Chapter 42. Change

Rudine and Adina were talking in front of the training grounds.

“So, you’re saying you don’t know anything about his true identity either?”

“Yeah. Nothing.”

Rudine slowly nodded.

In truth, she also knew remarkably little about Luke Richter.

A subtle question lingered between them.

Both Rudine and Adina were powerhouses that defied conventional standards. Therefore, they knew better than anyone how abnormal the feats they’d witnessed while with him were.

However, they hadn't deeply considered his identity until now.

Even though the power he wielded was bizarre and his strength was on par with a Lord, they believed it fell within the realm of human possibility.

But now, that belief was starting to crack.

Rudine had realized early on that Luke wasn't an ordinary human, but this realization came as quite a shock to Adina. Last time, she'd fainted as soon as they encountered the Catastrophe-Class Monster and hadn’t been able to properly witness it, but this time, at least, she’d seen it clearly with her own two eyes.

A monster so gigantic it would not have looked out of place in myths about Outer Gods, severed in a single blow without any fierce battle.

No, calling it a simple severance was far too inadequate.

The cross-section of space created by his strike was like peering into the reverse side of the world.

It was something that couldn’t be explained with reason or common sense… truly, a strength that far transcended comprehension.

Just what was his identity, and what kind of life had he lived to become such an overwhelming powerhouse, unknown to the world? It might be pointless curiosity, but Adina couldn’t erase this question from her mind.

The only thing she could grasp was his eccentric nature.

Whether it was suddenly Transferring them to an uncharted location, or risking his life to protect her in front of the White-Haired Clan, his actions were impossible to understand, let alone predict.

'He's an enigma.'

Adina swished her luscious silver tail and asked,

“Don’t you know anything? You became part of his group first.”

“Hmm… That woman, Selena, who came to the office before, she called Luke a Yonggari.”

“…Yonggari? You don’t mean the Dragon Race, do you?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“…Are you sure? The Dragon Race is supposed to be completely extinct.”

“Didn’t you see Luke use his abilities? That's Linguistic Magic. And he's strangely averse to everything.”

“That’s true… It was also suspicious how much he knew about the White-Haired Clan….”

“Come to think of it, he already knew about my Madness.”

“Madness? What kind of Madness are you talking about?”

“The Madness that makes me want to kill anyone I see.”

“……”

Of course, it was all just hypothetical.

There were too many unexplained aspects to definitively label him as one of the Dragon Race, but Luke’s presence was too powerful to dwell on such trivial questions.

Starting with Rudine being part of his group, his vast knowledge, and all of his actions…

There was nothing ordinary about him.

"Sigh..."

With a soft sigh, the scene from that time flashed through Adina's mind.

His strike, splitting the world in two as he stood with his back to them.

Suddenly, a wave of embarrassment washed over her.

At first, she had considered him just a weak human, but that had only revealed her own ignorance.

Unlike her, frozen in fear before the Outer God, unable to move, he had walked calmly towards it and eradicated it.

She was still stagnant.

Past or present, she froze in the face of unknown terrors, never once overcoming that wall.

It was just taking a single step forward. But she couldn’t take that one step, and once again, she ended up under someone else's protection.

As she finished her conversation with Rudine and headed to her private room, Adina repeated to herself,

'I want to become stronger.'

Adina’s talent was undoubtedly exceptional.

She was well aware of this herself.

Although the control of her White Wheel was unstable due to Karma, a hereditary disease unique to her race, she was born with the greatest Mana capacity among her kind as compensation. Moreover, even Karma could be overcome with the help of Elfriede, who called herself a Saintess, once everything was over and they returned to the office.

Despite this, she constantly doubted herself.

No matter how outstanding her talent was, no matter how much stronger she became with time, she couldn't even imagine surpassing the overwhelming power Luke had displayed against the Outer God.

'...I will become stronger.'

Adina clenched her fists tightly, suppressing her trembling emotions.

Pushing aside doubt and filling herself with conviction, she etched a new goal into her heart.

Lifting the fog of fear, she finally prepared to take a step forward.

For the first time, she had a clear goal.

She wanted to break free from the shame of her cowardly clan, gain immense power, and someday make her name known to the world.

Using the overwhelming strength of Luke Richter as a guidepost.

Using the pride of being part of his group as fuel.

She was finally ready to move forward.

The first action she took after steeling her resolve was…

"......"

Adina quickly glanced around.

After maximizing her senses to confirm that no one was nearby, she raised her right hand.

Just like Luke Richter did right before using his abilities.

