Ch.83Chapter 83. Goal Achieved (3)

“Ryu!!”

Elaine shouted involuntarily as soon as she saw Ryu’s face.

Her worried feelings instantly transformed into mild anger upon seeing Ryu’s calm appearance.

She had been worried because he kept disappearing, but here he was, appearing casually as if nothing had happened.

What annoyed her more was how he approached cheerfully, waving his hand as if nothing was wrong.

“Where on earth did you go! Everyone was looking for you!”

“Huh…? Really? I was just, um, checking something?”

“No, what could you possibly be checking in this situation!”

Elaine didn’t even realize that she had rushed in front of Ryu and was now shouting at him in frustration.

She was simply expressing her worry that had transformed into resentment.

“If you’re going to disappear, at least say something first! I know you’re confident in your abilities, but…!”

“Elaine.”

Elaine stopped mid-sentence at the firm voice of Ryu calling her name.

Instead of his usual smile, he was looking at her with a serious expression.

Seeing Ryu’s serious face, Elaine suddenly came to her senses.

“First, calm down.”

“…Ah.”

“I’m sorry for disappearing suddenly. Something came up.”

“Ah…”

Hearing Ryu’s unusually calm voice, her intense emotions subsided instantly.

It was strange.

She never expected that a single word could so quickly dissolve all her worry and frustration.

Only then did Elaine begin to notice not just Ryu, but the situation around her.

Perhaps because she had raised her voice upon seeing Ryu, the surrounding gazes were subtly focused on her.

As soon as she recognized the situation, embarrassment replaced her anger.

She had become too emotional and overexcited.

“Anyway, you all seem to be safe. That’s good?”

“Uh… yeah. Nothing happened on our end…”

Elaine took a step back from Ryu and glanced around nervously.

Ryu was still speaking in a gentle yet reassuring voice with a calm expression.

His tone was enough to make her feel embarrassed.

Elaine noticed Cynthia and Emily behind her, looking at her with bewildered expressions.

Both seemed unsure how to react.

‘Ah, I overreacted.’

Now Elaine’s heart was filled not with worry or anger, but with embarrassment.

To think that a knight who should always maintain composure would show such an outburst.

“It seems Miss Elaine was very worried about you, Ryu.”

“…It seems so.”

“Hehehe.”

As a brief silence fell, Yuria broke into the conversation with a voice full of amusement.

“Ah, no, it’s not that I was that worried…!”

“It’s okay, Elaine. It’s natural to worry about your comrades.”

“Ah…”

Elaine felt that Yuria’s bright smile somehow contained a hint of mischief.

It was slightly reminiscent of Ryu’s smile.

“…I overreacted. I’m sorry, Ryu.”

“Huh? No, no. I’m the one who should be sorry.”

“No. I was clearly at fault for not trusting my comrade.”

“…But Elaine?”

“Yes?”

Having regained her usual composure, Elaine tried to act as if nothing had happened while carefully managing her expression.

Though her face was hot with embarrassment, she firmly believed that it wouldn’t be visible in the darkness.

“You spoke casually to me just now, and it sounded much better. Would you consider continuing to talk that way?”

“…Huh?”

Only then did Elaine realize.

She had been speaking informally to Ryu.

In her urgency, she hadn’t even thought about it.

“Ah…”

Elaine couldn’t hold back anymore.

She had tried to maintain her knightly composure and act as if nothing had happened, but…

Flush-

In the end, Elaine couldn’t help but cover her burning face with both hands.

It was too embarrassing.

“So Elaine is human after all? Usually you speak so formally, like a machine.”

“That’s, well…!”

“Doesn’t it sound so much better when you speak casually? It makes us feel much closer. Anyway, you and Addy… no, never mind. Anyway!”

“Just now was a momentary mistake!”

Elaine desperately tried to explain herself in response to Ryu’s seemingly teasing words, completely unaware that everyone around her, not just Ryu, was watching her with warm smiles.

“Will you keep making these mistakes? I’m counting on it?”

“Ah, Ryuuuu!!”

Elaine’s voice, almost like a whine, was getting louder.

