"You always bring trouble with you."

"It’s not like I wanted it."

Facing the unconscious Jake, I responded to Arthur’s comment.

"But what about that?"

"It seems to be talking inside. A mutated Bugbear."

"It’s definitely strange. Can we even call this thing a Bugbear anymore?"

Alejandra said, tapping the protrusions on its back.

"For now, I guess? It wasn’t this bad from the beginning."

Not to be outdone, Fiona also examined the mutated Bugbear carefully.

"Are those gills?"

Fiona crouched down and lifted the gills, her face contorting at the foul smell that emanated from it.

"First, let me cast preservation, anti-decay, and deodorization spells."

In an instant, Fiona cast three spells, applying them to the mutated corpse. The air, which had felt heavy, became noticeably fresher.

"I'll leave this to the city's authorities for inspection."

"In terms of monster biology, wouldn’t the scholarly factions be more suited for this, Grand Duchess?"

"No. Swift response is critical for this situation. Considering the time that would be wasted in coordinating opinions between the factions, it's more efficient for the city and the alliance to handle this quickly. And Roman, I’ll show you. I’ll prove that we possess capabilities that rival even the greatest factions."

Fiona declared confidently, her eyes shifting between me and the Axis I was holding.

Fiona, who hated losing, was particularly competitive since she had let Alejandra handle the staff creation. It must have been eating her up inside.

"Alright, I'll leave it to you then."

"Good!"

Fiona immediately ordered the alliance members to take care of the mutated corpse.

To be honest, we had already run several experiments on it while it was still alive. I’ll have to gather that data properly later.

But as I looked around, it felt like we were missing some people. After counting, I realized only the leaders of the three main teams had swiftly finished and returned.

"Are we not last?"

"Dustin's team of four hasn’t come back yet."

"Oh, right, they went to the White Fang’s Ruins. It makes sense they’d be late."

Those who went there were more focused on exploring the White Fang’s Ruins than simply completing the certification. It’s only natural they’d take longer. They’ll probably use up every bit of the allotted time for this exam.

"So we are practically last."

"Heh, brings back memories."

"...Of what?"

"Well, it’s not the first time we’ve come in last, is it?"

Arthur was probably referring to the first exploration training we did together.

"That’s ancient history."

"Really? It’s only been about three weeks. I shouldn’t have been fooled back then."

Alejandra chuckled softly, her characteristic languid tone coming through.

"Fooled? It was a strategic loss."

"Exactly. Honestly, you got first place but still accepted the final team’s proposal for a bet. Isn’t that pretty opportunistic?"

As expected from Fiona-sensei. She never misses an opportunity.

"I have no argument. It’s the truth."

"Oh~ Juan is actually admitting to something for once?"

"It’s not like I always stubbornly deny things, Amaya."

While we chatted idly, the alliance’s staff were attending to the unconscious Jake. Eventually, Jake’s eyes opened.

The first thing Jake saw as he came to his senses were the faces of the people looking down at him.

‘Was it... not a dream?’

They were the same faces he saw just before he passed out, the faces he had thought were part of a dream. Still unsure whether this was reality or another dream, Jake instinctively activated a mana disruption technique to create pain and confirm the truth.

‘Ugh, so this is real.’

If this was reality, it felt more like a dream. The things he thought were just illusions were all true. But then, what kind of person was this Roman?

Noticing Jake's confusion, Roman abruptly extended his hand toward him.

"…Hmm?"

Jake absentmindedly placed his palm on Roman’s outstretched hand, thinking it was a gesture for a handshake. It felt more like someone asking a pet to give its paw than a proper handshake, but in Jake’s dazed state, he didn’t think that far.

Just as Jake was about to clasp Roman’s hand, Roman slapped it away with a mildly irritated expression.

"No, not your hand—give me your certification."

"Oh, ahem… certification."

Jake quickly rummaged through his clothes, embarrassed.

"Ah… I think I lost it when I got captured. The rest is at the Endwind Tower. We could just do it verbally, though."

The certification was essentially a formality, given because an examiner had to witness the event. But if the examiner could testify in person, the certification wasn't necessary.

Since Jake was part of the alliance, his testimony that Roman’s team had reached the Endwind Tower was enough for them to pass the exam. The process moved swiftly.

After Jake’s testimony, Roman officially obtained his exploration license. Along with it came the badge symbolizing a novice explorer.

