That day, while wrapping up a body-tempering experiment in his laboratory, Sein received a report from the fox maiden.

The new Ocean King, Orric, had just left the Ashen Fortress. Unsurprisingly, he had once again failed to secure an audience with Sein.

Sein knew exactly why he had come.

That was precisely why he chose not to see him.

It was not that Sein refused to lead an expedition into the Arid Expanse Worlds. Rather, his grandmaster had no such intention for the time being.

Since the subspace war ended, Sein had not seen Feylis for quite a while.

She was likely still pushing toward the peak of Rank Six.

Unlike White Stella, who had a powerful father, Feylis’ ascent was not something that could be accomplished in the blink of an eye.

It could take a decade—perhaps several.

Fortunately, the wars in subspace and the surrounding star domains had largely settled down, so the Magus Alliance’s leadership was unlikely to assign Feylis any mandatory missions in the near future.

Beyond his grandmaster’s breakthrough, the escalating conflict in the Arid Expanse Worlds was another reason Sein preferred to stay out of it.

In recent years, Sein and his team had focused solely on the Aquaria Star Domain.

Other Magus Civilization legions that had fought in the Shadowbat Star Domain, however, were now being frequently deployed to the Arid Expanse Worlds.

The situation there was... rather complicated.

The native legions of the Arid Expanse Worlds were disorganized and lacked morale, but the Gallant Federation had established extensive defensive lines across the region.

On top of that, the Grand Apocalypse World had reinforced that star domain with nearly ten million additional troops.

They clearly intended to defend their interests there at all costs.

Facing a large-sized plane like that head-on was hardly an appealing prospect.

Sein still vividly remembered being trapped for more than a decade in a radiation-type plane during his campaign in the Grand Eye Demon World Star Domain.

The Magus Civilization had indeed won major victories and seized the upper hand on the battlefield. Still, as a Rank Five individual, Sein could not afford to be arrogant.

No matter how unimpressive the Grand Apocalypse World might seem, it still had the power to crush him.

On a battlefield shaped by entire civilizations, only those who remained humble, low-key, and cautious could survive in the long run.

That said, Sein was not completely uninterested in the war unfolding in the Arid Expanse Worlds.

In his view, if he were to deploy there, it had to be at the right moment—either when the Rosen Dynasty Civilization’s overlord-level psychic led her main forces into the region, or when Baxia moved out from Aquaria.

For now, neither had shown any sign of movement.

Through his close ties with Black Oblivion and Tourmaline, Sein had long known that the sea race legions of Magus World would never take part in that conflict.

It was obvious why. The sea races were almost entirely aquatic beings. Fighting in a world dominated by deserts, wastelands, and endless dust meant battling on terrain utterly unsuited to them.

How much strength could White Stella’s sea king legions truly display under such conditions?

Even Aquaria’s legion would struggle to adapt to that environment.

Orric’s urgency stemmed more from anxiety than strategy.

Sein, however, remained clear-headed. That was precisely why he left Orric waiting.

The war between the Magus Civilization and the Gallant Federation was far from over—there would always be battlefields to fight on.

If they had not been deployed yet, it simply meant the high command had other plans.

In any case, these allied legions would not remain idle forever.

Having just completed his body-tempering experiment, Sein radiated a healthy glow from head to toe.

The fox maiden had not seen her master for years. Standing in the aura he exuded, her cheeks flushed bright red.

Sein felt little need to worry about her cultivation. After only a short separation, she had already reached the demigod realm.

He could not tell whether she possessed extraordinary talent or if Tourmaline had secretly fed her something special. Either way, those who stayed close to Tourmaline advanced at astonishing speed, far surpassing even Selina and Eileen.

Even Sev had reached Rank Three.

Still, the owl was the least gifted of the group. It could no longer hold its own against Sandy or Lou now.

Sein was usually buried in his experiments and paid little attention to them. People often said mages were solitary seekers of truth, and they were not wrong.

Fortunately, Tourmaline had been taking care of the group. Because of her, Sein was still able to experience small joys of daily life—and, at times, a quiet sense of family warmth.

“Go fetch Fermera. We’ll conduct mechanical research next,” Sein instructed the fox maiden. “And notify HALL-E to tidy up the central lab. The elemental rune engravings on the Magic Cube are nearly complete.”

“Yes, Master,” Azelia replied obediently.

She was far more skillful than Yuri in managing Sein’s daily needs.

Yuri occasionally threw small tantrums, while the fox maiden never competed for attention. She got along well with the newer lab members, including HALL-E and Fermera.

Only PAL, HALL-E’s pet electronic cockroach, made her a little uneasy.

PAL seemed quite fond of following her around, though. Whenever Azelia swept the laboratory with her enchanted broom, a tiny black speck would bounce along close behind her.

After the fox maiden departed with a respectful bow, Sein picked up the body-tempering potion beside the experimental table and took a slow sip.

While doing so, his gaze lingered briefly on her perky butt and the fiery red tail swaying beneath her maid dress.

***

Sein spent roughly seven years on Aquaria.

He never received a mobilization order for the Arid Expanse Worlds. Instead, the response to his leave request from the Magus Civilization arrived first.

After enduring the conflicts around Blue Star, the Marvelous Plane War, the subspace war, the Shadowbat Star Domain campaign, and the battles in the Aquaria Star Domain, the Magus Civilization finally approved his request, granting him a 220-year leave of absence to return to Magus World and recuperate.

Securing more than two centuries of leave during wartime was no easy feat, and this was only the amount he had originally requested. If he needed a longer break, he could always try to apply for more.

Having advanced to Rank Five, Sein finally had some breathing room.

Even before setting foot back in Magus World, he had already planned how to spend his leave.

Before returning home, he first had to report to a medium-sized plane called Portman World, located along the border of the Netherworld Star Domain.

It was also not far from the Grand Eye Demon World—a place Sein knew quite well.

He could not help wondering why the higher-ups had chosen to send him there specifically.

Upon hearing that Sein would soon return to Magus World for recuperation, Lorianne speculated that it might have something to do with the reward he was about to receive.

Sein’s contributions—bringing the Shadowbat Civilization, the Klytherans, Blue Star lifeforms, Aquaria, Marvelous Plane, and others into the Magus Alliance—had all been reported by Feylis.

And that was not all. His performance in subspace and the valuable intelligence he gathered from the ruins of the Eiyurant Papillon Civilization further added to his merits.

The higher-ups had yet to issue his reward, likely because they were still deciding what would be appropriate.

“It can’t be another world-class secret treasure, right?” Sein joked to his mentor.

Well aware that her apprentice already possessed two such treasures, Lorianne rolled her eyes at him.

“If it were really a world-class secret treasure, I’d gladly present it to you, Master Lorianne,” Sein said with a smile.

A faint blush rose to Lorianne’s cheeks. “Dream on. Do you think world-class secret treasures are handed out so casually? Even if you gave me something like that, how much destructive power could a Rank Four dendromancer like me really draw from it?”

“Besides, if the Magus Civilization offers you something, it’ll likely be pyro-element related or perhaps something mechanical,” she mused.

“Then I’ll ask for a Golden Apple.” Sein chuckled. “During a Clash of Civilizations, treasures like that are the true hard currency.”