Hadekain, the capital of Yukeurain.
Upon returning to the continent, I visited the Yukeurain mansion first.
“Oh, the family head is—”
“Move.”
I pushed Yeriel, who was waving his hand listlessly, with 「Telekinesis」.
“Woah, no. Hey! Hey! I have something to say! Argh, he’s doing it again!”
I walked on, ignoring the fellow shouting in anger. Ipeurin followed with quick steps and asked.
“But, Professor. Does that mean Sylvia is going to keep staying on the island? Alone?”
There was a rather worried tone to her voice. I shook my head.
“That was only the second-best option. There is still one step left to reach the best.”
The Isle of Voices. The magic array embroidered across the whole of it still had the final, ‘third’ process remaining.
“One step?”
“Yes.”
At first, it had been nothing more than a possibility. I lacked confidence in its realization, and the chances were slim, but that changed thanks to the 「Unique Grade Equipment Catalog」.
Thanks to that thing, I had obtained three tickets, so I could allocate one of them.
Ipeurin asked.
“What is that best option?”
“…Not leaving her alone.”
I answered and went down the stairs.
Before long, I reached the underground guarded by knights. It was where the group of adventurers slumbered.
“““Loyalty!”””
They straightened their backs and saluted.
“Are the adventurers still asleep?”
“Yes! They are currently exploring.”
“Then wake them. There is a revision.”
“Yes!”
They moved in perfect order without asking questions. I looked at my wristwatch.
Ipeurin tugged at my sleeve and asked.
“A revision? What kind of revision?”
“The connection between consciousness and the magical space.”
“…Mueh?”
“I’ve already drawn a magic array on the island.”
Right now, no one can enter or exit the Isle of Voices. If a being of actual flesh and blood were to go there, there is a high chance they would be entangled in the remnants of the ‘Voice’.
However, sending only consciousness there is not a problem.
“The manifestation and anchoring of consciousness has already been proven by my magical space. Moreover, the Isle of Voices… no, Sylvia’s island is a place brimming with creative nature, so it will connect sufficiently.”
Of course, it was a possibility bordering on mere fantasy.
It was a magic array I had added inevitably, swept away by Gim Ujin’s all-too-human wish.
However.
“Where will you get the mana?”
To that question, I revealed a certain magic stone. At that, Ipeurin’s eyes went wide. She opened her mouth blankly.
“Huh…”
An item obtained from the 「Unique Grade Equipment Catalog」.
A golden magic stone the size of a thumb.
“Wow…”
As one could tell from the fact that only a single magic stone came out of the Equipment Catalog, it is a magic stone that exists as only one in this world, essentially no different from ‘equipment’ itself.
“I want it…”
“Get a hold of yourself.”
I thwacked Ipeurin on the forehead as she blankly reached out her hand.
“Ack!”
Ipeurin staggered and came to her senses. She rubbed her forehead with both hands.
“Ah, it hurts… But what is that really? It’s bewitching.”
“It is the Sun Magic Stone. A magic stone condensed by receiving only the sun’s light and mana, without any other impurities.”
───「Sun Magic Stone」───
◆ Information
：A magic stone composed purely of the sun’s light and mana.
：It is the product of a miracle.
────────
A gathering of purity impossible to exist in reality.
Literally a product of a miracle, so it should be able to help me realize the very small miracle I wish for now.
“Nweh? Made by receiving only the sun’s light and mana? Is that possible?”
“Whether it’s possible or not is none of your concern.”
“Ah… well… you have a lot of money, Professor…”
Ipeurin gazed at the Sun Magic Stone again. Her two eyes quickly became hazy and unfocused.
“Wow… it’s mine…”
“Quiet.”
I swatted away the hand she stretched out.
“Prepare yourself. When the adventurers come out, we will modify the magic array.”
“…Ah, yes!”
Screeeeak—
Just then, the basement door opened. The adventurers looked quite tired, but quite a lot of bundles were dangling from their backs.
“Professor, why? We were in the middle of finding treasure, come on~”
Ganesha, the redhead, chattered discontentedly. Ria and Leo beside her also had sulky faces.
I didn’t know what they had been doing, but I spoke firmly.
“I will post the second test, so come back in three days. You may rest and wait at the mansion….”
* * *
Three days later.
“…Mmm.”
Sylvia’s island. In the central lighthouse of that place, the island’s owner was looking out over the island’s scenery, painting a landscape.
“It’s done.”
Trees filling the forest lushly. A grass field brushed by the wind. Flower buds swelling abundantly.
A beautiful oil painting completed with those elements.
It was quite satisfactory even in Sylvia’s eyes, a work that Dekyulrein would surely praise.
“Good.”
She smiled brightly and stroked the Gomtaeng Panda on her lap.
