Chapter 300: Grand Campaign (2)
“The Magic Tower has officially started tracking us down.”
Thud.
A bundle of papers was placed on the old table. It was a document brought over by the [Assistant Writer]. She wiped her forehead and looked at me, exhaling deeply.
“The city has formally issued a decree of extermination. A hefty reward has been promised to anyone who captures the escaped prisoner from the dungeon – Hamusutra’s followers. For those who catch or provide information on the ‘unknown rogue’ who helped them escape, the reward is twenty-eight times greater… It seems they’ve found the mark you left at the entrance of the secret passage.”
“That’s good news.”
I quickly skimmed through the documents.
The papers were filled with information about the Magic Tower, especially about the leader of the Magic Tower, the so-called Elder.
“I was anxious about when they would discover it. It seems that they are quite slow in their actions.”
“……What exactly did you write there?”
“The Sword Emperor has returned.”
I smiled.
“I just wrote those five words. Nothing much.”
“…….”
The Assistant Writer was agape with shock.
“You’re really crazy, you know.”
“What is common sense, Ms. Writer? It’s probably the average of living in this world, the norm of life. And this world is, on average, a complete mess. Being called crazy, being abnormal, in other words, is the opposite of this mess. It can be considered normal.”
“Right. You lunatic.”
It’s strange.
Why does no one take my serious words seriously?
Massaging her forehead, the Assistant Writer sighed deeply. Her sigh would’ve bore a hole in the floor of the cave if it could.
“……I admit that you’re extraordinary. You’ve earned the trust of the Head Librarian and persuaded numerous Constellations. You might be the first in history to have [Simultaneous Membership] with double-digit Constellations.”
“Thank you for the compliment.”
“But you shouldn’t provoke the Magic Tower recklessly.”
The Assistant Writer said.
“The two words most hated by the Magic Tower in the universe are ‘Sword’ and ‘Emperor’. The Elder of the Magic Tower considers herself the antithesis of the Sword Emperor. In story terms, an archnemesis. A sworn enemy.”
“I know.”
I snapped my fingers.
Swish.
Letters appeared before my eyes. A quest window. A window I had received dozens of times before, but the hologram I was seeing now was different.
The characters looked as if they were written by hand, shimmering and adorably sparkling.
+
[Grand Strategy! Shake the Elder’s Heart★]
Constellation: The Incarnation of Love and Lust
Difficulty: SSS
Objective: Oh my! Someone claiming to be the successor of the Sword Emperor has appeared in the world. His alias is the King of Death! A warrior who has just reached the 50th floor is causing a stir!
Is he really the heir to the Sword Emperor? Or could he actually be the Sword Emperor himself…!? (Thump)
If the King of Death really has a connection with the Sword Emperor, my goodness, The Elder of the Magic Tower won’t sit still! Because the only person who ever drove a stake into her cold heart was the Sword Emperor! (Dramatic)
Will the King of Death restart the heart of the most sinister spider?
If so, what music will the beating of that heart play? Love? Hate? Or perhaps love-hate? (Wink) Any rhythm will do. All I, Babbit, expect from the King of Death, is the sound of the Elder tearing apart!
Shatter the Elder’s heart.
To all followers serving Babbit. Support the King of Death with all your might.
Prove that you are worthy to step beyond the 50th floor.
*Currently participating in the quest as a [Temporary Follower].
+
I nodded.
“I claimed to be the heir of the Sword Emperor because I know. Right now, the Magic Tower must be treating me as a very suspicious person.”
I tossed the bundle of papers down.
Before the last vote, [The Princess Who Strolls Through Mirages] had told us about the history of the Magic Tower and its members.
However, there was no information about the Elder who rules the Magic Tower. No knowledge of when she was born, why she settled at the 50th floor, or why she prevents other hunters from ascending further.
The situation was the same for the hunters who resided on the 50th floor. None of them knew about the Elder of the Magic Tower. The documents provided by [Paparazzo] contained plausible speculations and inferences but no truth.
