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Serati was puzzled by their decision to delay even the King’s Order mission.

“Are you waiting for Elezar to send her subordinates?”

“No, not exactly.”

Even if she were to send her subordinates, it would take them quite a while to track down Karnak’s group.

First, the news of Hudel’s capture would need to reach Elezar, which would take a few days. After receiving the news, it would take her more time to come up with a countermeasure, and even longer to assign someone to handle the task. All of this would consume considerable time.

“Then they’d have to cross the Barakant Mountain Range from the Empire and come all the way to the Kingdom of Yustil. That would take at least a month.”

He couldn’t waste time idly waiting for the enemy to come.

They had their own lives to live and work to do.

There was a different reason Karnak stayed in the capital.

“I have to earn the gold I was paid.”

As agreed in advance, he had to pass down the “Redeemer of Necromancy” to Deltros and the other mages.

Magic isn’t something you can just glance at a formula and instantly master.

Of course, for a mage at the 9th Circle, most spells could indeed be learned with just a quick look, but the Redeemer of Necromancy was different.

This spell heavily relied on a person’s natural senses.

Until they got a handle on the basic feel of it, Karnak needed to be nearby to constantly correct them.

As a result, a rather amusing situation arose.

A young mage, barely in his twenties and at the 6th Circle, was now teaching senior mages at the 8th and 9th Circles.

Yet he showed no sign of intimidation.

“This spell itself is something you can all cast with ease, but applying it to necromancy is an entirely different issue.”

The older mages were even impressed by his confidence.

‘What an incredible young man.’

‘Even with that level of self-assurance, it’s not easy to maintain such a demeanor in front of us.’

Of course, from Karnak’s perspective, there was no reason to be intimidated by mages much younger than himself.

“Alright, alright! Stay focused and cast the spell again!”

***

Every day, Karnak visited the Azure Magic Tower.

Whenever he left, Serati would also leave the house with him.

Her destination was the King’s Order headquarters.

“You’re here, Dame Serati?”

“Please guide me, Sir Dvoyce.”

“What do you mean? It’s me who should be learning from you.”

She was there to spar with other aura users from the King’s Order who were off-duty.

Serati had gained quite a bit of experience by this time. She had learned many things on her own.

It was time for her to organize those experiences and take her skills to the next level.

When she asked Baros what to do, he suggested this method.

–You don’t become stronger just by fighting strong opponents. You also need to experience crushing the weak and growing arrogant.

Even though his words were harsh, they weren’t entirely wrong.

Having always sparred with Baros, Serati had developed the habit of being overly cautious and retreating.

Though her opponents weren’t weak, at least by pushing aura users of her level, she could build her confidence.

So, she requested sparring matches with the aura users of the King’s Order.

Since they all stood to gain from it, they were more than happy to draw their swords.

After spending all day training, she’d return home, only to be greeted by Baros organizing the groceries he had bought.

“You went to the market again today, Sir Baros?”

“It’s an important part of my daily routine.”

Baros, of course, trained steadily as well, but he had a bit more free time than Serati. He spent his spare moments indulging in his cherished hobby.

As an extension of his food adventures, he wandered around Drunta, sampling all sorts of dishes and famous drinks.

Having regained his physical form, he intended to fully enjoy the pleasures of the flesh.

However, he didn’t want to destroy his body by eating and drinking recklessly.

So he sought out only the most delicious food to fill his stomach.

“In that spirit, today’s snack is freshwater shrimp boiled in salt water!”

Caught from the Sindaril River near Drunta, they were known for their savory and salty flavor, a well-known delicacy among the citizens of Drunta.

Everyone’s eyes lit up as they gathered around.

“Is there some for me?”

“Thank you!”

“Give it to me.”

First came Serati, then Laficel, and finally Karnak.

They all sat in the garden and started peeling and eating the shrimp.

“Yum, yum.”

Serati smiled warmly as she watched Laficel munching on the shrimp with her lips puckered.

“Eat as much as you want, Laficel.”

Laficel suddenly blushed.

“…I feel like I’m going to gain weight.”

Baros interjected with a smirk.

“Considering your daily activity, you could probably eat twice as much and still not gain weight.”

Laficel’s daily routine was as follows:

Breakfast, then cleaning the house, and playing.

Lunch, clean-up, and then either a nap or play.

Afternoon snack, followed by more time to play.

At a glance, it seemed like she spent the entire day lazily. The problem was that all of her “play time” was spent training her swordsmanship!

She loved swinging her sword so much that she saw it as playtime, but in reality, it was an enormous amount of training.

Laficel rubbed her arm and frowned.

“I don’t know… It feels like I’ve gained weight.”

Serati chuckled softly.

“That’s just because you’ve grown taller, isn’t it?”

Laficel had grown noticeably taller, by at least a finger’s width.

Rather than it being a sudden growth spurt, it seemed more like she was now growing at the normal rate for someone her age who had previously been undernourished.

Karnak and Baros had been ensuring she ate heartily at every meal, and Laficel was clearly benefiting from it.

‘Thanks to that, her swordsmanship seems to be improving by the day.’

