According to Neril, during my fight with Kaeld, Offense quietly warned her when she tried to sneak closer.

He said this:

“What, got business or something?”

“Seriously? Go away. I’m busy right now.”

“Your presence is way too loud. If you move around like that, Kaeld will notice.”

“I didn’t even make a sound with my steps. And they’re fighting like that over there?”

“He’ll definitely notice. I don’t know what you’re planning, but you’d better leave it to me.”

Well, Neril never learned how to hide her presence in the first place, and Xenia, being specialized in head-on combat, wasn’t exactly great at it either.

So the two quickly scribbled down my message on a note and handed it to Offense.

If everything went well, Lisel should come by around midnight.

“But do you think Lisel can sneak out? That Kaeld guy seemed really sharp.”

A valid concern—but unnecessary.

Lisel could vanish like she was some kind of top-class assassin, not a spirit mage.

Even before regression, both Kaeld and I had lost track of her more than once.

‘Was that because she used spirits too?’

Anyway.

“She’ll be fine. More importantly, giving the note to Offense was a smart move. Good job.”

“Thanks. But do you really think we would’ve been caught if Offense hadn’t helped?”

“If he said so, then he’s right. Though, I would’ve still won the fight completely.”

That would’ve been fun in its own way…

But in the bigger picture, talking to Lisel was more important than some one-time victory.

It was 11 o’clock when I checked the time.

I definitely told her to come at midnight, right?

“One hour left. Kind of an awkward stretch.”

“Yeah. It’s not really enough to sleep, so should we eat something?”

“Didn’t think you’d actually suggest food.”

Then Adwin hurriedly dug through his bag.

He pulled out a small pouch.

“How about a card game while we wait?”

It was a game that had become quite popular across the continent.

Xenia, Adwin, and I knew the rules.

“First time I’m seeing this.”

“Exactly the reaction I expected…”

“Xenia, you know, calling me ‘granny’ earlier really annoyed me.”

“Y-you noticed?”

So we explained the rules to Neril and played a few rounds.

For the record, we played twelve rounds in total, and Neril won every single one.

“What a boring game.”

I guess you just can’t beat experience.

Knock knock.

A polite knock at the door.

Xenia carefully opened it.

Lisel stood there.

The blonde beauty looked a little hesitant, her eyes darting around as she hesitated to enter.

“Come in, Lisel.”

“Ah, no. Um…”

She took a deep breath and looked us straight in the eye.

Then she deliberately placed both hands on her hips.

Desperately trying to project an ‘I’m mad!’ kind of look.

This was the scariest face that the usually shy and reserved Lisel could manage.

‘I might laugh if this gets any scarier.’

[How rude of you.]

Lisel said:

“Everyone! When I got back to my room, I found this note in my pocket. This is from you, right?”

“Yeah. Didn’t we write our names on it?”

“W-why would you send something like this? Accusing me of deceiving my party?”

“…”

“I’m really upset. That’s why I came to confront you.”

“…”

“Don’t try anything like this again. Eeek!”

Neril grabbed her by the collar and yanked her inside.

Good job, Neril.

The room wasn’t that big, so once five of us sat around, it felt packed.

Somehow, Lisel ended up surrounded by the four of us.

She trembled pitifully and said,

“If you keep this up, I’m really going to get mad. I mean it.”

Don’t laugh. Don’t laugh.

I forced a serious expression onto my face and said,

“Please have a seat. There’s something I need to tell you.”

“…”

She glanced at me and barely sat on the edge of a chair.

If someone pulled the chair out, she’d topple over for sure.

“What is it you want to tell me?”

“As we said in the letter, you’ve been hiding something from your party, haven’t you?”

“That’s not true!”

“Then why did you come?”

“I already told you. I came to protest!”

“…”

“I’m not hiding anything. But if you start spreading weird rumors to my party, it’ll put me in a tough spot. I came to warn you not to.”

She still wouldn’t open up. New ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄhapters are published on ⓝovelFire.net

No choice, then.

