DMHS 59

“It is fortunate the matter is going smoothly.”

“Should I call it fortunate? There was an interruption again, so I cannot feel fully at ease. Now I even feel a bit irritated.”

At the word “irritated,” the Master clenched his jaw. The cardinal, who felt the air grow heavier, asked carefully.

“Has something happened?”

“He did not see the prophecy we prepared.”

“Did you not finish the preparation thoroughly?”

“The spell had no problem. But I did not expect another person to interfere and check the prophecy.”

“Another person….”

The Master crossed his legs the other way.

“Kian Semes.”

“Ah, you mean the dragon’s mate. But if he saw it, isn’t that fine? The prophecy we left will reach him too.”

“Just being delivered is not enough. He must confirm our devotion directly.”

The Master tapped the chair with his clenched fist. After a short thought, he made his decision.

“We must remove the obstacle.”

“Is that alright? If the truth is revealed, he will not like it.”

The Master’s eyes narrowed behind the mask. Realizing his mistake, the cardinal hurried to correct his words.

“Well… he may think that way for a short while, but in the end I believe he will understand our intentions.”

Fortunately, the quick correction worked. The Master nodded shortly instead of adding more words.

“First we will leave a warning. Hopefully he is quick-witted. That aside, what happened with the matter you sent by letter?”

The cardinal nodded.

“It was as written. Cardinal Mallen realized that the demon Naberius had been summoned. He is now traveling with inquisitors to track the traces.”

“So a tail will be on them.”

“Cardinal Mallen is a man of faith, so we must not underestimate him. There are also rumors that he holds relics specialized in destroying demons.”

“Pass along all information about their group.”

“Yes.”

The Master raised his eyes to the emblem carved on the wall of the Inquisition chamber.

An eagle holding an olive branch.

Looking at the symbol of the goddess Celestia, the Master murmured quietly.

“There is no need to worry uselessly. Everything will be fulfilled according to his will.”

The cardinal traced the holy sign silently. He was a devout believer. His heart was filled with the same holiness he felt during worship. Right now, no one recognized his faith, but when the final day came, people’s views would change. He was the true believer who followed what God sought.

“Everything is according to his will….”

The cardinal truly believed so.

***

Three days passed in a blur.

First, Kian obtained some information through Wendy.

–The order for leave was given about a week ago. They said it was leave personally approved by the Master. Quite a few people left then. From what I remember, most were mages who, like me, had only recently entered the tower.

–As for the recent state of the other mages, honestly, I do not know. After I entered the tower, I grew distant from my academy classmates. As you know, in our tower, mages do not interact at all.

–Why? I once heard from a senior magician. Ten years ago, the atmosphere in the tower was not like this. But after Ivan Harkin became the master, it changed.

–When Ivan Harkin died and that incident happened in Chronos, it was already a shock. On top of that, we were blamed together with the Delia shamans, so it was hard in many ways.

Besides that, investigation teams sent from the other four towers arrived. They dispelled the spell cast over the forest, handled the chimeras that had gone wild, and started looking into the fate of the mages turned into dolls. But even they could not interpret the magic circle left behind where the body had vanished. Every one of the dispatched magicians stammered in front of it.

–Th-this is a black magic circle.

–I have no knowledge at all of black magic.

Next, the western knight commander came personally with the knights to confirm the situation. Nobles who governed the region and high-ranking priests also gathered, each adding their words.

As a result, only after three days did Kian have time to think.

Early in the morning, lying on the inn bed, Kian opened his eyes and looked at the wooden grain of the ceiling.

‘What should I do now?’

From the start, Kian had no intention of finishing Lucien’s coming-of-age ceremony. He planned to run away when the chance came, so maybe this was the perfect time.

‘Now that an Arbiter has been born, I must find out much. First I will cross the border to the Delia tribe’s camp. Since they speak of prophecy and omens, the shamans there must know something.’

Kian organized what he had to do in his head. The problem was Lucien.

‘If I disappear, what will happen to him?’

