535

Episode 535: Should I Go and Save Him? (1)

The day I met Julianne and the necklace started shining.

Jiselle had a dream for the first time in a long time.

"… … You understand?"

Someone's voice rang like tickling in my ear.

The dream world was blurry and unstable. All Giselle could see was the figures of several people in front of her.

People were busy moving about, each doing something. Giselle just watched as an observer.

But all the forms were vague, so it was impossible to know who they were or what they did.

In a world dyed in gray, all that could be felt was something blurry passing by.

Only one of them had a faint color.

Jiselle knew who he was.

'Erenes?'

Erenes was smiling. She seemed very lively, unlike her usual blunt and unsmiling self.

Could she even smile so brightly?

In addition, his face looked younger than it is now. I can't guarantee that he will live a long life as an elf, but his aura didn't look as mature as it does now.

But as is often the case with dreams, Giselle did not realize that she was dreaming.

I just took this moment for granted.

...person.

Jiselle looked at the brightly smiling Erenes and the gray shapes around her for a long time.

He also felt happy. For some reason, everyone seemed to be his friends.

...master.

One of the gray figures looked at him. He couldn't see the figure clearly, but he felt like it was smiling.

Jiselle also smiled. The moment she became aware of her opponent, her surroundings began to become clearer.

It seemed that after a little while, I would be able to make out all the shapes.

― Master!!! Come to your senses!!!

Flash!

Jiselle's eyes opened.

When he woke up, Dark shouted in excitement.

- Master! Are you awake? Are you awake?

"Yeah… … . What's going on?"

― Damn it, I don't know! Something was digging into the master's mind! It was trying to cover up the master's memories! I couldn't even see it!

"… … ."

Jiselle said nothing.

Something was trying to enter your mind?

The mind of one who has already achieved a perfect world and has become a superhuman cannot be invaded arbitrarily.

Moreover, it wasn't like anyone had intentionally cast magic.

There is only one reason.

Dark shouted again.

― Throw away that weird necklace! That's it! That's the culprit! That makes me feel weird too!

"You too?"

- Yeah! Something feels off… … Anyway, I don't feel well!

Jiselle put her hand on her temple and fell into thought.

After reaching a certain level, I stopped dreaming. In the first place, I only sleep for a very short time.

During that brief period of sleep, the body is completely dedicated to recovery. From Giselle's perspective, closing her eyes for a moment and opening them again is like waking up from a deep sleep.

But I had a dream. A dream whose identity was unclear.

It wasn't the body's fault. It was an external force that had intervened.

"Is it because of this necklace?"

This never happened even though I had been wearing the necklace. I had to assume it started after I met Julien and reacted.

Dark urged him again from the side.

― Ah, throw it away! Throw it away! Why do you keep carrying around such a disgusting thing!

Jiselle also thought about that for a moment.

Dreaming and interrupting sleep can be overlooked, but having something forcefully enter your mind is no simple matter.

But what Erhard said bothered me.

― After I realized my 'mission', I had a dream every day. It was a really vivid dream. That dream continued every day.

'If this dream is that kind of dream... ... .'

What if the dream is telling you something, whether it's revelation or something else?

It doesn't seem like an ordinary dream, so we can wait a little longer.

Perhaps through this necklace and that dream, I might get a clue about the purpose of the Church of Salvation.

"Don't throw it away. I'll just watch for a while. If something like today happens again, don't wake me up and just watch."

- What? Just watch? Something unidentifiable is digging into the owner's memory? If I leave it alone, I won't be able to stop it later!

Dark can deflect mental attacks. It seems that he used that ability to block something that was trying to invade Giselle's mind.

So the dream wasn't visible properly.

Jiselle said nonchalantly.

"It's okay. Unless it's an external attack or something, just leave it alone. Even if something dangerous comes in, I can block it."

His spirit had already been strengthened beyond all else through death and return. That was why he was confident.

Dark clicked his tongue.

- Why do you do that? Why do you put yourself in danger and jump into it?

"Are you curious? If you feel frustrated, you have to face it yourself."

Jisel, whose hobby from the beginning was risking her life to train.

I couldn't just leave it as it was, tickling my curiosity like this. I had to scratch it to feel better.

Dark, who knew the nature of the situation, did not say anything more. He just steeled himself to prepare for the worst.

Honestly, I was also curious about the nature of this strange feeling.

After causing a commotion, Giselle fell asleep again. But this time, she didn't dream.

It seemed like something like that wouldn't necessarily happen.

So, all I can do is wait until that dream comes back again.

* * *

Rutania and Turian decided to make the Kingdom of Sardinia the center of their allied forces.

The Kingdom of Sardinia had no say, as it helped Rutania and Turians to sort out their civil wars and divisions. It was no match for them in terms of force.

Thanks to the two of them, Giselle and Julian, several kingdoms ended their civil wars quickly.

It was also easier because some of the Salvation Church and rebel forces fled.

Kingdoms that had ended their civil wars were able to send some of their troops to the Allied Forces.

The coalition forces gathered in this way numbered about 200,000. If you include the coalition forces currently fighting in other regions, the number would exceed 300,000.

The leaders of the coalition forces gathered from each kingdom could now relax a little.

"Haha, at this point, even the Salvation Church can't do anything."

"I heard the rebels are retreating from various places?"

"Isn't this all thanks to Rutania and Duke Fenris? Hehehe."

Everyone secretly glanced at Jiselle and complimented her. After all, it was thanks to Jiselle that the Salvation Church's power was gradually diminishing.

If things continued this way, the Salvation Church would eventually be eradicated and the Allied Forces would win. As hope appeared, the mood gradually improved.

"But… … how do I get rid of the cracks?"

