Muge’s words “Go wait anywhere” were not empty, as Eustar and Laila eventually circled around Branch 2 and barely managed to find an empty and usable room.

“It’s amazing there haven’t been any complaints filed at Branch 2 in this state.”

Eustar said with a hollow laugh as he lay down on the clean bed.

The rooms prepared for members and knights were in disarray everywhere.

Some had traces of what looked like explosions, personal belongings scattered messily, or windows left open for who knows how long, causing coughing fits from the cold air and dust upon entering.

“It seems the members live freely since Branch Head Muge doesn’t pay attention to small details. It’s good to live comfortably, but this is too much.”

“But some rooms were clean, weren’t they?”

“They were. At least visually…”

There were two or three more rooms that seemed unused.

The items were neatly organized, and there was no sand, dust, or what looked like discarded rags or gathered scraps scattered on the sheets.

However, all such rooms had… unwelcome tenants.

“Are you not tired, Laila? Come here.”

Eustar stretched out his arm. Laila, who had just exorcised five ghosts in a short time, looked drained, more from bewilderment than exhaustion.

“Why are there so many ghosts in Branch 2?”

“It’s probably because there’s a river nearby. The ‘Lake of the Lost’ isn’t that far from here either. Unsavory things tend to gather where water flows.”

Laila sighed and sat down next to Eustar.

“They didn’t intentionally leave those ghosts in the empty rooms because no one could see them, right?”

Eustar nodded.

“Probably not. But there likely aren’t people who would deliberately put on a monocle to scan rooms when entering. People naturally avoid places that feel a bit off. The branch’s rooms, labs, and private quarters were planned to outnumber the members. So leaving a few empty wouldn’t have been a problem.”

After saying that, Eustar looked up at Laila. Feeling his gaze, Laila met his eyes.

Her hair, which had grown quite long, swayed slightly past her shoulders. He reached out and gently caressed the ends of Laila’s hair.

“Your hair, I mean. You haven’t cut it in the meantime, have you, Laila?”

Laila glanced at her shoulder once and nodded.

“I haven’t.”

“Then it grows very slowly.”

“Is that so? When I was in Riskus, I cut my hair out of habit… I’m not sure if it grows quickly or slowly.”

Eustar’s arm wrapped around Laila’s waist. With a slight pressure, her body fell without resistance, and a faint smile appeared on the lips of the two lying side by side.

Laila, her lips quivering, subtly avoided Eustar’s steady gaze and said:

“Don’t stare at me like that.”

A more distinct smile appeared on Eustar’s lips. It seemed both amusing and, on the other hand, as if he didn’t know what to do because she was so cute.

Eustar moved his body to pull Laila closer and embrace her. He could feel her warm body temperature and heartbeat.

Placing his hand on Laila’s chest, Eustar said teasingly:

“Your heart is beating as fast as a bird’s.”

The red eyes moved. The downcast gaze suddenly shot upwards, and Laila’s hand firmly pressed against Eustar’s chest.

“Yours is the same.”

“I never said it wasn’t.”

Laila pursed her lips and slightly pulled her chin back. Eustar burst into laughter at her sulky expression and left a very light kiss, barely touching, on the corner of her mouth.

“That expression just now. It’s the same as when you were wearing the rabbit headband last time.”

Laila’s eyes narrowed.

“Do you find teasing me amusing?”

Eustar chuckled softly and gently caressed her cheek with the back of his hand.

“It’s not so much amusing as it is cute. By the way, where did you put that headband? I haven’t seen it at all.”

“I told Mel to put it away. I’m never wearing it again.”

“Why? It was really cute. Wear it again sometime. Like at a ball.”

“Say something that makes sense.”

“What doesn’t make sense about it? We could have a masquerade ball or something. Everyone will be dressed up so fancy that your rabbit headband won’t stand out.”

Laila’s eyes moved slowly, as if contemplating. Finding her expression funny and cute again, Eustar unconsciously pulled her close and hugged her tightly.

“You just thought ‘Well, if that’s the case…,’ didn’t you?”

“No, not at all.”

“Whose lying lips are these?”

This time, a longer kiss followed. Laila, her cheeks flushed bright red, tried to push his shoulder away, but Eustar’s body didn’t budge.

Laila said:

“I don’t think we should be doing this right now.”

Eustar grinned and pretended to tilt his head.

