It had happened suddenly.
fernan, who had become the person in charge of the trade caravan, applied for on-site training and left the academy a few days early under the pretext of preparation.
Naturally, he didn't show up for class, which meant that Luina had temporarily lost her assigned partner.
"..."
This time, however, fernan had explained the situation in full, so she didn't feel upset or angry like she had before.
Still, it was true that the class had become a bit inconvenient.
Given the academy's strict structure where the number of students always matched perfectly, finding a temporary partner just because one person left was practically impossible.
"Aaron."
"Yes, Professor."
At the call of Professor Rosalia, who taught Combat, War, and Magic, the assistant affiliated with her research lab stepped forward.
His unkempt brown hair partly covered his eyes, and his gloomy gaze and drooping shoulders didn't leave a good first impression.
"You'll be Luina Bertscheff's partner for the time being."
"Me?"
"Just match your level to that of a second-year student. That'll be enough."
"But Professor, I have research—"
"Is that a problem?"
As her brow furrowed ever so slightly, Aaron hastily shook his head.
"No, I'll do it. So just adjust to second-year level, correct?"
"Right."
It might've sounded arrogant, but considering he had already graduated from the academy and was in the professor training course, it was a reasonable statement.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Luina Bertscheff. I look forward to working with you."
"Ah, yeah. Nice to meet you too. I'm Aaron Prine. As you can see, I'm a TA from Professor Rosalia's lab. Let's do our best."
Aaron introduced himself with a timid, barely audible voice.
"Didn't think I'd be paired with a junior while working as a TA. It's a strange situation, but let's make it work."
"Yes."
Then Luina's gaze shifted downward for a moment.
"You must like books."
Aaron was holding a thick book in his hand. It was unusual to carry one even when acting as a TA during a class, so she was a bit curious.
"It's a magic book. I'm a bit slow, so I always carry it around to better understand magic circles and such."
"Oh, I'm sorry."
"No worries. Even for a mage, it's a bit odd to carry a magic book everywhere… but still."
He scratched the back of his head and let out an awkward laugh.
"Hey, Luina. Do you like books too?"
"I don't dislike them."
"Really?"
"I'll begin the lecture."
His lips curled into a strange expression, but Luina, turning her attention to the professor, didn't see it.
As the sun set and night fell, fernan went out for one final inspection before the trade caravan's departure the next day.
"This is the carriage?"
"Yes."
One carriage stood in front of fernan.
All the other carriages had been inspected during the day and were cleared without issue.
But this last carriage wasn't something to be checked openly in front of others, so he had set out discreetly at night when everyone else was asleep.
The staff brought the carriage into the upper warehouse. Once the doors closed, only fernan and the branch manager remained.
"From the outside, there doesn't seem to be anything unusual."
"We sealed it carefully. The elves helped a lot, so it went more smoothly than expected."
fernan activated a spell. Rumble. The dirt piled up nearby stirred and rapidly unloaded the cargo from the carriage.
All the goods that had been perfectly prepared for departure were cleared away, leaving only one box behind.
It was about 50cm wide and 2m long.
At first glance, the box appeared ordinary, but its surface was engraved with all sorts of magical runes.
Mana stabilization, mana concealment, scent blocking, vitality suppression—dozens of enchantments overlapped one another.
"Unless you're an Archmage, you wouldn't be able to detect it."
Then again, who knows. Even an Archmage might not be able to find it. The only reason for uncertainty was that Fernan wasn't an Archmage himself.
"To carry out the work, we've inscribed the same level of magical runes on the warehouse. There won't be any major issues if you open it here."
"Can anyone open it?"
"You need a seal."
The branch head handed over a small ring. It was engraved with the insignia of the Fridien family.
"There are two copies of the seal. One will be kept by you, milord, and the other by Aria Fridien, the representative of House Fridien."
Fernan brought the ring close to the lock. With a faint movement of mana, click, the box opened.
Pure mana surged within the warehouse as a small sapling was revealed.
A tree imbued with so much mana that no ordinary tree could compare—though still lacking somewhat when compared to the mighty pillar that supported the world.
"This is it."
A branch of the World Tree—also called its avatar.
It was indeed a suitable medium for summoning demons.
'At a glance, there's no indication that it's been corrupted by demonic energy.'
Could it be that it hadn't been corrupted yet? Or was it already infected, but so subtly that it couldn't be detected?
"Most likely the former."
It had to be. If it were already infected, then the demons' stealth had reached a level beyond anyone's ability to detect.
"Sorry? What do you mean?"
"No, it's nothing. Who exactly has seen this item firsthand?"
"Only the deputy branch head, myself, and you, milord."
Fernan closed the box. The thick, suffocating mana vanished in an instant.
"Bring me a complete list of everyone who knows about this, as quickly as possible."
"Yes, understood."
The branch head didn't bother asking why.
Truthfully, there wasn't a particular reason. One couldn't assume the servants of the dark species were only among the elves.
It was best to be thorough with everything.
