"Wow, this is amazing!"

The man, floating 100 meters in the air, couldn't hide his excitement as he gazed at the vast scenery ahead.

"What the hell, look at the size of that city!"

The city was surrounded by towering walls, packed with buildings, and the roads were bustling with people moving about.

"Sheesh... Looks like At's claim that Kama is bigger than the Kingdom of Kala Mu wasn't a complete lie after all."

Brushing his hair back from his forehead, the man muttered to himself.

This man, while maintaining Levitation, a 5th-tier white magic spell, also used Distant Vision (a 1st-tier white magic spell) to observe the far-off distance. Despite constantly using a 5th-tier spell, he remained calm and composed, a clear sign to any backline combat specialist that he was no ordinary person.

"Still, those people over there... That party full of dwarves, and that group... Wait, are those—?"

The man was clearly intrigued by the groups moving along the road, contrasting his earlier casual attitude while observing Kama.

"Hey! Can’t you hear me, you idiot?!"

"Huh?"

Looking down at the source of the voice, the man saw his companions shouting up at him from the ground.

"What's up?"

"What's up? I’ve been yelling at you to come down already!"

A blond man with a soft mohawk yelled at him in frustration.

"Alright, alright. No need to get so worked up."

With a shrug, the man descended to the ground, only to be smacked on the head as soon as he landed.

"Ouch! What was that for?"

"For what? I’ve told you countless times not to draw attention to yourself here! We're already in the territory of Marquis Mus, remember?"

"Okay, okay, my bad. But do we really need to be that cautious?"

"Do we need to be? Yes, absolutely."

One of the five men, a silver-haired man with glasses, replied in an exasperated tone. While the other four clearly looked like adventurers or mercenaries based on their appearance, this man, despite his weapons and armor, carried himself with an air of refinement.

"Pari, don’t beat around the bush, just say it clearly."

"Please stop calling me Pari like that. It's unsettling to be addressed so casually by someone like you... Anyway, you do know about the Marquis’s retainers, right?"

"Yeah, I know. The retainers are supposed to be strong... right?"

"Not just strong. Each one of them has the combat ability equivalent to an A-rank adventurer."

"Hmph. So what? At from the Polar Star is also A-rank, isn’t he?"

"Come on now, even I couldn’t take on ten A-rank adventurers at once."

The one addressed as Koa, standing about 180 centimeters tall with chestnut hair and a muscular build, responded with a weary smile, as if to say, "Please give me a break." This man was none other than At Bayer, leader of the Polar Star.

The robed man, Koa, looked to the others and asked, "You all agree with me, right?" The remaining two companions exchanged glances between Pari and Koa, seeming to find some agreement in their stance.

"You guys don’t understand a thing."

With a deep sigh of disappointment, Pari removed his glasses and began wiping the lenses.

"What don’t we understand?"

"At is an A-rank adventurer."

"Yeah, that’s what I said—"

"But he’s the only one in the Kingdom of Kala Mu—no, more precisely, in the entire Federation of Small Nations."

The Federation of Small Nations was officially established for mutual aid against powerful monsters and to mediate territorial disputes with neighboring countries, but in truth, it existed to oppose the Five Great Nations.

After all, the political system of the Raume Union was incredibly unjust. Even if the small nations reached a consensus, a single vote of opposition from any one of the Five Great Nations would be enough to block any decision. No matter how much the royalty, nobles, or officials of these small nations strategized, everything would be crushed by the whims of the great powers. Thus, the frustration these small nations held toward the Five Great Nations was unimaginable.

"We’re heading to Kama, and they have ten retainers. Just think about it. Ten people who are basically A-rank adventurers, and that’s not even counting the city itself. Kama is crawling with adventurers like Delid Bug, Tropi Ton, and Noah Pazuz, all well-known names. There are also plenty of high-level adventurers and mercenaries we don’t even know about... and then there’s..."

Pari's hands, still wiping his glasses, trembled slightly.

"Are you really that scared of... Yuu Satou?"

Koa couldn’t help but tease Pari for the rare sight of his otherwise dependable strategist trembling like this.

"He became an A-rank in just two years, and he’s just a boy with no backing! Of course, it’s terrifying!"

"And that’s not all. Rumor has it, he even founded a country for demi-humans, though I’m not sure how true that is."

"...It’s true," Pari confirmed.

Koa let out a low whistle, At’s expression turned grim, and the other two showed a brief moment of surprise.

"So, it’s true, huh? Now that’s something! Fourteen or fifteen years old, and he’s already founded a country? If that kid keeps going, even our homeland, the Kingdom of Kala Mu, won’t be able to ignore him!"

Koa, unfazed by Pari’s glare, kept chuckling to himself, clearly entertained.