“They won’t believe that the Sword Emperor has really returned. Not yet.”
But there was one truth known to everyone.
That the Elder of the Magic Tower hates the Sword Emperor.
“‘Not yet,’ you say…?”
“Yes. Not yet.”
To shake the Elder’s heart, I need to use the existence of the Sword Emperor appropriately.
“I am the only one who knows certain information privy only to the Sword Emperor and the Elder. For example, hmm… Right, the words the Sword Emperor said to the Elder when he destroyed the spire.”
“…….”
“If I release this information, the Elder will realize immediately. Ah, this guy is truly the heir of the Sword Emperor. I must crush this guy as soon as possible.”
In the past, when I was with the Constellation Killer, I used words left by the Sword Emperor. Not a single word was different. As soon as the Elder of the Magic Tower heard my words, she became enraged and attacked us.
-Zombie. Just so you know, I have a lot more things to say that will piss her off.
‘How reassuring.’
-Right?
‘Yes. Your character is so reassuring.’
In other words, I have several trump cards to lure the Elder.
Perhaps, in this world, only the Sword Saint and I know of these cards.
“……How do you have such information?”
The Assistant Writer looked at me suspiciously.
“Do you have a skill to read people’s pasts? Or are you really the successor of the Sword Emperor?”
“That’s not important. What’s important is that I have the means to provoke the Elder. And right now, I need to [appropriately] agitate her.”
I lightly tapped the documents.
“Appropriately? What do you mean?”
“It’s not enough to just anger the Elder. The [Incarnation of Love and Lust] is very clearly demanding in the quest – overturn the Elder from her roots. Therefore, I will—”
I narrowed my eyes.
“Slowly but gently, shake the heart of the Elder.”
「Could the Sword Emperor really have returned?」
「No. It can’t be.」
「The evidence is insufficient.」
「But, what if he really did return?」
“We can’t just instantly reveal that the Sword Emperor has returned. It’s too weak. The impact is too weak. The truth, when found by oneself rather than handed down from the heavens, creates a bigger ripple in a person’s heart.”
“…….”
“Do you understand, Ms. Writer? We need to show the Elder at the perfect place and moment that the Sword Emperor has returned. To do that…”
“We need a script.”
The Assistant Writer spoke softly.
She wore the same expression as me. Eyes scheming a plot. The gleam of someone trying to pull another person in scheming to steal their heart.
The same look carried by the eyes of Hamusutra.
“What do you want from me?”
Now we’re getting somewhere.
“First, spread rumors on the streets of the city.”
“Heh.”
“The Magic Tower has not officially recognized the return of the Sword Emperor. The Elder probably thinks, ‘Some madman is impersonating the Sword Emperor to provoke us.’ But if rumors of the Sword Emperor’s return start circulating publicly…”
“It’ll start to bother her. Even if she doesn’t want it to.”
The Assistant Writer’s eyes sparkled.
“Good. What’s next?”
Hey, King of Death. What’s going on?
What is it, Mr. Berserker? You seem flustered.
What do you mean what is it? The Magic Tower folks are going crazy. Just yesterday, they were sitting back after issuing the extermination decree, and now they’ve suddenly formed a search party and are stirring up the streets!
“Just rumors of the Sword Emperor’s return won’t shake the Elder’s heart. It’ll just mildly annoy her. We need to go further. We must target the blind spot in the Elder’s heart.”
“Tell me.”
The Assistant Writer rapidly moved her quill.
“I’m writing it down now. Tell me all of your strategies. I’ll adjust anything that seems off.”
“We’ll touch on the resentment and anger accumulated by the the hunters of the 50th floor.”
I enjoyed the sound of the quill scratching on paper.
“The Sword Emperor is not just a hunter, he is a symbol. The Elder blocked the 50th floor, creating a blockade, however, the Sword Emperor broke through it and moved beyond… The rumor of the Sword Emperor’s return is an attack on the Elder. [We hate the current situation under the Elder’s rule over the 50th floor. We’re sick of it. We want someone like the Sword Emperor. We want the Sword Emperor to return and shatter these nightmarish days.]”