At this rate, it wouldn’t be long before there was another aura user in Jestarad’s territory.

Technically, she had already awakened, but her body hadn’t fully caught up yet.

Before they knew it, the shrimp were all gone.

“Thank you for the meal!”

Laficel cheerfully gathered up the shrimp shells.

After cleaning up, she planned to practice her swordsmanship before dinner.

As usual, Karnak grabbed a wooden sword and joined her.

“Let’s practice together, Laficel.”

“Yes!”

***

In the past, Karnak was the type of person who wouldn’t exercise even if it killed him.

His philosophy was that only those lacking intelligence had to resort to physical labor.

But after returning to the past, his attitude had completely changed.

Now he had a clear purpose.

To maintain this precious body in the best condition possible for as long as possible.

His duel trial against Randolph, the knight of Deventor, had been a blessing in disguise.

At the time, it had been excruciating.

He had no desire to run away in the middle of the night, so he reluctantly played the part of a knight, swearing to quit the moment his business was finished.

But once he built up his basic fitness, he found that it wasn’t so bad after all.

Anyone who has exercised knows that it’s difficult at first, but once your body gets used to it, it becomes much more bearable. And once you reach a certain level, moving your body can even become enjoyable.

Considering that he had reversed time because he missed the sensations of his physical body, it made sense.

‘Who would have thought I’d actually come to enjoy exercising?’

So, he made time for regular swordsmanship practice, at least on a basic level.

Today, too, he practiced simple horizontal and vertical slashes, swinging his wooden sword through the air.

“Hup! Haah!”

Laficel, who was practicing swordsmanship next to him, couldn’t help but watch Karnak intently.

‘As expected, Lord Karnak is diligent. Despite being a mage, he also trains his body.’

Of course, she knew that Karnak’s swordsmanship was far from impressive.

But it wasn’t like he was planning to use the skill in real combat.

‘Since it’s just for health, he’s doing a decent job.’

Then, all of a sudden, Karnak switched his grip to reverse and started performing two upward slashes into the air.

“Hyaaah!”

It was the secret technique, Overkill, Laven Strauss’ secret technique, which he had learned after enduring Baros’s harsh training.

The trajectory of the sword was fairly decent, and Karnak let out a cry of triumph.

“Nice! I did it!”

Laficel’s eyes widened in surprise.

‘Wow, he’s actually pretty good at that technique!’

Clumsy people tend to focus solely on mastering one technique once they get the hang of it. It’s usually because that’s the only skill they’re proficient at.

At that level, she thought she could probably imitate it. Laficel quietly gave it a try.

“Hi-yah!”

With a single attempt, Laficel perfectly executed the Overkill technique that Karnak had practiced countless times but had never fully mastered.

Flash!

She adjusted her grip on the sword, tilting her head in confusion.

‘That’s strange. Why does this technique feel so familiar?’

***

The sun was slowly setting.

Karnak’s entire body was drenched in sweat.

“Ugh, I need to wash up before dinner.”

In this era, most houses didn’t have bathrooms, and even when they did, only the mansions of nobles had them.

Fetching water was no small task.

However, Karnak’s house had its own bathhouse.

This extravagant man had gone as far as hiring a poter to indulge in regular baths.

The reason was simple.

–My body is worth more than the cost of water!

Of course, even Karnak couldn’t afford the luxury of boiling water every time.

But that wasn’t much of a problem.

First, he filled the bath with cold water, then lightly touched the surface with his right finger.

“Heat Wave.”

It was a spell that transformed cold water into hot water.

It didn’t boil the water to the point where it could cook food, making it unsuitable for cooking or combat, but it was perfect for heating bathwater.

A while later, a relaxed voice leaked out from beyond the bathhouse window.

“Ah, this feels great~!”

Laficel, who was preparing dinner in the kitchen, made a strange face.

“Serati unnie.”

“What is it?”

“About Lord Karnak and Baros oppa…”

“Yes?”

“Sometimes, don’t they seem a bit like old men? I wonder why.”

“…Hmm, well, who knows?”

***

Ten days had passed since Karnak’s group settled in Drunta.

In the meantime, Deltros and the other mages had successfully mastered the Redeemer of Necromancy. There was no longer a need to visit the Azure Magic Tower.

It was time to return to the King’s Order.

Two days after finishing his work at the magic tower, Commander Erantel summoned Karnak.

“You called for me, commander?”

He naturally assumed it was to assign his next mission, but the Commander’s expression was oddly ambiguous.

“I hear you have some connection with a company called Altas Merchant Group?”

“That’s correct, but…”

“They seem to be having some issues.”

Karnak wasn’t surprised.

He had a pretty good sense when something negative was going to happen.

‘I knew something felt off.’

The only thing that puzzled him was why the King’s Order, which had nothing to do with the Altas Merchant Group, was bringing it up.

But the next words did surprise him.

“I’m not a merchant, so I don’t fully understand the situation, but…”

With a bewildered expression, Commander Erantel looked through the documents and continued.

“They say you’re now the owner of the Altas Merchant Group?”

“…What?”