Chapter 42
YR3kw3hIt was something that happened suddenly.ZKzG2
sTnL5buFernan, now in charge of the trade caravan, had requested a field assignment and left the academy a few days early under the pretext of preparing for the trip.8mbicZ
hOpyNaturally, he didn’t attend classes, which meant Luina was left without her assigned partner for a while.qrqba
QbODdA2“…”69trDp
j8hZ2FThis time, however, Fernan had explained the entire situation to her, so she wasn’t disappointed or upset like the last time.kaCI
iTDXiBGEven so, it was still inconvenient for classwork.4C4d
NSggBecause the academy operated with an exact number of students, it wasn’t easy to get a temporary partner just because someone was absent.M5zi9
DC7Vf“Aaron.”Uv2N
cy7D“Yes, professor.”lvf
BhVxOXAt the call of Professor Rosalia, who was in charge of the course “Combat, War, and Magic,” the assistant affiliated with her lab stepped forward.LBlq0k
6dSyi1bMessy brown hair that covered half his face, gloomy eyes, slouched shoulders… Not exactly a great first impression.uWy0
xguV“You’ll be Luina Bercheff’s partner for now.”AiZ5
aBuw“Me?”5P3F
7KRaFZ“Just adapt to second-year level.”cdmbk
lkcqef“But professor, I’m working on research…”J9Ma
riM4“Is there a problem?”aEsh
QPHVpnRSeeing her slightly furrowed brow, Aaron quickly shook his head.YCoJoYb
qAjYT“No, I’ll do it. So, I just need to adapt to second-year level?”a8x0
c7Eky“That’s right.”WDDVY2L
ntxW44It might have sounded arrogant, but considering he had already completed his studies at the academy and was in the process of becoming a professor, it was a reasonable statement.F5opd9
PA7c40t“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Luina Bercheff. I hope we work well together.”zAK3Zh
rTUG7“Ah, nice to meet you. I’m Aaron Frein. As you can see, I’m Professor Rosalia’s lab assistant. I’ll be counting on you as well.”vW8
jpVCYvAAaron replied in a weak and subdued voice.r9UaP
AuZ“I didn’t think I’d end up partnered with a student while still being an assistant. It’s a weird situation, but let’s do our best.”N9DB
P5hfQ“Yes.”UNhoG
xK7LY3At that moment, Luina’s gaze dropped suddenly.HAOS2
Rfvv4V“Seems like you really like books.”95Yz
EoBAaron was holding a thick book in his hands. It wasn’t common for an assistant to carry a book like that even to class, which piqued her curiosity.hNiIgKi
N76Fc3“It’s a magic book. I’m a bit slow-headed, so I always carry it to make sure I thoroughly study magic circles and such.”Ozsi78S
OZu9“Ah, sorry.”yf5
KlXgW“It’s fine. Although it’s odd for a mage to always carry around a magic book… well.”AG0
71Ns8EYAaron laughed awkwardly and scratched the back of his head.Ylcbqq8
C76fnu“By the way, Luina. Do you like books too?”V6XusE
v44“I don’t hate them.”HcuiFaR
hVyoG1“Really?”cYGuX
MqNYz“I’m starting the class.”z03
LzWjqytHis mouth curled slightly, but Luina had already turned her attention to the professor and didn’t notice.jH7G
0EpU2nA***6rHCzl
wKLDWhen night fell and the world was shrouded in shadows, Fernan headed out for the final inspection of the journey set to begin the next day.VsE9r
6INzt“Is this the carriage?”WxBfpv
9Kevt“Yes.”jZUh4
BP7Before Fernan stood a single carriage.Gnu
lXEjoAll the others had already been inspected during the day without issue.96QYC
Zlh6But this last one couldn’t be checked in plain sight, so he waited until everyone was asleep to act in secret.lVVwv2Z
IZFAThe workers brought the carriage into the guild’s warehouse. Once the doors were closed, only Fernan and the branch manager remained.lsYW
tTg9“At a glance, nothing seems out of place.”aSIMD2S
6Fa9“We sealed it very carefully. The elves helped a lot, so it was easier than expected.”yOPZm
y78Fernan activated his magic. With a dry sound, the ground beneath the carriage shifted and unloaded the cargo it carried.Z1PAV03
hJye58All the cargo, already fully prepared for the journey, was removed, and in the end, only a single chest remained.12tF
ILXsqIt measured about 50 cm wide and 2 meters long.2SAaD
u4i7WAt first glance, it looked normal, but its surface was covered with various magical engravings.RpbD
