It happened the next day.
He thought he was fine, but the fact that he didn't wake up until the next morning meant that a lot of fatigue had piled up without him realizing it.
Especially his arm—it ached all over.
It felt swollen and unnaturally thick, so much so that he had to keep an ice pack pressed to it even while leaving the Magic Tower.
The farewell was shorter than expected.
There were people who felt regret, but no one tried to stop him.
Everyone understood that Isaac had to leave.
The send-off was rather modest.
"Farewell. While you're gone, we'll try to uncover the secrets behind the sorcery."
Among the mages, only Regant had come to say goodbye.
It wasn't that Isaac lacked popularity—rather, it was because he had drawn so much attention that only Regant came to avoid any unnecessary scene.
You could hear the sighs of regret from the female mages all the way over here. No more needs to be said.
Liana and Mu-myeong accompanied him, as they had to stay behind to investigate the sorcery further.
"See you later, my disciple,"
Said Mu-myeong with a cheeky grin, waving her hand.
She was quite curious to see what kind of sword Isaac would be carrying next time they met.
"..."
On the other hand, Liana was silent.
Or rather, she was talking non-stop—but thanks to a Silence spell, it was completely inaudible.
When he gently removed the necklace, Liana immediately poured out her heart.
"I want to be with Isaac."
"I don't want to be apart from Isaac."
"I want to sleep beside Isaac again."
"It makes me happy when Isaac is next to me."
"..."
Those bold declarations were now familiar. People around them even referred to them as an inseparable couple.
'Even though we're divorced.'
Isaac felt awkward but didn't say anything more.
Of course, it wasn't like Liana only thought selfish things.
"Don't get hurt, and be careful."
In the end, she offered him sincere words of farewell, hoping he'd return safely.
And so, the long, long time at the Magic Tower finally came to an end once again.
***
"Ugh, my head hurts."
The royal capital—Evergard.
Inside her office at the royal palace.
Today again, Clarice was going through all kinds of paperwork.
A document suggesting that, since the number of beasts pushing down from the north had decreased slightly, now might be a good time to reclaim the Malidan Wall.
An invitation saying that Prince Raphael of the neighboring kingdom of Brentarion was marrying a commoner and asking if she could attend the celebration.
A research report from the Magic Tower regarding sorcery, and more.
Clarice let out a sigh, feeling as if her head was about to explode.
She was helping her sister by handling all this work, but honestly, it felt like she was doing everything herself.
'No, it's not just a feeling.'
Grumbling to herself, Clarice finally got up from her seat.
No matter how talented her sister was at dealing with people and winning them over, this wasn't fair.
"If she's going to sit on the throne as a proxy, she should at least do her share."
As she stepped outside, her guard Heirad rushed to follow her.
"Are you going to see Princess Adeline?! No, please! You can't—!"
"Silence! It's a revolution!"
"Princess?!"
No matter how much she loved her sister, dumping all the work on her little sister was just wrong.
Clarice burst into Adeline's office, her steps firm.
Adeline also had a mountain of papers stacked in front of her—but rather than reading them, she was focused on a single letter.
"Hm? Clarice?"
The question was natural, but her hands moved suspiciously fast, hiding the letter.
Clarice's sharp eyes didn't miss it.
"Sis, I came to complain about the mountain of work you dumped on me. But let's set that aside for now… what did you just hide?"
"Hmm? Hide what?"
Adeline lifted her hands innocently to show there was nothing on the desk.
"Do you think I'm stupid? You placed it on your thigh."
"I feel like you used to fall for that trick when you were younger."
With a sly smile, Adeline pulled out the letter and handed it over to Clarice.
Regant handwriting.
A faint rose scent for some reason.
Polite and composed words with a quiet strength in tone.
"It's a letter from Baron Logan?!"
Clarice nearly jumped on the spot.
Buried in all that royal paperwork, the one thing that could refresh her mood was Baron Logan's letters!
"Wait, you intercepted it?! That was meant for me!"
"Hey, I didn't intercept it. I was just curious and opened it first."
"No, seriously, Sis—! Baron Logan is off-limits! He's mine!"
It wasn't just a romantic interest—he was like her vassal, much like Heirad.
Even Isaac would say Logan was under Clarice's wing.
Among the nobility, it was common knowledge that Baron Logan belonged to Clarice's faction.
"Clarice, do you know something? What belongs to others always looks bigger."
"Wha—?!"
"And Baron Logan doesn't just look big. He really big."
Adeline winked mischievously, trying to pass it off as a joke—but Clarice wasn't one to let things slide.
"You were already rejected, remember?! Isaac doesn't fall for seduction. You know that!"
"You think seduction is the only way to win over a man?"
"Oh, come on! Seriously?!"
"Puhaha!"
Adeline burst into laughter at her little sister's exasperated outburst.
After a long laugh, she finally calmed herself with deep breaths.
"Ahh, seriously. That was hilarious. Don't worry. Normally, maybe I'd play around, but not during a crisis like this. I wouldn't stir up trouble."
