◈ Chapter 303. Defy (1)
The Great Sage Rize.
Invitation in hand, he traced back through old memories.
Granfell Claudi Arpheus Romeo……
There was no doubt.
“……
The last head of Claudi.”
Though he had never met him, he knew that face well. 『Pandora’s Attic』.
A sage’s refuge from which one could glimpse the future.
In the dust that bloomed within the attic, Granfell’s face had appeared often. Creeak—Rize sought out the dust-laden refuge. It had been so long that the memory itself felt distant.
“I would prefer it if this old man had simply gone senile.”
In the future the attic’s dust had shown him, Claudi had been annihilated. It was fate—a vast current that even the great Claudi could not defy.
The head of Claudi, Granfell, had been no exception.
Swish—when he waved his arm, the dust piled in the attic rose into the air. ‘Still a damnable sight.’ No matter how one glimpsed a terrible future and struggled to change it, fate could not be defied. He had sworn never to set foot in Pandora’s Attic again because he hated that helplessness.
Rize forced himself to rationalize it.
“I am merely curious about the past.”
He no longer wished to peer into the future.
He simply wanted to retrace his hazy memories.
He only wanted to confirm once more whether, in the future he had once witnessed, the head of Claudi, Granfell, had died. At last, Rize shuddered.
“……
There is no mistake.”
Trampled nobility.
It was the same as it had been then.
At this point in time, Granfell should have died a gruesome death.
Because that was the fate he had been born with.
And yet.
His gaze turned once more to the invitation in his grasp.
“Who in the world would dare claim to be Granfell?”
The title of Great Sage was nothing if not ironic. He could not flaunt his might with arrogance like a Great Mage, nor could he command the continent like the Sword King.
He merely knew more than others.
With that vast knowledge alone, he could not seize anything. He could not save anyone. All he could do was watch the flow of time, proceeding as ordained, before others did.
That was the entirety of the Great Sage’s power.
Therefore.
“This is deeply displeasing.”
Rize was in a foul mood.
Though he could not know who had impersonated the last head of Claudi,
they had forced him to recall the helplessness he had tried so hard to ignore.
Tap.
Rize planted his staff like a cane.
Then he drew up his mana and manifested a portal. ‘The name of Claudi is by no means light.’ The target coordinates were the Claudi territory.
As he had visited it in the distant past, manifesting a portal there was not especially difficult. The cluster of mana’s light scattered, and Rize lifted his head.
“My. What I received was certainly an invitation from the youngest head of House Claudi, Sir Granfell……”
Then he met the eyes of the man who claimed to be Granfell Claudi Arpheus Romeo.
Before he knew it, he had murmured.
“……
Who are you?”
A dignity no one could imitate.
Silver hair shining brilliantly.
A being who had defied fate stood before his eyes.
*
I couldn’t help but flinch at that.
‘……
Is he acquainted with our Granfell?’
Judging by his appearance, he seemed rather advanced in years……
I had no choice but to think he had once encountered Granfell in the past.
‘Then what am I supposed to say here?’
There was no situation more ambiguous than this.
If I tried to explain the specifics, I couldn’t even explain them myself, could I?
Why the settings of a mere middle-school syndrome patient had been realized on the Arcana Continent, I mean. As expected, what shone whenever I found myself in a difficult situation was this damn iron mask of mine.
“Granfell Claudi Arpheus Romeo.”
Even if I did not know the reason.
I had sworn to shoulder that dark history.
So I spoke proudly.
“I believe there must be a suitable reason for you to ask my name while holding an invitation from Claudi. I will hear that reason, so you may speak it.”
No, I was interrogating him instead.
In a way, it was only natural.
It was the pride that did not yield, no matter the opponent.
Moreover, this was my home ground.
In the manor of my house, my back could only straighten all the more.
At my words, the old man took a moment to steady his breath.
“Phew.”
Then he looked at me once more.
Swish—soon, he bowed respectfully at the waist.
“This old mind of mine has encountered a situation it cannot possibly comprehend, and so I have committed a grave discourtesy. Head of Claudi.”
As I said, this was a personality that could not let a single thing pass.
He said it was a situation he could not possibly comprehend……
Just as I was about to keep that in mind, the old man introduced himself.
“Rize, an old man no longer worthy of being called the Great Sage, offers his greetings for the first time to Sir Granfell, the new head of House Claudi.”
The Great Sage, Rize.
First of all, that epithet was anything but ordinary, so like the others, he was definitely an important figure. In any case, it was a relief that this was our first meeting.
‘Imagine if we’d known each other.’
Even shamelessness would have had its limits, wouldn’t it?
“Your hair has become noticeably shorter.”
Seeing as he knew Granfell’s long, flowing hair……
Even if this was their first time meeting in person,
it seemed he knew what Granfell looked like.
“It suits you just as well, beyond the need for words.”
My heart had dropped when he asked who I was right off the bat,
but after that, the conversation was not much different from the others. Thanks to that, I learned why Rize had abruptly asked such a rude question as well.
“I never imagined you would still be alive, sir.”
So the title of Great Sage wasn’t just for show.
He could peer into the future.
While I was racking my brain, wondering if there was some way I could make use of that,
Rize shook his head.
“No. Now I cannot even be confident in that paltry power of foresight. Not when Sir Granfell has overcome fate and is standing here alive and well.”
I don’t know about that……?
‘That’s something worth thinking about.’
The settings I, Lee Hoyeol, had scribbled down and House Claudi realized on the continent.
Honestly, I had now reached the point where I could no longer be certain which had come first. Just thinking hard about it made my head spin.
‘Still.’
