Reincarnated Young Lady Aims to Be an Adventurer - Volume 9 Chapter 156

Translator: Jasper Kadowaki | Editor: NovelMultiverse

“Serafiona was captured by Judor? Are you sure?” Gilan asked Arthur, with a raised eyebrow. They were in the head office, as Gilan demanded an answer. 

“Yes. Multiple subordinates of mine have reported the same thing to me.”

“Why did she head to the outskirts of the royal capital?”

“…It appears she was in a rush for glory, doesn’t it?”

Gilan put down the pen in his left hand and leaned back in his black leather armchair, making it creak under his weight. He looked up at Arthur. 

“I see…” said Gilan, “She’s an essential asset. Arthur, go retrieve her.”

“Wha… Hold on a second, sir. Why me?”

“You’re a superior officer. You’re my right-hand man and commander of the fourth battalion. Take some responsibility.” 

Arthur fell silent. 

He bit his lower lip and glared at the ground at his feet.

“…So it’s as I expected. Wow… I didn’t think you were that foolish. My god… If we don’t have Serafiona, our chances at coming out of this war victorious are reduced to nothing.”

“That’s insane! Even without that backstabber’s daughter, Galle only needs to raise its full strength!”

The corners of Gilan’s lips twitched upwards. 

“How do you look at our current status in battle and still not get it? The quality of our troops, the sheer number of troops we have, and even the funds we can back them up with – we have five times what Judor has in every one of those categories. And yet, ultimately, it’s all overturned by the occurrence of these “miracles”. On top of that, they have propaganda that’s so good, it’s practically brainwashing. It’s clear at this point that we’re not fighting an ordinary war.”

“W-Well, then what are we fighting?”

“We’re up against backing from inhuman assistance. Put simply, they have Holy Beasts on their side.”

“Like our nation’s sacred bird?”

“When I was studying abroad in Judor, things were still all right. In the ten years since then, Serafiona closely watched the people of Judor and the center region become strange. Then she had the Holy Beast of the West that she was using taken away from her. It was done with a power that surpassed even Serafiona’s power, which is bottomless. It doesn’t make normal sense. Serafiona was the one person who knew about the vague, evil energy on the side of the enemy. She had the chance to make them have a reaction. She is a priceless key. Did you think we were just scouting a first-class mage?”

“Ah…”

“The one that made me come to the conclusion that there was an invisible, compelling force at work was Serafiona, too. Didn’t you realize anything while listening to our conversations over that board game? Night after night, we went over the users and contracted ones and their peculiar abilities and compared them to their countries’ myths. We came up with hypotheses about their powers that were yet unknown, did we not?”

“I thought that was just talk of fairy-tales… You were telling fairy-tales, I didn’t know they had actually meaning behind them… B-But, this is a woman who has betrayed her country, once! She has betrayed her country easily, yet again!”

“Are you suggesting that she could betray me so easily? …Ah, but then again, it’s true that I’ve been betrayed by people in my circle, many times…”

Arthur gasped, and subconsciously took a step back.

“I couldn’t stomach it, so I didn’t give the order to have her killed in such a half-hearted setting. She ended up becoming a lure, in a much more effective situation and advanced our cause, you know? …I’m called supremely evil and inhuman, but she looked at me directly in my eyes, and swore to give her life up to me.”

Arthur remained silent.

“So, Arthur, what did Serafiona leave behind for me?”

“N-nothing of particular value…”

“I will be the judge of that. Hurry up and bring it all out here.”

Arthur ordered the soldiers outside the door to bring what she had left behind. He then handed over a brown envelope to Gilan. 

“…It’s hair. The bet that she made on that night… She’s a very interesting woman, indeed. There’s a perfect magical power within this hair that holy beasts must like… Serafiona, I’m going to put this to good use.”

Gilan got up and put a cape on.

