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That certainly wasn’t normal.

A million thoughts raced through my mind in an instant.

Was it about the Black Sea Empress? Or was it another request, similar to when I dealt with the Tower Master?

–Keep reporting, Asher.

After sending the reply, a response came back shortly.

–Yes. According to the Chief of Staff, the Overlord received an intelligence report indicating the concerning movements of the Emperor of Santea.

Asher’s account was not something I had expected.

The movements of the Emperor were concerning? What did that mean?

–It is speculated that the Emperor has secretly crossed the southern border and is heading towards the Adessa Grand Forest.

Upon hearing the continuation of the statement, I felt an instant chill in my chest.

Adessa. One of the last four great powers in the world.

An alliance of elves and demi-humans that ruled over the vast southern forest.

Wait… Why was the Emperor going to Adessa now?

The Emperor was one of the major villains in this world, holding significant influence.

The one with the ideology of human supremacy was bound to bring great calamity someday, and of course, I knew that.

But this was too soon.

If the Emperor was heading to the Adessa Grand Forest to invoke ‘that,’ it was supposed to happen much later in the future.

Since joining forces with the hero, I hadn’t paid much attention to the Emperor…

Has the future… changed?

Or was it simply a preliminary exploration before things happened? I could not tell.

What was certain was that the possibility of the future changing could not be ignored.

I couldn’t understand.

The hero should have clearly warned the Emperor, but the other ignored her and instead accelerated the time.

“…”

But what if some butterfly effect really did change the future?

What if the Emperor was really trying to bring about that terrible catastrophe right now by advancing time?

Adessa Grand Forest would likely perish.

Both Santea and Adessa would be in ruins, completely upsetting the balance of power.

At a time when the resurrection of the Demon King was imminent, things could get out of hand.

“Damn.”

Of all times, this had to happen when the hero had returned to the Holy City. It was the worst timing.

–So why did the Overlord relay that information to me?

–She wants you to head to the Adessa Great Forest, if possible, and help track down the Emperor yourself.

…Tracking?

I immediately doubted the Overlord’s motives.

–Didn’t the Chief of Staff explain why the Overlord made such a proposal to me?

–He said he had conveyed the same message to all the Lords he could contact. The Fifth Lord has already gone to Adessa alone, and the Second Lord would be travelling with the Chief of Staff.

So, it meant that the Overlord didn’t specifically ask me for a favor.

And the Second and Fifth Lords accepted the offer right away?

I felt like I knew the reason. It was because both the Second and Fifth Lords were from Adessa.

With regards to the noble lineage of the Thunder Lord, it traced back to the elves of Adessa, who departed from there long ago and settled in Calderic. On the other hand, the Mad Lord ventured out alone due to a conflict with her own kin.

Therefore, these two individuals had reasons to be interested in matters related to Adessa, whether it was for better or worse.

–For now, I told the Chief of Staff I would relay the news when Sir Ron returned to the castle.

With a furrowed brow, I became lost in thought.

…What should I do?

The problem was what I should do. The deliberation was brief.

I should travel to the Adessa Great Forest and check on the Emperor’s movements.

It was not the time to worry about other Lords or the Chief of Staff.

If the emperor truly took action, it must be stopped at all costs.

Kaen is the problem.

However, if I immediately head towards Adessa, I would be leaving Kaan alone…

No matter how urgent the situation was, the safety of the heir was of utmost importance.

I had no choice. In that case, I can only leave Kaen’s protection to her while I was away.

After making the decision, I replied,

–Asher, bring Ti-Yong and come to where I am right away.

***

A few days later, I received word of Asher’s arrival. So, I relayed the news of my departure to Kaen, Rigon, and Lea.

“What? You have to go back home?”

Kaen asked with a surprised expression.

I made an apologetic expression.

“Yeah, I was planning to stay here for a few more days and then go back at a suitable time. I also have some things to attend to at home.”

“Why… Hey, why didn’t you say that earlier?”

Both Kaen and Rigon were perplexed.

Even I found it absurd, but I had no other excuses to offer.

“I’m really sorry. Anyway, that’s why I have to leave right now.”

“Hey, Ran. Is something wrong?”

Rigon asked with concern. I shook my head.

“It’s nothing. Let’s meet again at the academy after the break.”

“Wait, then can I come with you?”

Kaen said something troublesome again, and Lea chimed in.

“Hey, Kaen. Don’t make things awkward for him. There’s an urgent matter.”

“Well, still, this is too sudden. He didn’t explain it in detail.”

“He has a situation that’s difficult to explain in detail. You need to stop jumping into everything without thinking.”

What’s this? It was unexpected that she helped.

Lea looked at me and asked.

“How are you going to travel? If necessary, I can arrange a carriage and have some people accompany you.”

“No, it’s fine.”

“Okay, then.”

It was strange, as if she was already expecting me to react that way.

Anyway, thanks to her, I said my goodbyes to the kids and headed out of the castle.

Then I met Asher, who was waiting in the city square, and we moved to a secluded place.

“The heir is currently staying at the castle of the Herwyn family. There shouldn’t be any danger inside the castle, but you should stay close by and protect her.”

“Understood. When do you plan to return?”

“I can’t tell how long it will take. Well then, I’ll leave right away. Take care.”

After parting ways with Asher, I went outside the city and searched for Ti-yong, which she had ridden here.

Clank!

When I found Ti-Yong hiding in the woods, it howled with delight and trotted toward me.

“Shh, shh. Yeah, it’s been a while, buddy.”

