Beneath the blazing sun of the Kahal Desert, there lives a people who survive on nothing but camels and tents.
They were originally the indigenous people of the eastern continent, an unfortunate clan cast out over tangled interests. The living witnesses of discrimination and oppression—the “Jeokgwe”—were none other than them.
Whoooooosh…
In the darkness, where the sandstorm battered the tents, their leader was engulfed in anguish that pierced through the future of his people.
“This is grave, Great Elder. Those bastards have finally…”
The Great Elder, Jubekren, stared at the dark whirlwind roaming the desert.
Hatred was like that vortex. It coiled round and round as if in circulation, never breaking apart. Grudge gave birth to grudge, and loathing gave birth to loathing.
The only way to end that chain was the annihilation of one side—or harmony and reconciliation.
In an age where the latter had been reduced to nothing more than a mirage, Great Elder Jubekren had been watching the movements of the “Altar.”
It was because, at a glance, the Altar’s religion and that of the Jeokgwe appeared identical.
“Rumors are rampant that Professor Deculein is establishing a camp in Rohalak.”
The Jeokgwe radicals, disappointed by Jubekren’s passive stance, had joined the Altar, whose religious doctrines “seemed” similar to theirs, and in the end, they had committed an atrocity as dreadful as this.
“Our people will be dragged there.”
Jubekren nodded.
Deculein.
When he, heir to Yukline, had defended the Jeokgwe at Bercht, Jubekren had been somewhat confused—but of course, he had also been grateful.
“Yes. He bought us time at Bercht, but this act of terror was committed by our own people. That new family head must have thought it a betrayal…”
Jubekren remembered the former head of Yukline, Deculein’s father, “Dicalen.”
A born hunter without so much as a hair’s breadth of mercy.
A pitiful man who had never even cultivated the heart to love another.
He was more Yukline than anyone else of Yukline, yet he had never been bound by the shackles of his house.
That was why Jubekren had feared him.
“The price of betraying Yukline was always terrible.”
“…Yes. I know. ‘Fear the demon.’”
—Fear the demon.
It was Yukline’s dictum.
A slogan that emphasized vigilance against demons, while at the same time revealing the tradition and might of the House of Yukline.
Since Yukline was a clan that had hunted demons since ancient times and, in doing so, had come to resemble demons more than any other, the “demon” they told others to fear meant not only demons themselves, but also “Yukline itself, which would become a demon to you.”
“A gale will come. Everything we say will become an excuse, and peaceful unity will grow even more difficult.”
The Jeokgwe groups were spread out, seeping into low places. Among them existed death squads of considerable scale as well.
“We will not be able to control all of our half-baked, hot-blooded kin. Yet if we suppress them too tightly, the clansmen who break away will cause incidents like this.”
“…Yes.”
“I shall leave it to the fellows of the ‘Tree’s Cradle.’ If it is Elesol and Karixel, they should be able to lead them well.”
Having finished speaking, Jubekren gazed at the distant whirlwind.
A gust slowly growing enormous as it absorbed the desert’s sand and mana. Beyond it, he could see the faces of old friends he had sent away long ago.
The currents swept up and wailing sounded like their screams, and the spewed grains of sand like drops of their blood.
All of it seemed to be calling him.
“My thoughts have been lacking all this time… But what can be done? In a world such as this, no answer exists…”
Great Elder Jubekren sank into darkness. He was buried within the desert sandstorm.
* * *
Three days later, Hadekain in the County of Yukline.
“What kind of nonsense is that!”
Yeriel shouted furiously at the family head, who had come to visit after a long while.
“You’re building a camp in our territory!”
“…”
“Answer me! Yooou!”
The silent Deculein sat in the lord’s seat for the first time in a long while. It was usually Yeriel’s place.
“I hate the Jeokgwe too, of course! But a camp is too much! It’s a hated facility! Yooou!”
“Stop going ‘yooou.’”
Deculein waited for Yeriel to calm down. After venting for quite some time, Yeriel huffed and puffed before letting out a sigh.
Only then did Deculein get to the point.
“It will be far from any civilian houses.”
“Where are you going to build it, yo-rong-rong?”
