Chapter 187

(5)

8.

The Northern Forest of Arsen Academy.

Silfi looked around with anxious eyes. She was trying to see if there were any other presences aside from Istan, who stood right in front of her.

Just then, Istan suddenly spoke up.

“So this is our second meeting.”

As the Count had mentioned, Silfi had indeed run into him by chance at the academy last semester.

She had been worried that his sudden query about her hometown might have led to her being discovered, but meeting again like this suggested that he must have figured it out back then.

“Anyway, I was surprised.”

“……?”

“I never expected one of the five heirs of the Desert Order would be a student at Arsen Academy.”

Silfi’s eyes narrowed in response.

Information about the heirs was top secret within the Order. If he knew this, it meant that Istan must have positioned an informant within the Order.

‘Perhaps that’s why…’

He was able to gather information on me too.

Feeling uneasily fidgety, she lightly bit her lip when Istan spoke again.

“Let me ask you, Silfi Rudrik.”

With a fiercely lit gaze, Istan’s intense eyes bore into her. As she averted her gaze, feeling like her hidden thoughts were being unearthed, his question landed like a dart.

“What is your purpose for leaving the desert and coming here?”

“……?”

What? Why would he ask that?

A question marked her eyes for a fleeting moment. After a brief pause, Silfi cautiously replied.

“You already know, don’t you?”

“I don’t know it all. If I had known every detail beforehand, I wouldn’t have gone through all this trouble to meet you.”

Istan tapped the hilt of his sword.

A chill ran down her spine. She understood what he meant a moment too late.

“So, I’ll ask you point-blank.”

Keeping his gaze fixed on Silfi’s increasingly pale face, he wasted no time and went straight to the point.

“Your purpose for being here. And who the traitor is that sent you this far. If you do that, I won’t take your life.”

Spill everything and I’ll spare your life.

His shamelessly straightforward demand made Silfi furrow her brows slightly. Trying to feign a frightened expression, she protested.

“H-how can I trust you…”

“I swear it on my name and house. Also, I’ll provide an extra piece of information.”

“……Information?”

“The latest updates on the Desert Order.”

For a moment, her interest piqued.

Naturally. After the White Wolf incident, she had nearly lost touch with the Order.

On the other hand, Istan was the Commander of the Southern Battle Line.

And if he knew about the five heirs of the Order, then he must certainly be well-informed about their recent activities as well.

“I’ve made a fair concession here. If this were a battlefield rather than the academy, you’d probably be in the torture chamber by now.”

She fell silent for a moment.

It wasn’t an empty threat. She realized it at once.

The man before her was a monster who would execute cultists, young and old alike, without hesitation.

‘The answer has already been decided.’

Cooperation with Istan.

Otherwise, she might end up dead here or dragged away in a carriage to face torture.

However, conforming to his proposal would be tantamount to betraying the Order. As one of the heirs, she had no choice but to hesitate.

“You’d probably know this already.”

Did he sense her hesitation at that moment?

Istan, perhaps trying to help her make a choice, tapped the hilt of his sword once more.

“My patience isn’t endless.”

“…….”

Time was running out.

Standing at the fork of a decision, Silfi gulped down hard. A moment later, she steadied her trembling lips with determination.

“……It’s the Count.”

“Speak louder.”

“Count Dermore!”

Silfi shouted, tightly closing her eyes.

With that, the dice had been cast.

From now on, cooperating with Istan was her only means of escape. Thinking that way oddly gave her a sense of relief.

Meanwhile, after Silfi’s betrayal, Istan narrowed his eyes.

“……D’muehl Ron Dermore?”

“Y-yes. I got into Arsen Academy with his help.”

“But the recommendation was different.”

“Well, naturally, it was forged.”

Her recommendation was a name of an unknown noble that D’muehl had prepared in advance. With this unexpected information, Istan let out a low groan.

“Then why did D’muehl collaborate with the Order?”

“I don’t know the details, but I heard it was to resurrect his daughter who died from illness.”

That was also a perfectly reasonable answer.

D’muehl’s daughter had famously passed away at a young age from sickness, and there were many necromancers within the Desert Order.

