I Was Mistaken as a Genius Mage in a Game-Chapter 61

Under the dark clouds, soldiers were busy moving supplies, alcohol, cigarettes, etc. that had been brought by huge wagons. The soldiers, without exception, drooled at the sight of dozens of stacks of alcohol. Some soldiers, as if they could no longer bear it, touched the supplies and were disciplined by the officers.

Since the war was in full swing, not all soldiers could gather together and enjoy a party. However, soldiers who had finished guard duty or returned to the barracks after completing a difficult mission were able to find some peace by relying on alcohol.

Soldiers who went to guard duty took a little alcohol in their water bottles. The officers were aware of this fact, but they pretended not to know because it was such a tough battlefield.

All the soldiers in Valorand were veteran soldiers with outstanding skills. There was no one who was so irresponsible that they could not resist the temptation of alcohol and got drunk. The alcohol that ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) soldiers on guard duty took was limited to sipping a little to forget bad memories, and no one got drunk and caused a ruckus.

Cigarettes were not very popular among the general soldiers. Not only was it inconvenient to have to carry a separate pipe and manage it, but it also had the fatal disadvantage of spewing smoke.

To smoke on the battlefield was tantamount to asking to be killed. The soldiers here knew how important it was to remain hidden, so no one went into battle with a cigarette in their mouth.

Instead, cigarettes were popular among the officers and medical corps in the rear. This was not strange, since they were not directly facing the enemy with swords or spears.

In addition, there was an absurd perception among medieval people that cigarettes were a health-promoting food that helped them organize their thoughts, aided meditation, and were good for the body. Perhaps because of this perception, medical corpsmen often recommended cigarettes not only to themselves but also to the wounded they were caring for.

... ... As a person with common sense, I tried to stop the situation, but they didn’t listen to me very much.

‘No, if the soldiers assigned to Valorand are monsters beyond common sense, what would happen to their lungs if they smoke one or two cigarettes?’

Since fantasy permission is applied, there is a possibility that cigarettes are actually good for your health in this world.

... ... Yes, it would be much more comfortable to just think of it that way.

“This is the barracks where the generals stay.”

The officer with a fierce expression entrusted another subordinate to organize supplies and guided me and my party to the barracks set up for the generals.

It looked too plain to be the barracks where the heroes who shoulder the future of humanity stay. The thick yellow-colored blanket was torn and dirty in places from the mud and rain, and there were even stitches in every corner.

I carefully lifted the thick blanket covering the entrance and put my head inside the barracks.

There were only two people in the spacious barracks.

“... ... .”

The first person I noticed was a 9th Circle fire mage named Belle Artois. The man with jet-black, calm hair had dark circles under his eyes, just like the other officers, as if he hadn’t slept for days. His wine-colored robes were torn here and there, but he also didn’t seem to have any wounds on his body.

Saint Grisha was lying on her bed with her eyes closed. She didn’t look like she was sleeping. She just looked... ... very tired.

The priestess’s robes were soaked in poison and purified repeatedly, so her fingertips were covered in blisters.

Like Belle, she had dark circles under her eyes.

Both of them noticed me opening the barracks door and entering, and instead of greeting me, they sighed deeply.

They were familiar faces to me. The Black Knight party is the core of the game’s story, and once the character’s growth reaches a certain level, they continue to help each other throughout the game.

“Uh... ... Nice to meet you.”

However, there was one thing that felt awkward to me, who had played the game for thousands of hours. Their expressions looked so dark.

Perhaps because the game company wanted to impress upon players that they were the strongest in the game world, they always showed them smiling or with confident expressions.

Saint Grisha always smiled kindly and helped those in trouble, and Bel Artois always waved her staff with a calm and confident expression.

However, those lying in the barracks... ... looked so tired and anxious.

“You’re here.”

Bel Artois.