There was one thing I was inwardly hoping for. That the settings I had written down were not what drove Claudi to extinction. If it was because of me, I would have no face to show Granfell.
‘And cleaning up afterward would be a headache too.’
On top of that, I, Lee Hoyeol.
Having declared that I would take responsibility while going on about an adult’s pride,
it was obvious I would not be able to gloss over it.
Anyway…….
‘Shall we get to the main point soon?’
The reason I held a banquet and sent out Claudi’s invitations was clear.
Now that I was facing an immeasurably enormous obstacle called the ill omen,
I needed to secure my forces on the Arcana Continent as well—in other words, the Holy War Alliance Army. Which meant I had no choice but to break the pleasant atmosphere.
At last, I opened my mouth.
“The reason I invited you is simple.”
In truth, everyone must have been aware.
The demon race laying waste to the continent?
Just as Argentress had regarded it as no great matter,
to someone, it might not have been anything special.
But the threat of rifts made no exception for anyone.
“The Magic Tower, Frost, the Ancient Kingdom, even the Zero Mountains. Do you have any guess as to where those who vanished from the Arcana Continent are at this moment?”
“……?”
“I know of that threat.”
“……!!!”
That’s right.
I was planning to unshackle
the complicated, tangled restraints of these great figures.
The catalyst for that?
There wasn’t enough time to move these big shots by making them realize their pride. So this time, trust me, Granfell. As a rule, humans move quickly when their own lives are threatened.
So I struck at the heart of the matter from the start.
I looked at those gathered
one by one, and continued speaking.
“Perhaps after the Zero Mountains, the next to disappear may be the territory of the Dune clan. It may be the domain of the Diamond Merchant Guild. It may be the teacher of the Arcana Continent known as the Great Sage.”
Gulp—the sound of someone swallowing could be heard.
This is why experience matters, you know?
For all that I may look like this, I am the Chief of the Magic Tower.
Pre-verification for regular conferences, lectures on reversal magic, and whatnot.
All the sharp-tongued remarks I had made were actually useful at times like this……
“I am asking whether you have the confidence to bear it in full.”...
The Claudi banquet came to an end.
The Great Sage Rize let out a quiet laugh.
To think he would begin to act the moment he revealed himself.
“As expected, you are truly the head of Claudi.”
Rize recalled the faces of those who had gathered there.
“They are individuals of truly strong character.”
What had increased with age was his eye for observing the many types of people in the world. From Rize’s perspective, none of those who had answered Claudi’s invitation harbored sinister intentions.
However.
“It will certainly take time for them to blend together.”
Each and every one of them was a mighty individual capable of shaking the continent.
A considerable amount of time and effort would be required for them to acknowledge one another.
But Rize was not worried.
“Of course, that will not be a problem for you.”
The last head of Claudi.
The conversation he had shared with Granfell had been enjoyable.
Adventurers—beings outside the norm whose future even 『Pandora’s Attic』 could not foresee. To think Sir Granfell had been gathering the forces that had disappeared from the Arcana Continent in the world of the adventurers.
“Thanks to you, this old man’s head has cleared.”
Past, present, future.
Because what he knew was far too vast, peace did not exist within his mind. Rize liked conversing about subjects he did not know. Only then could he set aside his complicated thoughts for a while and immerse himself.
But perhaps because of that.
“……
That is why I could not bring myself to tell you.”
He had not intended to hide it.
And yet, for some reason,
Rize’s mouth moved with difficulty.
“Forgive my rudeness, Sir Granfell.”
Was it because age had made him sentimental?
The head of Claudi, returned to the Arcana Continent in a noble form.
In Rize’s eyes, Granfell’s figure appeared only tragic.
“It may simply be the needless worry of an old man.”
After all, you have already overcome even fate, sir.
However, Rize did not want Granfell to suffer the same pain as himself. As if the Arcana Continent were not enough, was he not shouldering an enormous burden even in the world of the adventurers, a world that even dragons found overwhelming enough to click their tongues?
Therefore.
“I do not wish to place any more burdens upon you.”
Looking over the Claudi territory, Rize murmured coldly.
“I hope you think the same. Pride.”
*
Time is relative.
‘Someone’ on the Arcana Continent might think that quite a lot of time had passed, but reality was not so lenient.
-Excalibur, a goddess, a great evil, wtf lolololol
-But all of that was achieved in just one day lololol
-It’d be a shame to leave out that whole unification-under-heaven thing too lololol
That’s right.
The process by which misunderstandings became legend
was proceeding smoothly even at this moment.
If things had been as usual, there would have been no major issue in that process.
-Wait, it’s already Thursday;;;;
-Just gotta survive tomorrow and it’s the weekeeeeend
-Players get weekends off too? The world’s gotten so much better~~~
-Fr, when I was a newbie, I farmed all weekend in case I missed a rift
-Seriously, back in my day, there wasn’t even anything like the Zero Mountains…….
Thursday.
Originally, it was the day regular updates were announced.
But after the supermassive content known as the Zero Mountains had been updated, regular update details had been cut off for a while. Even so, there were no complaints.
-Just chewing through the Zero Mountains will probably take ten years??
-There are over a hundred thousand caves alone lololol
-Fr, and it’s not like there are no rifts either
Ding—
“Huh? Senior, looks like something went up on the homepage?”
Thanks to that, the players—the world—did not get excited by the notification either.
But that was a mistake.
The official Arcana website.
The regular update details that Raymond Sean had undoubtedly uploaded.
From the title alone, it was more than enough to shake reality.
And the Arcana Continent.
Both worlds.
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Arcana Continent Chronicles: Regular Update (Including Balance Patch)
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