be an even more important duel, and a ‘brawl’ scheduled, so it might not matter if we coast through this one.

But I’m curious about what Karas will showcase. He’s an unpredictable guy, after all.

“Everyone’s here. Then let’s hold a meeting for tomorrow’s practice.”

Time passed, and it was Thursday afternoon. Just as planned, we held a team meeting.

The venue chosen was a restaurant. Not just any restaurant, but a place where nobles might dine.

You know those tables you see in dramas where nobles gather? We’re having a meeting in a place like that instead of a meal.

‘Did we really have to pick here?’

Karas dragged us here under the guise of a simple tea time.

This was my first time in such a place, so it felt quite awkward in many ways. Not just for me, but for other students too.

“First of all, apart from the common language, it’s impossible to communicate with anyone else. Please raise your hands.”

Under Karas’s leadership, who sat in the most prestigious seat, the meeting began. First, to see who could communicate.

Including me and Kara, five of us raised our hands. The other three were from the Frozen Principality and the bordering nations.

Each team would consist of a total of 14 people, divided equally by nation as Godin explained.

Hence, a proper arrangement of personnel is crucial to relay communications.

And since we need to create a code, the difficulty level is quite high.

“I’ll say it in advance, communication itself shouldn’t be a problem. Because we were told to avoid using written common language, but speaking is allowed.”

“Oh right…”

“We can still talk, huh?”

At Karas’s statement, most showed reactions of realization. I felt the same way.

Godin specifically warned against using only ‘written’ language. But spoken language? Not so much.

If the common language were completely banned, they would have treated it as a single entity. Godin was probably aiming for that.

“Therefore, communicating itself shouldn’t be difficult. However, the commands from the command center will require code.”

“Then, isn’t it unnecessary to put Sivar in the command center?”

One student raised an opinion. Since we could use the common language, it suggested I didn’t need to be there.

It was a pretty valid point, and the other students nodded in agreement. I secretly concurred too.

But it seems Karas thinks differently. With a smiling face, he replied.

“You might think that way. However, what I’m concerned about is not Sivar’s brute force. It’s about the interpretation skills he possesses.”

“Interpretation?”

“You all know about the incident when Sivar cut off his tongue last time.”

As soon as that incident was mentioned, everyone’s eyes turned to me. It was a famously notorious incident.

“At that time, Sivar understood everything, despite it being a language he had never heard before. It’s truly an amazing and surprising ability.”

“Uh… Are you sure about that? Did you just assume that?”

The student who asked had a hint of skepticism in their tone. That’s a normal reaction.

I was the only one who understood. The others likely didn’t grasp what the students had said.

Though they might have been curious, they probably hadn’t fully believed it.

‘It doesn’t matter if I disclose it.’

In the future, they’ll be more cautious with their words around me, and that works in my favor.

In the meantime, Karas made an offer to the skeptical student.

“Then why not check now? Say anything in your native tongue.”

“Um… What’s your name?”

“What’s your name?”

“Huh?”

As I interpreted it without a single mistake, the student opened their eyes wide.

There followed various confirming questions, and I translated each of them into the common language.

“How’s that? Do you believe it now?”

“Well… I trust you, but won’t there be a significant power leak?”

“Is there anyone here who can keep up with Sivar’s tempo? If so, raise your hand with confidence.”

“… …”

Despite everything, it was impressive that no one could keep up with me.

Kara might be able to manage, but that would be pushing it too far. This is a team battle, not an individual match.

“So, in that sense, we plan to utilize Sivar as a joker. He can turn the tide during crucial moments.”

“That might actually be preferable.”

“I get what you’re thinking.”

It seemed Grace and Kara had roughly figured out the strategy Karas was concocting.

What about Luna? Like me, she just blinked and listened.

Being clueless and lacking relevant knowledge, she couldn’t follow the conversation.

“Now then, let’s classify the teams. I will need Sivar and a magician for communication…”

“I’ll do it.”

Grace quickly raised her hand. Karas, seeing that, made a face like he was annoyed.

But there wasn’t anyone more suitable than Grace. She was among the top in our class.

There seemed to be no dissent from the others, suggesting she’d already been earmarked for the command center from the start.

“Great. Then we’ll divide into three teams. Three members in the team where Kara is located would be good.”

“I thought I finally got to be on the same team as Sivar… what a shame.”

Kara grumbled, and teams were formed. Overall, it was a nicely balanced combination.

The team leaders became Kara, Luna, and an unnamed student.

With the teams decided, there was only one thing left.

