The absolute monarch who was called the first and immortal king was Ravigio III. After a thousand years of ruling by Raphdonia and the death that followed, the new king took many measures to get rid of the ingrained vestiges of his predecessor.

The most illustrative case was the introduction of changes to the calendar.

In order to make it easier to calculate the cycle of the labyrinth, one month was set to 30 days, and a 13th month was created for the remaining 5 days. In addition, the last cycle of the labyrinth has been changed to 35 days by updating the portal. Of course, this caused controversy among scientists. They argued that it was inappropriate to spend 5 days a year.

However, the king persistently held a grand celebration every 13th month, winning the favor of the public, and over the years, the controversy subsided as everyone adapted to the new calendar.

The name of the era was also changed twice.

At first, it was called by the king's real name, but because of its long and difficult pronunciation, the people began to call the king by a nickname that came to be used by the royal family: Dawn.

So time passed.

May 2nd, 154th year of the Dawn.

Seven pillars of fire erupted from each Dimension Square obscured the sky over Rafdonia. It was a catastrophe that will go down in the history books for a long time.

***

"Damn it!"

Grabbing onto something, I lifted my body with difficulty. Then I left the room, leaning on the crutches that lay by my bed.

Oh, those damned staircases.

"Bjorn!" You should have called me if you woke up, why are you suffering alone?

Misha, who was cooking on the 1st floor, noticed me and came up to help.

Now I really felt like a patient. Yes, I guess I was.

I was really told that I would have to recover for a month, and my arms and legs were still weak.

"Come on, sit down." This is your first normal meal since you came out, right? It's been a long time since I've spoiled you.

While Misha followed Einar, I took a breath with a spoon in my hands.

3 days passed.

3 days have passed since that day. Of course, it was almost not felt. On the first day we returned, all the survivors were dragged to the palace to testify about what had happened in the labyrinth. After that, I slept all the time.

… Crazy bastards.

I still get goosebumps when I think back to the moment the pillars of fire erupted. To think that they wanted to rob our house while we were gone. I never imagined that they had set a trap in the center of the square where the portal opens. And on all seven squares.

What will happen now?

The damage suffered by those of us who came out of the labyrinth in normal mode was minimal, but the 3rd Kingsguard and numerous major clans were largely wiped out. Of course, there were survivors among them. Some, whose portals formed on the approaches to the square, retreated as soon as the magic circles lit up, and managed to escape.

If you're lucky, maybe a hundred or so?

This was the total number of survivors from all seven squares.

It was a little ironic.

"A great commander is not someone who makes the perfect choice. This is the one who makes the necessary choices."

Those who made the necessary choices died, and those who stayed and fought for several days without sleep survived.

Our positions changed overnight. If I had accepted that guy's offer and left without my comrades, what would have happened?

"I would have died.

These words involuntarily escaped from my mouth.

Mike's voice was heard from behind.

"Huh?" What did you say?

"Nothing. Where is Einar?

I slapped her on the back, but she didn't move.

"She must be very tired.

— Yes. I'll just cook her some more when she wakes up later.

Well, Misha must be tired too. While the two of us were just sleeping, Misha woke up several times to serve us food and help us focus only on sleep. At this time, she even found crutches from somewhere. A comrade who could be relied on in many ways.

"Why don't you eat?"

I came to my senses and put the spoon to my mouth. The taste seemed to herald the end of a hard day.

—... What are you going to do with Ervena? Mike asked, when the meal was almost over. After the investigation conducted on the first day, Ervena took her sister's body to the Elven Holy Land.

"She said she would visit me after the funeral, and then I plan to talk about it in more detail.

"Hmph, isn't it?" Mike answered sluggishly. "How about we just bring her here?"

A what? Is she thinking about it? Or is he trying to say "no" in advance?

A lot of thoughts ran through her mind in a split second, but her tone didn't indicate it.

"What do you mean?"

"Well... Did you say she lived with her sister?" It will be difficult to continue to stay there. But I'm too worried about her living alone.

"So what?"

"It's a pity that the six of us can't enter the maze, but I think we should take care of her until she comes to her senses again.

Exactly, I forgot that Misha was like that. Her intentions were commendable, and I wanted to tease her.

"Don't you hate elves?"

"Who do you think I am?" I tried my best to cook and feed you, and what do you think of me!? Come on, spit out the food! Spit it all out!

Misha grumbled, looking at me. It was a strange feeling. A moment ago it seemed to me that my heart was weighed down with all kinds of thoughts.

