NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 651
Chapter 651: Just Listen to Me.
Aston came to and screamed again.
— W-What are these crazy guys!?
— What do you mean? They’re my new masters!
— S-Shut up! This is my body!
— Not your body anymore!!
Dark was teasing Aston relentlessly. The argument between the two echoed loudly in his mind, making it unbearable.
‘Dark, can you keep it down? Are you Aston?’
— Yeah, it’s my body! How could you take over without my permission!?
‘No idea. It just happened?’
— Ugh…
Aston was dumbfounded and speechless.
He had briefly lost consciousness during the battle with the bandits. It was a familiar situation for him, a process of accepting another existence spreading throughout the world.
But when he regained his senses, another being was already occupying and moving his body.
He had seen the situation in a daze, but at the time, it felt like just a dream.
Other beings had only acted as advisors. None had ever taken over his body like this.
— O-Okay. Who are you?
‘Me? I’m Ghislaine Perdium, the Grand Duke of Ruthania and the ruler of the North…’
Ghislaine introduced himself grandly, but even after hearing those words, Aston couldn’t shake off his doubts.
— Where the heck is that? There’s no kingdom like that. What the hell, how old are you?
‘Not old, I’m from the future.’
— W-You’re from the future? Is that even possible?
‘You can see I’m here, right? Anyway, I definitely came from the future.’
— ……
Aston couldn’t find any words. It was his first time having a future being inside him.
But he wouldn’t believe it easily. Given the strange black guy sticking to Ghislaine, there was a high chance Ghislaine was just as crazy.
In fact, the beings that had possessed Aston before were mostly not in their right minds. Most were lingering souls that had become spirits due to regrets left in this world.
Soon, Aston’s cold voice rang out.
— This is unacceptable. You’re all strange beings.
The true owner of this body is Aston. Through years of training, he had gained the ability to expel possessors.
Unless they entered through mental domination, a being unwanted by Aston could not go against his will as the rightful owner of the body.
— Now get out of my body.
Aston spoke with a firm voice. He would reclaim control of his body.
‘…Hmph.’
— W-What’s wrong? Why aren’t you getting out?
‘Did something go wrong? Need help?’
— T-This is my body! I’ve never had this happen before! Get out! GET OUT!
Dark teased Aston, seeing him panicking.
— I keep telling you, it’s not your body anymore.
— Ugh, Aaaah!
Aston’s scream echoed wildly. Ghislaine frowned and tried to calm him down.
‘Don’t be too shocked. Since this has happened, let’s just stick together for a while.’
— Stick together, what?!
‘What should I do then? You’re not leaving.’
Ghislaine remained unfazed. He was confident he’d eventually wake up in the real world anyway.
Aston spoke in a troubled voice.
— Ugh, no. I need to help those friends grow…
‘Can’t I do it?’
— What do you know?! I had everything planned out!
‘Oh… I like plans too. I have my own plans, you know.’
— Those friends are going to save the world! I need to guide them to the right path without leading them astray!
At that, Ghislaine paused. That was a matter of the future. How could Aston know that?
After considering it quietly, Ghislaine asked.
‘How do you know that? How do you know they’re the ones to save the world?’
— Why should I tell you?
‘If you don’t, I’ll jump off a cliff?’
— ……
Aston swallowed hard. His body had been taken hostage.
Possessors usually had quirky personalities. Given that only the mental aspect was left, it was only natural.
If he callously dared them to try, he might actually lose out.
— …Once, a great prophet entered my body when I was young. He told me things.
‘You believe stuff like that?’
— I didn’t at first. But it’s real. He predicted many futures.
‘What did he predict? Is there a prophecy I can believe and understand?’
— That they all end up in debt.
‘……..’
— O-Okay, I admit that sounds silly. But that’s just one of the trials. To become heroes that save the world, they’ll have to go through various trials. He definitely said that.
Having debt is painful… but it’s a pretty weak trial for a hero.
