Chapter 42

It was something that happened suddenly.

Fernan, 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.

Naturally, he didn’t attend classes, which meant Luina was left without her assigned partner for a while.

“…”

This time, however, Fernan had explained the entire situation to her, so she wasn’t disappointed or upset like the last time.

Even so, it was still inconvenient for classwork.

Because the academy operated with an exact number of students, it wasn’t easy to get a temporary partner just because someone was absent.

“Aaron.”

“Yes, professor.”

At the call of Professor Rosalia, who was in charge of the course “Combat, War, and Magic,” the assistant affiliated with her lab stepped forward.

Messy brown hair that covered half his face, gloomy eyes, slouched shoulders… Not exactly a great first impression.

“You’ll be Luina Bercheff’s partner for now.”

“Me?”

“Just adapt to second-year level.”

“But professor, I’m working on research…”

“Is there a problem?”

Seeing her slightly furrowed brow, Aaron quickly shook his head.

“No, I’ll do it. So, I just need to adapt to second-year level?”

“That’s right.”

It 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.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Luina Bercheff. I hope we work well together.”

“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.”

Aaron replied in a weak and subdued voice.

“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.”

“Yes.”

At that moment, Luina’s gaze dropped suddenly.

“Seems like you really like books.”

Aaron 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.

“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.”

“Ah, sorry.”

“It’s fine. Although it’s odd for a mage to always carry around a magic book… well.”

Aaron laughed awkwardly and scratched the back of his head.

“By the way, Luina. Do you like books too?”

“I don’t hate them.”

“Really?”

“I’m starting the class.”

His mouth curled slightly, but Luina had already turned her attention to the professor and didn’t notice.

***

When 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.

“Is this the carriage?”

“Yes.”

Before Fernan stood a single carriage.

All the others had already been inspected during the day without issue.

But this last one couldn’t be checked in plain sight, so he waited until everyone was asleep to act in secret.

The workers brought the carriage into the guild’s warehouse. Once the doors were closed, only Fernan and the branch manager remained.

“At a glance, nothing seems out of place.”

“We sealed it very carefully. The elves helped a lot, so it was easier than expected.”

Fernan activated his magic. With a dry sound, the ground beneath the carriage shifted and unloaded the cargo it carried.

All the cargo, already fully prepared for the journey, was removed, and in the end, only a single chest remained.

It measured about 50 cm wide and 2 meters long.

At first glance, it looked normal, but its surface was covered with various magical engravings.

Mana stabilization, mana concealment, scent suppression, life sign reduction—dozens of overlapping spells.

“Without being an Archmage, it’d be impossible to detect.”

And who knows, even an Archmage might not detect it. Fernan simply couldn’t say for sure, since he wasn’t one.

“To work with it, we replicated the same level of magic here in the warehouse. You can open it without issue.”

“Can it just be opened like that?”

“A seal is required.”

The branch manager handed him a small ring bearing the Fridian family seal.

“Only two seals were made. One is in your possession, and the other will be given to Aria Fridian as the family’s representative.”

Fernan brought the ring close to the chest’s lock and, with a slight flow of mana—click—the chest opened.

A current of pure mana filled the warehouse, revealing a small sprout inside.

A tree with incomparably more powerful magic than any other plant. Though still small compared to the great pillar that supported the world.

“So this is it.”

The branch of the World Tree, also known as its avatar. No wonder it was considered a medium for summoning demons.

‘At first glance, it doesn’t seem tainted by demonic magic.’

Could it be it hadn’t been corrupted yet? Or was it so subtle that it couldn’t be sensed?

“I guess it’s the former.”

It had to be. If it were already corrupted, it would mean the demons were hiding at an undetectable level.

“Excuse me? What did you say?”

“No, nothing. Who else has seen this directly?”

“The deputy manager, myself, and you. Only us.”

Fernan closed the chest. The dense magical energy vanished instantly, as if it had never been there.

“Bring me a complete list of everyone who knows about this.”

“Yes, understood.”

The manager didn’t ask why.

In fact, there was no specific reason. He just couldn’t assume the corrupted were only among the elves.

With matters like these, it was better to be meticulous.

“You may go. I’ll give it one last check before restoring everything.”

“…Yes, understood.”

The manager hesitated a moment but then left the warehouse. Alone, Fernan placed something inside the chest and resealed it.

Whoever tries to open this chest again.

Will probably get a very entertaining surprise.

***

“We’re moving out!”

“We’re moving out!”