“…Is that defiance?”
“What do you mean, yo-del-ay-hee?”
“I will not ask again.”
“It’s not defiance.”
Yeriel went, Hmph! with a snort, and Deculein shook his head before answering.
“The camp will be in Rohalak.”
“…Are you kidding me?”
Yeriel’s expression hardened.
The County of Yukline was vast enough to rival the Duchy of Yuren—in other words, an entire country—but only half of its land was usable.
That was because not only “Marik,” the demonic energy zone, but even part of the Extinction Zone beyond it belonged to the county.
Thus, “jurisdiction” was more appropriate than “ownership.” It was land filled only with the obligation of “not allowing swarming monsters into civilian territory.”
“Even if they’re Jeokgwe, they’re still human.”
Among those regions, “Rohalak” was the worst, bordering the Extinction Zone.
A hell rivaling “Reccordak,” the prison at the northernmost edge of the County of Freyden.
“People can’t live th—”
“Do not talk back, Yeriel.”
“…”
Deculein’s gaze rushed at her like a blade. Yeriel flinched and stepped back.
It had already been a long time since she escaped Deculein’s shadow, but it was also true that she still felt afraid whenever he acted like this.
“…Fine. Let’s say the Jeokgwe are one thing. What benefit do we get? There’s none! All we’ll get is the nickname ‘the territory where a camp was built’!”
“The specific benefits will soon be delivered to you by the Imperial Family.”
Deculein rose from the lord’s seat and walked out with firm steps. Yeriel quickly ran over and sat in the empty place, her original chair.
“I will be going. I will requisition the raw materials necessary for the foundation work on my own, so keep that in mind.”
“…Do whatever you want.”
It was something he had done unilaterally, all by himself, without even consulting her. Throwing a tantrum here would not change anything.
Yeriel glared at Deculein.
Creeeak—
He opened the door of the lord’s office. Beyond it were Deculein’s companions, a crowd of Imperial Knights and imperial officials. They greeted him with broad smiles.
It seemed the oppression of the Jeokgwe delighted them that much.
“As expected of Professor Deculein. Ah, I suppose here we should call you Count Yukline.”
“If we are with the count who subdued Rohakan and quelled the imperial terror in an instant, it feels as though we could go even to the end of the universe—”
Creeeak—
The noisy flattery died down the moment the door closed.
“Haa…”
In the quiet office, left alone, Yeriel murmured as if sighing.
“Rohalak. Of all places, Rohalak…”
Even Yeriel had never brought herself to imagine stuffing people into that Rohalak.
Of course, she vaguely understood his true intention. The practical gains were clear as well.
The Imperial Family would provide suitable support, and the Jeokgwe camp could be used as a “human rampart,” just like Reccordak.
A rampart to block the monsters flooding in from the Extinction Zone.
If a camp was placed in Rohalak, the Jeokgwe would stop the monsters on their own in order to survive, and even if they were wiped out and broken down in the process, there would be no loss.
A chillingly cold and cruel thought—extremely Deculein-like.
“I thought he’d become a bit more human lately.”
Yeriel pressed her fingers to her temple. These days, Deculein had become someone whose inner thoughts she could not see at all.
“…Then again, I don’t even know what ‘human’ means these days. In the first place, it’s because those idiots carried out a terrorist attack.”
Just as Yeriel was muttering powerlessly, the door to the lord’s office opened and the butler entered.
“The income from Marik’s underground passage has been calculated for this week.”
“Yeah. Let me see.”
Yeriel, who had been looking over the ledger without much thought, widened her eyes. Millions of elne were etched into her pupils.
“…!”
Money, money, money—money was pouring in.
“How did this happen? The income for one week has far exceeded our expectations! I thought word of mouth would take some time?!”
“Yes. Far more adventurers have flocked in than expected. Thanks to that, the sales of the underground shopping district have also…”
The prices at the restaurants, including Pig’s Flower, as well as the blacksmiths, equipment shops, magic stores, and so on, were thirty percent higher than in most cities, but adventurers who valued convenience over money paid without hesitation.
“G-good, this is good. We need to stay calm and not let this flow of cash we’re sucking in get blocked. Also, we need to make sure this cash keeps flowing. Got it?!”
