Tale of Discovery

Chapter 343: More Trouble

"Since you guys are on horses, I will go on ahead," I state before breaking into a sprint toward the village.

Due to my abnormal speed, I find myself standing in the village square not even a second later.

Heh. Why even bother with close-teleportation when I can do this anyway? Unless there something huge is blocking my path, I am capable of easily crossing great distances with my speed in an extremely short time.

Still, if I overdo it, I won't be able to accurately come to a stop where I want, so I am always subconsciously keeping my speed low. However, now that I have discovered Enhanced Cerebration, I just might be able to double my speed.

Just thinking about it is enough to get me excited. After all, the notion of wiping out thousands upon thousands of soldiers in less than a second is quite enticing.

As I ruminate over ways that I can further make use of my absurd speed, the soldiers in the distance begin to move toward the village.

Shortly, Gazef and his men arrive, after which they directly dismount from their horses.

"Mr. Vincent! What's going on?" the village chief's voice suddenly reaches my ears as his figure approaches me.

"Don't worry, these soldiers don't have bad intentions," since if they did, they would already be dead anyway.

Gazef looks around for a brief moment before spotting me and the village chief. A wary expression appears on his face as he gazes at me apprehensively, to which I react by simply smiling.

The poor confused man takes a moment to recollect himself before approaching us with a solemn look on his face.

Seeing him, the village chief opens his mouth to seemingly welcome him, but Gazef practically ignored him as he looks me in the eyes as he bluntly asks, "What are you?"

"How many times has it been that I've been asked this question" I mutter while rolling my eyes, "A human. I am a bona fide human."

"Impossible!" Gazef retorts strongly, "That feat just now isn't it something that can be done by a human. I had my suspicions when I first spotted you, but now I am sure of it. You're something inhuman. A monster?"

Toward the latter half of his statements, Gazef's tone became cold as his hand slowly shifts to the hilt of his sword.

Seeing this, I slowly shake my head while faking a disappointed look on my face as I say, "You better not. The moment you draw that sword, you will be dead."

Gazef's eyes twitch as a response to my statement before he asks, "So, you admit it?"

"That I am not a human? Of course, not. I am a human through and through, albeit one that has attained some power."

"Stop with this farce. I don't detect any magic energy from you even after you teleported just now."

Teleported? I suppose that's what it would seem like from another's perspective.

"And what of it?"

"That means that you're either a magician at least at the level of an Archmage or a... demon."

"Oh? Since you called me a non-human, you believe that I am the latter?"

"Of course! It has been two centuries since an Archmage has been seen, yet now there is one here, and he is a young human that looks to have just hit twenty? No one would believe that."

Hm Listening to his tone, I sense no direct malice, which is rather surprising. If anything, I sense various other emotions, all of which isn't negative for the most part.

It's like he is trying to obtain information from me. Perhaps, if I was less 'mysterious', he would've resorted to a more direct approach, but since he can't do that, this is the most efficient way.

An interrogation masked by fear and suspicion, which he is doubtlessly faking.

It's a simple tactic. Make the other side feel that you're simply worried about your own well-being and that as long as it's guaranteed, there won't be any problems - A tactic I am rather familiar with.

Back in Project Future, those that strived to survive the hardest always made use of unique approaches to deal with their opponents. One such approach was feigning weakness and lack of malice.

For now, I should go along with this little game to see how he plans to 'corner' me.

"If it's that hard to believe, then just take it as me having not used magic at all but simply moved too fast for you to see."

"That's even more nonsensical of a feat!" Gazef immediately exclaims, "No human is capable of attaining such speed."

"So? What are you planning to do? Kill me?" I question with a mocking smile on my lips.

Hearing this, Gazef visibly flinches before he relaxes his arms as he puts on an amicable face and says, "Excuse me for my rude behavior."

"Eh, you give in way too quickly, Mr. Gazef," I mock.

"It would be foolish of me to continue."

"Why so? Don't worry, I am not that hot-headed to decimate you simply due to being displeased by your words."

At his moment, the confused village chief's eyes suddenly widen as he points at Gazef while trembling.

Hm? Did he notice something?

"No way" he mutters with disbelief apparent in his eyes.

A few villagers who have gathered in the village square suddenly begin whispering among themselves while staring at Gazef oddly.

"Huh? Don't tell me that you're someone famous?" I say with a frown.

"Well I guess yes, I am. Allow me to reintroduce myself."

Having said that, Gazef steps forth once before straightening his back and stating in a loud voice, "Warrior Captain of the Re-Estize Kingdom, Gazef Stronoff! Pleased to make your acquaintance."

Ah It's time for me to introduce myself 'properly' too. Well, I have already decided on what background to use that will bring me the most benefits.

"Crown Prince of the German Empire, Vincent Victorianul."

That's right, a crown prince that belongs to an empire that most likely doesn't exist in this world.

