“Laurent.”
Laurent, who had been continuing his packing from the night before, lifted his head at the sound of someone calling his name.
“Oh, Huey.”
Huey, a knight assigned to the rear guard, approached carrying two bowls of food. It seemed morning had already arrived without him noticing. Ever since receiving the duke’s orders yesterday to serve as Yuan Winter’s escort, he had been so caught up in preparing for departure that his head had been spinning.
Naturally, the role of Yuan Winter’s escort had fallen to Laurent. His rank was the lowest of all — and on top of that, his superiors wanted nothing to do with anything involving Yuan.
“This is for Yuan and you.”
Huey held out the bowls he’d brought.
“Thank you.”
Inside the wooden bowls was a generous serving of stew and two pieces of bread. The same menu as yesterday. It was a modest spread to offer someone of Yuan’s station as the duchess — but considering they were deployed in harsh terrain, even this counted as a fairly decent meal.
There had been days when they hadn’t had the leeway to properly prepare food at all and had gotten through every meal on rations.
Laurent wiped his hands roughly and took the bowls. He set his own portion down nearby and prepared to carry Yuan’s over respectfully.
Before heading to Yuan, Laurent glanced back at Huey, who had an expression that couldn’t quite conceal his displeasure. Huey was in the same position as Laurent among the rear guard knights — the lowest of the low. Because of that, he had been shunted into service as the escort’s coachman.
“It’s a lot of work for you too, Huey.”
“That’s just how it is for the bottom rung. Escorting Yuan to the capital isn’t going to be easy. Our superiors said they were afraid they’d end up starting a mutiny from listening to Yuan’s sharp tongue, and they didn’t want any part of it.”
“Sharp tongue?”
Laurent’s eyes went wide at the unexpected phrase. Sharp tongue. Huey then asked in a cautious tone:
“Was there any trouble when you were treating Yuan?”
Laurent finally understood what Huey meant. Sharp words, mockery, and outright slander. These were the things Laurent had heard about Yuan so many times it had practically worn grooves into his ears — long before he ever came face to face with him.
Laurent looked down at the food and thought. About everything that had happened from the moment Yuan woke up yesterday until now.
Yesterday was his first time seeing Yuan up close. How could a lowly recovery mage like him dare to look the duchess in the eye, let alone exchange words? And so, just as Huey was worried, Laurent had also dreaded the prospect of dealing with Yuan.
Even Laurent, who had taken on every menial task imaginable at the bottom of the ranks, didn’t think he could hold up under genuinely malicious slander. So he had tried to put into practice what his superiors had said — keep contact to a minimum.
And yet, strangely enough, Laurent had not encountered any of that up until now. It wasn’t merely a difference in perspective. The domain troops were mostly commoners like Laurent, but some of his superiors were minor nobles. From them, no matter how they tried to conceal it, there was always something — a certain refinement — that showed through in their bearing.
The strict adherence to rules, the occasional flash of arrogance, the underlying dignity. The kind of aristocratic qualities that should have been just as evident in Yuan — and yet, strangely, not a trace of them was visible.
Even now, Yuan had been speaking to Laurent with polite language. After Laurent had been scolded by his superior, Yuan had not initiated conversation with Laurent. He only replied briefly when Laurent came to check his condition, brought his meals, or asked if there was anything he needed.
And that was precisely why Laurent found himself worrying about Yuan. Yuan Winter was a clever man — he might well be toying with Laurent. Even if that were the case, looking at Yuan, who appeared so worn down, Laurent couldn’t help but want to fulfill his duties as a recovery mage.
When the silence stretched on too long, a look of suspicion crossed Huey’s face. Before he could get the wrong idea, Laurent pulled up the corners of his mouth and said:
“Nothing out of the ordinary. He’s been mostly quiet — probably because of his injuries.”
“Is that right?”
Huey replied with a dubious look, but Laurent simply started walking before the food could get any colder.
“I’ll go deliver his meal and come back. You’re getting the carriage ready, right? Let me know as soon as it’s set.”
“Sure.”
Laurent gave a quick wave and hurried toward the tent where Yuan was staying.
Edwin watched from one side of the encampment as Yuan loaded himself into a supply wagon. The wagon showed clear signs of rough handling — it had made the journey through harsh terrain far too many times.
I was certain he’d have complaints to pour out.
Even after laying eyes on the battered old wagon, Yuan’s face remained impassive. Instead, he followed Laurent’s lead, climbed aboard, and settled into his spot.
Edwin watched this with a grave expression. Was it an act? Or was it simply resignation — the product of the deep exhaustion written plainly across his face? Whatever the reason, the Yuan before him now was, to Edwin, something entirely unfamiliar — practically a stranger.
