The Game Difficulty
Is Insane
Who is Luceria?
She is a woman who receives the favor of Miniss, the main god of the Order and the god of light and the sun, and who can hear his voice.
Together with the Pope, she can be said to be the woman with the highest status in this country—no, on the entire continent’s human society.
‘That much is common knowledge.’
But to Seong Yohan the player, not Glen the noble of the Papal Holy State, the Saint Luceria is something more special.
That is because she is a playable character in Gray Eden.
A playable character.
A person at the center of the scenario, possessing infinite possibilities and potential, whom the player can control to influence the world in many ways.
In other words, a protagonist.
Of course, given the massive scale of Gray Eden, there are not just one or two playable characters, but dozens of them.
Even so, among those dozens of protagonist characters, Luceria has a particularly large role in the main scenario of Gray Eden.
So the fact that a letter had arrived from Luceria made Glen feel strangely moved.
“It arrived two days ago. I was going to send it to you right away, but I thought you’d already left Veronia, so I held onto it.”
“Yes. You did well. Do you happen to know what it says?”
“I was curious since it’s from the Saint, but I didn’t read it.”
Saying that, Tris took the letter from the desk and handed it to Glen.
It was a letter written on yellowed paper, stamped with the pure white seal of the Saint.
“……I’m a little uneasy.”
Tris’s expression darkened.
She seemed worried that perhaps Glen had angered the Saint because he was being called a Saint Child in Wordsworth Territory.
‘Well, she’s not really that kind of person.’
Still, just in case.
Hoping the contents weren’t negative, Glen slowly broke the seal and checked the letter.
『To Glen Wordsworth.』
『On this day blessed by God’s grace, greetings, brother. My name is Luceria. I am the woman serving as the Saint of the Papal Holy State.』
A brief self-introduction and greeting written in neat, delicate handwriting.
Just reading that much already gave the illusion of kindness and holiness.
In fact, traces of the Saint’s uniquely pure 9-star holy power still lingered faintly on the seal, so it wasn’t just imagination.
Anyway.
Glen continued reading the letter.
“What does it say?”
Seeing her brother silently read the Saint’s letter with a serious expression, Tris leaned forward with curiosity.
“She’s asking me to come.”
“Huh? Wh—what?”
“She says she would like me to come to the Papal Holy State in the near future.”
“……Ah… what do we do…….”
Tris gasped and covered her face with both hands.
It seemed she thought the absolute worst scenario she had imagined had come true.
“Sister. It doesn’t seem like she’s calling me because there’s a problem, though.”
“R-Really?”
“Yes. I don’t know what you imagined, but according to what’s written here, the purpose is to commend my achievements in the recent battle against the demon race.”
“Really? Ah… I thought she might be summoning you for interrogation or something.”
“Because I’m being called a Saint Child in the territory?”
“Yes. But if that’s not it, then that’s a relief.”
“Yes… well. It really is a relief.”
Tris smiled brightly.
Judging by her intense reaction, she must have been restless ever since the letter arrived a few days ago.
‘If that was the case, you could’ve just read it.’
In any case, it seemed there was nothing negative about why the Saint was calling him.
“But why would the Saint call for you at a time like this?”
Tris tilted her head.
“If there’s no special reason, they usually don’t summon nobles to the capital during a Holy War, right?”
“That’s true. And normally, commendations for wartime achievements are done by His Holiness the Pope, not the Saint.”
“What if the demon race attacks again while you’re gone…….”
Tris puffed out her lips, clearly unhappy about the sudden summons.
Of course, Glen knew the reason.
‘The scenario has started, so it’s natural that the Saint would start moving too.’
In the original work—after Wordsworth Territory was destroyed by the demon race—
At that point, a prologue event marking the start of Saint Luceria’s main story occurred.
The event began with Luceria secretly gathering talented individuals outside the capital in order to change the Papal Holy State, which had rotted from within due to some high-ranking priests.
‘And if I go to meet her after receiving this letter, she’ll quietly try to recruit me into her faction.’
