However, just because Endo appeared didn’t mean Jun took any direct action.
That was because the other side remained thoroughly indifferent toward Jun and his companions.
If he really absorbed the evil spirit orb, there’s no way he wouldn’t recognize me.
Jun had even blatantly stared at him, thinking Endo might glance his way at least once. But even then, nothing.
It was as if he was treating Jun and his group as if they didn’t exist.
Is he being cautious around me?
That seemed highly likely.
After all, Endo had close ties with the Imperial family, and Jun had already caused the deaths of more than a few members of the Church.
Not to mention, the failed imperial member assassination attempt must have dealt a major blow to their side.
Well, whatever. I’ve already got proof.
Of course, that didn’t mean he could escape Jun’s gaze.
Jun had already received a signal from Illusia that a corrupted spirit had taken root within him.
His desperate evasion was no different from an ostrich burying its head in the sand.
“…So, you just watched him the entire time.”
“Yes.”
After the banquet, Jun shared this information with Laness as well.
“You did well not to make any move right then and there.”
“I figured that if I acted rashly and he pulled back first, it could get messy.”
“I agree.”
That said, Laness couldn’t take care of Endo either.
Not only was Endo’s position too significant, but even if it were possible, it wouldn’t be a wise move.
This is a perfect chance to use Endo as a source of information.
A seventh-circle archmage turning traitor—
Naturally, it was something the Imperial family couldn’t afford to ignore, and Laness was the ideal person to keep him in check.
And that’s not all.
This could be a chance to capture someone who’s consumed an evil spirit orb.
The imperial family had already experienced firsthand just how dangerous the Evil Spirit Orb truly was.
To deal with it properly, there was only one option. To capture and study the host of the orb.
That’s why both Jun and Laness had decided, for now, to simply keep an eye on Endo.
Once the initial meeting concluded, Laness turned her gaze toward the window.
Outside, she could see mages leaving the canyon one by one now that the conference had ended.
With about half a month left in the season, it was a rather late return.
“I never imagined that a season as uneventful as this one would end up tangled in something so serious.”
“I… I’m sorry.”
“Haha, this isn’t something you need to apologize for. It was bound to happen eventually. In fact, I think it’s a good thing we found out in advance.”
As she said that, Laness briefly looked out the carriage window as if recalling the past.
“Time flows like a river. Even the most difficult trials eventually come to an end if you let yourself go with the flow.”
“……”
“But the most painful moments are when you can’t see that end. I’ve often felt that way watching the decline of mage society over the years. I started to wonder… is this truly a place that won’t change no matter what I do?”
Though she never gave up, even in the face of constant disregard, not even an eighth-circle archmage could reshape the deep-rooted biases of humanity at will.
“There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask.”
“Go ahead.”
“Why have you hidden the fact that you’re an eighth-circle mage?”
“That’s…”
At that, even Velles turned his gaze toward Laness.
He too didn’t know why she kept her attainment of the eighth circle a secret.
Most likely, no one in the Tower knew the reason.
“I’ll tell you about that another time. For now, it’s too soon.”
“…Understood.”
It seemed the matter was tied to her past, and Laness was reluctant to speak of it.
Jun didn’t press her for answers either.
If she said she would explain when the time was right, then there was no point in pushing.
“In any case, this conference has yielded quite a lot.”
It was an obvious evasion, but neither Jun nor Velles questioned it. They simply nodded.
“You persuaded that stubborn Heger and even managed to draw the interest of many young mages. And on top of that, you uncovered evidence that Endo is a traitor.”
An elder of the Conventional Mage Society turning out to be a member of a cult that had attempted to assassinate members of the imperial family—
This wasn’t a matter that could be resolved by simply eliminating one person.
If Laness could take the lead in resolving this incident, her voice within the mage society would carry even greater weight.
Naturally, that also meant she would play a major role in the upcoming war.
“With all that in mind, I’ve even begun to look forward to the future.”
Not just because of the upheaval the mage society was about to face.
But because of that young mage, Jun…just how much would he go on to change the world?
At the very least, Laness believed it wouldn’t take long for that answer to reveal itself.
“You’ve done well this season. I look forward to the day we meet again.”
“It was an honor to work with you this season, Lady Laness.”
***
“What a massive crowd.”
A few days later.
Perhaps it was because he had come out into the open more leisurely this time, unlike the last season, but the capital of the Empire was bustling with people.
Some, like Jun, had just returned from beyond the Abyss Gate.
Elsewhere, there were tearful reunions between families.
In another spot, someone was haggling with a merchant over a pile of hard-earned spoils.
It was a sight Jun hadn’t seen last season, but one that was likely typical of the Abyss Gate during normal times.
And before long, he saw some familiar faces he’d been waiting for.
“Leader!”
The blond, blue-eyed warrior Aiden.
“You made it.”
The silent Maya.
“Well, well. Our great leader hasn’t changed one bit, has he?”
And even Eleanor, the priestess with both eyes covered by a black blindfold.
All three had crossed the Abyss Gate before Jun and had been waiting for him.
It wasn’t anything unusual.
If anything, Jun was the one who had come out a little late.
“Good to see you all.”
But regardless of the timing, reuniting with his companions felt like coming home.
***
The end of the second season.
And with it begins Bavern’s praise.
