The Shepherds Are Dense – Chapter 188

Chapter 189
Still a Little Cunning

What if Eivass did nothing?
Currently, all ministers, knights, and officers loyal to the Queen would die within a year. The rest would suffer heavy losses in chaos and infighting. Finally, when Princess Isabel returned, she would imprison or execute the remaining ones.

The populace would experience four major wars within the next three years.
The nationwide crop failure caused by the descent of the Fallen Heavenly Envoy would lead to famine and immense chaos, which would then spread to neighboring countries.

Following the descent of the Fallen Heavenly Envoy, Star Antimony would engage in six civil wars. The most severe of these resulted in the country splitting into six pieces before eventually reforming into three. Within three years, the population of Star Antimony and Avalon alone would be reduced to less than a third.

Looking only at Glass Island, the impact might seem minimal. For Glass Island, with its sparse population, it would simply mean fewer people. However, the rural areas would become nearly ghost towns, with only a few households in each village, and that number steadily decreasing. Civilized regions would recede, with villages merging into towns and towns consolidating into cities, leaving vast swathes of land as ruins.

The newly formed Camelot, while seemingly filled with hope, lacked enough talent to even fill all ministerial positions. The parliament had barely thirty members, and more than half of them were not Avalonians but elves who participated in the war against the Shadow Heavenly Envoy. .

Star Antimony was even worse. Already plagued by internal strife, and after being briefly controlled by the Fallen Heavenly Envoy, the remaining people dropped all pretense. Armed warlords carved out their territories, using advanced technology, weapons, and spells solely to fight amongst themselves.

Some areas saw entire towns converted into undead legions, while others were bombed into rubble. Some regions became cursed, turning into inaccessible ghost towns.

These two nations alone accounted for tens of millions of lives. Merely contemplating this number filled Eivass with a heavy heart.

—Should I stand by and watch, using these lives to buy a “hope”?

What a joke.

Even the thought of it enraged Eivass.

It wasn’t righteous indignation based on morality, but anger at his own subconscious weakness, at the fear that lurked within him—

Am I afraid? With the system within me, knowing the future, I’m still afraid enough to entertain the thought of “maybe it’s best to just let it be”?

—Impossible.

—Unforgivable.

Changing all of this would be incredibly difficult. If he couldn’t directly reset everything and build a Camelot from the decaying Avalon, Eivass would struggle to take even a single step forward.

If he prevented the Fallen Heavenly Envoy from slaughtering the royal family and indiscriminately attacking all surrounding countries, the unified Star Antimony would still be a formidable enemy to contend with.

But even so, could he just let everything happen?

—Listen and let it be. Wait for events to unfold as he knew they would, then intervene at each critical juncture, expending the least effort for the greatest gain.

Profit from disaster, rally people in despair, become a hero—all while no one knew that he could have prevented it from happening in the first place.

Yes, that’s what protagonists in novels do. No risk, only reward. Since these calamities weren’t originally related to the “protagonist,” why shouldn’t he profit from them? And if he altered even one variable, the subsequent chain reaction could lead to the loss of his prophetic advantage.

Ensure everything is under control. Ensure the future is under control. Maintain his superior position, as if omniscient and omnipotent.

…Eivass didn’t know if this constituted an error.

But he felt as if there was a fire burning within him.

That fire had ignited the moment he changed history and saved Yulia. He once thought the fire’s name was ambition… but now he felt it might be “pride.”

—Even if I change all of this, even without relying on my prophetic abilities. I am still exceptional.

If that’s the case, why shouldn’t he change it from the beginning?

So that Avalon would never become a Camelot that had nothing but hope. So that the Fallen Heavenly Envoy wouldn’t trigger a global war from all directions… so that civilians who had no power to decide their own futures could live as much as possible.

At the very least, they would live more than in the future he foresaw. That way, his arrival would have meaning…

“—Don’t overthink it.”

The Grand Guardian suddenly reached out and placed his hand on Eivass’s head, speaking softly.

Eivass was slightly startled and looked up at the Grand Guardian.

He didn’t look down at Eivass. He merely lowered his head slightly, gazing at the floor, and said calmly, “Don’t put too much pressure on yourself—as long as we’re not dead, it’s not your place to worry about all this.

“You are the future of Avalon, but you are only the future. Matters of now will be handled by those of now.”

His voice was steady and rich, exuding a sense of grounded security.

The old Queen also smiled gently, “Yes, Little Eivass… You’re about to knock through your wheelchair.”

