Episode 76

“The Oath’s Flame, the Burning Sulfur, the Superior Fire that flows from the abyss!”

Arshen Gilalrus had been contemplating the Wind Stones with the incoming wind, but his true purpose lay here.

“Praise, Exploㅡㅡㅡsion!!”

Boomㅡㅡ!

A sky-blue flame erupts from the staff, soaring across the gorge and detonating spectacularly in the air.

“Wow.”

As an envoy of Queen Carmen and one of the future developers of the Wind Stones, his skills were indeed remarkable.

“Look, young master.”

“I know, just let it be.”

“Do you know what I was about to say?”

“Were you about to ask if all wizards chant like that?”

“Not exactly.”

Robert frowned.

“No, I’ve encountered more wizards than you, young master. Would I really ask you about the wizards’ spell chanting?”

“I thought you might, was I mistaken?”

“Not at all! The way that person recites the spell, it’s a part of the wizards’ individuality.”

Explosion magic was fundamentally the same for intermediate wizards, but each spell carried its uniqueness.

“What I wanted to inquire about is that person, unleashing spells as if he intends to obliterate the gorge.”

“It does seem so.”

“Behold! Praise! The flame that blooms from the darkness!!”

Continuing to wield his staff vigorously, he launches explosion magic repeatedly.

“Let him enjoy it.”

Facing imminent death, he should have at least one achievement to recount to the reaper in the afterlife.

-He fervently cast destruction magic in the Gibraltar Gorge!

Having developed the Wind Stones was not his only achievement, but casting explosion magic in Gibraltar Gorge could also be considered a point of pride.

‘There’s no damage, though.’

The gorge might resemble a sheer cliff, but it’s not a naturally occurring formation.

‘From the outside, it might just look like a gray cliff, but in reality, it’s a massive wall fortified by magic.’

Someone had mentioned that.

If the Gibraltar Gate was a fortress constructed by humans against the empire,

‘Gibraltar Gorge is said to be a magical fort built by giants.’

A towering 300m dirt wall that stood facing the empire.

Legend has it that the gorge between was created by a giant slicing through the dirt wall with a sword, though the details were murky.

What mattered was the ‘defensive power’ of this gorge.

‘Unless you’re a master, you can’t even make a proper scratch with magic.’

If it were a natural cliff, it would have been weathered and eroded over many years, but not this gorge.

“Exploㅡㅡㅡsion!!”

Baron Arshen, now mustering even his pride to unleash explosion magic, finds the gorge remains unscathed.

Only a master could inflict any real damage on the gorge.

Unless one possessed the skill of a Swordmaster or an Archmage, attempts to dig with a shovel, punch, or cast explosion magic at the gorge were futile.

“Sir Robert, could this gorge be a relic of an ancient civilization, left by a god?”

“What did you say?”

“How else could it maintain its shape for hundreds of years?”

“It’s not necessarily the case.”

Robert gestured towards the direction of Gibraltar.

“We can dig through it from our side.”

“Right.”

“It’s so hard that you can’t even insert a shovel into it from the empire’s side.”

“Right.”

“There’s a rumor that Duke Claydol of the Empire tests his axe on the Gibraltar Gorge every time.”

“That’s not a rumor; it’s a fact.”

Indeed.

“Some refer to this gorge as ‘Dragon’s Nest,’ as though a dragon cast protective magic over its lair.”

“And the homeowner?”

“Perhaps the protective magic remains, even if the home is now empty?”

As if an absolute protective magic was cast while facing the empire alone.

“Or maybe it’s a barrier erected by dwarves in the distant past.”

“But all the dwarves have perished.”

“It’s their legacy, nonetheless.”

Or as if a solid steel plank was positioned facing the empire, with mud and clay then plastered behind it to construct a dirt wall.

‘Could it be that conflicts between the kingdom and the empire existed even before the gorge came into being?’

From our side, the gorge can be dug into with some effort, but between the empire and the gorge, it’s an impossible task.

“Without magic or a divine miracle, such terrain that defies the laws of nature shouldn’t exist.”

