Chapter 288 ILLEGAL ENTRY INTO THE EMPIRE (1)

Cordelia, go to horny jail.

That night, Jude and Cordelia left Count Bayers territory with the rest of the group.

It was a little difficult to stop Dahlia from coming too, but Cordelia was able to persuade her in the end.

[I dont think sleep magic is persuasion.]

Melissas point was valid, and Cordelia really didnt want to cast a spell on Dahlia, but she didnt have any choice. It would be too dangerous to take Dahlia to the empire.

Im sorry, Im sorry. Dahlia.

Cordelia left a letter at the bedside of the sleeping Dahlia, asking her to take good care of their fief. She apologized to Dahlia again in her mind.

[Shell be fine.]

In fact, from Melissas perspective, Dahlia seemed to be aware of it to some extent.

That a huge skill gap had arisen between Cordelia and herself.

Obviously, it wasnt only about combat power.

Dahlia wanted to accompany them despite knowing the difference in skill so that she could protect Cordelia and many other things.

Anyway, it was an easy escape after leaving Dahlia behind.

Jude, Cordelia, Lucas, and Kajsa formed pairs and rode on the Phantom Steeds while Red Wind and Sun Song rode on the Phoenix as they had done when they first came here.

Lets go.

To the north.

Even before the border blockade, Jude had already plotted several routes into the empire.

Because the demon followers took notice of simple travelers who openly entered.

So the group would disguise themselves and sneak in.

In other words, Judes plan was to enter the empire illegally.

Well enter the empire via the wild lands.

The central area where the Cilates Plains was located was under strict surveillance, so it would be difficult to enter through there.

Since the northern borders were also closed now, the general smuggling route couldnt be used, so they decided to try smuggling themselves from somewhere other than the kingdom.

The border between the wild lands and the empire.

They would follow the path Kaplan took when he entered the wild lands from the empire.

Fake identities for us to use have been prepared by the Guardians of the Holy Cross once we cross over. Well disguise ourselves as students of the Imperial Academy.

As a student of the Imperial Academy?

Yes, school uniforms and student IDs have also been prepared.

Wow, thats amazing. How did you get it?

Kajsa said in admiration, and Cordelia puffed her chest and snorted.

As expected of my Jude.

[But how did you get it? Since when did you prepare?]

Jude answered with a smile at her <Message> magic that followed after her spoken words.

[Kaplans help was great. Hes a professor at the Imperial Academy. And I began preparing before we even went to the royal capital.]

Because he knew that they would go the empire one day.

[Do you remember that person? Fabian?]

[Eh? Uh Ah! I remember! The transport dealer at Vedrfolnir!]

[Yes, smuggling is Fabians specialty in the first place. So I made some preparations in advance. Kaplan and I exchanged letters through Fabian.]

Just like always, my Jude is highly capable.

He must have prepared this in the two months after returning from the wild lands and before heading to the royal capital.

[I didnt do everything then.]

He only did the preparations from time to time after that.

But anyway, Cordelia thought that he was amazing, so she puffed out her chest a bit more.

This is my Jude. There is no one else like my Jude, huh?

However, Lucas and Kajsa had already grown accustomed to this kind of thing, and Red Wind and Sun Song turned their gazes away at Cordelias bragging.

And around three days later.

After quickly traveling a distance that would normally take around a week, the group crossed the northern border that was guarded by the Jackdaws and entered the wild lands.

Ha, it reminds me of the old days.

No matter how high the stamina and magic power of the party, they could not operate the Phantom Steeds and the Phoenix all day long.

So they rested for about half a day, but Cordelia recalled the old days when she was preparing for camping in the wild lands.

At that time, I really didnt know that our relationship would be like this now.

She had a really slight suspicion of it though.

In fact, this was somehow natural.

Because the two were the only ones who had knowledge of their past lives and also the upcoming threat in the future.

Even now, the only person in this world who clearly remembered and understood the person named Hong Yoo Hee was Jude.

Cordelia herself was the only one who remembered and understood the person named Kang Jin-ho, though it was only a part of it.

Come to think of it, I know very little about him.

Perhaps Judes doing this on purpose, but he rarely talks about his past life.

What I learned was that his name was Kang Jin-ho and he has a foreign teacher named Alexei, I think?

What in the world was my Judes job?

He must have been someone like a spy or a soldier.

He knew how to make bombs and also travelled around the world.

Hes like a comic character.

The very fact that we got reincarnated into the world of the game is strange though.

So unnie, what did you want to ask about?

As she was snickering alone, Red Wind approached and spoke to her. Because she had told Red Wind that they should talk once their camp preparations were over.

Eh? Uh You see

Cordelias words trailed off before she glanced around and grabbed Red Winds hand, leading her to a place with no people.

Kajsa who was looking their way also slowly followed them, but it was only Jude, Lucas, and Sun Song that Cordelia were avoiding in the first place, so she let Kajsa follow them.

Or rather, I would be more embarrassed if Kajsa isnt here.

Cordelia slightly blushed and guided them to a place that she had seen earlier. They sat down as Red Wind tilted her head, not understanding the situation.

Ahem, ahem.

