I Guess That's What I'll Have to Do (1)
A brief silence fell over the conference room.
The mayor opened his mouth, maintaining a polite smile.
"Is it… because of the recent rumors about the Salvation Church? We're aware of that much as well."
He waved his hand gently and smiled.
"That's why the Lord has agreed to reinforce the city with additional troops. We're also putting a lot of effort into maintaining public order."
At his words, Ghislain shook his head lightly.
"That won't be enough. We need to assemble a large-scale force in this city as soon as possible."
"For what reason…?"
"Because the high priests of the Salvation Church will personally attack the Dwarven fortress."
Once again, silence filled the room. Then, the mayor burst out laughing as if he'd heard a joke.
"I know, as I said, that the Salvation Church is causing trouble all over. I've heard they're stirring up chaos in some regions by colluding with dark mages. But still…"
The mayor rose from his seat and pointed out the window toward the massive mountain range.
"The Dwarves built their fortress halfway up the mountain and then dug deeper to create an immense city within. Unless a monster army from the Demon Realm charges in with overwhelming force, it's absolutely unbreachable."
Ghislain clicked his tongue. The mayor wasn't wrong. He, too, was well aware of the might of Valskrum.
'Impregnable,' 'Fortress of Steel,' 'The Unshakable Kingdom.' All the praise was not an exaggeration.
But…
In the future that Ghislain remembered, the Dwarves no longer existed.
That grand fortress, the mighty warriors, their radiant prestige—everything had vanished without a trace.
And it was almost certainly due to this very war. Just like how the Elven Forest would've fallen if they hadn't intervened.
But reason was useless here. As always, Ghislain tried to push through with his own convictions, but in this era, what he could do was extremely limited.
The mayor, of course, had no desire to directly clash with an envoy dispatched by the Empire.
Still wearing a friendly smile, he nodded.
"I understand your concerns well. I'll relay the message to the Lord for now."
"..."
Ghislain didn't respond. He slowly inhaled,
then clenched his fist and slammed it down on the solid table before him.
BANG!
The table shattered instantly.
The knights waiting on one side of the room immediately drew their swords.
But Ghislain didn't spare them a glance. He looked straight at the mayor and declared firmly,
"This is an Imperial command. Summon all nearby domain forces to this city, immediately."
"..."
The air in the conference room froze.
The mayor realized that jokes, laughter, and indirect speech would no longer work.
All kingdoms possessed autonomy, but there were laws requiring them to obey Imperial summons.
He didn't know if this was truly within the authority of a mere envoy, but once the words "Imperial command" were invoked, it was no longer something he could handle himself.
With a blank expression, the mayor spoke.
"Understood. I will deliver the order to the Lord."
As Ghislain left the conference room, he slowly shook his head. A short sigh escaped his lips.
"They never understand until they get hit."
Once again, it didn't seem like the troops would be summoned easily. The prideful lords would undoubtedly stall under the pretense of verifying the truth.
He looked around. The city seemed peaceful.
No one sensed the coming catastrophe—they were just going about their busy daily lives.
Ghislain went straight to find the Dwarves' external affairs officer.
The Dwarven representative, like most of his kind, was short but had shoulders as broad as a mountain.
Several rings hung from his thick beard, and a stubborn glint sparkled in his eyes.
"Hmph, an envoy from the Pope, you say?"
The Dwarven representative, Dorgan, looked over Ghislain's party as he spoke.
"Are you here to ask for our 'Guardian Stone' again?"
As expected, the name for the Holy Stone varied by race. It was a source of pride for each race.
Ghislain nodded briefly.
"That's right."
Dorgan laughed heartily, shaking his shoulders. Deep wrinkles formed on his forehead, and the laughter across his cheeks was rough and unrestrained.
"We already refused. Coming again to beg won't change anything. A decision made by Dwarves is as solid as stone and never overturned."
His tone was firm, but unlike the Elves, it wasn't emotional. He was simply stating facts.
Ghislain accepted it calmly.
He had expected to be refused. The Elves had reacted the same way.
So he moved straight to the main issue.
"Then I'd like to meet your king."
Dorgan narrowed his eyes briefly, then shook his head.
"That won't be easy. Our king doesn't care much for humans—especially the Pope."
"Why?"
"Says he's a sly human and hates him."
"Hmm, is that so?"
The evaluation of the Pope was worse than expected. Well, Ghislain somewhat agreed with it.
The Pope always hid behind a veil, never even showing his face.
But Ghislain wasn't trying to obtain the Holy Stone for the Pope. It was for Deneb.
Dorgan took a small metal seal out of his pocket and handed it over.
"It's a pass to enter Valskrum. You probably won't get to meet the king, but since you've come all this way, have a look around our city. It's quite something."
His words were filled with pride in Valskrum.
Ghislain bowed slightly and accepted the seal.
At least the Dwarves were less closed-off than the Elves.
The Elven representative, Cylan, had been extremely wary of humans—so much so that he even lied about the Grand Chieftain's gender, claiming he was male.
It seemed the Dwarves were more used to trading with humans. Their arrogance came with a boldness as well.
With the pass in hand, Ghislain led his resting party up the mountain.
