Royal Road of the Extra Scribe

16

That face belonged to the protagonist I remembered, Cassius Lloyd. There was a slight difference from the illustration, but it was unmistakable.

He was carrying heavy shackles along with his unconventional attire.

“Weird. Why is Cassius a slave?”

Of course, I didn’t know much about the protagonist’s past.

As is often the case in ordinary games, the protagonist is usually set up to be emotionally neutral for the player to immerse themselves.

In Athena War Tales, apart from well-drawn illustrations, there wasn’t much information available about the protagonist.

“Was the protagonist originally a slave?”

If so, there is something strange.

In the game, the protagonist had noble status. As a Viscount Lloyd, that is.

This Viscount Lloyd was a prominent noble of the Buhran Union, a great southern power.

“It fits the bill.”

If the protagonist, a slave, was soon to be sold off to the Lloyd Viscount as an adoptive son, it wouldn’t be surprising.

Considering his antagonism towards the Crossing Republic, it would make sense since he had been a slave in Crossing.

“But…”

There was a crucial part that I couldn’t understand.

The protagonist in the game didn’t know Jurass Pamilion.

Even during the encounter event, he spoke as if they were meeting for the first time.

“Perhaps somewhere along the line, the story has already changed.”

Feeling this confusion, I was falling into a slight panic.

Meanwhile, Jurass, enjoying the reactions of the Calipha nobles, was introducing the slaves one by one.

The slaves were indeed of superior quality.

From esteemed warriors to outstandingly beautiful women and men. And even those with skills in cooking, architecture, and more.

“For the nobles of the Calipha Kingdom without a slave system, this could be considered a charitable act. They are rescuing these individuals by paying a price to me. Wouldn’t your perspective change when viewed from a different angle?”

Jurass, eloquent in speech. There were more than a few nobles who had already crossed over.

If one were to disguise buying with money as a charitable act, it would rather become an honorable deed.

Noble hearts wavered. Taking this into account, Duke Regnart Helian stepped forward.

“Indeed, it would be considered a relief effort.”

“You seem to be quite articulate.”

Juras chuckled.

To that, Helian coldly interjected, “Then I will provide relief to those slaves. I will pay as much as you desire. So… once you’ve finished your business, vanish from this place.”

“…Oh.”

As expected of the top tier of the hierarchy. He made a strong statement.

Even facing Juras, Helian didn’t back down from the verbal sparring.

“Why would you think I couldn’t afford that amount of money?”

“Surely not. Being the Helian Duke of Calliper, you are known even among the prominent merchant families. You can afford this level of compensation. However, here, there are slaves that money cannot buy.”

“What?”

With that, Juras pointed to a woman whose body was so disfigured by burns that it was hard to distinguish her face, along with the protagonist Cassius.

“These two are special even among this group. They require more than money. Starting with this man, he has close ties to the fallen Epsilon House. I can’t reveal specifics now, but I assure you he is a crucial figure.”

That was the truth. The protagonist was the last descendant of the Epsilon House by setting.

“And this. Don’t be surprised by this ghastly item. The last Valkyrie of the Kurrabel Empire. Eonia Mirabel.”

As he said this, the hall began to murmur uncontrollably.

For Cassius, the Epsilon Empire was insignificant since it had collapsed 30 years ago, but the Kurrabel Empire was different.

The Kurrabel Empire was a unique nation with distinctive beliefs that was destroyed by Crossing just a year ago.

The term Valkyrie referred to the current head of the royal guard of the Kurrabel Empire, and the Valkyrie’s martial arts, passed down through generations, were said to be elegant and fierce.

“Is she really Eonia Mirabel…? Are you asking us to believe that?”

“Looking at this appearance, no one would believe it. We are also in a difficult situation. She would rather throw herself into the fire than be defiled. But don’t worry. With consistent treatment, she can regain her exceptional features.”

“Well, if it’s not Eonia Mirabel, that would truly be amusing.”

“I swear by the name of Juras Pamelion and the honor of the Crossing Republic that this item is indeed the last Valkyrie, Eonia.”

“…So? What is the way to relieve them?”

Eonia Mirabel was a valuable asset even for Calliper.

Having been part of the royal guard, she might not have the skills of a general, but her individual protection abilities were solid. Being hostile to Crossing to the extent of self-harm, the possibility of being a spy was low.

Therefore, many nobles coveted Eonia.

Juras chuckled, enjoying the atmosphere.

“The method is simple.”

The protagonist and Eonia.

The method to acquire both was far from simple, despite his words.

“It’s me. Juras Pamelion. If you can defeat me in anything, I will give them to you without any payment.”

* * *

Juras boldly presented his condition.

“Whether it’s martial arts, a debate on a topic, or anything else, try to make me yield. Then you can take them with you.”

But no one stepped forward willingly. The current leader’s stature was that imposing.

If there were challengers, they were clueless fools.

“I will give it a try.”

The one who boldly stepped forward was the lad, Casper.

Juras looked at Casper with a sinister smile, his mouth stretched wide.

Milias’s divine move… The Giraffe of Caliphe. What do you intend to use to defeat me?”

“Chess.”

“Chess, you say. Alright, let’s prepare for the match.”

Since the outcome seemed obvious, I decided to ignore Casper and focus on blocking nearby Master Ilya instead.

“Calm down, Master!”

“Don’t stop me. This is something I must do.”

The reason she suddenly acted like this was simple.

“Als, I believe I mentioned something to you before. About what happened a year ago.”

“You were commissioned by the Kurrabel Empire and went to the battlefield as a mercenary, right?”

“Yes. At that time, I had a confrontation with Eonia. It wasn’t a deep connection, but I can’t just leave someone suffering such disgrace alone.”

Eonia Mirabel, in the game, was an SSR-grade character.