A calm, black-haired magician in his thirties got up from his moldy bed, took a pipe out of his robe, and put it in his mouth. His pipe was covered in tobacco leaves. It seemed like he hadn’t been properly maintained.

‘... ... Did he smoke?’

This chapt𝓮r is updat𝒆d by ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom.

Naturally, scenes of Belle Artois smoking were not implemented in the illustrations or graphics in the game. In the game, words like stress and anxiety did not exist.

“Your seat is over there. If you have any luggage, unpack it.”

“Yes, I understand.”

My pupils shook slightly every time Belle, whose bangs covered his eyes, opened his mouth. The reason was none other than that. The Belle Artois I knew was a man who had never been told that he had a good personality, even if it was just empty words. The current version of him was so unfamiliar.

In the game, Belle Artois was a man who would shoot fireworks at his subordinates if necessary. He was a character who made judgments that were somewhere between cool and cold at every moment, and at times seemed closer to the devil than the demons.

Thanks to his cool judgment and composure that went beyond inhumanity and was almost mechanical, Bell was playing a staff-like role in the Swordsman Party. Even the strong Swordsman didn’t usually spit out orders from Bell.

In a word, this army... ... no, maybe the real power in the country... ... !

If you look at it that way, do you know what the power rankings on the continent are? The first place is the emperor and the kings, the second place is Bell, and the Swordsman is only the third place.

“... ... Alter Heindel and the promising young man of the Electric School. I know the faces of those two, but what about the rest?”

If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight.net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.

Bell went outside the barracks with his pipe in his mouth and asked me as he looked at the people waiting for him.

“Ah, these are the vanguards I hired. A wizard always needs a vanguard attached to him, but I thought it would be inefficient to coordinate with different vanguards and plan new strategies every battlefield.”

“Hmm.”

Bell snapped his fingers, lighting a fire in the ashes of his pipe. He didn’t seem to be paying much attention to my explanation.

“There, an elf and a human.”

“... ... That, Lir.”

“Private, Ad Taylor!”

Lir answered with his head bowed deep into his robe, as if it was not easy to talk to someone he had never met before, while Ad answered in a loud voice that did not consider the listener’s ears.

“... ... .”

Bell frowned momentarily at Ad’s loud voice. Why did his subtle changes in expression keep sending chills down my spine?

“You two, take this wagon back to the capital.”

Ad spoke as he forcibly sucked on his pipe, which was now nothing but ashes. The smoke was a pungent earthy color.

“... ... Yes?”

At the sudden order to return, Ed blurted out the most stupid thing a soldier should ever say, and Lir also looked at Bell with wide eyes, as if he was bewildered.

“... ... Do you think I lack skill? Give me just one more chance, I’ll become a hero!”

Ed protested loudly, as if he wasn’t convinced.

‘You crazy bastard, what are you doing?’

I watched Bell’s expression with anxious eyes. In the game, Bell is a character who has no mercy, to the point of burning soldiers who disobey him for ‘undermining military discipline.’

“No, I don’t particularly doubt your skill.”

However, Bell kindly explained the reason to the point where my worried gaze was insignificant. I felt an inexplicable sense of alienation.

“You two are promising. Your talents are too good to be used as meat shields in a battlefield like this. That’s the end of the reason.”

“If it’s promising, shouldn’t you send us back? Why are you suddenly telling us to go back...?”

When he could have just said that he understood, Ed insisted on asking Bell one more question. It seemed that he couldn’t accept this situation.

“Don’t you understand if I say it indirectly, saying that it’s promising? You guys who lack experience and skills like you are being a nuisance. There’s no one in our army who is so relaxed that they can fight while protecting the kids.”

Bell shot Ed in a sharper tone. Lir lowered his head, perhaps scared, and covered his eyes with the brim of his hat, but Ed took a step closer to Bell and raised his voice even higher.

“Do you think I’m a child? Of course I can protect myself!”

“... ... I don’t want to go back either.”

Next to Ad, who was protesting loudly, Lir voiced his opinion in a small voice.

