“…Just what is going on here?”

“It seems the world has come to this, prompting the Duke to resume his activities as well.”

“Even without that, there have been rumors linking Duke Echerzen to the magic book spreading among commoners lately. Judging by this situation, it doesn’t appear to be an unfounded rumor.”

“That man is still so handsome today. It’s unfair.”

People whispered quietly.

Regardless, Froy tuned out their murmurs and stood beside Rosha.

In fact, the moment he saw the second prince of the Atica Kingdom embrace Rosha, an inexplicable irritation had welled up within him.

‘…She is a precious talent, after all. Even if she does nothing, she attracts attention from all sides.’

Of course, he understood the prince’s action was a customary greeting unique to the Atica Kingdom.

Yet the reason for his vexation was likely because the prince would undoubtedly make an unreasonable request of Rosha, who had only recently recovered.

…He couldn’t explain it any other way.

After briefly furrowing his brow, Froy addressed the foreign prince in an informing tone:

“She has a prior engagement with me, so unfortunately, I’ll have to take her away.”

He then extended his hand towards Rosha.The Fundamentals of Magic

Meeting his forceful gaze urging her to take it, Rosha slowly placed her hand on his, inwardly thinking,

‘A prior engagement… well, it is one. I did agree to update him on the progress of <The Fundamentals of Magic> business.’

Though she hadn’t expected to do so at the welcoming ceremony.

Well, whatever.

Thanks to this, she could at least extract herself from the disconcerting situation.

Hmm… Cedric’s gaze was a bit concerning, though.

“…”

Whether fortunate or not, someone appeared to distract his attention.

“The Sun of the Empire has entered. Everyone, be composed!”

The Emperor, entering with a leisurely gait, glanced around the ballroom and murmured in apparent amusement:

“Quite an interesting scene, indeed.”

His blue eyes were fixed squarely on Rosha.

* * *

Fortunately, the Emperor merely beamed at her without approaching.

Likely due to the abundance of watchful eyes present.

“Welcome to the Empire. You must be weary from your long journey, so rest today and join the monster hunt tomorrow. The demonic beast population has been increasing lately.”

With that ominous addendum, the Emperor made an early exit, suggesting they enjoy the banquet. It rendered moot any precautions taken against him potentially using his ability.

Thanks to this, Rosha was able to leave the ballroom with Froy for the outdoor garden without much fuss after the Emperor’s departure.

“You didn’t mention you’d be coming today?”

“So, do you dislike it?”

“No, it’s not that.”

Despite standing under the bright sky, he resembled a thick fog.

Gazing at him with a bewildered expression, as he didn’t seem to attend imperial events often, Froy slowly explained his reason.

“I had been considering it for the past few days. While I previously had no major intentions of involving myself in central affairs, seeing the matters you’ve been dealing with lately made me feel it was necessary.”

“…So you mean because of me?”

“If I must spell it out, then yes, that’s correct.”

After exchanging amused smiles, they discussed the book business.

How many copies of <The Fundamentals of Magic> had sold, and approximately how many more were needed.

The selling price was also mentioned, but Rosha didn’t raise it despite the strong sales.

The current price was set at 1 gold coin.

About a week’s living expenses for an ordinary commoner household – not overly cheap, but not exorbitantly expensive either.

After all, knowledge should be accessible by nature.

‘Especially magic. One never knows who might have talent for it.’

Of course, free would be ideal for accessibility, but giving it away for free would lead to knowledge being taken for granted. Hence, the minimum feasible price was set.

As they discussed this, Rosha suddenly sensed another presence.

Turning her head, she spotted a man with short gray hair, making no attempt to conceal himself behind a tree.

It was Nardil, the second prince of the Atica Kingdom.

“…”

Halting their conversation to regard him, the man who had been standing like an ancient tree spoke up sheepishly:

“I’ll wait until your prior engagement concludes.”

Froy let out an exasperated sigh, but Rosha guessed why Nardil was so insistently approaching.

“Is it because of the trials? The Princess prophesied that the next one will occur near the coastline.”

“Ah, so there is a seer here as well. Our great fortune-teller also warned that the Kingdom would soon face a crisis.”

Nodding as if the conversation had become easier, Nardil swiftly continued:

“In truth, I’ve only heard about the trials, never directly experienced them, which is a major concern. The demon hunt scheduled for tomorrow was separately requested by our delegation to observe how the warriors here fight.”

While cracks occasionally appeared in Atica as well, they had never encountered monsters on the level of trial hosts.

Hence, Nardil’s point was that he hoped Rosha, who had endured two trials, would come to the Kingdom.

“I understand it’s a difficult request, but I hope you’ll deeply consider it.”

Nardil looked at her with imploring eyes.

“Umm…”

What he didn’t know was that he had approached Rosha at the perfect time.

‘The third trial… it’s a trial where opening the rift is unavoidable.’

While 3 was considered a lucky number, it was an unlucky one when it came to the trials. Despite being an early trial, the initial rift would be located somewhere inaccessible.

Moreover…

‘The blue window has been too quiet lately. Unnervingly so.’

Koko had even suggested it might be gathering raw gems, adding to the unease.

Perhaps it was best to prepare in advance.

It was at that very moment.

“Kyaaah!”

A piercing scream rang out nearby, accompanied by a beast’s guttural roar.

The howl of a demonic beast.

…Why was there a demon within the imperial palace?

Strange as it was, there was no time to ponder it. Leaping to her feet, Rosha dashed towards the source of the scream.

“Rosha!”

A voice called out from behind, but she couldn’t stop.

‘I’ve grown complacent with no one around me dying lately… especially within the imperial palace grounds.’

Was it because the Emperor was a formidable ability user? She had unconsciously assumed he wouldn’t allow any disturbances in his own residence.

Yet for a demon to be roaming near the ballroom!

Weapons were prohibited in the ballroom area. Unless they were ability users who could emanate light beams from their fingertips like Cassis, leaving the demon be would result in ordinary people dying in the blink of an eye.

Ordinary people without magic or abilities.

Cedric was among them.

‘Cedric… must not die, no matter what.’

She had witnessed death so frequently that she could no longer be shocked each time a nameless person became a soulless lump of flesh.

At some point, Rosha had etched an imaginary scale within her mind.

The moment she engraved that scale, all her sorrows were confined within it, allowing her to take a step back and view situations objectively.

However.

There were still some people she couldn’t simply relegate to that scale.

“I’ll go first.”

It was then that Nardil, having quickly caught up to her pace, surged ahead with lithe, silent movements befitting his large stature, like a sleek black panther.

Only then did Rosha realize she was gradually slowing down.

Her breathing had grown rapid and labored some time ago.

‘But I had decent stamina for a while, so why is it back to this state?’

She couldn’t help but lament inwardly.

“Hah… should’ve, trained, more regularly.”

“Why did you rush off alone like that?”

Froy had caught up at some point, grabbing her hand with a composed expression as he remarked,

“Let’s go.”

Simultaneously, the space before her eyes began rapidly closing in. Belatedly recalling the man whose hand she had taken, she realized his ability.

‘If I don’t use my head, my body suffers, as they say…’

If the principle of ‘compressing space’ truly existed, this must be it.

It felt like the space around them was compressed like a spring, and they were simply traversing within.

With each step, dozens of trees whizzed by, the wind pleasantly caressing her cheeks.

And in that moment, a pungent scent assailed her nostrils.

The thick stench of blood.