“So I think I have to attend the welcome party.”

Riley relayed to Givnen exactly what she had been told at the academy.

Everything from the fact that a one-night, two-day trip to Lurat, where they had traveled before, had been scheduled, to the fact that they would be departing the day after tomorrow, to the fact that it would be difficult to miss the welcome party due to attendance requirements.

Givnen, who initially seemed indifferent about the welcome party, frowned when he heard that the destination was Lurat.

“You’re going all the way there?”

“I know… I don’t understand it either, but it seems that’s already been decided.”

Givnen fell silent, as if deep in thought.

After being lost in thought for a while with his book open, he reluctantly nodded.

“Go ahead.”

“Will you be alright by yourself?”

“You worry too much. I’ve always been alone when things like this happen. I’ve told you many times that I prefer being alone. You’re the one who insisted on sticking around despite that.”

“But you didn’t dislike it, did you?”

“…”

“Right?”

Instead of answering, Givnen fixed his gaze back on his book.

“Then I’ll go wash up, change clothes, and come back.”

Again, there was no response.

However, it wasn’t an ignoring tone. He nodded ever so slightly.

After Riley left, Givnen took off the glasses he was wearing, placed them on the shelf, and called Sack telepathically.

– Come over here for a moment.

·

·

·

“How are you feeling?”

“Good, I can walk now at least. I think I’ll be able to return in a couple of days.”

“That’s a relief. By the way, why did you call me?”

“The academy’s welcome party schedule, is there no way to cancel it?”

“The academy? That’s quite an independent institution, so it would be difficult for us to intervene. Especially in the case of the welcome party, it’s not even an event hosted by the council, but by the student council…”

Sack was puzzled.

He had never paid attention to the academy before. But now trying to put pressure on an event hosted by the academy?

Of course, Sack had heard vaguely about the welcome party. Originally, the event to welcome new students had been continuing as a tradition under the leadership of the general department’s student council, but the magic department had also recently shown a tendency to emphasize ‘communication’.

They said they would consistently arrange opportunities for friendship and harmony to break down the walls between those from Blestige and those who were not.

Of course, whether it’s really effective is questionable.

“I’m uneasy.”

Given the situation where he almost got poisoned, Givnen thought the timing was not good.

“Why is the destination Lurat of all places? It’s too far. If it’s a place to welcome new students, couldn’t they arrange it in Blestige as well?”

“I understand that the magic department’s student council president is the second son of the Eldit Hotel owner. So I heard that they’ve rented out the entire Eldit Hotel as accommodation this time.”

“Did an outsider become the student council president?”

“Yes, it’s unprecedented. But I understand. He’s known for his easy-going and likable personality, so he’s popular even among his classmates from Blestige. And even though he’s from outside, since Lurat is a city rich and wealthy enough to be called the second capital, it seems they don’t completely ostracize him.”

Givnen frowned.

He didn’t care what kind of person the magic department’s student council president was. He just didn’t like the idea of sending Riley far away at this time.

His body hadn’t fully recovered, and they couldn’t rule out the possibility that whoever did this might be hiding somewhere watching. There was no guarantee their evil intentions wouldn’t extend to Riley as well.

“I understand your concern, but… the shadows you’ve assigned as lady’s guards will move with her, and Lurat is a city with a very high population density. Also, since all Horizon students are going together, it shouldn’t be too dangerous.”

“…”

“Don’t worry too much and focus on recovering your body, Master. What you should be concerned about now is not lady Riley’s safety, but your own.”

Givnen felt a throbbing in his head as he closed his book. Then he lay down on the bed, suppressing his irritation.

For a moment, he thought that maybe he was being too overprotective, as Sack said. But even if this was being overly sensitive, there’s no harm in being careful, is there?

If he had his way, he’d like to lock her up here. Or pressure the student council to cancel it.

Knowing too well how she grew up under Baron Eadalin, he was being as careful as possible not to be coercive or forceful, but still… he couldn’t help feeling irritated when an uncontrollable being met an uncontrollable situation.

“Get well soon. It seems you’re more sensitive than usual because you’re not feeling well. You shouldn’t be swayed by emotions.”

After Sack left, Givnen laughed in disbelief, covering his face with his hands.

‘Now I’m even getting such nagging.’

This situation where he found it difficult to control his emotions was unfamiliar.

