Chapter 1410. Aina Peneloti (1)

“Lady Peneloti, how did you know?” Kim Hyun-Sung asked.

“Pardon?” I asked.

“That Jin Cheong wasn’t the one who brought the undead here,” he clarified.

“...”

“...”

“When I heard from the commander of the guards that he valued honor, I felt like he wasn't the type of person to do something like that. And the Count’s comment that this incident won't end like this also helped me reach that conclusion,” I answered.

“You mean...”

“I felt that the scale was too large for this to be carried out by forces that don’t want an alliance between the Union of Kingdoms and the Empire. What they wanted was the assassination of the figures leading the alliance, not to bring chaos here. Bringing back the dead would actually strengthen the alliance between the Empire and the Union of Kingdoms.

"If something like that happened, even the anti-alliance factions would no longer be able to oppose the alliance. And from the standpoint of the Republic, which receives information from those anti-alliance factions, there’s no reason to raise the dead and unite the two groups,” I explained.

“...”

‘It’s simple. Why is it so hard for everyone to understand?’

“I thought that the Republic’s goal at this point was to assassinate the pro-alliance forces, but I can’t really guess what their long-term plan is. And if their long-term plan does include a continental war, then they definitely won't do something like this,” I added.

“And why is that? Right now, this place is...” Kim Hyun-Sung trailed off.

“I heard that in war, justification is as important as military strength. Why would they willingly take on the role of the villain? The Republic values justification, practicality, and laws more than any other nation. At least on the surface. Starting a war while earning the condemnation of the entire continent isn’t something they would want,” I continued.

“I see. Then you’re saying...” he trailed off.

“There’s a third force that wants to bring war to the continent,” I said.

“That’s...”

“To be precise, they’re people who want to hasten the war. As for their affiliation, I'm not sure if they belong to the anti-alliance factions in the Union of Kingdoms and the Empire, or if they’re an entirely separate force, but one thing is certain—they want war on this continent, and they want it as soon as possible.

Their motives and goals are unknown, and I think...” I trailed off.

“They might still be inside the castle,” he said.

I nodded at Kim Hyun-Sung’s words. I had no idea whether he truly understood me or was only pretending to do so, but he seemed to have grasped the situation.

The commander of the guards opened his mouth. “Lady Peneloti, is there any reason to join hands with them?”

“It is a temporary alliance,” I answered.

“Pardon?” the captain asked.

“Of course, if we really force it, our own forces should be enough to get us out of here. There will be many casualties, though,” I said.

“...”

“I believe it’s the same for them. The Republic’s soldiers and those who follow them have surely prepared an escape route. With his abilities, breaking through the undead and escaping shouldn’t be difficult.

"However, the purpose of this temporary alliance isn’t to escape. It’s to find the culprit who summoned the undead here,” I explained.

“...”

“...”

“Is that even possible?” asked the commander of the guards.

“We’re doing it right now,” I answered.

There was a common enemy, but we had no idea of their identity, which meant there was a good reason to join forces.

First Life Commander Jin would surely want to see the faces of the ones who summoned the undead here. They had clearly crossed the line. Even infiltrating the castle for assassination was pushing it, but they wouldn’t want to bear the stigma of having raised the dead.

The fact that he couldn’t pull the trigger himself had to have played a big part. To think that he couldn’t even be the one to pull the trigger for the biggest event of all. I was sure that control freak’s blood was boiling right now.

‘Or maybe that bastard just finds the game fun...’

I turned the Telescope slightly, and I saw the corners of his mouth lifting.

‘He looks really happy.’

The situation was so bad that one couldn't even call it "good" as a joke. Unlike Ji-Hye noona and me, he actually welcomed a situation like this. Jin Cheong was the kind of person who liked to climb walls whenever he found one.

The game addict would always feel alive whenever he was betting his own life, but of course, there was a major premise behind it—Interaction. Enemy or ally, he felt alive through interacting with them.

Of course, someone like Aina Peneloti was more than enough as a conversation partner for him.

‘Fun, right? Right? You are getting all excited, aren’t you?’

“

Kieeeek!

”

“We’ll break through,” the commander said.

“Okay.”

‘Stimulating, isn’t it? You probably have never felt anything like this before.’

'We’re basically playing a game together, playing chess, doing strategy simulation, mixing in some action RPG, and even doing some deduction. We’re doing some treasure hunting.'

— Let’s move.

— Yes, sir.

— We’ll go straight over the wall. We’ll split the troops at the next point.

‘Yeah, it’s about time to increase the number of pieces.’

He just wanted to play the game with a little more thrill. He was not afraid of death. If anything, he looked like he was enjoying the tension. The exhilaration of perfect coordination and the excitement of having a partner who could follow his train of thought, understand him, and match his steps.

He was a narcissist who lived for his own brilliance, but humans were fundamentally social creatures. He simply never had anyone who could communicate with him until now.

Whenever our forces move, his forces would move. The undead became fools in the face of the movements of the two groups.

Since they were basically moving according to their senses, simply having multiple groups in motion was enough to confuse them.

The soldiers in each group were feeling puzzled by how ridiculously easy the undead were falling. Just moments ago, they needed to grit their teeth to hold them back, yet now they were going down far more easily than expected.

