A subterranean temple located so deep that no wind could pass through.
As the candlelight flickered in the dense darkness, the shadow of the bowing man from the Black Moon Syndicate wavered.
“I have... no excuse.”
The boy watching him scratched the armrest with his fingernail and clenched his fist.
On his finger was a ring set with a golden cross symbolizing the golden dawn.
“I believe I told you the Latium Mine matter was important.”
At the killing intent he felt in that instant, the man from the Black Moon Syndicate could only keep his head bowed, unable to say a word.
“I truly cannot understand the minds of people like you, who ruin such an easy task.”
“I apologize.”
There was no room for excuses.
They had succeeded in kidnapping the Count’s daughter.
That meant they had accomplished the most difficult part.
Now all they had to do was use her to slowly tighten the noose around the Count’s throat.
If they had paid just a little attention.
If they had truly been just a little more careful, they could have secured, if not the mining rights to the Latium Mine, then at least the distribution rights for Latium.
The man from the Black Moon Syndicate thought the reason the task had been ruined was because something had happened beyond his own ability.
“And after failing like that, all you have to say is that there were traces of magic. That you presume there was a mage. Is that all?”
That was everything the man from the Black Moon Syndicate had discovered at present.
After contact with Kalif was lost, by the time he arrived at the scene, all that remained there were faint traces of magic, along with the corpses of Kalif and his companions.
“If... if you could give me just one more chance....”
The man from the Black Moon Syndicate spoke in a trembling voice.
He trembled because he knew all too well that one word from the boy before him could send his head flying at any moment.
“A chance, after you have already let such a big fish slip away....”
The man from the Black Moon Syndicate lifted his head slightly.
The long white hood hung down over the front of the boy’s face, so he could not meet his eyes.
“I will do my utmost to ensure... nothing like this ever happens again.”
A small laugh sounded.
“When you put it that way, does it not sound as though you were not doing your utmost before?”
“That is....”
A brief silence followed.
Was it because he was standing on the boundary between life and death?
Each second of silence felt like an hour.
Cold sweat ran down his back.
The man from the Black Moon Syndicate bent at the waist once again and begged for forgiveness.
“Please, have mercy...!!”
“Do you understand how much loss this failure has caused?”
“I... I will do anything within my power. There are countless ways to obtain money. If you would just give me time...!!”
The man from the Black Moon Syndicate thought to himself.
He still had connections with several merchant companies in the Empire.
If he used them, perhaps he could somehow make up for the loss the boy spoke of and hold his shoulders high once more.
“...As I thought, I truly cannot understand the way you people think.”
He snapped his fingers.
White metal chains shot out from every direction and bound the man’s arms and legs.
Amid the clashing of metal, a shriek like a scream spilled out.
“Ggh...! Please... spare me just this once!!”
The chains pulled his limbs tighter and tighter.
“Aaaaaaaagh!!!!!”
And the man’s body tore apart, no longer able to withstand the chains’ tension.
As the screams died down and silence settled once more, the boy watching the scene sighed.
Killing him had merely been an act of venting his anger.
The fundamental problem had still not been resolved, and the enormous funds that had slipped from his grasp haunted his eyes.
On top of that, the unknown mage who had ruined the task grated on him like a thorn lodged in his throat.
When he gently lifted his head, the boy’s golden eyes shone in the darkness.
“An unknown mage....”
There was a priority to everything.
Recovering the losses he had suffered came first.
Once that was done, he vowed that he would pull out that thorn with his own hands.
***
Inside the subspace pouch he had received from Anna, there were other items besides the jewel sword Tyrant and the elixir.
‘About twenty gold and sandwiches, huh?’
From the Orhan estate to Rustav, the capital of the Ravion Empire, it took a full day of travel by carriage.
“I thought I wouldn’t need food since I’d arrive soon... but I am hungry.”
Simply sitting still inside the carriage without doing anything was difficult in its own way.
His backside, unused to the rattling, felt like it might shatter at any moment, and because he could not lie down, even his back felt as if it were creaking.
‘Sleeping is out of the question.’
Gale spent the night with his eyes wide open.
As he stared endlessly out the window and lost himself in various thoughts, dawn broke in the distance, and the carriage left Orhan Territory behind and entered imperial land.
Outside the window, people working the fields from the early morning began to come into view.