"Why are you laughing?" It annoys me.

"I'm just grateful.

—... Ugh, out of nowhere again.

Mike looked away in irritation and took a sip of water.

I watched her silently. Truth be told, except for the ears on top of her head and tail, she looked like an ordinary person. Her short red hair has grown a little since we first met. She had a sharp nose and slightly raised eyes. Just by exchanging a few words, you could understand that she was simple and kind, but when I first saw her face, it seemed to me that she was quarrelsome and domineering.

—…

—…

Belatedly, I realized that it was quiet around. For some reason, an awkward silence dragged on in the kitchen.

"Me-...

Misha was about to say something, when suddenly...

*Tuk-tuk*

We heard a knock on the front door.

"I'll go and see."

— … All right, I'll clear the table.

Leaning on crutches and opening the front door, I saw a familiar figure.

— Kyle Pevrosk.

"Haha, good to see you. Well rested?

"I've been asleep since I came back, and I've only woken up now.

"Then do you have time for a short conversation?"

— Of course. Come.

As I stepped aside, Kyle walked in. Then he exchanged greetings with Misha, who was clearing the table.

"Oh! Mr. Kyle?

"Excuse me, Miss Karlstein. It looks like I've interrupted your personal time.

"Eek, don't tease!" We are not the same.

"Hmm, no?" Then excuse me.

Kyle apologized as if he didn't really know.

Misha followed me with her eyes, then turned around and began to work around the house.

And so we sat on the sofa in the living room.

"I was going to come to you much earlier, but as you know, I had a lot of work to do.

"I understand. After what happened...

"Yes, exactly...

At the mention of this incident, an awkward silence reigned. Soon Misha put the cookies she had bought earlier on the sofa table and returned to her room so that she could talk in peace.

"Oh, it's from the Lanmouth bakery?!"

"Really?" This is probably a famous place.

Thanks to this, the atmosphere was relaxed. Then I spoke more comfortably.

"If you have time, I want to hear everything from the beginning.

"I still have quite a lot of time before the next meeting, but what do you mean by leadership?"

— Scientist of Destruction. What happened to this old man?

It was news that interested me, but which I did not have time to hear. When I woke up, it was already the end of the 7th day, and even then, I needed to keep an eye on Ervena, not to mention what had happened after returning to the city. The Dimension Square that day literally turned into a crucible of chaos.

Kyle took a bite of the cookie and began to tell.

There were some things I couldn't understand as it was a battle between mages, but the gist was simple: he had lost one-on-one. He didn't even have time to use Awakening, which he had been preparing for for years, as he was cornered by an overwhelming sequence of spells. Activating the spell in an incomplete state, he inflicted several damages on the Scientist of Destruction, but...

"I thought that thanks to all my efforts I managed to catch up with him, but I was wrong. No, on the contrary, it seems that the gap has become even larger than before.

Kyle found himself in front of a wall that could not be overcome no matter what. Even more humiliating was the fact that he still survived.

—... He said it was a waste of talent. Isn't it funny? I'm not even his opponent. If he hadn't wanted to spare me, I probably wouldn't have done even that kind of injury.

When he finished speaking, Kyle's face was gloomy.

"I know you didn't want to bring it up, but thank you for telling me.

"I thought you should know too. After this incident, you can become their target.

Hmm, so he thinks so too.

"Because of this incident, the palace has raised the danger level of the Scholar of Destruction to another level, right after their leader. To be honest, as a person who faced him, I believe that he should be put on the same level as a leader... But no matter how much I say, everyone else thinks differently.

"They won't know until they experience it for themselves.

It was a mage who was able to break through my Magic Resistance with an ordinary blow, which I was able to pump with great difficulty. How many such monsters can there be in the world? If we had accidentally met in the labyrinth under normal conditions, we would have been destroyed in a matter of minutes.

"Anyway, that's why I wanted to tell you to be careful.

Hmm, but in terms of personality, I don't think the Scientist of Destruction will seek me out of revenge. Unlike the Clown.

"What happened to the Corpse Gatherer?"

"No news yet. I heard that he was mortally wounded by you before leaving, but most likely he is still alive.

— ... Got it.

At least things were better with the Clown. This time he lost an army of thousands of corpses. It would take a huge amount of time to restore it, so at least I had time to level up.

"Oh, so how many survivors were there?"

— Do you mean those who went through the portal?

— Yes. I think I heard that about a hundred people survived.