"..."
"I mean it. Trust your sister. I already have plenty of people around me."
That was true.
Adeline had an undeniable charisma that drew people in—it went beyond mere charm into the realm of talent.
"But more importantly, read the letter. Baron Logan is on his way here—with some rather shocking news."
"Giants? Transcendents are appearing? What is this…?"
Clarice frowned as she skimmed the letter.
Thanks to Isaac's very clear explanation, she immediately understood the situation.
However, even if she understood it, accepting it was a different matter.
Anyway, Isaac's request was simple.
"He wants to borrow the forge? Well, that's not hard at all."
"Right? Could you prepare it for him?"
"Sure, I got it."
Clarice nodded half-heartedly. It wasn't a difficult task.
More than that, the fact that Isaac was coming back made her heart flutter shamelessly.
'Geez… This isn't the time for this.'
The kingdom was already in an unprecedented crisis, yet her heart was acting up without knowing its place.
'Calm down, calm down.'
Taking a deep breath, Clarice began calculating Isaac's estimated time of arrival based on the letter's date and the distance between the Magic Tower and Evergard.
***
"Wow, the mansion changed this much?"
A few days later, the first to arrive at the destination was none other than Sharen.
She had come to the Helmut estate to collect the metal that Isaac would use.
That was the goal—but she wasn't alone.
"Hoo… Were there always this many flowers in the mansion?"
Her companion was none other than the Grandmaster.
The Grandmaster had come personally with Sharen to inspect the metal and see if it was suitable for crafting a blade.
As they stepped into the mansion, flowers were scattered everywhere.
The difference from before was that it wasn't just roses—now flowers of all colors filled the space.
"I thought Helmut only dealt with roses?"
"That's what I thought too."
Sharen scratched her cheek awkwardly as they walked further inside.
"Lady Sharen!"
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
The ground trembled.
A cheerful voice called out to Sharen.
It was a giant boulder—Nureumdol.
"Oh? Nureumdol? You're looking better!"
"Haha! Really?!"
"…He's a rock. What could possibly change?"
Ignoring the Grandmaster's deadpan comment, Nureumdol beamed with joy. In any case, it was clear he was living a much better life than when he was stuck in the Abyss.
"Hey! Mr. Nureumdol?! Weren't you helping me train?! Where are you running off to all of a sudden?!"
Following behind came Jonathan.
After being dispatched to the North, Jonathan had brought Nureumdol back here and remained at the estate.
Though he wanted to return to the northern front, there were too few knights at the estate, so he had no choice but to stay.
"Oh! Jonathan!"
"Lady Sharen?!"
"That boy…"
The Grandmaster crossed her arms with a smirk.
Jonathan—the one the Blood Demon was after.
She had seen him before, but knowing now that the Blood Demon was specifically searching for him made it feel different.
The Blood Demon seemed to operate in a different direction from the other Transcendents.
'If I stick close to that kid, I'll probably run into the Blood Demon eventually.'
Since the Blood Demon was searching for Jonathan, it was likely.
While the Grandmaster was deep in thought, Sharen smiled and asked:
"Where's Edel? I need to talk to him!"
"Ah, you mean the acting head? He's in the garden tending to flowers right now."
Led by Jonathan and Nureumdol, they found a boy holding a watering can.
"…Huh?"
The moment she saw Edel, Sharen froze.
"Did… did he get taller?"
It was obvious Edel had grown taller than her.
Had he secretly hogged all the Roselixir, Helmut's miracle potion?
Sharen pouted.
"Ah, Sis?! You're here!"
But seeing him greet her with a bright smile, Sharen nodded—yes, he was definitely still her little brother.
They were very close siblings, so they spent a long time catching up.
They exchanged all sorts of trivial stories, and among them was the purple lilac Edel had been watering.
"So, you're growing flowers besides roses now?"
"Ah, well…"
Edel scratched his cheek, a little embarrassed, and whispered:
"Actually, I heard from the maids that this lilac used to be something Brother-in-law planted. I didn't want to throw it away, but having only lilacs felt weird, so I ended up planting other flowers too."
"Ooh."
"I just wanted to leave some trace of him in the mansion."
At Edel's words, Sharen nodded in satisfaction.
This was going in a good direction.
"Perfect! Isaac needs our help. You know blacksmith Lapillon and Jingol Steel, right? You'll need to come to the capital with me. If you've got any extra Roselixir, bring one too."
Edel blinked a few times at Sharen's request, then smiled brightly and said:
"That's a no, Sis."
"Huh…?"
"Lapillon's busy right now. And do you know how expensive a unit of Jingol Steel is? Helmut's finances aren't looking great these days."
"..."
"And Roselixir? Sigh… Sis, you know that stuff can't be leaked outside. It's worth even more than Jingol Steel."
"..."
"We need to draw a line between personal and official matters. Especially since I'm acting head right now—"
"Blazing Fist!"
Thud.
Edel collapsed to the ground, staring up in shock.
Sharen raised her tiny fist and said:
"Wanna die? Hand it over."