It was a peaceful scene, and one that somehow soothed the heart.
Just as his eyes were slowly starting to close from boredom, the coachman’s voice came from outside.
“Master Gale, we have arrived.”
The coachman, who had already climbed down from the driver’s seat, opened the door.
“Ah... thank you.”
When he stepped down from the carriage, a wide street made of pure white marble spread out beneath his feet.
“Wow....”
The sight made his mouth fall open naturally.
Seeing Gale’s surprise, the coachman beside him spoke with pride.
“It is called the Street of Glory. It is like a symbol of the Holy Ravion Empire.”
The steps of the imperial citizens crossing over the broad white marble street were full of life.
As Gale watched them, an emotion he could not identify stirred in his chest.
It was only a street.
Yet he remembered the end, when they had failed to protect even a single street.
‘To think I’d see this sight again while still alive.’
The last image he had of this street was one filled with corpses and bloodstains scattered in chaos, its marble half-shattered through countless battles, exposing jagged teeth.
He had thought he would never see it so neatly maintained again.
Yet now that the intact scenery lay before his eyes, his emotions felt strangely renewed.
“I will take my leave now. I pray blessings dwell upon your path ahead, Master Gale.”
“Thank you for bringing me here.”
Gale waved toward the departing carriage.
Then a voice came from behind him.
“Excuse me! Haah... haah... Are you perhaps... Master Gale?”
He turned his head.
A lanky man came running over, gasping roughly for breath.
A slender build.
Curly hair.
And beneath it, glasses that looked to have strong lenses.
He looked exactly like a model student.
“Yes, I’m Gale.”
“Haah... haah... I heard the message from the Count. I went to the gate just now, but they said you had already entered, so I ran here.”
“Ah. Are you the person who was supposed to guide me?”
The man immediately composed himself with proper courtesy.
“It is an honor to meet you. My name is Runo.”
In response, Gale nodded and stared intently at his face.
Perhaps because Gale was staring too persistently, Runo’s face flushed slightly.
“Um... is there a reason...?”
He was certain this was the first time he had seen him, but his face looked familiar.
‘I feel like I’ve seen him somewhere.’
A memory hovered faintly in his mind, just out of reach.
Well, it probably did not matter.
Embarrassed, Runo avoided his gaze and changed the subject.
“From what I heard from the Count, you are planning to enlist in the Imperial Army. Is that correct?”
Gale stopped staring so fixedly and answered that it was.
“Applications for the Imperial Army special track are scheduled to open at noon tomorrow. Do you have any other plans before then?”
At his question, Gale recalled the various plans he had thought of in the carriage.
In his heart, he wanted to move immediately, but...
‘I desperately want to lie down.’
Gale had been in the carriage for over twenty-four hours.
No matter how fine the carriage used by wealthy nobles might be, a carriage was still a carriage.
It could not compare to a bed.
“No. I don’t have anything in particular, but I’m tired from sitting for so long.”
At those words, Runo nodded and said,
“In that case, I will guide you to an inn I know well.”
“All right.”
“Would it be all right if I briefly introduced the inside of the Empire while we move?”
Gale nodded.
The two of them slowly walked down the Street of Glory.
As befitted a guide, Runo was faithful to his role.
As they walked, he explained what each place they passed was for.
Of course, most of it was information Gale already knew, but there were places that differed slightly from what he remembered, so it was quite interesting.
“Come to think of it, Mr. Runo, what is your relationship with the Count?”
“You may speak more comfortably to me.”
“This is more comfortable for me.”
At that, he smiled warmly and said, “It is embarrassing to admit, but I come from an orphanage. When I was there, I happened to catch Count Orhan’s eye and received his support.”
Gale nodded quietly.
“Thanks to the Count, I, who was nothing more than an orphan, have been living so happily that I feel it is more than I deserve. To me, the Count is a father... and someone I respect even more than that.”
As he spoke, he looked very happy.
“I see.”
A father.
For a moment, various thoughts crossed his mind, but Gale immediately shook them off.
Then Runo stopped and pointed toward a corner of the market with his finger.
“I work at the Sesilla Appraisal Office over there in the corner, so please stop by whenever you have time.”
An appraisal office?
The moment Gale heard that, his eyes lit up.
“Do you perhaps handle enchantments too?”
Runo answered in flustered surprise.
