As if she had grasped the hidden meaning behind his words, Thesaya lifted her eyes sharply.

Just as Ian cast her a meaningful glance, Nasser’s bewildered voice followed.

"That will happen soon? But how do you even know that, my lord? Don’t tell me—"

"That’s right. Don’t forget Ian’s a demigod, Half-Ear." Thesaya cut in.

Receiving his blank stare, she tilted her chin toward Ian. "A demigod is still a god. And gods can see things we mortals can’t."

Nasser’s gaze naturally shifted to Ian. For once, his light brown eyes were filled with unmistakable shock.

"Are you saying that you’ve truly gained the ability to glimpse the vast currents of causality?"

"Only small fragments. And only occasionally," Ian answered indifferently.

He didn’t mention that it might not be a divine power, but something he gained from partially awakening his bloodline.

"Lu Solar... unbelievable..."

Still, it was enough to draw a stunned exhale from Nasser.

A faint smile tugged at Thesaya’s lips as she watched him. "That’s a nice look on you, Half-Ear."

Ignoring her entirely, Nasser dragged a hand down his face and muttered, "Since when did you— no... that’s not what matters right now..."

With a long breath, his voice slipped through his fingers. "Then are you saying ancient monsters might emerge into the world?"

"Who knows? Even I can’t see that far. But it’s not impossible," Ian replied, lifting the bottle to his lips.

The vision flickered faintly in his mind: the glowing eyes beyond the dust-choked ruins, brimming with unmistakable hostility.

"Even the possibility alone is reason enough to prepare. If it spreads into the desert near the Black Lands, it’ll be a serious problem." Nasser nodded.

Thesaya let out a chuckle. "Well, that actually works out for us. If the duke hears about this, he won’t be sending many reinforcements."

"He might not send any at all," Nasser added.

She nodded. "That’d be even better. It just raises the value of our alliance. Don’t worry, Ian. I’ll inform Diana right away—"

"No. Not Diana." Ian cut her off, lowering the bottle.

Thesaya paused, then frowned slightly. "Why?"

"She’s only acting head of the house. Not an elder. And on top of that, she’s a returnee from beyond the Black Wall."

"Do you think they’ll suspect her of being aligned with the Dark Prince?" Thesaya raised a brow.

Ian shrugged. "Maybe not outright suspicion, but it would weaken the credibility. So instead..."

He turned his head and looked at her. "It’d be better if someone with authority, someone even the duke can’t ignore, delivers the message."

Holding his gaze, Thesaya finally asked, "You’re not about to say that someone is me, are you?"

Ian simply smiled, the corner of his lips curling upward.

"That’s right."

"Good grief, Ian..." Thesaya tilted her head back as if the strength had drained from her, squeezing her eyes shut.

"It is a reasonable decision. You’ll have to persuade him with something that hasn’t happened yet. It’s best that Elder, someone who can vouch for Lord Ian being a demigod, handles it," said Nasser. He wore a faint smile, much like the one Thesaya had earlier.

Ian gave a casual nod and continued, "Mukapa will be heading to Racliffe. Go with him. He’ll help persuade the duke."

"You’re even sticking that boring Snub-Nose to my side?"

Of course, Thesaya’s expression didn’t brighten in the slightest. She didn’t even open her eyes.

Smacking his lips lightly, Ian added, "I’d go myself if I could, but it’s not realistic. If someone’s going to act on my behalf in the South, it has to be you, Thesa."

She paused, then asked, "You mean officially? As your representative?"

Ian nodded without hesitation. "Yeah. You’re already a Representative of the Deep Forest, so the duke won’t be able to push you around. Still, the more justification we have, the better."

"And once I deliver the message, I can come straight back?"

"Of course. With no telling how things will unfold, we can’t have an archmage away for too long."

"Then hold on to the Spell of Correspondence Diana was using. That way, we can stay in contact at any time."

"That’s not a problem," Ian answered smoothly, though inwardly he clicked his tongue.

She sure asks for a lot.

Thesaya let out a long sigh. "Then I guess I don’t have a choice."

She brushed her long silver hair back and finally opened her eyes. "This Elder will have to step in. Fine, Ian. I’ll meet up with the fairies in Racliffe and head South right after."

"Excellent." Ian raised the bottle in acknowledgment and took a drink.

A faint, dry smile tugged at his lips. It was only a matter of time before rumors of him being a demigod spread through the South as well.

Still, it was far better than letting the Southern duke fully intervene in the civil war. That influence would be enough to tip the balance.

Never thought I’d use that ominous vision like this.

The desert ruins, after all, had been one of the most inconvenient pieces of foresight he’d seen. No matter how he looked at it, he had no reason to return to that distant desert.

Even if he desperately needed experience, there were far more efficient ways.

"A solar eclipse..." Nasser muttered after a while.

He tugged lightly on the reins and continued, "Now that I think about it, it's the kind of events priests love to record. Symbolic, rare, and from what I’ve heard, it occurs with some regularity depending on the region."

"So if we find out when the last eclipse happened in the South, we can estimate the timing," Thesaya said, looking at the back of his head.

Nasser nodded. "There may be records in the church at Drenorov. I’ll stop by and look into it. Wouldn’t it be better to know the exact timing in advance?"

"Look at you, being useful for once. Do that, Half-Ear. Don’t stress yourself over it, though. I’ve got my own ways of finding out once we reach the South."

"Understood, Elder." Nasser glanced back with a smile before turning forward again, resting his clasped hands behind his neck. "Still, it’s a shame. I wanted to see it for myself—a sight as rare as fairies and beastfolk gathering together in one place."

"You won’t have to wait long," Ian replied, flicking the bottle toward Thesaya and tilting his head slightly. "I’m sending them to the Gray Magic Tower anyway."