The next day, the caravan departed from the Fridian estate as scheduled.

Ten carriages, one hundred escorts from the Golden Turtle Guild, fifty elves sent as reinforcements by Fridian, and one hundred workers.

Fernan led them from the front.

“What’s the route?”

“It’s simple. We’ll head east, cross two territories, and board a ship in the port city of Kaid bound for the academy.”

“No danger along the way?”

“At least on land.”

The 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.

But the sea was another matter.

“It already happened once.”

“You mean the Yacht Club incident?”

“Yes.”

The march of hundreds, maybe thousands, of seaworms. And to top it off, three sea serpents.

Thanks to the talent of the academy’s students and Fernan’s preparation, the incident ended with only a few injuries.

‘But there’s no guarantee it’ll go the same way this time.’

He couldn’t imagine what the demons might do now.

“Ah! Speaking of the Yacht Club, could I get an invitation too?”

“You never get tired, do you?”

“Why not? I have good grades and my family is powerful! Honestly, who else should be allowed in but me?”

Aria widened her eyes and asked shamelessly.

In theory, there was nothing wrong with what she said. She was a Fridian. Her only disadvantage was that the Fridians were “newcomers.”

Among the elector lineages, the only one that didn’t look down on the Fridians was Pellenberg—who only cared about money.

In fact, when the Bercheffs sold their right to the Golden Bull, Pellenberg had acted as the intermediary.

“Still, my answer is no.”

Not having prejudice didn’t mean he had to accept someone who might anger the other electors.

“Then there’s no helping it. I’ll wait for the next chance.”

Surprisingly, Aria accepted it without pressing further.

And so, the caravan continued without issues. However, after two days of travel, a few drops began to fall.

With a start like that, the schedule was bound to be delayed.

‘Don’t tell me this is the demons’ doing…’

The rain intensified. The ground turned to mud, the wheels sank, and traveling further that day became unfeasible.

“Is there a village nearby?”

“About three hours away. But with this mud, it’ll take longer.”

“No choice, then. Check the surroundings! We’ll camp here tonight!”

“Yes, sir!”

Once it was confirmed the area was safe, they set up camp. Fernan gathered the heads to discuss the plan.

“Protect the cargo from the rain and set guards to watch the camp and the carriages.”

“Yes.”

“We can’t leave today, so we’ll decide tomorrow depending on the weather.”

“Understood.”

But it rained all night—and continued the next day without stopping.

“We’ll have to delay our departure.”

This already put the schedule at risk.

But that wasn’t the real problem.

While they were reorganizing the schedule after lunch, trying to adjust the rest of the route, Aria appeared.

“Am I interrupting?”

“What’s wrong?”

“This rain… feels strange.”

“The rain?”

Even if it was a heavy storm, was there really anything odd about it…?

‘Could it seriously be demonic…?’

That faint unease from the beginning started to grow.

“What’s strange about it?”

“I was curious when it might stop, so I asked the spirits to check the rain clouds.”

“And what did they say?”

“That there’s an abnormal buildup of clouds. They keep gathering, and the rest of the region is completely clear. Not a single cloud.”

“So this is artificial rain?”

“That’s what I think, at least according to the spirits.”

If the spirits confirmed it, it was reliable. Fernan stood up.

“Let’s go outside.”

“You’re going to check it?”

“Among the things we brought is an artifact that measures magical energy. That’ll tell us if it’s artificial.”

He didn’t have the ability to detect it himself, but he trusted the performance of the artifacts made by the Sacred Dragon Order.

‘They were able to detect corrupted magic.’

And just as he was thinking that…

It was too late.

KWAARRRRMMM!

A roar shook his eardrums. The ground trembled.

“Huh…?”

“An earthquake!”

“Sir!”

Screams echoed everywhere. The ground completely collapsed.

Fernan reflexively activated magic as his body fell. A massive flat rock surged up like a disc, halting part of the collapse.

Thanks to that, the caravan members who were falling managed to avoid the impact.

“Are you okay?”

Aria remained in the air with the help of spiritual power.

“No.”

Fernan shook his head.

The collapsed terrain was wider and deeper than he had expected. And the darkness below was dense.

And from those shadows…

Kirrrr…

Kiiiiik…

Red eyes began to glow.

“Damn it… It’s always caves or underground, huh?”

Why did everything in the prophecies always involve places like this?

Either way, the slick feeling of corrupted magic confirmed only one thing.

This was all the work of demons.