Among the Ten Greats, more than half were either affiliated with the Empire or at least friendly toward it.
Inariel was one of the Ten Greats who belonged nowhere—an aimless wanderer.
“Well, you both arrived at the same time. What on earth is going on here…?” Inariel frowned deeply.
“You don’t look pleased to see me,” said Ernan, seated below him.
“It’s not that…” Inariel replied.
“So you’re saying you’ve finally grown a brain?”
Though it looked like a child scolding an adult, Inariel’s tone was so natural that Yuri felt no awkwardness.
Inariel stood with his arms crossed, looking down at Ernan.
“I came to see what you’ve been up to, and this is the thanks I get…”
“That’s not it,” Ernan said quickly.
“Don’t try to fool me. I can see right through you. No excuses.”
Yuri was deeply impressed by Inariel.
The combination of his youthful appearance and his old-man attitude made poor Ernan look utterly pitiful.
She sided with Inariel.
“Ernan, stop dodging and apologize to Lord Inariel.”
“Not the prince too…” Ernan sighed under their joint scolding.
“Let’s move somewhere more comfortable,” Ernan suggested.
Following his lead, Yuri, Jared, and Inariel entered a log cabin nestled in the heart of the forest.
The four sat facing each other around a wooden table.
Ernan poured tea and asked, “So, what brings you two here?”
Inariel and Yuri took turns explaining.
“I just suddenly thought of something and came,” Inariel said.
He explained that while wandering the forest and communing with the trees, a memory of Ernan’s childhood had unexpectedly come to him.
At Inariel’s level, even the unconscious mind never wandered without reason.
“So that’s why you came.”
Yuri asked, “Have you known Inariel since you were kids?”
“Yes. I was an orphan. Inariel found me on the streets, saw my magical potential, and took me in, sending me to the mage tower.”
“Like a parent to you, then.”
“Not quite…” Ernan shrugged.
In any case, there was no deeper reason.
Yuri’s reason for seeking Ernan was much the same.
“I had nothing better to do, so you just popped into my mind.”
Ernan glanced between the two.
“You both…”
Inariel nodded toward Ernan, and Yuri sat back, crossing her legs and tilting her head.
“Why?”
“What?”
Ernan shook his head.
“Nothing.”
He let out a long sigh.
Inariel pressed on.
“What were you doing to be sulking like a teenager?”
“Personal research.”
“Oh? What kind of personal research?”
“Privacy, actually…”
“Don’t bother hiding it. Seeing how you’re reacting, there’s definitely something there.”
Though he looked like a rude kid on the surface, Ernan was a mage who had reached the Ten Greats. His insight allowed him to draw conclusions from the smallest clues.
“Well, I’ll find out soon enough.”
Ernan sighed again.
All the painstaking work he’d done had been undone by these two. If only one of them had come, it might have been fine, but both arriving together left him no choice.
With a hint of resentment, Ernan suddenly asked Inariel, “Inariel, do you know anything about a parchment imbued with dark magic?”
Yuri looked on as Ernan gave a subtle nod. Bringing up such a thing meant he trusted Inariel.
As a grand mage among the Ten Greats, Inariel might know something.
“Parchment with dark magic…” Inariel frowned, shaking his salmon-colored hair as he pondered.
“Parchment would be something very old…”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Dark magic would be something quite unpleasant.”
“Exactly.”
“I don’t know much about the parchment.”
“Nothing comes to mind?”
Inariel said.
“Dark magic has been hidden for quite some time. I don’t know either.”
Ernan nodded.
Though Inariel was an ancient elf, he didn’t know everything.
“I see. Thank you.”
It was clear he couldn’t help.
Not only had they disrupted his work, but they also couldn’t provide any useful information.
Ernan gave Inariel a sharp look.
“Your gaze is disrespectful.”
Inariel sipped his tea.
“I saw your ‘Divine Insight’ outside earlier. Looks like you were about to use it…”
Ernan said nothing.
The “Divine Insight” Inariel referred to was Ernan’s unique dark magic technique, “Celestial Observation.”
Since meeting Yuri, Ernan hadn’t used it.
But after discovering the parchment on Okua’s corpse, he instinctively sensed a grave danger looming over the world.
If such an object circulated among people, terrible things would happen.
And if, as Yuri suspected, someone in the royal family was dabbling in dark magic, the entire continent could be engulfed in chaos.
So Ernan had tried to track down the mysterious parchment.
Because such an object would surely disrupt the natural order, he planned to use “Celestial Observation” upon returning to the imperial capital to learn more about it.
But it hadn’t gone well.
“Celestial Observation” allowed him to glimpse fate, but it didn’t grant omniscience or the ability to foresee the future or extract specific information at will.
Trying to see the fate of a particular object was a first for Ernan.
On top of that, some unknown evil energy kept interfering with his magic.
So after setting up the magic circle and completing all the necessary incantations, he was about to open “Celestial Observation” and examine the parchment.
That was today.
But everything had been for nothing.
“Someone messed it up.”
Yuri Briol—the one who could nullify all fate—had arrived.
If Yuri had come alone, the ritual might not have been disturbed.
After all, she couldn’t find his workshop on her own.
But the absurd coincidence was that at the exact time Yuri came looking for him, the grand mage Inariel also showed up.
Two rare individuals.
Inariel, who could find the workshop, and Yuri, who could render fate meaningless.
Both came to the imperial mage tower on the same day.
Because of that, the “Celestial Observation” Ernan had been preparing since arriving at the capital was snuffed out like a candle in the wind.
And yet…
They had just come to visit.
“Really, you just came by?”
“Yeah.”
“Uh-huh.”
They said they came simply because it suddenly occurred to them.
“The tea tastes awful. Bring something better next time.”
