“Is this it?”
“Yeah. I double-checked it like crazy just to make sure there wasn’t a switcheroo like before.”
“Hmm… It looks surprisingly plain… Hehehe.”
Turns out Erika and I had the same thought.
Watching Erika shake the demon powder inside the hourglass I handed her was almost like watching my own reflection from moments ago.
Of course, the part where she happily smiles while scrutinizing the hourglass was somewhat different.
A completely plain transparent glass, devoid of any special patterns or decorations, with demon powder looking just like ordinary sand inside.
I was half-expecting to feel some sort of special energy from the demon powder, but not really.
“Well, thanks for the hard work. We barely had any losses on our side.”
“Really? Everyone’s amazing?”
“Of course! They’re my subordinates.”
Erika proudly smiled while taking off the hood covering her face and untying her hair.
I’d seen her for a short moment earlier, but it was good to see Erika again after so long.
Erika was as elegant and beautiful as ever, someone who could easily pass off as a princess from some kingdom.
In the moonlight, her silver hair almost seemed to sparkle.
“This is worth 50 million gold, huh…”
“Hehe. Finally found it.”
“Do you want to carry it yourself, or should I have Eddi deliver it?”
“Just in case… You carry it. Phew, feels good. By the way, what have you been up to lately? I heard you were taking a break.”
“Ahhh. There’s a story behind it. I was planning a short vacation in the west, but it seems like I’ll need to stay in Crescent for a while.”
“Crescent?”
Talking with Erika reminded me how surreal my recent experiences felt.
The sudden academy entrance quest, ranking first in the entrance exam and giving a speech in front of a ton of students, and the immediate fallout with a so-called ‘friend’ right after class assignments.
“Yeah. I’m at Crescent Academy.”
“Do you need me to bring anything for you?”
“No, not that…”
Eddi being my secretary brushed it off, but I knew Erika wouldn’t easily overlook the fact that I enrolled in an academy as a ‘student,’ making it tough to explain.
In situations like this, deflecting is key.
“Just… I’ve got some things to check out.”
“Hmm. So, this is an assignment you’re not sharing with the leader, huh?”
“Pretty much, yeah. Hmm…”
Since this was technically a quest and thus a mission, I nodded vigorously to make my point.
Erika accepted my gesture, glancing away and looking at the village—or rather, the base of the organization—all of which was still engulfed in flames.
Though you wouldn’t really call it a village since there wasn’t a single civilian in sight.
“Anyway, I’ll take my leave. We’re heading back to HQ, right?”
“Yeah, I’ll take the kids back slowly.”
“Alright, alright. Clean up well.”
I wanted to catch up with Erika a little more, since it’d been so long, but we both had our own tasks.
Even though the operation was complete, safely guiding subordinates to safety was part of the leader’s duty.
After receiving the 50 million gold piece hourglass from Erika, I waved to her gentle smile and thought our brief meeting was surprisingly refreshing.
And just like that, I was back in my office.
“Eddi!”
“Did everything go well?”
“Whaat!”
Of course, I thought Eddi was waiting for me outside, but she appeared right behind me in response to my call.
She tends to do this suddenly, and I’m starting to suspect it’s deliberate.
“I thought I already told you last time. It’s supposed to be me who’s startled.”
“Ugh. Sorry about that. Here you go. Fifty million gold.”
“Ooooh.”
“Hehehe.”
Surprisingly, Eddi showed some visible emotion as she took the hourglass from me.
Eddi too scrutinized the hourglass worth 50 million gold that passed from me to Erika, and then carefully placed it into a box.
Watching Eddi put the hourglass into the box made me feel like one of my headaches had been resolved.
Sure, Erika did most of the hard work and all I did was wrap it up, but it still felt good to complete a mission we’d been chasing for so long.
And 50 million gold!
This amount is nearly as much as the Black Shadow Guild’s revenue for the last quarter. I couldn’t help but grin.
“Thanks for cleaning up. I trust you?”
“Yes, thank you for today’s hard work.”
“Phew. Hard work? It sure was! I even put on gloves after so long!”
“Hooh. Were the enemies that strong? So, this 50 million gold quest…”
“One opponent had a bad matchup with me, that’s all. Anyway, thanks for waiting patiently. When Erika comes back, please pass on my regards.”
“…Hmm? Didn’t you say anything to her about Erika joining the academy as a student?”
“Eh? Like I’d do that. That’s why I didn’t mention it at all.”
“…”
“I’ll leave it to you to explain later. I’m out!”
“…Sigh.”
