Chapter 65 – Grand Alliance (5)
Right now, internal affairs of the order are more important than anything else. It’s true that they’re falling behind in those internal matters, but they are in no position to accept external help.
Accepting black money from some mysterious external force would only provide the enemies with justification.
This was Leber’s logic. No force could escape this reasoning. Whether it was the royal family of the kingdom, the leader of the target group, or the adventurers of the massive adventurer guild, they were all entangled in the interests and affairs of this world.
“Who… who could possibly be free from such constraints?”
Leber nearly shouted as if to deny reality. No matter how much he thought about it, there was no answer. It seemed like accepting help from anyone would be a self-defeating move that would give the opponent justification.
But the truth was, he knew it himself. What he was doing now was just a desperate struggle.
It was that unrealistic and mysterious of a situation unfolding right in front of his eyes.
“Me.”
The girl grinned and pointed at herself. Hearing those words, Leber felt like he momentarily stopped breathing.
“No one else knows about me. All I want is to ensure that this world does not face destruction like before.”
“Is that really possible? If you… unless you’re just someone who dropped out of thin air, how could that be?”
“It’s kind of like dropping out of thin air.”
Unknowingly, he had come closer to the truth of Isilia. After all, she was going to reveal her identity as needed, so she casually mentioned her true identity.
“I don’t want the events of ten thousand years ago to repeat.”
The origin of the elves, the High Elves, who had existed since the Mythical Era. Revealing that was indeed an adventure for Isilia, but now was the time for such bold choices.
Leber, who was shocked and had widened eyes, swallowed nervously.
While it was natural for the elves to have doubts at first, he didn’t. It was a kind of intuition. The bizarre experience he had just gone through had greatly influenced that intuition.
“I’ll ask just one thing. If you can answer this, you could be considered as someone who lived in that era.”
Leber, whose mind had begun to waver, opened his mouth with difficulty towards Isilia. If it were true, then she would still be a person from ten thousand years ago. This meant she was someone who could speak about the myths of the order that began in the Mythical Era.
His voice inadvertently turned very reverent. This was related to the sanctity of the order.
‘What on earth should I ask…? I’m not that knowledgeable myself.’
Attempting to manage his expression, Isilia felt nervous for no particular reason. Leber was one of the core executives of the order, and the Order of Light was a large and ancient organization that traced its history back to the Mythical Era.
The light they worshiped was a transcendent light that dispelled even the darkness of night and underground. No matter how developed magic and alchemy became, the luminescent stones and luminous spells could not recreate the glory of that time; thus, for members of the order, the light in the myths was truly a miracle bestowed by the divine.
“No, wait a minute.”
As Isilia, still tense, listened to the explanation, her eyebrows twitched. The more she heard, the more she felt a sense of déjà vu. The god that Leber was elaborating on seemed to represent a civilization that felt very familiar to her.
“Are you talking about electric lights?”
“Do not speak that name carelessly! Even if you might perceive it differently… to us, that is a revered being.”
Isilia mumbled in disbelief, causing Leber to flinch as he waved his staff. Meanwhile, Isilia lost her focus entirely, stunned that her guess had been proven true.
“According to the order’s traditions passed down from ancient times, it has been confirmed that in the beginning, there existed a powerful angel who followed that being.”
Regardless of that, Leber continued to test Isilia using recently revealed classified information from ancient texts.
“That angel, with immense power, assisted that being in spreading the miraculous light throughout the world. However, it was said that if angered, the angel could devastate large swathes of land all at once. Do you know the name of that angel, who is one among those who serve that being, along with strikes of thunder from the skies?”
“Atomic power.”
“If that is a lie… huh?”
An answer that came out far too easily. Leber was left speechless in surprise.
‘I’ve gotten used to this now.’
In contrast, Isilia smirked. After experiencing a thousand years’ worth of twists and turns, she has already felt how much time can distort things.
Though it was impossible to predict where and how things got tangled, Isilia had now gained the capacity to think from the perspective of the people living in this era.
“From the looks of it, I think I understand what you refer to as the angels assisting the divine… wind power, water power, solar power, and others. Care to elaborate more?”
It was purely an enjoyable situation, and Isilia smiled.
Among those present, most did not comprehend, while Leber stumbled over his words, taken aback.
‘How could such a sacred power have arisen? Did it truly just become reality from the moment believers appeared?’
What Isilia was curious about was only one thing. While it was common for stories of the past to be altered and twisted, the emergence of divine power, which was akin to mana, was a separate matter.
However, seriously probing into that correlation was impossible, even for her, who came from a time long past.
*
“This is unbelievable. Is it truly an elf who lived in that era?”
“Save the surprise for later. Let’s focus on the present and future. My offer is still valid.”
I chuckled at Leber, who sat down heavily, and showed him the promissory notes I pulled from my pocket.
His eyes widened even more at the sight of the physical objects. If this money were available, he could gain the upper hand in the power struggle.
“I could immediately draw funds from the guilds and hand them over. If I involve myself as a middleman, they will never trace its source. Even if they did, I would deal with it personally.”
With the help of spirits, I was confident that I could pass through any scrutiny, and I was fully prepared to act as the transporter.
How could he not be swayed after saying this much? Leber had completely wavered.
“Why are you trying to extend your hand to the order to this extent?”
“As you might already know, we need to find a way to counteract the encroachment that has started increasing on the continent. The World Tree, which the elves revered as a sacred tree in ancient times, may be the answer, but it seems that a holy water will be necessary to revive it.”
There was no need to hide it, so I spoke my purpose openly. I could see his eyes flickering with excitement at the mention of encroachment, the World Tree, and holy water.
“If what you say is true, then using holy relics would indeed be worth it. Speaking of which, it might not be the only way to solve encroachment.”
“What do you mean by that?”
I tilted my head. Leber, who had changed his tone seriously, looked around suspiciously, knowing nobody was around.
“Recently, a hero star has appeared. Though it is classified information, I can share this with you.”
However, what he whispered in my ear was undoubtedly valuable information. My eyes widened at the mention of a hero.
What is a hero? This was one of the pieces of knowledge I already had. Personally, I believed they were likely descendants of climbers who were born with special powers long ago.
The climber who was the origin must have been on a completely different level compared to those who have never started, like me.
I remember them as a person of American nationality, their name confusingly either Brown or Brian, one of the features of the star knight was their ability to surpass for a moment with the power of the special star that floats in the sky.
Descriptions of those heroes that appeared in history often overlapped greatly with descriptions of that climber.
“That is quite an interesting story.”
Perhaps just inheriting only the good traits of their ancestors, the powers of their descendants who could have spread far unknown might erupt intermittently, much like those heroes.
In fact, it seemed that the longer the lineage continued, the stronger they became, as all heroes in history were formidable beings who left significant marks in history.
“We also know about heroes. Do you have any more information regarding them?”
“Should I say I know? It’s not that I don’t know.”
I chuckled at Arisa’s words. Now that I thought about it, the power they referred to as that of the heroes was also a legacy of the past that had come from the star whose power had not changed over the last ten thousand years.
“Heroes can stop encroachment.”
I sparkled with conviction.