“I think I painted it pretty well. Right?”
The Gomtaeng Panda wordlessly stretched, and soon Sylvia’s smile softly scattered. She put down the canvas and brush with a slightly bitter heart.
She quietly looked out the window.
Clouds that seemed to hover emptily, fallen leaves dropping desolately.
A season stopped somewhere ambiguous between summer and autumn.
“….”
Empty.
Hollow.
Lonely.
That much was true.
It was also true that, suddenly, she was growing afraid.
How long would I be here alone….
Keeeeeeeee────!
Then suddenly, Nalssaendori, who had gone out for a walk, cried out. Sylvia flinched in surprise and looked up at the sky.
“Nalssaendori. Why—”
“Huh?”
A voice rang out suddenly.
As if puzzled.
“….”
…Sylvia fell silent for a moment in a daze.
For quite a while.
“…Oh?”
Then, as if in admiration.
Another voice.
The voice of someone who should not be here.
“….”
Sylvia slowly lowered her raised head. Swallowing her saliva in tension, she looked down at the ground.
“…Ah.”
A single word filled with surprise fell, drop by drop, like a tear.
There were people.
One, two, three, four….
The adventurers looked up at Sylvia, who quietly gazed down at them.
“Ah, that person must be Sylvia.”
They called her name.
They waved their hands, saying hello~.
Sylvia didn’t know it yet, and frankly, at this moment, she could neither see nor hear, as if her eyes and ears had failed her. However, the purpose of this ‘magical connection’ that Dekyulrein had given them was very simple.
…It was to ensure Sylvia would not be lonely.
As long as that one rule was kept, it didn’t matter what they obtained or took from this island.
It was the final best effort of Dekyulrein… and Gim Ujin.
* * *
The Empire was still at peace. Post-war recovery was proceeding smoothly, and with the ‘Voice’ now fading away, public sentiment toward Sopien was naturally at its peak.
On the other hand, tensions with the Red Undead, including those in the desert, were tighter than ever. A hair-trigger situation so precarious it felt as though it would explode at the slightest touch.
“Congratulations.”
Amidst that complex and delicate political climate, addicts from the floating island who had no interest whatsoever in the continent came to my office and handed over a box and a certificate.
It was the Ether Promotion certificate and its accompanying robe.
“Thank you.”
The rank just below Archmage. I had seized one of the greatest honors a mage could enjoy.
I felt quite good.
“You may go now.”
“Yes. Then, please continue your hard work.”
[Rank Quest Complete: Ether Promotion]
◆ Mana +300
◆ Lineage Talent Selection Ticket
300 mana, of course, and a selection ticket for a ‘lineage talent’.
Not a bad reward.
“Ah, congratulations. You’re an Ether now.”
The moment the addicts left, Ipeurin muttered in a slightly jealous tone.
The assistant sitting at the side desk was writing a paper with the haggard look of a wreck.
“When exactly will that paper be completed? And just when do you plan to master the four-branch magic? You just pile up work, truly a pathetic sight.”
“Ah, it’s hard! It’s hard!”
She shrieked impudently.
Well, it wasn’t entirely unrelated to me.
She was the one who had spent three days and nights with me connecting the adventurers’ consciousness to Sylvia’s island.
“Ipeurin, that’s a deduction on your professor evaluation. Keep your attitude and dignity in check.”
Of course, that and the evaluation were separate matters.
“Your behavior is worse than a bone carried around by a stray dog.”
“Agh, seriously!”
Bang!
At that moment, Ipeurin slammed her forehead into the desk.
Knock, knock—
A clear knock rang out.
I gestured with my chin toward Ipeurin, and she got up with a sullen face and flung the door open.
“Who… uwaaack!”
She immediately collapsed as if fainting.
It was a guest who warranted such a reaction.
“Y-Your, Y-Your Majesty!”
She trembled violently and prostrated herself, and I stood up as well. I looked beyond the threshold at the woman with polite courtesy.
“Professor Dekyulrein.”
The Emperor Sopien. Wearing a tiger fur coat, she approached with the click-clack of a noblewoman and sat across from me.
I lowered my head and spoke.
“…To what do I owe the honor of Your Majesty’s personal visit? Had you summoned me—”
“Take this.”
Sopien pushed a document forward without a word.
“It is the list of Red Undead villages you will dispose of.”
“Did you say Red Undead villages?”
“Yes. During your business trip, We scouted quite a number of Red Undead villages.”
She smiled.
A smile of the eyes serpentinely wicked, yet nobler than anyone else’s.
“If you are thinking of mobilizing the Imperial Guard—”
“There is no need. At this scale, I should be sufficient alone. Please do not concern yourself.”
“….”
