A few days later, in the northern borderlands of the kingdom—
Perhaps due to the local terrain, or perhaps because they were drawing closer to Endymion City, the temperature had begun to drop. From above, fine snow seemed to drift and swirl down through the air.
Snowfall—during this season?
That alone was enough to show just how strange this magic city, destroyed by divine punishment, truly was.
Eileen had come prepared. By now, the entire team was dressed in thick winter gear.
Draped in a snow-white fox-fur shawl, she exhaled warm breath into the cold air and pointed into the distance—
Through the white fog, the outline of a massive, towering wall was faintly visible. And beyond that great city, the sky glowed with an eerie purple light.
“Once we cross the valley ahead, we’ll reach Endymion City. I’ve handed out the map to everyone already, but remember—this is based on what I recalled from memory, and only accurate for the areas I’ve personally explored!”
Eileen looked seriously at her companions.
“As for the unexplored areas, treat the map as a reference only—don’t take it at face value!”
Red Wolf waved it off indifferently. “Got it, Miss Eileen. We’ll be moving as a group anyway, and we’ll just follow the route you took last time. It’ll be fine.”
Eileen shook her head and countered, “Even the route I took last time isn’t guaranteed to be safe! I’ve said this before—Endymion is one of the ten most dangerous places on the continent. This isn’t a dead city—it’s alive!”
“Yes, yes, Eileen, we’re not children. You don’t have to keep repeating yourself like that.”
Frolah joined in with a sigh and a shake of her head. “It’s nearly dusk already. Let’s make camp in the valley ahead. We’ll explore Endymion at first light.”
Eileen puffed up her cheeks and muttered, “It’s not like I’m any help in a fight… At least let me offer some useful guidance before the danger starts. Otherwise, what’s the point of me coming along?”
“Yes, yes, Eileen,” Frolah replied with a helpless gesture, “We’ve written everything you said in our notebooks and remembered it well.
Still, we really owe you—without your reminder, we wouldn’t have brought winter gear. We’d have had to turn back the moment we arrived. But it is a bit strange—”
She looked up at the sky, her blood-red eyes catching the snow that fluttered in the air. “It’s clearly snowing heavily, but there’s not a speck of snow on the ground.”
“No, this isn’t snow,” Master Galhai interjected. “These are crystallized fragments of magic.”
Eileen’s eyes sparkled with curiosity. “Master, how do you know that?”
When Eileen had passed through here before, she had mistaken it for snow too—until she got close enough to see the entire city bathed in these drifting flakes of pure magical energy.
“…Ahem, this master’s magical perception is far beyond ordinary—I can sense the mana clinging to those snowflakes!”
Red Wolf gasped immediately. “As expected of Master Galhai! Your abilities are truly awe-inspiring!”
Clarette asked curiously, “That’s strange. If such a powerful mage exists among adventurers, someone like the Master, there’s no way he’d be so obscure. Why have I never heard of him before?”
Red Wolf answered before anyone else could, “Master Galhai is a sage who lived in seclusion at the borderlands. He’s only recently reemerged—so it’s not surprising you haven’t heard of him.”
Clarette frowned as she looked at the magic master. Maybe it was because his whole body was wrapped up so tightly that she couldn’t see his limbs or face, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that this archmage was suspicious.
Especially when his gaze occasionally swept over to Eileen—Clarette could feel a burning heat in those looks.
It was just a gut feeling, with no actual evidence to prove that the Master had any ill intentions toward Eileen. But even so, staying alert couldn’t hurt.
Yes, even Senior Laila had warned Clarette to be wary of the people around them.
As Laila had said: “I don’t know what strange wind possessed the young lady, insisting on going to that Endymion City just for a ‘Book of Law’ that may not even exist. But since we, as her attendants, can’t talk her out of it, all we can do is support her fully!”
“Those adventurers—including that Miss Frolah—can’t be completely trusted!”
That was just how the young lady was. To her, this might be just another adventure, but as her attendants, they had to think about much more.
Sigh… Just look at Uncle Ansel. His face was getting worse by the minute—he must be worried sick about the young lady’s safety.
As the sunset sank slowly beyond the horizon, the group made camp in the designated valley.
However, due to the chaotic mana in the valley, it was filled with all kinds of mutated, twisted monsters. Clearly, camping in such a place wasn’t the wisest decision.
That’s why the campsite had to be chosen with extreme care.
On Eileen’s advice, the team picked a spot with their backs to a massive tree—this way, they’d only need to defend from three directions instead of four.
Ideally, Eileen had hoped to find a cave for shelter, but unfortunately, they hadn’t come across one.
As night deepened, magical wards were set around the camp. They were designed to automatically launch a counterattack if any monster came close.
Eileen couldn’t help but think—this Master Galhai really was reliable! The sheer number of spells he could cast had already surpassed what was expected from an A-rank adventurer!
Tomorrow, they would officially advance into Endymion City. It was bound to be a thrilling, intense adventure like none before. Resting early was important to conserve their strength.
And yet, for some reason, the closer they got to Endymion, the more Eileen felt a strange and inexplicable unease in her heart.
She had even had a nightmare about the entire party getting wiped out last night.
‘I can’t sleep.’
With that thought, she threw on her fox-fur cloak and stepped out of the tent.
Originally, she’d just wanted to catch a glimpse of Endymion City’s silhouette, but unexpectedly, there was a campfire burning in the center of the campsite. Sitting in front of it, dressed in winter gear, was Lilisha.
As Eileen exited her tent, Lilisha looked up and met her gaze, then smiled softly.
“Miss Eileen, can’t sleep?”
Eileen nodded and walked over to sit beside her.
“What about you, Lilisha? What are you doing out here?”
“My master ordered me to keep watch tonight.”
“That’s not really necessary, is it? With Master Galhai’s magical barrier in place, ordinary monsters can’t even get close.”
Just as she said that, a chilling wolf’s howl echoed from the edge of the camp. Eileen looked over and saw a wolf-shaped magical beast being electrocuted into a charred husk by the barrier.
The rest of the wolves, who had planned to sneak attack the camp, immediately turned tail and fled.
Eileen looked back at Lilisha with an expression that clearly said, “See? I told you it wasn’t necessary.”
Lilisha lowered her gaze and whispered,
“But… this is my master’s order. Besides, I’m not human—even if I rest less, it’s fine.”
“Lilisha, even if you are a puppet automaton, starting tomorrow you’ll be one of our key combatants. If you don’t get enough rest…”
Eileen tried to persuade her.
“A-ah, I-I’m not one of the main fighters! That responsibility falls to Mr. Red Wolf and the others!” Lilisha waved her hands in panic. “In terms of combat ability, I’m at best somewhere above B-rank but below A-rank… Honestly, I’m not even as strong as my master.”
“Huh?”
No way! B-rank-ish? Lilisha, what kind of joke is that?
You’re a top-tier combat automaton crafted by a demon general! There’s no way you could be that weak!