“This will require further investigation.”

After muttering that softly, he shifted the topic.

“Let’s move on.”

Istan’s question about Silfi’s purpose for coming seemed to lead to a confession. Since she had already given up information about Count Dermore, there was nothing left to hesitate about.

“I want to gain recognition from the Minions of Rudrik.”

The Minions of Rudrik.

Simultaneously, Istan’s expression hardened.

He knew what that meant.

He then recalled another name attached to the Minions of Rudrik.

‘An abnormal-grade Demon Beast.’

Or the King of Beasts.

Such grandiose names hinted that the Minions of Rudrik were dangerous monsters.

And this was also the reason why the powerful Rubens Empire couldn’t wipe the Desert Order off the map in one go.

“But don’t you have that monster in your possession? Why not use that in Arsen…”

“One remains here.”

“……What?”

“To be precise, it was here.”

Silfi let out a deep sigh.

She conveyed the story of the White Wolf that had slipped into the fog. After finishing her explanation, Istan’s eyes widened.

“Incredible. I didn’t expect that monster was sealed within the academy grounds.”

Istan had already heard about the wolf incident from Berge. But he didn’t know that the wolf belonged to the Minions of Rudrik.

As Istan was in shock, Silfi bit her lip.

‘It started from then.’

The absence of contact with the Order.

Even when she asked Count Dermore, the response was just that he couldn’t reach them.

To make matters worse, he also displayed suspicious behavior. He kept sending letters, inviting Silfi to the mansion.

‘I felt something was off, so I didn’t go…’

Afterward, D’muehl persistently tried to get Silfi to come to his mansion. Hence, she had initially planned to visit, but then she received Istan’s letter.

After completing her train of thought, Silfi fluttered her tightly closed lips.

“Now it’s my turn to listen.”

“Listen? About what?”

“About the current situation in the desert…”

“Ah, I can’t divulge that.”

That was an earth-shattering response.

Silfi’s eyes widened in shock.

“W-what do you mean?”

“There’s no guarantee that what you say is true.”

On the contrary, Istan remained calm.

He answered resolutely, as though he had no more words to share with her.

“I’ll only tell you about the information regarding the desert after verifying its truth.”

“But that’s not what we agreed on! This is…”

“Don’t get mistaken, cultist.”

His voice was as cold as ice.

Soon, a terrifying malice enveloped Silfi.

It was the ferocity of one of the Empire’s Five Blades, set on unleashing its intent to kill. As her face turned pale, Istan continued.

“I’m a soldier of the Empire, and you’re just a sinner. Consider yourself lucky to have kept your life.”

“…….”

She wanted to argue back, but couldn’t bring herself to do so.

If she did, she feared that even the life she had narrowly clung to might slip away. Watching Silfi clamp her mouth shut, Istan turned away.

“Leave. I’ll contact you again through letter.”

As soon as his unilateral notification ended, Silfi, trembling, quickly disappeared as if to run away. The forest fell silent once more. Istan looked up at the trees above and spoke.

“Turden.”

No sooner had he spoken than the leaves rustled and fell.

Soon, three young men appeared, their faces masked. They were former agents from the Information Agency and Istan’s trusted subordinates from the Southern Battle Line.

“Did you call, Your Excellency?”

“Summon the Raven Brigade.”

“If you’re planning to investigate Count Dermore, you can leave it to us…”

“Not allowed. D’muehl Ron Dermore is a noble under the Crown Prince.”

Unlike neutral Istan, Count Dermore was affiliated with Crown Prince Chartang. Currently, Chartang was the closest individual to the Emperor.

“If anything goes wrong, it’ll become troublesome, so it’s safer to employ the Raven Brigade.”

“If you say so, understood.”

The young men nodded in agreement.

Following that, one of them vanished.

He set off to summon the unit known as the Raven Brigade.

Meanwhile, the remaining two young men asked cautiously, as if they had something on their minds.

“By the way, Your Excellency.”

“Why did you spare that cultist?”

Istan was renowned for hunting cultists.

