“Where have you been—” Gerhard, who had rushed out to meet his returning son, unconsciously swallowed the remaining words he was about to say.

He belatedly remembered that the family had held a discussion and decided that they would just accept Eugene’s excuse for leaving without asking for any details once Eugene returned.

Eventually, Gerhard just said, “...That’s a good expression on you.”

“Huh?” Eugene cocked an eyebrow.

“Eugene,” Gerhard said seriously. “As your father, I am weaker than you and am a man of little importance. The only special thing I have done with my life is have you as my son.”

Eugene asked in confusion, “What are you trying to say?”

“When I first heard that you had run away… I was extremely worried, but as your father, I trust you, my son. To think you were going in order to find yourself… haha. You might have already had your Coming-of-Age Ceremony, but it seems you’ve finally become a true adult,” Gerhard said proudly.

Although he hadn’t planned on saying these words, once he was finally done speaking, Gerhard’s heart felt like it was aching with pride. Tears welled up in his eyes as he looked into his son's face, who was now a full-grown man.

Glomp!

Eugene had an embarrassed expression, but he didn’t attempt to avoid his father’s sudden embrace.

Clap, clap, clap.

Laman and Nina, who had been standing behind Gerhard, started clapping as they were carried away by the atmosphere.

During this brief return to the mansion, Eugene was most concerned about running into Carmen Lionheart, but fortunately, it seemed that Carmen was currently away.

Although no one knew for sure if she had been stimulated by the letter that Eugene left behind, Carmen had left the mansion with her apprentice, Ciel, and her squire, Dezra, to accompany her knights on a trip.

‘That’s fortunate,’

Eugene thought with some relief.

He might have left the letter behind, trusting that Carmen would believe his excuse, but Eugene had no desire to have a long conversation with Carmen about his journey and the new self that he had supposedly found….

“In my opinion, Sir Eugene, you are extremely similar to Sir Carmen. You are reluctant to associate with Sir Carmen because you feel a strong sense of kinship with her. However, you strongly resist admitting this fact, so instead, you display such a classic case of self-hatred,” Mer contributed with her totally unrequired psycho-analysis.

“Are you fucking crazy?” Eugene cursed.

“It is said that two negatives make a positive,” Mer responded sagely. “The fact that you are actually flinging curses at me and getting angry just means that my words have hit the point, Sir Eugene.”

Eugene growled, “What do you know?”

“Sir Eugene, I know that you actually give a lot of effort to try and think up cool names for your techniques. I also know that whenever you create a new technique, you have to think long and hard about whether or not to name it. Although you actually really like the technique names that you’ve put a lot of thought into, I know that you don’t dare to say them out loud because you fear being mocked by everyone else.”

As Mer continued to speak, Eugene’s eyebrows began to tremble in rage.

“However, sometimes, you unconsciously say your technique names out loud, Sir Eugene. Whenever that happens, you act surprised, but you still take the time to examine the reactions to the name from your surroundings. You might dislike Sir Carmen because you think she doesn’t act her age, but you still feel good whenever you hear Sir Carmen praise your techniques for being cool.”

Eugene weakly stuttered, “Sh-shut up.”

“I have a very good understanding of you, Sir Eugene. That means only I understand the dilemmas you are going through,” Mer said with a shrug of her shoulders and a triumphant smile.

Although this sight made Eugene’s fists tremble in anger, he still held himself back from conking Mer on the head.

“Your fists are trembling, Sir Eugene. Since you can’t properly refute my words, are you considering suppressing me with an unreasonable act of violence?” Mer accused with a pout.

Why was he even trying to hold himself back? Eugene quickly changed his mind and bonked Mer on the head.

“Ow ow! See what I mean! This violence is just proof that my words are accurate!” Mer yelped.

Without saying anything more, Eugene just started walking away.

Ivatar, who had been informed of Eugene’s return, was already waiting for him in the parlor, but Eugene didn’t head to the parlor right away.

