The Returnee Wants Peace

The summit of the highest mountain in the northern mountain range.

There was nothing on the peak of the mountain they had barely climbed with Froy’s help.

The cold wind mercilessly clawed at the ground, and the unmelted snow was not only thickly piled up but frozen like stones.

“…It looks ordinary at first glance.”

But what they were looking for was certainly here.

Even without the wolf boy’s report that this place was suspicious, Rosha could clearly see that a veil of concealment was wrapped around the entire mountain peak.

“It feels like it’s distorting perception by overlaying space… a veil of concealment. I sense powerful mental magic inside the veil, is that right?”

“That’s right. Your ability to recognize magic has improved tremendously.”

“It’s all thanks to you.”

Froy, who attributed his 3 years of effort to Rosha’s credit, laughed softly as he looked at her inwardly embarrassed face.

After a moment, he looked around with a subdued expression as if something was bothering him.

Now that she was here, she understood why he was reacting that way.

‘…This mana, I’ve felt it once before?’

Where was it?

For now, she had to lift the veil of concealment, so she drew up her mana to the fullest.

While doing so, she carefully traced back through her past memories.

‘To be able to handle a veil of concealment, they must be a magician, but is there anyone who could orchestrate something like this to hasten the trial?’

The faces of the magicians she knew flashed through her mind.

Most of them were people she could handle sufficiently.

Marquis Lycaon, who was among the highest level, came to mind, but he had lost his mana, and Nox, the Emperor’s experimental subject…

‘Nox’s mana… doesn’t feel like this.’

While his magical power had a grayish feel of many things mixed together, this current magical power was quite refined but sticky and icy.

At that moment, Froy, who was assisting her mana beside her, asked:

“…Is there no possibility it could be that magician we saw in the imperial palace? The 7th stage magician who created an underground laboratory in the small forest and even spread a ‘domain’?”

“What? But he died, didn’t he?”

“Well…”

Although it seemed certain that no one could have survived that explosion that blew up the entire underground laboratory, Froy trailed off ambiguously.

Then, while adding his power to the veil Rosha was lifting, he muttered:

“They were called ‘traitors’ in the old era, right? For 3 years while chasing them, I’ve been pondering what they might have betrayed. If it was betraying people, the scope is too narrow, and if it was betraying a country, that term wouldn’t still be adopted in imperial documents. After all, the Empire was established long after the old era perished.”

“Wait, you’re saying it’s recorded in documents?”

“After Princess Illien Marcia ascended to the throne as Empress, she handed over top-secret documents that the former Emperor had kept to our side. The contents are quite substantial, so it would be good to read them sometime. Anyway…”

As the veil of concealment lifted, the inside gradually revealed itself.

Leaving behind the others whose mouths were agape at the mysterious sight, Froy calmly continued speaking.

“What if those ‘traitors’ betrayed the world?”

“What?”

“When I need to figure something out, I often use the subjunctive. Like how the former Emperor tried to drain the life force of the capital all at once, what if they committed a similar act in the old era?”

It’s… not entirely impossible.

‘I always thought paradise was strange.’

No matter if they were gods, where did that power come from to keep people from aging and getting injured?

Life force.

That makes sense.

If the traitors colluded with paradise to transfer life force, and in return received the characteristic of ‘immortality’, the privilege of paradise.

It wouldn’t be too strange if that magician we saw in the imperial palace had returned alive.

‘Could it be…’

It was an assumption without any basis, but she had an odd premonition.

When she conveyed this feeling, Froy’s face became very serious. Her positive response, having experienced paradise directly, seemed to make him feel the gravity of the situation twice as much.

“If that’s your opinion, we need to investigate further.”

“I’ll lend my strength too. Though I hope we’re wrong.”

It was at that moment.

“…!”

Froy, frowning deeply, suddenly pulled Rosha into his arms.

At the same time, as he stretched one arm forward, his ability, which had only been used as a moving walkway until now, deployed to its maximum, isolating the space.

Crash!

Immediately after, a storm of mana swept over them.

Ice chunks no different from rocks split into pieces like soft clay, and several huge scars formed on the hard ground.

It was obvious what would have happened if they had taken it head-on.

“Th-thank you, my lord.”

“We owe you our lives, Your Grace. We will surely repay this debt with our bodies.”

Words of gratitude poured out quickly.

Especially the knights, who must have always been treated coldly, seemed deeply moved.

‘It couldn’t have been easy to protect this many people in such a short time.’

Thinking about it again, it was an incredibly fast response.

Perhaps feeling Rosha’s gaze, Froy explained gruffly:

“The magic formula operated viciously. To protect you, I had to use my ability to the maximum.”

“I see. You have a surprisingly warm side, Froy.”

“That’s not-“

“It’s fine.”

We can’t save everyone, but let’s save those we can.

This was Rosha’s belief.

‘That way we can save people and delay the time when our nerves wear out.’

Taking advantage of the embrace, she patted his back as if praising him. At her touch, the man stiffened as if tensing up.

Then, with a faint sigh, he hugged her tightly once and let go.

…What does this mean?

“It’s annoying, just look ahead.”

At Koko’s irritated comment, which had been silent until now, her dazed mind became a little clearer.

Indeed, where the veil of concealment had been lifted, there was a square altar that hadn’t been visible before.

At each corner were four pillars with strange mana swirling, and all sides of the altar had twelve steps leading down to the ground.

‘It’s exactly as I expected.’

The Moon Altar.

As the hidden structure of the twentieth trial, to completely end the trial, the Moon Altar had to be destroyed.

Of course, the altar wouldn’t be destroyed so easily.

Grrrr-

The stone statues guarding the altar from four directions raised their ancient bodies. The snow that had piled up thickly fell to the ground and smoke rose.

“Your Grace, we’ll handle those.”

The knights, who had all drawn their swords at once, lined up in front of Froy.

But the appearance of enemies wasn’t over yet. A magician revealed himself from below the stairs that had been hidden by the altar.

A hooded magician.

Somehow, he looked very familiar.

“You found this place faster than expected. But you won’t be able to leave here alive…”

As he was about to continue his lines, he made eye contact with Rosha.

His voice, which had been gravely low, jumped up in surprise.

“…Huh?”

“What’s this?”

An acquaintance?

* * *

Whoosh-

From the four pillars of the altar, mana of madness, allure, illusion, and poison rose thickly.

These, which were originally supposed to color people by being projected onto the full moon, were feebly dying out in the isolated space.

‘…I didn’t expect to be able to verify the hypothesis this quickly.’

Amidst the noise of battle all around.

Rosha thought as she carefully touched the altar pillars made of the essence of all kinds of magic.

No matter how she looked at it, it seemed to be the 7th stage magician they had met in the imperial palace.

She’d have to ask him directly for details.

Swoosh-

Pushing in mana while avoiding the parts that would explode if touched wrongly, the third pillar shattered and fell under the altar. She heard the opposing magician’s shout but paid no attention.

The twentieth trial that had continued for months.

They say people lived with their windows nailed shut and their bodies tied up every night of the full moon because they didn’t know they had to find the Moon Altar.

Such an abomination needed to be cleared up as soon as possible.

“…Is there anything I can help with?”

“No.”

Rosha, who had been destroying the pillars from a distance under the cover of the knights, suddenly looked up.

The boy with vertically long pupils was looking at her gently.

…Why are you suddenly using formal speech?