Chapter 653

“…The sun’s up.”

“Yeah. It’s already past midnight.”

The two on-duty mages stared blankly at the morning sun, murmuring to themselves.

It was the first sunrise since Ian and Beric had entered the painting. Ian’s warning echoed relentlessly in their minds: if they didn’t return by the next day, something would be wrong. After a quiet sigh, the two rose and headed up to the duty room.

Creak.

“Hey, everyone, get up.”

“…Hmm. What about Ian?”

“He hasn’t come back.”

Most had stayed up late finishing overtime and had only just fallen asleep at dawn, so waking up was tough. Their faces were puffy, voices hoarse and cracked.

But the news that Ian hadn’t returned made everyone’s eyes widen in shock. They had expected him to be back by morning…

“Haaah. He’s not back? What about Beric?”

“If Ian’s not back, how could Beric be?”

“Did something happen to them?”

The situation in eastern Bariel was tense, but the Minister of Magic’s place was supposed to be right beside the Emperor.

Besides, with war against Toorun looming, if there was a serious problem, Ian would have returned immediately to avoid weakening Kalamath’s forces.

“And yet, they still haven’t come back.”

Hail rubbed his dark stubble thoughtfully. After a moment’s hesitation, he got up from bed and put on his robe.

“I’ll go see His Majesty. We’ll discuss and decide which mages will move out this morning. Everyone, prepare yourselves.”

“Understood. We’re heading to Hielo, right?”

“It’s quite a distance, so I’ll prepare the magic circles in advance. Calculating the formulas will take us until afternoon.”

“I’ll help with that.”

One by one, the mages stretched and tidied their bedding.

As Hail turned away absentmindedly, he caught his reflection in the wall mirror. Would it be rude to meet the Emperor looking like this? He examined his face from every angle, then, deciding it was fine, stepped out.

The morning in Kalamath was eerily quiet—so much so that the war felt distant. Outside, the air was scorching, but inside the palace, the marble floors kept the chill lingering.

Tap, tap, tap!

Just as Hail entered the corridor where the Emperor was, a group of people came rushing from the opposite direction. Their faces were pale, and upon spotting Hail, they frantically gestured for him to follow.

“You’re Captain Hail of the Magic Department, right?!”

“Yes, that’s me.”

“This way! Please come quickly! It’s urgent!”

Startled by the sudden urgency, Hail instinctively quickened his pace and followed them into the Emperor’s study. Despite the early hour, Jin was already at work, dressed sharply in his uniform.

Knock, knock.

“Your Majesty, there’s a serious problem!”

“What is it so early? Does it concern Lord Ian?”

“No, it’s not that… The, the dried-up Burgos River is flowing again.”

Jin looked up in surprise at the unexpected report. Hail shared his confusion. The river had been dammed upstream, causing fears of drought. If that was resolved, shouldn’t it be good news?

But the next words made Jin spring to his feet.

“However, the water is dark and murky, which is strange. No one has drunk it yet, but a donkey that tried to drink stumbled and collapsed. It seems Toorun is up to something, but we have no way to investigate… I’m sorry.”

“What?”

Jin’s voice hardened. He had thought the damming was just to disrupt crops, but it was something more sinister—a preparation for greater damage.

“Are they mad? How could they kill Gaia’s land?”

People may die, but the land must not. People live in the present, but the land lives for the future.

Jin was momentarily speechless, stunned by the unexpected turn.

“How much water is flowing now?”

“About one-tenth of the normal level, but it’s increasing rapidly.”

There was little they could do with their current resources unless they went all the way to Toorun to find and fix the source.

Jin pressed his palm to his forehead, troubled. It didn’t seem directly related to Bariel yet, but this was a serious problem.

Rutherford was the main cause, but Bariel had already made many sacrifices for the war. If Burgos’s land died too, the losses would be immeasurable.

And then there was Clifford. The river flowed there as well, inevitably damaging crops, which meant…

‘The entire continent of Gaia would become even more dependent on Luswena for food.’

It was a deeply troubling situation—far worse than just dried-up land.

As Jin bit his lower lip in thought, Hail quietly added,

“This isn’t the work of a single Toorun spirit mage. If we follow the river upstream, we’ll surely encounter those wary of Bariel’s northward advance.”

It almost felt like they were being lured.

Jin was silent for a long moment, then looked up at Hail.

“Captain Hail.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Is it possible to open and maintain a portal without Lord Ian? For how long?”

“…You mean a portal?”

Though the question was sudden, Hail quickly grasped Jin’s intent.

“If it’s just across the river, about seven mages could take turns and keep it open for five days. Of course, Captain Akorella’s potions would be essential. That’s the maximum.”

“Y-Your Majesty, what are you suggesting…?”

A courtier looked between Jin and Hail, bewildered. A portal? Over the river?

“What if we open a portal toward Toorun and send the polluted water back the way it came? Is that possible?”

“In theory, yes, but it’s risky. First, opening a portal on the ground rather than in the air requires advanced skill. Without Lord Ian, it might take longer. Second, while the portal would let our river water flow into Toorun—”

Hail shook his head involuntarily.

