# "Lord, make me an instrument of your peace!!"
"Stop saying crazy things and focus!!"
Yu-jin was still striking down the elves with his fiercely blazing eyes.
Judging by the white light at the tip of his sword bursting with each strike, his "God" seemed quite pleased with his prayer.
However, no matter how exceptional they might be, they were still students. Being skilled for their grade level simply meant the quality of their experience was different.
"We're being pushed back! We're being pushed back!!"
"I know! Hold on!"
Oswald Eastvelpen and Yuri Franck gritted their teeth as they swung their hands repeatedly. Their attacks were consistently blocked, and there seemed to be no way to break through the army advancing in tight formation.
These were troops who had survived the Demon War era. At a point when the era of peace had arrived just four years ago, no matter how lax they might have become, they were still soldiers who remembered their active duty days.
In other words, they were excessively elite forces for 21st-century transmigrators with almost no combat experience to face as their first opponents.
If killing had been the goal from the start, the battle would have ended long ago. The deck officer smiled and shouted:
"Students? Why don't you put down your weapons now?"
"When is Ivan coming?!"
Just as Yuri's tearful scream grew increasingly shrill, the deck began to shake.
-Rumble rumble...!
"What...?!"
"The wheelhouse! Check the wheelhouse! What's happening! Officer on duty!"
"Where's the captain?!"
Along with the creaking sound of the keel from below deck, a massive impact hit the deck as if the hull had exploded.
Both soldiers and transmigrators alike stumbled or fell, rolling across the floor.
"What is this?"
"Did Ivan do this...?"
Oswald steadied himself on the floor and suddenly looked up.
He could see an enormous flow of magic... no, a flow of magic containing advanced techniques.
Dark green magical energy poured into the cabin like a whirlwind. Boom, crash. The explosions grew closer.
"No, it's not Ivan. This is..."
Oswald narrowed his eyes. Soon, dense magical energy gathered in the middle of the deck.
"Get away!!"
-BOOM!!
Throwing aside Yu-jin, whose eyes had gone wild from the courage buff, Yuri grabbed the back of Oswald's neck and jumped backward. Something burst out as a large crack formed in the middle of the deck.
The object that shot out spun its body in midair, reversed direction, and landed beside the transmigrators. It was a perfectly executed landing, as if measured with a ruler.
"Ivan!"
"Hmm."
A pungent smell of gunpowder emanated from Ivan's body. He calmly looked straight ahead while gripping his axe.
"Excellent! To gather such mental focus in a world where peace has been preserved!"
"L-Lord Beolgreen?!"
The sailors' eyes widened as if they might pop out. Ivan narrowed his eyes at their reaction. What's this? Did he deceive even his fellow elves?
Why bother? If the Kalion Archipelago had wanted to support Alexandr at the national level, there would have been no need for such unnecessarily secretive methods.
"Um, Ivan. Could you please explain what this situation is all about...?"
Oswald looked with confused eyes at Beolgreen floating in the air.
As an elf, he had met Beolgreen several times before. He was a tremendous... truly overwhelming magician.
Such a being was now floating above their heads, preparing an attack spell.
"Was I a bit short?"
"You almost succeeded."
Beolgreen looked down at Ivan with an amused expression. He had lost one arm. I'll have to apologize to Lord August, he thought with a bitter smile.
"Your appearance was unexpected, but well... I must have provoked Princess Elizabeta Kirillovna Krasilov more than I anticipated. I had planned to visit more discreetly under friendlier circumstances."
As he raised his remaining hand, dark green magical energy swirled densely. Ivan stared at the scene, preparing to throw his axe.
If he could draw Beolgreen's attention to just one of the transmigrators, they might gain the upper hand.
However, neither the battlefield nor the situation was favorable.
"We'll meet again sometime. The situation isn't good right now."
"Beolgreen."
"How much do you know about Crown Prince Alexandr? Are you still loyal to your lord even knowing 'that'?"
"...What?"
Beolgreen waved his hand. Powerful magical energy gathered in the shape of a hand and lifted a carriage that had been wedged in a corner of the deck.
From inside the carriage came commotion and screams. Soon, with a clatter, the door opened.
"Come out."
"W-what is all this commotion about...! W-we came for the secret agreement...!"
"Shh, shhh. Quiet."
Beolgreen swung his remaining arm. The middle-aged man who had poked his head out of the carriage was lifted into the air by the magical force.
"So he didn't come himself. What's your name?"
"N-Nikolai Slapanovo Ryurik...! I-I have been delegated full diplomatic authority for this country!! Y-you cannot harm me!"
