“A place an ordinary person cannot go?”
What kind of place was it, that even someone like Marias would give such a definite answer?
Perhaps she was just saying it offhand, but her expression said otherwise.
Marias was not the kind of person to lie in this situation just to deceive him.
And the flicker of genuine surprise that had appeared for a moment—such a reaction could not be faked with acting.
“Do you know exactly where it is?”
“If what I’m thinking of is correct. Of course, it doesn’t perfectly match—it’s only partially similar.”
“So it may not be the same place.”
“Personally, I’d hope it isn’t. But scenery that distinctive can only be one thing.”
Marias shook her head as though troubled.
“I don’t know where you’re trying to find such a place, but it would be better to give up.”
“Whether I go or not is for me to decide after hearing you out. All I ask is that you tell me where it is.”
“Even if I tell you, and you never come back alive?”
Marias’s voice was firm.
Ludger hadn’t expected her to speak with such severity, so his answer was delayed for a moment.
“That place is truly dangerous. I’ve never been there myself, but I’ve come across information indirectly... You don’t have to touch the sun to know it’s hot. I would like to believe my younger sister’s fiancé isn’t such a fool.”
“A fool, you say.”
At her words, Ludger let out a quiet chuckle.
“Why are you laughing?”
When Marias asked in puzzlement, Ludger answered first.
“Just honor the deal.”
“...So even after my warning, you still want confirmation. Do you mean to commit such folly?”
“You said you have to touch the sun to know if it’s hot. But what if, by touching it, you found it was colder than anything in the world?”
Perhaps, somewhere in the universe, there really was a frozen sun.
The mysteries of the world were like that.
Who could have guessed he would die and be reborn in another world?
Who could have imagined that in that world, magic and mystery truly existed?
The truth of everything could only be known through experience.
“The wisdom and knowledge of the predecessors must be respected, certainly. But to follow them blindly without question—that’s another matter.”
“There’s a saying, no smoke without fire. If such talk exists, there’s a reason for it.”
“Perhaps. But that doesn’t mean it is ‘absolute.’ By colliding with and exploring the unknown, a new path will always open.”
Ludger snapped his fingers.
The frost wall Marias had conjured for their private conversation melted away in silence.
Marias’s brow twitched at the sight.
Even if it had only been a simple version, he had interfered with the magic of a Color Mage.
“I will find it. And I will keep searching.”
Right at that moment, Casey, who had been straining to eavesdrop, widened her eyes when the barrier vanished.
“What were you two talking about?”
“Nothing important.”
“What kind of ‘nothing’?”
Watching Ludger’s back, Marias quietly sighed in admiration.
Though Ludger was a teacher at Seorn, his mindset was more open and free than anyone’s.
‘They say mages are seekers of the world’s mysteries, but in truth, few are as bound by formality as they are.’
Especially a teacher, whose role was to instruct students—inevitably bound to standardized knowledge.
Yet Ludger’s words and his pursuit were the opposite.
‘A pathfinder.’
By temperament, he was closer to a dreamer than a realist.
But who could mock him?
This was the man who had created the magic [Source Code] that no one else had ever imagined.
At least in terms of credibility, his words could not be dismissed.
‘And he didn’t demand an answer right away.’
He meant to ask after succeeding in this request, as payment.
He could have asked immediately if he was truly desperate, yet he didn’t—that meant he followed his own principles.
‘Because {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} if I tell him too easily, he’ll think his debt to me is erased? Hah. Interesting.’
What an extraordinary man.
Too much to hand over to her younger sister alone.
‘Hmph. Foolish thoughts. Focus on the matter at hand.’
Marias clapped her hands together with a bright smile.
Casey, who had been pestering Ludger about what they’d discussed, turned her gaze toward Marias.
“Enough with the lover’s quarrel. Shall we talk business now?”
* * *
The capital of the Kingdom of Sevilla, Tartenon, lay against the northern sea.
Naturally, it had developed into a bustling port, with Calliros Harbor as its pride.
Calliros Harbor, vast in scale, was a hub where goods and people from all over passed through.
That also made it an ideal haven for illegal immigrants and criminals.
The black mages hiding in one of the port warehouses were no different.
“The mercenaries we hired have failed.”
At the report from a sunken-cheeked mage with protruding cheekbones, a middle-aged man in his forties clicked his tongue.
“That’s what you call a report?”
He hardly looked like a black mage—he was far too neat and refined.
Hair slicked back, long sideburns, and a carefully groomed beard.
Beneath his black robe was a uniform of black and crimson design, more befitting a gentleman or noble.
“These were supposed to be the most reliable locals, and this is the result?”
“I apologize. It seems the opposition was stronger than expected.”
“I didn’t expect success, but letting them trace it back to us—that’s a problem.”
“They weren’t careless. Rather, it seems Casey Selmore’s ability was beyond what we anticipated.”
He knew Casey had returned to the mansion.