“Now let’s create a code. Any good ideas?”

“How about using numbers?”

“Rearranging letters isn’t a bad idea either.”

“Doing it in reverse…”

Creating a code that will be handy in the future. In reality, codes are both easy and difficult.

They should be hard for the enemy to decipher while being easy to understand at their core.

And with no machines around, a code with specific rules would have to be the best option.

‘The problem is the enemy isn’t stupid either.’

We’ve been thwarted before, but Antonio also has a sharp mind.

Danyerin, who is likely to lead overall, is no slouch either. She’s destined for the Emperor’s throne someday.

It’s clear that everyone is sharp-minded. A simple code with basic rules will be easily broken.

Creating an entirely new script might be more efficient. But there’s no time for that.

“Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. But these are all ideas they could easily come up with too. Can’t we think of something better?”

“… …”

All the potential methods have been suggested. It’s just a little lacking.

As Karas scanned the faces of his teammates, he turned his gaze to me. The moment we met eyes, I felt an unexplained sense of unease swell up.

“What do you think, Sivar? Got any fun ideas?”

“Uh… I only know the common language.”

It’s not like I’m the right person to ask. Should I teach him Hangul or something?

However, despite my protests, Karas seemed unbothered, replying as if it were not an issue.

“It’s fine. Right now, the most important thing is to voice an opinion. We need to think, even if it’s just for now.”

“Um…”

Sometimes, it feels like I naturally get persuaded by Karas’s words.

Initially, there was fierce opposition, but he used pure logic to suppress it all, didn’t he?

He might be a bit crazy, but he knows how to compromise just right. He’s definitely not lacking in skill.

“Uh… Symbols and sounds?”

I tentatively suggested, glancing around. For reference, the symbols are Hangul, and the sounds are their pronunciations.

“Symbols and sounds? Can you explain a bit more?”

“Sure. What I mean is…”

I did my best to explain with my limited vocabulary.

As soon as I started offering my suggestion, the others listened, intrigued.

It was a bit intimidating, but they seemed to trust me enough, so I continued.

“I mean, pronouncing the common language and replacing it with specific symbols.”

“So you mean using the Matra Empire symbols but making the pronunciation the common language, right?”

“Yep.”

Grace made an accurate analogy. In other words, like this.

Taking “I can speak English” and replacing it with “아이 캔 스피크 잉글리시.”

One might think it sounds too easy, but the key lies precisely in the symbols. The complexity of deciphering a code will depend on which symbols are used.

“The Matra Empire and the Granada Empire symbols will be difficult to use.”

“You mentioned symbols earlier. We can create our own symbols among us.”

“That’s a good idea. It will be complex enough for decoding to be tricky.”

Fortunately, everyone seemed to agree it was a solid suggestion. Though, there’s no chance it would actually get adopted.

As soon as they start to decipher it even a little, the holes would start to appear. But this applies to any code.

“I think Sivar’s suggestion looks the best. What do you all think?”

“?”

Wait. Hold on a minute.

Isn’t this a bit too much praise? Why are you doing this?

While I was internally freaking out, the other students looked at each other.

Seeing no real opposition made it seem like they genuinely believed it. It was completely puzzling for me.

“If we play our cards right, there should be no significant issues in communication. I’m all for it.”

“Me too. I don’t want anything complicated.”

“Then I’ll…”

It’s not like the boss agreeing means all the employees will also agree. What is this?

Or maybe they just found it too bothersome to think and decided to ditch it on me. The pressure weighed heavily on me.

“Good. Now we need to create symbols… Sivar.”

“Uh, why?”

Naturally, I couldn’t expect anything pleasant in response. Seriously, why is he directing everything at me?

Karas, keeping his usual grin, countered my complaints with a sly retort.

“You’re simple-minded, right? Being simple means you can create a simple symbol without thinking too hard.”

“Is that… an insult?”

“It’s a compliment.”

Just you wait. As I forced down the heat rising within me, I fell into thought.

To be honest, the only thing that comes to mind right now is Hangul. It’s both a symbol and a letter.

Besides, it visually resembles geometric shapes, giving it a simplistic vibe. The question is whether I can actually use this.

‘… I don’t know.’

I should just write in Hangul. If anyone asks where I learned it, I’ll just say I studied mathematics.

Just then, I had recently learned about shapes from Grace, so I would have enough reasoning.

Convincing? Who needs to convince anyone? I just want to pass on the annoyance.

Swish— swish—

I started writing Hangul in the prepared notebook. Suddenly, all eyes were on me.