"Oh, you don't seem to know who you're talking to."
Beolgreen approached the man slowly with a slight smile.
He placed his right hand on the man's head and whispered softly:
"Tell me. Where is Crown Prince Alexandr now?"
Dark green magical energy swirled beneath his hand. The magic coiled like a snake and burrowed into the man's ears and eyes.
The expression gradually disappeared from the man's face. He muttered with a blank face:
"His Highness is waiting at the Foreign Ministry..."
"A man who knows nothing. What a waste of time."
With a cracking sound, the man's head drooped. Beolgreen threw the man away as if discarding trash and slowly descended onto the deck.
"What are you doing? Beolgreen, what were you planning?"
Ivan narrowed his eyes.
Since Beolgreen had said he provoked Elizabeta to make contact with Alexandr, Ivan naturally assumed that the Kalion Archipelago was supporting Crown Prince Alexandr and attempting to interfere in internal affairs.
It was impossible to make any other assumption in the situation.
But Beolgreen had abruptly killed the envoy. And he was asking about Crown Prince Alexandr's location?
"The crown prince in this city isn't the real one. Hmm... There are plenty of stories left between us, but it's difficult to bring them up."
Beolgreen pursed his lips several times and frowned.
"It's a prohibition. If you can't figure it out yourself, I can't tell you. Sadly, aren't magicians those who weave a thousand truths?"
"Why didn't you say so from the beginning? If you weren't planning to sign a secret agreement with Alexandr, if you had told me beforehand..."
"Then I couldn't have confirmed your qualifications. I wouldn't have known which side you were on either. I didn't know you were alive. It was necessary."
Beolgreen shrugged. His magical energy was slowly dissipating and fading.
"Time is running short. Come to my tower in Kalion someday. You probably won't be able to meet me directly... Ivan. Our scout. You are qualified."
"What qualification are you talking about?"
"The qualification to turn the last page of truth. The qualification to see the hands on this game board. Ah, damn it."
A crack appeared across Beolgreen's face. He touched his face once and sighed.
"It's too cruel that I can't even tell you this much. Magicians are fundamentally talkative."
"What should I do?"
"Prepare. This game board seems to be the university beneath our feet. Many threads are spread out below."
"Prepare...?"
"Those fellows aren't bad, but they weren't prepared pieces from the beginning. Suddenly appearing on the chessboard... yes. Let's call them playing cards. So pay attention to the chess pieces too. Take care of my daughter."
Beolgreen's face gradually faded. Just before he completely disappeared, he looked straight at Ivan and moved his lips.
No sound was heard, but Ivan reflexively read his lips:
-Maximillian de Etoile is not gone.
With a small smile, Beolgreen's magic completely dissipated.
The commotion that occurred on the deck was not conveyed to the citizens of Pritzenkaya. They simply believed it was floating quietly in the sky as usual.
Ivan and the transmigrators were able to descend to the ground, escorted by the terrified captain. After abandoning the half-destroyed carriage in a corner of the alley, Ivan examined the transmigrators.
A game board.
Cards placed on a chessboard. Should he interpret it as different games being mixed against the rules?
What story did they need? What story had been prepared, and what flow was being induced?
Whose hand was on the game board?
God?
Ivan looked at Yu-jin, who had been able to use divine magic. Perhaps because the [Courage Bestow] buff had ended, Yu-jin wore a stupid expression with an extremely tired face.
"Do you still have those divine spell slots?"
"Huh? Oh, yes, yes."
"Hmm."
Unlike magic, divine spells are a kind of blessing directly granted by God. They are spells performed using a human body to carry out God's will.
In other words, the term "divine spell slot" meant that Yu-jin's "status window" had received God's approval.
No, perhaps God... the personified deity of this damned pre-modern fantasy world might have created a communication channel.
Considering the implementation of verbose things like quest windows.
"You all worked hard today. Go in and rest, and I'll see you tomorrow."
"Oh, brother. Is it just ending like this?"
"Tomorrow."
Ivan scanned the departing transmigrators once and turned his back.
He couldn't take those guys to the reporting session. Especially in this case, those guys shouldn't be entangled any deeper.
If it were simply a case of being caught up in the political struggle between the princess and the crown prince, it might be better to clearly take one side and secure victory.
But having heard that the crown prince in Pritzenkaya wasn't the real one, this incident had exceeded the level that students could resolve.
Especially for young children who were only in their fourth year of transmigration.
How many years had it been?
Ivan thought as he walked through the night streets.
Recalling the last image of Colonel Kirillovna, Ivan headed toward the counterintelligence headquarters.
It was time to face the princess.