"You may leave. I'll examine it a bit more and then restore everything to its original state."
"…Yes, sir."
The branch head hesitated briefly, then exited the warehouse. Left alone, Fernan placed something into the box and resealed it.
Whoever dared open this box again would be in for quite a delightful surprise.
"We're departing!"
"We're departing!"
The next day, the trade caravan departed from Fridien's capital as scheduled.
Ten wagons, a hundred guards from the Golden Turtle Company escorting them, fifty elves dispatched by House Fridien, and a hundred workers.
Fernan led them at the front.
"What's the route we'll be taking?"
"It's simple. We'll head east, pass through two territories, board a ship at the port city of Kaide, and head to the Academy."
"Will there be any danger?"
"At least not on land."
The two territories belonged to an ordinary viscount and baron. They had neither the strength to defeat such a large force nor the guts to lay hands on goods belonging to two of the Empire's top electors.
But the sea was different.
"There's already a precedent."
"You mean the Yacht Club incident?"
"Yeah."
The advance of hundreds—maybe nearly a thousand—Sea Worms. And to top it off, three Sea Serpents.
Thanks to the Academy students' exceptional talents and Fernan's preparations, the crisis had ended with only a few injuries.
'But there's no guarantee we'll be that lucky again.'
What the demons might try this time was beyond imagination.
"Oh! Speaking of the Yacht Club incident, could I get an invitation too?"
"You never get tired of that, do you."
"But why not? I've got great grades and come from a powerful family! Honestly, if not me, who else could get in?"
Aria widened her eyes and asked shamelessly.
On the surface, there was nothing wrong with what she said. Except for the fact that she was a Fridien, and the Fridiens were still considered outsiders.
Among the Elector families, the only one that didn't look down on the Fridiens was Pellenberg, who cared only for money.
After all, it had been Pellenberg who brokered the deal when Berchef sold the rights of the Golden Edict.
"Even so, the answer is no."
It wasn't about prejudice—there was simply no need to accept her and risk angering the other Electors.
"Well, then it can't be helped. I'll just have to wait for the next opportunity."
Surprisingly, Aria gave up without a fuss.
The caravan continued its journey without issue. But after about two days, a few raindrops began to fall.
Starting off like this meant delays in their schedule.
'This better not be the work of those damn corrupted ones.'
The rain grew heavier. The ground turned to mud, and the wagon tracks sank deeper—traveling further today was no longer feasible.
"Is there a village nearby?"
"We'd have to go three more hours. And with the mud, it'll take even longer."
"No helping it. Check the surroundings. We're camping here tonight!"
"Yes, sir!"
Once they confirmed the area was safe, the camp was set up. Fernan summoned the caravan supervisors to discuss the updated plans.
"Make sure the cargo stays dry, and post guards to watch over the camp and wagons."
"Yes, sir."
"We won't be moving again today. We'll reassess the situation tomorrow."
"Understood."
But the rain didn't stop during the night—if anything, it poured even harder the next day.
"We'll have to delay departure a little longer."
That meant their schedule would be pushed back.
But that wasn't the real problem.
After lunch, just as Fernan was trying to revise the itinerary, Aria entered the tent.
"Am I interrupting?"
"What's the matter?"
"This rain… something feels off."
"The rain?"
It had been pouring pretty excessively, but rain like this wasn't that unusual—
'Wait… could it really be the demons' doing?'
That vague unease he'd been feeling since the rain started began to grow.
"What exactly feels off?"
"I was curious when it might stop, so I had the spirits go check the rain clouds."
"And?"
"They said the clouds are gathering in an abnormally dense pattern. Right now, the clouds are still collecting, but everywhere else except around us is completely clear. Not a single cloud in sight."
"So it's artificial rain?"
"That's my judgment, at least."
If the spirits said so, it was worth trusting. Fernan rose from his seat.
"Let's go outside."
"To confirm it yourself?"
"Among the items we brought is a device that detects magical energy. We'll find out whether this rain is artificial."
Fernan couldn't determine it on his own, but he had faith in the artifact created by the Dragon God Cult.
'It even detected demonic energy before.'
And just as he thought that—
He was a moment too late.
BOOOOM—
A deafening roar struck his eardrums.
The ground shook.
"Wha…?"
"It's an earthquake!"
"Milord!"
Screams rang out from all directions. The ground collapsed beneath them.
As his body plummeted, Fernan instinctively cast a spell. A massive, flat stone rose like a disc, holding part of the collapsing terrain in place.
The members of the caravan narrowly avoided falling further.
"Are you alright?"
Aria had stabilized herself in mid-air using the power of the spirits.
"No."
Fernan shook his head.
The collapse was wider and deeper than expected. The darkness below was dense.
And from within that darkness—
Kirrururur—
Kiiiiiik—
Glowing red eyes began to emerge.
"Damn bastards. It's always either a cave or underground."
Why were prophecies always about this kind of thing?
Regardless, the sinister presence of demonic energy oozing out was clear proof that demons were behind all of this.