What Shane had accomplished over the past two years was by no means small.
Publicly, he had steadily expanded his reputation as a mage by publishing papers while also taking charge of part of his family’s business, which brought rapid commercial growth to Arunvida.
In addition, he studied how to use the Akashic Records he had received from the Mountain King, which led to a significant improvement in his magical abilities. And before he knew it, he became a fourth-circle mage after being stagnant for so long.
As the Mountain King’s messenger, he also worked on enabling orcs to awaken their magic without relying on vampires.
Given the crucial role the orcs had to play in the future, this was not something that could be delayed.
Moreover, it took a considerable amount of time to find a way to place a restriction on the vampire who had not yet escaped the Mountain King’s seal.
Though she had been unable to grow properly due to being forcibly subjected to blood extraction by the orcs, she was still a vampire of pure lineage, known as the “True Blood.”
He also had to be very careful in that matter since no one knew what might happen if she began to rampage.
At the same time, Shane worked on healing Anastasia’s soul.
There were numerous tasks that both Anastasia and the First Princess Olicia had to accomplish in the future. So this too required careful attention.
The method of restoring the soul using the source of magical power he obtained from the Mountain King. He had to make it happen.
None of it was easy, yet Shane dedicated himself to research every day and so his sleep time was reduced to the bare minimum.
Then one day,
“Isn’t this far too inefficient?”
Anastasia said that to Shane who was having busy days.
“What do you mean?”
“Most of the work you need to do involves communicating with others, doesn’t it?”
“Mhmm.”
It was true to some extent.
For his magical thesis, he worked with the mages of the Kabeer Magic Tower, which was supported by the Clayton family, so most of his time during the day was spent on that.
Moreover, Shane surprisingly lacked a deep understanding of the circles that a mage should possess.
This had been true in his past life as well as this one. Although he could use magic, the direction of his pursuit was different.
Therefore, he had to seek considerable advice from Cayton, the elder of the Magic Tower, on that matter.
Was that all?
He would often assist Anastasia with Mimir during military meetings.
There truly wasn’t enough time, even if he had ten bodies.
With so much time spent communicating with others during the day, Shane who had to manage Anastasia’s condition found that his daytime hours were particularly lacking.
“Since I also lose a lot of time to military meetings, it would be better if I come to your room in the evening.”
“If that’s what Your Highness wishes, I understand.”
It was something that would make anyone who heard it gasp in shock.
A grown man and woman together in the same room at night.
And with Anastasia, the flower of the empire, no less?
Of course, there was no one around to spread rumors, so this didn’t result in any strange gossip.
In any case.
As a result, Shane started spending more time with Anastasia, which naturally led to more frequent physical contact between them.
At times, he would place his hand on Anastasia’s bare back.
If anyone had seen them, they might have easily misunderstood, but neither of them harbored any ulterior motives.
That is, until the incident happened.
It occurred just when Shane had made some progress in interpreting the source of magical power with the help of the Akashic Records.
While he was in the process of drawing a small portion of power from the source stone and applying it to Anastasia’s soul, a minor error occurred.
Shane’s soul had already been influenced by the source of magical power once by chance, and Anastasia had just been affected by it as well.
While they were approaching each other without maintaining enough distance, their souls briefly merged for an extremely short moment.
As a result, Shane caught a glimpse of Anastasia’s memories, and Anastasia glimpsed part of Shane’s memories.
At least they weren’t important memories, so it should be fine.
Fortunately, the memory Anastasia saw while their souls were connected was merely a portion of Shane’s conversation with the Mountain King.
In the process, Anastasia finally saw the death she had faced in another timeline.
Was that the problem?
Anastasia ended up being deeply saddened in the process.
Though it happened in another timeline, it was still an event experienced by the same soul.
The moment she confronted the memory Shane held, Anastasia became deeply immersed in her past self and was engulfed by intense emptiness and helplessness.
It had been a truly dangerous moment.
Anastasia’s soul was already significantly fractured, and it was as if her soul had momentarily resonated with the remnants of her past life, which had been destroyed.
Unable to watch her fall apart, Shane had no choice but to care for her with utmost devotion.
Thanks to his efforts, Anastasia finally regained some strength before she looked at Shane and opened her mouth to speak.
“Come to think of it, I died as a spinster in my previous life.”
“…Huh?”
But of all times, she chose to say this while their bare skin was touching as he tended to her soul.
Even though Shane had often read memories while breaking down other souls, this was the first time he had experienced soul fusion, and as a result, he was left shaken after seeing her memories.
If only he had been a bit more composed then, the incident that happened that night could have been avoided…
It just so happened that their bodies were touching each other at the moment.
The memory Shane happened to read from Anastasia was from when she had first arrived in Arunvida. It was during her loneliest time.
And on that particular night, the two moons shining in the night sky were just too beautiful.
