Dawn had barely broken over Meltor, but there were only a few empty seats in the royal conference room in Manavil. The chiefs of each department had solemn expressions, while the elders of the magic towers were barely concealing their forlorn mood.
Two of the Tower Masters were present, but Veronica was nowhere to be seen. Some of the attendees were concerned, others furious, some sad, and more who were simply silent. They expressed it in different ways, but everyone felt a weight on their shoulders.
“Attention.” The atmosphere cooled as the king spoke.
As they bowed their heads, the Tower Masters opened their eyes. Once everyone’s gazes landed on him, Kurt III said, “… I think everyone knows the situation.”
The heavy silence was proof of his words.
“Let me share my view with you before we discuss what measures to take. First of all, who was the culprit? White Tower Master.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” Orta took one step forward. Orta was the head of the espionage focused White Tower, and his career was close to legendary. There was no one who was more fit to answer this question.
Orta’s lips moved under the white mask. “The first and most likely possibility is one of the Seven Swords of the Andras Empire. They know that Theo recently defeated the 4th Sword, so they would’ve sent at least the 3rd Sword—someone guaranteed not to lose.”
Blundell asked the question everyone was thinking, “Who is the most powerful among the three?”
“Without a doubt, the 2nd Sword, Zest Speitem,” Orta replied quickly. “Many of you don’t know this, but Zest Speitem’s ability can interfere with space. I nearly died several times in the last war to him, as flying magic and space magic loses most of their utility before him.”
“It means that most methods of escape aren’t possible.”
“Yes. He’s also an experienced and cruel killer. There would be no chance if he was sent as an assassin.”
Most people nodded quietly. It was an easy to understand explanation for those who didn’t have battle experience. If even Orta’s excellent mobility was useless, other magicians would have no way of surviving if they met Zest.
However, some of the attendees couldn’t accept it. One of them was the minister of the military, Robert. “White Tower Master’s words are true, but isn’t it said that the 1st and 2nd Swords never leave the Empire? Isn’t it more likely to be the 3rd Sword or another possibility?”
Orta shook his head. “I don’t know the capabilities of the 3rd Sword, but I know that he is a prince. It is hard to imagine someone like him would go to Sipoto to assassinate someone. And the precedent that you mentioned…”
The 1st and 2nd Swords didn’t leave Andras. The assumption that had lasted for half a century had been overturned in one night, allowing a surprise attack. The vigilant Orta didn’t deny the mistake. He just scolded himself for being complacent.
“It means that either Andras’ policy has changed, or Theo is such a threat that they were forced to change the policy.”
Orta and the others considered this to be a series of misfortunes in many ways.
Circle overload was a rare phenomenon for senior magicians and was treated as a type of growing pains. If they had thought this would happen, they would’ve sent Veronica or Blundell to pick Theo up. However, it was too late now.
Kurt sighed a few times before looking around. “Continue. Is there another possibility aside from the Empire’s Seven Swords?”
“I have a few hypotheses…” Orta continued, and the meeting room grew heated as they discussed. There were the warlocks lurking within Orcus Company, as well as the Lairon Kingdom, who had lost a crusader in the Soldun civil war. They might not want to risk a full-scale war with Meltor, but those forces could pursue Theo.
A few hours passed by as everyone offered their two cents.
People started to leave one by one as the sun reached the middle of the sky. The emergency meeting was over. When most of the attendees were gone, Kurt III turned to the side and asked, “Where is Veronica?”
Orta replied, “She went straight to the Sipoto wilderness last night. She will come back after she completes her investigation.”
“… Will it end with just an investigation?”
Orta thought about it for a moment before shaking his head. He was well aware of her nature. A mysterious wildfire might scorch part of the Andras Empire, or rain clouds might evaporate and cause a drought. Directly or indirectly, she would cause a tantrum until this mess was finished.
Kurt’s role was to calm her down, but he had no intention of pulling on the reins at this time. “For the moment, I will let her run around as she likes.”
The two Tower Masters remaining in the meeting room nodded. They would put any blame on Veronica instead of the kingdom. Of course, the matter wouldn’t end here if Theo had died, but they had a unique source of information.
Kurt stared at an empty chair and said, “You can reveal yourself now.”
A bewitching beauty appeared in the empty chair. A blue dress clung to her body, making no secret of her smooth skin. She was the Sea Dragon, Aquilo, who would charm any shallow man.
This wasn’t the place to openly host a dragon, so she had to conceal her appearance.
“I hope you weren’t bored.”