Cordelia pretended not to see Kajsa sneaking up on them, and she wiggled her fingers and said to Red Wind.

Uh, Red Wind.

Yes, unnie.

Cordelia became more embarrassed when Red Wind smiled innocently, so she eventually chose to whisper instead of speaking out loud.

Whisper, whisper.

However, Kajsa was more of a beast than Cordelia in terms of physical abilities alone, so she heard their whispers and blushed with an awkward expression. On the other hand, Red Wind was snickering.

Unnie, youre curious of sex.

W-well

Youre the only one I can ask.

Since

Ill do it with Jude someday.

Adelia-unnie and Dahlia are definitely a pass.

It will be hard for Maja, so pass.

Then all thats left is Kajsa but

Kajsa has never done it before, but her taste is strange.

HEY! HEYYY! What do you mean Ive never done it! Huh? What do you mean?

Have you done it then?

When Cordelia asked her with a sour expression, Kajsa responded with a defeated expression.

I dont have a strange taste Bondage is just something nice

Cordelia ignored Kajsas mutterings and asked Red Wind again who was snickering from finding the situation to be interesting.

Its just, uh J-just Uh Just. Can you tell me a bit about it?

Red Winds experience.

After all, she was the only married woman in the group.

Okay. I will tell you.

But the truth was, Red Wind was also embarrassed to talk about it, so her lips quivered and it took her some time before she spoke. Cordelia and Kajsa swallowed hard as they waited in nervousness.

So

Red Winds story began, and Cordelia and Kajsa were introduced to a new world.

***

B-beast. (Red Wind)

Hmm? (Sun Song)

Sun Song was watching the bonfire and tilted his head at the sudden and unusual gaze of the female group.

Eueueu, my gosh. (Kajsa)

A complete beast. (Red Wind)

What about Lucas? (Kajsa)

Definitely lacking. (Red Wind)

How do you know that? (Kajsa)

You can tell by just looking at him. (Red Wind)

As Red Wind and Kajsa chatted, Cordelia looked towards Jude and her cheeks blushed again when she saw him studying the map with a serious expression.

Gulp.

Red Winds story.

The various things described by Red Wind.

Melissa, Melissa.

[Oh, you finally talked to me.]

It had been a while so Melissa spoke sarcastically, but Cordelia ignored it.

Cordelia tightly held Moonlight with a red face and whispered softly.

My Jude is better than Sun Song, right?

[Thats a groundless belief.]

Whyyyy. Hes Jude.

[Then why dont you use <Ultrasonic> magic? Its a magic that lets you see through things.]

Huh?

At Melissas suggestion, Cordelia blushed once more and nodded her head.

She stealthily used <Ultrasonic> magic because the magic to see through things was quite embarrassing.

It let her see the body shape, the size of anything, and so on.

L-lies.

Right after she used <Ultrasonic> magic, the bewildered Jude turned her way so Cordelia quickly turned around and took a deep breath as she pressed down on her chest with both hands.

Because her heart had began to beat like crazy.

If I add the story of Red Wind to the result of the Ultrasonic magic

Cordelia unconsciously looked back at Moonlight and squatted down as she covered her face with both hands.

She couldnt control her imagination that had begun to go wild.

And the next morning.

Red Wind and Sun Song left the party and headed to the land of Golden Dragon King, which was a big city in the center of the wild lands.

It was to help the party by leading the forces of the wild lands into the empire.

Be careful, unnie!

YEEES! Ill be careful! I will!

After exchanging greetings that sounded slightly different to Kajsa, the group crossed the wild lands and headed for the empire.

T/N: Kajsa understood be careful in a sexual sense.

And a few days later.

Valencia-nim.

[Yes, my successor.]

Arent Cordelia and Kajsa looking at me a bit strangely these past few days?

[I think so. Anyway, my successor, have you thought about what I said?]

What she wanted to talk about then.

While Cordelia and Kajsa were having a conversation about such things with Red Wind, Jude was having a rather serious talk with Valencia.

The topic that Valencia raised was his purpose for fighting. His reason for fighting.

In fact, he gave an immediate answer to that.

To prevent the world from destruction.

To survive.

However, Valencia was not satisfied with his answer. She told him to think about it a little more. She said that once they had entered the empire, he wouldnt have the time to think about it seriously.

[Think about it slowly. My successor, what is fighting for you? What is your goal and desire?]

Valencia did not know about Judes past life.

But there was something poignant with her words. It made Jude look back on his days as Kang Jin-ho without realizing it.

The turbulent life of Kang Jin-ho that began as a child soldier, or to be exact, a human shield.

Everything that happened when he met Alexei and many other people, and of the time he left them.

He felt his chest tighten.

After playing the game with Cordelia for nearly five years, he thought that he had forgotten his past memories, but in fact, he merely covered it up.

So Jude couldnt easily come up with an answer.

Because the obvious fact that he fought to survive gave him a very vague feeling.

[Its better not to rush. So dont be in a hurry and find an answer that you can understand yourself, my successor.]

Jude nodded at Valencias words and thought again. Before he knew it, he saw the border between the wild lands and the empire.

As expected, its different from the northern region.

