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125th Chapter

“Damn it. With two bombs… what do I do? Should Reiner and I split up? Or should we remove them one at a time together?”

My mind was a swirling frenzy of thoughts. The possibility of two bombs was beyond my wildest imagination.

As I quickly racked my brain, Tina continued speaking.

[We still haven’t received any updates on the location. I’ll let you know as soon as I hear something! For now, just know that there are two bombs. And it seems the group working on the bomb near the plaza has begun to move. They should start getting things going soon.]

“……Understood.”

[Thanks for your hard work.]

Click.

Tina hastily ended the connection, likely having to contact me secretly while being watched.

I stood momentarily frozen, biting my lip as I turned to Reiner.

“……What’s going on?”

The smile he’d shown earlier was completely gone, replaced by a cold, blank expression as he stared at me. I sighed deeply.

“They say… there are two bombs.”

In that moment, Reiner wore a look that made it clear he wanted to curse profoundly.

‘……Wow.’

The expression flickered for a brief second, but that unhealthy look Reiner wore clung to my memory vividly.

“……Are both bombs set for the central plaza? Or are they in different locations?”

“I still don’t know. The bomb at the central plaza is currently being installed, and they’ll inform me about the location of the other one as soon as they find out.”

Reiner nodded heavily at my words. I gripped the hilt of my sword tightly.

“We don’t have time. Let’s move quickly. As we discussed, I’ll check the east and south sides. Reiner, please take care of the west and north. If anything goes wrong, contact me immediately.”

“Yes.”

It would be inefficient to blindly chase the traces of dark magic in this vast plaza. Reiner and I had agreed to search in different directions before the foundation day celebrations, and to contact each other when we sensed any strong traces of dark magic.

Reiner nodded and swiftly pushed through the crowd towards the west.

‘Now… let’s focus.’

Taking a deep breath, I made my way quickly to the first station in the east. It was the entrance to the festival street.

‘Dark magic.’

A cursed magic strictly prohibited by almost every nation, including the Empire. Dark magic, which defies the flow of nature and wields great power, stands in complete opposition to the aura I usually use.

‘And the opposite is actually easier to read.’

Negative energies often linger more deeply than positive ones. It was easier to pursue a feeling that repulsed me to my core rather than something familiar and pleasant.

‘…Just like Zigmund.’

For a moment, my rival flashed in my mind, and I blinked rapidly.

A truly long-standing grudge.

Even before we had parted ways, it had been difficult to call him a close friend, and now he remained a scar that wouldn’t fade from my memory. I wanted to forget, but I still vividly remembered his face, the way he wielded his sword, his little habits, and even his scent.

I tried to shake off the unsettling image of his violet eyes and took a deep breath.

Hiss.

As I narrowed my eyes and released my mana, a strong wind whipped around me. People startled by the sudden gust looked around, but I ignored them and focused on reading the dark magic energy.

A multitude of energies rushed into my head, momentarily choking me. Among the overwhelming currents, searching for the dark magic energy felt like trying to find a single black thread intertwined in a flood of thousands of colorful threads.

‘……It is here.’

As I focused, I couldn’t help but grimace. There was indeed a faint and ambiguous energy, like a single thin silk thread split into ten and twisted again.

‘To the left.’

I cautiously moved in the direction of that energy.

By releasing my mana and concentrating deeply, I could feel everything in detail.

Colorful stalls adorned with vibrant colors and various decorations cluttered the festival street. The sounds of children laughing, food being prepared, noisy conversations, and footfalls mixed together.

The smells of numerous people’s perfumes, various foods, the scent of the wind passing by, and the fragrance of flowers swaying along the roadside crowded my senses.

With every step, I felt the textures of fabrics brushing against my body and the weight of the air pressing down on my skin. Someone’s gaze bore down on me from behind.

Amidst all the distractions, I doggedly pursued only the energy that was the most repulsive to me, ignoring everything else around me.

The further I moved, the thicker the energy became. Of course, it was still faint, but the gradually intensifying energy was enough to quicken my pace.

I focused on the thread-like flow as I weaved through the crowd.

Just as I was immersed in following that energy—

‘Ah.’

I suddenly lifted my head at a familiar scent.

“Lord Mir.”

I ran into Reiner, who had been tracking the energy alongside me.

“It seems Lord Einhart feels it too.”

“Yes.”

I greeted him warmly, and he nodded in response.

‘I should’ve stuck together.’

Despite dividing the search area considering the plaza’s vastness, Reiner and I seemed to be instinctively honing in on the right direction together. Progress was faster than I had worried about, and I checked my watch.

“There’s about… 50 minutes until the procession starts. We need to hurry.”

At a glance, that seemed like ample time, but without knowing the capabilities of the bomb installation crew, I was uncertain how the battle might unfold, so we had to locate the bombs as quickly as possible.

Just as Reiner and I were about to move together—

Bzzz—

My earrings vibrated again.

“……We have a contact.”

A heavy atmosphere settled between Reiner and me. After exchanging a glance, I nodded and tapped my earrings.

“Your Excellency, what seems to be the matter?”

[Damn it. We’re in big trouble!]

Tina’s voice pierced my eardrums, sounding frazzled and as if she might burst into pieces any moment. Her frantic tone was so loud that even Reiner, who had been silently waiting beside me, looked startled.

‘Something… has gone seriously wrong.’