“No, I thought it was fun,” Aquilo said as she stretched languidly. “A kingdom where the selfish interest of politicians doesn’t take precedence… This is the first time I’ve seen it. Personally, I think it was a bit more messy than usual, but it’s fresh.”
“… You truly are a dragon.”
The ability to treat a kingdom as a toy truly belonged to dragons who lived for thousands of years. Kurt lost his train of thought for a moment before asking, “You’re sure that Theo is alive?”
“Yes.”
It was a strange question and a strange answer. Despite being thousands of kilometers away from the battlefield, Aquilo was certain of Theo’s survival.
“I am connected to the boy by blood. Until this connection is cut off, I’m sure that the boy is alive. He doesn’t even seem to be in much danger, so you don’t need to worry ”
“Sigh, that is fortunate.”
Orta interrupted from where he was listening in, “Lady Aquilo. Can you determine his location?”
“Um… It’s a bit strange,” Aquilo explained with a slightly confused expression, “I can tell that he’s three thousand kilometers away, but I can’t find him. I can tell that he is alive, but I don’t know where he is.”
“What does that…”
“It means someone has hidden him, or he’s really far away. Either way, it is hard to understand.”
Certainly, Aquilo wasn’t wrong. But after fighting one of the Empire’s Seven Swords, Theo was either hiding or had somehow moved thousands of kilometers in just a few days? It didn’t really make sense.
Orta and Blundell were in a dilemma.
However, Kurt raised his hand, indicating that it was pointless to feel anxious. “It’s fine as long as we know he is alive. We will continue our search for Theo. In the meantime, complete the investigation into this attack as soon as possible.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Andras or Lairon… It doesn’t matter who was behind it. We will exact a price for this move,” Kurt III declared. Then a rare enthusiasm filled his purple eyes as he added in a strong voice, “If that is the case, we need to keep war in mind.”
They were considering war over a single person. It showed how much the kingdom valued Theodore Miller. Orta and Blundell accepted Kurt’s words without objecting. Meanwhile, Aquilo looked on with interest as the emergency meeting in Meltor ended.
***
Around the same time, Theo woke up in a distant land.
He… re?
As he regained consciousness, he could feel the pain shooting across his body. His bones were tingling, and his torn muscles were screaming as they sought to reattach themselves. However, his biggest source of pain was his Circles. They hadn’t cracked, but if the pain he was feeling was any indication, it had been a near thing. 𝗼𝐯𝐞𝐥．𝐜𝐨𝗺
“Well, it’s good that I survived.”
Theo didn’t begrudge his body for its complaints. He had faced an opponent that he couldn’t hold back again. The Empire’s 2nd Sword, Zest Speitem… Theo had no chance against him from the beginning. Yet Theo had stayed vigilant and managed to survive.
At that moment…
“Hmm?”
A scent tickled his nose. He seemed to remember smelling it before, but he couldn’t recall what it was. As he felt a sense of discomfort and deja vu, Theo looked around the room.
This is Eastern furniture? Does the owner have such tastes?
Some wealthy people in Kargas converted their entire homes to an Eastern style, so the room that Theo saw wasn’t unique to the East. The strange thing was that most of the furniture looked shabby, rather than the charming antiques that rich people preferred. The furniture appeared to have been made a long time ago, or had been repaired several times.
Perhaps?
Theo hurriedly rose, one hand on his pained waist. He wouldn’t be able to sleep well for a few days. He slowly took one step and then another toward a tattered, cracked door.
Kkiiiik.
The door wasn’t greased, so it creaked loudly as it opened. A strong breeze ruffled Theo’s hair, and he frowned as he felt the coolness. The wind was so strong that it wasn’t easy to look forward. However, there was another reason why Theo frowned.
This wind is also somehow familiar?
He felt a sense of incongruity every time he moved, and Theo anxiously wondered if his senses had been damaged. However, he could finally see when the wind died down.
“… Ah!” Theo couldn’t help exclaiming as the landscape unfolded before him. Theo was standing on the peak of an incredibly tall mountain.
However, that wasn’t why Theo couldn’t hide his surprise.
I know this place?
It was familiar to him despite never having seen it before. Gluttony’s power allowed Theo to share his memories with someone, causing this sense of contradiction. Yes, this was the landscape that Theo saw in his?memories.
“… Sun Clouds Mountain Ranges?”
A man had left this land he called home to overcome the deficit he had been born with and had eventually landed on the Western Continent. The view that the founder of Battle Song, the Fairy Dance Lee family’s Lee Yoonsung, had longed for in his final days stretched out in front of Theo.