The flame giants searched through Juzen's ashes, found the remains of their fallen comrades, and recovered them.

Then, as though suddenly remembering something, they looked at Lee Han and asked.

By the way. When will you challenge the king?

"?"

They asked so naturally that, for a moment, Lee Han wondered whether he knew them.

Unless they had regularly exchanged letters saying things like, 'My hobby is challenging powerful beings from other dimensions. Where should I go next?' and 'The King of the Flame Giants would probably be best. Did you not challenge the King of the Frost Giants as well?', there was no reason for them to ask so abruptly...

-Calm down!

Just as Lee Han was about to answer that such a thing would never happen even if every dimension collapsed, the hamster quickly squeaked a warning.

"What do you mean, calm down?"

-Do not take the temperament of the flame giants lightly. The frost giants are cold and composed, but these ones are hot-blooded and quick-tempered.

"...Who exactly is cold and composed??"

Lee Han was shocked all over again.

Of all the giants Lee Han had met so far—though that only amounted to the Einroguard giant and the frost giants—the frost giants had been the most vile, tenacious, obsessive, and emotional.

To think those who shouted, 'So you are the challenger acknowledged by the king! Fight me too!' the moment they saw his face were supposedly cold and composed.

However wronged Lee Han felt, the hamster paid no attention.

The truth did not change merely because someone felt wronged by it.

-Besides, quite a number of their kin were killed. Parts of their corpses were stolen as sacrifices.

The hamster squeaked and pointed toward the sky.

The crimson atmosphere trembled with heat. It seemed almost as though it symbolized the rage of the flame giants.

Would it truly be wise to refuse giants this angry so firmly?

"...Then what am I supposed to do?"

-Make an excuse! That thing you are so good at!

'What does that mean?'

Lee Han bristled slightly.

Anyone hearing that would think he did nothing but lie.

If there had been time, Lee Han would have showered the hamster with grapes, but a flame giant was still pacing around in front of him. Lee Han swallowed his anger.

"Understood. ...I will come and visit once I have some free time in the near future!"

Oh! I see.

The flame giants were delighted even by Lee Han's soulless answer.

Even the sky, which had been vibrating with heat, suddenly became still.

The king is looking forward to it as well. Challenger. Congratulations.

"......"

-D-Do not worry. You will never meet. You will never meet.

The hamster hurriedly made excuses under Lee Han's icy stare.

***

"No!!"

Nigisor cried out in horror when the friend suddenly entered the dimension.

Siana and Tiziling were equally startled. Had Lee Han not clearly sent them this signal before the battle began?

-Suspicious enemy, fight defensively, attack, support nearby.

From the professors working elsewhere in the village to the Death Knights who had accompanied them as coachmen.

Even without Lee Han giving explicit instructions, everyone knew that defensive combat was the most effective course.

Yet after saying all that, Lee Han himself chased the enemy straight into another dimension. It was only natural that they were dumbfounded.

"Hey, Wardanaz!"

When Siana shouted, forgetting even the special decorum expected of a priest, Tiziling hurriedly tried to stop her.

"There must have been some reason..."

"...For now, I will deal with those who remain and then pursue him!"

Nigisor summoned the flames once more and created a vortex of fire.

By outside standards, the defensive combat of Einroguard students was already considerably aggressive.

And now Nigisor had abandoned the defensive stance and shifted to the offensive, so the flames' power exceeded all expectations.

'This really is strange. A spirit is helping me.'

Even though Nigisor should have needed rest, the mana continued to hold.

Nigisor once again found it mysterious.

Of course, the remaining mercenaries felt as though they were dying.

They were already poisoned and desperately trying to escape, so why did that insane priest bastard bear such a grudge against them...?

"Enter the house beside us."

"Y-You! You came to your senses?!"

The mercenaries were startled.

To think the deranged prophet had suddenly regained sanity and offered correct advice.

They had already given up after all that muttering about monsters...

"The wall will collapse."

"I-I see!"

The mercenaries threw themselves into the empty house beside them and knocked down the wall.

The wall, already cracked with several bricks missing, collapsed in an instant.

Nigisor was thrown off by the sudden obstacle.

'How? Did they calculate this in advance?'