I recalled the secret I saw through the Eye of Omniscience.

The one about a barefoot little girl in tattered clothes stealing bread and running away.

But the secret itself wasn’t important.

What mattered was the time when the secret took place.

It was an unbelievable idea—but my gut told me it was right.

“You’re hiding your age, aren’t you? From your party.”

“W-what are you talking about? No, I’m not.”

“Then how old are you?”

“I’m twenty-two.”

I shook my head.

And asked in a firm tone on purpose.

“Twenty-two? That’s a lie, isn’t it?”

“What?”

“You’re older than that.”

“N-no way. I’m not.”

Neril asked in an amused voice:

“Kiddo. Age is just a number. No need to lie.”

“Right. Just look at Neril here…”

“You be quiet. So? How much did you lie? Five years?”

I shook my head.

“About 1,500 years.”

“…?”

“Remember that soul Adwin couldn’t find not long ago, even though he was exhausted from searching? We thought the Demon King of Destruction had destroyed it. But that wasn’t it. The person didn’t die.”

There’s only ever been one spirit mage in history.

I had thought Lisel was the second.

But I was wrong.

Everyone’s expression changed.

But none more than Lisel’s.

“…”

Her lips had gone almost completely pale.

I spoke clearly, one word at a time.

“A hero of the Empire’s first Hero Party. A spirit mage, also called the Emperor’s Companion.”

“…”

“Magna Neros. It’s an honor to meet you.”

Trail as dramatic as ever shouted:

[Magna Neros?! The spirit mage from the first Hero Party!]

‘Why are you surprised? You saw the it yourself through the Eye of Omniscience.’

[Everyone got so quiet. It felt like someone had to be shocked.]

The timeline shown in the vision pointed to 1,500 years ago.

That’s when the first spirit mage appeared.

It’d be strange not to connect the dots and realize Lisel was Magna.

Even if it defied all common sense.

‘Wait… don’t tell me Lisel is her real name? And Magna’s the alias?’

Regardless, Lisel’s eyes were trembling violently.

It felt like the earthquake that would later shake the Tetra territory had already started in her pupils.

I said,

“First of all, our meeting here must not be revealed to Kaeld. Though I suppose that goes without saying.”

“Y-you…”

“I’m really sorry this comes off like a threat, but if you tattle to Kaeld, I’ll tell your entire party that you’re Magna Neros. That’s what you’re hiding because you don’t want them to know, right?”

“…”

“Alright then. Let’s go through this step by step—”

It was at that moment.

Lisel had a truly unexpected reaction.

She opened and closed her mouth like a goldfish, then suddenly shot up from her seat.

And she shouted:

“I’m leaving! Everyone, have a good night!”

She’s wishing us a good night in the middle of this?

Before I could even react—

Whoosh.

“Huh?”

Adwin let out a dazed sound.

Lisel had vanished.

And that’s not a metaphor.

She literally disappeared right before our very eyes.

Neril jumped up from her seat.

“Magic? No, that can’t be it. If it were magic, I’d know.”

“…”

“There wasn’t even the slightest stir of mana. Mide, what on earth just happened?”

She looked at me with the kind of certainty that said you must know the answer.

Xenia looked the same. Cold sweat ran down her face as she spoke.

“Could it be black magic? Was Lisel actually an assassin?”

“No. It doesn’t feel anything like Offense’s shadow sorcery.”

“Then what is it? How could she disappear so completely right in front of all of us?”

Truthfully, I had no idea either.

‘Sure, even before the regression, we often lost track of Lisel’s presence…’

But I’d never seen her vanish into thin air like that.

For now, let’s set that aside.

“Anyway, the fact that she disappeared like lightning must mean I hit the mark.”

“Yeah. That’s what I wanted to ask too. You said Lisel is Magna Neros. What do you mean by that?”

“Exactly what it sounds like.”

Neril shook her head.

“Whew. Humans can’t live for 1,500 years. Do I really need to say this out loud?”

“Well, the average human lifespan is about 200 years.”