“It is not my specialty, but... to some extent... yes. We do handle them.”
Gale remembered clearly now.
He had once seen Runo’s photograph splashed across an imperial newspaper.
‘Back then, he wasn’t wearing those stupid-looking glasses.’
It had been difficult to recognize him because in the photograph printed in the newspaper, his gaze had been sharp enough to kill a man with ease, but it was definitely him.
The headline had certainly been:
[Genius Enchanter Runo! Collaboration with the Vüllant Brothers!]
Runo, during the period when he had bloomed as an Enchanter, had been one of the famous people of the Empire.
At the time, he had been a capable national-level Enchanter, skilled enough to collaborate with the Vüllant brothers.
‘It’s definitely that Runo.’
Runo, seeing Gale’s expression, said, “Is there... perhaps some problem?”
If things went well, there might come a day when Gale could receive help from him.
All sorts of devious thoughts arose in Gale’s mind, and a crooked smile formed on his lips.
“Why don’t we try getting along from now on? We can talk about enchantments and the like...”
“Were you interested in enchantments as well, Master Gale?”
In his past life, Gale had possessed no real talent for swordsmanship, so he had mainly used enchanted equipment to make up for his lacking skill.
‘It’s nothing to brag about, but you could say there was no one who relied on enchantments as much as I did.’
When he recalled those days, a smile came to his lips.
“...I used them often at one point.”
“At one point?”
Realizing his mistake in that instant, Gale answered in a panic.
“Ah! Once! I tried them once. The experience was so good that... haha.”
At that, Runo smiled.
“The charm of enchantments is remarkable. I agree. Though lately, I have been troubled because my skill is not improving very much.”
“I’m sure you’ll be able to do well, Mr. Runo.”
After their conversation blossomed for quite some time over enchantments, the two began walking again.
“The place I will introduce today is the last one. It is the inn I recommend most in the Empire.”
At Runo’s words, Gale lifted his head and looked at the sign hanging high above.
‘The Old Dragon’s Nest.’
As Gale looked at the old signboard engraved with a crouching dragon, his eyes widened.
‘This place... It’s been a really long time.’
During his days in the Imperial Army, he used to eat often at the restaurant here on his meager salary.
As those days suddenly came to mind, a smile bloomed on Gale’s lips.
Runo opened the inn’s door.
“Shall we go in, then?”
Following Runo inside, Gale saw the first floor, which operated as a restaurant.
At the far end stood a bar counter, and on the side wall, wanted posters issued by the Empire and guild request flyers were messily pinned up.
The tables placed in the center were packed with people so tightly there was not even room to set foot.
“It certainly is crowded because it is peak season.”
Runo already looked exhausted at the sight, but Gale lifted the corners of his mouth as he watched them.
‘It’s been a while since I’ve felt this kind of atmosphere too. Not bad.’
The two barely found seats at the bar counter and ordered food.
When Gale saw mead on the menu, he felt a powerful pull for an instant, but he decided it was still too early and chose other dishes instead.
While waiting for the food they had ordered, Gale listened to the surrounding conversations.
Given the timing, the area was full of talk about the Imperial Army.
“I heard House Bogerton’s second son is applying to the Imperial Army this time.”
“Those noble bastards... Didn’t House Leitner say they were going through the special track instead of the academy too?”
“They’re all desperate to catch the Emperor’s eye as quickly as possible. If they distinguish themselves in the Imperial Army, their houses get showered with enormous benefits, so there’s a fire under their feet.”
Listening quietly, Gale thought, ‘Bogerton and Leitner, huh.’
House Bogerton, known as the Iron Arm and famed for writing the history of martial combat, and House Leitner, famous for the Swift Sword.
Both houses had betrayed humanity when the war against the Celestials broke out.
Those who had dreamed of humanity’s destruction were entering the Imperial Army merely to gain the Emperor’s attention?
No matter how generously he tried to think of it, he could only conclude they had impure intentions.
Rather, it was more reasonable to think they had entered the Imperial Army to infiltrate it under orders from the hardliners.
Considering they had already approached Count Orhan as well, hearing news that other nobles were joining the Imperial Army made his thoughts grow tangled.
He had thought he had only just returned to the starting line, but now it felt as though he had been thrown into the most important branching point.
‘I don’t have time to take it easy.’