The Congress of Nezurat.
That was the name of the event to which Leon and I were invited. Bringing together nearly all the major powers from each empire, along with the Seven Churches, it was a gathering of immense scale.
A congress of such magnitude was rarely convened, having occurred only four times in the past—each instance sparked by a crisis that involved the Mirror Dimension.
“I don’t want to go.”
“…You must go.”
“No, I don’t want to. I’m doing just fine in the Academy.”
“Should I tell the family head that you’re not going?”
“Wait, hold on… Now that I think about it, as the heir of the Evenus Household, it’s my duty to attend.”
“Pussy.”
“What did you say?”
Leon turned his head away, absentmindedly scratching his ear with his pinky. I could only glare at him from my spot.
It wasn’t like I was actually scared of the family head.
No, it was more like he was too much trouble to refuse. I could only imagine what he’d do if I turned him down—either concoct some elaborate scheme to drag me along or simply pester me in the most troublesome way possible.
In other words, I had no choice but to go.
“Here goes my free time…”
I had an inkling that something was going to happen at the Congress.
Just an inkling…
“Uh? What are you doing…?”
Snapping me out of my thoughts, I suddenly saw Leon walk over with a massive bag. It was filled to the brim with items, and upon closer inspection, I saw two swords? No, wait… three? Why would he…?
“That’s not all that I’m bringing.”
As if proud of his collection, Leon set the bag down and opened it, retrieving several items and showing them to me.
The first item he took out was a small necklace with a purple gemstone in the middle.
“This relic can shield against powerful mental attacks. It might not withstand a full-force strike from you, but it should be enough to block basic mental and emotive attacks. Oh, and it also enhances my ability to see through illusions.”
“Oh, that’s inter—No, wait. Why do you need that in the first place?”
“Look here.”
Leon retrieved another item.
It was a plain black shorts.
“You brought a change of clothes?”
“No, stupid.”
Leon shook his head before suddenly channeling his mana into the shirt. In an instant, a small shield materialized around him, and he shot me a smug smile.
“See this?”
He looked so proud.
“I spent a good amount of money on this. Not only does it generate a shield around the wearer when mana is injected, but the more mana you pour in, the stronger the shield becomes. It has an amplifying effect—if you inject your tier six mana, you can create a shield nearly on par with that of a tier seven mage.”
“Oh…”
Okay, now I was impressed.
With me needing to save as much money as possible in order to acquire the rights to the Mirror Crack near Ellnor, I barely spent any of my money on relics.
Although I understood that they would help me grow stronger, I knew that, in the long run, acquiring the Mirror Crack would be far more beneficial for my growth.
‘After all, once I acquire the Mirror-Crack, I plan on going there often to fight monsters and level up.’
As of right now, entering the Mirror Dimension was quite a difficult task.
Unless I joined a guild or was part of the royal family, the only way that I could enter a Mirror Crack was through several extremely troublesome processes. There was also the Academy Mirror Crack, but that was currently out of order.
The only way to enter the Mirror Dimension without any worries was by acquiring one.
‘But still, I’m jealous…’
I really wanted the relics Leon had.
But most importantly.
“Check this one out. It can hide my presenc—”
“Are you sure it’s a good idea to be using your money like that?”
“Uh?”
Leon paused and looked at me.
I then pointed at the multiple swords sticking out from his bag.
“I get being prepared, but why are you bringing three swords? Shouldn’t one be more than enough? Why—”
“Are you kidding me?”
Leon cut me off, looking at me with what appeared to be disgust.
“Do you even know why I went ahead and bought so many relics?”
“Err…”
“It’s because of you.”
“Me?”
I raised my brow in surprise. Why was he suddenly acting like this?
Wait, could it be…!?
“We’re about to be leaving soon. Do you know what it means going out with you?”
“…..”
I had no words or excuse.
Indeed…
“But it’s not like it’s my fault. You know…”
“I get it. You’re going to say something about me not doing my job, right?”
“Yes.”
I subconsciously nodded.
That was when Leon looked down at the bag before him.
“And that’s why I had no choice but to buy this—one, because you’re a walking disaster; two, because I need them for my job; and three, for my own safety. I’ve come too close to death, too many times to not leave prepared.”
Placing all the items back into the bag, Leon slowly lifted it and placed it on his shoulders before turning around.
“…Oh, and for your information, I don’t get paid enough for this.”
Clank!
He smashed the door on his way out of my room, leaving me at a complete loss.
‘The fuck just happened?’
*
While the four Empires were mostly at peace, each preoccupied with its own problems, that didn’t mean minor conflicts between them didn’t exist.
