Chapter 913

“The reply has arrived!”

The mages maintaining the portal shouted out. One of the waiting mages snatched the rolled-up letter as it tumbled down, and at that moment, the portal snapped shut.

Wiping sweat from their brows, the mages vented their frustrations into the empty air, as if Crony’s face were right there.

“Damn it! What on earth is taking so long?”

“Seriously. I thought I was going to die from the effort.”

“Honestly, they think magic is something you can just eat up like candy. Not a single thing about this pleases me.”

“Wait, we have to do this all over again tomorrow, right?”

“Minister Arena! The reply!”

The mages handed the letter to Arena, who removed her glasses and carefully examined its contents. Ian sat politely before her, waiting to hand over the paper.

After a long moment, she sighed and pushed the letter toward Ian.

“This won’t be easy.”

“Minister, what does it say?”

“They want you to come north.”

If Ian went, they promised to reveal secrets about his parents and accept his request for guardianship. Just as they had laid out a well-prepared bait on their side, the other side had sent back a table full of carefully set traps.

Ian hesitated briefly, then glanced at Arena.

“No.”

Absolutely not. Going north was out of the question.

No one knew what the situation was like up there, but it was a war zone, and no one could predict what Crony might do to Ian. They had agreed to joint guardianship, but under no circumstances would they allow Ian to go north.

“But Minister Arena—”

A nearby aide, who had been quietly listening, spoke up.

“Even if it’s not Ian, the Magic Department does need to send a team north. At least to investigate the Idgal burial site.”

Arena furrowed her brow, glancing around the office cluttered with old papers. They had turned the entire palace archives and the Magic Department upside down searching for information on Idgal, but nothing substantial had surfaced.

Crony likely hadn’t found any clues about Idgal within the palace either. Paradoxically, the palace—the heart of the world—had been completely scrubbed clean of any trace of Idgal, while evidence became more apparent the further you went outward. The tales of the Great Desert’s Cheonryeo were proof of that.

“One reason Crony might have gone north is to investigate the Idgal burial site.”

“…That’s the most likely scenario for now.”

The fact that a shard of Idgal had been found in a drawer made it clear they were searching for it. Didn’t Ako testify that there was a burial site somewhere in the north? It made no sense that Crony wouldn’t know.

“I think we should send mages now to investigate and monitor Crony, and extract any clues about Idgal.”

“How? By what means?”

“Crony requested Ian, didn’t he? Honestly, we can use that as a very plausible pretext.”

They had already refused the Imperial Defense Department’s support request before, so it wouldn’t look good to suddenly accept and hop through the portal. There was no reason to approve it out of the blue.

But on the other hand, that was then, and this was now. Besides, this time, the other side had called for Ian first.

“Why not pretend to accept, and form a guard and investigation team?”

Arena frowned and looked at the aide as if to say, “You’re talking nonsense in front of a child.” But the aide stood firm, and Arena didn’t argue. Politically, it was an excellent move.

‘But Ian…’

Arena hesitated, then noticed Ian deep in thought and asked,

“What’s on your mind?”

“Oh, it’s just… something feels off.”

“What do you mean?”

“The Imperial Defense Department and Idgal.”

When Arena looked at him expectantly, Ian elaborated.

“You said before the expedition, the Imperial Defense Department requested support from the Magic Department. Why would they do that if they already knew about Idgal?”

“…So, they didn’t know about Idgal back then?”

Ian nodded, and Arena’s eyebrows knit together. It was a reasonable deduction.

“True, even if they expected us to refuse, it was still a difficult proposal. If they accepted, it could have interfered with the Idgal investigation.”

“The chances are high that the Minister and Deputy Minister of the Imperial Defense Department didn’t know.”

Crony was the commander of the northern expeditionary force, but the key decisions about the war rested with the Imperial Defense Minister. As Ian said, perhaps only Crony—and maybe his subordinates—knew about Idgal.

‘It’d be troublesome if his subordinates knew too.’

With the Minister and Deputy Minister gone, only Crony’s faction remained in the Imperial Defense Department. If it became known that they had the power to check the Magic Department, it would be easier to gain support from other departments.

“My head hurts. Who the hell made Idgal? What kind of bastard is he? I want to give him a hundred slaps on the back of the head.”

Muttering irritably, Arena watched as Ian took a long sip of milk. Yeah, seriously. Who made this mess, and why? Sigh.

“Arena.”

The aide gently called her name.

They were supposed to announce Crony’s death today, but the Magic Department had postponed it for now. Still, that was only a temporary measure. Since the palace itself was involved, they couldn’t delay the announcement for long. In other words, they had to decide quickly whether to send mages north with Ian or not.

“Ughhh! Where on earth am I supposed to send this little one?!”

Arena clung tightly to Ian, whining, but Ian twisted away and escaped. Then, straightening his collar, he sat back down on the sofa with a composed air.

“Minister, please don’t worry so much.”

“Don’t worry? Look in the mirror!”

“If anything happens, I’ll open the portal and come back on my own.”

“…?”

Arena froze, holding up a hand mirror to Ian’s face in surprise. The aide raised his eyebrows, wondering if he’d misheard. A brief silence followed.

“Ian, arrogance is poison.”

“I think I can do it. If you don’t believe me, I’ll open the portal alone tomorrow.”

“Hah.”

Look at this adorable, fearless little genius.