I doubt King Sejong created Hangul for this purpose. I felt a pang of guilt.

While it’s not exactly disposable, it still seemed suitable enough to use as code.

‘It’s not like I’ll ever need to use this as a letter.’

Though Hangul’s origin is quite unique and its structure is scientific, it’s definitely not universal.

Every language has its own essence, and Korean pairs well with Hangul, nothing more.

Without going far, just take Chinese for example. Due to tonal characteristics, it’s hard to express that in Hangul.

So I planned to teach the principle briefly and call it a day. There’s no point in milking it any further.

“Huh? This looks similar to the shapes you taught us yesterday.”

Grace assessed the Hangul I wrote in my notebook. That was exactly the reaction I wanted.

Symbols inspired by shapes. This way, the chances of everyone passing it off as suspicious are significantly high.

“But, uh… it feels a bit too disjointed, doesn’t it? How do we use this?”

“Mathematically.”

“Could you elaborate a bit more?”

Oh gosh. Karas, let me reveal the greatness of Hangul to you.

… Not really, I just briefly explained the principle.

In truth, Hangul is relatively easy.

The real struggle of the Korean language only comes from its complexity. Korean is one of those languages that’s quite challenging for foreigners, especially Westerners.

The current practice involves the command center issuing orders, so we don’t need to bother with grammatical structures. Besides, aren’t we just teaching pronunciation?

“Oh, I see. So we combine the letters to create a pronunciation? I understand now.”

“Then is this also possible?”

“… …”

Next to Karas, Luna presented a combined letter to me.

But that letter was rather… unexpected. I was taken aback.

‘How does she come up with stuff like this?’

What it spelled was something rather vulgar. Two characters that metaphorically hinted at the relationship between men and women.

I glanced back and forth between the word and Luna’s face. I thought she only spewed nonsense, but she’s clearly got the hands for it too.

‘It must be a coincidence.’

Yeah. It’s probably just a coincidence.

I nodded and responded positively.

After that, I explained the usage of Hangul mathematically, and it seemed everyone had a rough understanding.

No issues with pronunciation either, as I compared it to the common language while explaining.

Perhaps because it’s treated as a form of code rather than as written letters, the adjustment came surprisingly quickly.

“Alright, now finally, to prepare for eavesdropping, let’s decide on calling names. Just choosing call names can confuse the enemy.”

“Are we going to make them in code too?”

“That would be better, don’t you think? Since they’re unfamiliar, it would be tricky to grasp.”

What followed was some debate regarding the naming process.

Should we select words with meanings as call names or use completely meaningless words?

Ultimately, we settled on the latter. It made sense as we wouldn’t have trouble communicating amongst ourselves.

“Sis. Can I pick this as my call sign?”

“Isn’t that what you showed Sivar earlier?”

“… …”

Hey, Luna. Don’t go there. You can use that word yourself.

A torrent of words welled up in my heart, but I couldn’t say them out loud.

If I did, suspicion would come a-calling. Even oblivious Luna would catch onto that.

“Let’s see… Yas? That’s how you pronounce it, right?”

“Yep.”

“Since it has no meaning, it should be fine. I’ll go with this.”

I suppressed an urge to laugh amidst my despair. If I laughed now, the atmosphere would get super weird.

“Oh! What if Sivar decides the call name? Doesn’t that sound better?”

“That sounds good. Shall we go from Luna?”

“I don’t mind.”

Great. In that case.

I fought to stifle the laughter bubbling within me as I wrote it down.

Starting with Luna. After some pondering, I scribbled down her call name.

“Let’s see… Joo-dong… this? That’s quite the strange pronunciation.”

That call name fits her so well. Once again, for the record, the names Yas and Joo-dong are just phonetics, no rude meanings intended.

So here I am, struggling to hold back laughter, while the other students came up with ordinary call names.

“Lastly, we have our command center left. Have we decided on a name?”

“…. Yes.”

I chose quite the memorable name without hesitation. I passed my notebook to Karas. He looked at the words I wrote and tilted his head.

“Huh? Why are there two symbols attached? Is it for emphasis?”

Oh right, I didn’t explain that part.

Before Karas grew suspicious, I mumbled something vague. As he said, it’s for emphasis.

Karas initially wore a skeptical expression but soon let it slide. Then he declared with confidence.

“Alright. From now on, we are…”

Sad thoughts. Sad thoughts. Sad thoughts.

“Baldy.”

“Kuhh…!”

I couldn’t hold back anymore.

[My Faith is Rising!]

It seemed even Lord Chaos couldn’t contain himself.

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