Northern Wall (1)

…After some time passed, the wood steel on stand-by signaled the end of the situation, so I headed back down the rift.

Tap—

As soon as I touched down, I saw Sylvia lying exhausted near the crystal water. She was sleeping on the table I made alongside her ghost.

"…"

I took off my gloves and measured the temperature of the area. The body of the Iron Man was different from that of an ordinary human, and now that I had also acquired the secondary characteristic of cold resistance from the Snow Globe, I hardly felt the cold. But even if this body was fine, she might not be.

"…She must be cold."

I walked over to Sylvia, made a blanket out of Ductility, and covered her with it. Just in case, Midas' Hand level 2 reinforced the blanket.

"Good job."

Strangely, I felt affection for her. No, maybe she was the only one who allowed me to feel this stupid feeling of guilt. I gently placed my hand against her small head and checked her condition. Then, I applied Duct Tape to her injuries. The healing would end while she slept, and she would just think she got better on her own.

"…Have a good rest."

I looked back to the crystal water.

[Main Quest: Time]

Time, Demakan's Sanctuary. On the surface of this mysterious tree, Epherene's name had already disappeared. The magic expired, and the crystal water returned to normal.

Whoong-

I moved the wood steel to see a name engraved on the rough surface.

[Deculein]

At that moment, the quest called Time was completed.

"Hey. Do you know what that means? It means you want to join Time. Do you know what that is?"

I heard Idnik's voice echoing around me.

"Isn't it a death squad trying to destroy the Altar?"

"Ohh? It's similar, but… anyway, isn't it the kind of thing that you just hate?"

Idnik approached and sat across from Sylvia. Then she pulled out a tea set, including tea and a cup.

"It's been a while since I returned here, though."

"…"

"Huhu."

Idnik grinned and gestured, pointing at Sylvia's blanket.

"But it's weird. You seem to cherish Sylvie a lot."

I didn't answer, instead of looking at Sylvia. Suddenly, Sierra came to mind, although she was someone I'd never met.

"She has the talent to be a great wizard; I just respect her potential."

In clearing the main quest, not only the player but also the Named were important. It wasn't a scenario a single player could clear.

"I will go."

I straightened my clothes and wiped the dust off my sleeves.

"You do the rest."

As I turned around, Idnik spoke bluntly.

"Are you sorry for killing her mother?"

"…"

I stopped. Fragments of memories flooded my mind: Deculein strangling Sierra, anger that poured out like blood, and Sierra apologizing. Each scene permeated my mind.

"…If I hadn't killed Sierra, she would have died."

Idnik stiffened. Sierra was dead; she had no more life given to her.

"So? You mean you killed someone who was going to die anyway?"

I shook my head. Deculein probably couldn't bear his anger and killed her. There would be no other reason, no dignity to be found.

"It is different then and now. Just like now, we will keep Sierra's disease a secret from Sylvia."

"…What?"

Idnik frowned. I looked at Sylvia for a moment. Sleepy face, deep breath, slow heartbeat. There was no possibility that she was acting.

"Now, all that is left to this child is hate."

Sylvia was now empty. She lacked the most important element as a human being. So, like a clockwork doll, she couldn't move on her own.

"If only hating me could bring that talent to full bloom. If she can live."

Then a strand of hair fell into her mouth, but I moved it with Psychokinesis. Idnik watched me carefully.

"That's not bad either. I'm used to being hated, and I can easily accept it. I'll watch her grow up and shine in it."

Idnik sneered.

"…You're just like Glitheon."

I shook my head.

"At least I think of this child."

"Ha. You?"

This wasn't a lie, but one of the few proofs in this world that I am Kim Woojin. These were emotions I would never feel were I Deculein, though few brought them out. Sylvia was one of them.

"So, like she is now."

I looked at Idnik.

"Let her hate me."

"…"

Idnik quietly looked into my eyes until a small laugh leaked out.

"Now what? It's not just hate that Sylvie has for you right now. You are still mistaken."

I waited a moment for her to continue. What was I mistaken about? But Idnik shook her head.

"Go now. I fully understand what you mean."

"…"

I nodded and dismantled the Duct Tape that had healed Sylvia's body, removing any traces of my mana. Then, I began to climb out of the crevasse atop my wood steel. I could hear Idnik faintly calling from behind me.

"Bye. I don't know why, but I don't dislike you who's changed so much…"

* * *

A horse strode through the northern fields carrying Sophien and Epherene.

"…"

The landscape of the future wasn't much different from the present. It was no fun either, just sad.

"Your Majesty."

Epherene cautiously called out to the Emperor.

"Speak."

"…It's been less than four years."

"Do you mean this future?"

"Yes."

It meant that Deculein had only three or four years left at the latest. It was too short a time; Epherene felt strangely heartbroken. Deculein was her father's foe… Deculein's enemy was also her father… because of her father, Deculein's fiancée…

Her head was a mess.

"I see."

Then Sophien nodded, glancing at Epherene behind her.

"Luna."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"…It's nothing."

Sophien swallowed the words. She had read all of Deculein's letter. 'From now on, I would like to entrust my life to Your Majesty,' the letter began with that. The first two pages were exciting and delightful, but the next two made her serious and the last three elicited emotions that remained hard to describe.

"Yes? Oh, yes. Okay. I am not going to ask."

"You know it well."

After reading all of the letters, Sophien felt enlightened.

'I want to entrust my life to Your Majesty.'

The meaning of that was not to save him. Rather…

"Let's go. The comet will return soon."

"Yeah, Your Majesty~."

The horse moved slowly. Sophien felt exhausted, closing her eyes as they rode. And at that moment, Epherene let out a small sound and pointed to the sky.