w7QMana stabilization, mana concealment, scent suppression, life sign reduction—dozens of overlapping spells.PfFP
DFHkvk“Without being an Archmage, it’d be impossible to detect.”k45y
cnCaAnd who knows, even an Archmage might not detect it. Fernan simply couldn’t say for sure, since he wasn’t one.1S8LXG6
OwcWo“To work with it, we replicated the same level of magic here in the warehouse. You can open it without issue.”Ys5
G3ey2Q“Can it just be opened like that?”ZmculuN
ThbPI“A seal is required.”tT9tGMT
rRBThe branch manager handed him a small ring bearing the Fridian family seal.uTQ
UyYDJ“Only two seals were made. One is in your possession, and the other will be given to Aria Fridian as the family’s representative.”UEkNJ3
krJpOlyFernan brought the ring close to the chest’s lock and, with a slight flow of mana—click—the chest opened.FFS
GW9A current of pure mana filled the warehouse, revealing a small sprout inside.Tkjna
nVN4vJCA tree with incomparably more powerful magic than any other plant. Though still small compared to the great pillar that supported the world.MZoky
eWW7luL“So this is it.”qdT
y1cJThe branch of the World Tree, also known as its avatar. No wonder it was considered a medium for summoning demons.BRAohzj
TUGSBI‘At first glance, it doesn’t seem tainted by demonic magic.’KaJM8B
pezDtVCould it be it hadn’t been corrupted yet? Or was it so subtle that it couldn’t be sensed?Vmau
goJ“I guess it’s the former.”3Uh
KdwPIt had to be. If it were already corrupted, it would mean the demons were hiding at an undetectable level.jtzLD
DWp8vw“Excuse me? What did you say?”9CPV9Ax
bQk“No, nothing. Who else has seen this directly?”3FWAzcq
Kwz“The deputy manager, myself, and you. Only us.”dSz
YQgxZFernan closed the chest. The dense magical energy vanished instantly, as if it had never been there.8ayJ
DyxvW7“Bring me a complete list of everyone who knows about this.”ZyQRl
LYLE6TM“Yes, understood.”8XfE
bwUbw9iThe manager didn’t ask why.X7C
TeVIn fact, there was no specific reason. He just couldn’t assume the corrupted were only among the elves.Mjr0x
8RpNKWWith matters like these, it was better to be meticulous.ibZSB
zQh“You may go. I’ll give it one last check before restoring everything.”7Hazw27
l1yA“…Yes, understood.”y4g9g
JihuThe manager hesitated a moment but then left the warehouse. Alone, Fernan placed something inside the chest and resealed it.Ypo
pCR36Whoever tries to open this chest again.80L8Vu3
Dyh4vWill probably get a very entertaining surprise.xmMOCF
WPaMt0***0D9cK
tjThQGy“We’re moving out!”Lxfs2
QwS“We’re moving out!”Fcy2lQ
mbrrThe next day, the caravan departed from the Fridian estate as scheduled.jEomlY
2PQdBhTen carriages, one hundred escorts from the Golden Turtle Guild, fifty elves sent as reinforcements by Fridian, and one hundred workers.oyXj
tzNXYFernan led them from the front.UyR
t2Zxr9“What’s the route?”NoGrkdo
5eN“It’s simple. We’ll head east, cross two territories, and board a ship in the port city of Kaid bound for the academy.”1CSQ
7zD“No danger along the way?”3HzHad
EnxbT“At least on land.”C1A
MJDH6IThe two territories belonged merely to a viscount and a baron. They had neither the power to oppose such a force, nor the audacity to touch the goods of two electors.bIMfWm
PZKA4FBut the sea was another matter.cWdBSz5
HZHwpl“It already happened once.”3FYO
PpgM“You mean the Yacht Club incident?”yX6x2V5
Z3wxq“Yes.”Vf4t
FFkThe march of hundreds, maybe thousands, of seaworms. And to top it off, three sea serpents.s8xaA
UBFThanks to the talent of the academy’s students and Fernan’s preparation, the incident ended with only a few injuries.KyV
kiij‘But there’s no guarantee it’ll go the same way this time.’fFIcP
FzkHe couldn’t imagine what the demons might do now.tcMngB4
e3DV8tm“Ah! Speaking of the Yacht Club, could I get an invitation too?”Wdswlvu
3nkR“You never get tired, do you?”swi77Bd
6i3x“Why not? I have good grades and my family is powerful! Honestly, who else should be allowed in but me?”iivW
KvR2jmAria widened her eyes and asked shamelessly.DS1iA
dVRdbIn theory, there was nothing wrong with what she said. She was a Fridian. Her only disadvantage was that the Fridians were “newcomers.”Rsd