What was truly absurd was that the woman who had been bothering him all day was still irritating even when out of sight.

When she was around, it was annoying, and when she wasn’t, it was boring and anxiety-inducing. Sending her far away… it caused much more stress than the current situation.

He wasn’t the type to worry about things that hadn’t happened yet, but Riley was an exception. She was someone who needed to be watched more carefully, paid more attention to, and managed. Because she was the object of his efforts.

If he hadn’t almost been poisoned, could he have sent her off with a little more ease?

Had his mind weakened along with his body?

“Did you wait long? I brought your medicine.”

Givnen removed the hand covering his face and raised his head. He saw Riley approaching with a tray loaded with medicine and porridge.

“Ha.”

“What’s wrong?”

“…It’s nothing.”

Why did all the irritation melt away instantly when the source of all this annoyance entered?

The prickly feelings that had been sticking out due to his sensitivity smoothed out as if nothing had happened.

The change was so rapid it was almost ridiculous.

Givnen grabbed Riley’s hand as she was stirring the porridge to cool it. Then he hugged her tightly.

Riley was surprised but patted Givnen’s back.

“What is it?”

“Just, I like it.”

“…”

“It feels nice and warm.”

Riley didn’t say anything. Neither did Givnen.

They just held each other quietly.

Until the hot porridge cooled completely.

“Did you say she’s Ryston’s daughter?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Count Ermeints came personally and said she’s Ryston’s daughter? And Givnen Lianster is keeping her?”

Reynald nodded and then spoke about the information he had gathered so far.

“Just in case, I looked into it and found evidence that he recently had a woman admitted to the academy as a recommended student.”

“The academy?”

“Within the academy, rumors have spread that the Tower Master has taken on a new disciple, but it’s difficult to confirm the veracity of the rumors as the faculty members are completely tight-lipped. It’s also an area where our hands don’t reach easily.”

“Hmm, strange. When we killed Ryston, we didn’t find any traces or evidence of a young child. By the way, Count Ermeints, where did that old man get such incredible information from?”

The man was suspicious about the fact that Count Ermeints knew about Ryston’s existence and that he had come to Nihil with this information.

Ryston was such a veiled figure. His place of birth, age, real name, family relations – nothing was known publicly. Not even his appearance. Even when they were tracking Ryston, he had about ten different disguise occupations and names.

He was even a master of disguise. He was so good at disguising himself and was so elusive that for a while, they even doubted whether the Ryston they killed was the real Ryston.

They always kept in mind the possibility that he might be living well somewhere else, disguised as someone else with a different appearance and name.

In the midst of all this, to hear news of the existence of an unexpected blood relative.

It couldn’t help but pique their interest.

“At first, instead of mentioning his daughter, he said he would provide information about Ryston. That information turned out to be about the existence of his daughter.”

“How much did he seem to know about Ryston?”

“…He didn’t seem to know much.”

“…”

“What should we do?”

The young man didn’t answer Reynald’s question and fell into contemplation.

After a very long time of deep consideration, he slowly answered.

“Make contact. Find out what he wants in return for providing the information and report back to me.”

Reynald knelt and replied.

“As you command.”

·

·

·

Returning to the hideout, Reynald ordered his subordinate.

“Bring Count Ermeints here immediately.”

“You must cover your eyes. Your companions too. If you don’t cover your eyes, you can’t enter.”

Count Ermeints, who had made contact with Nihil’s underling at a shabby inn, couldn’t hide his bewilderment.

It was already surprising that people had formed a village in the garbage dump where all of Blestige’s trash gathered, but after coming all this way, to be told to cover his eyes.

“It’s for security purposes, please cooperate.”

He thought the precautions were excessive for people who operated underground.

But on the other hand, he also thought that perhaps it was thanks to such thoroughness that they had remained undetected on the surface until now.

“Alright.”

Although he was afraid of what they might do if he put on the blindfold, he had come this far prepared for this. After all, he had often heard that to deal with underground people, one had to risk their life.

How could one make deals without this much guts when dealing with scum who live at the bottom, committing all sorts of dirty deeds?

Thus, with his eyes covered by the blindfold, he was led by the hand of Nihil’s underling and moved.

After walking for a long time, at some point, moisture splashed with each step, and soon his trouser cuffs were soaked. As an eerie and chilly atmosphere began to surround them, Count Ermeints flinched with each step.