I calmed down the excited fellow while stroking its neck.

Riding on Ti-Yong’s back after a long time, I flew straight up into the sky towards the Adessa Grand Forest in the southern region of Santea.

***

It was only a day’s ride at full speed from Bayonter to the southern border of Santea, even with a little backtracking.

Having arrived at the northern edge of Adessa, I looked down at the vast forest spread below.

There shouldn’t be any conflict in this part of the forest.

The ruling power in Adessa was the alliance of numerous tribes, consisting of elves and giants.

Taken together, they were the size of a single, united nation, much like Santea and Calderic.

However, not everything within the forest was under their control. It was too vast.

If I ventured further, I might encounter their border defenses, but it was still manageable for now.

…From now on, there was only one thing I had to do.

Find the Emperor somewhere north of the forest, where he would be making preparations.

Of course, it was a difficult task.

In a forest with trees and grass everywhere, no matter how much I played the game, I couldn’t remember and pinpoint where the Emperor was.

In short, it was no different from wandering around the mountains and finding the heir.

“How long will it take…”

Of course, I wasn’t without help.

For now, I decided to go to the place the Chief of Staff had told Asher which would be reserved as a meeting place for the Lords.

What about Polymorph?

Before that, I pondered whether I should release the polymorph or not.

The current me was not the Seventh Lord, but that of a boy. I couldn’t meet them like this.

But if I released the polymorph, I couldn’t return to my form as ‘Ran’.

If I released the polymorph once, I would have to use the power of the Holy Sword again to regain the form of ‘Ran’, but the hero was currently in the Holy City.

I even considered wearing a mask, but it wouldn’t completely hide my physique or hair color.

If I run into the Overlord, I’ll be in a lot of trouble.

They said that only the Chief of Staff had come to this place now, but no one knew if the Overlord would suddenly appear.

That’s why I decided to deal with the aftermath later and release the polymorph for now.

Poof.

In an instant, my appearance returned to that of the original Seventh Lord.

I turned my head away from the stiffness and patted Ti-Yong’s neck.

“Let’s go, Ti-Yong.”

A massive river runs through the northern part of the Great Forest.

If we followed the river inward, we would come across the lake mentioned by the Chief of Staff.

They said they would establish a base there and conduct investigations.

As soon as I found the lake, I extended my heightened senses to see if they were around. And I found them.

I saw the Chief of Staff and the Thunder Lord standing side by side in front of the lake, so I landed there immediately.

The Chief of Staff greeted me with a surprised expression.

“Thank you for coming, Seventh Lord. You came here very quickly.”

The Thunder Lord standing beside him had an uneasy expression.

I glanced at her briefly and asked the Chief of Staff, “What about the Fifth Lord?”

“the Fifth Lord intends to continue acting separately. She stated that she has no intention of cooperating with us or participating in the investigation, emphasizing that her actions are not influenced by the Overlord’s proposal.”

What did she come here for then?

It wasn’t important, so I turned my attention away.

“Has the investigation already begun? Any progress?”

“We are planning to start now. We intend to retrace the route that the Emperor might have taken from the capital.”

I felt a sense of restlessness within me.

Of course, there might not be any other way, but wouldn’t it take too long like that?

If the Emperor had already begun preparations, there was no time to waste in such a leisurely manner.

The Chief of Staff must have sensed my uneasy expression as he asked, “Is there any other good method?”

I stared at the Thunder Lord

Because even in the game, the method to find the hidden Emperor was to use the spirits.

“Thunder Lord, do you have any ideas?”

“No, I don’t.”

“Really? None at all?”

“I just said there isn’t. What kind of answer are you expecting?”

Could the Thunder Lord use that method?

There was no way for me to know, but I had to ask.

“I’m asking if there is a way to borrow the power of the spirits in the forest. I’ve heard that if you’re a powerful elementalist, you can borrow the power of a spirit for a short time, even if it’s not a contracted spirit.”

Upon hearing that, the Thunder Lord gave me a bewildered look.

“If you’re willing to endure the spirits’ hatred and forcefully suppress them with your power, then it’s possible.”

“Alright, so there is a way.”

“Are you telling me to use such barbaric methods? In the first place, to find the Emperor whose whereabouts are unknown, one would have to absurdly dominate a wide range of spirits…”

“Of course, it would be impossible to cover the entire Grand Forest. However, wouldn’t it be sufficient if we focused on the northern edge?”

The Elf who used that method in the game was a spirit mage of a level similar to the Thunder Lord.

The Thunder Lord’s gaze became even more grim.

I anticipated her thoughts and spoke to the Chief of Staff.

“Chief of Staff, can you step aside for a moment? I have something to discuss with the Second Lord.”

“Understood.”

The Chief of Staff willingly left.

The Thunder Lord immediately uttered in a sharp voice.

“Yes, I suppose. If it were the old me, it might have been possible. As long as no one had destroyed my precious spirit.”

I nodded.

“I will let you know the location.”

“What did you say?”

“I will tell you the method to restore your power that I mentioned before. I will also inform you of the location of a thunder spirit that is as powerful as Laxia. Right now.”

The Thunder Lord’s eyes widened in surprise.

***

“Stop!”

The guardian warriors protecting the forest stood pale, blocking a figure.

The warrior chief, Garga, also swallowed his saliva with a tense expression and questioned the intruder.

“……Mad Lord, why have you come here?”

The Mad Lord, who quickly scanned the warriors, smirked.

“Step aside, you pests, before I kill you all. I have business with the chieftain.”