"Don’t tease Pari too much. By the way, how was it from above? Just like I said, Kama is bigger than the Kingdom of Kala Mu, isn’t it?"

"Oh? Yeah, you’re right! That city alone looks like it holds 200,000, maybe even 300,000 people. So yeah, Kama might really be bigger."

"That big, huh... Did you see anything else interesting?"

"Yeah, the roads were swarming with adventurers and mercenaries. And they weren’t just small-time nobodies either."

"Kama is a massive city, and there are three dungeons nearby. It’s no wonder so many adventurers flock there."

The blond man with the soft mohawk didn’t seem to take Koa’s words too seriously, though, listening with a half-hearted grin.

"It’s no lie... Just with a quick glance, I saw The Blue Roar, Duke of Gale Rariolt, The Great Earth Barbarie Earth, and even the infamous Glutton Zeromutt."

"Are you serious!?"

"No joke! I used Distant Vision and even combined it with Analyze to confirm. Do you even realize how hard it is to use Analyze from that distance? Of course, you guys wouldn’t get it..."

"Are you an idiot? You could’ve been seen as hostile!"

Pari nearly lunged at Koa, but their companions quickly stepped in to separate them.

"You think I’d make such a rookie mistake?"

"The Blue Roar is B-rank, Duke of Gale Rariolt leads a clan at the same A-rank level as me. As for The Great Earth Barbarie Earth, I only know they’re a clan made up entirely of dwarves... But seeing Glutton Zeromutt here is hard to believe. Isn’t their group at war with Dragon’s Breath right now? Why are so many high-ranked adventurers heading to Kama at the same time? Pari, do you know something?"

Pari adjusted his disheveled clothes and turned to At with a puzzled look.

"Why would I know?"

"Because you're the observer sent by the Kingdom of Kala Mu... You’re a noble, so it wouldn’t be surprising if you had access to information we don’t."

The last of their group, a red-haired man, answered Pari’s question on At's behalf.

"I hate to disappoint you, but even as a noble, I’m just the seventh son. My family doesn’t expect much from me, nor do they particularly favor me."

As the red-haired man pointed out, Pari Ton Wei was indeed an observer sent by the Kingdom of Kala Mu to keep an eye on Polar Star. In a small country like Kala Mu, an A-rank adventurer like At Bayer was an invaluable asset. Sending Pari to monitor and prevent the risk of him being recruited by another country was a natural precaution.

However—

"So, you don’t deny being an observer, then?"

"Would you believe me if I did?"

—The way the Kingdom went about it was clumsy.

One day, a noble adventurer joined Polar Star under the recommendation of Kala Mu. Even an idiot could understand the implications. As expected, Pari’s reputation within Polar Star was rock-bottom from the start. In fact, Pari found the stupidity of the bureaucrats in Kala Mu laughable rather than infuriating. That's why he didn’t bother hiding his noble status. There was no point—it was already obvious. If anything, it worked to his advantage, allowing him to move more freely when underestimated.

"Pari, what did your brother say?"

"My brother? He’s just an ordinary knight. Not someone who’d have the kind of intel At’s asking for—"

"No, not that brother. The fourth or fifth one, the weird one who’s obsessed with insects."

"...Why?"

The previously talkative Pari suddenly went quiet. Koa and the others exchanged puzzled looks, but At’s face broke into a knowing grin at Pari’s reaction.

"Why? Well, because your bug-loving brother works for the intelligence agency that was set up by the Kingdom of Kala Mu—or should I say, the Federation of Small Nations. Isn’t that right?"

Pari was about to consider how to dodge the question, but seeing the look in At’s eyes, he realized it was pointless.

"That’s enough!"

Pari’s shout startled Koa and the others. It was the first time they’d seen Pari lose his cool—he was usually calm no matter how dangerous the situation.

"How much... do you know?"

"How much? How much do I—"

"Stop! Don’t say it. Normally, I’d question where you got that information, but I doubt you’d tell me the truth. And even if I tried to use force, there’s no way I could win. Besides, that’s not my job anyway."

Pari took a deep breath, trying to regain his composure.

"You all need to forget what At just said. Or else... I can’t guarantee your lives."

"What the hell does that mean!? We need more details before we can understand what’s going on!"

Koa started to argue, but At cut him off with a simple, "Be quiet for a bit," prompting Koa to reluctantly step back, grumbling under his breath. Pari, realizing there was no way out, let out a long sigh of resignation.

"The bounty... is likely the cause."

"A bounty, huh? So, who’s the target? With this many powerful figures heading to the city, it must be something big."

"Yuu Satou."

"Yuu Satou!? I’ve never even heard rumors of something like that! Don’t feed us nonsense!"

"Yeah, I haven’t heard anything either. How about you?"