After a long climb, they finally saw the fortress that seemed to be one with the mountain.
Its outer walls were part of nature itself, the foundation of the fortress the very power of the land.
The ramparts and towers carved into the soaring rocks looked less like constructions and more like fangs grown from the mountain's core.
"Whoa…"
"This really is something to be proud of."
"Even the Salvation Church might have a hard time with this one."
The group stood in awe, gazing up at the massive stronghold.
Even Ghislain let out an unintentional breath of admiration.
"…The entire fortress really is a mountain."
Valskrum was more than a mere city. It was a colossal, multi-layered city carved out of cliffs and mountains.
With a place like this, any army could be held off with ease. He had to admit it.
Even after entering Valskrum, they had to walk a long way to reach the royal castle.
Along the way, they passed through several residential districts, each protected by massive walls.
In other words, even if someone managed to take the outer edge with difficulty, they would still have to break through multiple layers of defenses to reach the royal castle.
No wonder Dorgan confidently handed over the pass and told them to have a look around.
When they finally reached the castle, the Dwarf King didn't meet them right away.
Even after hearing that the Salvation Church was targeting this place, he simply gave them a lodging and repeatedly told them to wait.
"Sigh… nothing's ever easy."
Ghislain let out a deep breath. The longer things dragged on, the deeper his concerns grew.
His companions began to glance at each other nervously.
'Please, let's not cause any trouble here.'
'This isn't like the Elves. This fortress is no joke.'
'Let's just live peacefully if nothing happens.'
Contrary to their thoughts, Ghislain wasn't planning to cause trouble—at least not yet.
Normally, he would've stirred up an issue just to create an opening for negotiation. But with the Salvation Church's attack all but certain, he couldn't afford to act recklessly now.
He had never caused trouble without a good reason. There was always justification and logic behind his actions.
His companions didn't know that. They were simply worried.
Ghislain continued thinking, planning a way forward.
'They'll come soon… and if we're caught off guard, the damage will be worse.'
The city had to enter a wartime footing and gather all its warriors immediately. That was the only way to deal with the Salvation Church.
'They're way too overconfident.'
This wasn't just the king's stubbornness. The pride running through the entire Dwarven race was unshakable.
They knew the greatness of the city they had built, and that belief was as heavy as stone.
Ghislain didn't blame them. Even in his eyes, Valskrum was absurdly impressive.
But the enemy was the Salvation Church. There was no way those bastards didn't know how solid Valskrum was.
They would come, having already figured out a way to bring it down.
'If I were planning to take this place…'
There were many ways. The easiest would be to use airships to infiltrate secretly.
Send in elite troops to launch surprise attacks across the fortress, then secure entry points. That alone would render the powerful walls useless.
There were other methods, too. The Dwarves would be too reliant on their fortress, fail to gather their forces, and get defeated one by one.
The Salvation Church would most likely employ a similar strategy.
'The Dwarves won't listen to me. I can't force them. Which means we'll have to buy time for them ourselves.'
It had been the same with the Elven forest. Ghislain had bought them time, and thanks to that, the Elves had been able to rally.
This time was no different—except the enemy they had to stop would move very differently.
The Salvation Church, unlike before, wouldn't be able to concentrate all its forces on a single location and push through in one strike. It was obvious they would launch simultaneous surprise attacks in various places to create chaos.
But Ghislain had only one body. His companions were skilled, but they were far too few.
"How can I buy us some time…?"
Pondering, Ghislain sat on the balcony of his lodging and looked down.
In the commercial district, quite a few human merchants had gathered. They had come all the way to this city to trade for goods made by the Dwarves.
Hmm…
Ghislain kept watching them. A fairly large merchant group seemed to have arrived, as several wagons loaded with cargo were lined up in a row.
The person who appeared to be the leader was giving orders to several people, who then dispersed in various directions.
They carried alcohol, gold coins, and various other goods as they made their way to Dwarven shops.
It seemed they were moving to purchase items from the Dwarves.
As he observed them, Ghislain nodded to himself several times. A decent idea had come to him.
"I guess that's what I'll have to do."
Murmuring to himself, Ghislain soon gathered his companions.
With a more serious expression than usual, he spoke,
"It looks like we'll have to prepare for battle on our own. The Dwarves… they're the kind who won't move unless they see blood first."
To his puzzled companions, Ghislain carefully explained the plan he had thought of.
Everyone listened with uncertain expressions. Once again, they weren't sure if Ghislain's plan could actually work.
But it had always been that way. The only option was to trust him and follow through.
"We need to get as many rune stones as possible. Don't worry about the cost—buy up everything."
The mercenaries who had followed Ghislain each took money and scattered.
They visited various shops to purchase as many rune stones as they could find. They even went down to the trade cities beyond Valskrum to obtain more.
Ghislain handed over all the money he had in his subspace. They bought so many rune stones that the market price in the trade city suddenly skyrocketed.
On top of that, Ghislain bought a large number of metal rods. Those were easy to obtain in Valskrum.
Once he had gathered enough materials, Ghislain rented out an entire lodging with a large open area.
Then he began drawing a massive magic circle in the clearing.