He may truly have survived inside the Rift for two years.
Or perhaps it wasn’t two years — but he had emerged from something that had been enough to change him. Edwin was not someone who trusted people easily based on words alone. When it came to Yuan, he was all the more careful to sift through the true meaning behind every word and action.
And yet even he, in spite of himself, couldn’t help but feel doubt mixed with a lingering gaze at the sight of this unfamiliar Yuan. It was the moment after Yuan had climbed into the wagon and leaned against the cargo nearby with his eyes closed.
“Edwin.”
Hakin called to him. Edwin glanced at Hakin briefly before shifting his gaze back to Yuan and asking curtly:
“What.”
“Are you busy?”
“As you can see. Busy keeping watch to figure out what Yuan is hiding.”
“My, what a taxing vigil that must be.”
“Stop teasing and get to the point.”
Edwin pressed him to get to the matter at hand before Hakin could keep going. The way Hakin gave a small, light cough made it clear he’d had at least another line or two ready.
“It’s about the residual Rift.”
Edwin had half expected that was why he’d come. There had still been no report that all the byproducts had been extracted from the residual Rift. And whatever Hakin’s business was, it wasn’t likely to be a report that the extraction was finished.
The reason Edwin had stayed at the post wasn’t only because the residual Rift was considered a potential hazard — it was also to personally verify the quantity and purity of the byproducts being extracted from it.
In practice, there hadn’t been a single case in the past hundred years of a residual Rift causing any incident. The old saying that a Rift begets a Rift did not apply to residual Rifts.
Byproducts mean money. That’s why they’ve long encouraged extraction under the guise of safety.
Just then, Hakin opened his mouth.
“I’ve just come back from checking on the residual Rift. I also had a word with the supply platoon captain. Apparently they’ve been running the extraction in two shifts through the night.”
“Not efficient enough, I take it. So how much longer do they estimate it’ll take?”
“That’s the thing…… they said they can’t give a firm answer.”
Edwin glanced at Hakin. An unusually complex expression crossed his face. The supply platoon managed provisions and also handled extraction work at residual Rifts. With an ability called Scanning, they could gauge something like the lifespan of a residual Rift.
Of course, Scanning couldn’t confirm the lifespan of every residual Rift. Rifts of Rank 2 or higher were said to be difficult to read that way. It was only natural that the extraction time would stretch out as a result.
“……What’s the current extraction progress?”
The extraction work had begun around the morning of the previous day. If they had been running it in two shifts through the night until now, a considerable amount of byproduct should have been extracted. Of course, that was assuming Yuan’s account was true. The quantity of byproducts was proportional to the number of creatures killed inside the Rift.
That was why Edwin asked — to verify.
Hakin deliberated briefly before answering.
“When I checked a short while ago, thirty-four magic stones had been extracted.”
Thirty-four. Edwin furrowed his brow. If Yuan’s account was accurate, there were still thirty-nine magic stones left to be recovered. Accounting for the fact that extraction didn’t always succeed, at least twenty to thirty more would need to be extracted.
“Have you confirmed the purity?”
“Yes.”
Hakin handed Edwin the documents he had received from the supply platoon captain a short while ago. Edwin checked the brief entries recording each magic stone’s acquisition time and purity.
“Starting at Rank 5 and climbing.”
Most Rifts had a fixed danger rating, and accordingly, the strength of the creatures within was consistent. But the purity readings logged in the documents showed a shift in grade as the extraction continued. While the first magic stone extracted had been Rank 5, the purity of the thirty-fourth — the most recently extracted — was already Rank 3. The ceiling of what Yuan, with his 4th Authority, could have handled was Rank 3 at the most generous estimate.
If it climbs any higher than this……
If magic stones above Rank 3 emerged, the transcript Edwin had drawn up might become worthless paper before the trial even began. It would mean that Yuan’s account was true — but that he was concealing something significant.
That was the nature of Authority.
A power bestowed by heaven itself.
And so, once granted, that power never changed — not unless the rules of this world itself were altered. If something had changed in Yuan, it would be the first of its kind in this world — a historical event. And such an event carried more than enough weight to overturn everything.
“It may be too early to say for certain, but it seems what Yuan told us isn’t the full picture.”
“……”
“Is it all right to send him off as things stand?”
The likelihood that Yuan was hiding something — given his track record, it was close to certain. As Hakin had implied, it would probably be right to hold Yuan back and have him file an additional statement. But Edwin didn’t believe that would yield anything meaningful.
