The evidence that he might remember his lost past was somewhat flimsy, but it was worth considering.
After all, it was quite sudden for him to warn her about Cassis Renokhon.
‘From his attitude, it seems like he can’t remember in detail. Is it something the soul remembers?’
No, that doesn’t quite add up.
If his soul remembered a lost past, he shouldn’t have failed to recognize her on their first night together.
The soul is the most vivid essence imprinted on a person.
If memories were etched there, Yohan should have recalled her as soon as he saw Francia.
‘I don’t know.’
Of course, the rumors about Cassis Renokhon being dangerous were true.
He was called a battlefield demon who would even take the neck of a surrendering enemy.
Moreover, he radiated a murderous intent toward the allies of the First Official, making it difficult for other generals to deal with him.
‘Did he warn me just because of those rumors?’
Francia gazed at Yohan’s back, her lips moving silently.
She wanted to ask if he remembered anything.
But she couldn’t say that.
Revealing that she had returned was a violation of the most significant taboo of that magic.
The exact reason was unknown.
It was merely written that way in the magic book created by the celestial mage from mythology.
‘What on earth could it be?’
Magic that violates causality has no information beyond the description written, so Francia was left feeling frustrated.
“The entire army is ready!”
While Francia’s thoughts deepened, those who had completed their preparations began to mount their horses one by one.
“Francia?”
Yohan tilted his head.
Francia was gripping his arm tightly, refusing to let go.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I was just lost in thought for a moment.”
Francia awkwardly smiled and released Yohan’s arm.
“…You need to be careful, okay?”
“I know.”
“And about the rampaging monsters.”
“Rampaging monsters?”
Yohan’s eyebrows furrowed slightly.
Only those who walk the path of magic can cause monsters to rampage.
‘Well, I suppose Francia knows that. It happens often during cavern reconnaissance missions.’
Those who practice magic or are mages often establish their bases near caverns teeming with monsters.
Because communication with the monsters deepens their mastery of magic.
These mages can manipulate or incite monsters, making them the most dangerous beings for officials entering cavern reconnaissance missions.
“I’ll be careful.”
Yohan smiled and ruffled Francia’s hair.
Only then did she faintly smile and turn away.
“Yohan! Hurry up!”
At that moment, the vice-captain, Terces, who was leading the horses in front, called out to him.
“Yes, I’m coming now!”
Yohan adjusted his robe and ran toward Terces, grabbing the reins.
“How is it? Are you good at riding?”
“I’m not very good. I learned when I was quite young.”
“Haha! But if you can pass the test, that means you’re above average!”
Tersis gave Yohan’s shoulder a few friendly pats with his large hand and laughed heartily.
“You don’t need to be too tense. The unit you’re joining is under my direct command.”
“That’s reassuring. I’m glad to be with you, Vice-Captain.”
Yohan smiled lightly and stepped onto the saddle, mounting the horse.
This was the final hurdle to officially becoming a high-ranking mage.
The march that began in the morning continued until nightfall.
After taking breaks to eat along the way, they finally arrived at the eastern cavern of the empire as night fell.
The air changed drastically, allowing them to understand why it was called a cavern.
“We’ll set up the forward base here. If we go further in, we might attract the monsters’ attention.”
“Yes!”
Following Fedelian’s command, the knights planted the flag they were holding into the ground.
“We’re establishing a forward base!”
Then, around him, the soldiers and knights began to move and set up tents.
“Go a bit further inside!”
“Spread it out!”
While they were setting up the tents, Yohan looked around, searching for Francia.
Since their units were entirely opposite, he couldn’t spot her.
‘Well, I wasn’t expecting to be together here anyway.’
This was his first mission as an official and the beginning of everything: the cavern reconnaissance mission.
In such a situation, it would be inappropriate to roam around and chat with her; that would undermine military discipline.
“Oh my, who are you looking for?”
At that moment, a woman’s voice came from behind him.
Yohan turned his gaze toward the sound.
“Ratalen First-Class—no, Violet.”
“I’m glad you called me by my name.”
Violet chuckled and placed her hand on Yohan’s shoulder.
She twisted her red lips into an alluring smile.
“How is it? It’s your first cavern reconnaissance mission. Are you nervous?”
“I’m not particularly nervous, as there are some dependable people around.”
“Oh really? Usually, it’s normal to be so anxious that you can’t even sleep properly.”
Violet smoothly climbed up his shoulder and caressed Yohan’s cheek.
“Your skin is nice. Do you take special care of it?”
“I don’t do anything special.”
“Is that so? I envy you. Hehe.”
Yohan’s eyes turned cold.
‘I’d prefer it if she stopped this.’
His expression hardened.
This kind of interaction was something he was used to encountering with women, but Violet’s touch felt unnecessarily sticky and unpleasant.
“Violet. I’m sorry to say this, but—”
“Oh, you mean not to touch you?”
She had already been reading his expression and withdrew her hand, showing a subtle smile.
“I just feel like touching you whenever I see you, Yohan.”
“If I made you uncomfortable, I’m sorry.”
Violet tilted her head slightly.
“Yohan, you’re quite a wall. It’s as if you have a lover.”
Yohan maintained his silence and avoided answering.
He didn’t intend to hide that he was in a relationship with Francia, but he needed to withhold as much information as possible from Violet, who was right in front of him.