"Well, if we eliminate the Salvation Church, wouldn't a solution be found?"

The crack that had been blocking the expansion was not getting any wider. This was because it was blocked by a magic circle to prevent it from absorbing the surrounding energy.

But the fact that there was a crack left behind was a source of anxiety. It was also a task to keep watching without being able to build anything around it.

Even if they wanted to deal with it, no one knew how, so they just left it alone.

Jiselle didn't say much about it, because even she didn't know how to close it safely yet.

'If we just deal with the Salvation Church, we can find a solution.'

For now, all we have to do is keep the giant monsters that are the masters of the cracks from popping out. Once the war is over, the wizards will surely find a way to close it.

Because I know that considerable research had been conducted in the past life as well.

In order to do that, we must quickly eliminate the Salvation Church. We must also find Erhard who ran away, but that was the most urgent goal for now.

As the strategy meeting began, Marquis Gideon unfolded a large map. He was currently serving as the Allied Forces' chief of staff alongside Claude.

"As Duke Fenris said, the place where the Salvation Church gathers is definitely the Kingdom of Arthrod."

"How's the civil war going over there?"

"The Duke of Leinster has been victorious. Rebels from the surrounding kingdoms are gathering in the Kingdom of Atrode."

"Hmm… … ."

"I think they will probably gather together, reorganize their forces, and then launch a counterattack."

Jiselle listened quietly and then asked.

"What does the General Staff think?"

"It won't do us any good to expand the front line. It'll just lead to a cycle of taking and losing. I think it'd be better to push them back at once while we can."

Jiselle nodded. The reason the war was prolonged was because the Salvation Church spread everywhere and started rebellions.

If the opponent regroups and spreads out again, we will also have to divide our forces and go after them.

It would have been better to just finish it all at once while we were all together.

A nobleman who was listening to the meeting asked.

"Ahem, it would be best and fastest to decide the outcome through a short battle… … but isn't that risky?"

Why was the Salvation Church so scary? It was because superhumans popped out like bread.

Even if he is half-human, a superhuman is still a superhuman. They sent two or three times as many superhumans as there were one or two in the kingdom.

So most of the kingdoms were pushed back by the rebels.

There is a large army gathered in the Kingdom of Arthrod right now, and there will be many superhumans, so if we fight and lose, it will really be the end.

Marquis Gideon said, puffing out his chest.

"You just have to win."

"… … ."

He turned his head slightly and smiled at Giselle.

"Isn't that so?"

Marquis Gideon's gaze shifted to Yulien. It didn't seem like he would lose as long as he was with that person.

Jiselle answered with a hearty laugh.

"Well, I don't think I'll lose."

There are three of the seven great powers of the previous life's continent gathered here. If Erenes returns, there will be four.

There are also excellent superhumans and knights in each kingdom.

'And there's one more guy who's going to join.'

Jiselle thought back to her friend from her past life. It was about time for her friend to become active and gain fame.

That friend will probably join the Allied Forces as soon as he hears the news. He did that in his past life too.

It was unreasonable to think that they would be able to defeat this force.

In fact, the situation was better than in the previous life. Back then, the Salvation Church didn't even pay attention to the monsters of the cracks.

Jiselle asked Yulien, still smiling.

"How about this? Just push aside the Duke of Leinster of the Kingdom of Arthrod."

"Not bad."

There were still kingdoms suffering from rifts and rebellions, but if the strongholds of the Salvation Church were destroyed, they could be saved quickly.

There was no need to reject a way to end the war quickly.

In the first place, Julian didn't feel fear itself, so he didn't care about the enemy's power.

Jiselle snickered at the sight.

'There is no one more reliable in war.'

The more he fights, the stronger Yulien becomes. He is still amazing, but he still has a long way to go before he can reach the level of his previous life.

However, Jiselle was different from her previous life. She was reaching higher levels faster and was becoming stronger.

'Let's have a cool fight when the war is over.'

I had no intention of giving up the position of the continent's best swordsman in this life. In fact, I didn't give it up in my previous life either.

So the strategy meeting ended. The others had no say anyway. Whatever Giselle and Julian decide, they will do.

The Allied Forces' war preparations were progressing at a rapid pace. Some kingdoms joined in the middle, but the 200,000 people who had gathered at the beginning were the main force.

The rest were assigned to provide support to kingdoms in difficult situations or to prepare for surprise attacks.

Preparations for the expedition were complete, and the route of advance and supply route had all been decided. Now all that was left was to set off.

Then a messenger covered in dust came running towards him in a hurry and shouted.

"Pa, the Kingdom of Parsali has been invaded! Currently, the Kingdom of Parsali's forces are continuously being pushed back from the front lines."

"what?"

Jiselle frowned. The Kingdom of Parsali was not too worried because the rebels were being pushed back. They had even recently contacted the Allied Forces to say they would send troops.

"What happened? Explain."

"A surprise attack by a force of 200,000 men took place. The army gathered in the Kingdom of Arthrod moved quickly."

With 200,000 people, it would be difficult for the Kingdom of Parsali to hold out. The Salvation Church guys also used their brains to come up with a plan.

However, it was a bit surprising that the Parsali Kingdom army had already been pushed back. The larger the army, the longer it would take to march and supply.

It had only been a few days since the Kingdom of Parsali contacted me to join them.

It felt like they were taken too easily, having done a good job of fending off cracks and rebels.

Before Giselle could ask for details, the messenger spoke with a frightened expression.

"Oh, there's a huge army of corpses moving. No matter how much we fight, they keep growing."

Jiselle paused for a moment at those words, then smiled crookedly.

"That kid joined the Salvation Church."

I felt like I knew the other person's identity.