A sense of dread enveloped me, but calming down the evidently overly excited Tina was my priority. I spoke in a steady voice.

“You seem quite shaken, but first, please calm down a bit. Explain the situation step by step, and we will handle it on our end.”

[Damn it! Hell! So… J

Hearing Tina, usually so dignified and upright, curse was a first for me. Amidst heavy, ragged breaths—as if she’d rushed from somewhere—I heard her voice finally calm down.

[I sensed something unusual in their movements. So the explosion time for the bomb has been moved up to 20 minutes! They’re planning to detonate it right before the procession!]

“What?!”

Stunned by her mention of unusual movements, I was left speechless when I heard the time had been moved up.

‘Damn it, how the hell?’

Reiner and I were perfectly blended into the surging crowd. I moved without wearing even a hint of mana, wary not to attract any suspicion.

And yet, to have detected our unusual movements was nearly impossible.

‘The remaining time… is only 30 minutes.’

The detection of the movement, combined with the shortened time, was the worst possible scenario.

Many questions remained unanswered, but I forced myself to stay calm and took a deep breath.

“……Got it. We will figure out how to handle the shortened time…

[But that’s not all.]

As my mind began to race with urgency, eager to end the contact, Tina’s interruption stopped me in my tracks.

[I just learned where the second bomb is located.]

‘Damn it. There was one more bomb.’

I gripped my head. I was unsure if I could truly handle this increasingly serious incident.

I forcibly shut off the faucet of anxiety, worry, and fear threatening to overflow in my thoughts and replied.

“Where is it?”

[……It’s in the carriage where the Emperor and the Crown Prince await the procession. That bomb has already been set in place. It seems it was installed without my notice. This bomb will take out just that carriage, and it’ll explode in 20 minutes.]

‘Insane.’

I brushed my bangs roughly back.

The starting position for the procession would change depending on whether it was the Emperor faction, the noble faction, or the temple faction. They would all begin from the Imperial Palace, the foundation stone, or the temple and only when they converged in the capital center would the procession truly start.

The terrorists were attempting to blow up the carriage carrying the Emperor and the Crown Prince as they moved towards the procession.

‘Are these bastards completely out of their minds?’

I felt disillusioned, distrustful, angry, and bewildered all at once about this situation. Blowing up a bomb during the foundation day parade was insane enough, but targeting the carriage with both the Emperor and the Crown Prince was madness that could lead to immediate execution for treason.

‘They really seem determined to commit treason.’

Watching Diego being crowned as the Crown Prince, while still refusing to let go of Serenon as the Emperor, made me feel desperate, and hearing news of an alliance with the North confirmed my half-suspicions.

Kypros was clearly trying to overthrow the current regime in collaboration with the North.

‘How… are they planning to handle this?’

The situation was getting more complicated, and I felt like my head might explode. I took a breath and tried to collect myself.

“……Understood. For both bombs… I will do my best to handle them. Don’t worry.”

I struggled to calm Tina. My voice trembled, making it sound more like a bluff, but I wanted her to settle down.

[……Okay. I’ll be counting on you.]

Tina’s voice was heavy. It sounded as if she half-accepted the grim reality of the situation, yet there was still a strong glimmer of hope in her tone.

Even in this situation, Tina trusted me.

Click.

The connection was severed and Tina’s voice vanished, but the weight of this incident still bore down heavily on my shoulders.

Just as I had faced monsters countless times as Mir, I stood before the impossible once again.

The wall of impossibility remained thick, and the trials I faced far exceeded my abilities.

‘What should I do?’

Facing monsters had been easier in some ways. Back then, I only had to protect my own life.

Even if it looked tough, I could throw myself into it and survive against all odds, even to the brink of death, just by using my wits to endure and push through.

But this time, I needed to save others’ lives.

No matter how I calculated the time, I couldn’t figure out how to disarm both bombs in the plaza and the carriage. I would have to give up one.

But there was no way I could abandon either.

‘How… can I weigh lives against each other?’

Just because there were many people in the plaza didn’t mean the two people in the carriage were lesser. Nor did the fact that the two in the carriage were the Emperor and the Crown Prince mean they were more precious than the countless innocent civilians in the plaza. At least, not to me.

‘…Diego.’

Suddenly, his face flashed in my mind. The closest thing I had to a perfect ruler, a man who resembled the radiant sun.

He would likely have told me to save the people in the plaza in this situation. Diego always prioritized the citizens of the Empire. I was certain that even if I had asked Helios, he would have given the same answer as Diego.

But even so, I couldn’t abandon them.

“……Lord. Mir! Mir!”

What snapped me out of my thoughts was a familiar voice calling my name.

The voice of the most sincere, steadfast person.

As I lifted my gaze, unwavering golden flames illuminated me.

‘Reiner.’

Facing him, I sighed.

I had been mistaken for a moment. I thought I was alone. Whenever I faced insurmountable impossible odds, I usually found myself alone, so I had momentarily excluded his presence from my thoughts.

Once, he had helped me defeat Harabana. During the moments of disaster, he was there to support and stay by my side. He wished for my safety more fervently than anyone else.

‘I have Reiner.’

I was not alone.

Without hesitation, I gripped Reiner’s hand tightly. The warmth that pressed against my cold body melted my fear away.

In surprise at my sudden action, Reiner’s expression changed, but I held his gaze steady and said,

“Reiner, I need you.”

 

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