I think I heard a genuine sigh from Eddi at the end, but I ignored it and returned to my room.
What a long day it had been.
*
In the dead of night, in a pitch-black room with only moonlight streaming through the window, two figures quietly conversed in the dark, unable to even see each other’s faces clearly.
“…It’s been stolen?”
“…Yes.”
“Who’s the culprit?”
“It’s… complicated…”
The man seated by the window, staring out into the moonlit sky, slowly stood up, clearly not pleased with the lack of a satisfying answer.
The kneeling subordinate lowered his head even further, sensing the displeasure.
“Having the medium stolen is bad enough, but you’re telling me you don’t even know who stole it?”
“T, the security officers Shen and Max have completely disappeared without a trace. There are rumors suggesting they’ve been taken out somehow…”
“Huh?”
The standing man let out a disbelieving snicker, which might have been passed off as a joke if it weren’t for his subordinate’s trembling sincere report.
“No way. It should have been impossible with the barrier I installed.”
“T, the barrier is still active as far as we know.”
“But?”
“There’s no one inside the barrier. No signs of living creatures, as well as the artifact that was supposed to be safeguarded inside…”
“Are you serious…!”
Listening calmly to the report from the kneeling figure, Randgar Bayel struggled to contain his rising anger, barely holding back from lashing out.
“Shen and Max… Taken out, both of them?”
“…As far as we can tell, yes.”
Randgar couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
Max being taken out was bad enough, but Shen was a fairly skilled magician within the organization.
He specialized in electrical magic, and Randgar had personally seen enough potential in him to teach his own craft. Shen was considered a rising star within the organization.
While currently not yet at Elder level like himself, he was confident Shen would grow into a powerful contender for an Elder position.
To have him and the brute force power of Max, albeit crude, wiped out so cleanly, was hard to imagine.
“Is that even possible…”
“I, unsure, but… There’s speculation that the Black Shadow Guild might have carried out the attack on Division 7. There are reports of someone seeing a Silver Tracker nearby.”
“Hmm…”
At the mention of the Black Shadows, Randgar let out a thoughtful hum.
The Black Shadow Guild was a name he knew all too well.
Even today during lunch, he’d been dealing with issues related to their recent activities.
When they stole the Dragon Heart from the O’Neil Kingdom years ago, he’d brushed it off as the antics of overconfident thieves.
Yet, they remained elusive, growing in audacity and frequency of their escapades.
“Black Shadow Guild… Why would they…”
Gulp.
Caught in his own thoughts, Randgar stopped mid-rant when he heard his subordinate gulp audibly from below.
“Fine. I’ll check it out myself tomorrow night.”
“Yes, Elder.”
The room echoed with a pop sound as the kneeling figure disappeared instantly, leaving Randgar alone.
He stared out the window at the bright moon, arms crossed behind his back.
“Salvation is not something that comes easily, it seems.”
Randgar mused while gazing at the unusually bright moon.
A nameless organization following a nameless demon.
He was one among seven elders of this unnamed group.
“And all that effort for this… stolen like this?”
Recalling the countless resources poured into acquiring the hourglass containing the nameless demon’s powder, his restrained rage began rising again, but he quelled it with effort.
Getting angry now wouldn’t change anything.
“Black Shadow Guild…”
Even if the information was not 100% accurate, investigating was worthwhile.
If they could break through his barrier and take down Shen and Max, they might indeed be capable of such a feat.
The most credible rumors about the Black Shadow Guild’s leader suggested both that the leader was female and impervious to all barriers.
A brilliant tactical wizard with the ability to dismantle complex barriers within seconds.
If these rumors were true, the Black Shadow Guild being behind the attack on Division 7 was highly plausible.
“If they could decipher and bypass that barrier…”
Though not easy to believe.
Randgar mentally reviewed the magical barrier he’d personally installed at Division 7.
Utilizing divine assistance, it was a supreme defensive barrier he’d personally crafted, unprecedented in the continent’s history.
It completely blocked access to anyone imbued with mana, requiring even himself significant time and effort to dismantle it.
“Haaah.”
With a deep sigh, he canceled the soundproofing magic just in case.
As he moved away from the window, the bright moonlight illuminated his room, casting his shadow against the wall.
With a heavy sigh, he slumped onto the chair beside him, eyes landing on the plaque on the desk glowing faintly under the moonlight.
“Vice Chancellor of Crescent Academy, Randgar Bayel.”
The plaque shimmered in the moonlight, seemingly unaware of its owner’s inner turmoil, gleaming brighter than usual tonight.
