"I don't understand, but I can foresee that you'll soon be heading to the battlefield with the troops," Sohana said.
Nearly all of the empire's wizard orders were gathered here—a situation that had never occurred before, not even during the Tacoma City incident. News of the Borg invasion was spreading like wildfire among the people.
Those who managed to come here were mentally prepared to some extent. Even if battle was inevitable, they at least wanted their wizard organizations to have everything properly arranged.
"I heard that Prince Philip and the Grand Duke have come in person this time. I imagine the meeting will get quite heated," Sohana continued, only to realize that her leader wasn't listening at all, instead intently reading a letter in her hands. Her expression shifted subtly.
"Sean has run into trouble."
"I heard that Oro City has been busy with construction lately. Running into a bit of trouble is normal," Sohana said casually, though inwardly she felt helpless.
Ever since returning last time, her revered leader—Frelia Igueil, the Red Dragon Witch and head of the Sky-Covering Wings—had undergone a dramatic shift in attitude toward the man who had visited headquarters. Having lived together for so long, they could sense even the slightest emotional changes in each other.
What puzzled Sohana was that Sean seemed to have left during the Rietis team's departure, while Frelia had left with her own team. The two couldn't possibly have crossed paths, yet their relationship had changed. It was truly baffling.
"It's not that," Frelia said, frowning.
"Sean believes this war launched by the Borg is likely connected to the followers of the ancient gods."
At these words, even Sohana grew tense. She leaned in to read the letter.
It was the latest letter Sean had sent, which described a pendant capable of making people powerful, called the Lovecraft Pendant, and included a certain phrase copied into the letter. This phrase, associated with dark evil gods, was often uttered by the followers of the ancient gods. Frelia had heard similar words from the octopus-men and the Deep Ones during the Tacoma Old City incident.
"What should we do? Should we report this to His Highness the Prince?"
"Sean hopes we won't tell anyone else and will investigate on our own, but..."
Frelia cast a magical detection spell over the paper. A faint glow swept across it, revealing additional fingerprints—at least three people had touched the letter before her. If Sean had written it himself, at most two people would have handled it. But now there were so many.
Clearly, the letter had been opened and read before it arrived, though it was cleverly resealed to look original. Such a perfect job likely involved time-reversal magic, but even that couldn't completely erase all traces. Moreover, very few in Rietis could wield such magic; Frelia didn't need to count to know who they were.
"I'm afraid we'll have to pretend to report this to His Highness the Prince."
Frelia looked at the letter in her hands, and Sohana nodded in agreement beside her.
"What do you think about sending more people to Oro City?"
"That would be good, but we might soon be ordered to lead a team north. If the Sky-Covering Wings sends too few people, it might be hard to explain to His Highness," Sohana said worriedly.
"This concerns many lives. At least sending them to Oro City would be safer than the battlefield. Over the years, the new recruits we've trained have never faced a real war. I'm worried those girls won't be able to adapt to that environment."
Ordinary mercenary missions were different from life-and-death battles. Though both were dangerous, the battlefield was far more brutal. Frelia wanted to preserve more personnel for her organization.
"In that case, we'd better give the order quickly. Otherwise, once the king's command comes down, we'll have no room to think."
Just as they were discussing retaining personnel, a voice from another side of the wizard tower's viewing platform interrupted their conversation.
"Isn't this Frelia? Long time no see."
It was a woman's voice.
Frelia turned to see a woman with green hair, wearing a tight black dress that left her shoulders largely exposed, approaching.
"Fathleen Blair," Frelia called out, recognizing the woman whose lips were painted with black lip gloss.
A leader from the Black Rose organization in the empire's north, this witch had clashed with Frelia in many encounters and was of the same rank—perhaps even slightly stronger. In short, Frelia felt no goodwill toward this woman. If not for both being part of the Bashalan Empire's camp, it would be best if they never met.
"It seems I've left quite an impression on you," the woman said in a voice alluring enough to stir the male wizards around.
"I didn't expect you to remember me either," Frelia replied with a smile.
Their last meeting had been about seven or eight years ago. After all this time, the woman's appearance hadn't changed at all—in fact, she seemed even more captivating and seductive.
"I heard you nearly died in the Tacoma incident not long ago, and only survived thanks to internal problems among the enemy. You're quite lucky."
"Unfortunately, I always manage to survive."
"Heh."
Fathleen's glossy, enchanting black lips curled into a smile.
"I hope you'll be just as lucky in the battles to come. Otherwise, I'd lose a lot of fun."
"Funny, I was thinking the same thing."
Frelia replied without backing down.
"Hmph."
With other wizards around, their exchange was limited to a few taunts.
But just as the other woman turned away, the golden ornament around her slender waist caught Frelia's eye as it glinted in the sunlight.
"This woman is still so arrogant."
"Sohana, did you notice the belt around her waist? There's a sun emblem in the center."
"Where? I didn't see it."
"No, I caught a glimpse. If I'm not mistaken, that's the insignia of the Sun King from the Adak region," Frelia said in surprise, looking at Sohana beside her.
Meanwhile, in Oro City.
For three days, Sean hadn't left his room during any free time, even moving his desk near the sand table.
His goal was to constantly monitor the movements within Oro City.
Whenever a large group of rebels appeared in the city, he could dispatch people immediately to eliminate them. This was no time to hold back. Any red dots appearing on the sand table represented danger, as followers of the ancient gods might be mixed in. Red names meant enemies.