Chapter 293: A Crazy Bastard and an even Crazier Bastard (2)

After "Hero," something caught the attention of Crown Prince Alberu Crossman.

[Birth of the ?? God]

Alberu's gaze lingered on "?? God."

‘Hmm.’

There was only one word that could fit there.

‘Is it referring to the Absolute God?’

He already knew, thanks to the message Cale had sent him, about the ambitions of some Gods, Demons, and Hunters to turn this virtual reality world into another real world.

“…Annoying.”

However, he felt that the two letters replacing "??" would not be "Absolute."

“Maybe…”

Although they referred to the Absolute God, the real name of the God might be something different. Alberu frowned but quickly shook his head to clear the complicated thoughts.

‘I must send a message to Cale Henituse.’

He didn't need to make hasty judgments alone.

“What’s the matter?”

Alberu raised his head upon hearing the voice calling him. It was Ahn Roh Man, the President of Earth 3, and also the number one Player in this game, who was looking at him with concerned eyes. Alberu responded indifferently.

“Nothing important.”

“Really?”

Ahn Roh Man's eyes examined him up and down. Alberu didn't hide his displeasure.

“What?”

Ahn Roh Man smiled widely.

“Nothing, just…”

With a elegant and mature smile on his lips, Ahn Roh Man shrugged as if it were nothing and turned his back to Alberu.

“If anything happens, let me know. I want to help.”

At these words, Alberu responded while looking at his back.

“Sure. If I have doubts, I’ll ask you. Who else could I turn to?”

“Haha, thanks for saying that.”

Ahn Roh Man chuckled as he briefly turned around.

“When will you call me confidently?”

“What?”

Ahn Roh Man, with a playful tone, said.

“When will you call me Hyung?”

(Note: Hyung = Older Brother)

Alberu let out a dry laugh and responded in an equally playful tone.

“I don’t put just anyone above me.”

“Wow, as expected, the prince is different, huh?”

Both laughed briefly before resuming their path. They had a mission to complete today.

Swish, swish.

Ahn Roh Man cleared the jungle with his sword, opening a path. Alberu walked comfortably along the cleared path, observing his surroundings and looking at Ahn Roh Man.

‘Ahn Roh Man.’

He was helping Cale and Alberu for various reasons, including his enmity with the Transparent Blood Family.

‘…Not a comrade.’

Ahn Roh Man was not someone to be trusted. He was more cunning than he seemed and had his own hidden objectives that had not yet been revealed.

‘Hmm.’

Alberu’s eyes darkened as he looked at Ahn Roh Man’s back.

Swish, swish.

And Ahn Roh Man’s eyes, clearing the jungle, also darkened like the shadows of the jungle.

‘Not easy.’

‘Not easy.’

Both men held the same assessment of each other as they advanced silently through the jungle. Alberu had not yet accepted the second main mission.

?? God and Hero.

And the Hero’s Companions.

Seeing those words, Alberu knew it could only be resolved by finding Cale Henituse.

‘But…’

Alberu let out a sarcastic laugh.

‘Hero?’

Me, a Hero?

‘What nonsense.’

Alberu, always self-aware, knew that while he could act like a Hero, he did not possess the qualities to be a true Hero.

‘Choi Han, Cale Henituse, Rosalyn…’

Yes, the Heroes that could come out of a tale were already around him.

‘I…’

I fit better as the King who gives the Hero the mission. Alberu let out another dry laugh and began to walk, leaving behind thoughts about the second main mission.

===================

Main Mission 1 [Become the First Dark Elf Emperor] In progress

- Sub Mission 5 [Gain the Recognition of the Jungle Witch] In progress

===================

He needed to become Emperor within this game.

***

After the Third Inquisitor Erza left, Cale looked at the empty chair in front of him.

“Will she do well?”

At the worried voice of the First Bishop, Cale nodded. Nevertheless, the First Bishop added:

“What if she goes to Exion and tells him everything, or reveals the existence of our Commander to the Inquisitors?”

“It doesn’t matter, right?”

Cale shrugged.

“Even if the worst happens, in the end, we’ll just have to fight. And that’s something inevitable.”

Cale’s words might seem carefree. However, the First Bishop remained silent at Cale’s continuation.

“Don’t worry. Don’t we have a watch assigned to her?”

“That’s true.”

The First Bishop recalled what he had seen a moment ago. Cale Henituse had looked at the air and spoken.

‘Are you there, Liberty?’

At that moment, a small whirlwind appeared around him.

Clank, clank.

Suddenly, the window of the hall shook strongly, and Clopeh Sekka opened it. The wind rushed in.

‘…A Wind Elemental!’

The First Bishop, seeing the shocked face of Erza, knew the presence was a Wind Elemental.

‘Liberty will be with you.’

Erza was stunned. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Cale spoke in a low voice.

‘It seems you feel the presence of the Elemental. But you are someone who cannot see Elementals, right?’

‘…’

Erza, unable to say anything, left the place with the Wind Elemental watching over her.

“…Even if Erza tries something, we will receive the information. There’s nothing to worry about.”

The First Bishop exhaled a sigh and relaxed his body.

Meanwhile, Erza, the Third Inquisitor, looked at the hall door with tense shoulders. But her body remained rigid.

She could not relax even a bit.

Suddenly, in the windless hallway, a breeze began to blow. The fresh air gently wrapped around her cheek, as if telling her to relax. Erza’s expression became peculiar.

"Someone who cannot see Elementals."