Of course, our side had the cheat code Kim Hyun-Sung, but this was a slightly different matter. We were definitely struggling to hold the line earlier. Even if reinforcements had arrived, such a drastic change would appear strange.

Even if they were communicating with the Republic’s forces, the sudden radical shift had to be bewildering for them.

Naturally, the secret lay with Aina Peneloti. Everyone could sense that instinctively. When I lifted my hand and snapped my middle finger and thumb upward, a sharp

click

echoed. A flicker of light flashed, and when I raised my hand again and extended my fingers, the light stayed on for a short moment.

The entire force was essentially moving according to my fingers—without a single mistake and without a single hesitation.

I completed all the calculations and produced the best outcome, so it was no wonder that the young ladies and everyone else were staring at me with astonished eyes.

I had always been a genius, but not quite to this degree. Peneloti felt unpolished. It wasn’t that she played no important role in the battle, but the way Aina Peneloti was behaving now was undeniably different than before.

She had memorized and was making use of the entire map, but her ability to make decisions and analyze the situation rationally was the same. Some of the royal guards were looking at me as if I were a monster.

If I weren't collaborating with First Life Commander Jin, they would find me even stranger. From their perspective, I looked like I was assisting Commander Jin, so they could at least nod and accept it.

Even so, the sight remained absurd.

The only one who could accept this naturally was Lady Pastel.

“Amazing! You're amazing, Peneloti!”

Both Lady Brush and Lady Palette looked surprised. Naturally, Peneloti had no choice but to put on some sort of act.

‘Guys, I’ve awakened.’

I was using powers beyond my limits. There was no need to explain how I awakened or why it happened all of a sudden. The important fact was that I had awakened. If someone were to shout, “I've awakened!” in the modern world, they would be treated like a lunatic, but it wasn’t all that strange on the continent.

‘Nosebleed. I need to make my nose bleed. It’s a symbol of awakening.’

I had to open my eyes wider than usual. The important thing was never to blink and to make it clear that I was not even aware of the fact that blood was flowing freely from my nose. Aina Peneloti’s talent was gradually blooming in a way that was so beautiful it was almost blinding.

In the midst of this, Lady Paint stared blankly at me.

“...”

“Lady Peneloti...” Lady Paint mumbled.

“...”

‘She’s... yeah.’

She’s jealous.

‘No, you were pretty good, too. You probably never even received proper training. Just bringing things this far is already impressive.’

She looked like a mediocre person overshadowed by overwhelming talent. She even showed hints of self-doubt and self-loathing. It couldn’t be helped. Among the ladies, she was the one whose position overlapped with mine the most.

She had to have believed that she had grown, but seeing her friend blossom before her, widening the gap between them by an overwhelming margin, made it impossible for her to genuinely celebrate.

It didn’t seem directly related to her feelings for Kim Hyun-Sung, but it was certainly not unrelated either.

‘You have to watch and learn. You can grow stronger.’

She was decisive enough to send troops into danger, and she had the courage to fight at the frontlines. Given enough time, she would surely reach a respectable level.

‘Watch this carefully and use it as a drive for your own growth. You can’t collapse completely just because you've seen what I can do. Peneloti hasn't even shown her true power yet.’

I hadn't even used Tactical Kim Hyun-Sung. If First Hyun-Sung believed Aina Peneloti was a talent he

had

to recruit, then in the second life, there was a good chance he’d try to recruit me, too. All I needed to do was ensure that he could go on a rampage to a reasonable extent.

The troops clashed with the enemy and pushed forward. If I could use Kim Hyun-Sung a little more, things would be much easier, but this was the best we could do in the current situation.

It was about time.

‘It feels like I am walking a tightrope.’

As the undead pushed in, the number of tiles available to our allies decreased. One mistake meant immediate isolation. The moment we stopped moving, or rather the moment Commander Jin and I stopped thinking, the enemies would grab our ankles.

The dead rushing in from all directions weren’t low-tier monsters like goblins. If we made a mistake, either he or we would die. It was impossible to avoid casualties. Even so, both groups continued to advance. Of course, he understood what I wanted.

‘Let’s go do some treasure hunting, First Commander Jin.’

The dead began to rise from the fifth floor, and they blocked the routes that led down to the lower floors, shaving away our space bit by bit.

Soon, we made it to the fifth floor, but they chased after us, making sure we wouldn't have many spaces we could use to move through. We looked for spaces untouched by the undead. Soon, the Republic soldiers grew close enough to enter our field of vision, but the two groups only exchanged wary looks without turning their blades toward each other.

The long battle hadn't made them trustworthy. We had simply realized that we couldn’t overcome this crisis without cooperating with each other.

In the midst of that, my eyes met First Life Commander Jin’s eyes, and he greeted me by gnashing his teeth. We stepped forward again and again, cutting down the undead and taking more spaces than ever.

Eventually, only one tile remained.

If we were to replace this field with a chessboard, the two forces would confront each other in what would be called A2.

“...”

“...”

“This is it. This is the only place left,” I said.

— Wh-what kind of insane nonsense are you doing, Lee Ki-Young?

“The culprit who raised the undead must be hiding here,” I told him.

“...”

“...”

Second Life Commander Jin—no, the Undead Summoner trash was waiting for us there.

— C-crazy bastard.

“I feel an ominous presence,” I said.

— Damn it! That lunatic!