But Ian kept clenching his tiny fists, as if to prove he could do it, trying to persuade Arena.

“I can make the strongest protective barriers among the mages.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard that.”

“I can attack if I want to.”

“You can, but you shouldn’t. If you grow up like that, you’ll turn into a psycho—no, like Ako.”

Our Magic Department’s mission is to raise you right, properly, and kindly, little one.

Ian paused at the mention of “like Ako,” but didn’t back down.

“But like I said before, if not now, no one knows when we’ll get another chance to find a weakness in Crony.”

He stared intently.

“And maybe it’s a lie, but… I want to know the secret about my parents. There might be something I don’t know.”

There it was. The secret about his parents.

Arena rubbed her dry hands repeatedly and rolled her eyes. If only he weren’t so young, she’d have no reason to oppose him at all. It was maddening.

“Fine. Then first, let’s get support from mages going north, excluding Ian for now.”

They’d decide later whether Ian would join.

When Ian reluctantly nodded, Arena stepped out into the garden where the mages were gathered and snapped her fingers.

“Attention!”

The exhausted mages sprawled on the grass barely turned their heads.

“Who wants to volunteer to go north?”

What kind of nonsense was that? The mages turned away as if they’d heard a dog barking.

With no response, Arena raised her voice and added an incentive.

“Five times the pay! One week paid leave after returning!”

“The pay doesn’t really tempt me, but the paid leave sounds nice.”

“Do you really believe that? After coming back, it’s just a week’s worth of extra work waiting.”

“No one’s going?”

“Minister, why don’t you go?”

“Hey, that’s right! The Minister should go!”

The mages jumped up, eyes sparkling as if they’d found the perfect solution. Arena waved her hands to stop them.

“Nooo!”

Then, from behind came a desperate shout. Ako, her white robe billowing, charged forward with such fierce energy that even Arena flinched.

“I! I! I’ll go! I want to go north!”

“C-Calm down.”

“Uhahaha. It’s because of Idgal, right? I’m definitely going. Anyone thinking of taking my spot better be ready!”

…?

No one. Not a single person.

“Who’s taking your spot? I wouldn’t even give it if you asked.”

“Tsk, tsk. You blockheads. Don’t you get it? This is a golden opportunity!”

The mages just watched Ako’s wild outburst with blank eyes.

Meanwhile, Arena’s worry deepened. They needed a ‘reliable’ mage to watch over and protect Ian, but Ako was the only volunteer. Maybe it would be more natural for Ian to look after Ako.

“Hmm.”

Arena fell silent. She had considered other candidates before. There were many mages who could be assigned to Ian. But none met the criteria.

‘A strong mage, not affiliated with the Magic Department, and trustworthy.’

A wizard who could, if necessary, fight without hesitation—a powerful candidate for the next Minister of Imperial Defense, Kroni—someone who could step back politically and manage the situation calmly.

Highly capable, yet free from burdensome responsibilities…

‘Where can I find someone like that?’

Just then—

“Excuse me.”

“Huh?”

Arina turned around at the unfamiliar voice to see a man with brown hair peeking into the garden, scanning the area. Everyone looked puzzled, wondering who he was, until Ian recognized him and greeted warmly.

“Professor!”

“Ian.”

“What brings you here? You haven’t been coming to school.”

There was only one student attending the class, and that student had been absent. Ian knew that this wasn’t a case of skipping without reason, so he guessed something must have happened. But judging by his tone, it didn’t seem serious.

“Oh! Hale! So you’re Hale?”

“You know me?”

“Of course. You’re quite the talk of the town. I’m Arina.”

“Ah, the Minister, right?”

“You know me?”

“Yes. The rumors are hard to miss…”

They exchanged awkward smiles and shook hands, while the other wizards leaned sideways, eyeing Hale with curiosity. So this was the famous mercenary wizard? Ian’s professor? They all wanted a closer look.

“Ah.”

At that moment, Ian, who had been quietly observing Hale, suddenly grabbed the sleeve of his coat as if he’d just realized something.

“Ian?”

“Professor, have you ever thought about doing a field study?”

“A field study?”

Suddenly, Arina’s eyes lit up.

‘Reliable, familiar with the northern territories from mercenary work, skilled, and—most importantly—not affiliated with the Magic Department?!’

Perfect. She slapped her palm with a decisive snap, as if she’d found exactly the right person.

But then she shook her head vigorously.

“No, no! Ian, I haven’t decided whether you’ll join or not. So calm down—”

“Professor, there’s something going on in the north, and I think I could learn a lot if I go. Could you come with me? Please?”

Ian clung to Hale’s waist, pleading repeatedly. Hale glanced at Arina, clearly wondering what was going on.

Arina felt a surge of panic. If Ian insisted on going north not as part of the Magic Department but as part of Enerjes’ class, it would be a real headache. She had to stop this right now!

“Ian, wait a moment. Calm down first—”

“If we go on the northern field study, the Magic Department said they’ll pay us for the trip. Five times the usual wizard’s salary!”

Oh, dear. Arina smacked her forehead. She should have seen this coming. Sure enough, the high pay and interesting work caught Hale’s attention.

“Is that for real?”

Arina nodded reluctantly, as if she couldn’t help herself, then forced a polite smile and led Hale aside.

“Wait here a moment. Would you come into the minister’s office? There’s something I need to discuss with you.”