"Someone you need to meet," Assad murmured.
With a sudden movement, he rose from the sofa and reached for the cup on the low table. It was clearly empty, yet the water began to rise as soon as his hand made contact. He drank it in one swift gulp before meeting my gaze. "Who is that?"
"Kayan," I replied, almost defensively, as if to throw him off. I watched his expression closely.
Assad furrowed his brow, pressing his temples as if to ease a headache. He looked like someone who had been drinking heavily all night, though there was no trace of alcohol on his breath.
"Kayan the Collector? Why that bastard?"
Few, even within his family, would refer to Kayan so dismissively as "that bastard," yet it didn't seem out of place coming from Assad.
"He might be necessary," I said, deflecting.
"Necessary?" he echoed.
"I think I need him to kill the priest," I answered, my tone more serious now.
For a moment, I had the sense that Assad was wearing a mask. The man who had just been clutching his head now regarded me with a completely neutral expression.
Then it hit me.
At that moment, I understood why the Iron-Blooded Lord trusted Assad the most and why the Council of Elders held him in such high regard
When Assad wore an impassive expression, he became a different person. Even I felt a momentary chill from the aura he exuded. It wasn't intentional, but it reminded me of being in the presence of the Iron-Blooded Lord. A person of this level could make the ambient mana quiver with just a slight shift in their emotions.
"Strange," Assad murmured.
"What's strange?" I asked, puzzled.
"You couldn't have had a way to obtain that information," he said.
He was right. Until just before the incident, I hadn't figured it out. This conversation was the core of my plan and my greatest challenge.
"I'm curious," Assad continued. "How did you know this? Even within the family, fewer than five people know about it."
I deduced who those five people could be. The Iron-Blooded Lord, Luke, and Assad were for certain. The fourth was likely the chairman of the council. As for the fifth, I had no idea.
"Just so you know, don't waste my time with nonsense or lies," Assad continued. "I can't stand it."
"Are you going to kill me?" I asked, uncertain whether he was serious.
"No. That would be too easy."
A chilling thought crossed my mind. My answer might lead to something worse than death.
I chose honesty and confessed, "I learned it because of the blessing I received."
Assad raised an eyebrow. "A blessing?"
"Yes."
Hopefully, Assad had a way to determine the truth like the Iron-Blooded Lord.
As I had explained earlier, I wasn't lying now. It was the Spirit Mountain's Blessing that allowed me to return to the past and, as a result, know the future.
"As far as I know, only the Blessing of the Stars, the Blessing of Predictions, and the Primordial Fairy's Blessing can foresee the future. What's your blessing?" Assad asked.
I had heard of the Blessing of the Stars. It reminded me of how Seren had once demanded to know if I had that blessing.
Should I say that I have the Blessing of the Stars?
If it truly was a blessing tied to predicting the future, I could deceive him with that, but I shook my head. "No. It's completely different."
Assad's tone was genuine. If I offered a half-hearted excuse that he didn't believe, he would do whatever he wanted, regardless of whether I was the Iron-Blooded Lord's son. So, from this point on, I decided not to lie to him.
If asked something I couldn't answer, I would remain silent. That felt like the right response with this man.
" Hmm. There are very few blessings I don't know about..." Assad mused, then suddenly added, "The Blessing of Predictions allows its wielder to anticipate an opponent's movements a few seconds ahead, based on their current actions."
I stayed silent, watching him closely.
"The Primordial Fairy's Blessing offers cryptic visions of the future. Ancient fairies love riddles." Assad studied me. "And the Blessing of the Stars predicts only broad strokes of major events. For example, it might foretell 'a great disaster in the coming years.' Something like that."
A chill ran down my spine. None of those blessings would have allowed someone to predict the priest's Demon King Summoning Ritual in the Badnikers' territory. In other words, Assad's question had been a trap.
"Relax your expression," he said, his tone softening. "I don't like word games. The Badnikers and arcane studies are enough to make my head explode."
"Is that so?"
"I have many doubts about you, but you don't seem to be a member of the church, nor do you seem eager to stir trouble. But I don't think you've told me everything," he replied.
Was this what years of experience looked like?
I masked my nervousness and asked, "I know this might be a lot to ask, but do you believe me?"
"Yes. No matter how courageous a church member might be, they wouldn't dare face me. And..." Assad pointed to my ring. "Worshippers of the gods of disaster can't wear that."
"I see."
It was an unexpected revelation, but given that Assad had possibly created it, I couldn't dismiss it as a lie.
"Shall we sort things out first?" Assad continued. "You know a priest has infiltrated the training camp, and something major is about to happen there. I won't dig into the details behind that. Either way, this is Badnikers' territory. If you kill the priest and their plan fails, I won't care where the information came from. But there's one thing I need to ask."
"What is it?"
"Do you know who the priest is?" Assad asked.
I fell silent, sensing that this moment could be the turning point in our conversation.
"Yes." Once again, I spoke the truth. "Can you help me?"
In doing so, I subtly probed Assad's intentions. However, there was no need for such tricks if I had already secured Archmage Assad's assistance.
A rare look of embarrassment crossed his face, leaving me confused about his attitude.
Assad finally spoke. "The camp is in the western part of the Butterfly Forest. That's not my territory."
I blinked in surprise. "What does that—"
"What I protect is the main house and the center of the forest. The manager of where you are now is someone else."