And those poor village kids were likely to end up in debt. It was quite common.
Even Ghislaine could probably guess this much.
Just based on the statement that the hero’s party would become debtors wasn’t enough to believe he was a prophet.
‘…Hmph.’
— Don’t mock me! And I’m the chosen guide to lead my friends properly!
Ghislaine nodded. Since he knows the result, he can take that statement as truth.
But if he didn’t know the future, he might find it quite cute.
As Ghislaine was blankly chatting with Aston, Yulien spoke up.
“Aston, what’s wrong? Are you back to your senses?”
Aston often displayed this kind of behavior when talking to possessors. Yulien hoped that perhaps his mind had returned.
Ghislaine shook his head vigorously and replied.
“Oh, I just talked with your friend.”
“With Aston?”
“Yeah.”
“What did he say? Why is he like this now?”
“I think he doesn’t really know why either. Anyway, he asked me to take good care of you guys.”
“R-Really?”
Yulien generated a suspicious look.
Aston had always been gloomy and not very talkative. He rarely spoke warmly.
He only ever said what was necessary and muttered to himself.
While Yulien was aware of the doubt, Ghislaine grinned brightly and said.
“Of course. He said he needed to help you grow quickly and asked me to lead you in the right way.”
— When did I ever say that!?
Aston exploded, but Ghislaine ignored him. Yulien and the others still looked doubtful.
Yulien asked again.
“Did Aston really say that?”
“He did, you know. He also mentioned that you all becoming debtors is just one of the trials.”
“Ah…”
They had heard that before. Only then did the three nod. It truly seemed like they had talked to Aston.
Kyle said to Deneb with a look of intrigue.
“Wow, Aston talks a lot when talking to possessors in his mind!”
“Right? I didn’t know he could say to lead us properly. Aston never says stuff like that.”
In reality, it was the frustration from Ghislaine and Dark that made him more talkative, but innocent friends had no way of knowing the truth.
While their suspicions lessened a bit, the three friends still didn’t dismiss the possibility that Aston’s mind had some issues. They all half believed Ghislaine’s words.
Still, Ghislaine had been more easily convinced than he expected. Maybe the world hadn’t corrupted them yet?
Ghislaine addressed Aston again.
‘So what were you planning to do next? Since I’m helping, let’s hear it.’
— What else? I need to guide those friends to get stronger quickly.
‘So what did you plan to do next? Take down the bandits?’
— T-That’s still…
Aston spoke hesitantly. He actually had a few ideas in mind, but they were still beyond the capabilities of the team.
The ones who had given him knowledge hadn’t provided set goals. They only shared the information they had.
It was up to Aston to piece together that information to achieve his goals.
— R-Right now, I was thinking of wandering around and training. I need to get stronger first.
‘So basically, you do need to get stronger, right?’
— Y-Yeah.
‘Okay, for now, leave it to me.’
— I-I should do it…
‘There’s no way to do it right now, is there? Let’s stay together for a while and discuss things. If you have anything to tell them, just relay it through me.’
— Ugh… Who do you think you are?
Aston gritted his teeth. It felt like a demand to give up his knowledge after losing his body.
But right now, he had no other options. He needed to first find a way to regain his body.
— Y-You won’t do anything weird, right?
‘What do you mean weird?’
— Anything at all. You can’t harm my friends. They need to get stronger quickly.
‘Don’t worry about it. Training is my specialty. Just listen to me.’
— Don’t joke around! It’s only temporary, okay? I’ll get my body back soon enough!
‘Sure, go ahead.’
In reality, Ghislaine had nothing to lose. With his carefree response, Aston was left fuming.
Despite his anxiety, Aston didn’t doubt Ghislaine’s skill. Even in a daze, he had appeared as a tremendous power.
— Then… I’ll really just rest for a bit…
Aston finished his sentence and slowly fell asleep. Despite his earlier anger, there was a certain comfort in his voice.
