Wasn’t This Supposed To Be a Strategy Game? Chapter 85

It had been a truly impulsive question. Eden quickly turned to gauge Serman’s reaction.

But Serman’s expression remained nothing short of serene. He let out a small laugh, as if such nonsense was entirely new to him.

Eden, growing uneasy, hastily added in a joking tone.

“I had this dream yesterday… a horrible nightmare where the Empire was destroyed. Haha, surely that won’t happen, right…?”

Serman answered in a gentle voice.

“Don’t worry, Sister. No such prophecy will come.”

It was a voice so full of conviction that it alone brought comforting reassurance.

Just then, the carriage entered the square. As the roar of the crowd rained down on them, Eden quickly looked around the plaza.

Ivatan…

Though not perfect, the sight of the square being clearly kept in orderly control brought a smile to Eden’s lips. Ivatan had kept his promise to her.

Trust and fondness for Ivatan blossomed in her heart.

He’s someone I can’t afford to lose, either.

Even so, the square was still packed with people, and the outskirts were just as crowded. For an event the size of the Sun Festival, it was simply impossible to maintain complete control.

Even with preparations, there are too many people. At this rate, it really could be dangerous.

Eden swallowed hard and steeled her heart.

The carriage finally came to a stop before the circular stage, and the priests began moving into place.

Once on stage, she could clearly see the emperor and members of the royal family sitting in the prime seats. Eden shifted her gaze, searching for Asmun.

“…!”

Their eyes met. Asmun had already been looking her way. When Eden offered a small smile, his gaze deepened.

Also present in the plaza were Chancellor Ivatan and Holy Knight Commander Karon. Tension high, Eden failed to realize that all of them were watching her as she prepared to bloom the flower.

Serman raised his hands high, and the other priests followed suit. At once, the immense square, packed with people, fell into dead silence.

“Blessings to Hesmore.”

With Serman’s short benediction, radiant blossoms erupted from the stage where they stood.

Cheers erupted anew at the wondrous sight.

“High Priest!”

“Bless us!”

“Oooh!”

Eden couldn’t tear her eyes away from the vast plaza rapidly being covered in flowers. She held her breath in awe.

From the bare stone floor, from the round pillars, and even between the people, brilliant blossoms burst forth and petals danced in the air.

This is insane.

It was a divinity on a different level than what she’d seen in illustrations. One could hardly not believe in a god after witnessing something like this.

And in that very rapturous moment—

Boom.

The ground shook violently, sending petals flying in all directions.

…Right, something goes wrong now.

Eden quickly gathered herself and looked up. On the rooftops surrounding the square, dark-cloaked figures had appeared.

This was the true beginning of the Sun Festival episode.

“Wh-what was that? An earthquake?”

“Kyaah! Look over there!”

The crowd quickly noticed the intruders on the roof and began screaming.

“Black mages!”

As someone shouted out their identity, chaos immediately spread through the square.

Ivatan turned to look at Eden with tense eyes. Seeing her stare up at the black mages, completely unshaken, he let out a faint, disbelieving sigh.

“Capture them!”

Enraged by the audacity of those who dared disrupt the Sun Festival, the emperor gave his command, and the royal knights moved swiftly.

But the black mages were faster. As they all gathered their hands and chanted, a black magic circle unfurled across the vast sky above the square.

“Get down!”

Eden shouted. Some of those who had been frozen in shock at the sight of the magic circle snapped out of it and ran, triggering another wave of panic.

“Protect His Majesty!”

As the Royal Guard Commander shouted, Serman quickly raised a shield around the emperor. At the same time, monstrous creatures began pouring from the massive magic circle.

“Gargoyles! Run!”

Dwarf-like monsters with bat wings darkened the sky like a swarm, and full-scale battle erupted. The royal knights and holy knights clashed with the swooping gargoyles in a deadly struggle.

Thanks to Ivatan’s prior efforts to control the crowd, about half the civilians in the square managed to escape—but the chaos was far from over.

Asmun…!

Eden frantically searched for him, but the chaotic plaza made it impossible to find him.

As she instinctively began to step forward, Serman grabbed her arm.

“You mustn’t move!”

He had apparently placed a protective shield around the area where the priests were gathered.

Just as the first wave of gargoyles was being subdued by the combined efforts of the holy and royal knights, another magic circle appeared in the sky.

“Damn it…!”

The knights, already exhausted, paled. Yet the magic circle showed no mercy and released a fresh wave of gargoyles.

At that moment, the sound of hooves rang out through the broken entrance of the square, and a wave of reinforcements surged in like a tide.

“The Grand Duke of Yuren?!”

At the emperor’s gasp, a joyful smile bloomed on Eden’s lips.

