Chapter 82: Out of Control
“Please, just stop.”
“Are you having a really hard time, Mister?”
Those were the first words Ingwang said after waking up and finally realizing what was happening around him.
It wasn’t as if he had enough authority to stop this entire situation.
Still, he desperately wanted to complain to someone.
If possible, he wanted to pour everything out to Ien, who was right beside him.
Of course, he would probably get scolded if he actually told her everything, so he had no intention of doing that.
Why is it that every single time I try to do something...
Just how many people had gathered here to take revenge on Karantlia, the underwater dungeon beneath the sea?
Ingwang seriously wondered whether he was valuable enough to justify something on this scale.
Then another possibility came to mind.
...Is this because the fishmen got their weapons back?
The fishmen had gills and bodies perfectly adapted to living underwater.
And yet, they had been a race less free in the ocean than almost anyone else.
Now, they had finally obtained their freedom.
It was such overwhelming freedom that they were even willing to call a human like Ingwang their hero.
There was a high chance all these warships had gathered here because the human nations wanted to stop those fishmen before they became completely free in the sea.
Ingwang himself was probably nothing more than an excuse.
Even so, something still bothered him.
Why had the nations brought out their greatest and most important military assets, the Great Heroes themselves?
Erol...!
There were two Great Heroes gathered here.
That had to be because Erol had made a move.
There was simply no other explanation.
Not only had he informed Aieralo about Ingwang’s condition and brought him all the way here, he had also moved an enormous number of troops at the same time.
...I’m screwed...
He had come up with that little plan on the spot merely to lure out Pie.
It hadn’t meant anything beyond that.
And now an entire nation was moving because of it?
No matter how hard Ingwang thought, he couldn’t come up with a good way to resolve this situation.
Instead, he could clearly imagine himself becoming the first player to be accused of countless crimes and then being banished by the strongest forces of both continents.
“...Ingwang.”
“Eek!”
To everyone else, Ingwang probably looked like he was carefully observing the situation with sharp eyes.
But Aieralo could clearly see how nervous he actually was.
He looked at Ingwang suspiciously.
“The information I received from the villagers and Erol was extremely limited. I was told that you entered the dungeon, suffered severe mental confusion inside it, and that the fishmen regained their gills.”
“Uh... well, about that...”
“You didn’t cause all of this yourself, did you?”
“...”
“For some reason, most of the villagers were fiercely defending you. I even wondered whether they had been bribed with money. But if that is true, it would mean there had been a reason to buy their silence beforehand.”
“Reaaally~?”
“Considering your personality, you would never spend money for no reason. I assume the situation became inconvenient for you, so either you or that elder paid them to keep quiet.”
“Come on~! I don’t have that kind of money!”
“I see. Then do you have any idea why the ancient seal on the fishmen suddenly disappeared? I was told that it happened after you entered the dungeon.”
At that moment, Ingwang seriously considered whether he should simply destroy the Empire.
If he took the Empire hostage and used it to negotiate with Aieralo, maybe they could forget this entire incident.
Of course, his notoriety would shoot straight through the sky if he actually did something like that.
But Ingwang was too flustered to care about such details right now.
“...No. No, wait! Grandpa Alo! Can you just summarize the actual problem for me?!”
“...Haa... You truly are... The cave you melted still hasn’t been completely restored. Do you even understand how much attention your latest actions have attracted? His Majesty the Emperor personally gave orders regarding this matter.”
“C-Cough! About that... can’t we talk about it later?”
Aieralo let out another long sigh.
“...Haa... For now, the biggest problem is that the fishmen have regained their power. Their physical abilities are naturally superior to humans, and they live in the sea, a place humans cannot easily enter. The moment they gain complete freedom in the ocean, humanity will be placed in an extremely dangerous position.”
Ingwang’s eyes lit up.
“Then what if I negotiate with the fishmen and establish a peace treaty between them and humanity?!”
“You?”
Ingwang thought it might be the most peaceful solution he had come up with so far.
He was even a little proud of himself.
Aieralo, the Great Hero of Foresight and the first person Ingwang had to convince, quietly stroked his beard as he considered the proposal.
Unlike usual, he was fully armed.
The sight of him standing there in silence while thinking seriously made everyone watching tense.
“Hmm. Of course, it would be good if that were possible. Starting a war over a single man who somehow became our justification would certainly look rather strange.”
“Exactly! Then I’ll—”
“But how could I possibly entrust something like that to you?”
Aieralo certainly trusted Ingwang.
Perhaps even more than Ingwang himself was comfortable with.
But this situation was different.
“More importantly, you are an Outsider who currently has connections to both the Empire and the Alliance. How could I entrust negotiations between nations to someone in your position?”
