Ch.7272. Assembly

Professor Weaver of the Academy’s Magic Department had recently received good news.

He had successfully engraved another circle, elevating himself to the 7th Circle.

Even before, his skills were nothing to scoff at. All the full professors at the Academy, especially those in the Magic Department, were talented individuals.

But the 7th Circle was on another level entirely.

It was a skill level that could secure an important position in a magic tower, and even those hailed as geniuses during their Academy days often hit a wall they couldn’t surpass. This was especially difficult for professors who had to sacrifice time to nurture the next generation.

Normally, the entire Magic Department should have been buzzing with excitement.

Yet for some reason, Weaver hadn’t received proper congratulations from any of his colleagues. Everyone just nodded perfunctorily, saying things like, “Oh, that’s impressive.”

It wasn’t that Professor Weaver was being ostracized; this was simply the current atmosphere at the Academy. In a situation where departments were counting how many students had dropped out (despite tuition exemption measures), achieving 7th Circle status was difficult to celebrate.

‘That’s fine. I don’t need congratulations. However…’

His only wish was for several colleagues who still chased after big wins with vacant eyes to return to their normal selves soon.

One of them in particular, a professor named ‘Shuval’ who had first recommended Cordana to Professor Weaver, was in a truly serious state.

“There’s a party of gathering specialists operating in the Kingdom of Inel, you know? It’s being kept quiet, but apparently they’ve had several exchanges with dragons… This is a real opportunity. Dragons haven’t revealed their presence for nearly 10 years.”

“Professor Shuval. Surely you’re not planning to hunt dragons?”

“No, but if the Kingdom of Inel were to launch an initiative…”

“…Haha, why would the Kingdom of Inel waste national resources hunting dragons? And why attack dragons that aren’t hostile in the first place?”

Professor Weaver pointed this out politely with a smile.

Shuval gave him a look of extreme displeasure, staring directly at Weaver.

“You know, Professor Weaver, you have a tendency to make even correct statements sound off-putting. Not that you’re wrong.”

They used to be very close, but their relationship had grown cold after arguing about disposing of Cordana.

‘When is he planning to snap out of this?’

In fact, Shuval had been one of the professors with excellent income. This was thanks to his participation in creating magic scrolls through a workshop sponsored by the imperial family.

But now he had even quit that job. A talented individual who easily earned 200 million a year from side work had voluntarily given it up.

Yet he wasn’t focusing on his teaching duties either; rather, the quality of his lectures had declined so much that he was being scolded by the dean. It was impossible to understand what he was trying to accomplish.

“Well, who am I to criticize? If it weren’t for the short selling, I too…”

Professor Weaver shook his head as he headed toward the faculty building.

Just then, a familiar face caught his eye.

A middle-aged knight with an imposing physique. It was Garland, renowned as the surgeon who had operated on Gwon Heejin’s wrist.

He was an experienced knight who, after serving in the Royal Order for many years, had become a vassal of Duke Tomen and led the knights of that domain once he reached a certain age.

This was typical for elite Royal Order veterans. When they began to age, it became difficult to travel throughout the vast Empire.

“Ah… Sir Garland? What brings you here?”

“Actually, I’m preparing for re-employment.”

“Re-employment?”

Garland smiled awkwardly.

He explained that he had recently left the duke’s vassalage.

Of course, he hadn’t been expelled for cutting off Gwon Heejin’s wrist or staging the abduction on the day of the execution. Nor had he left because the duke’s household had fallen on hard times. After all, the Tomen ducal family had managed to avoid the Cordana disaster.

“But why?”

“…Actually, many of the other vassals were investors. They thought I had received substantial compensation from the imperial palace for my activities in the Hero Pursuit Squad. Some even made snide remarks about how much I’d earned from short selling. So I just… haha, I won’t go into details.”

“I understand the situation. Sigh.”

The two veterans of the Hero Pursuit Squad looked at each other knowingly.

The Pursuit Squad that had successfully captured and brought justice to the Hero, humanity’s savior.

It was truly an unprecedented group. Honestly, there was no guarantee it would remain “unprecedented,” but if such a situation occurred again, humanity would likely perish anyway, so there was no point in worrying about it.

Yet for some reason, the current state of these middle-aged men who had achieved such a feat was not particularly pleasant. If there was any consolation, it was perhaps that their skills had improved?

“Ah, I heard you reached the 7th Circle.”

“I’m embarrassed.”

“I haven’t made any particular progress, but my back and shoulders, which had been aching for years, have completely healed. They used to throb whenever it rained, but now they work perfectly.”

“…Haha. That’s good.”

They could only ease their dampened spirits with such conversation.

Just as Professor Weaver was thinking, “I should treat him to a meal,” he was informed through a communication orb that someone was looking for him.