In other words, the letter sent to Glen was a kind of talent recruitment notice sent by the Saint.
And the fact that such letters were spreading throughout the Papal Holy State meant that the prologue event of the playable character Luceria had begun.
‘Still, it’s unexpected that one came to me too.’
Because Wordsworth Territory, which according to the scenario should have been destroyed in the first demon assault, was still standing, things seemed to be unfolding differently from the original story.
Still, all that meant was that Glen Wordsworth had been added to the list of recipients.
“Well, since the Saint has summoned me, I should go.”
In any case, the plan itself didn’t change.
‘The next destination was Istirenne anyway.’
On top of that, since he had business with Saint Luceria, this letter actually served as a perfect excuse to leave.
‘Honestly, I can’t just keep telling Sister Tris that God spoke to me and I have to go to the capital forever…….’
Of course, if a letter from the Saint hadn’t arrived, he would have used Sintkey without hesitation.
“Hmm…… I guess that’s true.”
Worry clouded Tris’s eyes.
“Will you really be okay, Glen? What if the demon race attacks while you’re gone?”
“My absence alone won’t make a big difference. And even if they do attack, they won’t be able to break through Ovenue so easily.”
Ovenue was currently being reinforced with the Gray Wolf Knights, including Jaber, and support troops from across Wordsworth Territory.
On top of that, once the 7-star priest Nelpers and the Veronia battle priests empowered by Holy Power Stones joined Ovenue, even a formidable force would be held off for dozens of days.
And more than anything, Glen had firmly instructed Penelope to stay put for two months.
So unless another Lunatic Trial occurred, Ovenue wouldn’t be in danger.
‘But if another Lunatic Trial gets added, that’d be three overlapping at once. Damn, that’d really be crossing the line.’
Thinking that such a cruel situation surely wouldn’t happen, Glen smiled with his eyes and eased Tris’s worries.
‘Anyway, there’s a lot to do in the capital…… maybe I should bring a few more people.’
After wrapping up the discussion about the Saint’s letter by agreeing to answer the summons, Glen continued his remaining discussions with Tris.
Only after talking about the sudden arrival of the Banshees from Veronia and the support troops Veronia would be sending did Glen finally leave the office.
The next place he headed was the basement of the estate, where the prison was located.
In the cold air down there, Glen reunited with Septerien, the Queen of the Banshees.
“Your Majesty. It is an honor to meet you again. Have you been well?”
“So we meet again, child of humanity.”
Her flat voice and emotionless expression were unchanged, but there was a faint warmth about her.
“I apologize for having to host Your Majesty in a place like this.”
“It does not matter. All things have their order.”
Although a few days had passed since she arrived at the estate, she and the Banshees had not yet become guardian spirits.
It seemed they weren’t quite ready to accept them so suddenly.
Glen had already planned to stage things so that the territory’s people would believe the Banshees were messengers sent by God, but execution would still take time.
Not only the territory’s people, but also priests dispatched from the capital’s monastery would have to be deceived.
‘That side of things should be fine. I already explained the general flow to Sister Tris.’
In any case, it might take some time, but eventually, it seemed possible to accept them as guardian spirits.
At least before they lost their reason and turned into monsters.
“No matter how much I thank you, it will never be enough.”
Septerien lowered her gaze.
“And your sister as well.”
“She really is a good person.”
Glen smiled faintly.
Certainly, the plan to take Banshees as guardian spirits could be seen as heretical in the Papal Holy State, which believed in the Miniss Order.
Yet after reading Glen’s letter, Tris agreed to participate in that plan, which could easily be seen as blasphemous.
Of course, Tris still seemed confused during their earlier conversation.
She herself had grown up as a devout believer of the Order, raised under Miniss’s teachings from birth.
But Tris chose to set aside her beliefs for now and trust Glen.
It might seem blasphemous, but surely Glen—who could hear God’s voice—would not commit heresy.
That seemed to be her thinking.
Glen was endlessly grateful for Tris’s blind trust.
