A Famous Traitor and Treacherous Genius

283 – Great Depression Disorder (4)

False gold disappears.

A phenomenon that did not occur when I, Robert, and some of the test subjects consumed false gold.

From the emperor’s point of view, it is something to clap.

The field is already overflowing with false gold, and if we can get rid of it, we will rush in with our eyes on fire.

But what if that method is eating?

‘It’s not like we want to get rid of it by eating it.’

A long time ago.

As the demonic water came from the contaminated area next to Seville and flooded, Seville’s farmland was completely polluted by the demonic energy of the demonic beast.

Some people argued that it should all be destroyed by burning, but the head of the Seville family at the time argued that the famine should be eradicated by saying, ‘Let’s eat it away.’

Of course, a problem arose.

You may have an upset stomach or your health may worsen.

However, the hunger at that moment was resolved, and the contaminated grains were classified as ‘food of the devil’ and recorded in history.

And there was a hero of Nostrum who made it possible for all of the demon’s food to be eaten, and he was ‘Sir Potato’.

There are no descendants now.

It is quite common for a hero who saves Nostrum to die without giving birth to descendants, or for even if he does give birth to descendants, he loses his name and disappears without being able to continue for several generations.

How should I talk now?

Should we praise these madmen who began to destroy false gold by eating it as heroes?

Or should we expect them to wake up?

“I’m going crazy.”

Currently, those who are devouring false gold have been transported to a nearby building by knights.

There was no suitable place to keep these people, even in the nearby buildings, so they were all crammed into the orphanage building where they could get them out the fastest.

“Master Gray. Isolation of everyone has been completed.”

“You worked hard, Merlin.”

“Not much to say.”

Thanks to the help of Merlin, who was in charge of managing all orphanages as the head of the orphanage, we were able to place one person in each private room of the orphanage who had not yet awakened from the false gold.

“Sir Robert, how long has it been since they were asleep?”

“Almost 12 hours have passed.”

12 hours.

Unlike the times when I and others fall asleep and wake up, those who have eaten false gold are sleeping deeper than expected.

“What do you think the difference is?”

“We were hoping to wake up from a dream, and they are hoping not to wake up from a dream?”

“I guess so? Otherwise, I would have woken up from the dream a long time ago.”

It’s strange, but it’s not particularly strange.

If there is a difference between us and them, it can be said to the extreme that it is our situation in reality.

Nobles and commoners.

The rich and the poor.

Those who have superior military strength and those who are worse than ordinary soldiers.

To put it bluntly-

“Those who are satisfied with reality and those who are not.”

They must feel that the world in their dreams is more beautiful than reality.

“When you wake up later, you will definitely be in chaos. You will want to go back into your dream.”

Silver addicts mainly showed this behavior.

“You may deny the ugly and dirty reality and recognize yourself as yourself in the dream world. You may try to end your life due to a deep sense of helplessness, or you may try to search for false gold.”

“What should I do?”

“First of all… We mobilized the knights and tied them to the bed properly, right?”

“Yes.”

“Tie up all my limbs. As soon as I wake up, I lie down on the bed and can’t move.”

When people addicted to silver are at their calmest, it is when they are dreaming, but when they become wildest, it is when they have just woken up from a dream.

In order to dream again, he looked for Baek Eun, used violence against people who tried to stop him from falling into the dream, and did not hesitate to kill to get Baek Eun.

“Mobilize soldiers and make them work in shifts.”

“Master. If you do that…”

“I know. It will be known to the empire. But it has already been reported, right?”

In addition to the shadows we are aware of, it is highly likely that other shadows reported the phenomenon.

From the beginning, it is better to think that ‘the emperor knows everything’ and act accordingly.

“Sir Robert. Even though Gibraltar is friendly to the Empire, considering the content of the dream we just had, it is natural to be a little wary of the Empire.”

“That’s right. Times are different, but… “

Robert pointed at me.

“The dream world has one thing in common: the war between the Empire and Nostrum broke out after the year you turned 20.”

“…Okay.”

War is decided.

Just like the war broke out when I was 20 even before I returned.

Did Gibraltar simply join the empire and end the war in one month?

Or, as in the dream, will Gibraltar become the last defender of Nostrum, and all lands other than Gibraltar will be occupied by the empire, leaving only Gibraltar in the center of the continent?

There is only that difference.

From noble mtl dot come

“Sir Robert. Leave this to Sir Mente, and he will follow me.”

“…Master. We don’t know when those wandering in a dream will wake up, so shouldn’t we keep an eye on them? In case of emergency.”

“I ordered you to tie it up tightly in preparation for that emergency.”

Following Merlin’s instructions, Lord Mente and other Rift Knights are tying people to their beds with familiar hands.

Among those belonging to the Rift Territory, 70% are knights from the Gibraltar Territory, and the remaining 30% are from outside.

However, since they have all received various trainings at the orphanage, they all know how to restrain a person to a bed.

Strong rope.

A lot of rope.

Tie a person with a rope, wrap them in a blanket, and then tie the blanket with the bed with rope again to complete the process.

“I’ve done this much, but if he goes on a rampage, I should at least use sleep magic to put him to sleep.”

“In preparation for that time…”

“Just follow me. What are you doing? I have to pick up the shovel.”