“Of course.”
Whether it was the Jeokgwe or anything else, Yeriel’s first priority was only her own territory.
The Empire, the Imperial Family, the Emperor—truthfully, she had no interest in any of it.
From childhood, and even now that she had grown into an adult.
To Yeriel, the only thing that was “hers” was this territory.
“You may go.”
“Yes.”
After sending the butler away, Yeriel soon placed both hands on her cheeks.
Hehehe—hehehehe—delighting like a child, she looked at the ledger again.
A whole ten times the expected income.
…She couldn’t hold it in.
She couldn’t contain her excitement!
“Kyaa, kyaa~ kyakya~”
Singing like an oriole, she turned on the turntable.
♩♬~ ♩♪♬~ ♪♩♬ ♪~
Classical music rang out. Within it, Yeriel danced a slightly clumsy waltz.
* * *
Sweltering heat and a blazing sun. Not a single blade of grass grew, and though there was no sand, it was a wasteland close to a desert.
Rohalak.
The scenery I had only seen in the game was not merely bleak, but desolate.
“Professor.”
Beside me, Yuli grabbed the hem of my clothes. I turned to look at her.
Hesitating, Yuli spoke.
“To construct a camp… does the ground not seem… too weak…?”
A cautious question.
Her house, Freyden, had plenty of ill will toward the Jeokgwe and the Altar.
Yuli had probably received some hint from Zeit as well. That was why she was saying, so shyly and indirectly, “Isn’t Rohalak too much?”
“It is fine. Confinement is better than annihilation.”
I would build as large a camp as possible here in Rohalak.
In the distant future, perhaps in the camps that several magical houses were beginning to construct right now, literal massacres would take place.
So that as many Jeokgwe as possible could survive here.
“But I do not know. In a place like this… can people survive…?”
I looked with the eyes of 「Great Tycoon」. The water sources around Rohalak were captured in my sight at a glance. We would only need to establish the site based on that groundwater.
“Yuli.”
“Yes.”
“Trust me. The thing you fear will not happen.”
“…”
I smiled to reassure her, and soon Yuli nodded as well.
“Professor! The raw materials are ready over here!”
A shout came from not far away. It was steel and iron frames brought by numerous wagons.
Whoooom—!
I lifted all of it with 「Telekinesis」.
Today’s objective was the iron wall that would decorate the perimeter of the camp. 「Telekinesis」 was a very useful magic for construction.
But then, at some point.
“Ugh!”
A small groan struck my heart more keenly than anything else. I immediately turned back.
“Ah. I am fine. I must have stepped on a cactus.”
Yuli was smiling bitterly.
Was she hot, or was she in pain?
I silently stared at the beads of sweat gathering on her chin and rolling down.
……..
A dark night. The lord’s castle of Yukline.
Yuli, who had fallen asleep as soon as she returned from Rohalak, suddenly sat up in a hurry at some point. A pain as if her soul were being flung out of her heart surged through her.
“Haa… haa…”
After the great pain, her upper body felt so tight it was as though it had stiffened. After doing nothing but breathing for quite some time, she eventually came out of the guest room.
“Phew…”
The corridor of Yukline’s lord’s castle.
Yuli walked through that splendid passage.
“Yuli.”
“!”
At the sudden call, Yuli’s body went taut.
In the corridor beyond, Deculein stood in the darkness.
Looking at her, he said,
“Is your body all right?”
“Yes. I am fine.”
Yuli smiled. By now, it was a smile that had become somewhat natural.
“…”
Deculein approached without a word. For some reason, his expression was sorrowful. Yuli deliberately asked brightly,
“When does the Imperial mission begin~?”
“…What?”
“Ah… ahem. Ahem. My throat is a little.”
After clearing her throat, Yuli continued speaking as usual.
“I heard everything. It is all right. I understand. I, too, have now learned what flexibility is, to some extent.”
She placed a hand over her chest and smiled triumphantly.
Deculein nodded and replied.
“Next week.”
“Yes. You must not fail. If you fail, I will be angry.”
“······.”
Deculein silently gazed at her smile.
