I Became the Guild Leader in Exile

112 – 7# A Very Short Happiness (4)

In the end, Isaac’s choice was not bad.

Some of the hardliners who heard about Isaac’s actions calmed down. The childish provocation in the park could be seen as a sign that the hardliners were cornered.

However, as Isaac approached the hardliners in a conciliatory manner, it was natural for things to proceed in a positive direction. Of course, not all hardliners were appeased, but at least some of them began to listen.

Tir took advantage of this opportunity and negotiated with the hardliners. Isaac nodded his head.

“There will be no more fighting.”

It wasn’t the time to be reckless, considering they still had to deal with the aftermath of the war. If they were to brutally suppress the hardliners, it would only lead to another civil war. Isaac had seen it countless times before.

The oppressed people, driven to desperation by the powerful, would eventually take up arms and join rebel or terrorist groups. That’s why Isaac chose to appease them.

Even if they weren’t thoroughgoing hardliners, he wanted to show them that they had a place to belong. His unintentional kindness had a persuasive effect on the hardliners.

Thanks to this, the moderates and hardliners were now moving towards reconciliation. Although negotiations were still difficult, time would eventually resolve the issues.

“Now, we really have nothing to do.”

“Then we can return to Gideon.”

“That’s right.”

Isaac had stayed in the country for longer than expected. With things having calmed down to this extent, Tir and the moderates would be able to handle it from now on. Isaac packed his bags.

Returning to Gideon wasn’t difficult. Tir personally gave permission for them to use teleportation. Just before they left, Tir came to see them off.

“Thank you. Thanks to you, things have become much easier.”

“The rest is up to you.”

“I know.”

When Tir first heard the news, he was relieved that Isaac didn’t try to force the hardliners into submission. Although Isaac was overwhelmingly powerful, if he had used force, the hardliners would have retaliated, and the worst-case scenario would have been another civil war. But Isaac had yielded to them.

The hardliners also began to have differing opinions within their ranks. Thanks to this, they were able to avoid the worst-case scenario of civil war.

“It wasn’t an easy thing to do.”

The strong have their pride. It’s not easy to put that aside and allow oneself to be attacked by the weak, especially one-sidedly. But Isaac did it.

He didn’t care about the opinions of others or their evaluations, so it was possible for him. Tir was impressed once again in his heart. Isaac, however, didn’t think much of it…

“I hope things will be resolved well.”

And so, Isaac and the Iron Shield returned to Gideon. A festival was unexpectedly held in Gideon to commemorate their victory in the war against the country. The guilds had organized the festival.

“The atmosphere has changed quickly, hasn’t it?”

Zieg looked around with a tongue-in-cheek expression. Only a few guilds had opposed the war against the country, and those few guilds were now hosting the festival. They were trying to change the mood somehow.

Of course, Zieg and the Iron Shield weren’t planning to let things slide, but they decided to go along with it for today. Everyone had suffered greatly until now.

At least for today, they deserved a break. Zieg looked at Isaac with expectant eyes. Unlike the country, they hadn’t even started their date in Gideon yet.

“That’s right, I know.”

Isaac, reading Zieg’s expectant gaze, smiled and nodded. It was a normal day. The clear sky, the sparkling sun, and the people bustling about, preparing for the festival.

Perhaps no one…

Could have predicted what was about to happen.

Not even Isaac. People tend to take the future too lightly. Who would have imagined that their ordinary daily lives would be shattered the next day?

Of course, it was likely that such worries were unnecessary. But unfortunately, one possibility had come true. *Boom!* A massive explosion erupted, accompanied by fireworks.

Isaac instinctively pulled Zieg close. He knew it was an unusual situation, but Zieg barely managed to suppress a smile.

“Master, what’s this?”

“It seems it’s coming sooner than expected. I didn’t think it would come this quickly.”

Isaac furrowed his brow.

At the end of his gaze, the sky was burning red.

The prophecy of the end had already arrived.

The Prophecy of the End.

In fact, this part is the highlight of the original work and an all-out war. In the original work, the Prophecy of the End is described as suddenly appearing one day, bringing despair to people.

It’s not an inaccurate depiction. Just a few minutes ago, people were laughing and preparing for a festival, but they were thrown into chaos by the sudden falling of fire from the sky.

It’s only natural. The sky suddenly turned into a sea of flames, and fire rained down. Anyone would think it’s the end of the world….

“At least we have the protection of the gods, thankfully.”

Before Zeus left, he had given Isaac a warning. The Prophecy of the End would soon arrive, so he should prepare for battle and not worry.

In other words, the gods of Greece and Rome would protect us, so we could prepare for the Prophecy of the End with ease. Isaac believed this and prepared accordingly.

“It’s fortunate that I knew the original work.”

Isaac, who knew the original work, was able to prepare relatively easily. If he hadn’t known, he would have been in big trouble. Isaac let out a sigh of relief and said,

“Let’s go, Zieg. This isn’t the time to be idle.”

“Ah, understood, Master.”

Zieg barely managed to regain his composure, thanks to Isaac’s calm demeanor. Even Zieg, who was usually calm, felt his legs tremble at the sight of the end of the world unfolding before his eyes.

If it weren’t for Master, he might have been in a pitiful state. Zieg felt reassured by Master’s warm and strong hand.

Yes, even if the real end of the world had arrived, as long as Master was with him, they could overcome it. Zieg’s spirit, which had been shaken, began to burn brightly again.

“Is everyone safe?!”

As soon as they returned to the guild, Isaac checked on the status of the guild members. Fortunately, no one was injured. Relieved, Isaac immediately took out the map.

“Kain, please check the situation of our allies through the communication network. Can we contact them?”

“I’ve already checked. Fortunately, the connection is stable.”

“That’s good. What’s the situation on their side?”

“It’s not good, but not bad either. Miraculously, there were no casualties.”

“It seems the gods have decided to actively protect us this time.”

On the day the Prophecy of the End arrived, the original work described how 5/10 of the entire continent’s population died instantly due to the sudden bolt of lightning. However, this time, there were very few casualties.

This was because the gods of the original work had chosen not to intervene, unlike the current gods. In the original work, the gods were either liberal or simply neglectful.

Everything was left to human will. The gods didn’t actively intervene in any human affairs. They only intervened slightly and passively.

Of course, when the Prophecy of the End arrived, the gods didn’t protect humans, resulting in over 5/10 of the population dying instantly. That was the original work.

“I don’t know why, but we managed to survive.”

Isaac didn’t know the reason, but he had prepared accordingly. Originally, the Prophecy of the End was supposed to appear a few years later, but it happened today, and they managed to survive.

However, there was a difference between the original work and this world. The gods recognized Isaac’s nobility and changed their stance. In fact, Isaac’s actions were far from efficient.

Showing mercy to the enemy was a noble act, but the outcome was never noble. Instead, the enemy would become stronger and defeat them, leading to humiliation.

Of course, there were those who were moved by mercy. However, most people chose to become stronger. That’s human nature. Therefore, mercy could be seen as a calculation.

In a world where mercy was only possible under the assumption of safety, the gods might have grown tired of it. However, then he appeared.

A man who was foolishly noble by human standards.

But to the gods, he was a perfect hero. That in itself was enough.

Thanks to that, the gods chose to actively intervene.

If such a human existed, they wanted to protect humans a little more.

That’s what they thought.