Eivass’s right hand, which had been unconsciously tapping rapidly on the wheelchair, suddenly stopped.

—I need to find a way to break this habit.

Whenever Eivass was lost in thought or anxious, his right hand would instinctively want to do something. It was a habit from his childhood gaming days—when nervous, he would unconsciously click the mouse and perform meaningless, ineffectual actions.

For example, constantly alt-tabbing, jittering in place, or repeatedly zooming in and out.

In the words of Eivass’s roommate, he was “a bit of a keyboard warrior.”

“I don’t know what you’re worried about,” the Grand Guardian said calmly, “but I don’t think Her Majesty the Queen chose to tell you these things because she wants your help. If you do decide to do something, you can tell us first.”

“Dad is very strong!”

David, standing beside them, said with conviction.

“We are not the same as we were four hundred years ago. We are not strong… we can even be called weak.”

Queen Sophia, however, simply smiled gently and said frankly, “It’s good to realize this early. The knights of the older generation grew up listening to tales of the Knights of the Round Table, fostering a sense of pride. Even though they later focused on power and money, they still carried the pride of knights in their hearts.

“But they didn’t truly understand Avalon. Or perhaps they didn’t want to.

“But whether it’s you or Sherlock, your generation of young people is different. Avalon will ultimately be handed over to you…”

Speaking of which, the old woman, despite being ill and lying in bed, still exuded an aura of vitality. She flashed a sly smile, “I believe Sherlock is still alive, right?”

“Yes.”

Eivass replied, “This was our plan. To lure those people out by faking his death… Both he and I did this.”

“Do you know? I was terrified at the time.”

Her Majesty the Queen clicked her tongue, ignoring her image, “I thought, ‘It’s bad… knowing Sherlock’s personality, he’s certainly capable of something like this—putting himself in danger for an investigation, or being retaliated against.’ Because he truly could be retaliated against and assassinated, I was convinced his death was real.”

“Then how did you later guess that he was faking his death?”

Eivass asked, confused.

Queen Sophia burst out laughing, “No, I’m not that clever… Janis told me. She told me, ‘Don’t rush to grieve, there might still be a turn of events.’ At that moment, I understood what she meant.”

Janis?

Eivass blinked for a moment, then realized—she must have seen Sherlock and him through a painting at the Bishop’s house!

What kind of sentient surveillance camera is this…

But Janis clearly wanted to keep Eivass’s secret. Otherwise, the Queen would have known long ago that he wasn’t captured by Alistair… because he went to the Bishop’s house on the first day he disappeared, but Her Majesty the Queen and the Grand Guardian were clearly unaware of this.

“Do you have anything else, Eivass?”

The Queen asked kindly, “Next, we’re going to discuss some adult matters… Could you go play with David for a while?

“Oh, right… That child Isabel might have been traumatized. If you have time, perhaps you could go comfort her?”

“As you command, Your Majesty.”

Eivass agreed.

He was indeed a little worried about Isabel and was thinking about how to mention it to Her Majesty the Queen.

From his understanding of Isabel, she hadn’t let go of the pressure from the curse. Instead, she was trying hard to forget about it.

Although the Queen was not worried at all, knowing that the curse was over… Isabel, however, did not know this. And it was not suitable for her to know—if Isabel knew that the curse was because foreigners wanted her to ascend the throne, her psychological burden would likely be even greater.

After asking Queen Sophia for Isabel’s location, Eivass pulled David along, pushed by Lily, out of the Queen’s chambers.

The first thing he did after leaving was to drag **David** to a secluded, deserted place.

Eivass whispered a warning, “Don’t tell your sister Isabel about the curse and the ritual… Be discreet, understand?”

“I understand. I’m not good at talking or comforting people, so I won’t say anything, Mr. Eivass.”

David nodded earnestly and whispered his plan, “You can say it then… I’ll just nod at what you say.”

—Indeed, if you don’t say anything, you won’t make a mistake.

Eivass hissed.

Can you spontaneously understand this?

This child’s personality isn’t entirely the same as the Grand Guardian’s…

However, Eivass vaguely felt that… David seemed to want to set him and Isabel up?

With a moment’s thought, Eivass understood.

And then he could barely hold back his laughter.

—Oh, so you mean if I get together with Princess Isabel, Miss Alistair will be free for you, right?

This kid’s cunning seems to be greater than he lets on…

Early update complete!
Catty is knocking on an empty bowl.

After finishing one chapter, I realized my human servant went out. I’ll order takeout and finish the second chapter before eating (whimpering).