24 Hearts

110====================

The knights had arrived late – only after the Count had managed to take care of the demon and had restored the collapsed building. They then quickly checked the grounds and healed the injured, altogether showing quite a quick response. Upon grasping the situation, they immediately visited the Count and expressed their gratitude. Although the demons attacked him because they coveted the fragment he possessed, it was not intended, and that the Count was merely a tourist who came to see the flag contest. Thinking that it was better to show a friendly attitude rather than making the Count an enemy, the knights apologized and admitted their mistake. Shortly after, they judged no more demons left, and the Red Flagstaff qualifier, scheduled for the afternoon, quickly resumed.

The game had been fun. It would have been more enjoyable if it weren’t for the nobles who remained in the building, or those who came and brought over their food. Fortunately, the preliminary round was over before the day had gotten very dark.

In the evening, they returned to their hotel. They rambled about the things they saw while watching the Red Flagstaff qualifying round; the Count’s daughter, Sarah, dropped by to ask for a parry with Jeanne.

Compared to the troubled Judah, Jeanne gladly nodded her head, making Judah decide to help anyway. As if he was going to work every day, they would drop by the stadium in the morning and return to the hotel in the evening to digest what they saw and learned that day.

It was a rewarding day after all the hassle they’ve dealt with since coming to this neighborhood.

The Green Flagstaff bored them all the same, but the Red Flagstaff competition had a newfound thrill as the qualifiers ascended to the finals.

Judah understood little why the Romans built the Colosseum for gladiators back in the Middle Ages, but now as he heard the crowd whenever a player fell and bled, Judah grew excited, even though he was sitting still.

And the Green Flagstaff, which progressed much faster than the Red Flagstaff, was ahead of its finals. Sarah won a dramatic victory every night thanks to her sparring matches with Judah and Jeanne.

When Sarah, who had received a declaration of surrender from her opponent, lifted her greatsword high in the sky, the Count screamed with excitement. Then, his daughter launched a splendid firecracker magic in the air drawing everyone’s attention.

Judah, watching the remaining Red Flagstaff competition while drinking a beverage, suddenly felt strange. Jeanne and Arhil, the Count and his daughter Sarah… As these five people were having a good time laughing and making noise, it reminded him of what he had forgotten.

‘What about Kain?’

Jeanne requested it, but he watched the Green Flagstaff from start to finish not to score points from the Count but to see Kain’s abilities as he joined or won the tournament.

However, even when the final 16 members remained, Kain was still nowhere to be seen. The final opponent who fought Sarah was also the wrong man. Although there were many talented players who competed in the Green Flagstaff competition, none of them would beat Kain.

If he had a particular job using his Gabriel’s Sword, and if he hadn’t participated in the games to level up in Serenia Castle, he would stay there until he was 16.

‘Are you not in the Flagstaff competition?’

He could only think so.

“Ha…!”

Judah laughed, but a frown dawned on him. Something was wrong. Indeed, when he left Serenia Castle, there was a strong feeling that everything was going according to plan, but after stepping in Calypso, everything became strange.

‘If he didn’t join the Green Flagstaff, where would he go?’

Where did he go? Was there any place to go?

Aslan’s Flagstaff competition was also a great opportunity to confirm his skills and recruit his outstanding companions. Kain, who had an excellent chance of winning, couldn’t just overlook this. Judah crunched his lips in anxiety.

‘I don’t think Gabriel gave her full trust to Kain yet, right?’

There was also a possibility. In the original game, Gabriel gave him information indirectly instead of giving direct help. Besides, it was not his job to spy on someone from a high place.

It made sense that if he saw Judah recover the fragment and gave Kain an oracle to go elsewhere, it would be possible that he did not participate in the Green Flagstaff competition.

‘Even so, Kain would still have a long time left to become the Wielder of the Sword…’

Judah recovered all unowned fragments within the vicinity. All of the remaining fragments had their owners, and the masters of the said fragments had immense skills. He would either go for Count Genuine, who was right next to him, or the Hagen of Regen, the mercenary kingdom. Was he also planning to get those fragments from those skilled men?

Even with the help of the Holy Monarch Gabriel… Even with her guidance…

‘…Is it possible?’

It was crazy. Judah felt dismayed with his rising epiphanies. With Gabriel’s help, it was possible to obtain the fragment from Hagen, an owner in the mercenary kingdom, even if Kain was yet to be the Wielder of the Sword. Judah, feeling a headache from his racing thoughts, which he hadn’t thought of until then, pressed his forehead with his finger and clenched his teeth.

Knowing the story of the game was rather poisonous.

Kain, at his coming-of-age ceremony, thought that he would come to Aslan and participate in the Green Flagstaff. He thought that the quest to Calypso would happen after the Flagstaff contest even if something changed because he made this world and the plotline, but maybe the Flagstaff had been omitted from the conversation.

