Seol, though shocked, calmly sent Frannan a glance.
‘...Why me?’
Although Frannan had granted Seol the prestigious position of an Aspect Magician’s disciple, Seol still didn’t understand his reasoning at all.
Seol also recognized the reality of the situation and knew that Frannan wasn’t trying to become Seol’s magic teacher.
But then why… Why did Frannan make himself the master of a transferee?
‘Is he just trying to make me go with him no matter what?’
It was true that if Seol and the leader of the Steel Lion Mercenaries fought, Seol would be in more trouble than the latter.
The mercenary group’s leader had a faction behind him, and Seol was alone.
It was also possible that the leader was exploiting this obvious fact to bully Seol out of the meeting.
After all, if the two conflicted, it would naturally become harder for Seol to join the search party.Seol understood that the majority of the people in this room implicitly understood these facts.
Even so, even the most obvious plans could fail if one fails to account for their surroundings.
Cartesin, one of Libra’s Aspect Magicians, spoke up.
“A-Are you… finally accepting a disciple?”
Another Aspect Magician, Ridwen, was also surprised. However, his reaction was slightly different from Cartesin’s.
“But… a transferee? Why did it have to be a transferee?”
“Th-That’s right. Is there a reason you chose a transferee as your disciple? If it’s alright with you, there are also excellent students at Libra that…”
Frannan quickly cut off Cartesin.
“Enough. Let me do as I please. I care not if my disciple is a transferee of a child of Libra.”
Cartesin quickly nodded and changed their attitude.
“That’s fair as well. Who cares if they’re a transferee when you, of all people, changed your mind? After all, Frannan, the most dangerous thing for the Libra Tower is if all of your individual accomplishments were to disappear with you.”
“Hahaha! To think the day would come when Frannan would come to pass on his teachings, what could be better than this?”
“Precisely. I thought because of the incident with Yurin…”
As Cartesin began to reference Yurin, Frannan immediately cut them off.
“Enough. There’s no need to mention her at a time like this.”
“Ah, you are right…”
The meeting paused for a moment as the Aspect Magicians spoke to one another, providing an opening for one of the mercenary leaders to change the topic.
“More importantly, how will we be going to Alcatron? I understand that we’d be crossing the border once, but…”
“Mhm,” answered Yofimba. “First, I’m sure all of you are already aware, but this is an extremely dangerous and time-sensitive matter. Unless everyone resolves themselves, we won’t be able to reach Alcatron.”
“What? Is it really that dangerous? Why? I thought the Artifact Association had already secured a path? Can’t we just use that again to go to Alcatron?”
Yofimba scratched his neck nervously, clearly troubled by that question.
"Well... we sent some of our elite members earlier to confirm the trail, but... the roads we had used were destroyed by a landslide. Because of that, we need to start restoring that path from scratch."
“What? But by the time we slowly finish restoring that route… Libra might already be watching us from the heavens.”
“Mind your words. We are at the Libra Tower.”
"But I'm right. I'm just saying what needs to be said. After hearing all this, it's clear that the issue isn’t manpower. How much more manpower could we get when we pulled in nearly every group that has previously worked with the Libra Tower? We all came here immediately after hearing that the Libra Tower was in danger. The problem is... it’s that even with all of these people, there’s a high possibility we don’t have enough time.”
Yofimba’s expression soured after hearing that. He looked like he was contemplating whether to continue or not.
“Hm… on that note… urm… to be frank, there is another issue.”
“What is it? If you have something to say, tell us immediately. There’s no time to waste.”
“I plan to split the search party into two.”
“What?”
“Why?”
“We don’t know how much of the roundabout way is cleared, and even if it is fully cleared, there is a limit to how many people can cross a day. In other words, if we all take that path, many of us will be stuck waiting until the situation has already concluded. That’s why I plan on splitting the parties for another potential route. Fortunately enough, we happen to have enough firepower to make it work.”
“How? I thought you said there was only one path. What would splitting the party into two even do?”
“No, there’s always been two paths. We’ve just disregarded the other one.”
“Don’t tell me…”
“No, that can’t be right!”
The halls began to fill with murmurs.
Yofimba then continued, confirming the answer everyone had already figured out.
“We plan to go through the Black Thunder Tribe’s territory.”
"Hahahahaha! You must be out of your mind. Is everyone from the Artifact Association that crazy? I'd much rather slip off a cliff than be torn to shreds as monster fodder.”
“I agree. Isn’t the Black Thunder Tribe one of the more powerful troll tribes as well?”
“You must be crazy to go in there willingly.”
Yofimba was troubled after hearing their responses. Though he had expected some resistance, he didn’t expect this much.
“Trolls are monsters. Even if we somehow get them to promise our safety, there’s no guarantee they’d change their minds and stuff us into their cauldrons.”