It’s definitely not a natural phenomenon.

“The kingdom didn’t choose it as a natural fortress for nothing.”

The most credible hypothesis was that the gorge was actually a bastion of magic stone, appearing as a cliff, with unbreakable defensive magic installed facing the empire, according to academic consensus.

“Either way, ordinary humans can’t just easily tamper with the gorge. Unless it’s digging the land on the Gibraltar side.”

Therefore-

“Damn!”

For a mid-level wizard like Baron Arshen, bringing down the walls of the gorge was impossible.

‘It’s not for nothing that our ancestors carved out the gorge.’

Unless you’re a master, altering the terrain of the gorge was impossible.

No matter how much Duke Claydol swung his axe at the cliff on the empire’s side, all that flew off was the sweat from his brow.

Well.

Even without such efforts.

‘The empire couldn’t have dug through the gorge.’

Even if the kingdom side tried to dig through the gorge, it’s not easy to make even a rabbit hole with ordinary manpower.

If they tried to dig from the kingdom side.

Otherwise, the gorge could not be easily tampered with by any means.

Even the emperor gave up on tampering with the gorge itself.

“Huh.”

“Why are you laughing again?”

“No, just thinking.”

But anew.

“I wonder what would have happened to the kingdom if the Gibraltar Gorge hadn’t existed.”

Baron Arshen’s skill test was over, and outside Gibraltar Castle, people were bustling about, preparing for the festival.

And here, in the square.

“Move it!”

A hundred children from the orphanage, including apprentice knights, were all out digging the ground with shovels.

“Look, young master.”

“What is it, Eli?”

Behind me, Eli-Astasia, holding a thermos filled with warm Somnus tea, asked in a very soft voice.

“Is it okay to make the children work like this…?”

“Eli.”

I gestured towards the children from the orphanage.

“In the kingdom, there’s no labor law.”

“…Pardon?”

“More precisely, there’s no labor law for orphans.”

I shifted my pointing from us to them.

“In the Empire, there are laws for ‘everyone.’ The Kingdom is the same in that laws exist, but only the nobility are protected by these laws.”

“Uh….”

“No, it’s only the nobility that’s protected by the law, while it’s the commoners and those below who are subject to its judgment.”

Unlike the Empire, where the monarch operated within a system of laws as outlined by the constitution.

“The Kingdom, you see, has been a country for Nostrum and its nobility alone for 500 years.”

The Kingdom was a state where every word of Nostrum was the law.

“From the Empire’s perspective, it’s surprising. Why hasn’t it fallen yet?”

Precisely, why haven’t we self-destructed yet.

“Even if orphan children are mobilized to hold shovels and create a new stage in the central square for the festival, no one finds it strange.”

“Ah, umm….”

“Unless they’re from the Empire.”

“…….”

Astasia, as Eli, chose to remain silent.

She knew all too well that even if she were to stand up and say, ‘This isn’t right!’ it would only result in an echo of emptiness.

“May I go and help out too?”

Instead, this girl wanted to contribute, even in a small way.

“If I go and work…”

“No. Eli, you need to assist me on the side. As a maid.”

“But…”

“If you go there, the kids will feel more uncomfortable. Especially with the other Whites helping the children from behind.”

The orphan children and adults took turns digging again.

“If you dig the ground, wouldn’t they have to dig along with you?”

“Ugh….”

“Everyone has their role, after all.”

Adults took back the sweat-soaked shovels from the children, flattened the ground, and Whites sitting in the shade handed out wooden cups and filled them with water from a large wooden bottle.

“And the Empire doesn’t really have room to talk about child labor either.”

“That is true.”

“It was in the newspapers. Until 10 years ago, it was common for children to work in factories.”

“……I have nothing to say.”

Astasia smiled bitterly and lowered her head.

“Was I sent here to experience this…?”

“Seems so.”

The gorge had separated the two countries for too long, making it hard for those born in different cultures to easily blend.

“Ultimately, you don’t truly understand something unless you experience it yourself.”