It was the perfect place for a beastfolk legion and the fairy forces to stay without drawing attention.

Of course, both sides would hate being cooped up underground, attended by experimental subjects, but that was an unavoidable compromise. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

"If the Bastard King hears about that, he might decide to move personally. He’s more curious than he looks." Nasser said with a faint chuckle.

Ian shrugged. "Even without that, he’ll show up. He owes me more than a few favors, and he’ll want new achievements to his name."

"True enough. Then when will you—" Nasser’s voice trailed off.

The carriage door beside Ian had opened. Miguel’s loud snoring immediately spilled out, and Mev appeared, her helmet removed.

"You’re up early, my lord. You could’ve rested a bit longer." Nasser said, glancing back.

Mev smiled faintly at Ian as she brushed her slightly matted red hair aside. "I’ve had enough rest. The sun’s about to set anyway."

They were passing through a shaded valley between ridges, but even so, the clouded sky had begun to dim.

"Don’t act tough. It’s not easy sleeping through that noise. I told you, just slap him and he’ll quiet down." Thesaya added, taking a sip from the bottle.

Mev climbed up onto the carriage roof with ease and smiled. "It was tolerable. I can’t exactly slap a priest just because he’s a bit loud."

"And what does that make me, then? I’ve been doing it this whole time." Shaking her head, Thesaya took another drink.

Nearby, Lily, who had been lying down, pushed herself up to sit.

"You can keep resting, Lily," Mev said, sitting beside her and gently patting her head with a gauntleted hand.

However, Lily didn’t lie back down. She simply blinked those unreadable blue eyes at Mev, then turned her gaze back to the sky.

"You look tired. Go rest inside, Ian. I’ll take Nila," Mev said, turning to him.

That was probably why she had come out as soon as she woke.

Ian shook his head and smiled. "I’m fine. I can manage. If we keep moving through the night, we should reach Imperial territory. I’ll rest then."

"That’s right. At most, a few more hours and we’ll be out of the mountains," Nasser added.

"Ah..." Mev let out a soft sound, then wrapped an arm lightly around Lily’s shoulders and looked ahead.

"How about letting the Pup decide?" Thesaya suddenly asked.

Mev paused and turned.

Thesaya tilted the bottle in her hand as she continued, "Something came up. I’ll have to head straight south from Racliffe."

"The South? Immediately?" Mev blinked.

Thesaya lifted her chin slightly, almost smugly. "Yeah. As Ian’s representative. And while I’m at it, I was thinking of bringing Pup back to my family. Better than living in this dreary frontier, don’t you think? The South is warm and full of life."

"Hmm..." Mev narrowed her eyes slightly.

Didn’t think I’d ever see them competing over something like this.

With a flick of his Willful Grasp, he pulled the bottle from Thesaya’s hand and tossed it toward Mev.

Mev caught it and nodded. "Alright. I already know your family’s lands are beautiful and abundant."

"See? Quick to admit it." Thesaya smiled as Mev took a drink, then turned back to Lily. "You’ve heard everything, right, Pup? Go ahead. Pick who you want to go with."

Lily blinked, looking between Mev and Thesaya. Mev swallowed quietly, clearly tense. Thesaya watched her with burning anticipation.

At last, Lily turned her gaze and reached out her hand.

It was enough to make not only Mev and Thesaya, but even Ian, raise an eyebrow.

Lily was pointing straight at him.

"I don’t remember being one of the options."

At Ian’s words, her hand dropped with a soft motion.

Her expression didn’t change, but somehow she looked faintly deflated.

"Pick someone else. Not me," Ian added without hesitation.

However, Lily only glanced once around the group, including Nasser, and did not raise her hand again.

Thesaya let out a short, breathy laugh, and Mev said carefully, "I understand how you feel, Lily. But it’ll be dangerous. That’s why Ian doesn’t want to take you with him. So maybe you should try choosing someone else."

Lily blinked as if thinking. Then, slowly, she raised her hand again. But nothing had changed. Her finger still pointed at Ian.

Nasser let out a chuckle.

Thesaya clicked her tongue and added, "I’ve been thinking this for a while now, but for some reason, Ian’s ridiculously popular with kids like that."

"Tell me about it." Ian gave a dry laugh and looked at Lily. "But I’m not planning on taking you along, Lily. You’ve still got time. Think it over and decide who you want to go with."

Lily’s arm dropped again. Her face remained blank, but Ian didn’t miss the way her lower lip subtly jutted out before settling back.

"Feels like this wasn’t the time for us to be competing, Redhead," Thesaya said, glancing up at Mev.

Mev let out a hollow chuckle. "Yeah. We should’ve been trying to win her over, not compete."

"Or maybe we should just ask Ian to choose for—" Thesaya paused mid-sentence.

A low chuckle brushed against their minds.

—Seems like plenty of interesting things happened while I was asleep...

The languid whisper followed.

Thesaya turned toward Ian and replied, "The most interesting things happen when you’re asleep, worm."

Slithering out from the gap in Ian’s wrist guard, Yog let out a soft laugh.

—That’s a shame. I don’t exactly have the luxury of staying awake here.

Ian stared down at the creature, flicking its violet tongue. It had grown about a finger’s length longer than before, and its obsidian-like scales now gleamed with an even more ominous sheen.

"Nice molt, Yog," Ian said at last, noticing the small horn-like protrusions on either side of its head. "Not that I remember giving you permission."

Yog looked up at him with jet-black eyes, flicking its violet tongue as it smiled.

—That wasn’t intentional, Friend. I didn’t expect things to turn out like that either.

Ian’s lips curled faintly, cold and sharp. "Are you sure about that? You’re not trying to slip out from under my control?"