“What are you thinking about? Was last night that good?”
“……”
Shane who suddenly snapped up from his thoughts couldn’t confirm or deny Anastasia’s words.
To confirm would have been too… unsettling for Shane, as this emotion was unfamiliar to him.
But to deny it felt like it would be rude to Anastasia.
“Heh. Fine, that makes you kind of cute.”
It was the first time in his life Shane had ever been called “cute”, and just as he naturally frowned at the comment, Anastasia continued.
“In any case, we’ve finally rooted out the last stronghold of the orcs. The war is over now.”
“…Indeed.”
The war that had lasted for two years was finally coming to an end.
It was definitely good news.
“The army of Olicia will stay behind and they said they would divert their manpower to the development of the mines.”
“Not a bad choice. They probably won’t need to raise an army again anytime soon.”
“Hmm. The way you say it, it sounds like you think it might happen someday.”
Shane nodded heavily at Anastasia’s words.
“We’ve received information that the movements in the underground city are unusual.”
The report had come from Adam, the former commander of the knights of the Haiel Kingdom, who had established a foothold in the underground city for quite some time.
***
– We have recently detected a movement to purchase large quantities of non-human slaves.
Adam’s voice came through the crystal ball.
“Is that so? Who is primarily making the purchases?”
– We haven’t fully identified them yet, but most of the transactions have been taking place at the auction house on the fourth floor. Among the buyers was someone we’ve been keeping an eye on.
“The informant from back then, I presume.”
– …Yes, that’s correct.
The auction house in the underground city was a place where anonymity was strictly guaranteed, but there was one figure Adam had never taken his eyes off.
It was the leader of the informant network who had once tried to assassinate Adam in the kingdom.
“We can’t jump to conclusions yet, but for now, we should assume they’re making a move.”
– …Are you referring to the organization?
“Most likely.”
– I’ll dig deeper into it.
“No, I’ll go there myself.”
– Will that be alright with you?
Adam’s concern wasn’t unfounded.
The reputation of the Clayton family had soared recently.
The Clayton family had been dominating the trade routes of the Great Mezaiya Forest and Arunvida for nearly two years.
At the same time, Klein was making a name for himself among adventurers, while Shane was gaining considerable fame among mages.
If rumors began to spread that Shane was directly involved with the underground city, it would undoubtedly impact the value of his name.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be sure to keep my identity hidden.”
But to Shane, his reputation was merely a tool for achieving his goals, not something to protect.
He meant that there was no need to cling to something that should only be used when necessary.
– If you say so… yes, understood.
In any case, he had no intention of getting caught.
Back to the present situation, Shane spoke to Anastasia.
“It seems I’ll need to head to the underground city.”
“Hmm. Is that so? Then I suppose we’ll be parting for a while.”
“Yes. But I think I should remain here for now.”
“I see. Let’s leave it at that.”
By now, even the crown prince’s faction was likely aware of Shane’s presence.
Their eyes were surely hidden somewhere in Arunvida, so a proper alibi was necessary.
Anastasia was the most suitable person to create such an alibi for him.
And so, Shane secretly slipped out of Arunvida through the portal he had installed in his room.
***
The underground city was divided into a total of five floors.
On the first floor, an underground market was formed where moderately illegal goods were sold through somewhat questionable channels.
The second floor was lined with items under stricter legal restrictions, while from the third floor onward, there were arenas, gambling dens, and moderately sized information brokers.
If those with a bit of money typically frequented up to the third floor, from the fourth floor onward, the true darkness of the underground city began to unfold.
The first thing on the fourth floor was the underground auction house.
In the underground auction house auctions were conducted with identities thoroughly concealed so extremely rare items were available.
Among these were not only non-human slaves but even humans were being sold as slaves, and drugs and illegal doping substances were not uncommon.
Beyond that, the place was overrun with illegal activities, including contract killings and high-level information brokers, while the fifth floor was restricted to the highest-ranking officials of the underground city.
“I’ve got a long way to go…”
Adam, who had settled on the third floor of this underground city, muttered to himself.
It had already been over two years since he had entered this place.
Adam focused on expanding his territory as much as possible, and as a result, he managed to become a fairly prominent information broker on the third floor.
However, the area Adam truly wanted was the fourth floor.
It was a place where high-level information was exchanged and a place where big shots who were treated with respect wherever they went appeared.
To uncover the hidden secrets of the Kingdom of Haiel, staying on the third floor was not enough.
Yet, from the fourth floor onward, only those called “royalty” in the underground world were permitted to settle there, and without connections to those on the fourth and fifth floors, the third floor was the limit.
“It seems impossible without making some connections…”
Just when he was feeling frustrated by this thought.
“If there’s none, then you just have to create one. Isn’t that all there is to it?”
“…You’ve arrived.”
A man wearing a plain mask appeared behind Adam. It was Shane.
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