By the time everyone returned from lunch, Goddess Grigori was already waiting for them. She spared a moment to inform everyone that TCF!Rosalyn and TBOAH!Rosalyn were currently being healed and then announced that they would now be seeing the records pertaining to someone else.
"The information to follow will be quite surprising for those who don't know about it, but I assure you that everything you see will be the truth. I have no reason to lie or protect your enemies. Also the sooner you come to terms with the true nature of your enemies whom you thought of as an ally, the sooner your dissonance can be healed." Grigori announced and although she does not say any names, her gaze seems firmly fixed upon TBOAH!Litana which made the TBOAH!World Jungle Queen frown slightly, but nod her head toward the Goddess.
Grigori sighed lightly and then turned to face the Palantír once again.
"Alright Naur, let's reveal the onion from Chapter 487 onwards..."
"Ye-yes Goddess-nim!" Naur's voice faltered momentarily before the dark glass of the Palantír filled with colour once again and an entirely new record appeared across it's surface.
<Chapter 486: Peeling layer after layer (3)>
"By the way, little brother."
Cale's stoic gaze headed toward Alberu.
"The Molden Kingdom. No, you want to flip over the Molden palace and capture the Monarch?"
He could see the corners of Cale's lips twitching as they twisted up.
"Yes, hyung-nim. Should we do it together?"
"Ahh!!" TCF!Alberu's face lit up with a smile – a radiant dazzling smile that surprised TBOAH!Alberu who'd turned deathly pale as he and his father beside him both recognized the underground room that Cale and TCF!Alberu on the Palantír was in. However whatever scene that had happened before this was missing so precious information not given to the three (TCF!Zed, TBOAH!Zed, and TBOAH!Alberu) who desperately wanted to know what Cale had said to TCF!Alberu down there.
Surprisingly the scene on the Palantír showed only Cale – as if the record had been taken from a place in front of TCF!Alberu – making it so that no one could see TCF!Alberu in his Dark Elf form, he only came into view again when he put his artifact back on again – so his secret remained a secret to the people of the TBOAH!World who still did not know about it.
<Chapter 487: Peeling layer after layer (4)>
"It'll be nice to do that together. We should do such fun things together."
Cale looked toward Alberu who was smiling while saying it sounded fun. Alberu started to speak after seeing his gaze.
"Did you create such a plan because of Elisneh the First?"
He had yet to hear why Cale was going to overturn the Molden Kingdom. However, he assumed it was something that had to do with taking down the White Star because he had heard that Elisneh the First, the monarch of the Molden Kingdom, was the Illusionist, one of the White Star's subordinates.
TBOAH!Litana flinched and gulped, but she maintained her silence – after all she'd seen enough by now to have realized how naïve she had been in the past. She considered her TCF!World counterpart lucky because TCF!Litana was saved by Cale Henituse even before she made such a terrible error in judgement.
"Hyung-nim."
"Yes."
Alberu looked toward Cale who was suddenly looking at him with an observing gaze instead of answering his question with an odd gaze.
'Why is this bastard who is great at creating situations that drive me nuts looking at me like this?'
As Alberu had an ominous feeling...
"Hmm... Hyung-nim, I guess you can fight too."
"My dear dongsaeng were you intending to make me sit out?"
"Maybe... I don't know..." Cale replied innocently knowing full and well that at any given opportunity he would have put TCF!Alberu to work and back then was no different, still he maintained an air of faux innocence for the sake of TBOAH!Alberu, and TCF!Zed and his counterpart. Especially since the three of them looked like they were going to faint – Cale was mildly concerned about their health and looked toward the Goddess who merely shrugged nonchalantly and kept her gaze on the Palantír.
"Why is my dongsaeng asking me such a question? Shouldn't you be telling me about the Molden Kingdom?"
"The White Star is creating a fake World Tree."
A chill went through the whole room and TBOAH!Eruhaben let out a strangled sound. TCF!Eruhaben reached out and lightly placed his hand upon his counterpart's shoulder.
"You didn't know... so there's nothing you could have done..." TCF!Eruhaben consoles his counterpart.
"But still... I should have—"
"There's nothing any of us could have done..." TBOAH!Mila whispered and a strange expression fell over her features.
TBOAH!Mila then wrapped her arms around TBOAH!Dodori who became docile and quiet. Even TBOAH!Rasheel gulped and stared at the floor with a grimace. Naur continued the scene upon the Palantír not giving anyone a chance to question the TBOAH!Dragons about why they were all reacting like this.
"Hmm?" Alberu flinched, but Cale recorded everything written on the boulder before nonchalantly continuing to speak.
"They're creating it in the Molden Kingdom's palace, and the Elves infiltrated once but their plans failed because of dead mana."
"...Huh?"
"That's why the Dark Elves are thinking about working with my group to help the World Tree out this time. We also plan on dragging the Mercenaries Guild and the nearby kingdoms in the Eastern continent into helping out as well."
Alberu kept his mouth shut.
"Ah, the Elves will be with us as well."
Cale stopped talking and looked toward the quiet Alberu. The two of them made eye contact.
"My little brother that loves to drive me nuts."
"...I drive you nuts? Why?"
"Never mind."
Alberu quietly looked toward Cale who knew about that and still asked him to do it together before starting to smile.
"I guess what you want from me is not troops."
"That is correct."
What could Cale need? Alberu started to speak again.
"You'll need a decent status to get the Eastern continent's Mercenaries Guild and the nearby kingdoms to cooperate with you. It'll be difficult for you to deal with the aftermath alone as well."
There was a difference between Cale Henituse going to the Eastern continent and Cale Henituse representing the Roan Kingdom, one of the strongest kingdoms on the Western continent, going to the Eastern continent.