"Who is it?"
"Lise Ladygoth."
The name was unfamiliar to me.
"If I'm the guardian of the family out in the open, she's the guardian of its shadows. She's also the forest keeper and the librarian of the underground library," Assad explained.
"The underground library's librarian..." I muttered.
That was the person I had been searching for before coming to the training camp.
I understood something from Assad's tone. I didn't know what kind of person Lise Ladygoth was, but he seemed to treat her as an equal.
"She and I don't get along. She'll be angry if she finds out I've broken in."
I asked awkwardly, "But the priest is the one who broke in. Does it matter if you two aren't on good terms?"
"Whether it's a priest or a demon king, she's not someone who gets involved in these kinds of things. She's a bit eccentric," he replied.
I was rendered speechless.
Since an eccentric like Assad called someone else eccentric, doesn't that mean she is probably normal? I thought but kept it to myself.
"Can't I get help from that Lase Ladygoth?" I asked.
"It's Lise Ladygoth. As for help... Honestly, I'm skeptical," Assad replied, his voice tinged with awkwardness. "Or do you want to try persuading her?"
"Well, if you could arrange a meeting—"
Assad interrupted, "It's not that hard, but you'll have to risk your life. In a way, she's more dangerous than a priest."
"Even if it is just a conversation?"
Assad smiled bitterly. "Most people think the barrier in the forest controls the monsters, right? That's not the full story."
"Don't tell me..."
"It's to seal and monitor Lise Ladygoth."
" Hmm. "
How could someone so dangerous be called the guardian of the family?
As curiosity stirred within me, I recalled something Assad had said before the regression.
"The Iron-Blooded Lord stands above the laws of the Badniker family—outsiders who don't understand the inner workings often say that."
"Boy, you don't know anything about the Badnikers. The true power and secrets this family holds."
Maybe Lise Ladygoth was one of those secrets Assad had hinted at.
"I'll introduce you to another ally," Assad said, shifting the topic. "He's easier to talk to. Probably better than Kayan, the collector you're trying to recruit."
He finally addressed my request. "The Swordmaster, Carzakh. Find him. I lost contact with him in the forest. Figure out what happened."
***
Assad cast a spell on me. I didn't know what kind it was, but it allowed me to pass through the barrier freely for a day.
The next morning, I left the camp at dawn. Officially, I was supposed to be resting in the infirmary, a cover that Junian would confirm if needed.
The next task was to get away from the camp's communication crystals. Fortunately, this wasn't difficult, as I had learned their locations from Zeros.
The real issue was the communication crystals in the forest. I had discovered their presence during a visit to the instructors' building before my regression.
When I asked Junian about them, she shrugged casually. "Ah, those? They don't work properly. They're too inefficient. You don't need to worry; they're only used for special trials in the forest."
With that, I was free to run through the forest without concern.
Ah—it is refreshing.
I reveled in the feeling of running freely for the first time, without needing to watch my back. The scenery was a welcome change from Spirit Mountain, which was nothing but fog and rocks.
I spotted a few monsters along the way but didn't bother with them.
Because of this, I quickly reached my destination. The trees here were shorter than deeper in the forest, and the sunlight barely filtered through. About halfway between the forest and the main house stood a large building.
A few knights stood in front of it, their backs to me. From their posture, it was clear they weren't used to seeing anyone coming from the forest.
I made my presence known, and only then did they turn around.
"Who goes there?"
"It is me."
"You..."
One of the knights recognized me. "Young Master Luan?"
I looked closely and realized it was someone I knew. "Sir Walter?"
He was a knight I had sparred with several times before I left for the forest.
Walter bowed his head with a welcoming smile. "What can I do for you? Isn't the training camp still in full swing?"
"I have some business to attend to," I replied. "I've got permission, so don't worry."
"Ah, yes."
"Is the Swordmaster here by any chance?" I asked.
At the mention of the Swordmaster, both Walter and the other knights exchanged puzzled looks.
"What's going on?" I pressed.
"Well, um, there's someone who claims to be the Swordmaster," Walter answered.
"What do you mean?"
Walter paused, clearly thinking. "It's probably easier if you see for yourself. Follow me."
I followed Walter into the building, which seemed like a checkpoint in the forest, though it was larger than I expected. Inside, there were communication crystals, food supplies, weapons, and cots. It looked like the knights often stayed here.
Suddenly, a loud, crude voice echoed through the building. "You sons of bitches! Are you really that confident?"
The deafening outburst made me frown. "Who's that?"
The voice was coming from a room further inside.
"This way," Walter said, leading me to the door with a troubled expression.
Inside, I saw a cage. Locked within was a strikingly handsome man with brown hair.
" Uh? You—" The young man's face lit up with a smile upon seeing me.
I met his gaze coolly. "Who are you?"
"Y-you're just like them..." he stammered, still grinning.
I turned to Walter for an explanation. He leaned in and whispered, "He arrived three days ago, claiming to be the Swordmaster."
I was at a loss.
"I don't know the Swordmaster personally, but I do know what he looks like," Walter admitted.
The brown-haired man banged his chest in frustration. "This is so frustrating!"
Although I'd never seen him before, his voice sounded oddly familiar.
"That's right!" he shouted with renewed enthusiasm. "I am Carzakh!"