“In any case, if you wait just a little longer, I will definitely welcome Your Majesty and your people as guardian spirits.”
“Thank you, truly.”
Septerien smiled bitterly.
That faint, gentle, and lonely smile was probably the fullest expression of emotion she could manage.
Of course, Glen had brought Septerien here primarily for the recovery skill, Guardian Spirit’s Blessing, that came with accepting Banshees as guardian spirits.
Still, seeing the usually emotionless Queen of the Banshees express gratitude, even awkwardly, made his chest feel full.
‘But this is kind of embarrassing…….’
Feeling awkward, Glen scratched his cheek.
Glen stayed at the estate for three more days, waiting for the people who would accompany him to the capital.
In the mornings, he sparred with Tris, and in the afternoons, they discussed the operation of Wordsworth Territory and war preparations.
While talking with Tris, Glen realized something.
His sister had extraordinary talent when it came to managing a territory.
‘I knew she was good at handling things, but I honestly didn’t think she was this good.’
While Glen was negotiating with Penelope in Ovenue and traveling to Veronia, Tris had sat in the family head’s office and handled a great many tasks.
She calmed the confused vassals of Wordsworth after the disappearance of the family head and quickly organized support troops.
At the same time, she established communication networks with the capital and neighboring great lords.
And while doing all that, she even arranged evacuation sites for territory residents who could not fight and were not conscripted.
‘This feels like a potential ability.’
A very reasonable suspicion.
Since Tris did not appear in the original Gray Eden, there was no way to confirm it, but with talent like this, it was certain.
Tris definitely had a potential ability related to territory management.
‘At this rate, shouldn’t the family head have died a long time ago?’
Of course, Henry Wordsworth, who died at Myuta’s hands, wasn’t incompetent.
As someone who desperately wanted to revive the family, he had schemed in various ways.
And through that process, he had unintentionally shown passable territory management.
But it couldn’t compare to what Tris had shown over the past few weeks.
‘Then I should trust her and leave it to her.’
Although it wasn’t said outright, the nobles and vassals of Wordsworth had likely begun to realize that the missing Henry Wordsworth was probably dead.
That was why they were quietly paying attention to who would take the family head’s seat—Tris, who had steadily built her image, or Glen, who had been re-evaluated as a Saint through the struggle at Ovenue.
But naturally, Glen had no great interest in becoming the family head.
‘Honestly, becoming the family head would just be a shackle.’
As seen in Freddie, worn thin by overwork, and Tris buried in documents, the family head had a mountain of work to do.
Not only were there territory issues, but there were also countless summons to other places.
With Glen already having to leave the territory frequently due to scenarios and events, could he really afford to worry about all those minor matters?
That was why Tris, who had clearly demonstrated excellent territory management, should become the next family head, rather than Glen, who was often absent.
That path suited both Glen and Tris.
The day before leaving for the capital, Glen sat at his desk, solidifying his long thoughts, and nodded with satisfaction.
And the next day, after Glen left the Wordsworth estate, a letter he had left in his room was discovered by Tris.
A single letter stating that he would not become the family head, and recommending Tris as the next one.
With that one letter, Glen freed himself from the family.
Dududududu—
Three horses galloped powerfully down the main road.
At the front, Glen wore a faint smile as he looked toward their destination, the capital Istirenne.
From behind him, Romina asked,
“Why are you smiling?”
“Just because.”
“You’re strange. Anyway, those guys—are they really trustworthy?”
Narrowing her amber eyes, Romina looked at the two knights following behind Glen.
One of them was riding with another person seated behind him.
“They look weak…….”
“Whether they’re strong or weak doesn’t matter much. What matters is how helpful they are to me.”
Glen curled the corner of his lips as he glanced at the two knights closely following him—the Gray Wolf Knight Hockney and the apprentice knight Tasha.
“They’re helpful enough.”
Dududududu—
The horses picked up speed.
It was the moment when Glen’s full-scale movement to clear Gray Eden, with the Papal Holy State as the stage, truly began.
TO BE CONTINUED....