Despite having a personal power level of 93, which was relatively high, perhaps due to being from the royal guard, her skills in war were not commendable.

She was even an extra character with no involvement in the main story.

During the story progression, she appeared as a monstrous armed giant in Crossing’s army, and if you didn’t witness the hidden event of capturing her, she would simply die without a trace.

Even if you captured her to make her an ally, her personal event only reminisced about her time working as a deputy commander in the Kurrabel Empire, with no involvement in the main story at all.

There might have been a role in the story updated later, but that was something I didn’t know and didn’t care about.

“Come to think of it, there was an event with Master Ilya.”

It was a simple event where they sparred in fencing as acquaintances. After that event, she mentioned gaining enlightenment through Valkyrie’s fencing, which likely resulted in a 2-point increase in Ilya’s power.

A fencing technique passed down to only one person through one-on-one combat. It was intriguing even for me, but…

“How do you plan to defeat him?”

“I only have one way. If it’s a spear and a sword, I can prepare quickly. Even if I lose, I don’t mind. This is a matter of my pride as a warrior.”

“I said calm down…!”

The reason I was so nervous like this was because of what happened in the game.

She lost her left arm to someone among the Ten.

“Could it be happening now?”

I couldn’t shake off that thought.

It was because Juras Pamilion’s personal power in the game was nearly 98, which was the tenth highest in the game, making her a monster as a strategist and a warrior.

While a Master could somewhat compete, it was hard to imagine winning.

I tried to intervene, but as there was no sign of listening, I had no choice but to resort to the last resort.

“Fine…! Alright, I got it. Then let’s do this. I’ll do it in your place.”

“You’ll do it in my place? It’s not right to say these things, Als. You don’t stand a chance.”

“It’s okay. We’re not fighting in martial arts. Besides, Master, do you have any mercenary clothes? And a helmet.”

“You can’t be serious…”

There was no choice but to bring out the mercenary Wade to protect the Master.

While Casper was drawing attention, I put on the mercenary clothes and a gray helmet that Master had given me as a disguise.

Covering your face at a royal palace party was not only rude but also absurd, but now, somehow, it seemed possible if pushed.

Disguised like that, I returned to the party hall, where the result of the chess game was roughly laid out.

“You’re good. Indeed worthy of being called Milias’s divine move. The title Giraffe seems… a bit excessive. Hmph.”

“Ugh!”

The situation on the chessboard was clear. Juas, with a masterful move, crushed Kaspar.

Kaspar, sensing the checkmate, was trembling in contemplation.

“Well, I’ll step aside for a moment!”

Kaspar, making a swift exit before the game was completely over. It was to salvage some dignity.

“Unfortunately, I can’t take Eonia Mirabel with me. Who’s next to challenge me?”

The party fell silent.

Just as he was about to retreat, I cleared my throat and altered my voice as much as I could.

“Let me handle this.”

All eyes turned to me.

Many frowned behind their helmets, but not Juas.

“Oh… that ash-colored helmet. The mercenary who defeated Gilius Melben. Wade, isn’t it?”

Behind me, my mentor stood as a form of support.

The mentor glared at Juas as if to kill.

“hahahaha, isn’t it Ilya Anfei… It’s been a year since the battlefield. Impressed?”

Silence! The mentor responded with a firm voice.

In response, some of Juas’s entourage stepped forward, exuding a hostile atmosphere.

Juas immediately signaled them to stop.

“Enough, this is not the place for that.”

“Ilya, step back.”

As I firmly called out his name, the mentor, looking surprised, nodded.

“Is that so? Mercenary Wade. What is it that you wish to challenge me in?”

“Chess.”

“Hmm, chess. Sorry, can’t we do something else? Winning easily again would be boring for both me and the audience.”

“Winning easily… You have not seen the sky above the sky.”

In the realm of high-level chess, there is no such thing as an easy victory.

Even if you reach the highest level, winning is not easy.

The sky above the sky. Because there was artificial intelligence.

The world of strategic battles presented by artificial intelligence was truly out of this world. At least Juas had not experienced that barrier.

“Though indirectly, I will let you experience that sky above the sky.”

“Talking big for a mercenary. Very well. Let’s proceed with this provocation.”

“As soon as the pieces are set, we begin.”

“But before that… Shouldn’t we set some conditions?”

“Conditions? That’s new. I haven’t heard of such conditions. Not in the previous match either.”

Certainly, there were no such conditions in the previous match with Kaspar.

“In the previous match, I gained enough. I acquired the reputation of defeating Milias’s prodigy and Caliper’s giraffe. But… what do I gain by defeating you? I didn’t mention any conditions, but I didn’t say there weren’t any either. Am I wrong?”

“Tsk.”

The situation became peculiar, but it didn’t matter.

“What do you want?”

“Exactly. I’m curious about what a mercenary like you could offer. Shall we bet on something like the left arm? If you lose, hand over your left arm.”

“What…! You little…!”

I imagined my master, who had lost in a duel, giving up his left arm.

Could it be that in the actual story, the master had lost his left arm like this?

“Do as you please. After all, I will be the one to win.”

“Confidence is good. Well, I don’t think seeing blood in a place like this is a good idea either. My condition is simple. If I win, you will take off your helmet and reveal your face, exposing the true identity of mercenary Wade to the world.”

From my perspective, that was a risky proposition, but I agreed to it.

“If the preamble is over, let’s start quickly.”

“You’re in a hurry. Shall we wager on a hundred horses?”

“You go ahead. Just in case you lose and blame it on the black horse, it would be troublesome.”

“Shall we confirm where your confidence is coming from? Then let’s begin.”

I cleared my head of the blood rushing to it and looked at the chessboard.

My concentration was at its peak.

I was determined to thoroughly crush him.