Zephar…!

As Zephar halted within the plaza, his soldiers split like the Red Sea and charged toward the swarm of gargoyles.

Not only that, but the mages he brought with him began attacking the black mages atop the rooftops, weakening the magical circles.

“The Grand Duke brought reinforcements!”

“We’re saved!”

No one had imagined such a catastrophe would occur during the Sun Festival, so the number of imperial mages deployed for the event had been woefully inadequate.

However, thanks to Zephar’s perfectly timed arrival with a sizable mage force, the tide of battle began to turn.

Praises for Zephar rang out from every direction. But Eden knew all too well—this wasn’t over. In fact, it hadn’t even truly begun.

“They’re retreating!”

As the black mages, now on the defensive, began to vanish one by one, people mistakenly believed they had been driven off and erupted in cheers.

“We’ve driven them away!”

“Duke of Yuren! Duke of Yuren!”

The plaza was filled with jubilant cries celebrating a victory—until another massive magic circle formed above.

“Gasp! Another one’s appearing!”

“Don’t worry, we’ve got the upper hand now! Those gargoyles are nothing—”

The man shouting in triumph fell silent mid-sentence. This time, what emerged from the circle wasn’t a gargoyle.

As people slowly raised their eyes to the sky, a vast black shadow loomed overhead.

“A… a dragon…”

Just as someone shouted out, the massive beast hovering in the sky revealed itself—an enormous black dragon whose crimson eyes gleamed with ferocity as it let out a deafening roar.

Kyaaaargh!

When the dragon spread its massive wings, expressions of horror swept across every face.

“R-red eyes…!”

“It’s Leviathan! The Demon King’s dragon!”

“Waaahhh!”

As someone recognized the dragon and shouted its name, fear far greater than that brought on by the gargoyles consumed the plaza.

Eden’s eyes gleamed sharply. She recalled the contents of the prophetic scroll she’d received as a quest reward:

『First Prince Kyris Declend, having lost his financial backing due to the Reblum incident, has suffered a decline in reputation. Cornered, he has devised a plan to turn the tide during the Sun Festival. His plan is as follows: He will summon a horde of gargoyles and the Demon King’s dragon, Leviathan, to wreak havoc in the plaza, then subdue Leviathan himself to prove his legitimacy and boost his renown. Failing to stop this will result in heavy casualties.』

Leviathan. The reason Kyris had chosen that monster was crystal clear. It was a beast whose very presence evoked the Demon King.

And thanks to Saint Haila having once defeated Leviathan, there’s even a legend that says whoever slays it will save the Empire…

So Kyris had intentionally staged this, planning to vanquish it before everyone’s eyes and crown himself the “fated savior” of the Empire.

Probably because the player had chosen to proceed with Asmun’s route, even if Kyris successfully defeated the dragon, the game wouldn’t end but continue onward. Though no new quests had appeared tied to the Sun Festival, Eden was now resolved to pull the rug out from under the game itself.

“Slay the beast!”

The emperor’s command snapped the stunned knights out of their daze, and they moved to act—but their morale had already been shattered.

Leviathan, struck by a scroll spell, bared its glowing eyes and thrashed. Part of the plaza’s roof collapsed in an explosion of rubble, plunging the square back into chaos.

“Kyaaah!”

Eden frantically scanned the surroundings.

She still couldn’t spot Asmun, but she did see Kyris, hands trembling as he gripped his sword in hesitation.

He had orchestrated all this, yet now, confronted with the dragon in the flesh, he was utterly paralyzed by its overwhelming presence.

“That pathetic bastard…!”

Seeing him frozen in place, having unleashed a force he couldn’t control, Eden cursed without thinking.

“……”

From a rooftop where he had remained hidden, one of the black mages silently muttered an incantation while watching Kyris. At once, a chorus of jingling bells erupted around Kyris.

“Gah…!”

Leviathan, previously searching for prey, immediately turned its glowing eyes toward the source of the sound.

“N-no…!”

Kyris began to backpedal in terror, but it was too late. The dragon had already marked him as its quarry.

With claws extended, Leviathan twisted its massive body toward Kyris, whose face drained of all color.

So they know all of Leviathan’s traits too…!

The simplest way to lure Leviathan was with the sound of bells—information Eden had also passed on to Asmun.

「Leviathan reacts to the sound of bells. So you’ll have to lure it with them. Kyris will probably try the same trick, so make sure you prepare bells loud enough to drown out his.」

But Asmun was still nowhere to be seen. At this rate, Kyris would end up slaying Leviathan—well, technically, the black mages backing him would.

Where are you…?

Just as Eden’s anxiety was about to boil over—

Daaaang—