Since he had returned a month after an abrupt disappearance, Eugene felt it was only right for him to first greet Patriarch Gilead.

“That’s a good expression on you.” Could they have arranged to say the same thing in advance? Gilead said the exact same thing as Gerhard and patted Eugene on the shoulder, “Did you return all by yourself?”

“Yes,” Eugene replied.

“What about Bishop Kristina?”

“She had something to attend to, so we parted company for a brief time.”

Ancilla stared at Eugene with a half-suspicious and half-wary look in her eyes. Since Eugene had brought someone back home with him every time he left the estate and returned, it seemed that Ancilla thought that it was strange he had come back alone this time.

“Have you heard the reason why Ivatar Jahav has come looking for me?” Eugene asked.

“We’ve asked him, but he hasn’t given us the answer,” Gilead replied. “He said that it’s something that he needs to discuss with you, not the Lionheart clan.”

Gilead’s expression was suspicious, but Eugene wasn’t surprised by Ivatar’s words. In the first place, when he was leaving the Samar Rainforest, Ivatar had shown a great interest in Eugene personally, not the Lionheart clan.

‘There’s no way that he would have come this far just to have a chat… could it be that he needs to ask a favor of me personally?’

Eugene thought to himself.

He had received some help from Ivatar when he had left Samar.

It might have been a different story if it were just Eugene and Kristina on their own. But when they were trying to safely escape from the depths of the rainforest with more than a hundred elves in tow, if Ivatar and the Zoran tribe hadn’t volunteered to serve as their escorts, it would have been a pain in the ass in many ways.

Eugene arrived at the parlor room of the main house.

When Eugene opened the door and stepped in, Ivatar Jahav, heir to the Zoran tribe, stood up to greet him, “Eugene Lionheart.”

As Ivatar stood, Eugene’s head and gaze kept climbing upwards to follow him.

“...Huh…,” Eugene breathed out in surprise.

Eugene wasn’t a short man either, but Ivatar’s physique was beyond all normal standards. He was even taller than the bulked-up Beast King, Aman Ruhr.

‘He seems similar to Molon…. Since he’s a king, that bastard Molon must have had several concubines as well,’

Eugene viciously concluded.

Molon’s bloodline might have somehow spread to Samar and served as the root of the Zoran tribe. Eugene seriously considered the possibility of this happening as he eyed the giant Ivatar.

Even so, there was a crucial difference between Ivatar and Molon.

It seemed that Ivatar still cared about things like common sense and manners. He was dressed in the neat formal clothes worn by nobles from the cities, not the dress of his tribespeople, but his body was so hulkingly muscular that Eugene felt a strong sense of incongruity when seeing him in these formal clothes.

𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

“It’s been two years. I’ve heard the news about you even in the Rainforest,” Ivatar politely began.

“Have the rumors really spread so far?” Eugene asked.

“The Zoran is not a closed tribe,” Ivatar explained. “Instead, we actively accept and exchange contact with the outside world.”

Ivatar’s face had the color of burnt copper, but white teeth glistened from between his curved lips as he smiled.

“I sent a letter in advance, but even though I waited for a while, a reply didn’t come. I know this isn’t too polite, but I have my own circumstances, so I couldn’t afford to wait any longer for a reply. My apologies,” the heir to a great tribe easily bowed his head and apologized.

Seeing this display of common sense and manners, Eugene was forced to reconsider his earlier conclusions about Ivatar’s lineage.

‘It seems like he really isn’t from Molon’s bloodline.’

Eugene shook his head slowly as he took a seat on the sofa, “Since I was away from the mansion, it couldn’t be helped. There’s no need to apologize.”

“Thank you for saying that,” Ivatar said with another broad smile as he sat across from Eugene.

Eugene got to the point, “So, why on earth are you looking for me? Well… I did say that I would welcome you as a guest if you ever came to visit. But there should be another reason for you to come looking for me after two whole years, right? There’s no way that you would come here just because you wanted to be treated as a guest.”