“You must consider that Toorun could also send forces through the portal into Kalamath. It would be like opening a direct path right in front of the palace.”

Ordinary soldiers couldn’t swim upstream, but water spirit mages could. They would surely use the portal, and no one could predict what dangers that might bring.

‘One thing is certain: to stop the river’s flow, we need the power of mages.’

Jin’s eyes widened as he suddenly realized something and looked at Hail.

“Why do you say that?”

“It’s strange.”

“What is?”

“That the river was released without Lord Ian here.”

If Toorun had truly decided to kill the lands of Burgos and Clifford, now was not the time. Bariel’s mages were stationed firmly in Kalamath’s palace. They would be weighing their options, not helplessly watching.

“…That’s a reasonable deduction. If Toorun had real intent, they would have released the river right after Bariel’s main forces left Kalamath. It’s hard to respond during a move, and if lucky, Bariel would notice the river’s abnormality later.”

“But these fools caused trouble knowing we were in Burgos. It’s as if they want the mages to ‘respond.’”

“…Lord Ian didn’t return last night.”

Snap!

Jin snapped his fingers as if a lightbulb had gone off.

“Because of Lord Ian, these things happened.”

His harsh tone made the courtiers lower their heads and avoid eye contact. Even if they weren’t at fault, it was a natural reaction to the Emperor’s displeasure.

“Lord Ian went toward Merelrof and Hielo, sensing trouble there. And he hasn’t come back. That confirms our fears. The only ones capable of causing this are Hwan and Luswena.”

“In Hwan, the death of Shatima has raised suspicions about the presence of puppet mages.”

“And puppet mages share their five senses, correct?”

The courtiers nodded at Jin’s question. Puppet after puppet, and their puppets’ puppets… Wherever a puppet mage was, the Toorun king could perceive the situation through shared senses.

Which meant…

“Lord Ian must be confronting Luswena or Hwan. They have puppet mages.”

“Y-Your Majesty, are you saying Toorun timed this to keep our mages occupied?”

“Yes. And that means Lord Ian needs support.”

“W-What should we do then…?”

They understood Toorun’s intent, but that was a separate matter. The river kept flowing endlessly.

It was Jin’s decision to make. Only the gods knew the right answer.

“Prepare the portals.”

Had he chosen Ian?

As the courtiers bowed, Jin added,

“Match the width of the river.”

“So—”

“Set the destination to Hielo, the great desert bordering Luswena.”

There, the polluted water wouldn’t matter for now. It was already a dead land where nothing grew.

Moreover, the chance of enemy counterattack was low. They had some knowledge of Luswena’s terrain, and from Bariel’s perspective, mages were easier to handle than unfamiliar spirit mages. The difference in strength was a concern, but if they joined forces with Ian, what was there to worry about?

“Understood.”

Hail bowed, ready to carry out Jin’s orders. The distance meant the portal’s duration would be shorter, but that was manageable.

He bowed politely in greeting, then hurried outside. In front of the palace square, groups of mages were gathered in threes and fives, staring down at the ground.

“Captain Hail! You’re here early. What did His Majesty the Emperor say?”

“Wait a minute, Captain! Can you take a look here first? This guy keeps inserting some weird spell patterns.”

“If you don’t know, just stay quiet. This is correct.”

“Wanna bet? Loser has to take on a week’s worth of work.”

“Come on in. Thanks to you, I’m getting a paid week off.”

“No! If you’re confused, just leave it blank and draw it later, you idiots!”

“You step aside and focus on the right side!”

Hielo. The eastern edge of Bariel.

It was so far away that even Ian hadn’t dared to venture there. If it hadn’t been for the message delivered by the rider, he probably wouldn’t have come.

“…Everyone, stop moving.”

“Huh?”

Hail pulled out a cigarette and took a drag as he ordered.

“Stop moving? That sounds ominous.” The mages hesitated, glancing up at Hail.

“Why? What’s wrong?”

“We’re erasing this and redrawing it. Down there, on the riverbed.”

“Whaaaat?!”

“And Tommy, Nakina—you two head over to Hielo first using the drawing and find Ian. I’ll mark the portal’s opening point on the map with coordinates, so check it.”

“Wait! How are we supposed to draw on the riverbed? It’s hard enough on smooth marble floors!”

Tommy and Nakina cheered quietly and slipped away from drawing the magic circle. Hail nodded toward the river.

“There’s water flowing in the river.”

“Whaaaat?!”

“We’re going to channel that through the portal. We have to design it.”

“No, you’re crazy! How on earth do you make a magic circle in water…?”

“W-w-who else?”

Who else but him? Hail stepped onto the railing and took off into the air. His destination was obvious without even looking—the breast of Burgos, cutting across Kalamath.

“I’ll find a good surface. Record the magic circle exactly and transfer it.”

“I can’t! Absolutely can’t!”

“Try telling Ian that.”

Mentioning Ian made the mages’ cheeks puff up in frustration. But what could they do? There was no other way. If ordered, they had to do it—and they had no choice but to succeed.

“Fine. We’ll do it. We have to.”

“But seriously, how? I mean it.”

“No idea. We’ll figure it out as we go.”

Grumbling, the mages followed Hail into the sky.