The Visitor (4)

Take 1. El Dante Checkpoint (Day/Outside).

A patrolman on the watchtower calls out to his comrade, pointing to the forest.

Patrolman 1: "Hey, do you see that? It looks like something is coming from that forest, moving in a group."

Patrolman 2: "Hmm? It might be a hunting party. But I haven't received any word about a return message from the main castle."

Patrolman 1: "Wait a minute. Isn't that… a flag?"

A golden flag fluttering in the wind. The patrolman is startled.

Patrolman 2: "Send someone to the castle right away! That's the royal flag!"

Take 2. Ertinez Castle Office (Day/Inside). 

Young Count Ferdinand, hearing the news, is startled and confused.

Young Count Ferdinand: "The king is coming? What is this sudden turn of events…? Could the esteemed guest my father mentioned be His Majesty? Is the Count accompanying him?"

Knight: "Not quite. We're currently trying to assess the situation. But according to the royal retinue, they said, 'The courier was sent weeks ago. Why has no one come out to greet the king?'"

Young Count Ferdinand: "Weeks ago… Could it be! Wasn't there that monster rampaging in the castle courtyard recently? Didn't they say something came out of the disguise during its dissection?"

Knight: "Yes, yes! It was human bones and a small metal artifact, melted and unrecognizable."

Young Count Ferdinand touches his forehead in realization and exits the office.

Main Characters: Young Count Ferdinand, King Godric

Scenario Clear Condition: [King Godric's royal progress arrives in El Dante.]

King Godric, you say.

At this point, with Count Ertinez absent and only his children left behind to guard the castle?

And what does that message mean?

[Main Author: Hide, Isaac.]

Because the window hadn't been removed yet, the ominous warning was still lingering in my line of sight, softly glowing.

Hiding, isn't it the act of concealing oneself from the eyes of a predator? If that's the case, then in the end…

"Ah!"

At that moment, the trainee knights behind me gasped in astonishment. Someone shouted.

"He's here!"

At those words, I instinctively turned my head.

By now, Leonardo, who had left the training ground, was quickly closing the distance, a thin cut on his cheek. In the distance, I could see Raul, alternating between looking at the sword scattered on the ground and at Leonardo, wearing a dumbfounded expression.

"Isaac."

The trainee knights hesitated and stepped back, and Leonardo, who had reached me, was panting heavily. A small breeze followed him, slightly delayed but bringing the scent with it. Though it was his own cheek that was cut, he instead cupped my face in his hands.

"Are you alright?"

As his fingers gently moved to caress my cheek, I realized that I had been holding my breath for a moment. Just as my chest started to rise again, my mind had already made a decision.

A presence that the main author would warn about—who could it be? Of course, it would be Sub-Writer 1 or that at most. The latter is certainly an uncontrollable variable for the main writer. This means that within that procession, a threat has arrived alongside it.

What's more, this is the first time King Godric appears in the scenario. This is where the problem begins.

Count Ertinez is planning a 'revolution.' The king is coming to the very base of this traitor. Will he simply let it slide? Sub-Writer 1, who has shown the power to rewrite the plot with the authority of authorship, will they try to use this situation to their advantage?

At the same time, a realization flashes like a bolt of lightning.

Count Ertinez, Young Count Ferdinand, Lady Celestina, and the entire Ertinez family—including the original Leonardo—are…

[Archive Access: Loading the information of the viewed characters.]Rank – Minor Character (Scenario weight 19.05%) 

Role – Count ErtinezRank – Minor Character (Scenario weight 16.90%) 

Role – Ferdinand, the Young CountRank – Minor Character (Scenario weight 15.00%) 

Role – Lady CelestinaRank – Minor Character (Scenario weight 3.8%) 

Role – Leonardo Ertinez

They were all .

The meaning of that word is clear to me, as it once pushed me into a state of anxiety.

'A character who appears only in one act or scene of the play, and after that, has no further use or presence.'

With the Count absent and his close aide, Baron Roald, accompanying him, the one left in charge of the castle is Ferdinand, who is unaware of the existence of the coup plan. The Ertinez Castle is like a minefield with its fuse already exposed.

Moreover, how about Leonardo, who suddenly faced his enemy right in front of him?

'Get a grip.'

I quickly grabbed Leonardo.

"You startled me when you got hurt! Oh, this is bad. Let's go get you treated right away."

First, let's move to another spot. I lightly touched his cheek and started making a fuss. This should serve as a natural excuse to get us out of here.