A moment later.

She drew up her Mana and muttered in a prim voice,

"...Acceleration."

—Chirp.

Only the sound of birds chirping cut through the silent air.

Embarrassed by the silence, she gathered her Mana once again.

Creating a faint electrical discharge at her fingertips, she tried again.

"Territory."

......As expected, nothing special happened.

Only the electric shock created by mana tore through the air.

However, for some reason, she felt the illusion that the magic's power had intensified when she followed Luke's Activation Word.

It was clearly just an illusion, but she became engrossed in her own recitation of the Activation Word, even feeling a strange sense of intoxication.

“Reverse, Severance, Time, Void.”

After mimicking Luke Richter while wagging her tail for a while, Adina...

"...Huhu."

*Twitch!*

Twitching her fluffy triangular ears, she felt a sense of pride in herself.

****

Thus, about a month passed.

Having finished all the ability checks at Headquarters and returned to normal condition, I was headed to Arkan’s.

Since there wasn’t enough time to travel to the office by carriage, we had decided to Return using her Teleport Scroll.

Rudine and Adina also seemed to have gotten enough rest, their faces full of vitality.

Everything was back to normal.

Except for one thing...

"...What's going on here?"

"Can't you see? She's following us."

"I know that, that's why I'm asking. What's the Great Lord going to do if she leaves Headquarters?"

"Ah, it's fine. Who's going to come all the way to that building tucked away in the corner of the Magical Boundary?"

A stalker, with the title of Great Lord no less, had been added to our group.

She'd always shown a persistent interest in me, but now it seemed she was determined to follow me around.

I wanted to chase her away immediately, but since she wasn't the type to back down, I decided to just leave her be.

So, with everyone placing their hands on the Scroll…

We Teleported to the office as usual, but...

"???"

Something was strange.

It wasn't just a feeling.

Looking around, I saw that so much of what I remembered about the office had changed.

Several significant changes stood out, and the first of those was—

"Atten-tion! We salute the new Lord of Blackmore!"

The Lord Council’s dispatched personnel, who usually greeted me with a light bow, now bent at a 90-degree angle the moment they saw me, saluting with crisp, disciplined voices.

With not just one or two, but dozens of people simultaneously saluting in formation, I couldn't hide my bewilderment.

The second change—

"...Where is this, exactly?"

The office was gone. No, to be precise, it had been replaced with something else.

The shabby, cramped office had seemingly undergone some dark evolution, transforming into a rather grand structure resembling a fortress.

From the materials to the exterior, everything seemed extraordinary, and even now, numerous Imperial laborers were continuing construction.

Balkan, who had spotted me from afar, came running as if overjoyed.

"What in the world is going on?"

"I was waiting to meet you before your Lordship returned, to introduce you to the Grand Duke Castle."

"...Grand Duke Castle?"

"Yes, the Emperor himself issued an Imperial Order and dispatched a large workforce here."

Ah, so that was it.

It seemed His Majesty was determined to work me like a lifelong slave.

The unfamiliar men who followed Balkan introduced themselves one by one.

"I am Delkin from the Ministry of Internal Affairs. I've been dispatched to the 6th Lord's Territory as Administrator under Imperial Order."

"I am Siron, the Butler."

"I am Jason, dispatched as the Accountant."

"......"

I was speechless. Every face was familiar; they were all renowned talents from the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

The Imperial Family had dispatched such talents here, and their purpose, without exception, was to assist me.

"...Wait a minute."

Unable to maintain my composure, I left the office.

Even though this was the entrance to Blackmore, everything was beyond common sense.

However, an even more astonishing sight awaited me.

"Oh, Saintess! Please save my wife, stricken by the Disease Horse!"

"My mother is on her deathbed! Please, I'll do anything… grant us salvation…!"

"I dedicate my body and soul to the newly appointed Lord! Please, reattach my severed arm!"

Shylock, a territory bordering the Duchy and the Empire, specifically adjacent to the entrance of Blackmore.

It was a fairly large territory, yet a strangely large crowd had gathered at the entrance to Blackmore.

The odd thing was that countless commoners had gathered like clouds, all crying out for salvation.

As someone cried out for salvation, a golden light flashed.

Then, weeping, they prostrated themselves, repeatedly chanting the names of Cavilla and the 6th Lord as if in prayer.

This wasn't just a one-time occurrence; it happened repeatedly.

And at the center of this commotion was—

"...Elfriede Trivia?"

The Seed of the End that I personally retrieved from beyond the Border, Elfriede Trivia.