The power of the Teleportation Magic Circle was remarkable. A distance that would have taken quite some time to travel by horse or some other means of transportation could be crossed in the blink of an eye.
“Ahh....”
Thanks to that, Wirn was able to warm himself in hot water.
He even had enough time to wash away all the blood and dirt that had accumulated during the mission.
‘This kind of consideration would've been unimaginable in my previous life.’
Back when he had been a hound, he had been forced to wash himself in ice-cold water after completing a mission.
Even that had been rationed, so all he could do was wipe himself down with a towel.
Hot water?
He had lived a life where he was grateful just to receive enough water to wash himself at all.
‘Those bastards.’
It was discrimination no matter how one looked at it.
The Empire wasn't so poor that it couldn't provide hot water.
On the contrary, its wealth overflowed to the point that its people could indulge in every imaginable luxury and pleasure without making so much as a dent in it.
Yet Wirn and the other hounds had never been allowed to enjoy that wealth.
The justification of ‘control’ had made such treatment acceptable.
‘But... I was reborn like this.’
Thinking about those days put him in a foul mood.
But it didn't make overwhelming rage surge within him.
Was it because time had passed and dulled his emotions?
No.
If anything, while living with the Daylin Family, Wirn had steadily accumulated his hatred toward them.
Even so, there was a simple reason he wasn't rushing off to sever the Emperor's head right now.
‘The chance to kill them will definitely come.’
He was confident that he would be able to deliver death to them.
Besides, trying to take revenge by himself right now would be foolish.
The Daylin Family still maintained relations with the Empire.
‘Still, I can't just sit back and do nothing.’
Everyone knew that the Empire was growing stronger with each passing day.
But the fact that the Emperor's greed knew no bounds was still a secret.
As time passed, the balance of power would undoubtedly collapse.
Not to mention whatever they were secretly preparing....
‘I’ll maintain the balance.’
Because he knew the future, Wirn decided that he would become the counterweight.
Of course, the side he intended to balance wasn't the Empire.
It was the Daylin Family.
SPLASH!
Wirn finished his thoughts and climbed out of the bath.
He had already heard Kemen nagging him that staying in for too long wasn't good for him.
“Young Master. The Chief Elder is waiting for you in the garden.”
And this time, it was the Chief Elder who had come looking for Wirn.
***
The flowers in the garden never lost their brilliance.
The reason was that maintaining the family garden properly was also considered a display of a prestigious family's dignity.
“It has been a while.”
Ganpeirn admired the flowers brimming with life.
Then, sensing Wirn approaching from behind, he turned around.
“I heard you carried out your mission well.”
A subtle smile spread across his lips.
“Thank you.”
Wirn nodded at Ganpeirn's words.
‘His presence....’
Then he swallowed inwardly.
Compared to the last time they had met, the man's mana was radiating even more densely.
‘He's still growing.’
That was important information.
There was a tremendous difference between a mage who had reached his limit and one who had not.
But what deserved even more attention was how rapidly the Chief Elder continued to increase his strength.
There was nothing more frightening than the growth of someone who had already obtained unshakable authority.
‘Why is he still trying to get stronger?’
Yet there was a contradiction.
He had already secured a stable position, but his growth showed no sign of stopping.
Almost as though he still yearned for something.
‘I don't know.’
Wirn couldn't tell what the reason was.
After all, the Chief Elder before him was someone he had never known in his previous life.
However, there was one thing he could tell.
‘There's something there.’
His desires had not yet been satisfied.
That much could be seen in his gleaming eyes.
‘There's no one around.’
Wirn looked around.
The gardeners were nowhere to be seen.
He couldn't even sense anyone beyond the garden.
It meant that everyone within a certain radius had been sent away.
“I don't think you came simply because you wanted to see my face. It's awfully empty around here.”
Having noticed that, Wirn spoke first.
“Oh?”
The Chief Elder's eyes gleamed.
“You have an excellent attitude when receiving someone.”
And he sincerely praised him.
For a mage, vigilance was as important as life itself.
The way Wirn had behaved just now wouldn't have seemed out of place even for an experienced mage.
“I heard the story. You caught that old man lurking in the shadows who betrayed the family.”
“Yes.”
“How did you deal with him?”
“I cannot tell you.”
Wirn flatly refused to answer.
If Kemen had heard that conversation, he would have been horrified.
No successor had ever answered the Chief Elder's question in such a manner.
“You cannot tell me....”
Yet Ganpeirn didn't become angry.
“That is quite an answer. I rather like it.”
Instead, he smiled at Wirn's bold attitude.
He could see in Wirn the arrogance that a member of the Daylin Family ought to possess.
“Then how about we make a deal?”
“A deal...?”
“If you tell me how you dealt with the traitor, I will grant you one wish.”