“If it were possible, I really wish that could be the reason why I had come here. On my part, I wanted to slowly build up a friendship between us so that we could develop a long-term amicable relationship.” Ivatar wiped away his smile and stared at Eugene seriously as he continued, “Allow me to say this in advance. Strictly speaking, what I’m going to tell you from now on, doesn’t have anything to do with my request.”

Eugene nodded, “As I thought, you really have come looking for me since you have a request to make of me.”

“That’s true, but I have no intention of forcefully making you accept my request,” Ivatar assured him. “There’s no problem if you reject my request after you’ve finished listening to the whole story. Two years ago, I did give you some little help, but the weight of that incident and what I have to talk to you about now are very different.”

Seeing how Ivatar would go so far as to say all that, it didn’t seem like this was some trivial matter.

Without saying anything, Eugene just casually raised one hand and gestured at Ivatar to continue his story.

Ivatar acquiesced to the request, “Among the many tribes of the Rainforest, there is one tribe known for having the greatest numbers and being the most ferocious of all tribes. That tribe is the Kochilla Tribe.”

Eugene was also familiar with that name. Just like Ivatar had said, the Kochillas were the largest tribe in all of the Rainforest. At the same time, theirs was a tribe that received various forms of support from Helmuth.

The Kochillas were settled in the deepest depths of the Rainforest, and they held complete dominion over the surrounding tribes. They were also an extremely insular tribe. They didn’t interact with any tribes other than those that they controlled.

“Recently, the Kochilla Tribe’s movements have been strange. They invaded and conquered five other tribes in just a few months. The Kochillas have conquered other tribes several times before now, but this time they’re strangely determined. But that’s not all.” Ivatar’s voice lowered as he continued, “The souls of the slain warriors are being stolen. None of their souls have returned to the earth.”

Eugene gave a startled cry, “What?”

“My father, the chief of the Zoran Tribe, decided that he could not stay idle while the Kochilla Tribe was behaving so strangely. And the Zoran Tribe wasn’t the only tribe to think that way. Several tribes have rallied alongside the Zoran Tribe, and we have already confronted Kochilla Tribe’s forces,” Ivatar reported.

Samar and its people had their own culture and beliefs. Starting from the distant past, their religion had been influenced by the elves and the World Tree. The tribespeople believed that spirits or souls dwelled within everything and that when a person died, their spirit returned to the land and then went through a cycle of reincarnation.

Originating from such a culture and faith came Samar’s unique style of magic — shamanism.

Eugene had also gotten a chance to take a look at it two years ago. The warriors of Samar were able to receive the help of the spirits even though they weren’t spirit summoners, and some could even use the souls of monsters or deceased warriors to strengthen themselves.

Ivatar continued his tale, “In our first clash with the Kochillas, we neither won nor lost. No one was able to advance, so we stood at a stalemate.”

It was then that they had noticed the abnormality. Traditionally, a warrior’s burial would be performed by the tribal shaman after a battle.

“But all the corpses were the same,” Ivatar said gravely. “Whether they were strong or weak, none of the warriors had their souls connected to their corpses.”

“Couldn’t they have just entered the cycle of reincarnation?” Eugene cautiously proposed after a moment.

Ivatar shook his head, “Even after the Zoran Tribe’s shaman turned to necromancy, he wasn’t able to summon back any of their souls. Instead, the soul of the shaman who was doing the summoning was almost stolen away.”

Eugene was also a wizard. At first, he hadn’t been listening too closely, but as Ivatar continued his story, Eugene’s expression grew increasingly serious.

“This was brought to us by a spy who managed to infiltrate the Kochilla Tribe’s territory,” Ivatar said as he pulled out a torn piece of paper from a pocket.

Instead of a picture engraved through a spell, someone had personally drawn what they had seen onto this piece of paper.