Kyle sighed when he heard my words.

"To be precise, 103, although I don't know if they can be considered alive.

"What do you mean?"

Kyle rattled on the slang of mages again.

In short, it all boiled down to the following.

"So it was a unique spell imbued with black magic, so even healing with divine power didn't work?"

— That's right. Now they are all unconscious, and we do not know when they will wake up... No, it is not known whether they will wake up at all.

"It's a damn difficult situation.

After the topic of survivors, we started talking about that incident.

How the hell did it happen? As a fairly high-ranking employee of the palace, Kyle openly told me everything he knew.

"At first, we were also at a loss. How did they prepare a spell that required several months of preparation in the square in just one day?

This question was asked by all researchers that day, including me.

"As it turns out, the magic circle was drawn in the sewers to avoid prying eyes.

As befits people living in underground tunnels, they worked below.

"Our investigation has shown that the barrier on Noarka has not changed. This means that these guys either have a way to get out, or the forces that they brought out in advance.

I laughed awkwardly at his hypothesis. Most likely, the latter.

For example...

Amelia.

A spy from Noark who infiltrated the city. Until now, it was ambiguous to call it an enemy. I thought her hatred was only directed at the royal family, not at me.

But now it would be right to consider it an enemy.

This woman will continue to work under Noark. And if I'm unlucky, I could lose my life because of it.

Unless, of course, I go over to Noark's side.

"Then let's get down to business.

"To the point?"

"At present, things are not the best in the city. A large number of important figures who supported the city are dead. At this rate, the economy will collapse first.

I expected this too. Explorers are miners who extract resources in the maze. The knights may have been strong, but in that sense they can't keep up with the explorers. All of the best explorers were dead, except for some of the larger clans, which declared a boycott.

High-ranking researchers who did not feel safe even after the introduction of identification tags still remained, but the real problem was different.

"These people will most likely no longer enter the maze. At least until they are sure that the labyrinth is safe.

A safe labyrinth is a funny expression, but quite understandable. The number of survivors in this cycle was less than 2,000. Who in their right mind would want to mine mana stones in such a situation?

—... And there is nothing you can do about it. Until now, the identification tags and the 3rd Royal Guard had reassured researchers, but now the reality has been revealed.

The knights, sworn to protect us from Noark in the labyrinth, conspired with the major clans, opened the portal, and escaped, leaving thousands of explorers to fend for themselves.

"I'm embarrassed to talk about it, but someone said during the meeting that maybe it would be better if there were no survivors at all.

I laughed bitterly at Kyle's words. The more I went through it, the more I realized that this is a cruel world.

Well, this will not change from complaints.

"So now I have to watch out for the Learned Destruction, the Corpse Collector, and the palace?"

"Haha, of course not.

Kyle waved his hand at my half-joking concern.

"Perhaps you don't know about it because you were only at home, but you became a very important figure for the palace.

—... In more detail.

"Even now, stories about you are passed on by word of mouth by those who traveled with us that day. In a few more days, there won't be anyone left who doesn't know who you are. After all, you are the rising star who single-handedly brought the Corpse Collector to such a state!

—... Please don't spread any rumors that I did it "alone."

"You're a modest guy.

No, it's not about modesty, it's really burdensome.

It's enough to be just a good guy who worked at the front the most, but it will be difficult for me to cope with such a reputation. The one who fought alone was actually Clown. Even when fighting with our team, this guy was pushing back the core forces of mid-level explorers with the help of the corpse army.

If you think about it, he really is a monster.

I brushed aside the thoughts that flashed through my mind and returned to the main topic.

"So what does this have to do with the palace?" Researchers of my level were everywhere there.

"But there are few legends like you.

"I don't know what you mean.

"There was already a growing distrust of the palace. Obviously, this incident is likely to be a catalyst. The king reasoned that if you became their core, it could lead to an even bigger fire...

Bloody hell.

—... And? What's wrong with your facial expression?

I answered honestly:

"For some reason, it sounds like they're going to get rid of me.

I was one hundred percent sincere.

But whether he knew about my concerns or not, Kyle chuckled.

"Don't worry about anything. How to treat you has already been decided at the meeting.

Already decided? Oh, so that's why he said I shouldn't be careful about the royal family?

"Stop pulling the cat's balls, tell me." Now I understand why you have come today in the first place.

When I summoned him, Kyle smiled as if he was even prouder.

"Congratulations." You're going to get a very, very, very big reward soon.

The king decided to give me a carrot.