<Wasn’t This a Strategy Game? Chapter 114>

It was Eden who was shaken by the painful memories. The scenery surrounding the two of them changed rapidly.

Now, the breathing of Ibthan’s father had completely vanished, and the monster that had harmed him was rampaging through the forest in search of him and his brother.

Ebron pushed Ibthan into a small cave beneath a gigantic tree and dashed in the opposite direction to lure the monster away…

“Saint! Look into my eyes.”

Ibthan firmly held onto Eden’s shaking shoulders and turned her towards me.

“You shouldn’t worry about anything else.”

“Chancellor… but…”

Ebron was facing the monster… The creature was monstrous, and the odds of him overcoming it seemed bleak…

In a daze, Eden couldn’t tear her eyes away from him, trembling as Ibthan cupped her face with his hands, directing her gaze back to me.

“It’s okay. I’m here, aren’t I?”

His calm voice seeped through, kinder than ever.

“This is just an illusion. It will end soon.”

As if trying to reassure Eden, Ibthan offered a faint smile.

Eden’s breath caught as she stared intensely into those unyielding green eyes. She soon sensed that somewhere within those steadfast eyes, something was softly wavering.

Yet, Ibthan still did not look back. The more unwavering he remained, the more vicious the illusion became.

“Ibthan! Help me…! Please…!”

Behind him, Ebron’s desperate cries echoed.

But Ibthan never looked back. His gaze was solely fixed on Eden.

When Eden tried once more to see him, Ibthan suddenly pulled her into a tight embrace.

“…!”

Eden’s vision was engulfed in darkness, buried in the wide expanse of his chest.

“Don’t look back. If you intervene, it’s over.”

Only after Ebron’s breath finally ceased did his memories cruelly fall silent.

The monster’s roar pierced through the silence, threatening to shatter eardrums.

“We’ll be out of here soon. Trust me.”

Eden shut her eyes tightly at his gentle voice that drowned out the horrific screams. A chilling silence soon descended around them.

No more screams or pleas could be heard.

Then, in an instant, the ground beneath them shook and crumbled away.

Soon, an ear-splitting silence enveloped them.

“…We’re back.”

Ibthan’s voice, indistinguishable between illusion and reality, seeped in by her ear.

Slowly, Eden opened her tightly shut eyes to find herself still trapped in his arms. Ibthan remained frozen, holding her, even as he knew the curse had ended.

Eden, understanding his heart, didn’t push him away. As if time had stopped, the moment of peaceful stillness broke as the arms that embraced her gently fell away.

“Look. We’re back.”

Even though the curse had lifted, Ibthan smiled warmly at Eden, tenderly tilting his head to carefully brush the strands of hair clinging to her face.

“……”

Eden gazed into the steadfast eyes of the reliable man she hadn’t realized she admired just hours before.

Ibthan had saved me.

“…Ha.”

Finally, the breath she had been holding escaped her. Just as he said, both Ibthan and I had successfully emerged from his memory.

As her legs gave way, Eden stumbled, and Ibthan quickly supported her.

“You’re okay now. It’s all over.”

Ibthan, with a face as unchanged as ever, spoke softly to encourage her, smiling once more.

“You did well.”

As if it was truly Eden who had triumphed over that curse.

When Eden met his gaze with teary eyes, a loud clearing achievement popped up within the silent storage room.

Buried memories… At that moment, Eden finally grasped the essence of the cruel dark magic. This dark magic was a vicious curse that trapped the target in trauma.

Goodness, if it hadn’t been for rational Ibthan, she would never have gotten out.

If it had been me who had been cursed instead of Ibthan…

Ha…

“I’m sorry, Chancellor…”

If I had known this was the case, I would have refused any good reward that was offered.

With a tremendous sense of guilt, Eden bowed her head, causing a brief flicker of confusion in Ibthan’s eyes.

“It’s not your fault, Saint. It was just bad luck.”

Truly, what a rational statement. Just bad luck… The fact that his companion was Ibthan felt laughably trivial, as he was incredibly strong.

Eden then realized that Ibthan had steadfastly held his ground without wavering even once.

More unyielding than anyone.

And it was this kind of person who could save the Empire.

Not someone like me, who had been excited to save the Empire on my own.

“We need to go back now. Can you walk?”

Ibthan didn’t let go of the hand supporting Eden and moved to lead her out of the storage.

Weakly drawn by him, Eden suddenly stopped in her tracks and grabbed his hand.

Despite the sudden action, Ibthan immediately halted and looked at Eden.

“If it’s too difficult, I can carry you…”

“Patriar is the one colluding with the Dark Sorcerers.”

At her quiet voice, Ibthan’s eyes froze.

“It wasn’t Kiris.”