Kian shook his head to cast off the thought.

‘I am going to leave anyway, there is no need for such thoughts.’

But…

‘It would be nice if we stayed together a little longer.’

Kian sighed and rubbed his face.

‘He will not follow me where I go. The king’s order was to inspect Chronos and the Fourth Tower. He will absolutely insist on holding his ceremony at the Hero’s Tomb.’

Ah…

‘Should I at least go with him as far as the Hero’s Tomb?’

In the end, Kian got up from the bed.

‘Get a hold of yourself. There is no time to spare even now. Taking it easy is a luxury.’

After quickly washing, Kian went down to the first floor. In the dining room, the princess and Frederick were sitting face to face having breakfast.

The princess noticed Kian coming down the stairs and greeted him.

“Good morning, Sir Kian.”

“Did you all sleep well?”

“To be honest, not really…”

Frederick put down the glasses he rarely wore and pressed his eyes with his fingers. The dark circles and tired look around his eyes were clear.

Kian spoke with pity.

“The side effects of the magic are lasting long.”

Frederick had stayed in his enlarged body for a full day. He returned to normal the next day, but his strength had been drained too much, and even regaining his focus was difficult.

“At least we were able to get medicine from the village, so that was fortunate.”

Frederick pointed at the medicine bottles lined up on his right. Because of his tendency to exaggerate his ailments, even while bedridden he had summoned every physician around. On top of that, he even called people said to be from the Fifth Tower, so now there were over thirty medicine bottles placed beside him.

The princess glared at him and answered.

“What is so fortunate about pestering people into getting medicine? Even if you were thrown into a remote mountain, you would still find some.”

“Anyway, I took some medicine and got better, so isn’t that enough?”

“You only picked out the five prettiest-colored ones and ate those!”

“Khmm… I will eat the rest little by little.”

“You think just collecting medicine will make you better? But when it comes to eating them, they taste too bitter! That will not do. Open your mouth. I will shove them all in at once.”

“No, no, princess. I will take them myself.”

While Frederick was flustered, a boy working at the inn came to Kian.

“Excuse me. You are Sir Kian, right? A letter and a gift arrived for you this morning.”

When Kian followed him, the boy went behind the counter and came back with a letter and a wooden box. Kian checked the outside of the letter. The sender was Ibrahim.

‘It was about time for a letter from Iberian.’

When he unfolded the paper, there were dry marks from water here and there. It seemed he had shed tears while writing again.

‘Hopeless.’

My dearly missed Sir Kian.

It has already been fifteen days since you left the palace. Are you well where you are?

Recently, the Freesia Palace is the same as before. Every morning the servants move busily, and new flowers bloom in the garden. But to my eyes, I see them straining to hide the desolation and emptiness from having lost their master.

Everyone must be worrying about you. Whether you are hurt, whether you are lost, whether you miss meals. I myself cannot count how many times I regretted not following you on your journey.

‘It was good I did not bring him.’

If Ibrahim had come, he would have followed behind him, meddling in everything. That much would have restricted Kian’s actions too.

So please tell me if you have even the smallest injury. Also, since the difference between morning and evening temperatures is great, wear several layers of thin clothing. When you return from outside, wash your hands, and always cook raw food before eating. Always think of your health…

The words of worry did not end.

‘Is this guy my mother?’

Only after turning through five sheets of paper did the main point appear.

On the last page, he had enclosed what Kian had asked for before. It was information on Gimere Harkin that could be found in the royal library.

Born in the year 375 of the kingdom, as the son of Salman Harkin, chieftain of the Delia tribe.

The Delians are nomadic people, forming tribal communities based on bloodlines. The number of clan is estimated at over three hundred. From the three most powerful tribes (Harkin, Jemar, Asif), a chieftain is chosen through competition.

The Harkin clan is a prestigious family line that has produced chieftains for generations. Gimere Harkin, backed by the strong support of his father, had been officially appointed as successor. In our terms, he was the ‘crown prince.’