The blond man with the soft mohawk glanced at the red-haired man, who shook his head in agreement.

"See? Told you—"

"It’s not an official bounty, is it?"

"...What!? You mean it’s an under-the-table deal?"

At and Koa both nodded at Pari's confirmation.

Bounties are not uncommon, whether it be for gemstones, rare plants, precious books, or the live capture of rare monsters. However, the most frequent targets are people—usually criminals—who are declared as wanted. Posters for these bounties can be found in government institutions or guilds, making them a common sight and perfectly legal.

However, the "under-the-table" bounties Koa referred to belong to the underworld. These bounties are not for things or people that can be openly targeted. Typically, the clients placing such bounties are shady individuals or organizations. This explains why Koa and the others hadn’t even heard rumors about it.

"That's right," Pari confirmed.

"So, how much is Yuu Satou’s bounty?"

"As of now… over 10 billion Madoka."

The mention of 10 billion left the group stunned, except for At. It was an astronomical sum for a bounty placed on an individual.

"You must have some idea of who’s behind this, right?"

At, who had been listening calmly, inferred from Pari's phrasing that there were multiple parties involved.

"Yeah... just as you thought, there are several clients. No, I should say, multiple nations."

Pari continued, "As Koa mentioned earlier, Satou founded a nation for demi-humans. Not only that, but his nation has formed an alliance on equal terms with one of the Five Great Nations, the Udon Kingdom. You can imagine how troublesome this is for other small nations, can’t you? Every country has its own demi-human population, and hearing about Satou's nation has caused some of them to think that they, too, could rise up."

Pari spoke with a weary expression, while Koa and the others seemed unconcerned, as if they couldn’t understand why this was such a bad thing.

"For now, it’s only small skirmishes, but if things continue like this, there’s a possibility it could escalate into a large-scale war between human nations and demi-human forces. If that happens, even adventurers like us might be conscripted. But let’s put that aside for now. What do you think these human nations will do in response?"

"Well... they’d either crush them with military power or assassinate their leaders, right?"

"Exactly. But that wouldn’t end things quickly. To truly stop it, they need to eliminate the root of the problem—"

"They’ll try to kill Yuu Satou, right? But since a nation can’t afford to fail, they’d rather hire mercenaries, adventurers, or even criminals to do the dirty work for them."

Pari nodded slightly, relieved that At had grasped the situation so quickly.

"While there are multiple nations involved, they aren’t coordinating their efforts. Each one has placed their own bounty on Satou, and the reward will be paid individually to whoever succeeds."

"So, whoever kills him gets all the rewards."

"Exactly. I’d bet that the adventurers and mercenaries you saw in Kama are hoping to challenge Satou under the guise of a friendly duel, only to ‘accidentally’ kill him in the heat of the moment. Though assassination is probably the more realistic option."

"No doubt. Even though Glutton Zeromutt is currently at war with Dragon’s Breath, those guys are all about money. Hey, Koa, did you happen to see someone named Idiot in their ranks?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah! I saw him. He was acting like the top dog, so I remembered his name."

"Then it’s their third division. Idiot commands that one. He’s a B-rank adventurer."

"What?! Their third division is made up of B-rank adventurers?"

The blond man with the soft mohawk was shocked. After all, Polar Star, which was based in the Kingdom of Kala Mu and was considered the strongest and largest faction within the Federation of Small Nations, had over a hundred members. However, aside from At’s first division, the majority of their members were only C or D rank, with many even lower than that.

"They may be scum, but their skills are real. Be careful not to provoke them," Pari warned.

"Why are you looking at me?"

Koa grumbled, clearly unhappy with the attention he was getting from Pari and the others.

"I think The Great Earth Barbarie Earth is here for a different reason, not the bounty."

"You don’t sound very confident."

"This is unconfirmed, so it hasn’t been verified yet... but the leader of The Great Earth Barbarie Earth is not just known for being an A-rank adventurer. He’s also one of the ‘Four Hammers’ who protect the Dwarf King—Melchior’s younger brother, in fact, and a prominent figure in the Dwarf Kingdom. For someone of his stature to come all the way to another nation... it’s not something that happens under normal circumstances."

"So, something’s forcing this high-ranking dwarf to make a move."

Even though everyone urged Pari to speak faster, he hesitated, clearly reluctant to share the information, as if he expected to be ridiculed. Eventually, he spoke in a low voice, almost inaudible by the end.

"It’s possible... that one of the Three Great Craftsmen, Gonbugur Kehit, has been kidnapped by the Nameless Kingdom..."

By the end, his voice had dropped so low that it was almost impossible to hear.

“Hahaha!”

The three others, excluding At, burst into laughter simultaneously.

“Damn it. That’s why I didn’t want to say anything,” Pari grumbled.