He didn't bother painstakingly drawing it himself. Instead, he entrusted the task to Astion and gave up control of his body.
He could've done it himself, but when it came to meticulous work like magic circles, Astion was far more suited for the task.
Having come out to the surface after a long time, Astion was thrilled and greeted his friends excitedly.
"Yulian! Deneb! Kyle! It's me, me! Astion!"
But the three of them looked at Astion with wary eyes.
They had already been fooled badly by Ghislain's tricks once before.
"It's really me! I came out to draw the magic circle! Aren't you glad to see me?"
"Y-yeah… nice… to see you…"
Kyle answered reluctantly on behalf of the others, still unsure whether this was another one of Ghislain's pranks.
Yulian and Deneb gave awkward smiles and waved uncomfortably.
The three of them slowly backed away from Astion. The other mercenaries also kept a safe distance.
"..."
Astion stood quietly, then silently began drawing the magic circle.
"Sniff… Meanies. Just wait and see."
He felt like crying. As Astion sniffled while working on the magic circle, Erenes quietly approached.
"Ghislain?"
"Elder sister! It's me, Astion!"
"..."
Erenes stepped back with a doubtful look.
But she could tell for certain—this was not the same being as Ghislain.
What the…? What happened? How can a person change this much?
The entire atmosphere was different. Especially as a spirit-user, she was more sensitive to changes in people than anyone else.
Ghislain sometimes exuded the wild ferocity of a blood-soaked wolf. But this guy, Astion, was—
"He's just a total kid, isn't he?"
He looked like a completely innocent child. He was nothing like the Ghislain she usually saw.
Oblivious to this, Astion started chattering away.
"Noona, I know all about you! I remember you said you were dating me!"
Astion was in a rush to make an impression after being cooped up for so long. So, he went overboard.
"..."
Erenes had no memory of saying that. All she had said was that he was the first human friend she made.
Astion's excessive clinginess made her step back further.
"Focus… on your work… get to it…"
That was all she said before turning and fleeing.
Her mind was a mess. She needed time to process what was happening.
Astion sniffled again and focused back on the magic circle.
Beside him, Dark clicked his tongue and muttered,
"Now I get why you're single. Who approaches someone that fast? You need connection, man, connection. You're smart everywhere else, but you know nothing about women. Jeez."
"Sniff… shut up."
Astion, now gloomy, devoted himself to drawing the magic circle.
But it wasn't just the clearing he worked on. Dozens of metal rods also bore Astion's touch.
Fwaaash!
Each time Astion waved his hand, beautiful and delicate golden lines bloomed like flames.
The golden threads that extended from his fingertips etched intricate engravings onto the surfaces of the floating rods.
Straight lines and curves intertwined like a dance, ancient letters weaving together and connecting like a sophisticated circuit.
The glowing runes on the rods made them look truly mystical—like magic itself had come alive.
The onlookers couldn't help but gasp in admiration.
"Right, he is actually a mage."
"Looks like that really is Astion."
"Totally forgot… he's not an idiot."
Even Erenes's eyes widened in surprise.
He sounded like a child when he spoke, but the power he displayed left no room to doubt his status as a grand mage.
Once again, her curiosity sparked—just what was going on inside that head?
Sensing the mood, Dark leaned in next to Astion and whispered,
"See that? It's all about ability. Erenes is totally interested in you now."
"Really?"
Astion's face lit up instantly. Eager to impress Erenes, he pushed himself even harder, pouring his magical energy into the task.
Seeing that, Dark clicked his tongue again.
"Sigh… what an innocent fool. Do you really want a girlfriend that badly?"
Just a single comment and Astion was working twice as hard to impress Erenes. Honestly, not a bad outcome.
If he kept putting in this much effort, love wouldn't be too far off. He was a 7th-circle grand mage, after all.
"If he just showed off his power more, every kingdom would be clamoring to have him. He'd be super popular with women, too. Tsk tsk."
Astion, lacking confidence, didn't realize what even Dark knew. His lack of exposure and his growing infamy had made him more timid.
At one point, he had even wished Ghislain could date on his behalf.
So now, he was doing his best just to look good to the women around him.
Once the work was complete, Astion spoke with a gentle smile.
"Noona, would you like some te— It's time to begin the operation."
His expression changed in an instant. The moment the work was done, Ghislain had reclaimed his body.
His companions, seeing this, sighed in silent relief.
"Phew, almost fell for it again."
They had to stay alert at all times.
Only Lionel still tilted his head, not understanding what had just happened.
Ghislain divided the group into several teams. He handed out the metal rods and sent them all over Valskrum.
Since the city was frequently visited by human merchants and travelers, it was easy to obtain a simple map.
After spreading his team far and wide, Ghislain sat alone atop the magic circle in the clearing.
He didn't eat—he simply closed his eyes and focused entirely on meditation for several days.
The Dwarves managing the lodging came by at one point, but seeing the "In Training" sign, they left quietly.
They knew well how important meditation was to a mage.
After a full week, Ghislain finally opened his eyes slowly.
"They've arrived."
From a place far beyond what others could perceive—
A thick darkness was approaching.
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