Chapter 131

Posted by Kuze, ? Views, Released on March 10, 2025

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“Seoli, what did you say…?”

– Keeeiii!!

Nisia’s words were cut off by the loud roar of the beast knight.

The beast knight, who had been staring intently at Seoli, glanced at us once, and its massive body turned around.

“Uh? Just a moment—”

Before the words could finish, the creature pushed off from the ground.

It seemed that was all it had come for; there was no hesitation in the beast knight’s movement as it galloped away across the earth.

The retreating back of the creature quickly grew distant.

“It just left….”

A feeling of regret crept in, so I muttered those words quietly. As I did, I felt a small but warm presence on my back.

“Bye, little Mommy! I’ll come again later!”

Seoli, speaking with a lively voice, patted my back gently.

“Huh? Seoli, you really said you’ll come back?”

“Yep! They’re going to bring more of what Seoli ate today!”

“What you ate…?”

I was confused by the term “what you ate” for a moment, but then I recalled Seoli absorbing bead-like things earlier.

“You mean the bead-like things you absorbed a little while ago when you said you ‘ate,’ right?”

“Yeah! That’s right!”

Seoli smiled with a wide grin.

Honestly, I wasn’t sure if what Seoli did could be classified as “eating,” but I decided not to nitpick.

At any rate, it seems Seoli can indeed communicate with cryptids.

Woooom—

A loud noise suddenly interrupted my thoughts.

Turning my head in the direction of the sound, I saw Iason, who had been hovering in the sky, slowly approaching.

[Hey, kids! Are you hurt?! What was that monster that was here just now?]

The voice of Ms. Banetta echoed.

I was about to respond, but the loud noise made it seem like my words would be drowned out, so I waved instead.

Seoli, who observed my actions silently, giggled and imitated the same gesture.

Watching her innocent behavior, a question suddenly came to mind.

“Seoli, can I ask you something?”

“Yeah! Go ahead!”

Seoli stopped waving and looked at me.

“A little while ago, when you were on the ship and pointed at here—why did you do that?”

“Hmmm? The ship?”

“It was the one we were riding on a little while ago, remember? That’s what a ship is, Seoli.”

After Nisia supplemented the explanation, Seoli’s eyes lit up brightly with an “Ah-ha!”

“There were things to eat, so I pointed there!”

“Things you could eat? You mean those beads from before?”

“Yep!”

Seoli giggled again.

Even though Seoli used to have a bright smile, the slightly grown-up version of her seemed even more expressive with her emotions.

While we were having this conversation, Iason landed and Ms. Banetta disembarked.

“Hey, kids! Are you okay?”

“Ms. Banetta, we’re fine.”

“Ba-ne-ssa!”

Seoli imitated my words.

Ms. Banetta’s eyes widened at the unfamiliar voice calling her name.

“Huh? Was that voice just now Seoli’s?”

“Yeah! That’s right! Seoli did it!”

“…”

She clearly looked flustered.

Perhaps because the sudden growth in Seoli’s abilities was hard to understand, even for Ms. Banetta, her expression turned complex and mixed as she looked at us.

A silent moment passed.

With a deep sigh, Ms. Banetta finally spoke.

“I keep saying this, but Edu’s work always produces results that surpass imagination.”

After quietly muttering with a tone of resignation, Ms. Banetta quickly regained her energy and made a proposal.

“Hmm, since it’s already happened anyway—how about we go inside and talk about it?”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah!”

…

Central Zone, Ark No. 1.

A group of people with long ears walked down the corridor of a large administrative building.

At the forefront of the group marched a dignified-looking elderly elf with silvery-white hair.

Harphandel Chronos.

One of the representatives of the Commerce Guild, he was a figure who wielded significant influence over the economy of Fangju. Together with his aides, he headed toward the President’s office.

“Have you arrived? The three of them are waiting inside.”

The soldiers affiliated with the Ground Reclamation Force recognized him and greeted him.

The senior soldier knocked on the door of the office.

“Commander, the guest you summoned has arrived.”

– Let him enter.

“Understood, please go in.”

After confirming the voice from inside, the soldiers opened the door.

“Thank you, you may wait out here.”

“Understood, Master.”

Harphandel gave instructions to his aides and then entered the room through the open door.

The three heads inside, waiting for him, turned toward Harphandel.

The Chancellor of the Academy, Ryuze Erharknen.

The Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Reclamation Force, Freya Agria.