Wirn's eyes gleamed at the proposal.
‘A wish.’
Until now, Ganpeirn had merely been asking questions.
But the moment he said those words, the relationship between them changed.
“I will not tell you everything.”
Even so, Wirn had no intention of revealing everything.
That included the book, of course, as well as the demon.
“That does not matter. I will not object if you leave out whatever you wish to hide.”
But the old man didn't seem to mind.
He actually told him to do exactly that.
‘What?’
Wirn's brow twitched at the unexpected response.
He couldn't understand why the Chief Elder was taking such an interest in him.
“In return, all you need to do is keep the fact that I asked you about this a secret.”
“...Understood.”
At those words, Wirn finally nodded.
“It began when I was caught in the Demon Worshippers' trap.”
Then he began telling him what had happened during the mission.
Under those conditions, Wirn had no reason to refuse.
***
“So you killed one of the Elders using Darkness. It truly was a contest of pure strength.”
Ten minutes later, Wirn finished his story.
Ganpeirn, who had quietly listened the entire time, showed a satisfied smile.
“Yes. That is enough.”
He told Wirn that the exchange had been satisfactory.
“Now tell me what you want. As long as it is within my authority, I will grant it.”
Then he added that it was Wirn's turn.
“I want to leave on my own for an extended period. About a week.”
“Hmm?”
“There may be some commotion along the way. But I don't want anyone to know I was there. To put it plainly, I'd like you to cover up what I do, Chief Elder.”
Not much time had passed since the mission ended.
Wirn had only just bathed and taken a brief rest.
Yet he had no intention whatsoever of idling around the family estate.
There was a fortuitous opportunity he wanted to obtain from the Empire during this period.
Seizing it was, in a sense, Wirn's real mission.
“And I want all of it recorded as a private task you personally assigned to me.”
“Why?”
“That way, the other successors won't ask me what I went out to do.”
The Chief Elder held tremendous status within the Daylin Family.
As long as people knew he was behind it, no one would bother Wirn.
‘I could just leave by myself... but that would obviously become a nuisance in several ways.’
Honestly, leaving the estate itself wasn't difficult.
The problem was that Wirn wasn't simply going outside for sightseeing.
“Commotion....”
The Chief Elder rubbed his chin at Wirn's words.
The requests poured out of him as though he had been waiting for this moment.
Even to Ganpeirn, it was obvious that Wirn hadn't thought them up on the spot.
“Very well.”
But he asked no further questions.
“I will grant your request. And if you need one, I will provide you with identification papers for a false identity.”
Instead, he calmly accepted Wirn's request.
He even went a step further and accommodated him.
“Thank you.”
Wirn bowed his head at the Chief Elder's answer.
His offer would definitely prove useful.
Without the Chief Elder's assistance, Wirn would have had to hide his identity while traveling.
But that would have been no different from placing restrictions on himself.
Naturally, he would have needed to infiltrate his destination in secret, and it would also have been difficult to use his distinctive power of Darkness.
‘But if the Chief Elder is behind me, that's a different story.’
If the Chief Elder backed him, those restrictions could be loosened to some extent.
Of course, that didn't mean he could go and cut off the Emperor's head.
But at the very least, accomplishing his immediate objective would become much easier.
‘I can turn the place upside down without worrying as much.’
Simply having someone powerful covering for him changed a great deal.
Thanks to that, he could proceed more easily and quickly than he had expected.
“Is that everything?”
“Yes.”
“Then it is time to end our conversation.”
After finishing his words, the Chief Elder stared at Wirn.
Swish.
Then he lightly patted Wirn on the shoulder.
“I look forward to another interesting story next time.”
He gave Wirn a warm farewell.
SNAP!
Then he snapped the fingers of his right hand.
—HUM....
A Teleportation Magic Circle appeared.
“Then take care.”
Looking at it, the Chief Elder gave Wirn a slight nod.
Without even waiting for a response, he stepped into the Teleportation Magic Circle.
“....”
And with the Chief Elder gone, Wirn was left alone in the garden.
‘Something feels off.’
It certainly hadn't been a deal where Wirn lost anything.
But separate from that, something about it bothered him.
Naturally, the source of that unease was the Chief Elder he had just been speaking with.
Yet there was no way for him to figure out exactly what it was right now.
After all, he had only learned of the man's existence in this life.
‘For now... I'm going there.’
But that wasn't what mattered most at the moment, so Wirn pushed thoughts of the Chief Elder from his mind.
Sssss.
Then, once deep night arrived, he slipped out of the family estate together with the Darkness, making sure no one witnessed him leave.
And three days later—
“Sir, we have arrived in Rohaiden.”
Wirn reached Rohaiden, a prosperous city where goods of every kind gathered.