“Ugh! That’s completely logical! You’re so painfully righteous, always saying the correct thing! Truly amaaazing!”
“Thank you.”
Aieralo laughed awkwardly, as if he were slightly embarrassed by the compliment.
Meanwhile, Ingwang felt like his insides were burning.
“...Ah! Right! I guarantee that I’m probably the human who can communicate with the fishmen better than anyone else right now!”
“What? Were you brainwashed? They were remarkably thorough.”
“No! I don’t know how to do anything like that! That’s not what I mean!”
Ingwang nearly shouted.
Then he noticed all the people watching them.
He moved closer to Aieralo and quietly whispered what had actually happened inside the underwater dungeon.
In other words...
He confessed that he was the source of basically everything that had happened.
Aieralo listened silently until the very end.
Then, for the first time, he grabbed his forehead with an expression of genuine frustration.
And also for the first time...
He struck Ingwang.
Flick!
A powerful finger flick landed directly on Ingwang’s forehead.
The moment Ingwang saw a long row of status effects appearing before his eyes, he jumped backward in horror.
“Aaaagh! I-I’m dying! You’re going to kill me!”
“Seriously, you... Haa... Do you ever think before acting?”
“H-Haha... I simply allow myself to drift along with the flow of the world...”
Flick!
Another finger flick struck him.
“Ahjussi! Mallang, hurry! Ahjussi is dying!”
“Wouldn’t it be better for Ingwang to learn how to lie? I do think his honesty is one of his charms, but sometimes he takes it too far.”
After receiving the second blow, Ingwang briefly lost consciousness.
His companions hurried over to treat him.
Leaving them behind, Aieralo fell into thought.
If everything Ingwang said is true... No, it almost certainly is.
If so, then Ingwang really would have a far easier time communicating with the fishmen than soldiers who had arrived here carrying weapons.
On top of that, the Imperial and Alliance troops gathered here were currently being commanded by Aieralo and Erol.
If they wasted too much time and other nobles arrived, especially nobles who started demanding command authority of their own...
Any chance of peaceful negotiations would disappear.
But did Erol really not know about this? Someone of Erol’s ability shouldn’t have been fooled by acting as obvious as Ingwang’s.
From the incident with the fanatics until now, Erol had repeatedly behaved suspiciously.
Aieralo couldn’t suppress the ominous feeling in his heart.
What exactly is he planning?
Was his objective to cause a battle?
If so, what benefit would that bring to the Alliance?
No.
What benefit would it bring to Erol himself?
Aieralo couldn’t understand it.
Dealing with Ingwang alone was difficult enough.
Ingwang was uncontrollable, like a bomb that could explode at any moment.
Adding Erol as another unpredictable element only made things worse.
And if the fishmen became their enemies on top of that...
Even Aieralo doubted he could handle everything alone.
“Ingwang.”
“U-Ugh... yes...”
“You’re confident you can do this, aren’t you?”
“...This time, somewhat.”
Aieralo let out a deep sigh.
He was already old, but every time he dealt with Ingwang, he felt as though he aged several more years.
What mattered most to him was simple.
What choice would benefit the Empire the most?
In the current situation, the greatest benefit would come from successfully signing a peace treaty with the fishmen.
And if that treaty could eventually open a path for trade and interaction between them...
There could hardly be a better outcome.
However, there was one problem.
Would that benefit belong only to the Empire?
The Alliance forces gathered here would certainly demand their share as well.
They might even claim that they had deeper ties with Ingwang and demand exclusive rights.
It would have been much easier if the village Ingwang had destroyed belonged to either the Empire or the Alliance.
Unfortunately, it belonged to neither.
The village acted as something of a buffer region.
Aieralo looked at Ingwang.
“I can guarantee this much. If you succeed, you will almost certainly receive the title of Hero.”
“...Really?”
“You will likely receive something tangible as well, such as a medal.”
“Ooh...!”
“And if you can secure an agreement allowing exchange between the fishmen and the Empire, then naturally, even greater honors will follow!”
Ingwang immediately asked the most important question.
“If I get that, can I enter the Maze Forest?”
“...I will do my best.”
“Wow! That sounds great!”
“Ah, may I interrupt for a moment?”
Another man appeared.
The Great Hero of Salvation.
No one knew where he had originally come from.
He was a monstrous man who had crushed every doubt and suspicion surrounding him through his achievements alone.
And he belonged to the Alliance, an organization that moved according to money.
Just as Aieralo was slowly trying to tempt Ingwang, who was easily influenced by material rewards, Erol appeared as though he had been waiting for exactly this moment.
Aieralo stared at him.
...What exactly are you trying to accomplish?