I folded the document neatly and put it in my inner pocket. Sopien raised her eyebrows and nodded.
“Furthermore, We shall install gas chambers in Rohallak as well. It is ostensibly the largest detention camp, yet it had no gas chambers. We had wanted to ask why you had not installed them until now.”
She asked as if probing, but I answered immediately.
“There is no particular reason. Please install them.”
“….”
A brief silence.
Afterward, a snickering smile filled the office. Sopien continued.
“For eight weeks starting next month, you will remain only in the Imperial Palace. It is an ‘Event’.”
“Yes.”
[Main Quest: The Palace Event]
◆ Shop Currency +3
◆ Possibility of Acquiring Additional Rewards
The Imperial Palace holds an ‘Event’ once every several decades.
To be exact, it is the ‘Emperor’s Event’. Held under the pretense of the Emperor assessing the loyalty of local nobles and retainers, both the method and timing of this event are entirely at the Emperor’s discretion.
The reason the cycle is once every several decades is because the tradition is ‘once per Emperor’s reign’.
I spoke.
“However, is now truly a suitable time, Your Majesty?”
“What do you mean?”
“The Event is fundamentally a means to intimidate or rally nobles and retainers when the imperial authority is shaken—”
“Professor, do you think there will come a time when Our authority is shaken?”
Sopien asked. I pondered deeply, then shook my head.
“Yes. It seems such a time will not come, so We have set it for next month. Before We wage war.”
War.
Most likely, she was speaking of the Red Undead and the desert.
“I see.”
I looked at Sopien. Sopien looked at me.
Ipeurin had fled long ago. She had apparently escaped quite hastily, as one of her shoes was left behind.
Then suddenly, Sopien’s eyes shifted to the Go board.
“Hmm. Shall We play a game of Go for the first time in a while?”
“Yes. However, Your Majesty, if you visit personally like this, problems may arise.”
I said, placing the Go board on the desk. Sopien answered, dividing the Go stones.
“What of it. It is Our visit.”
“Political implications are different. Even if Your Majesty does not intend it, interpretations will be made.”
Sopien took black, and I took white.
“Hmph. Our visits are made at Our own discretion. Furthermore, those interpretations are ultimately what We guide.”
“I will not silently accept that guidance.”
Clack—
Black placed the first move. Then she glared at me fixedly.
“…Not accept it, you say.”
“Yes.”
Rustle— I held a white stone between my fingers.
“I respect and serve Your Majesty, but…”
Clack—
I placed the stone at a point that was neither the 3-4 point nor the 4-4 point.
“Neither joseki, variation, nor trick move, but a transgression.”
At that moment, Sopien’s brow twitched.
* * *
In the lush southeastern forest of the Empire. In a place called ‘Padahal’, similar to a jungle, there is a Red Undead village where Red Undead gather and live quietly.
Unlike those at altars or in the desert, they are very peaceful, but not naive. Magic traps and watching eyes fill the entire forest, and vigilantes trained in martial arts and magic protect the village.
Rustle—
Footsteps that captured and drew the attention of the secretive Red Undead village.
A dignity and refinement that drifted like mist.
Rustle—
The forest was silent as the grave, but the tension coiled within was more precarious and lethal than any sheet of thin ice.
Rustle—
The Grim Reaper of the Red Undead, Dekyulrein von Grahan Yukeurain.
Because he was walking through the forest.
Rustle—
The vigilantes of Padahal swallowed their saliva at the sight of him and clenched the sweat pooling in their palms.
Rustle—
The fifth footstep, crushing a tree branch.
After that, Dekyulrein stopped in the middle of the forest and looked around.
Coincidentally, he was right in front of countless magic traps.
“Can you hear me?”
He spoke. There was no answer from the forest, but he continued as if sneering.
“Of course you can hear me. Since you’ve slapped together such… shoddy magic everywhere.”
Truly trivial and lacking things.
Muttering as if looking down on the tribe, he gazed somewhere deep in the forest.
“Listen. We shall give you a choice.”
A choice presented as if bestowing great mercy.
“It is simple. Either have your necks all cut off here.”
At that moment, the vigilantes gritted their teeth. They took rough breaths, bracing for battle.
“Or, eke out your remaining lives in Rohallak.”
Whether to die making a last stand, or to continue a short life in Rohallak. Whatever the choice, only ‘death’ awaited at the end——
“However, there is not much time.”
The Red Undead of the forest accepted Dekyulrein’s choice as nothing more than that.
“We will wait ten minutes.”
Padahal, a forest where towering trees blocked the sunlight and tangled weeds gripped one’s legs.
“That is your remaining time.”
In the heart of the vast, verdant overgrowth, Dekyulrein stood alone, waiting for their choice…….