At last, Roman had become a full-fledged explorer.

"So this is an explorer’s license, huh? It's not as impressive as I thought."

"A license is just a license. Honestly, the badge looks more well-made."

"The magical processing on the license is much more complex, though."

I commented while examining the intricate magical details embedded into the license with my mana sight.

For the record, we were currently in...

"Why do we keep gathering here again?"

We were back at the Telema faction.

"What do you mean? Isn’t it fine? I’m officially a faction member now."

"Well, that’s true, but…"

"These two are just here as observers."

Hecate, looking a bit uneasy, leaned in and whispered to me while the others were distracted with their licenses and badges.

"By the way, about that book I brought you last time, I managed to translate a bit more."

"Oh, really?"

Trusting Mea’s recommendation, I had left it with Hecate, and she was indeed quite versatile.

‘With talents like these, why is her faction in such bad shape?’

This must be one of those cases where personal ability and leadership don’t align.

"What are you two doing?"

A sharp glance pierced me from the side.

Even with her face partially hidden by the hood, her eyes still gleamed with intensity.

However, I responded confidently.

"I left a request last time, and there’s been some progress."

"Ah, I see..."

"What request? What’s it about?"

Leif quickly returned to her usual self, and Ray, showing delayed curiosity, joined in.

Hmm, what should I do?

It wouldn’t hurt to tell these two, I guess.

I shot a glance at Hecate, silently asking if I should reveal it. Hecate quickly shook her head in refusal.

Hmm, but that just makes me want to say it even more.

And who knows? Maybe these two know something that even Hecate doesn’t.

Ray, being a noble from a beastfolk lineage, might have some unexpected knowledge. Though her common sense is often lacking.

Leif, on the other hand, is clearly hiding secrets, and those secrets might turn out to be useful. Though she also lacks common sense.

"Let’s just tell them, shall we?"

"Haah…"

Hecate let out a deep sigh. But I had already made up my mind.

While Roman, as a faction member, was technically subordinate to Hecate as the faction leader, as a client, Roman held the upper hand.

In this case, the latter seemed more relevant. There’s a saying about clients having supreme authority, after all.

Anyway.

Hecate, with slumped shoulders, reluctantly went to retrieve something from inside.

She returned with a box, clearly well-preserved. Inside was the book I had given her to examine.

Carefully, Hecate took the book out and spoke in an unusually serious voice.

"This book is a work by Cordelia Wollstonecraft."

"Cordelia?"

"Wollstonecraft?"

Ray and Leif both tilted their heads and repeated the name, clearly unfamiliar with it.

"Who’s that?"

I had known this was coming, but to see just how clueless they were... I barely stopped myself from pinching the bridge of my nose.

"She was part of the first expedition."

After the Abyss appeared, Cordelia was one of the seven heroes who ventured into it. They returned from their expedition and shared the dangers and mysteries of the Abyss with the world. The leader of that group, Robald, went on to establish Les Remen, a city-state above the Abyss, and forged alliances with surrounding nations.

Cordelia, however, didn’t return to her homeland like the others. Instead, she stayed in Les Remen and founded a separate community for alchemists, distinct from the mage factions, known as the Golden Intellect.

Hearing my explanation, Ray finally seemed to recall.

"Oh, that one?"

‘That one?’ She’s a significant historical figure from centuries ago.

"So, is this book centuries old, then?"

Though the book I’d recovered was in good condition, the surrounding environment had clearly deteriorated.

Hecate nodded at my question.

"Most likely. The first expedition happened during the transition from the Mythic Age to the Abyssal Age. However, Cordelia, having reached the pinnacle of alchemy, is said to have enjoyed an extended lifespan, so it might not be quite that old."

"So, what’s in it?"

"No one knew this, but Cordelia apparently had a sister."

The book’s dedication had read, "To my beloved and hated sister."

"For her sister, huh."

"But it seems her sister didn’t share the same beliefs. Whatever they pursued, their goals diverged. This is essentially a research journal. Though I haven’t decoded the details yet, I can tell you this much."

Hecate pulled out a glass vial containing an unidentified liquid.

"This appears to be a type of enhancer. I’m not certain about its exact effects, but according to the book, it was created to bring about a perfect being."

A perfect being?

I wasn’t the only one who had that thought. Judging by the way we all looked at each other, Ray and Leif had the same thing on their minds.

"This situation is getting complicated."