It was clear that I was the one who was shocked first, and when Leonardo noticed it, his focus slipped for a moment, leading to the cut on his cheek. Afterward, he rushed over. Only Raul, who understood the correct sequence of events, seemed to find this situation strange.

I quickly brushed my hand down his cheek, pretending to stroke it, and then gently rubbed his earlobe.

The request for us to talk privately. After unlocking the power of , it had been a while since I last used such an old signal. At the same time, I caught a glimpse of Raul, and Leonardo, signaling that he understood, tapped my hand on his cheek.

He sent a signal to Raul at an angle where the apprentice knights couldn't see. Raul squinted his eyes and, pretending to adjust his spear, folded and unfolded his fingers once.

"Heh, the effects of the poison from the monster… Are you alright? I apologize for my rudeness, Your Grace. Let's go get you treated right away!"

Raul quickly came up with an excuse and found a way for us to leave. Vittorio also swiftly ran over and joined our group, and the four of us made our way out of the training grounds, pretending to head towards the chapel.

As the scenario note seemed to be in progress, we spotted a soldier on horseback approaching the castle gates, looking like he had urgent news. Taking advantage of the brief commotion, we turned our direction not to the chapel but to the fortress.

Upon reaching the fortress, I whispered to Vittorio.

"Vittorio, if someone comes looking for Leonardo or me, could you stall them for a bit?"

Vittorio, sensing something serious was up, quickly nodded. Leonardo and Raul both looked at me with questioning gazes, so I got straight to the point.

"The king is at the gates of El Dante."

"…..!"

Raul's expression turned stone-cold, while Leonardo remained oddly impassive, waiting for my next words.

"We should hide immediately, shouldn't we?"

Raul, looking to his superior for instructions, prompted Leonardo. However, instead of responding hastily, Leonardo calmly reached out and firmly pressed my hand, as if prepared to listen carefully. I paused to consider how much information to share before I began to speak.

"First… it seems he's visiting under the pretense of a royal inspection."

"Inspection?"

I mentioned that the scenario note clearly referred to Godric's procession as an inspection, which prompted Raul to let out a hollow laugh.

"The king decides to go on a casual inspection at a time like this to see if local governance is functioning well?"

He muttered in a serious tone.

"There's definitely another agenda. Ordinary people wouldn't notice the 'miracle' that happened to the commander. Perhaps they've caught on to me…"

I interrupted him.

"Or maybe there's another purpose."

I headed to the bedroom and approached the large blanket chest at the foot of the bed. Opening the lid revealed Leovald's corpse.

Due to various activities requiring the use of the , I had kept the body stored in the fortress' bedroom. Raul flinched and muttered a curse under his breath as he faced the corpse of his superior.

After closing the lid of the blanket chest, I placed my hand on it and used the to store the chest containing the body. Raul flinched again as the large object vanished without any warning.

"Leo, there's a high chance that someone in that procession is after your corpse. Be careful."

"Wait, if the king killed the commander and someone in the royal procession is now after the body—aren't they all in it together? What do they plan to do with the commander's body?"

Leonardo replied softly, gazing out the window.

"Someone intends to possess my corpse and come back to life. Just like I have now."

"….."

"I don't know what use a mere corpse would be, though."

As talks of spirits, corpses, and resurrection became casual, Raul seemed to contemplate giving up on understanding. At that moment, Vittorio came running.

"Who's here?"

"No, it's just that everyone is…"

We saw people rushing somewhere outside the window. Staying in the fortress seemed pointless, so we decided to blend into the crowd.

The castle gate area was already crowded, so we headed for the relatively empty castle walls. Leonardo scanned the surroundings and helped me climb up swiftly, while Raul awkwardly carried Vittorio up beside us.

In the distance, the music of minstrels and court jesters filled the air. From the vantage point on the city wall, overlooking all of El Dante, a long procession bearing dozens of banners passed through the checkpoint and traversed the streets of El Dante.

The guards surrounding the carriages were clad in ivory armour, and the carriages, attended by courtiers, moved slowly, escorted by dozens to hundreds of attendants.

The citizens of El Dante, sensing the nobility from the grandeur of the procession and the resounding music, instinctively bowed their heads or lowered themselves.

And I…

As I looked at the countless emblems filling my vision, dizziness overwhelmed me. Wherever I looked, a consistent phrase kept appearing.

[Viewing information.]

Rank – None (Scenario weight 0.02%)

Role – None

Script – [Great Empire's Subject]

Dialogue – None

! Status effect – This entity is under the influence of the special ability, . (Caster: ■■■)

Not a single one of them was truly alive.

It was a nauseating spectacle, a procession of the living dead filling the streets.