The wild lands had fiercely fought with the Slen Kingdom, but surprisingly, they didnt fight against the empire.

The reason was simple. The lands of the empire that were adjacent to the wild lands were barren, so even the barbarians of the wild lands did not desire it.

The road is rough at times.

The border between the empire and the wild lands was a harsh place where ordinary humans would likely die upon traversing, but Kaplan was a dwarf who had good physical strength in the first place, so he was able to travel to the wild lands despite having a strong bad luck.

Of course, it was an easy area for Judes party who were equipped with various kinds of items and magic.

Once weve reached the empire by land, well cross Asain Pass and head to the Imperial Academy.

Huh? Uh, yes. Yes, yes, yes.

Jude narrowed his brows again at Cordelias reply from behind him.

Because Cordelia had been acting really suspicious for the past few days.

Suspicious.

She seemed to be subtly avoiding Jude. She wouldnt make eye contact and her face turned red more often than usual.

I think its because of Red Wind.

What the hell did you two talk about?

It seems like her imagination switch has been turned on.

In any case, the party entered the empire more easily than they had imagined, and after recalling the Phantom Steeds, they walked on their own feet and entered the pass.

This is the empire, but I dont feel it yet.

Lucas spoke with a restless face, and Kajsa also nodded.

But well, do people live here? After all, the road here looks really good for bandits. Ive never met bandits before, but wont they appear here?

At the time when Kajsa was talking with a carefree voice.

HELP! Help me!

A young girl came running from the top of the pass, and she seemed to be crying and running away.

She was wearing pretty good clothes, but some parts were dirty and torn as if she had rolled here and there.

Lady! This way!

Lucas shouted instinctively, and the girl turned their way and ran as if she had barely survived.

H-help me. Help me.

She was a very pretty girl up close.

Her large ears that were characteristic of a cat beastkin were protruding through her black hair, and there was even a red ribbon tied to her long tail on her back.

My group, my group to the bandits. Im the only one who ran away Hic. Save them, please. Save them, huhu My sister.

As the girl barely continued to talk, Lucas looked up the pass and immediately expressed his anger while Kajsa also turned her eyes away with an angry face.

Well save them. Can you tell us where to go?

There, over there. Ill guide you. Huhu.

Lucas was deeply moved when the girl offered to guide them even though she was trembling in fear. Kajsa also looked at the girl with great admiration.

As for the other two.

Jude and Cordelia looked at each other and said with their eyes.

Wow, amazing acting.

As expected of Kirara.

There was a high chance of meeting her around here due to the timing, but the butterfly effect worked so much that they didnt expect that she would appear like this.

It truly was Kirara.

Its a trap, right?

The masked bandits must be waiting to ambush us.

Are they trying to steal our weapons?

Theyll be casting curse magic. Oh, she just tried to stab him with a poisoned needle.

Given that Kirara was acting like a bait rather than acting as the leader, she seemed to be working under Mountain King.

Lord Jude! Hurry up!

Lets go!

The innocent Lucas and Kajsa shouted, and the cat beastkin girl, Kirara, looked at Jude and Cordelia with tearful blue eyes.

Will you help?

Will you?

In

Legend of Heroes 2

, Kirara was a master of betrayal who betrayed people when she was bored.

Therefore, Jude and Cordelia exchanged glances and smiled. They did in real life what they always wanted to do in the game.

Kirara! Good job! Youve infiltrated the Mountain Kings group and did well!

As expected of Kirara! You let the bandits prepare their ambush in the trap we set up in advance, right? Its working!

Jude and Cordelia both shouted, and Lucas and Kajsa blinked their eyes while Kirara was speechless in her confusion.

Eh?

What did you just say?

Yeah! As expected of Kirara!

You did a great job infiltrating!

When Jude and Cordelia shouted again as though they wanted everyone to hear it, Lucas asked in bewilderment.

Uh, is she an acquaintance?

She is. This is our agent who secretly infiltrated in order to capture Mountain King.

Eh?

Your agent?

Lucas wasnt the only one who was bewildered by the sudden situation.

Kirara looked back as she sweated profusely. She was good at acting as a bait, but Mountain Kings men were monitoring her.

T-that is Youre misunderstanding something

Who is your agent!

How do you know my real name?!

And it was at that moment.

<Magic Missile!>

Cordelia had scanned their surroundings with <Search> magic and fired two magic missiles at the same time towards the bushes.

AAAH!

Sh*t!

The two men who had been hiding in the bushes hurriedly escaped the magic and revealed themselves.

Both of them were dog beastkin, but looking at the scimitar on their waists, they seemed to be subordinates of Mountain King.

Kirara! You betrayed us!

When one of the dog beastkins shouted at her, the frightened Kirara quickly shook her hands and yelled.

N-NO! I havent betrayed you yet!

Yet?

HIIIIEE!

Because she was thinking of betraying Mountain King someday.

Despite being a master of betrayal, Kirara wasnt good at ending her betrayal well.

Anyway, lets beat them up!

Because bandits were bandits.

Kajsa instantly jumped like an angry tiger and threw her chain towards a nearby dog beastkin.

AAAH!

When the chain