Conflicts over land had always existed among the four Empires, often resulting in skirmishes.
In total, fifteen unoccupied territories existed between the four Empires, with none of the Empires able to agree on ownership.
One such territory was called Nezurat.
Situated near the borders of the Nurs Ancifa Empire, Verdant Empire, and Aurora Empire, Nezurat was a relatively large territory, largely covered by towering mountains.
It was in such a place that the Congress was being held.
Chuuuuk chuk—!
—We have arrived at the final destination, Nezurat. Please depart using the exit doors.
“Ugh.”
The train eventually came to a stop, and I stretched my body. At the moment, every part of me ached. The ride from Lens to Nezurat took over nine hours, with the train coming to an occasional stop in several places.
“…Let’s go, we don’t have much time. They’ll close the doors soon.”
“But it’s the final destination.”
“That’s not how it works here.”
Under Leon’s constant nagging, I took my luggage and headed for the train’s exit.
‘If teleportation weren’t so expensive, I probably would have used it.’
Unfortunately, I had to spare every little penny, and the family head was similarly stingy. The moment I asked him for extra money, he directly hung up on me.
“Oh, it’s cold?!”
Stepping out of the train, I immediately felt my skin prickle at the cold as I hastily covered my body with a layer of mana.
On the other hand, as if he had anticipated this from the start, Leon stood beside me, a large jacket draped over his body. He gave me a casual look before taking a step to the side and hastily looking around.
“What are you doing?”
“…I’m checking for any possible threats. You never know when someone might show up and attack us. It could be a tree, a dragon, your mom, or even a rock. At this point, anything could be an enemy.”
“…”
The thing that hurt the most about his words was the fact that I couldn’t rebuke him at all.
They really…
“We should get out of here. We’re attracting too much attention.”
The first thing I noticed upon stepping out of the station—aside from the cold—was the sheer number of people. The place was packed, and nearly everyone was dressed in formal attire, many of them looking like important figures.
Although I wasn’t sure if they still remembered me from the Summit a year ago, I decided to be cautious and masked my features along with Leon.
Coming out of the station, I was greeted by the sight of a large city.
Vendors lined both sides of the cobblestone street, while large houses and buildings stood along the side. Not far from the vendors was a large portal where several people walked out every few minutes.
‘The teloprt station?’
I looked at the station with envy.
‘If only I didn’t have to save my money…’
One striking feature of the street was its gentle incline, leading toward a towering mountain in the distance, its peak piercing through the clouds.
But that wasn’t the most eye-catching thing.
The most striking feature was the massive, dome-shaped white building embedded into the mountainside, its structure supported by several towering pillars that gave it an almost otherworldly presence in the distance.
“That’s where the Congress will be held. We still have a day, so we should find the nearest inn and drop off our stuff.”
“…Rather than me dropping anything, it would be you who needs to drop his stuff.”
The goal of concealing our faces was to avoid drawing attention, but Leon’s enormous bag was as conspicuous as ever.
As a result, we attracted a lot of attention.
‘Why is he carrying such a large bag?’
‘…Is he his attendant?’
‘Where are they from? They must be some low-tier nobles…’
I could even hear the murmurs of the people around us as they snaked glances our way.
But the attention didn’t last very long.
“Hey, look!”
“Oh my god, check it out!”
A sudden commotion drew the attention of everyone present, and when I turned my head to face the distance, my eyes paused on the large portal that stood in the distance.
It was then that I saw it fluctuate as several figures walked out.
In an instant, it was as if the entire place had transformed, the atmosphere shifting
Tak—
The soft click of a heel echoed as she stepped out of the portal. Dressed in a sleek black formal uniform with a white jacket draped over her shoulders, her lustrous black hair swayed gently with each step.
Time seemed to freeze all of a sudden.
All eyes turned to her as she strode forward, hands in her pockets, her expression haughty and detached.
She appeared to be the center of all attention as several figures walked out behind her, their heads lowered in respect.
It was also then that several people snapped out of their daze.
“That’s…!”
“…Oh my god. How can anyone look like that?”
“Is she even human?”
Indeed, staring at her from where I stood, she looked like a completely different person. Like an Empress overlooking her subjects.
‘I should leave.’
Seeing how much of a commotion she was causing, I decided to leave.
However, just as I did so, I felt a pair of eyes fall on the back of my head. I ignored them and just looked at Leon.
He was looking at me with a frown.
I raised my brow.
“What?”
“Hmm.”
Leon’s eyes narrowed even further. Just as I was about to get annoyed, he finally spoke.
“Did something happen?”
“Uh? No, why would—”
“You seem to be in a bad mood. What happened?”