“We’ve arrived. You can take off your blindfold now.”

Count Ermeints removed the blindfold, breathing heavily.

He first surveyed his surroundings. The small room, which had nothing in it, smelled of mold.

Looking closely, he saw that the walls were full of mold due to the excessive moisture. The only things in the room were a table and a chair. Moreover, the space was very narrow. There wasn’t even a window, making it extremely stuffy.

As he was looking around in astonishment, the door opened and a young man entered.

He was a man with long red hair, wearing a peculiar mask. An extraordinary aura emanated from him.

“You must have had a hard journey, elder.”

“Are you the leader of Nihil?”

The man laughed softly at Count Ermeints’ question.

“No, I’m just my lord’s representative. My name is Reynald.”

“I came to meet the leader of Nihil.”

“My lord meets no one. I handle all matters. If you don’t like this arrangement, you’re free to leave right now.”

“A coward, I see.”

“The more cowardly, the longer one survives. You, who were once called a war hero, might not understand this, elder.”

“…Let’s get to the point.”

“Yes, you said you would tell us about Ryston’s whereabouts and his daughter.”

Count Ermeints spilled all the information he had to the man before him.

That Ryston’s real name was Cain Eadalin and Ryston was his childhood name.

The story of his younger brother, Baron Ryan Eadalin, the story of the adopted daughter Riley Eadalin who was adopted by Baron Ryan, and even the recent process of marriage negotiations and the subsequent breaking off of the engagement.

Of course, except for Riley’s existence, this was information Reynald already knew, so there was nothing interesting.

“So you’re saying that Ryston’s daughter and the Tower Master of Horizon are secretly proceeding with marriage?”

“They’ve already finished the meeting between the two families. It seems they’re rushing the marriage. And as if that wasn’t enough, they’ve put her into Horizon Academy.”

“The academy… is indeed the safest institution for protecting something.”

The faculty of Horizon Academy were close associates of Tower Master Yung. As a result, they couldn’t even plant spies inside the academy.

“Anyway, is there no way I can separate that wench from the Tower Master and have her for myself?”

Instead of answering, Reynald asked a question.

“Elder, do you wish to possess Ryston’s daughter?”

“That’s right, I’ll create an heir for the Ermeints family through that wench’s womb.”

“…Well, it’s not entirely impossible. It will just take a long time. I doubt whether you’ll still be alive by then, elder.”

“If I die, give her to my son.”

Treating a person like an object. While Reynald clicked his tongue at the ugliness of a senile old man lusting after a young woman, he hid his true feelings and skillfully continued the negotiation.

“If we accept this request, what will you give us in return, elder?”

“What do you want?”

“My lord desires a portion of the territory owned by Count Ermeints.”

“…Are you asking me to give up some land?”

“Yes, an unused plot where no one lives will suffice.”

Count Ermeints narrowed his eyes and looked at Reynald.

The Ermeints county included quite a few prime areas commonly referred to as ‘egg yolks’. All of them were lands he had received as rewards in recognition of his merits during his time as a war hero, and the taxes collected from those areas alone were enough to buy dozens of medium-sized magic towers with plenty left over.

Of course, the Ermeints county was also very close to the capital Blestige, and with constant development, there was a never-ending influx of people looking for work. It was gradually taking on the scale of a ‘metropolis’.

To ask for ‘unused land’ from someone who owned such substantial territories that even the three great ducal families would envy?

“Is that really all you want?”

“Yes, for now.”

“Then I shall do so.”

“For now, we need to verify the authenticity of what you’ve told us. Once we confirm that Riley Eadalin is indeed Ryston’s daughter, we’ll proceed with the request.”

“What about the down payment?”

“Even if it’s a very small piece, please give us 1/3 of the land as a down payment.”

“Very well, do I just need to transfer the ownership?”

“Yes.”

“Then I’ll inform my proxy lord in advance. We’ll proceed as soon as the documents are ready.”

“Please let us know when they’re ready. We’ll finish our verification and come to escort you.”

Reynald stood up with a smile.

“Now then, let us escort you safely back to your residence, elder.”

As his subordinates left with Count Ermeints, Reynald took off his mask and placed it on the table. He was about to call the shadows but hesitated. He then muttered as if he had made up his mind.

“I should check this out myself.”

Whether Riley Eadalin was truly the daughter of the great magician Ryston.