EDLAmong the elector lineages, the only one that didn’t look down on the Fridians was Pellenberg—who only cared about money.vQ0D2
wJwOl2In fact, when the Bercheffs sold their right to the Golden Bull, Pellenberg had acted as the intermediary.a9qw
hPgBp4“Still, my answer is no.”JkGk
lXqNot having prejudice didn’t mean he had to accept someone who might anger the other electors.Jqjn
yVgHRZM“Then there’s no helping it. I’ll wait for the next chance.”uruCDy
kBWSurprisingly, Aria accepted it without pressing further.oGz
5eMAPwAnd so, the caravan continued without issues. However, after two days of travel, a few drops began to fall.JvT
2yW8ODWith a start like that, the schedule was bound to be delayed.ahP6BS
FagEcR‘Don’t tell me this is the demons’ doing…’YsS847
cRGThe rain intensified. The ground turned to mud, the wheels sank, and traveling further that day became unfeasible.7C2Ej8
IRKhtZA“Is there a village nearby?”zzOH
eup“About three hours away. But with this mud, it’ll take longer.”4zWl
PUhl“No choice, then. Check the surroundings! We’ll camp here tonight!”Yy6uaI
EIXRb“Yes, sir!”PhIVrt
QoI9MQ3Once it was confirmed the area was safe, they set up camp. Fernan gathered the heads to discuss the plan.UgY
BRTGG2“Protect the cargo from the rain and set guards to watch the camp and the carriages.”gyLCHuJ
Cu3dh“Yes.”F6d
XAK“We can’t leave today, so we’ll decide tomorrow depending on the weather.”ytLpNJ
ioX“Understood.”XKzq
nvqBut it rained all night—and continued the next day without stopping.gWfd
UYzF“We’ll have to delay our departure.”Cla61
xFiThis already put the schedule at risk.4ytKYM
XqNx7But that wasn’t the real problem.O2DsO
Qcbz39While they were reorganizing the schedule after lunch, trying to adjust the rest of the route, Aria appeared.BbkU6
wTNI“Am I interrupting?”1KE
h4kUW“What’s wrong?”X4PH
wDZh5G“This rain… feels strange.”GiVW31
OA6Vfe“The rain?”MfxHN42
5fNizEven if it was a heavy storm, was there really anything odd about it…?cLoahwB
6YFjr2F‘Could it seriously be demonic…?’gjZISnm
OhN6That faint unease from the beginning started to grow.Irw9d
gmVARV“What’s strange about it?”0jRm
pGfk“I was curious when it might stop, so I asked the spirits to check the rain clouds.”OTOt
xyRBn5“And what did they say?”vQgh8En
o0wXjl“That there’s an abnormal buildup of clouds. They keep gathering, and the rest of the region is completely clear. Not a single cloud.”kDNuOr
GFx“So this is artificial rain?”MwpcAS
r50A“That’s what I think, at least according to the spirits.”xxdI
ZGphlQIf the spirits confirmed it, it was reliable. Fernan stood up.PCPK
njU“Let’s go outside.”bgCErx
2Ks“You’re going to check it?”Q49p
qYA“Among the things we brought is an artifact that measures magical energy. That’ll tell us if it’s artificial.”3A593
tJDPHe didn’t have the ability to detect it himself, but he trusted the performance of the artifacts made by the Sacred Dragon Order.bEjY
ve0‘They were able to detect corrupted magic.’Pr3NMW
zTtAnd just as he was thinking that…yAx6bZe
UjIJ0It was too late.Gmso1C
HLMZ6KWAARRRRMMM!HWpaLdw
IbAc5fA roar shook his eardrums. The ground trembled.WPjQE7
4qmE89“Huh…?”gWzpF
m1RoBk“An earthquake!”QvKoU0
Ws2q“Sir!”vV2
Eun9sSScreams echoed everywhere. The ground completely collapsed.7Dt
cui5rFernan reflexively activated magic as his body fell. A massive flat rock surged up like a disc, halting part of the collapse.3OM8et
Dy9OKPmThanks to that, the caravan members who were falling managed to avoid the impact.FmZvk
OVjh2dH“Are you okay?”LecQ
QS1Aria remained in the air with the help of spiritual power.ZpduU8
P7T“No.”3nv2lf
WX7RoFernan shook his head.S0j
K8dThe collapsed terrain was wider and deeper than he had expected. And the darkness below was dense.Kk31
hgpMgkxAnd from those shadows…wode
Qxl9ZKirrrr…SGu6Tod
9AQmKiiiiik…oe4Xh
dtlyqRed eyes began to glow.jBgykn
Yt2“Damn it… It’s always caves or underground, huh?”DrvAl
wruqUGRWhy did everything in the prophecies always involve places like this?h4ZI0
HGEEither way, the slick feeling of corrupted magic confirmed only one thing.Hq9
9VL0TWKThis was all the work of demons.80TQiE
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