Volume 6 Chapter 27 I Might Not Have Distinguished It Well Enough…
To avoid interrupting Randy, who was deep in thought again, everyone in the room fell silent.
The only sound echoing in the quiet room was Randy mumbling, "It's strange..."
Inside Randy's mind, synapses communicated rapidly.
They picked up the words he had just spoken and began reconstructing them.
Alan said.
──The answer is the nature of the strangeness.
(Strangeness... is it the strangeness?)
Pushing aside Livia, who had interrupted, Randy began the process of salvaging his memories.
That said, it wasn't a difficult matter.
If asked whether he felt strangeness while speaking, Randy would affirm with a "Yes."
It was a sense that felt like a foreign object mixed within his logically explained thoughts.
It was the first and greatest hitch.
This was the information brought by Julius as a messenger.
Julius's brother is involved with [Pilgrim of Truth].
That was the information.
To dig deeper into such a significant hitch, Randy began to organize his thoughts once more.
(What I talked about earlier was...)
The opponent played the card of brainwashing outside of ordinary people.
At the same time, it was a roundabout move to confuse by making Julius provide information.
(The Empire isn't a united front. It's a vast country. Just like the kingdoms, so it's not odd.)
As Randy reassured himself through his thoughts, the opponent's strategy seemed disjointed, but if he considered that their footing wasn't aligned, everything made sense.
Additionally, he heard that the Empire was currently tense due to a succession dispute, even if it was behind the scenes.
(So far, this is probably correct. But...)
While discrepancies in strategy indicate a lack of alignment within the Empire, he couldn't understand the reason for making their presence known.
That was Randy's greatest feeling of strangeness.
Even if they weren't a united front, the reason to reveal their presence beyond that was unclear.
Of course, it might be to disorient, but even so, it was a puzzling move.
(With that move, their objectives suddenly became unclear──)
Randy, who had been sinking in a sea of thoughts, murmured, "Wait a minute," and looked up.
In front of him were the faces of Catherine and Julius, both tilting their heads.
And beside him was Liz, also tilting her head in the same way.
"What is the purpose of the [Pilgrim of Truth]...?"
As Randy murmured, Catherine began to share her knowledge from the game, saying, "Well──" but Randy stopped her with a raised hand, saying "Stop."
He had indeed heard from Catherine that the [Pilgrim of Truth] had appeared in the game as well.
It was said to be a group of fanatics that emerged during the chaotic times before and after Ellie... Eleonora's revival.
Therefore, among the players, they were treated as fanatics who worshiped Eleonora.
However, that was information he had heard from Catherine during the game.
Thus, Randy did not take it all at face value.
After all, this world was not a game, but reality, and their actions had significantly changed the flow of events.
Elizabeth became Liz, and Eleonora became Ellie.
The Marquis family was not only not rebelling but was thriving.
In contrast, the kingdom's government was losing its cohesion and declining.
The corrupted Church was beginning to rebuild itself around Archbishop Ridley.
Many things had changed, and because the times had shifted, Randy had only listened to Catherine's game knowledge as a reference.
(No, that's not right. To be precise, I had taken it as a reference.)
Why?
It was because they had been given the name [Pilgrim of Truth].
(I see. It's been vague since that time.)
As Randy realized this, his mind began to trace back into the past.
"Too caught up in the present," that thought stretched Randy's thinking back into the past.
──Do they really want to isolate the Marquis Waldner family within the kingdom?
(No, it's earlier than that.)
──It's an international issue. If you can, go ahead and try.
The words echoed in his mind, spoken with a smirk by the ones who had abducted Randy that day.
If it became an international issue at that time, the one who undoubtedly benefited the most would be the Empire.
If the friendly Kingdom and the Dukedom had a falling out, and Waldner was involved, border defenses would be thrown into chaos.
Therefore, back then──before he knew the name [Pilgrim of Truth]──Randy thought that the invisible ones were either connected to the Empire or hired by them.
In other words, he believed their actions were a stepping stone to invading the Kingdom.
He also heard rumors hinting at Waldner's defection later on.
It was what they called covert operations.
That, in itself, could be regarded as a stepping stone to invasion, just as Randy had initially predicted.
Alongside Waldner's machinations, there were also activities in other territories, starting with Braubelg.
If any of that could be said to be a stepping stone to invasion, it was certainly true──yet here came Catherine's game knowledge.
The mysterious organization had, at that point, put on a mask of fanaticism.
In other words, somewhere along the line, a filter of Eleonora's revival had been added to the goals of [Pilgrim of Truth] in Randy's mind.
The invasion of the Kingdom, along with all the previous covert actions, were chaos meant to welcome the existence of Eleonora.
Such a goal had formed in Randy's mind before he even realized it.
At first glance, it did seem coherent.
The fact that they were scheming, the Empire's involvement, and their positions in the game all connected.
He thought they were all tied together firmly, so in Randy's mind, that was the conclusion.
But now, there was that disjointed plan.
Now, it seemed like they were revealing information about the mastermind.
(Damn it. Back to square one again.)
Randy scratched his head in frustration but shifted his gaze to the steam rising from the freshly served tea.
No, his attention turned to Julius, who was visible beyond it.
(Julius... come to think of it, I met him after that incident...)
He recalled the moment he met Julius.
Their encounter had been purely by chance.
He had happened to stop by a Cathedral and ran into Julius, who coincidentally happened to be there.
Julius became interested in Randy and began to talk to him....
Randy initially thought the Empire was on guard.
However, as they talked, Julius became convinced he was unrelated to the attackers.
──Such a grand treatment. The maneuvering over the heir. He hated all of it.
The memory that came to mind was Julius's wry smile.
By recklessly reaching out to Randy, he realized that Randy was already caught up in the imperial conflict.
(That's right. At that moment, I was sure of the Empire's involvement... but)
A sudden question arose.
During the infighting over the heir, would they really invade other countries?
(No. It could be possible. For instance, depending on the success of an invasion of the kingdom, one of them──)
With that thought, Randy muttered, "Which one...?" and tilted his head.
"Oh. Ohhhh...?"
Seeing Randy tilt his head and groan, Liz smiled and said, "It just hit!" while clenching her fist.
"Elizabeth... you should do something about that creepy insight of the big guy."
To Catherine, who frowned, Liz tilted her head and asked, "Isn't it cute?"
"Cute?"
"Yes."
"...for sure, your taste in men is off."
Although Catherine made a big grimace, her voice didn't reach Randy, who was fully focused.
(Everything was connected... Wasn't it even a filter?)
With a thought, Randy looked up and said, "Julius."
"What is it?"
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