In the western part of the empire lay the metropolis, Prihi.

Prihi’s upper echelon had been granted autonomy from the empire, effectively making them the true rulers of the area.

Through Ertis’s teleportation, the three arrived at the city entrance.

Prodia stared at the sprawling metropolis before her.

It was clear at a glance that this place was as prosperous as the empire’s capital.

Ertis too seemed fascinated, looking around in awe.

“I’ve only heard rumors, but it’s my first time actually seeing it. It’s incredibly glamorous.”

“Indeed.”

Her eyes, which had been scanning various parts of the city, soon caught sight of a large and splendid building.

Reading the sign, she realized that it was the headquarters of Prihi’s upper echelon.

Prodia pointed at the building towards Luca.

“Is that it? Prihi’s upper echelon?”

“Yes. But the place we need to go today is different.”

He lowered his voice to a whisper.

“That’s just for show.”

“Excuse me…?”

Ah, so it’s classified information.

Luca signaled for the two to follow.

“Follow me from here.”

But where Luca led them was not into the city.

‘A forest…?’

Luca began to walk them along a path through the woods on the outskirts of the city.

The three walked for a while deeper into the forest.

The path seemed quite complicated, but Luca, pushing through the bushes, appeared quite familiar with it.

Watching him, Prodia felt puzzled.

‘How does Luca know the geography here so well?’

It was quite a distance from the temple to here.

While Prodia was lost in thought, Ertis asked Luca the same question.

“Weren’t you just in the temple? How do you know the area this well?”

“Um, well…”

Luca hesitated before speaking.

“Actually, I ran away from the temple once a few years ago.”

At that, Prodia turned to look at Luca in surprise.

“Really? Why?”

“I was just too stifled and couldn’t bear it. Haha…”

“But this place is far from the temple, isn’t it? How did you get here?”

“Um, it’s a bit of a long story…”

Just then, they arrived in front of a small, dilapidated log cabin.

Luca stopped and said,

“We’re here.”

Prodia looked at the log cabin before her.

It was so poorly constructed that it was hard to even call it a house.

It seemed too shabby to be a base for a secret organization.

Prodia frowned.

“Is this really… Prihi’s upper echelon’s secret base?”

“Yeah. It’s quite run-down, isn’t it? I was surprised too.”

Ertis seemed to share the sentiment.

“Trade secrets in a place like this? Even speaking softly, it seems like it’d leak outside.”

“Yes, that’s why actually… important discussions are held elsewhere.”

“What…?”

Just then, Ertis, sensing something suspicious, shielded Prodia.

“Someone’s approaching.”

“Huh?”

As Ertis gathered mana in his palm, masked individuals sprang from the bushes.

His eyes filled with killing intent, Ertis warned,

“Who the hell are you?”

The masked people unsheathed their swords, aiming them at Ertis.

“That’s what we want to know. Identify yourselves. What brings you here?”

“What?”

Amid the chaos, only Luca remained calm.

Ertis turned his head to look at Luca.

“You, explain what’s going on.”

Instead of answering, Luca addressed the masked individuals.

“Hello. Red-eyed Luca is here to see Ed.”

“……!”

Hearing that name, the masked individuals suddenly changed their attitude.

Quickly sheathing their swords, the one who appeared to be their leader stepped forward and bowed respectfully.

“We apologize for the rudeness. To proceed to our base, we need to blindfold not just you, Luca, but your companions as well. Is that acceptable?”

What on earth is going on here?
At that moment, Luca awkwardly scratched his head toward the two.

“Sorry for not telling you in advance. Were you surprised?”

“Is that what you call a warning?”

“I had no choice. They told me I couldn’t reveal the true location of the organization to anyone. There was no other way to bring you here.”

The masked leader added,

“We will make sure to accommodate you as comfortably as possible.”

They had no choice.

The three nodded, and the masked leader covered his eyes with a black eye patch.

They followed the masked leader for a moment before boarding a carriage.

As soon as Prodia took her seat, Irtis’s voice echoed in her mind.

After some time, they finally arrived at what appeared to be a secret organization of the Free Upper Tier.

“We’ve arrived, please disembark carefully.”

Then the carriage door opened.

In fact, Irtis had been continuously deploying detection magic from the beginning.

However, the carriage seemed to anticipate this, either continuously circling the same area or deliberately detouring.

Eventually, the magical signals he sent out tangled like knotted thread.

‘Where on earth is this?’

Then a more troubling situation arose.

The carriage slowed, and suddenly, the signals he had sent out felt obstructed.

That meant, could it be.