Suddenly, the anguish that had lingered from long ago stirred to life once more.
“······Yulie.”
“Yes.”
What if telling Yulie that he had changed had instead been poison to her?
What if the person known as Deculein should never have been by Yulie’s side in the first place?
Was the “Fate of a Villain” quite literally trying to deprive him of even the chance to become a good man······?
“Yulie.”
“Yes? Why did you call me twice?”
Deculein took off his glove. Then he neatly smoothed down her disheveled hair.
Yulie flinched in surprise, but soon quietly accepted it.
The full moon filtering in through the window shone upon him.
“······.”
Eyes sparkling blue like crystal. Within them, Deculein’s sorrow swayed like the sea.
“I know that your injury is my fault.”
“······Why bring that up now? It is not because of that. Besides, I received sufficient compensation for that day.”
Deculein shook his head.
He recalled the scene from Marik,
the scene Kim Woojin had seen in Deculein’s diary,
from that very moment.
“No. That was not something you received.”
Yulie, the knight who had refused to give up on Deculein even in the worst possible situation.
The compensation for inflicting a wound upon her from which recovery was impossible had been the cancellation of the fifty million elne debt Freyden owed to Yukline.
Yulie herself, the person directly involved, had not received even a single coin, nor a single word of thanks.
That was what Deculein had been like then. Rather, he had branded her with the disgrace of “mission failure.”
That was how much he had feared his father’s reproach, and Yulie had understood all of it.
“So, by any means necessary.”
The hand that had been tidying Yulie’s hair settled on her shoulder. Perhaps out of caution, or perhaps out of fear, it did not even caress her, merely resting there carefully.
“I will restore you without fail.”
Yulie stared blankly at him.
Had it been in the past, she would have been afraid, but now, for some reason, she felt reassured.
“······No.”
Yulie smiled faintly and shook her head. The pain in her heart grew a little worse, yet one corner of her chest seemed to fill warmly instead.
“I can overcome it on my own.”
To Deculein, that smile reached him like moonlight.
“So please, be selective in your methods.”
Immediately after, Yulie suddenly placed a finger by his ear and flicked it—snap! His expression shifted ambiguously.
Yulie chuckled and said,
“You look far too grim. Please relax your face. Your expressionless face frightens the students far too mu—”
Just then, meow─!
A sudden, loud cry rang out.
“Hiek!”
Yulie let out a strange sound and charged into Deculein’s arms.
Thud─!
It was practically a body slam, but Deculein’s solid body easily received her.
“······?”
Yulie found that steel-like chest strange. Tap, tap—before she knew it, she was knocking on it with her fingers.
Then she looked up at him blankly.
Deculein was shaking his head.
“What fairy tale have you been reading? Your act of being startled is far too trite. Did you keep me here for this?”
“N-No! That is not it! I was not pretending to be startled at all! No, to begin with, you were the one who called me, Professor! Th-There!”
Yulie stepped far back and pointed somewhere.
“That cat suddenly······.”
Meow─!
The cat cried and strode closer. It was a pitch-black cat, like coal.
“Is it a cat you know?”
“Who knows. If one of the attendants or Yeriel were raising it, it would not be that filthy.”
Meow─! The cat cried and clung to Yulie’s leg.
“It seems to have chosen you.”
“······.”
Yulie glanced at Deculein, gauging his reaction. The way it meowed—meowed—and rubbed its body against her······
“I should find its owner.”
Answering thus, Yulie lifted the cat in one hand and scurried—straight back to her room.
* * *
Va—ca—tion— Va—ca—tion—
Va—ca—tion— Va—ca—tion—
Ahh— it’s vacation—
Epherene spent three days playing to her heart’s content. Of course, she steadily kept up with the magic training book Old Man Rohakan had given her and reviewed Deculein’s 「Understanding Pure Elements」.
It wasn’t as if she had a choice; she still hadn’t solved the last question on Deculein’s midterm.
“Phew.”
However, today there was something very important to do.
“Phewww.”
Epherene took deep breaths as she waited for the Floating Island elevator.
Today was the day to apply for the 「Solda Promotion Exam」.
Her body and mind trembled uncontrollably.
“Ephi!”