A shooting star streaked across the distant sky.

* * *

I returned to the fortress. Epherene and Sophien had disappeared somewhere, but they started the full-scale research and investigation with Allen and Drent beforehand. Any error would be negligible since the sample was already collected.

"I'm calculating, Professor!"

The process itself was complex overall, but the steps were simple. The dark energy concentration of the soil and the mana concentration in the atmosphere were collected, and the dark-energy-mana collision value was calculated based on them. With this collision value, I could predict the future danger of the northern monster wave.

"The calculation is over, Professor!"

To explain in detail, the deeper the concentration of dark energy in the soil, the bigger the monsters in the area grow, and the more actively they reproduce. Since this was almost definitively causation and no correlation, I invented a direct formula to calculate those values. The so-called Deculein's Magical Theorem.

Next, the mana concentration in the atmosphere. When the beasts breathe, they emit dark energy. However, when dark energy is mixed with the air, it is diluted with mana, so the breath of a demonic beast leaves only mana behind. After finding the difference between the average atmospheric mana concentration and the northern mana concentration, I could derive my concept of the collision value by comparing it with the soil's dark energy concentration.

The larger the collision value, the higher the quantity and quality of the monster wave.

"…Professor."

But the results of that analysis-

Allen handed me the paper with a serious look. I took it involuntarily and began to glance over the sheet.

"Isn't the result a bit… strange?"

A death variable was swirling around on the paper. This was the first time I'd seen such a thing, but looking at the collision value, I understood why to some extent.

"The highest collision value in nearly 20 years was 0.137, right?"

"Yes? Oh, yes! That's right! According to your perfect theory!"

Nineteen years ago, the wave had a collision value of 0.137. Hundreds of knights were killed then, Reccordak collapsed, and thirty-three villages and tens of thousands of civilians were slaughtered.

"…0.437."

More than three times in simple numbers. However, since the risk of collision value rose exponentially, its destructive power would be roughly 15 times higher than 19 years ago. Even considering the upcoming main quest, it was an unusual outcome.

"Uh, uh, what should we do? Did we make a mistake in our calculations?"

"No. The calculation is correct. My theory can't be wrong."

Just then, the door swung open to reveal Sophien and Epherene.

"We are here~."

"…Your Majesty!"

The knights of the Imperial Palace rushed to kneel. Each asked loudly where she'd been, but Sophien paid them no mind.

"Your Majesty, you're back?"

I approached her and knelt on one knee, then handed her the piece of paper.

"What is this?"

"This is the result of predicting the next migration."

"Explain it."

"This wave will be the worst in nearly 20 years. Perhaps the worst in the history of the Empire."

The eyes of the watching knights widened. Epherene matched their look, but Sophien remained calm as ever.

"Deculein. Are you confident in your predictions?"

"Yes."

"Can you take responsibility for that?"

"I am willing to share my theory with my life."

I answered without hesitation. Sophien nodded. She wore a pretty sleepy, pretty annoying, and pretty tired face. But her next move was quite bizarre.

"I believe you."

Sophien put her hand on my shoulder. At that moment, the eyes of the knights were about ready to pop out. For me, too, I felt a sense of shock. Sophien was someone who pathologically hated touching others.

"Then, the North will need replenishment."

"…Yes."

As I answered, hiding my perplexity, Sophien raised her hand and grinned.

"Good. Now I will return to the continent, and we will discuss it properly there."

* * *

…Julie was working in Reccordak at this time. Of course, she was a knight, but since the Reccordak concentration camp itself was under the jurisdiction of Freyden, just like Yukline's Rohalak, Julie volunteered to take charge.

"I must not neglect training and remuneration…."

Reccordak was, of course, a concentration camp, but it was also an important wall. If it were breached this winter, many of the people who depended on it would die. The grasses of the countryside shouldn't be allowed to be trampled upon.

"First of all, we build a wall and gather consenting prisoners to form a detached unit. However, finances are also an issue. Asking for financial support from Freyden is-"

Slam!

The door swung open, and Reylie rushed in.

"Knight! Look at this! This is trouble! Trouble!"

She shouted so and slammed a sheet of paper on Julie's desk. It was a report from their superiors of level 3 confidentiality that only officers or higher could read.

"What is this?"

"Look! Look!"

"…What is it?"

"I said look."

Julie looked at it without any thought. As she slowly scanned the content scribed there, her eyes narrowed.

"What is this…?"

It was serious stuff. Though this collision value was an unfamiliar concept, it was summarized in the Conclusion column of the report.

[ #3333 Estimated damage to be more than 15 times that of the giant wave 19 years ago.]

That was hard to believe.

"Does this make sense?"

Reylie cried out. The memory of 19 years ago was clear to Julie as well. There had even been talking at the time that the North might be completely lost.

"Fifteen times, fifteen times! Then, aren't we all going to die?"

"Shh. Quiet. It will be fine. Wizards always assume the worst…"

Julie first searched for the reliability of this report. Of course, she didn't know much about magic or calculation formulas as she had just learned a bit at the academy. But when she looked at the name of the person who reported these results…

[Deculein von Grahan Yukline]

"Ah."

A name that Julie hated so much. However, he was a wizard who received infinite trust from the Floating Island. In this area, the scholar Deculein could be said to be the king of reliability.

"…Deculein."

"Ah, ahaha… yes, well. But what do we do with this?! His theory has already been recognized!"

"…"

Julie clenched her teeth but then sighed. She was the type to make a sharp distinction between public and private life. Now, she wasn't the human Julie, but Deya, the knight of Freyden. If it was a prediction Deculein put his name to; she had to believe it even if she didn't want to.

"What do you mean? Hurry up and send a replenishment request to the Northern Castle, Reylie."