There are numerous reasons that I am going with this. First and foremost, the title of Crown Prince is a heavy one. It would keep most enemies in check since they would fear the unknown force behind me - even if there is no evidence of its existence.

My abilities are already showy, so it would be easy to imagine what force is there behind me.

As for the reason I chose the German Empire, it's simple. For one, I would like to attract the attention of other 'players' such as Satoru that might be in this world as well. A good way to do so would be to attain fame while claiming to hail from an empire that no one other than those from Earth would recognize.

While conversing with Satoru, the topics often shifted to the world he was from, which I realized wasn't all that different from the modern Earth I am familiar with, albeit a futuristic one.

The history was basically the same, which I know since I asked about the most memorable human wars, which he listed half a dozen, one of which was the two world wars in the nineteen-hundreds.

Anyway, I am genuinely planning to establish an empire in this world. After all, this world will become a home for me and my companions, so I would need to make it as safe as possible.

What better way to do that than establishing a solid footing in the world by building an empire?

Lastly, my name. Players aren't the only ones I want to attract, but those who might know 'me' too. Back in Sorcerers' Lair, that Joseph fellow seemed to have an idea of my identity. It would be too risky to leave such individuals alone, so I will have to drag them out and eliminate them if necessary.

Though, my underlings in Nazarick might figure something out in the future when I spread my name. Not that it matters much, anyway. 'Oh, our leader has infiltrated the humans?' - is what would happen most likely. It won't be detrimental either way.

Snapping my focus back to reality, I notice that Gazef's expression has sunken.

To my side, the village chief is visibly trembling while looking at me as if I am a monster.

"What's with this reaction?" I ask curiously.

"Please forgive us if we've been rude to Your Highness," the village chief hurriedly says as he steps back and lowers his head.

Likewise, the villagers nearby who have heard my words have stepped back with slight signs of fear and awe in their eyes.

Shit. This will definitely make it harder for me to integrate into the village if not impossible

Hah~ Well, I could just continue to use the excuse of waiting for my men to come and find me if need be. Over time, they would get used to interacting with me and care less about my 'status'. That's how human nature works.

"Excuse me for asking this," Gazef suddenly says, "But where is this 'Jerr-maan' Empire you speak of?"

There we go. I already expected him to ask this, and according to how I answer, he might be able to see through everything immediately.

"What a troubling question to ask, Mr. Gazef," I say with a smile, "I'm afraid that I am unable to give you a proper answer."

"Why is that?" Gazef presses on, seeming to not care about my 'status'.

Is it because my behavior is too passive for a prince? Could be.

"Because it has been decided that the German Empire will remain secluded for a few more months."

"I see," Gazef merely says before excusing himself as he turns around and walks over to his soldiers.

Gazef Stronoff. A smart man with slightly less trashy power compared to the rest. Heh. Looks like I found the key to infiltrating the Re-Estize Empire.

All of a sudden, a bright light shines in far from our location as a red ball of energy launches into the sky.

The ball of energy is too far for me to sense with my senses, which means it's at least three kilometers away.

Everyone else suddenly notices this too, including Gazef. The warrior captain's eyes widen marginally as he gazes at the ball of energy with a complicated look on his face.

"What is that?" I ask as I move toward him.

"Trouble. Big trouble," he responds in a serene tone.

An enemy attack, huh? Is it going to be another wave of those soldiers I battled earlier? They're hardly anything worth being concerned about if that's the case.

Seeming to realize my thoughts, Gazef releases a heavy sigh as he explains, "That thing in the sky is only used when extremely troublesome opponents have been spotted, such as demons."

While saying so, Gazef gives me a weird look, but I pay it no heed.

"Do you need help?" I casually suggest.

"I'd be grateful," he responds with a friendly smile.

"Though - there will be conditions," I state.

The smile on Gazef's lips fades as he asks, "What conditions."

"I will not act unless I deem that you and your men stand absolutely no chance against the opponent."

"That's fine," Gazef responds without hesitation.

"Good. Also, make sure to retreat as far as possible if I give you the signal to, understood?"

"Yes."

Satisfied with how cooperative he is, I nod once with a bright smile before using my senses to check on Aletia.

As I suspected, the lass is still deeply asleep. Not that surprising considering that she is low on 'fuel'. Should I bring her some nourishment from the battle?

Actually, scratch that. Who knows if the enemy has some curse in their blood or something? After all, it was just recently that I witness something similar appear on a corpse, though it was more of a magic circle than a curse - the case with Belius.

"I have something to do," I say to Gazef, "Gather your men and head toward the enemy. I will catch up to you in a moment - literally."

"Alright."

Nodding my head, I turn to face the village chief before saying, "Equip those with strength and have them stand guard for any stray enemies."

"O-okay, Your Highness!" he responds nervously before rushing off to carry out my order.

Releasing a small sigh, I turn and make my way to the Emmot's household.