With a resolute face, Eden tightly gripped Ibthan’s arm.

“If we don’t stop Patriar, the Empire will fall into the hands of the Dark Sorcerers. I’m going to prevent that from now on…”

The rare sight of Ibthan showing surprise shifted to confusion as he struggled to comprehend such unfiltered truth from Eden.

Meeting his eyes, Eden conveyed the trust she had saved for a long time.

“I hope you will be with me, Chancellor.”

“What your majesty knows is all correct… 80 years ago, my great-grandfather was taken over by a wicked force, resulting in the deaths of over 200 people.”

Asmun sat tilted in his study, replaying the story that Baron Baster had shared.

“B-but that wasn’t my great-grandfather’s will. As proof, the moment he took off that wicked necklace, his mind returned.”

He had stated that he had lost all recollection of the time since then.

The story aligned with Asmun’s own findings and investigations.

Baron Baster’s great-grandfather had tortured and killed over 200 people in horrific methods for about one year.

And his atrocities ceased when an alchemist, having heard the rumors, came to visit him.

“He said that the jewel attached to that necklace was a wicked magical stone harboring the power of the Fallen Demon King.”

That tale matched what Asmun had read in the records.

“Eighty years ago, all matters related to dark magic were strictly punished, and my great-grandfather feared that possessing such a magical stone would link him to dark sorcerers, leading to false accusations. Coincidentally, that alchemist requested to take the wicked magical stone for research.”

Baron Baster trembled, fearful that Asmun might use the events from 80 years ago and the trading records with Eloch to obliterate his family line, spilling every known fact he had.

“That alchemist was quite an excellent sorcerer, I heard. But I really only know that his sorcerer name was Spinel and that he had red hair.”

All of his words lined up perfectly with what Asmun had known, so he didn’t deem it necessary to punish the foolish baron.

He knew he wouldn’t uncover anything more by pressing further.

Just then, Ronpell, who had gone to the Imperial Palace on Asmun’s orders, entered his study.

“Your majesty, to access the underground of the Imperial Palace, we need the Chancellor’s permission. I made the request, but due to the business of the Dark Sorcerers, it’s taking longer to review.”

Despite Ronpell’s awkward tone, Asmun’s expression remained unfazed. He had anticipated that gaining access to the underground palace would not be easy.

“But what business do you have in the underground palace? How could I sneak in, your majesty?”

In his covert words, Asmun responded casually.

“Forget it. Avoid drawing attention for a while. The guards must be on high alert.”

“Ah… I see. I wasn’t thinking clearly.”

However, if Ibthan took too long to respond, I might indeed have to sneak in unnoticed.

After all, there was a record regarding the whereabouts of Silverstone.

“……

Asmun remembered being trapped underground in the Imperial Palace for over a day due to the schemes of Kiris and Patriar during his childhood.

Wandering through the maze-like underground palace, Asmun stumbled upon an astonishingly large storage room. But what was even more shocking was the old cabinet inside.

Thinking back, it was dangerously reckless to have boldly stepped into the creaky cabinet, but considering he had discovered the records regarding Silverstone’s whereabouts, it was a worthwhile rashness.

“Ronpell.”

“Yes, your majesty.”

“Where do you think Silverstone is?”

At the sudden question, Ronpell’s face turned awkward.

“Well, I guess… hmm, I think the northern snowy mountains are more likely? Usually, such precious things tend to be buried in extremely perilous places!”

Ronpell chuckled at his own answer, but Asmun merely stared blankly at the air, not smiling at all.

Officially, it was known that Silverstone was buried at the edge of the land and the beginning of the sky, before the Great Saint Haila disappeared, but that didn’t align with the diary’s record.

【When the Great Saint Haila vanished without a trace, only Silverstone, imbued with the power bestowed on her by Hamun, remained in the Saint’s Room.】

【Fearful of Silverstone’s power, Chancellor Kaheer Herbert cast it into the Zamberoto Gorge, proclaiming that ‘when Silverstone reappears in the world, a calamity shall come,’ issuing a false prophecy.】

【Buried in the gorge for 120 years, Silverstone was unexpectedly brought back into human hands by a traveling merchant passing by the area.】

【Silverstone fell into the hands of Baron Baster, bringing terrible disaster to Baster territory. Controlled by the power of Silverstone, Baron Baster killed nearly 200 people over a year, unable to contain himself.】

【The alchemist Roger Levistron grew suspicious about the whereabouts of Silverstone and, having heard the rumors, visited the baron’s land; he was led to believe Silverstone was a ‘magical stone with the power of the Demon King’ and began his research for 20 years, ultimately succeeding in partially altering its properties.】

【However, Silverstone was seized by another sorcerer, and its whereabouts became elusive once again.】