The whole city was ablaze with a festive atmosphere, but Jun and his companions were quietly spending time together at a fairly large lodging on the outskirts.
“As you all know, we won’t be getting an invitation from the Emperor this year.”
None of the three felt particularly disappointed by the news.
After all, Bavern’s Praise had never resulted in back-to-back invitations.
It was said that once someone received an invitation from the Emperor, they wouldn’t be invited again for at least three years.
“Well, that actually works out better. Getting tangled up with the imperial family too often rarely ends well. But what happened with that offer to submit a report to the imperial archives?”
At Eleanor’s precise question, Jun silently pulled a letter from his coat and unfolded it in front of his companions.
It was a letter from Dexter, who had returned to the surface ahead of them.
“Ah… so things on the imperial side are moving too fast for an invitation to go out right now?”
“Exactly. As it says here, while they’ve secured the Emperor’s approval, it looks like we won’t be able to proceed with it right away. Submitting a report like that tends to draw a lot of attention.”
“Hmm. That’s a bit disappointing.”
“Can’t be helped. Anyway, from here on, I want to talk about something more serious. It’s related to what we just discussed about the imperial family.”
At those words, all three turned their eyes to Jun.
“It concerns the imperial family’s upcoming moves and what our response should be.”
***
It was a dead forest.
Quite literally, everything in the forest was dead. So lifeless that not even a single insect crawled across the ground.
A river ran through the fog-covered dead woods, but what made it strange was that the water was black.
“Hmm.”
And in front of that river, a man with piercing eyes stared into the mist-shrouded current.
“Still nothing.”
The man was cloaked head to toe in a dark crimson uniform, with only the glow of his red eyes visible.
He turned to the side.
There knelt a huge man, draped in tattered rags, unmoving and silent.
“The seal is definitely in effect…”
Heavy chains bound the large man, and a translucent sword was lodged deep in his abdomen.
“Then why is the power fading?”
The reason the man in the dark crimson uniform had come here was because the spiritual energy within this huge man meant to be flawless by its very nature had recently begun to weaken rapidly.
Something was wrong with a vessel that should have been perfect.
Clang… clang…
It was then—
From the direction the man in the uniform had been watching, something began to approach.
It was an old boatman aboard a worn-out boat.
The clanking sounds of metal gradually grew louder.
Along with that, the swaying of the lantern mounted on the boat became more visible.
“You’re finally here.”
At the man in the uniform’s words, the boatman stopped rowing and silently stared at him.
The man’s face was hidden beneath a black robe, leaving his features completely concealed.
“I’ve brought the offering.”
[The offering… is even weaker… than before…]
“That’s why I brought this as well.”
The man in the uniform threw down a sack he had been holding in one hand.
With a sweep of the boatman’s arm, a gust of wind blew off the sack’s covering.
Inside was—
“The corpse of one who died carrying ten thousand obsessions.”
For some reason—
The Butcher Monk, which should have crumbled into ash and vanished, now lay impaled by thick iron chains and a translucent sword.
[Ten thousand obsessions… I can feel them…]
“Even with this, it’s still not enough?”
[Somewhat… lacking…]
“Greedy, aren’t you?”
[Offering two souls at once… creates imbalance…]
“Then there’s no helping it. Take this one, too.”
Once again, the man in the uniform threw over another sack.
And just like before, what tumbled out was the corpse of the Old Witch with the head of a snake.
Why was the Old Witch whose body should have melted away entirely under Jun’s [Flare] now coming out of that sack?
[Sufficient…]
“Then, does this mean a manifestation on the surface is now possible?”
[It is… however—]
The boatman pointed a skeletal finger at the huge man bound in chains.
[The living one… may cause complications…]
“I’ll have to be prepared for that much. After all, without that man, a manifestation on the surface would’ve been impossible to begin with.”
[Then… understood… I shall load them onto the boat…]
Only after the two corpses and the huge man were placed on the old boat did the boatman resume rowing and disappear once more into the mist.
“Hmm.”
Watching the boatman’s retreating figure, the man in uniform scratched the side of his head.
“Everything went according to plan, but… should I have made more preparations? No… it would’ve been impossible anyway. The power of that sacrifice had been weakening rapidly.”
He recalled the huge man who had been the last to board the boat and vanish.
Hadn’t he been the long-awaited sacrifice?
Capturing him had taken every effort imaginable…
“The Ancestor-Worshipping tribe. It’s rare to find a sacrifice steeped in such intense resentment as those people.”
For some reason, the sacrifice’s power had weakened far too much recently.
He had searched far and wide for the cause of the issue, but it all ended in vain.
There was nothing he could do.
Everyone who might’ve known anything about the Ancestor-Worshipping tribe had already died by his own hand.
No, did I miss one?
There had been a young girl.
Not a member of the Ancestor-Worshipping tribe. Just an ordinary human child abandoned in the forest, taken in and raised by the tribal chief.
She had escaped while he was busy capturing the chief, and he’d lost her. But he hadn’t paid it much mind.
And for good reason. She wasn’t one of the Ancestor-Worshipping tribe.
“Either way… I’ll need to move the plan ahead.”
There was no point in wasting any more time.
Brushing off his lingering regret, the man in the dark crimson uniform disappeared into the dead forest mist, just as the boatman had before him.
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