**

Clink-

A necklace dropped onto the table where three other accessories were already placed.

Earrings, bracelet, ring, necklace.

The four ornaments were gathered in one place.

“Hmm.”

The person who had just placed the necklace on the table, the founder of the Nameless Organization, let out a low hum.

The low voice seemed to vibrate.

‘That guy…’

The founder was lost in thought, recalling the scene witnessed earlier.

The uncertainty and surprise outweighed the joy of finally gathering all four ornaments.

That man who was fighting with the Third Elder.

Though he tried to conceal his identity with various artifacts, the founder saw through it immediately.

Despite the black-masked figure having a woman’s voice, it was definitely a man.

And one with particularly troublesome and powerful abilities.

The reason the founder didn’t intervene in the fight between the Third Elder and the black mask was simple.

It wasn’t yet time for the founder to reveal themselves to the world.

Of course, eliminating witnesses would solve the problem, but the founder instinctively knew:

There was no 100% certainty of eliminating the one fighting the Third Elder, even if the founder intervened.

It was an unfamiliar type of magic, even to the founder who prided themselves on having seen more magic than anyone else in their lifetime.

Or rather, it was questionable whether it was magic at all.

While there were clear mana flows when he used wind magic occasionally, there was no such indication otherwise.

The black-masked man jumped freely through space without any mana fluctuations.

At first, the founder thought he was continuously using pre-cast spatial movement magic, but watching further revealed this wasn’t the case.

Swish-

The founder picked up the necklace while deep in thought.

This was a necklace that might not have been obtained if the Third Elder hadn’t understood the founder’s intentions midway.

‘To think such a person was hiding out there.’

The founder frowned, gripping the necklace tightly.

The ability to freely traverse space wasn’t actually a major threat in itself.

After all, even the Third Elder’s crude and clumsy black magic had managed to corner him.

The problem was the ability the black mask demonstrated at the end.

If the founder’s guess was correct, the black-masked person wasn’t simply jumping through space.

The black mask knew how to manipulate “space” itself.

Though it might have been invisible to the Third Elder, the founder clearly saw it.

What surrounded the black mask at the end wasn’t a simple barrier.

Though the principle behind it was unclear, the black mask had opened spatial rifts around himself.

As a result, any attack would never reach him but would disappear into another space.

From the perspective of the Third Elder, who likely noticed nothing, it would have seemed as if the attacks were simply vanishing.

That’s why he would have continued pushing with attacks that wouldn’t work.

“Still, I’ve achieved my objective.”

The founder placed the necklace back on the table.

If weighing profit and loss, it was still a gain.

Despite losing the Third Elder and having the organization’s identity soon exposed to the Empire, all four ornaments had been collected.

And the revelation of the organization’s identity was actually desired.

That’s why simultaneous operations were carried out across the continent today.

By tomorrow, the world would be in an uproar.

‘That masked person still bothers me though.’

What still unsettled the founder was that space-manipulating person from earlier.

Now that all four ornaments were gathered, all that remained was to begin the ritual.

The problem was that once the ritual began, the founder wouldn’t be able to move directly for about three months.

Despite extensive preparations for this three-month absence…

‘A variable appears at the very end.’

The founder hadn’t expected the emergence of an opponent they couldn’t confidently kill in one strike.

Moreover, losing the Third Elder wasn’t part of the plan.

During the three months the founder would be in ritual, the Third Elder was supposed to be one of the key figures drawing public attention.

“It can’t be helped.”

But it was too late to postpone the ritual now.

That would truly be the worst-case scenario.

Swish-

The founder moved slowly.

Putting on the necklace, fastening the bracelet.

After wearing all four ornaments, the founder quietly closed their eyes.

Whoosh-

Concentrating mana at the fingertips, the founder began writing something in the air.

<Execute the plan.>

The founder sent this message to the two remaining elders.

They had already been informed that the Third Elder had nearly failed the plan and was captured by the Empire.

Though it wouldn’t be easy, the two remaining elders would somehow complete the task.

Whoosh-

Having finished their thoughts, the founder, wearing all four ornaments, disappeared somewhere.

With the conviction that everything would end in three months.