Because of it, he wanted to head to the mercenary kingdom right away, but seeing Jeanne and Arhil having such a wonderful time enjoying themselves made it difficult for him to leave and sleep through all this.

‘If I said we’ll be leaving all of a sudden, the Count would be suspicious.’

If it were the game, it wouldn’t matter if he acted as he pleased, without having to worry about all of it. Since this was a reality, acting like he didn’t care for them could lead to division. Judah exhaled and leaned over, hoping that his wishes were wrong along with his predictions.

“Hm? Are you bored?”

Arhil, who was sitting next to him, saw Judah like that and asked. Judah smiled bitterly at her question, tilting his head.

“No, I’m just tired.”

“Why?”

“…I know, right.”

“Do you want me to cast some recovery magic?”

It was a wholesome suggestion, but he didn’t think it was going to change anything just by the simple casting of divine magic. Judah shook his head. He felt like he should stay here until the end of the Red Flagstaff competition, so he thought he would continue being tired until they left for Regen. And her expectations depended on their goodbye. He felt as if Kain had assumed that he gained Gabriel’s trust, and that he might have left for Regen. His anxiety wore out his mental health as opposed to the exhaustion he felt in his body.

That evening, as soon as the Count returned to their quarters to celebrate Sarah’s victory in the Green Flagstaff competition, he told everyone in the ground floor hall that he would treat everyone inside, and if there was anything they wanted to eat, he told them to eat as much as possible. People cheered at the Count and immediately ordered alcohol and food. Even if they were nobles, it was the same that they became rowdy with alcohol. Judah, who enjoyed food amidst the noisy hall, sighed for a moment, stepping outside and into an alley.

The dark alley was surprisingly neat and there was a bench on the wall to sit and relax. He sat on a bench, bending his head back. He breathed in the night breeze, his mind easing a little. He didn’t know why he was so nervous.

“…”

There was no pressure in taking the fragments. Whether it took years or decades, one day, he’ll collect everything for himself. Even if Kain took one of them, the result wouldn’t change. But he didn’t know what made him so nervous. He couldn’t understand.

At that time, the window that was closed next to him opened, and a loud noise poured out. As he turned his head, the Count popped out his face.

What…?

The Count smiled as he looked at Judah, his body leaned against the window sill. Then, the moment he snapped his finger, the noise they heard disappeared.

“You seem to have some troubles.”

“Yeah?”

“You also seemed to be pretty anxious, am I correct?”

Judah sighed at the words of the Count, who seemed to see right through him. Was there a lot of strain on his face?

“Tell me. I’ve lived a few years longer than you, even though I look like this. Would it be okay if I told you a little bit of a helpful story?”

“…”

Hesitating for an answer, the Count waved his hand with laughter. A stream of magic misted from his fingertips, shining blue, swimming in front of Judah like a dragon.

“Can you see this stream?”

He wasn’t blind, so of course he did.

Judah simply nodded in reply.

“Think of it as a river. The river flows from high to low. It doesn’t flow backward without the power of magic or machinery. It just flows. It flows and flows, and it is supposed to arrive somewhere someday. It could be the moat that protects the castle, or it could be a farmland, it could be a lake, or even to the sea. I don’t know what makes you nervous, but I can see that you are worried and afraid.”

He wasn’t afraid. He thought so, but the moment he listened to him, he felt a bit off. He felt unpleasant as the Count seemed to have caught his heart. He could feel his eyebrows furrowing.

“Don’t be afraid. There’s nothing to be nervous about. If your ordeal approaches, isn’t it okay to face it? Will you change because of fear? The flowing river will bump into a rock, and it will fall off if there is a cliff ahead. But it will continue to swim and it will arrive somewhere. If you are a river and there’s a rock in the distance, would you avoid going somewhere else? If there was a cliff? You should be able to avoid it, but there’s no stopping after that.”

“…”

“If it’s something you have to face anyway, instead of fearing it, take your time to confront it. If you’ve been through it, it won’t be too much for you to be nervous and afraid. Well, if you’re your age, it might be more helpful to feel anxious and fearful. Who knows if it will be your driving force?”

Judah’s eyes widened.

“This old man had been thinking about you, so here you go. You might be annoyed. You might be tired of dealing with me all day, but I would like to just say it.”

“…Not really.”

“It’s okay, I understand enough. Who can answer ‘yes’ to the other person’s face? I don’t normally talk like this, but I can’t stand it when I’m looking at you.”

“…Thank you.”

The Count went back inside silently and closed the window. The loud background noise came back as if he had released the magic he put on.

“It won’t be a big deal anymore after passing through it…”

And it did.

Before he left the army, the world seemed to collapse, but when he had gotten discharged, the world was still the same as usual. Right before he took the exam, his palms sweat with tension, but after the exam, his anxiety was nothing but that. At the Count’s words, Judah erupted into laughter.

Surprisingly, his words made him feel considerably lighter.