"There is someone with precognitive magic among them!"

Tiziling shouted while coughing.

Tiziling had offered a handful of hair and attempted an immediate divination, only for the foresight to be blocked.

It was a clash between precognitive mages.

"Take out everything you have! We will break through the village and escape!"

The mercenaries pulled out their scrolls, potions, and every other possession they had.

Juzen had long since vanished from their minds.

Why would they care about someone who had fled alone?

"Prophet! Advise us! Which direction should we go?!"

"Southwe— Monstermonstermonstermonstermonster!!"

"...Damn it!!"

When the prophet suddenly broke down again, the mercenaries vented their frustration.

Why in the world was this happening?

However, the mercenaries soon learned the reason themselves.

The enemy mage had already returned from the dimension into which Juzen had disappeared and was charging toward them while radiating killing intent.

'I will not let a single one escape!'

Lee Han's killing intent was enough to put even battle-hardened mercenaries on edge.

In truth, the mercenaries here had no reason to be threatened to such an extent.

They were not evil-god worshipers and had only been hired for money.

However, from Lee Han's perspective, there was no way to know how deeply connected they were to Juzen.

What if even one of them escaped, returned to the evil-god order, and delivered some final message from Juzen?

"Stop! If you come any closer, I will release this monster into the village!"

One of the mercenaries pulled out a steel flask and threatened Lee Han.

The flask trembled violently, as though proving that a considerably powerful monster was sealed inside.

At that moment, the mercenary suddenly threw the flask into the air.

The flask landed naturally in Lee Han's grasp.

"????"

Neither illusion magic nor telekinetic magic could control someone so naturally without the slightest sign.

The mercenary blinked.

"Stop! Anyone who does not stop will die!"

"You bastard...!"

When their own threat was returned to them exactly as it had been delivered, the mercenaries were dumbfounded.

One of the mercenaries at the front activated the magical barrier within the gauntlet, trying somehow to stop the mage's approach.

Lee Han drew his sword and slashed straight through it.

The black-magnetite sword absorbed the magic and shattered the gauntlet.

That one strike shattered the mercenaries' will as well.

The remaining mercenaries coughed from the poison and threw down their weapons.

"S-Surren—"

Crack!

Lee Han struck the mercenary across the face with his staff.

Then Lee Han paused.

"Were you trying to surrender?"

"......"

Another mercenary who met Lee Han's gaze nodded without thinking.

"Then you should have done it faster. I thought you were trying to attack again."

"Y-You are absolutely right."

The mercenary immediately began flattering Lee Han.

The companion who had taken one unnecessary blow was pitiful, but what could be done?

The living had to survive!

***

Ibinta had once belonged to the wicked adventurer party and had even served as the leader of the bandits in the capital's underground fortress.

The reason Ibinta had survived was thanks to the Skull Principal's generosity.

Because the great mage always looked only at the good in people and tried to give them one more chance, Ibinta had been able to become a new person.

-...That is what you will say if anyone asks.

"...Yes..."

Ibinta nodded with an uneasy expression.

The Death Knights traveling with Ibinta offered advice every bit as useful as their overwhelming combat ability.

Ibinta was not entirely certain whether it was truly useful, but there were not many choices.

If Ibinta did not want an executioner's blade flying into the back, there was no choice but to do as instructed.

"But when are we going to search for the evil-god worshipers?"

Ibinta asked cautiously while watching their reactions.

In truth, it was only natural for Ibinta to feel anxious.

After hearing so much about the wicked archmage's infamy, how could Ibinta possibly relax simply because there was no work?

If anything, that only made Ibinta more nervous.

Ibinta had been ordered to help find evil-god worshipers and wanted to achieve something somehow.

Only then would Ibinta's life be prolonged, and a trip to Einroguard's infamous underground prison be postponed.

However, Ibinta's enthusiasm had the opposite effect.

-You vicious criminal. So you finally reveal your true nature.

The knights rebuked Ibinta with great severity.

-Do you possess no human heart? You are crueler than we undead. Can you not see the villagers suffering here? And yet you want to go search for evil-god worshipers?

"N-No... That is not what I..."

After being fiercely attacked by the knights for saying one wrong thing, Ibinta lowered the head.