“You aren’t wrong.”
The Steel Lion’s leader’s expression shifted for a second, then turned around to ask Mael a question.
“Hey, what do you think?”
“...Are you asking me?”
“Yeah, you. You’re a troll, aren’t you?”
“In my personal opinion, not all trolls are the same. Though many trolls are hostile and aggressive, some aren’t. Furthermore, their leaders' personalities can also play a role, as there are instances of them reining in their aggression.”
“Really? Then what are the Black Thunder Tribe’s leaders like?”
“I’ve… heard that they are brothers. I apologize. I did not hear much else other than that.”
“Hahaha! You don’t know anything, do you?”
“Yes, I’m afraid not. I was not a leader of my tribe, so I’ve had no contact with them.”
Mael, after saying this, glanced at Seol.
Sensing what Mael was trying to convey, Seol engaged in a conversation with a particular someone in his Shadow Space.
An individual who could have potentially had contact with the chiefs of the Black Thunder Tribe.
Jamad, the chief of the Rock Molar Tribe.
‘You were listening, right? Do you know them?’
- Of course, Ungola and Ungus. They’re brothers, and they’re fairly decent trolls.
‘Do you think they’ll safely let us pass if we manage to have a conversation with them?’
- I don’t know… It’s been so long since I’ve last seen them that I can’t be sure. Still, they’ve got a good head on their shoulders, so a conversation might be possible?
‘Hm… is that so?’
“It might just be more realistic to ask us to beat a monster without any equipment…” said the leader of the Steel Lions.
Yofimba took a second to pull back his anger and gave a response.
“Well, I can understand where you’re coming from. So that’s why… only those who wish to go that route will do so.”
“Those who wish to die, I guess. Where are you going to go, dwarf?”
"Me? The roundabout way. There aren't many from the Artifact Association who remember the original route, so I have to go. I'm one of the few who actually knows."
“Alright, then I’ll go with you. Also, I have a condition.”
“...A condition? What condition?”
"The troll and the transferee can't come with us. They could either leave the search party or join the suicidal party. I don’t care. There is no amount of money you could pay me to travel with people that I don’t trust. You could always just refuse my condition too. We’ll just leave if that’s the case."
“How could you just force our hand like…”
“This is the most I can concede. I also have people’s lives to take care of.”
- MAAAAAAAAN It’s so obvious that he’d change his mind once he tries Snowman’s monster cooking.
- Just have a taste, come on~ It’s really good.
- I can’t believe he refused to bring Mael with him LOL. This is like when you try to carry someone in a game, and not only do they refuse to get carried, but they start insulting you too LMFAO
- Carry Machine Mael is confused!
While everyone was taken aback by the sudden turn of events, they could only steal glances at Seol and Mael’s faces. After all, their responses would determine whether the Steel Lion Mercenaries would join them or not.
“Okay.”
“I accept your conditions.”
All of them were shocked after hearing their response.
“A-Are you sure?”
"It's the Black Thunder Tribe, though. Don't risk your lives for pride."
"Yeah, and you shouldn't make such a hasty decision either, Mercenary Leader..."
"It's fine. We'll head toward the Black Thunder Tribe."
Seol didn’t make this decision because of the conditions of the mercenary leader. In truth, it didn’t matter to Seol which route he took.
What did matter, though, were the conditions of the route.
‘The route I can take with Mael. That’s the much safer route.’
Mael was not an ordinary troll.
Seol had already witnessed Mael’s mystical powers at Yognatun. There was no reason to hesitate here.
- The dangerous duo is reunited!
- Are you sure you’ll be alright, Pandea?! They’re basically the Shaq and Kobe of this world.
- Pandea: Krgh… Why did it have to be those two…
The leader of the Steel Lion Mercenaries scoffed at them before turning his attention towards Chameli.
"Since we don’t know what could happen, we should split the pilgrims in half, but… Which group will you join, Vicar Chameli?"
“I…”
Everyone in the room expected her to join the party with the leader of the Steel Lion Mercenaries. After all, the party in the roundabout route clearly had much stronger individuals.
With a distressed look, Chameli glanced at everyone before making her decision.
“I will be joining the Black Thunder Tribe party.”
“...No way.”
Clench…
The leader of the Steel Lion Mercenaries forced out a response.
“Hm… I understand.”
In addition to them, the others in the room were also fully absorbed in dividing their groups into each route.
As the discussions neared their conclusion, Yofimba grumbled about the disparity between them.
“Hm… the Black Thunder Tribe party is a bit lacking…”
“But what can we do? I thought we were only accepting those willing to go there.”
"It's fine. I'm sure it will work itself out. Next is… the most important matter."
Yofimba looked around, at the Libra Tower’s Aspect Magicians.
“Who will be taking responsibility for this expedition?”