“It’s not even 200… You said that just to get at me, didn’t you?”

“Got me.”

“Hey! I just lived long because I take care of myself, that’s all!”

Now Xenia twitched an eyebrow.

“Was that aimed at me?”

“Got me.”

“Cut it out. This’ll never end at this rate.”

Xenia turned to me.

“Anyway, I get why you’d suspect something, Mr. Mide. You said Magna’s soul wasn’t in the Underworld, and there hasn’t been another spirit mage since Magna in 1,500 years.”

“…”

“So rather than thinking a new spirit mage just appeared out of nowhere, it makes more sense that Lisel is Magna. But jumping straight to that conclusion feels like a bit of a leap.”

Honestly, from a common-sense perspective, Xenia was completely right.

To explain this properly, I’d need to understand the full story myself.

That’s when Xenia carefully added,

“…That said, since it’s you saying it, Mide, I guess I can’t completely dismiss the idea.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence. Still, we should confirm it more definitively.”

“How?”

Instead of answering, I looked at Adwin.

“Me? What do you need?”

“Grade van Handman.”

“…”

“Could you summon his soul?”

The first Hero of this continent.

The one who slew the first Demon King, The Demon King of Destruction.

Also the founding emperor of this empire. A famous figure, to say the least.

Neril clapped lightly.

“Ohh, I see. If Lisel really is Magna, there’s no more definitive way to confirm it than by asking the first Hero.”

“Yeah.”

“Just the fact that he responds to the summons would confirm Lisel is Magna. If he brushes it off like it’s nonsense, then we’ll know she’s not.”

“Exactly. Plus, there are some things I want to ask him. Like how Lisel managed to live so long.”

“…Are you… close with the first Hero or something?”

That’s when Adwin spoke.

“Alright. I’ll begin.”

Adwin closed his eyes.

Soon, his sleeves fluttered and the spell began to glow a bright white.

We waited, half curious, half nervous.

Eventually, Adwin opened his eyes.

No—that wasn’t Adwin anymore.

“Yaaaawn.”

The man stretching like he’d had a long nap was none other than Grade van Handman, Hero and founding emperor.

The body he was possessing was clearly Adwin’s, yet we could hear bones popping as if he were too big for it.

“The air here really tastes different from the Underworld. That place is so damn boring.”

“…”

“Hey. You.”

“Me?”

“Yeah, you—the one pretending to be a Hero. You think you can just throw that title around?”

Grade jerked his chin at me.

I straightened up and said,

“I’m Mide Mohan. For the record, I’ve never pretended to be anything.”

“Heh. Be grateful I’ve manifested in my ‘Hero’ persona right now. If this were me in my emperor days, you’d be dead already for that answer.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because I said you were lying. And if you deny it, that makes me wrong, doesn’t it?”

He crossed his arms and continued with a bored tone.

“An emperor can’t afford to be wrong.”

“There are records in unofficial histories claiming the first emperor was arrogant and egotistical. The royal family keeps trying to deny that… but I guess that was actually spot-on.”

Even though they were both Heroes, his personality was completely different from the second Hero, Lepia.

Then again, Lepia was a commoner, while Grade became emperor through his own effort.

It’s almost like their roles were reversed in terms of manners.

Grade scratched his head and clicked his tongue.

“Smack. Too honest for your own good.”

“Anyway, you called for me earlier. Got something to say?”

“Yeah. I heard a bit from the necromancer here. You’re planning to mess with Lisel?”

“Not at all. I just want to ask for her cooperation.”

“Don’t even ask. It’s better if she doesn’t get involved in the affairs of the world anymore.”

I tilted my head at Grade’s cryptic words.

But I couldn’t just back off here.

“Sorry, but I can’t do that, given my position.”

“…”

“But I promise you one thing. Just as you once did, I’ll treat Lisel with the respect a comrade deserves. That’s something I’m actually good at.”

At that, Neril and the others all smiled slightly.

Grade glanced over our faces and smirked.

“Seems like you’ve earned yourself some loyal companions.”

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