Was suggesting that they search for evil-god worshipers truly such a terrible thing to say?

'Surely... they did not recruit [N O V E L I G H T] me because the archmage's disciple needed an errand runner.'

By this point, Ibinta was beginning to wonder whether the search for evil-god worshipers was merely an excuse and whether Ibinta had really been chosen because Gonadaltes's disciple needed a useful servant.

-Even if we remain still, the evil-god worshipers will naturally appear on their own.

"What? Did you set a trap?"

Ibinta wondered whether some vast plan had been prepared without Ibinta's knowledge.

-No. There is no such thing. But judging by the successor's record, even if we merely carry out commissions, eventually...

-Shh. Be quiet. How can you reveal such heavenly secrets to an outsider? What if this criminal tattles to the successor?

-True.

"???"

When the knights finished whispering among themselves, Ibinta became even more confused.

What in the world were they talking about?

-Enough noise. Go and help ten villagers, then return. We must determine whether you are still a wicked bandit. Iron Arm Ibinta.

'It is Iron Cloak...'

Even so, Ibinta trudged away.

Since the priests already present and Professor Garcia were helping the villagers in the square, Ibinta had to go farther out to find anyone else who needed assistance.

After asking around repeatedly and barely managing to help ten people, Ibinta returned, only for the knights to suddenly become angry.

-The evil-god worshipers appeared! Where were you, and what were you doing?!

"What!?"

-Hurry! The evil-god worshipers attempted to flee into another dimension and were captured by the successor. Go help with the interrogation.

"What in the..."

Ibinta could not understand any of it.

It was surprising enough that a battle had occurred during the brief time Ibinta had been walking around, but even more astonishing was that secretive evil-god worshipers had been caught so easily.

...Was this what the Death Knights had meant earlier when they said the worshipers would appear even if they remained still?

'What sort of trick did they use...?'

When Ibinta arrived, Lee Han and the others were sitting on nearby rocks with exhausted, weary expressions.

The professors and priests spoke in grave voices about what had just happened.

"Could this disaster possibly be..."

"Probably not... I think they merely took advantage of it..."

"But how did that student return from the flame giants' dimension..."

"...Perhaps it was a coincidence..."

-Find out what those mercenary bastards are hiding.

The Death Knights ordered Ibinta.

Normally, seasoned mercenaries like these did not confess easily even after being captured.

There was a world of difference in punishment between 'I knew they were evil-god worshipers and worked with them' and 'They simply paid a great deal of money, so I worked with them.'

There was also the possibility of retaliation from the evil-god worshipers.

Digging through each mercenary's mind with illusion magic would take too much time and cost too much, so the best option was naturally a confession.

If someone like Ibinta explained the situation and guaranteed their safety...

"Wait. Are you not Shoemaker?!"

Ibinta cried out in surprise.

Among the mercenaries, Ibinta had spotted the face of a former companion once encountered in the party.

"You are... Cloakmaker...!"

"Yes! This is perfect. I... I was captured too, but my safety was guaranteed, and now I am working like this! Look!"

Ibinta desperately tried to persuade the former companion.

Ibinta had also belonged to and had been committing theft, but thanks to the current pursuit, Ibinta's crimes had been forgiven...

...If the former companion also achieved something, there would be no need to go to an Imperial court, prison, or the underground cells of Einroguard!

Perhaps the persuasion—or the sight of Ibinta appearing perfectly unharmed—shook the mercenary's resolve.

After agonizing over it, the former companion finally opened the mouth.

"...Fine. What do you want to know?"

"Who was that evil-god worshiper who died earlier? Tell me everything you know."

"You mean Juzen? You already heard how that bastard became enraged and called that mage a disciple of House Bagreg, but Juzen came from the western vampire nobility and carried many grudges. In fact, every time Juzen opened the mouth, it was only to curse someone. Even though the order was in no position to seek revenge, Juzen shouted like that earlier because of those grudges..."

"Oh...!"

Ibinta's face brightened.

Was that not quite an impressive piece of information?

-......

"......"

But the atmosphere was strange.

Not only Lee Han but even the Death Knights were staring at Ibinta with horrified expressions.