As if he hadn’t rested in ages.
* * *
“Gasp, huff…”
Yulien, gasping for breath while climbing the cliff, asked.
“Is this… really effective?”
Ghislaine, climbing beside him, grimaced as he replied.
“Y-Yeah. Ugh… Why is my body so weak?”
Right now, they were on their way to raid a bandit hideout. And they were climbing up a cliff to do so.
Their target was a group of bandits operating out of a Small Barony. Their hideout was built along the cliff, making it difficult for the territory army to raid them rashly.
As a result, the bandits were running wild in the area like fish in water.
After failing to purge them several times, the territorial army finally reached a compromise with the bandits.
Surprisingly, instead of taking taxes from the bandits, they decided to let the bandits be as long as they didn’t attack nearby travelers or villages.
Yulien was furious upon learning this fact.
“How can a lord who should protect the territory residents make such a decision!? It’s unforgivable!”
“We can’t do anything even if you don’t forgive him.”
At Kyle’s words, Deneb nodded. There was really little they could do as young and powerless as they were.
Deneb, with a forlorn expression, said.
“Aston, what should we do in a situation like this? We can’t ask other lords for help. We can’t ask the villagers to fight alongside us either.”
“Just call me Ghislaine.”
“…Okay, Ghislaine.”
Ghislaine nodded in satisfaction and immediately provided a solution.
“We can eliminate the bandits. That’s why we’re here, right?”
“But there are over a hundred of them. I hear there are plenty of knights among them too.”
Ghislaine was surprised to find that even among the bandits, knight-level fighters were common.
As he had seen in dreams, the overall level of the soldiers was extremely high. They had grown stronger from constantly fighting mana beasts.
And those soldiers and knights from regular armies made up the core of the bandits. Most were deserters due to endless wars and greedy nobles.
In short, this era was one of never-ending chaos.
As Ghislaine listened to such stories, he found himself wondering.
‘How did they manage to build such a strong army?’
The Human Alliance he had seen in dreams was strong. Powerful soldiers moved as one, allowing them to counter enemies.
But organizing such an army in the current situation was nearly impossible.
‘Could it be because of Yulien and Deneb?’
Someone had to be at the center. In dreams, the two had taken on that role.
Yet, looking at the naive versions of them now, it seemed challenging for them to achieve such a task.
No matter how outstanding they were, uniting humanity was no easy feat.
‘Maybe a Dragon could do it?’
Dragons had also participated in wars. If they had taken the lead, organizing a coalition wouldn’t have been that hard.
With a bit more observation, he could find out. For now, training was a priority.
“It’s fine. We can definitely catch them. Just trust me. Just listen to my words!”
Ghislaine declared, pulling the group toward the cliff. They had devised a plan to launch a surprise attack from the cliff.
But before everyone even managed to finish climbing, they were exhausted.
Deneb and Kyle said in strained voices.
“G-Ghislaine! We’ll lose all our energy before we even start fighting!”
“If we fight like this, we’ll die!”
Regardless, Ghislaine climbed diligently up the cliff.
“Normally… You have to exert yourself to your limit to sharpen your senses and develop your skills quickly… Just… keep climbing.”
Ghislaine was also feeling like he was about to die. Aston’s physical abilities, having only studied, were really pathetic.
The four used mana and divine power to a minimum while scaling the cliff. They couldn’t afford to be fatigued when it came time to fight.
Eventually, when they reached the backside of the hideout, they were all completely worn out.
“Ugh!”
The moment they hit the ground, all four fell and screamed. But they couldn’t stay down for long.
“What the hell are those guys?!”
“How did they get up here?!”
“Catch them right now!”
The vigilant bandits were startled and rushed toward them.
Ghislaine leaned on his staff and trembled as he stood up.
“Get up… It’s time for the surprise… to begin.”
The three looked at Ghislaine with expressions of despair.
It was a meaningless ambush that had drained all their energy.