The First Army Commander, Simonia Hallet.

Even though Harphandel himself held a certain degree of influence and status, the three people before him were a level above that.

After slightly bowing his head in greeting, Harphandel spoke first.

“It’s good to see you again after the last incident. Why have you summoned me?”

“We have some matters to discuss among the elders.”

“Hooh.”

Reacting to the phrase “among the elders,” Harphandel understood the implications and replied with a serious expression.

“I understand. Please proceed.”

“The revolution has succeeded. The First Army Commander has been eliminated, and all other branches of the government are under control. All that remains is to appoint trustworthy individuals to establish a new government.”

Ryuze gave a brief summary of the current situation.

But among many words, only one phrase truly stuck in Harphandel’s mind.

It was the one about the elimination of the First Army Commander.

Harphandel’s gaze briefly shifted toward Simonia, but she showed no reaction.

‘Was their relationship strained?’ Harphandel thought for a moment before refocusing on the discussion.

“I see. What about the President?”

The President.

In any revolution, securing the key figures such as the President or the Minister of National Defense is essential.

Given this, Harphandel had expected that question, but Ryuze’s answer was different from what he anticipated.

“That’s why we called you. ID, display the stored images.”

[Code verified. Visualizing and displaying the data stored in the images.]

A holographic screen appeared in the center of the four.

The photos contained within depicted the horrific scenes that had unfolded at the administrative building.

“What is this…?”

“These were seen by Freya and her subordinates who went to subdue the President. It seems we were a step too late.”

“Is that so.”

Harphandel carefully scrutinized the holographic screen.

Even at the sight of the horrific corpses, the elderly elf did not flinch and methodically checked each photo.

“This is indeed an unusual incident.”

“Does it seem that way to you as well? Allow me to elaborate further—”

Ryuze informed Harphandel of the strange aspects that Simonia had discovered.

After listening to the entire story, Harphandel nodded.

“I understand. So, you suspect the President of plotting something?”

Harphandel’s question was met with simultaneous nods from the three.

“That’s correct, doesn’t it seem too suspicious?”

“It’s way too coincidental.”

“Sly but amateurish. And from what you both have said, that was the kind of person he was, right?”

Simonia flicked her tongue.

“So it’s obvious, isn’t it?”

“I agree with that. Your deduction, Commander First Army, and the evidence left behind both seem far from typical cases.”

The contrast between bold actions and amateurish mistakes.

In short, there were no hesitations in the actions but also a lack of experience in executing such deeds.

A paradoxical contradiction.

However, that contradiction closely resembled the essence of the President, as explained by Edu.

“So, what do you plan to do?”

“At this point, we are not going to inform Edu.”

The unexpected answer made Harphandel furrow his brow.

“May I ask the reason?”

“It may sound like we’re being too picky…”

Ryuze’s voice trailed off.

“Don’t we all know? That child carries burdens far beyond her age.”

Though Edu is out there causing upheavals and accomplishing many things without much self-awareness, the reality is that she is essentially just a young girl.

The other three nodded with heavy expressions in agreement with Ryuze’s words.

“It’s already tough enough. I don’t want to involve her in the darkness of humanity.”

The darkness of humanity.

Even though there are more good people in the world, the darkness lurking in the hearts of wicked people transcends imagination.

Ryuze’s candid words led to a brief silence.

The other three also remained quiet, having experienced countless facets of humanity.

After a long pause, Freya carefully spoke.

“I agree. Edu’s intentions are noble, but children her age should be playing and laughing.”

A young girl who courageously stands up against global crises, despite her tender years.

Of course, Edu possesses knowledge and power far beyond her years, which enables her to do such things, but that doesn’t change the fact that she still lives a life different from other ordinary girls.

“It’s partly because we aren’t competent enough that Edu has to work so hard…”

A self-deprecating comment.

Despite knowing that a young girl is putting herself in danger, the four lack the power to stop her and let her live a normal life.

“I reckon she could indulge a little more in childish behavior.”

“I agree.”

Simonia chimed in, and Harphandel followed suit.

Reaching a shared understanding among the four.

“Then, shall we handle this among ourselves and keep it a secret from Edu?”

Freya’s suggestion was met with nods from the others.

“In that case, we’ll need to ensure that Edu doesn’t get into any dangerous situations. Does anyone have a good idea?”

“My forces are still in training, and it might take a bit longer before they are ready for deployment.”

Simonia’s words were acknowledged by Freya with a nod.