He was infamous for decapitating them regardless of age or gender.

Yet, this time was an exception.

Even when she was within his domain, Istan did not unsheathe his sword. As they puzzled over this, Istan replied.

“She has value for me.”

“Value? But…”

“The power struggle among the cultists is nearing its end, isn’t it? Three out of five have fallen, leaving just two to compete.”

This was the latest update from the desert.

The info Istan had set as conditions for Silfi earlier.

“And the Desert Order already believes that Silfi Rudrik is dead.”

“So, all related records and rights have been nullified, which leaves no room for value…”

As one of them questioned in confusion, Istan’s answer followed.

“And that’s precisely why she holds value.”

“Huh?”

“She has no place to return to.”

As soon as his calm reply ended, the men’s eyes widened.

“I see. Got it.”

“We can train her to be a pawn. Alternatively, we can include her in the Raven Brigade.”

The members of the Raven Brigade were formerly individuals who had been part of the Desert Order. To be precise, they were vagrants who had been abandoned by the Order.

Thus, Istan deemed that she was no longer a cultist as of the moment she was cast out from the Order, which is why he accepted her under his wing.

“Thank you for the clarification.”

“We’ll proceed with our mission now.”

With all questions resolved, the men vanished in the blink of an eye. Just as Istan was about to board the carriage again, a loud cheer erupted in the distance.

It came from the direction of the Grand Stadium.

“Oh, that reminds me…”

Was today the final match?

With thoughts of the Arsen Sports Festival schedule, he felt momentarily conflicted. Since he had come this far, he wanted to at least see Ivella’s face.

However, the dilemma didn’t last long.

‘No, this takes priority.’

He was a soldier of the Empire before being Ivella Eléa’ad’s father. Thus, he should suppress his personal feelings and prioritize his duties.

‘The outcome is already clear anyway.’

Because Ivella’s partner was Ulan.

Istan chuckled, then boarded the carriage without hesitation. The carriage quickly left the forest, enveloping it once more in heavy silence.

9.

Meanwhile, at that moment.

The Grand Stadium was holding a drawing to select the final event for the championship match.

As everyone watched, Ivella suddenly tilted her head curiously.

This caught the attention of Ulan, Noa, and Delia, and soon her question spilled out.

“I can’t help but wonder… the events we’ve seen so far. If we really think about it, they don’t seem very related to a sports festival, do they?”

“Hmm, now that you mention it…”

In retrospect, she was right.

Events like the javelin throw, mock battle, and defense training.

Arm wrestling or tug-of-war were the closest to being sports; the rest seemed more like combat training than actual athletics.

Just then, a clarifying voice broke through.

It was Noa’s answer.

“The sports festival in Arsen is special.”

“How is it special?”

“First of all, Arsen Academy was established to prepare for the opening of the Gate of the Abyss, right?”

“Hmm, that’s true.”

“So, most of the events are battle drills assuming that someday, an Abyssal Monster might appear.”

Not just the javelin throw and mock battle.

The competition first held called ‘Eye Ball Finding’ was also a training method to find the core existing within the Abyssal Monsters.

“Then, as Ivella said, the festival feels more like military training than a sports event, so they hurriedly added arm wrestling or tug-of-war.”

“Ah, I see. I didn’t know that before.”

“Noa, you’re surprisingly smart.”

Ivella and Delia praised her.

Of course, all Noa did was share the details mentioned in the original work. Just as the curiosity was getting resolved, the announcer’s voice rang out.

“The drawing is finally complete!”

“The final event for the championship match will be announced shortly. All classes, please pay attention.”

Everyone’s gaze turned toward the podium.

A mix of excitement, anxiety, and various emotions swirled around as the judge confidently announced the last match.

“Strength Display.”

Just three short syllables.

The moment those words were heard, silence fell over the stadium.

“…….”

How long had it been?

All eyes, from the representatives of classes 2 and 3 to the students and professors in the spectator seats, were fixated on one spot.

“Why?”

It was directed at Ulan.

Soon after, the three-day sports festival came to an end with class 3 emerging victorious.

Chapter 43: Different Dreams