For the Third Inquisitor Erza, this nickname was as humiliating as the title "Elf Butcher." An Elf who could neither see nor make contracts with Elementals. Such an Elf was truly useless. However, her clan had protected and cared for her warmly. Although she called the deceased clan leader "great-uncle," she was actually an orphan. She had been abandoned when very young, and her uncle had picked her up, raising her as his own daughter, sometimes strictly and other times with affection. He had asked her to call him father, but she couldn’t do it and called him uncle. Her uncle's children, her cousins, also treated her as a sister.

And all of them had died.

They had disobeyed the orders of the Dragon Lord.

‘It is true that we respect Dragons because they do things worthy of respect. We must not revere them just for existing. If they abandon their role as mediators and protectors of the world and show greed, we must stop them.’

Her uncle never retracted his words. As a result, her clan was almost exterminated, but the Great Elder bowed his head, and they managed to survive.

‘I want to see the Great Elder.’

Erza's face twisted slightly. She remembered the words of the red-haired Human, Cale Henituse.

‘I would like you to arrange a meeting. Tonight, would be perfect.’

It was an order, much like those from the Dragon Lord, without any options.

Swoosh-

Once again, a soft breeze caressed her face, especially her furrowed brow. Erza's expression turned strange. She recalled another thing that Human, whose presence was overwhelming, had said.

‘It seems you can sense the presence of Elementals. But you can't see them, right?’

Erza couldn't respond. She thought this Human also looked down on her. And yet, she blamed herself for not being able to even move her head in his presence. Then, the Human spoke again.

‘I also have an Elf around me who cannot form contracts with Elementals.’

Erza stopped.

Was there another Elf like that?

‘Oh, but that one has an exceptional healing power. Almost at the level of a high priest.’

Cale was talking about the Healing Elf Pendrick.

‘If he has healing power, I suppose you got combat power, Erza.’

In his casual tone, there was a simplicity that only stated the facts.

"Haa."

Erza sighed and feeling the breeze on her cheek, she unconsciously gave a small smile. She spoke to the air, knowing she couldn't see the Elementals.

"Aren't you supposed to be watching me? Is it okay to comfort me like this?"

She couldn't see or hear the Elementals. She could only vaguely feel their presence when they used their powers. Therefore, she didn't hear what the Elementals murmured around her.

"Sniff... Liberty! What a nice scent! I like this, Elf! I've finally found her!"

Other Wind Elementals near Liberty whispered.

"Hey, shouldn't we tell her that a crazy Elemental is stuck to her?"

"I don't know. She can't hear us, right?"

"What do we do?"

"I don't know. She can't form contracts anyway, so it doesn't matter!"

"True."

Liberty murmured.

"Liberty, chaos, romance! Strong Elf! Sniff, sniff. Elf swordsman! Chaos! Destruction! Annihilation!"

A soft, refreshing breeze swirled around Erza. She felt strange experiencing this for the first time and headed towards the Great Elder.

"Hm."

She briefly stopped and looked at the closed door of the hall. She then jumped out of the second-floor hallway window into the courtyard where the Great Elder was.

Meanwhile, Cale kept staring at the empty chair and remembered what she had said.

"I will know if I talk to him?"

The 3rd Inquisitor Erza had talked about the Dragon Exion.

‘Exion, by his nature, probably wants to talk to you. He doesn't like fighting as much as you think. Especially, he hates seeing his loved ones get hurt.’

Sighing, she continued.

‘He deeply values all his followers and all the races under his command. He wants to avoid the fight at all costs. So, he wants to talk.’

The First Bishop said, ‘Then, that's good.’

Erza sighed and said firmly.

‘...You will know if you talk to him.’

Cale had seen the fear in her eyes. Although Erza spoke calmly, she was clearly scared.

‘...You will realize that you can't reason with a madman when you meet him.’

Cale leaned back in his chair.

"A madman with whom you can't reason, huh."

At that moment...

"Hehe."

A low laugh made Cale shiver. He slowly looked to the side.

Drip, drip~

He observed Clopeh Sekka, who was pouring tea and looking at him with a smile.

"Cale-nim, I learned something while forming and leading the Indomitable Alliance."

His words were a friendly piece of advice to Cale, so he decided to listen. Clopeh continued in a soft tone.

"There are no madmen with whom you can't reason."

"Really?"

"Yes. All those I spoke to ended up understanding."

Clopeh smiled with radiant sanctity.

"They all nodded and said I was right."

"..."

Although Cale's expression turned sour, Clopeh continued speaking softly.

"Cale-nim is a better conversationalist than I am. In a conversation, you will surely show your excellence, and the communication will be perfect."

"...Sure."

Cale was sure that Clopeh's conversers didn't agree just because he spoke well, but he didn't feel like talking anymore, so he simply nodded.

'Yes, sure.'

Like me, everyone else must have said yes in this way. Cale avoided Clopeh's smiling gaze.

***

That same night. They decided that Raon would infiltrate the second group of Bishops with Choi Han the next day, after ruling out teleportation due to the magic security devices.

"Commander."

The Pope Casillia, visibly fatigued, spoke to Cale.

"Exion has made a request."

While Cale waited for a response, Casillia thought about his serenity. She continued.

"He wants to meet my collaborator and have dinner together."

The Dragon Exion had extended a hand to Cale through the Pope in the most peaceful way possible. So, Cale also responded peacefully.

"Sure. Tell him I'm looking forward to a delicious dinner."

Shortly after, the Third Inquisitor Erza sought him out.

Swoosh~

A stronger breeze than before surrounded Erza.

"The Great Elder has accepted the meeting."

Looking at the night outside, Cale told Erza.

"Perfect. Let's go."

It was time to meet the Great Elder and the World Tree.

***

If you find any errors or have suggestions, please feel free to provide feedback.

Thank you for reading!

[Author – Yu Ryeo Han]

[Translator – Anowa]

[Proofreader – Rai_Mayank]