“Oh? Then what should we be doing?”

Laila blinked a couple of times. Her expression seemed bewildered, as if wondering how this could be happening, but she closed her mouth, not knowing what to say.

If she had been more adept at communicating with others, or if Eustar had shown such a brazen side from the beginning, she might have been able to come up with a witty response, but…

Eustar smiled and said:

“If Muge told us to wait, we have no choice but to wait. She may not boast about it herself, but Muge is a magician after all. Magicians don’t like being rushed.”

At the mention of Muge, Laila suddenly thought of Felix. She had asked Eustar once, ‘Why are they on such bad terms?’ when she saw the two growling at each other, unable to stand each other.

‘I couldn’t hear the exact story then because we were dealing with the demonic beast.’

Laila looked at Eustar and said:

“About Miss Olga and Felix. Why are they on such bad terms? Felix isn’t even a magician, is he?”

“Ah, Felix. Hmm…”

He hesitated. Laila’s curiosity grew even more, and she suddenly remembered what Eustar had said to Felix.

“That time… you said to Felix, ‘The Zaokoonst incident.’ You said it had nothing to do with Miss Olga… What was that about?”

Eustar looked a bit surprised, as if he hadn’t expected Laila to remember that. He let out a sound that was either a groan or a sigh and readjusted his embrace of Laila.

“Zaokoonst is the name of an organization that has completely disappeared now.”

“An organization? What kind?”

“An organization of magicians. It’s a very old story. I’ve only heard the tales passed down, and I don’t know how much of it is true.”

“Then Felix didn’t experience it directly either, right?”

Eustar gave a bitter smile.

“That’s right. Even Muge has nothing to do with Zaokoonst. That’s how long ago it was. Hmm… I’m not sure where to start the story. I’ve heard that the magicians of the Zaokoonst organization were extremely radical people. They were people who insisted that magicians should be prioritized above all else.”

His story went back to a very distant past. It was an event from hundreds of years ago, something that neither Eustar nor Laila, and not even the artificially created Muge, had experienced.

Zaokoonst came forward, advocating for a ‘state for magicians,’ directly opposing the system ruled by non-magician humans.

“I’ve heard their numbers weren’t particularly large. If there had been many magicians who joined Zaokoonst, Sierouh would have fallen into their hands long ago.”

“Who stopped those people?”

“Many people. Magicians, or even non-magicians tried to stop Zaokoonst. Because they… massacred civilians.”

Laila’s eyes widened.

“You mean they killed people?”

Eustar nodded and gently caressed her ear and cheek.

“Felix’s… his family members tried to protect civilians against Zaokoonst. They were royal military officers for generations. Something like the royal guard. So… they voluntarily went to the front lines to stop Zaokoonst, and almost all of them were sacrificed. Not just that family, but all those who followed them. Only a very small number were lucky enough to survive, and only after Zaokoonst was completely disbanded could they finally gather again and reorganize the family.”

“My goodness…”

“I heard that Felix’s family originally owned a very large estate and was a meritorious noble family. But after the battle with Zaokoonst, they lost most of it. They say many people scattered and never returned, and Felix himself is from an orphanage. He was adopted by Count Carrot and lived as his son, only to learn about his… family-related matters much later. Since then, he’s had an indiscriminate dislike for magicians.”

Eustar gave a bitter smile and let out a long sigh.

“Count Carrot is someone who has researched the history of Sierouh for a long time. So he knew well about the Zaokoonst rebellion. Felix’s red hair, his youthful appearance despite his age, his innate agility and martial arts skills. His ancestors who were sacrificed in the fight against Zaokoonst had these characteristics. They were very distinct features. Just like…”

“Like how I have black hair and red eyes?”

Eustar blinked and nodded with a faint smile. Then he kissed the ends of her hair lovingly.

“After the incident, Count Carrot visited the surviving family members and discovered that Felix belonged to that family. I’m not sure how they confirmed the blood relation.”

“Then is Felix no longer part of the Carrot family?”

“No, that’s not the case. Felix chose to remain Count Carrot’s son. Of course, he vowed not to forget the truth about his ancestors. That’s why he doesn’t get along with Muge. If you look closely, Muge doesn’t particularly like magicians either, but Felix just can’t control his temper.”

After being lost in thought for a moment, Laila asked:

“Then what about Miss Olga? Why did… the magicians create Miss Olga?”