Julia appeared behind Epherene in line.
“Julia, you’re here?”
“Yeah. The others said they’d be a bit late today. After your orientation is over, let’s eat meat at my place.”
“Of course!”
Epherene answered with utmost seriousness.
Today, she would absolutely consume Roahawk.
─Please prepare to board.
“It’s here. Let’s go, Ephi.”
“Yeah.”
Epherene and Julia boarded the elevator together. The ticket was expensive, but thanks to the professor’s recommendation letter, it was free.
Wooooooong—
The magic elevator rose dozens of meters per second.
Ding─!
After about a minute, they arrived at the Floating Island.
As soon as Epherene got off the elevator, she headed straight into Megiseion and approached the counter on the first-floor “Proma” floor.
“Um, I came to apply for the Solda Promotion Exam.”
“Your documents and identification, please.”
“Yes.”
She took a bundle of various supporting documents and her ID out of her backpack.
“Debutant Epherene. Confirmed. The promotion exam fee is ten thousand elne.”
Ten thousand elne.
Epherene took a deep breath and held out her card. Her hand was trembling violently.
“Yes. The orientation will be held in that auditorium. Please go inside.”
The employee pointed to the auditorium behind the counter.
“Ah, yes.”
“Ephi~ Do well~ I’m going to stop by the magic shop~”
“······Mm.”
Apparently “Pig’s Flower” had opened a branch recently, and perhaps because it had become a huge success, Julia had become outright wealthy.
It felt like she was spending ten to twenty thousand elne a month.
I’m jealous.
“Ah, I’m nervous.”
In any case.
Epherene clenched her fist tightly—hup!—and timidly entered the auditorium.
“Huh?”
In the seats of the vast auditorium, she spotted a familiar back of a head.
Blond-haired Sylvia. Epherene went over and sat beside her.
“As expected, you’re here too. Hi?”
“······.”
Sylvia glanced at Epherene but said nothing. Epherene had not expected an answer either, so she looked around.
“Hm? Sylvia, doesn’t it look like there are adventurers here too?”
“······.”
“Right?”
“It is common.”
Instead of the silent Sylvia, the seat beside Epherene answered. It was some man who looked to be in his mid-twenties.
“There are many mages among adventurers, after all. Adventurers from the Magic Tower can take the exam without fulfilling the required credits if they maintain their adventurer license for more than two years.”
“Aha~ Really?”
“Also, I heard this year’s adventurer exam and the Solda Promotion Exam are being held at the same time. Some portions will probably overlap.”
Adventurers and the Floating Island. In truth, while the two groups seemed drastically different, there was a certain shared nature between them.
That was because the early members of the Floating Island and the founder of the Adventurers’ Guild were the same person, someone named “Lehepl.”
“Oh, really? How do you know so much?”
At that, the man smiled and showed her his adventurer license.
“Waa? You’re an adventurer?”
“Yes. Nice to meet you. I’m Karixel, third year.”
“If you’re third year, don’t you not really need to be promoted to Solda?”
Adventurers could generally be distinguished by their years of experience. If one simply got a license and lazed around, their qualification would be revoked within a year, so accumulated years served as proof of an adventurer’s skill.
“Haha. I have three children, you see. The pay difference between Solda and Debutant missions is nearly two to three times.”
“Aha······ Wait, three? How old are you?”
Epherene’s eyes widened. From his appearance, even if she guessed generously, he looked to be in his mid-twenties.
“I’m thirty-three. I got married about ten years ago.”
“Gasp!”
Just as Epherene covered her mouth in astonishment.
“From now on, we will begin a brief orientation. Today’s orientation will be handled by one of the actual proctors of the Solda exam.”
With the mage’s words, the auditorium lights went out.
Then, a male mage appeared on the podium.
“······!”
In that instant, Epherene was greatly startled. Even Sylvia beside her began trembling violently. It was almost like a vibration.
“Nice to meet you.”
A first greeting far too familiar to them.
“I am a mage of the ‘Monarch’ rank, presiding over the elements.”
Today, the proctor of the Solda Promotion Exam orientation was—
“I am Deculein.”
Deculein, the head professor of the Imperial University.