Even if the Tower Master went missing, not all three Aspect Magicians could leave their posts.
They also had the responsibility of caring for the next generation, and if all of them died, the Libra Tower would face a dark period.
“I will.”
An immediate response echoed through the room, the voice belonging to Frannan.
“What? Frannan! You taking responsibility would—”
“Bwrgh…”
Hurry, hurry…
Suddenly, a figure hastily darted out of the meeting room, dry heaving.
‘...Fryn?’
Despite the quick exit, Seol had confirmed that it was Fryn.
Blaine, her master, quickly followed after her.
“I apologize,” said Blaine. “My apprentice seems to be sick. I need to check up on her.”
“It’s fine, go.”
Creak…
‘What’s wrong with her?’
Fryn had been fine the entire time they were at the tower. In fact, while she was sightseeing, she was practically flying around.
As Seol continued to mull over the question, the debate on who would take responsibility for the expedition continued.
"It's about time I took responsibility as well. Thank you for reaching out to me when Libra was facing challenges.”
"Do you... truly intend to go?"
“I wish to.”
“Are you sure you’re not trying to run away?”
“......”
"Are you sure you're not trying to run away because of what happened to Yurin? Ever since that day... it's felt like you've been running, as if to meet your end..."
Frannan gave them a large smile.
“If I wanted to run away, I wouldn’t have returned.”
“......”
“I came here to confirm it. Let me go.”
Ridwen and Cartesin carefully nodded their heads.
“Okay, then next is to…”
“No need to ask. I will be going with my disciple.”
“Hm…”
“Then I guess the mercenary leader and Yofimba will lead the roundabout path.”
Yofimba gave a loud, hearty laugh.
“I doubt there are any objections, right? Hahaha!”
"Hmph. Now that everything's been somewhat settled, I will take my leave. I feel a headache coming from staying in the same room as a troll and a transferee."
“Th-That…”
Stand…
After standing up, the mercenary leader headed toward the door.
But as he did…
[Squeak… Squeak… Squeak… Squeak…]
Agony added sounds to each of his steps, mimicking those that small toddlers make when they walk around, making the mercenary leader’s dignified appearance seem laughable.
“Th-This… Haah… I will see you next time.”
Creak…
Seol wasn't sure whether the mercenary leader found it overly ridiculous or if he simply ran out of energy to get upset, but he disappeared without much else to say.
Seol reached out his hand to the lantern, gently stroking it to show praise.
Agony, seeing this, quietly murmured to itself.
[Hehehe… So you praised my evil… Your corruption is not too far. It is… moments away.]
* * *
Hurry, hurry…
Blaine raced through the magic tower’s halls in search of Fryn. At first, he expected to find her quickly, but it took much longer than expected.
Despite the delay, he eventually managed to find her.
She had cornered herself in an isolated area, clutching her legs tightly on the floor.
“Fryn… there you were.”
“...Master.”
Blaine looked into Fryn’s eyes.
Woosh…
A faint energy radiated from them.
“Did you see something?”
“Yes… I saw a vision. Even though I didn’t want to see it… I saw it.”
Fryn had the ability to gaze into the future.
Well, it would be more accurate to say that they were cloudy visions she believed to be the future. Though her visions were typically accurate, they were unclear, and deriving meaning from them was challenging.
She had a habit of hiding somewhere like this after seeing an ominous future.
“What… did you see?”
“I don’t want to tell you… I can’t tell you… You’ll think I’m strange. I… I’m not cursed.”
For Fryn, this ability was nothing more than a curse.
After all, before the Aquarius Tower took her in, she was called ‘The Curseseer Child’.
"It's okay, it's fine. We won't involve ourselves in their matters. Their future is their burden to carry. All we'll do… is watch over them."
“Hrgh… Haah…”
“Tell me, Fryn. What was the future that you saw…”
Fryn carefully opened her lips.
“Corpses and blood… I saw everyone die.”
“......”
“A lot of people participating in this… will end up dead. It is a horrible future…”
Blaine remained silent as Fryn continued, hoping to allow her to speak about it comfortably.
“Alcatron… is not an ordinary ruin, is it? Everything related to it is so strange… I… I’m so scared, Master.”
"Fryn, do you remember what I told you to do when you have a terrible nightmare?"
“To put it into a room… and imagine closing the door shut behind you.”
"Yes, exactly. And to find an adult after that. You're a child who can't do anything, right?"
"Yes, I... I am a child."
"Then tell me. Who is the adult that can take care of the room with the terrifying nightmare hidden behind it?"
“That’s…”
Wooosh…
Clouds cast over Fryn’s vision once more.
After a short while, she called out a name.
“He’s the adult. I can see light faintly radiating from him.”
Blaine, hearing her answer, laughed brightly.
“I knew it. I knew I had an eye for people.”
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