“You’re not giving me an answer. How boring.”
When she didn’t get a response, her expression quickly shifted to one of indifference as she shrugged.
“I just thought you seemed tense, so I tried to loosen you up. Well, you’re not tense at all, though.”
“If it’s something that will happen anyway, I prefer not to waste emotions on unnecessary things and just do my best.”
“Hehe, I like that aspect of you too.”
She took a step back and exchanged a sly glance with Yohan.
“Well then, I’ll be on my way.”
“You must be busy.”
“Indeed.”
Violet left behind a meaningful smile and stepped away.
‘What on earth is she thinking?’
At first, he thought she might be trying to provoke jealousy, but it didn’t seem like that was the case.
There was no need for her to act like this in the absence of Cassis.
‘There must be something that she wants.
I don’t know what it is.
There must be something I’m missing, but nothing comes to mind.’
“Oh, Yohan! You were here!”
Just as I was deep in thought, Terxis called out to me from behind as I looked around the spot where Violet had just left.
“What is it?”
“It’s nothing much. I just thought I should explain the schedule.”
Terxis smiled amiably and continued his explanation.
“First, today is a day of rest. The real start of the reconnaissance mission will be tomorrow morning. Each unit will split up, decide on their directions, and the main task will be to observe the state of the labyrinth there.”
I nodded, listening carefully to his words.
“As you know, the reason for observing the labyrinth is simple. If their numbers increase too much, there’s a risk of a ‘monster overflow,’ which would be problematic for the Empire.”
Monster overflow.
It literally means the number of monsters increases so much that they spill out of the labyrinth’s territory.
“It’s not just good to have a lot of land.”
“Exactly.”
The Razino Empire is the largest country on the continent, which is why there are many labyrinths that don’t even know their origins.
However, they can’t simply eradicate the labyrinths.
Touching the Abyssal Gates connected within would lead to irreparable consequences.
Therefore, the best choice for managing the labyrinths is for public officials or knight orders to periodically go out and control the population of monsters.
“Anyway, get plenty of rest today. We’ll be heading south.”
“Yes.”
After patting me on the back a few times, Terxis walked away, seemingly satisfied, towards his tent.
I squinted as I looked toward the direction of the Crown Prince.
Although the center of the outpost allows visibility from anywhere,
‘I never know when he might scheme something. I have to be careful.’
The downside was that I couldn’t inspect the interior.
‘Being a Crown Prince, he probably won’t move directly, but…?’
The number of shadows under his command must be close to thousands.
That’s because the Crown Prince is the center of the Empire.
There was no choice but to raise my guard to the maximum.
‘But I’m not too worried. If something goes wrong, I can just use the Book of Calamity.’
I wasn’t sure how powerful the magic contained in the Book of Calamity would be, but considering the symbols and the magical power involved, it was undoubtedly unusual.
‘If things go wary, I can just turn everything upside down.’
There was only one day left before the reconnaissance mission into the labyrinth began.
Late at night, most of the troops were asleep, and only the minimum number of soldiers on guard were awake.
Crunch, crunch.
The Crown Prince, Fedelian Razino, was wandering through the dense forest.
Normally, it would be standard to have an escort, but he was a special knight and the second sword of the Empire.
Wandering through the labyrinth’s forest posed no issue.
There were dozens of shadows attached to him, so it wasn’t particularly dangerous.
Crunch, crunch.
After brushing aside the small branches that clung to his legs, he wandered for a while.
Fedelian could meet the men in robes at a clearing in the forest.
“You have arrived.”
“Yeah.”
The man who stepped forward from among those in robes greeted Fedelian.
“It’s quite difficult to meet you. Can’t I just communicate through the shadows? I don’t understand the need to see me in person.”
Fedelian frowned and showed his displeasure.
The man in robes bowed his head.
“I sincerely apologize for that. However, I wanted to show you this…”
The man pulled out a bright red orb from his bosom.
It looked like a glass orb, swirling with blood-colored magical energy inside.
“Oh? What’s this?”
Fedelian asked with keen interest.
“It’s made from gathering the life force of monsters. Based on this, if you cast a spell, even an elite monster will find it impossible to refuse an order.”
A smile appeared on his lips as he heard this.
If he could control elite monsters, it would become an excellent war weapon and would greatly aid the operation he was currently considering.
“Have you completed the experiment?”
“Of course.”
The man in robes placed the red glass orb back in his bosom and continued speaking.
“However, it requires a fairly complicated spell. Therefore, the drawback is that I need to use it myself.”
“Hmmm.”
Fedelian stroked his chin.
Since shadows were present, there was no issue with communication.
However, the fact that he had to rely on the power of magical practitioners was concerning.
He couldn’t use that power freely whenever and wherever he wanted.
“What are the possibilities for development?”
“At the moment, they are limitless.”
“Then that’s good.”
Upon hearing the anticipated answer, Fedelian smiled broadly.
“Have you decided on the first use of that orb?”
“Not yet.”
“Then let’s use it this time.”
Fedelian placed his hand on the shoulder of the man in robes and twisted his lips into a smirk.
“There’s a unit heading south for reconnaissance of the labyrinth. Let’s move the elite monsters there and kill a special mage named Yohan Harssen.”
He added, “You can kill all the other soldiers moving with them, just make sure the job is done.”