“I don’t like tea. Got anything else?”
Unaware of the chaos they’d caused, the two wandered around his cabin, complaining casually.
Jared scratched his head and shrugged at Ernan.
“Sigh…”
According to Yuri’s recent testimony, the Crown Prince was likely involved in drug trafficking.
If he had fallen into dark magic, how could they stop him?
Facing such a critical situation, these two had interfered with his magic at the decisive moment.
Ernan realized there was nothing left for him to do.
“Lord Ernan.”
“Yes, Lord Jared.”
“You seemed to be working on something important…”
“That’s right.”
“We’re sorry for disturbing you.”
“No, it was probably fate that it had to be this way…”
As Ernan spoke, he suddenly looked at Yuri and Inariel.
They were bustling about inside the cabin, grumbling.
The sight was strangely surreal.
He never imagined these two would be together in his workshop—it felt like a cruel twist of fate.
Jared said, “Yes. Maybe, as Lord Ernan said, fate has arranged a better day for you. Ha ha ha…”
An awkward attempt at consolation.
But Ernan sensed something in his words.
“I see. Yes.”
His heart was restless as he tried to twist “Celestial Observation” to his will.
But the world never lets a greedy mage get away with it. What fate had been reserved for him, trying such a thing?
Where had the future that Yuri threw into chaos originally been headed?
No one knew.
“That’s right, Lord Jared.”
Ernan laughed bitterly.
“I was destined to stumble and die alone, but thanks to you all, I might just survive. Thank you. Ha ha ha, it’s all thanks to you. You should be proud. Ha ha ha…”
His sudden laughter drew the attention of the three.
Inariel said, “Are you trying to guilt-trip us right now?”
Yuri replied, “Seems like it.”
Jared offered a new opinion.
“Sounds more like self-delusion…”
While Ernan laughed and ruffled his hair, Yuri greeted Inariel with the respect always shown to the Ten Greats.
“Anyway, I’m Yuri Briol, third prince of the Briol family. It’s an honor to meet the renowned grand mage.”
“You’re polite for someone so young. The Briols still have some manners left.”
“Thank you.”
“I’m Inariel. By some twist of fate, I’m a poor elf still wandering outside, unable to embrace the World Tree.”
Inariel extended his hand.
“This is the human way of greeting, right?”
Yuri shook his hand.
His hand was small, but the magical power she felt from it was anything but.
It was a strange sensation, like dipping your hand into the vast ocean.
Yuri couldn’t even begin to guess how much power was contained in this small elf’s body.
“I heard you took down those disgusting orcs. I thought you’d be like my father, but maybe not quite.”
“Do you know my father?”
“I saw him when I was young. Humans are mostly pathetic, but maybe it’s because they sometimes create such monstrous beings that they’ve thrived.”
Yuri looked down at Inariel, lost in thought for a moment. Opportunities to meet one of the Ten Strong in such a free space were rare.
Yuri didn’t believe in fate.
In the end, it was human will that divided chance from inevitability.
He wanted to turn this unexpected encounter into something meaningful.
“Inariel,” he said.
“Hm?”
“I’m sorry to say this on our first meeting, but…”
“Speak.”
“Would you give me a small lesson?”
“A lesson, huh…”
Inariel narrowed his eyes.
“Sounds like something’s blocking you.”
“That’s right.”
“You’re bold, but you’re kind of cute, so I’ll indulge you. So, what do you want to know?”
“I’ll show you outside.”
After exchanging a few words with Inariel, Yuri stepped out of the log cabin.
Watching this, Hernando’s mouth fell open.
Inariel had a prickly personality and didn’t like humans much.
He’d been dismissed as a child because of his appearance and had even been targeted for human trafficking.
For him to show such kindness to a stranger was almost unheard of.
In Hernando’s case, it was more like he’d been abandoned at the magic tower than taken in.
“My goodness…”
Jared, sitting nearby, looked equally surprised.
“Sir Hernando, did you hear the prince just call him cute?”
“I did…”
“Of all the kids I know, the prince is the least cute…”
“Same here. Inariel is the last person around me who’d say something like that…”
“Maybe weird people just get each other.”
“That’s possible. And usually, when that happens, those around them end up suffering.”
“That’s worrying.”
“Don’t tell me…”
“Don’t tell me…”
They exchanged uneasy glances.
And that ‘don’t tell me’ became reality.
No sooner had the words left their lips than an explosion tore through half the log cabin.
Sven stood on the tournament stage.
His head was spinning. He couldn’t even focus on his opponent. Cheers and jeers rained down from all sides, fading into a ringing in his ears.
“Alright,” he muttered to himself.
Just making it this far might have been a miracle.
An undeserved achievement.
Still, he wanted to twist that annoying face.
“I thought the third prince was the most obnoxious in the world…”
“What did you say?”
His opponent, Oliver Elgast, sneered.
“Nice try, but you’re going to be my sacrifice. Ha ha ha…”
Sven had fought his way to the quarterfinals with surprising skill. But facing Oliver, he felt the stark difference in their abilities.
He stood no chance.
It was time to fall.
But he didn’t want to.
After seeing someone swing their sword against the unknown enemy Okua until they were battered and bruised, for the first time, he thought someone was truly cool.
“Now, just relax.”
Sven saw Oliver charge at him.
He didn’t want to run. He wanted to stand his ground and fight to the end. So he braced himself and rushed forward to strike.
But suddenly, his vision plunged downward.
He tripped on a broken part of the stage and fell.
To have an accident at such a crucial moment.
Sven was disheartened. This was the end of his tournament.
As he resigned himself, something caught on his sword, which had been swinging wildly.
“Huh?”
As he fell face-first to the ground, he felt something brush against his hand.