None other than Erick Wellesley. Weaver had thought he would be rushing to the border command by now, so this was unexpected. Puzzled, he responded to the communication.

“…Yes, Count Wellesley. Sir Garland is here with me as well.”

“That’s perfect. If possible, please depart immediately.”

“…?”

Wellesley continued without waiting for their response.

They needed to go to the border again, he said. Unlike when they had captured Gwon Heejin and his women, they wouldn’t be left with a sense of emptiness this time. There would be something to gain.

Erick didn’t even try to hide that this “something” would be a reward.

“No, we’re not the type to move for money…”

…They couldn’t honestly claim that. Considering the background of how the Hero Pursuit Squad was formed in the first place, it was even less true. They were just hesitant because receiving a reward from Erick Wellesley’s personal fortune felt somewhat uncomfortable.

Erick, seeming to guess what they were thinking, immediately continued.

“I’m not saying I’ll reward you with my own money. It will likely be paid by the imperial palace, or depending on the situation, possibly from somewhere else entirely.”

Somewhere else? It was an unclear statement, but the two middle-aged men decided to comply anyway. They exchanged glances as soon as the communication ended.

“It’s better to be riding horses than staying in the capital…right?”

“I agree.”

According to Erick Wellesley, there was a high possibility of encountering the Beast King, but somehow they didn’t feel afraid. No matter how strong the Beast King was, he would be weaker than Cordana.

The two promptly left the capital.

***

Several days later, at the Lankart Border Command.

Our expedition team arrived at a fortress near the border.

It was governed by one of the Margrave’s vassals. To be honest, it was more of a defensive stronghold than a domain.

A significant number of the stationed troops were penal units, and the elf Silvina was also reportedly stationed here. Of course, I had heard that she spent more time performing solo reconnaissance missions than staying at the fortress.

‘I see quite a few familiar faces.’

The pink-haired Viscount Neize was serving as a ballista (which was a magical device) operator, and Jora, who had been Prince Matthias’s attendant, seemed to be working as a laborer. It was fortunate that the troop shortage situation appeared to have improved somewhat.

“Erick, what are you planning?” the commander asked.

We had originally intended to enter the border area and wipe out one of the beastkin settlements. With the intention of inflicting definite damage.

We casually called it the border, but honestly, it was just an undeveloped area serving as a buffer zone with the Demonic Land. However, having faced the Demon Lord’s army for a long time, we had a general understanding of the terrain. We also had some knowledge of the beastkin’s range of activities.

But since our goal was explicitly to sow discord, there was no need for that. We planned to provoke the beastkin to emerge on their own.

“Commander. As you know, the Demon Lord’s army is monitoring the developments in the capital.”

“And?”

“I plan to request the imperial palace to issue an imperial decree ordering the execution of all beastkin captured throughout the Empire.”

“What?”

The commander looked at me as if I was talking nonsense.

It was nonsense. The Empire had never conducted large-scale captures of beastkin.

Of course, beastkin didn’t only reside in the border area or the Demonic Land. Some lived in great forests or other frontier regions, and a very small number even lived among humans. After all, beastkin were a race incorporated into the Demon Lord’s army as needed. There was no reason to quarrel with such beastkin.

“The demons observing the capital will report it as is. They’ll say the Empire is lying.”

“Well, obviously.”

“But the Beast King won’t believe that report.”

There was a reason I was so confident despite never having seen the Beast King’s face.

The false report that caused the first Cordana crash.

The truth had been revealed because of the Beast King’s fighting spirit when he came to rescue the beastkin forces facing annihilation.

According to the testimony of knights who encountered the Beast King at that time, it was miraculous that he hadn’t died from his severe injuries. Despite this, he had broken through dozens of knights and opened an escape route for his kind. It was an impressive display of fighting spirit that had been overshadowed by the shock of the market crash.

But thinking about it, there was something suspicious.

“…Another of the Tetrad who is currently troubling various nations could have stepped in to help. Or they could have sent several high-ranking demons. But at that time, the demons remained silent whether the beastkin elites were annihilated or not.”

“That’s right. Even though another member of the Tetrad could have died.”

“That’s the extent of the relationship between beastkin and demons. They probably weren’t happy about sacrificing the feline tribe recently either.”

Even if the demons monitoring the capital reported honestly, it seemed unlikely that the Beast King would believe them at face value. Not necessarily because he pitied his kind, but because he might suspect the Demon Lord’s army, which wanted to delay all-out war, was trying to deceive him.

‘Once suspicion arises, he’ll act independently. In some way.’

I had plans for what would happen after that as well. Just as I was about to open my mouth to explain to the commander,

“…What is that?”

The commander frowned, pointing somewhere. Indeed, in the distance, a group wrapped in brilliant light was charging fiercely toward us.