“Indeed. That’s it… I get what you mean.”
Blind spot.
The Assistant Writer’s hand moved even faster.
“Like, directly telling the Elder, ‘You are wrong,’ with the rumors?”
“Exactly.”
“Sigh.”
The Assistant Writer didn’t look at me. Her eyes were fixed on the words her pen was writing. Laughter seeped into the paper from the Assistant Writer.
“Alright. The return of the Sword Emperor is just a pretext. A tool to mobilize and incite the hunters dissatisfied with the Magic Tower’s rule.”
“Yes.”
I nodded.
“And at the same time, it’s a blade aimed at the Elder’s heart.”
Look, Elder.
I died.
I fell pathetically on the 99th floor.
But why do hunters still remember me, even though I died long ago? Why are they so enthusiastic about me?
It’s simple.
I was right, and you were wrong.
“The more the city buzzes with rumors of the Sword Emperor, the higher the resentment against the Magic Tower.”
Even though you’re alive, you can’t defeat me, who’s already dead.
Even though I’m dead, reduced to a mere ghost, I am stronger than you are now.
“If the Elder thinks of the Sword Emperor as just annoying… She won’t react much. If it’s just a rumor she’ll leave it alone, thinking it’ll die down. But, if the Sword Emperor still occupies a place in the Elder’s heart. If she truly loathes him to the bone, she will definitely react.”
“…….”
“Excessively. An overreaction, almost neurotical.”
How about that?
“……How can you be so sure?”
“Hatred is like that.”
Do you still want to kill me?
“The Elder will react violently. She must.”
The Magic Tower folks have lost their minds.
They were always crazy, but this time they’ve gone too far.
Just for mentioning the Sword Emperor’s name, they threaten to throw everyone in prison. This is madness. It’s just idle talk in the taverns. Why are they reacting this strongly? Did they hit a nerve?
At this rate, even those without a clue might start believing that the Sword Emperor has really returned.
Strange, even for a rumor we started.
“I’ve learned something since coming to the 50th floor.”
“What’s that?”
“From this stage onwards, we have to play the game of incitement and fabrication.”
[A quest has been issued by The Incarnation of Love and Lust to their followers.]
“Whether the rumor about the Sword Emperor’s return is true or not doesn’t matter to ordinary hunters.”
[A quest has been issued by The Last Sword Left in the Wilderness to their followers.]
“They all serve the Constellations.”
[A quest has been issued by The Lonely Seeker to their followers.]
“The words of the Constellations are truth, and the content written in the quest is reality. If the quest window hints at the return of the Sword Emperor, regardless of its authenticity, the hunters will act under the assumption that ‘The Sword Emperor has returned.”
[A quest has been issued by The Eyes Dwelling in the Labyrinth to their followers.]
“Just like how I was hunted down as an evil lich.”
[A quest has been issued by The Warhorse of the Eternal Plains to their followers.]
“Spread the rumors throughout the city. When the Magic Tower starts oppressing hunters aggressively, issue quests through the Constellations. And in every quest, hint at the return of the Sword Emperor.”
「Is he really the successor to the Sword Emperor?」
「Lately, there are rumors in the Monopolized Poisonous city that the Sword Emperor has returned.」
「It might be hard to remember, but in the past, when the spire was destroyed….」
「Warriors!」
「Why is the Magic Tower oppressing you so harshly?」
「Perhaps he is the Sword Emperor himself.」
“That will decide the major trend.”
“…….”
The Assistant Writer’s quill stopped abruptly. She slowly raised her head, and our eyes met.
I pulled out a handkerchief from my pocket. The soft touch wrapped around my fingertips. A comforting sensation. The only spell that could calm my mind.
Then I said,
“Then, a coalition against the Magic Tower will be formed.”