“W-Where will you go?”[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the “Novel Multiverse dot com” website @ novelmultiverse.com]

“…The holy mountain, Beluga. I will go to where our holy bird resides. I will use this hair to call upon the holy bird, and I will bring to it a great force… I will bring truth. I will ask it if it will take that woman who has just suddenly appeared, or whether it will stand by as Galle’s protector. If it doesn’t choose Galle, I will kill it then and there. If it agrees to stand by me… I will use its strange magic to bring about justice and turn back the invasion on Galle, and use it to burn down Judor, who has forced this irrational war.”

Gilan spoke matter-of-factly as he passed by Arthur. 

“W-wait, sir, please!”

“You need not follow me. Anyone who walks beside me at this point would only irritate me.”

“Lord Gilan!!!”

Gilan put the head office behind him.

Gilan walked alone, letting the cape flutter behind him as his steps echoed. He looked out the hallway window at the cloudy skies.

“Serafiona… She had the same look in her eyes as I do… She’s a woman that knows about loneliness and hopelessness… Well, I’ll see her soon. In hell, ha!” Gilan began to laugh as he gripped the black hair in his right hand.

“You are the only person who has ever sworn true loyalty to me. Although you had committed betrayal, you were straight with me to a fault, and you never once uttered a lie to me… You are the one person I would never betray. I will get revenge for you. Wait for me up ahead. You are the one ally I will bring along with me, in this lifetime.”

Gilan’s icy blue eyes were completely frozen over.

◇◇◇

I woke myself up. It was still nighttime. The strong defensive barrier that surrounded me while I slept was not broken. 

Was it a dream?

I glared at the knots in the wooden ceiling above me and made sure I would never forget this. 

That vision I just had felt extremely real… Was this the “past life” Sera had talked about?

I would turn it over in my mind from the beginning. 

A “time-reversal” that occurred after this point in time…

I tucked my chin in and turned slowly to the left. In this world, Serafiona had her hand on me, her husband’s chest, and was sleeping soundly. 

Serafiona still had her precious, shining black hair in this world, and sheets the color of Lu’s eyes were spread out beneath.

On that day in Marsh, this hair had become shortened, and when I looked at Sera with a scar across her cheek, my heart was pained so badly that I couldn’t stand it. Did it have something to do with why I lost Sera, who I valued so much?

I took a strand of Serafiona’s hair and put it in my mouth. 

Why now? Was this the will of the Goddess?

The fact that they were starting strife with the neighboring rising nation of Galle, and growing larger steadily came to mind. There was news that common sense didn’t work on them and that they were ignoring various countries’ claims, but since they had not entered Galle, they had been ignored. Was stepping in a foolish move?

…Not to worry, attacking a small fry like that was out of the question. I would have soon sent Arthur to that area and had him quell the unrest. If I had Judor’s Cecil cooperate and flanked them on either side, it wouldn’t have taken much time at all. 

When I woke up, Serafiona, who was worried about me in my sleep, also woke up. Serafiona had just returned late in the night from Trundle. Everything could be settled in the morning. 

I hugged her with a serious feeling of true love. Then, a gentle feeling with all of the holy beasts’ will mixed in flowed out of Serafiona. It surrounded my body. It was as if it were subconsciously protecting me. 

According to Asu, at the Goddess’s garden, she had said that she wanted to become a wind that protected me. 

“…Unbelievable.”

I took Serafiona’s breastplate off of her, and gripped it, putting a jolt of magical energy into it. I then pushed the hair on her forehead aside, put my mouth to the crack that the Goddess had put in her head, and let my magic flow into her. I put in so much magical energy that there was no room for any more.

As long as I have Sera… This world isn’t so bad.

I snuggled up to Serafiona again and closed my eyes again. 

If no one ever pulls Sera and me apart again, I’ll stay calm. Don’t worry…

I thought this to the thin moon glinting on the other side of the thick curtain.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the “Novel Multiverse dot com” website @ novelmultiverse.com]