Enrico was still watching the fight that was underway. That fight would certainly take a while to end, so he could even leave to eat something and come back.
'I can leave this circle on the ground for twenty-four hours if I don't use it again for twenty-four days, but I want to use it in other battles.'
[I also think you shouldn't leave just to eat.]
'Yeah… but I can just go out to grab some food and come back quickly. Besides, I have nothing to do today anyway.'
His improved circle magic was good, but it had a limit. Every hour he used it was a day he would have to rest to use it again. At most, it could stay active automatically for twenty-four hours, and the farther away he was, the harder it became to use. That reduced those twenty-four hours to twenty hours he could manage, but with the same drawback.
'It's just stepping out a bit to eat. It's not bad since I'll be back quickly… but I want to see if the two of them will evolve.'
Cavirieth seemed to receive a message through his magic communication stone. Leaving the spot, he positioned himself in front of the barrier, watching the fight. The spear guard blocked Grakka's blows, but his defenses began to fail. One strike slipped through, hitting his flank and drawing blood.
Meanwhile, Thalen appeared behind his opponent for an instant, long enough to release sharp leaves that embedded themselves in the ground around him, limiting his movement. Then, a short gust of wind struck the elf's chest, hurling him against the side of the field.
'They might really end up evolving before the elves… how fun.'
He watched it all with clear enjoyment on his face while listening to the person speaking through the communication stone.
"Alright, Princess, I'll talk to him right away, and of course he can. He isn't even using magic to do anything."
Both guards were breathing heavily now. Their mana kept rising, unstable, pushing their bodies beyond the limit. But for the first time since the fight began, they weren't the only ones changing. The two youths in front of them were evolving at an absurd speed.
"We have to finish this quickly."
"I know, but it's simply difficult."
Cavirieth turned off the communication stone and snapped his fingers, splitting the zone into two parts where they could neither see nor reach each other. Grakka was left on one side with the spear guard, and Thalen on the other with his own opponent.
"What the hell is this? What happened here, you filthy orc?"
"I don't know, but now no one will interrupt our fight, so come at me, elf."
As the elf chose to stay on the defensive, Grakka tightened her grip on the axe and charged toward him. Cavirieth had done this for only two reasons. As always, to have fun and—
'Since they want their own opponents, I decided to separate them.'
In truth, Thalen didn't exactly want this, but what could he do with Grakka being a stupid orc as always and Enrico wanting him to fight his own opponent?
'I feel a bit sorry for the little elf. He seems like the slightly cowardly type… well, maybe he'll become a good mage after this.'
Walking toward Enrico, whose stomach was rumbling with hunger, Cavirieth raised an eyebrow. With his eyes glowing slightly, Enrico stood up, knowing that this guy kept food in his own pocket dimension.
"Want something to eat?"
"Yes, could you—"
"What a shame, because I don't plan on giving you any of my food."
"Tsk, I should have called him an idiot in my head."
"I heard that."
While the system laughed at him, Enrico stood up, certain that Cavirieth hadn't come just to talk after receiving a message from that stone.
"What message did you receive from the princess?"
"You knew? You seem more and more interesting to me, boy."
For Enrico, it was fairly obvious. Who else besides the person Cavirieth followed could communicate with him? He didn't even talk properly with his subordinates. What he did to communicate with them was write and receive letters.
"The princess told me to take you somewhere."
"She already knows I'm here?"
"Of course. The moment I found out you were her ally, I sent a message."
That way of thinking made sense. It was something loyal subordinates would do without hesitation. But aside from that, Enrico was curious about what kind of place he would be taken to.
"Where are we going?"
"To the Lake of Thalanor, the Root of the World Lake."
Hearing that name, Enrico's eyes widened, because in the original story it was a place Elaris only went to after the war for the throne ended, since it was a place of difficult access for both sides. A neutral location that could grant a blessing that gave an advantage, but was hard to obtain.
'Where did all this confidence come from?'
[Maybe it's because she's now managed to become a sixth circle thanks to your plans.]
'Damn, this is going to be difficult… I was planning to go there only at the end, after I had rested.'
It was very possible they would get badly injured in that place filled with elves from past eras, considered great heroes.
'But in a way, this is also perfect, because I can…'
"When are we going? So I can prepare—"
"Today. Actually, right now."
Enrico looked toward the two companions still fighting and then back at Cavirieth again, noticing the elf's smile seemed wider.
"You said I could go now, didn't you?"
"Yes. It'll be interesting to see if you can handle using your magic at seven kilometers."
"You bastard… still, I can leave it on automatic, so your strategy failed."
Cavirieth immediately looked disappointed at that news, clutching his heart as if struck in the soul.
"You should have said that earlier, brat, so I wouldn't lose hope of seeing your face turn desperate."
"Screw you, idiot elf."
[Enrico, about that thing you said about 'I can'?]
Seeing the system's curiosity, Enrico looked away, ignoring a disappointed Cavirieth. He was going to fulfill a promise that would give a good advantage and be useful for taking revenge on a traitor.
'Freeing the dark elves in a good place.'