The plan had been simple—kill the younger sister, and the elder Marias would fly into a rage and come out herself.
But Casey had not only survived—she had directly caught those who had targeted her.
Even though they had employed a highly skilled sniper. How had she known?
To black mages who only delved into magic, it was difficult to imagine.
“With another Color Mage added to their side, wouldn’t it be wiser to tread carefully—”
“Don’t spout nonsense! They already know of our existence.”
Not long ago, one of their newly built branches had been destroyed by agents of the Magical Intelligence Bureau under Marias’s command.
Among those lost had been some valuable 4th-circle black mages. For the man, the loss cut deep.
“If we cower now, what changes? They’ll hound us relentlessly either way. We have no choice but to fight.”
“But—”
“What do you plan to accomplish with such timid resolve!”
Chastised, the subordinate bowed his head.
“Look at our Hellfire School now! Driven from Isla Machia, hiding in this salt-rusted, mold-ridden warehouse—how long must we endure this shame?”
“B-but at present, we have no alternative—”
“Which is why we must remove that thorn, Marias Selmore, and claim this city for ourselves!”
The man—Kaloto—stomped the ground in frustration.
“How did it come to this! Back in Isla Machia, none dared lay a hand on the Hellfire School! How did it come to this disgrace!”
He cried out as though lamenting, but in truth, no one knew better than Kaloto himself.
They had been defeated by another group.
Like bubbles rising from the deep sea, they had suddenly appeared in Isla Machia’s underworld.
Unbelievable.
That the black mages, who knew every shadow of the underworld, had not sensed their existence.
And even more absurd was their advance.
Like a swarm of locusts devouring everything, they struck suddenly, colliding with neighboring groups and dismantling them.
The Hellfire School was, of course, among their victims.
In fact, the Hellfire School was lucky.
At least they had escaped intact with their strength preserved.
Other factions had been annihilated.
The School of Corpse Decay, the School of Bone Distortion, the School of Flesh Modification...
Groups once renowned in the underworld had been shattered or absorbed.
If such formidable names had fallen, what chance had the Hellfire School?
So they fled, aiming to rebuild power in the Kingdom of Sevilla.
Their ambition was to devour a kingdom and forge the greatest black mage faction yet.
Then they would return to Isla Machia and take revenge on those who had ruined them.
But first, they needed to escape this shabby port warehouse and secure a proper base.
They could not stay shackled here.
Yet from the beginning, trouble plagued them.
They had underestimated Sevilla as a small kingdom, but it had formidable defenders.
Marias Selmore.
And the Magical Intelligence Bureau under her control.
Kaloto, long accustomed to Isla Machia, had been blind to the world outside.
So he had underestimated—and paid dearly.
And Kaloto’s pride would never let him accept such defeat.
If struck, he would repay it tenfold—that was his creed.
“Prepare. They’ll be coming for us soon enough.”
Even if the elder didn’t come, the younger would.
Kill the younger, and the elder would surely move. That would be even better.
‘The only issue is that the younger one also bears a Color Title.’
Kaloto scoffed.
What of it?
‘It’s just a pretentious title given to so-called ‘talented’ mages basking in the sun’s favor.’
He had always wondered why people belittled black mages.
It wasn’t weakness that kept them in the shadows.
They simply didn’t want the hassle.
In truth, their destructive power exceeded that of ordinary mages.
Yet the world insisted they were inferior.
Kaloto had always despised such nonsense.
‘A Color Title? Laughable. Nothing but exaggerated nonsense. What’s so great about it?’
Ordinary mages preached morality while secretly conducting illicit experiments.
Such hypocrites spread propaganda of their superiority over black mages.
‘Arrogant fools. I’ll show you how wrong you are. I’ll prove how narrow your vision has been, locked in your own world.’
Hunting a Color Mage would be the signal fire of that proof.
Soon the world would learn.
How terrifying the black mages they had scorned truly were.
* * *
“There it is.”
On a dark night, with even the starlight hidden behind heavy clouds, Casey pointed toward a massive warehouse at the harbor.
“If the intel my sister gathered is correct, the black mages are hiding inside. The Hellfire School, was it?”
“They’re a group that wields devastating elemental magic.”
“You sound like you know them?”
“They were skilled enough to make a name for themselves.”
“And yet mages like that were driven out here? Just what is happening in Isla Machia? What is the New Mage Tower doing? I can’t make sense of it.”
“Isla Machia isn’t entirely under the New Mage Tower’s control. It serves as their base, yes, but the island itself is a congregation of countless mages. The Tower holds less than half of it.”
The other half was made up of countless groups, large and small.
In truth, the fact that the Tower even controlled nearly half was impressive enough.
“Anything I should watch for with this Hellfire School? I haven’t fought many black mages.”
“You ask as if I have.”
“Haven’t you?”
“I’ve fought some.”
“......”
Casey narrowed her eyes at him.
Some, huh? Not likely.