“…Yes.”

Together with Sir Robert, I left the dreamers and headed toward the scene.

“Ah, Sir Robert. When you go to the place where the Imperials are digging hard and talk, please lower your language level appropriately.”

“Is it okay to just control it to the point where it can be delivered to the emperor?”

“That’s right.”

Canyon.

“And then let’s organize the information among ourselves again.”

“Is there anything I shouldn’t mention?”

“There’s nothing we shouldn’t mention, but let’s just pretend we’re making a mistake.”

Towards the place where the empire’s construction workers are busy working.

“In my dream, Gibraltar was at war with the Empire.”

Only the emperor knows what message will be delivered to him, but…

“Aren’t you curious? Will the emperor start a war like the dream contains, or will he try to suppress the war so it doesn’t turn out like the dream?”

* * *

[At that time, the Imperial Palace of the Thersian Empire.]

“…So, you ate false gold?”

“Yes.”

The Habsburg Emperor was momentarily dumbfounded by the words of the young man standing in front of him, Shadow-Franz.

“Why?”

“One of them tried to run away with it in his mouth, and the other said he thought eating it would be good for his health.”

“…”

The Habsburg Emperor put down the document he was holding in his hand.

There was a blue graph line plummeting downward, but the emperor covered his face with his hand as if it was more troublesome than seeing it.

“Damn Nostrum. Why are you eating gold? Why?”

“Your Majesty. The problem is…”

“The problem is that it is happening in the orphanage that Gray Gibraltar took over.”

“…”

Franz bit his lower lip for a moment at the name Gray Gibraltar, but the Emperor didn’t care.

“Are you destroying false gold by eating it?”

“Yes, according to field reports, it was.”

“Is it something that can be destroyed by eating it?”

“For some it was possible, for others it was impossible.”

“Hmm.”

The emperor straightened his posture, and Franz swallowed his saliva and held out the material he had prepared in advance.

“I fed the shadows in the 14-H shadow training room with false gold in a liquid state.”

“Do imperialists also have a special reaction when they eat false gold?”

“No, there was none.”

“They?”

“We decided to dispose of it all.”

“Tsk. What a waste.”

The emperor twitched the corner of his mouth and shook his head.

“However, since we confirmed that the effect does not activate on ‘Imperial people’, on the contrary, it would be effective on Nostrum people.”

“Yes. So, after experimenting with some Nostrum students and travelers, we were able to get results quickly.”

“What are the results?”

“As a result of the experiment on 17 people, 16 of them woke up after sleeping for an average of 6 hours. There is one person who has not yet woken up from the dream.”

“I wasn’t asking about the process of the experiment, I was asking about the research results.”

Franz bit his lower lip at the emperor’s quiet words, but he had no choice but to bow his head in silence.

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty. For me…”

“No, no. It is impossible for an ordinary person to understand this ridiculous miracle of Nostrum. It is something that even those who are said to be brilliant cannot easily think about.”

“…”

“It’s okay. I already guessed it to some extent.”

The emperor crossed his legs and looked at Franz leisurely.

“Franz, let me ask you a question. What would you think if you told me that this was not your first life?”

“…”

“What if the world in the dream is actually a world that existed once, and this is the second world?”

“Are you saying that the world was destroyed once? Because of the disaster of Nostrum?”

“Maybe so, maybe not.”

Franz frowned at the emperor’s strange words, but he could not argue with them.

“Or, let me ask you this. If you were to go back in time… About 8 years old, with your current memories, what would you do first?”

“That… “

“Are you going to seek revenge on me for killing your mother, or are you going to grow quickly by preying on your peers, wanting a higher position than you are now? Or are you going to go to Nostrum and sharpen your sword to kill me?”

“How could I dream of such an unholy thing?”

“…Hmm.”

The emperor clicked his tongue as if it were boring.

“I…Yeah, if I could go back 20 years, I would go to Gibraltar right away.”

“…Yes?”

“And I will tell Marquis Crimson and Lady Charlotte ‘how to give birth to a daughter.'”

“…Yes?”

“If Gray Gibraltar is born as a daughter, there will be no more significant change in history than that. And all we have to do is wait 20 years.”

The emperor twitched the corner of his mouth as if he was thrilled just thinking about it.

“…Wouldn’t it be quicker to research the magic that turns men into women?”

“For the first time, your opinion is quite helpful. It is advice that makes me realize once again that it is impossible.”

“…”

“Oh, yes. That’s how I am. I don’t know how other people are. For example… “

The emperor twirled his finger above his head.

“If a man who lost the woman he was in love with fell into the past, would he try to embrace that woman again? Or would he try to embrace another woman?”

“…”

“In the dream, the Earl of Gibraltar took two wives. One of the wives was the queen, and it was impossible. Looking at it from the current point of view. But.”

The emperor wound the watch on his wrist his upside down.

“It is not impossible for such a ‘could-have-been’ to become ‘something that did not exist’. If the nostrum is filled with only mysterious things, that is. Franz, do you still not understand?”

The hour hand of the clock turned backwards, spinning more than once.

“Nostrum has erased many failures so far and covered them with success. But… Hehe.”

The emperor laughed and closed his mouth.

“It looks like you failed this time, even after returning.”