“Sorry, but come on, that’s a bit far-fetched, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, I can confidently say that’s not happening.”

“Gonbugur Kehit isn’t just some big shot for the Dwarf King—he’s influential enough to advise kings of other nations. If that’s true, it would mean not only the Dwarf Kingdom but also the Raume Union would turn against them. Even for you, Pari, that’s pushing it, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, it’s a bit much.”

“Say what you want,” Pari sulked, muttering “Whatever” as he started walking toward Kama. But before he could get too far—

“Hey, don’t get mad. Still, about that bounty... why don’t we just kill Satou ourselves and—”

Koa didn’t get to finish his sentence. He froze the moment Pari turned to face him, his expression dark and unreadable, as though a myriad of conflicting emotions were bubbling underneath. Gone was the noble young man who could charm the women and children of the Kingdom of Kala Mu with his princely demeanor. What remained was a man whose mere presence radiated danger, a figure that instilled fear in anyone who dared approach. Even Koa, a seasoned adventurer, as well as the others, shuddered under the intensity of Pari’s gaze.

“I-I was just joking... I swear, I didn’t mean it,” Koa stammered, genuinely apologizing, though Pari didn’t acknowledge it. He simply resumed his walk, unperturbed.

The Wei family, unlike other noble families, served primarily in espionage. Their missions often took them to foreign lands, where, if discovered, execution was often the best outcome they could hope for. Torture for information was common, and sometimes, even their own intelligence agency would silence them to prevent leaks. Despite their vital contributions, their efforts were never publicly praised. This was the burden Pari Ton Wei had carried since birth.

His assignment to Polar Star was ostensibly to monitor At Bayer, ensuring that the Kingdom of Kala Mu didn’t lose such a valuable A-rank adventurer to a rival nation. However, Pari's real task was to use Polar Star as a cover to travel to various nations and conduct intelligence operations. The guise of being the "observer" allowed him to gather intelligence without arousing suspicion.

Despite living such a shadowed life, Pari never let it embitter him. After all, his father, brothers, and sisters were all involved in similar espionage work. The different allegiances—whether serving the Kingdom of Kala Mu, the Federation of Small Nations, or other intelligence agencies—didn’t matter to him. What mattered was that they were all contributing to their nations.

“One day, I had a meal with my fourth brother, who’s also involved in espionage work,” Pari recalled. “It was a rare chance for us to meet. We spent some time together, forgetting our respective duties, enjoying ourselves. But then, suddenly, his tone changed. He stopped being the spy he usually pretended to be and spoke to me as my real brother, as a member of the Wei family.”

“‘Pari,’ he said, ‘whatever you do, avoid getting involved with Yuu Satou or the Nameless Kingdom. If possible, stay out of their affairs entirely.’”

Even among family members, spies had information they couldn’t share. Pari’s brother wasn’t even serving the Kingdom of Kala Mu but rather the Federation of Small Nations' intelligence agency. When he prefaced his statement by saying “This is just me talking to myself,” it was a clear signal that he was about to break protocol and share forbidden information. By the time Pari realized this, he was already drenched in sweat. Yet his brother continued, calm as ever, as though he were making idle conversation.

“‘That’s all I’ll say,’ he concluded. ‘You might travel to other nations as an adventurer, so consider this advice from your unreliable brother.’”

After that brief and cryptic warning, his brother resumed his usual banter about beetles and insects he’d encountered during his expeditions, returning to his familiar, carefree persona.

At, observing the situation, tapped Koa lightly on the head.

“Don’t tease Pari too much. He’s under a lot of pressure.”

“Sorry,” Koa mumbled, still shaken by Pari’s reaction. Even after At’s gentle reprimand, Koa was clearly still rattled. At, trying to lift his spirits, slapped his back hard.

“Ow!” Koa yelped.

“Cheer up. Did you forget? Our target isn’t Yuu Satou. It’s the Witch of Thunder.”

“Hmph. Of course I know that! Hey, wait up!”

Koa, finally regaining some of his usual energy, hurried after Pari, who had already started walking ahead.

At Bayer
Leader of Polar Star. Known as "The Unyielding." A shield specialist wielding a frost mace and a shield imbued with cold magic.

Koa Kuhn
A backline support member of Polar Star. Primarily responsible for healing and buffs. While a jokester, his skills are highly regarded.

Pari Ton Wei
A nobleman who joined Polar Star under the recommendation of the Kingdom of Kala Mu. Versatile in both offense and defense, serving as an all-rounder who can seamlessly switch between front and backline roles.

Smoke Bra
A frontliner in Polar Star. His most distinguishing feature is his blond soft mohawk. He often reprimands Koa for his antics.

Gran Doal
A scout in Polar Star. Known for his red hair and quiet demeanor, he seldom speaks but is always observant.