Right after the kingdom fell, Duke Morgania was appointed to govern Nostrum.

The first official event the Emperor conducted was a tour of the Empire, taking me, who had become the Count of Gibraltar, Governor Carmen, and some kingdom officials.

‘If I hadn’t seen the Empire myself, I would have lived my life thinking Nostrum was always right.’

It’s a truly frightening thought.

What was considered the privilege of the nobility in the kingdom was seen as trivial.

And the commoners, deemed trivial, lead lives similar to the nobility through magical engineering and law.

‘Such shocks will now accelerate.’

Soon.

The moment the doors of the Gibraltar Gorge opened years ahead of schedule.

‘There won’t be just one or two Empire citizens raising their voices against the kingdom’s injustices.’

Numerous citizens of the Empire would come to know the reality of Nostrum.

And like Astasia, they will try to step forward.

‘At the forefront, there will be fans of my father.’

Several women who had seen my father’s portfolio will be horrified to see the lives of the kingdom’s citizens.

‘They will recall their own past sufferings upon seeing orphans forced into labor.’

The rights of children.

‘Not just children.’

And then-

“Hey! Where do you think you’re going, woman!”

A man who just came out with a shovel yelled at a middle-aged woman.

“Don’t come out here, go home and look after the kids!”

“Do you think I came out here because I wanted to? I came to bring you something you left behind!”

“Hmph! Just go back inside! And make sure to prepare dinner!”

Judging an entire country based on a single scene was certainly a narrow-minded perspective.

However, when such scenes repeated, occurred consecutively, and were realized not to be mere ‘incidents’ but ‘everyday norms and common sense’,

‘Women of the kingdom will want to tear off their corsets right away upon seeing how they live.’

The rights of children,

And the rights of women,

Are things that didn’t exist in the kingdom but do in the Empire.

‘So when the gate opens, come visit in large numbers.’

From the Empire’s perspective, the women of the kingdom were seen as uncivilized and not yet ‘awakened.’

‘They won’t be able to resist intervening. They’ll be given a platform to express themselves freely.’

Thus, they will spread across the kingdom, raising their voices as they pass through the gorge.

‘They won’t be able to stand by without intervening upon seeing this state.’

Many will surely end up in prison.

Nonetheless, more women will pass through Gibraltar and spread throughout Nostrum.

In their arms, they will carry photo albums of a man, harboring fantasies about Nostrum.

“Eli. There’s something someone I know once said,”

The Emperor said.

“The most dangerous people are those who believe their own experiences encompass the entirety of the world, who think their beliefs are infallible, and who impose those beliefs on others.”

It was written in the script for an official interview in the Imperial Daily, philosophical in tone, but the essence of the message remains the same.

“Eli.”

“Yes.”

“Do you wish for those people to live like those in the Empire?”

“…….”

Astasia nodded slightly, imperceptibly to others.

“I think so too.”

“You do…?”

“If that’s what Eli wishes, then I should make it so.”

The Crown Prince would be fooled.

“In Nostrum, there are only nobles. No commoners, no women, no children.”

“…….”

“So, I decided to start by changing my thoughts.”

Admiring the ideal image of the Empire that Astasia shared, Grey Gibraltar would come to view the kingdom as primitive.

“But I wonder what the point is in telling the people of Nostrum all this.”

After all, the most action-oriented humans were not those driven by money.

Nor were they those who were manipulated as puppets by threats.

‘The most frightening are those whose illusions have been shattered, imposing their beliefs.’

Those who acted, believing their convictions were right, were the most frightening.

“So, I was thinking of asking others to do it.”

Come.

You awakened women of the Empire.

Cultivate your fantasies about Nostrum after seeing my father’s photos.

Carry my father’s portfolio and cross the Gibraltar Gorge to come here.

“The people from the Empire, they’ll probably have a lot to say once they get here.”

And upon facing the reality of Nostrum, spread the poison here.

“Let them speak their minds freely.”

Under the guise of ‘enlightenment.’

“If that’s what you wish.”