"And you'll need the Caro Kingdom and Roan Kingdom's confirmation about Elisneh the First's identity and her actions. The Eastern continent's people are more likely to accept such confirmation from someone with a high status." He smiled majestically at Cale and continued to speak. "Use my name and cause a ruckus if they get in your way."
"Oh my?!" TBOAH!Tasha gasped, meanwhile TCF!Tasha grinned so widely that it caused her cheeks to hurt. Other people couldn't hold back their shock either and turned to look toward the two sworn brothers who were innocently pretending that it was not the two of them plotting and scheming the fall of a kingdom on a whole different continent.
If the Eastern continent's kingdoms hinder them... If someone asks Cale who are you to step up to do this...
"The Roan Kingdom and my name. You can use them as you please on the Eastern continent."
"Thank you Hyung..."
"Of course, after all, who knows my dear Dongsaeng better than me?" TCF!Alberu replied glibly, responding to Cale's sugary smile with a matching one of his own.
Cale may be a punk, but he wouldn't abuse such power. He might be a bastard who drives him nuts, but there was a reason Cale was a hero in the Roan Kingdom.
"What are you planning to do if I do as I please and the Eastern continent files a complaint to the Roan Kingdom?"
Alberu shrugged his shoulders. "Who cares? Are they going to come over and invade? It'll take them a while to come via ships and it would not be possible for them to teleport over. And if they mess with us..."
Cale could see Alberu's eyes that seemed to be sparkling even in this darkness.
"We will stick the Roan Kingdom's flag on the Eastern continent."
The loud sound of something falling was heard and before anyone could turn, TBOAH!Zed disappeared from where he'd landed on the floor.
"Whoops..." Grigori mumbled quietly and then innocently made an announcement to reassure the concerned people from the TBOAH!World.
"Please be at ease, I merely sent His Majesty to rest in his room for a bit. Ahh... and Alberu dear... please remember to breathe, or else you might end up joining your father."
The sound of TBOAH!Alberu's harsh sigh was not unlike someone getting punched in the gut. Meanwhile TCF!Zed could not believe his counterpart had actually fainted, he turned to look at the Cheshire grins on the faces of the sworn brothers in the front row and then rubbed his forehead, uncertain about what to do with this sort of information.
"Human!"
Cale and Alberu looked at each other in shock.
"...Raon?"
"...It seems like it."
They heard Raon's urgent voice. Cale and Alberu quickly headed to the surface. Cale could see Raon who was no longer invisible quickly flying down as he passed the middle of the staircase. Raon started to speak as soon as he saw Cale and Alberu.
"Sorry! I'm really sorry! It was urgent!"
There was a video communication device in Raon's front paws. It had been a while since Cale had seen such an expression on Raon's face and he opened his mouth to ask what was going on.
"What-"
"Bud!" However, Raon was faster. "Bud, Bud! They said Bud's f*cking head is gone!"
"...Huh?"
'What is gone?'
Bud groaned and buried his face into his hands, TCF!Jopis suddenly found the pattern on the teacup in front of her enchanting, meanwhile Cale was pinching Raon's cheeks.
"Raon. You mustn't use words like that! Your Mom will think you learnt it from me!"
"Hummmann!! I wash only repeating thah message!!!" Raon's words sounded strange because of Cale's pinching, but it was still understandable and that was the reason all the dragons turned to look toward Bud – thinking he was the one who'd sent a message like that.
Cale felt his mind whiting out. Raon shoved the video communication device toward him at that moment.
– It's been a while. Young master-nim.
Ron calmly smiled at him.
– He hasn't lost his head yet.
"He said he will lose it soon!"
– That is the case.
Ron faintly smiled as he continued to speak.
– It looks like Bud has become a hostage. We were told to come before they blow Bud's head away.
Sherritt's laughter sounded strange, and TCF!Jopis innocently tried to hide her trembling hands by dusting the folds of her dress and cradling her teacup in her hands – how was she supposed to know that the little dragon-nim would repeat her message word for word to his guardian. For the first time in her life TCF!Jopis questioned her life choices, in particular her language choice.
Ron continued to speak.
– According to Bud's close friend, Glenn Poeff, he was captured while being rash.
Cale let out a sigh. "...By who?"
– By the Molden Kingdom's dethroned princess.
'Hmm? Wait, who?' Cale looked toward Ron. Ron responded with a benign smile on his face.
– The last princess to lose the battle for the throne against Elisneh the First. He was captured by her.
For a brief moment, the room remained quiet while the Palantír paused with the title of the next chapter appearing like a banner across the black screen. Grigori's gaze swept the room, and then she wafted her hand through the air, dispelling the tension and lingering feelings of annoyance and disapproval from all the dragons.
"I'm not drunk enough for this..." TCF!Bud whimpered and TBOAH!Bud closed his eyes and fought hard against the urge to fling his flask and everything else within his reach at his counterpart from his seat across the room. He seemed instinctively aware that an embarrassing side of himself was about to be shown, and he highly doubted that the goddess would be merciful enough to redact any reputation damaging scenes from the records.
TBOAH!Bud groaned internally and cursed both himself and TCF!Bud for the second-hand embarrassment he was already feeling. TBOAH!Glenn eyed TBOAH!Bud as he began to slouch in his seat - in his mind, he wondered why TBOAH!Bud was acting like this even though TCF!Bud was behaving exactly as he did in their own timeline.
"Are you embarrassed or something?" TBOAH!Glenn asked only to receive a withering glare of despair from TBOAH!Bud. TBOAH!Glenn chuckled coolly and nodded in approval.
"Good."