On rainy days, it felt like everyone on the streets was rushing. By the time they returned to the Sky-Sheltering Wings headquarters, it was already past noon.
Sean pulled Freya alone into a room and told her what the Grand Duke had said, especially the stories about witches being murdered...
"Do you think it's true?" Sean asked.
Watching her furrowed brow, it seemed like she was deep in thought.
"I haven't heard of this, so I'm not sure. But since it came from the Grand Duke, it's probably not false... There are still many things in this world we don't know about. Most people just never get the chance to step out and see them."
Sean rarely heard Freya speak like this. It seemed the story had moved her.
One hundred and eight people.
They just vanished without a trace, and there wasn't even a single record in the history books. What were those chroniclers doing?
Thinking about chroniclers, Sean suddenly realized he hadn't sought them out in this city yet. He wondered if he could glean anything from those scholars.
"Sean," Freya said suddenly.
"Hm? What's..."
"This time, don't go. Stay put at headquarters. I'll have someone keep in touch and let you know if anything comes up."
That was surprising. Two people today had both told him not to go.
"So what's your plan?"
"Prince Philip has ordered me and Wizard Ash to lead the Black Feather Knights. With the rain, too many people moving together would be inconvenient, so we're cutting it down to three thousand. Even then, they'll likely split into groups along the way. You're not used to that kind of environment, so it's best you don't go."
Freya's words stung Sean's pride a bit.
He wasn't some noble who'd never been caught in the rain. Even on foot, he was confident he wouldn't fall behind those wizards. But right now, he really didn't feel like going. Since they both didn't want him to, he wouldn't.
Sean didn't argue...
This made Freya show a state of [Disappointment!].
…………………………
The Sky-Sheltering Wings set out the next morning, leaving together with a group that had come to meet them.
Sean wasn't there at the time. Before they left, Freya even came to his door... but she didn't knock, probably thinking he was still asleep.
Yet Sean was already sitting in his spot, observing the entire map of Rietis. He could see Freya's departure and the soldiers mobilized from the Prince's mansion. He figured some were waiting outside the city, since too many people moving through the streets would cause a jam.
The Grand Duke's news arrived right as they left...
Sean had thought the Grand Duke would summon him, but instead, a letter was delivered.
In it, the Grand Duke told him that both Rietis and Sedia City would soon issue a mercenary recruitment order, calling on civilian forces to join in. He specifically mentioned hoping Sean could go to Sedia City to handle the mercenary affairs.
To the Grand Duke's city.
That would be walking right into the lion's den. Once there, he wouldn't be the one calling the shots.
In Rietis, at least, the Sky-Sheltering Wings protected him. And as Sean had thought before, Prince Philip didn't seem too eager in his rivalry with the Grand Duke over noble resources.
Every time, it looked like the Grand Duke was pushing from behind, while the Prince remained passive.
As if he was just biding his time...
After all, the Grand Duke was old. One day, he might just keel over in a fit of rage.
So Prince Philip didn't seem worried at all. If the Grand Duke fell, his heir would struggle to build prestige among the southern nobles in a short time. Then, even just to survive, many nobles would side with the Prince.
Factional struggles were everywhere, and Sean still hadn't seen any sign of rebellion from the Prince. Instead, their open and covert battles were the focus of the nobles' attention.
He figured many nobles thought the same way he did—just watching.
In the end, whoever won, they'd side with them. Being a fence-sitter might not sound great, but it kept you alive!
He was insignificant in their struggle anyway. Right now, they probably thought he was the man who could sway the Sky-Sheltering Wings, but Freya wasn't that easy to get close to!
So Sean ignored everyone's advice. He didn't reply to the letter about going to Sedia City and just kept doing his own thing.
Every day, he practiced magic and sought magical knowledge from Kalyana.
Lately, Sean had been flipping through Lucille's grimoire, which was full of incantations...
An entire book must have had thousands of spells.
He had no idea how Lucille memorized them all. Sean still couldn't recite everything, but he'd figured out which magic was recorded and how it was categorized. If he needed it, he could just open the grimoire and use it.
The day after Freya left, the heavy rain finally stopped.
The sun still hadn't come out; it was just overcast.
Taking advantage of the good weather, Sean went to the Scholars' Library again, this time to learn about the southeastern region.
To his surprise, the chroniclers' branch in Rietis was in the same building as the Scholars' Library!
So these archaeologists, historians, and cultural geographers were all the same people...
The library was as quiet as ever. Since his last visit, the shop assistant had actually remembered him and greeted him with a smile as soon as he walked in.
"Sir, what would you like to sell this time?"
"Find me some historical documents about Takoma City in the southeast. Preferably someone who knows about this area," Sean said.
Since this place housed both chroniclers and scholars, there should be a history expert.
Sure enough,
After the assistant left for a moment, a voice interrupted Sean's thoughts.
"Sir, are you looking into the history of Takoma City?"
Sean looked up and saw a familiar face.
Harry Wallop...
They'd only met once, but Sean had a vivid memory of the Wallop noble name lately.
"We meet again, sir!" Though his face showed surprise, Harry didn't display any related state, meaning he'd come over only after recognizing Sean.
"Do you know about the Takoma region?" Sean asked.
It didn't matter who it was, as long as they could answer his questions.
"Sir, are you asking about the recent events?" the other suddenly said.
"What recent events..."
Sean didn't really like people who pretended to be clever, but a clever person must have their strengths.
"Word has spread among all the mercenary groups. They say the Prince and the Grand Duke suddenly issued orders for people to investigate near the Takoma region... Actually, the Mercenary Guild hasn't received any news from there for half a month."