“I’ve been wandering as an adventurer for 20 years, fighting countless monsters and mutants! I’ll prove it! How good am I! If you give me a chance, I’ll become a hero.”

Snickers.

Smoke bursts out from Bell’s mouth with a sound close to laughter. The pungent cigarette smoke envelopes Bell’s eyes.

‘Fuck, are you going to do it? Are you finally revealing your true nature... ... ?’

I looked at Bell’s fingertips with a tense expression. If he wanted to, he could instantly turn a young child like Ed in front of him into ash without leaving a trace.

I looked at the back of Bell Artois’ head with a tense expression.

... ... Although that’s unlikely, if his fingertips or staff were to point at Lir, I would use ‘Flowering’ without hesitation.

“Well, if you want to die so badly, then die.”

Bell looked down at Ed and Lir for a while, then raised his head toward the sky and muttered to himself.

He replied.

The dark clouds still covered the sky thickly, hiding the sunlight.

“... ... Thank you!”

I told him to die, and he replied thank you. It was a long conversation that was wrong... ... I didn’t bother to join their conversation.

Lir also seemed relieved that he could remain on the battlefield.

“Guide me to the barracks.”

The officer with deep dark circles who heard Bell’s order led the four to another barracks nearby. I looked at Bell, who was staring at the backs of Lir and Ed with sharp eyes, and mustered up the courage to speak.

“... ... It won’t be a nuisance. Lir reached the 5th circle at the youngest age in the history of the Lightning School. As for Ed... ... I don’t know much about him, but Rex praised him for being technically superior to him, so he’ll definitely be helpful.”

I added my personal opinion, worried that Bell might harbor ill feelings toward this conversation and secretly burn down the barracks where they were staying.

Alter Heindel is my one and only teacher. I have survived so far thanks to the magical theories I learned from him.

Rex was a benefactor who risked his life to protect me, even though I could have just left him on the street, and Lir was the only friend I could openly talk to after suddenly falling into another world.

I had to prevent them from dying or getting hurt.

Ed?

What about him... ... Honestly, since we had only known each other for a day, it didn’t really matter, but shouldn’t we prevent people from dying?

“It would be helpful. It’s just a shame.”

Bell spoke, taking a deep breath of the pipe that was now smokeless.

“In 10 more years, those two will grow to be famous all over the continent. It would be a great loss to the Allied Forces if promising players with a lot of potential still die or get injured in a battlefield like this.”

“... ... Then why aren’t you sending me back?”

I blurted out the question that was in my mind.

No, it’s hard to say it myself, but honestly, if there’s any potential, aren’t I the most promising?

Even though my reputation was built on misunderstanding, I’m a ‘promising player who will save humanity.’

I don’t want to die without screaming in a dark battlefield like this where not a single ray of sunlight reaches.

“It’s definitely too early for you to come to this battlefield. So I don’t really expect you to do much.”

“Then am I also useless in this battlefield? Why are you telling them to go back and not telling me?”

I held onto Bell’s words and hung on. In that moment, a feeling of resentment and confusion welled up in my chest, and my voice rose slightly.

No, why are you sending Lir and Ed back while leaving me by your side? If you don’t expect any activity, then there’s no need for me to be here, right?

I want you to send me back to the capital too. Please.

“It looks like you’re pretty upset that your comrades were ignored.”

He looked down at me, who had raised his voice, as if he thought I was insignificant and special, and said that.

... ... It seemed like he was having another strange misunderstanding.

I’m just jealous.

“Well, I’d like to send you back to the capital too. Unfortunately, there’s something I need you to do.”

Ed took a puff from his now smokeless pipe, opened the door to the makeshift barracks, and walked inside.

“Take a rest. I’ll explain that later.”

The earthy smoke hit the ceiling of the barracks and began to gently descend. A pungent and strong smell stung my nose.

The common sense that smoking indoors was not allowed in the Middle Ages.