Upon being handed the paper, Eugene’s expression twisted into a scowl.

Someone had drawn what looked like a tower made out of human bones.

Ivatar revealed a disturbing fact, “Even amongst the tribes of Samar, the Kochillas are unique in being cannibals. They prefer to prey on the slaves raised within the tribe, and they also receive sacrifices from the subordinate tribes under their control. Then, whenever they hold a tribal event, many innocent people are sacrificed to the god of their tribe.”

“Their god?” Eugene repeated.

“The God of the Land. Most of the tribes in Samar regard the God of the Land as their patron deity. However, the form that their faith takes is often different. For example, the Zorans don’t do human sacrifice, while the Kochillas do.” Perhaps disturbed by something, Ivatar’s expression twisted as he continued, “However, I can’t help but think that constructing a tower of human bones is going too far. In the past as well, we’ve always kept an eye on the Kochilla Tribe’s territory, but it’s only recently that they’ve managed to build a human bone tower of such size. And it’s not the only one. The spy said that new human bone towers are continuously being built within the Kochilla Tribe’s domain, requiring a constant offering of prisoners as sacrifices.”

“Hmm,” Eugene nodded slightly and got up from his seat. Then he threw the window in the wall next to them wide open, calling out, “Lady Melkith?”

In the garden below stood Melkith El-Hayah, who immediately protested, “I wasn’t eavesdropping. This big sis isn’t such a rude person.”

Eugene glared down at Melkith with narrowed eyes, only for Melkith to raise her arms wide open with a truly aggrieved expression.

“I’m telling the truth, you know?” Melkith insisted. “Honestly, I was curious, so I did want to eavesdrop, but no matter what, actually doing so would be far too rude. As such, I refused to eavesdrop. So all I’ve done is just stand here.”

It wasn’t surprising to find Melkith, the White Tower Master, at the Lionheart Estate. Through a constant flow of presents and other such exchanges with Ancilla, she had risen from the status of a

guest

to Ancilla’s

friend

.

But was that really all there was to it? Melkith had also taken advantage of Ancilla’s weak point, the pity that Ancilla felt in her heart for the forest elves.

After recommending that she personally teach the elves how to use spirit magic, thus increasing both the elve’s ability to stand on their own and the Lionhearts’ combat strength, in the end, Melkith had even gotten permission to freely make use of the warp-gate within the forest.

Inside Eugene’s cloak, Wynnyd vibrated.

[She truly is a vicious woman. To deceive the lady of the house and even take advantage of the elves’ circumstances for her own ambitions and greed,] Tempest raised his voice out of dislike for Melkith. [One day, that vicious and disgraceful spirit summoner will pay the price for her sins.]

‘Why do you dislike

Melkith

so much?’

Eugene silently asked.

[Hamel, why are you asking such an obvious question? Even though that woman has already made a contract with a Spirit King, she still insists on believing in unfounded superstition. It’s quite ironic. To think that a believer in such folktales[1] is the best spirit summoner of this era…. Right now, her shamefulness may not be widely known to the world, but someday, everyone in this world might find out about Melkith El-Hayah’s ugly side,] Tempest said, clicking his tongue.

Her ugly side…. Eugene scanned Melkith’s attire with narrowed eyes.

Melkith was wearing leather boots that came up to her knees and a bright red jacket. However, for some reason, perhaps because he had just come back from seeing Noir Giabella, Eugene still felt that a strong eccentricity like Melkith’s was still within the acceptable range.

“So why were you standing there?” Eugene eventually asked.

“What do you mean by why?” Melkith scoffed. “I just wanted to hear the story about you leaving to find yourself, and I was also curious about the story behind this tribesman who came all the way from far-off Samar to meet you… hee hee, doesn’t this just give you the feeling that something exciting is going to happen? Just letting you know, this big sis has been very free lately, so I’ve been getting the urge to get out of the daily rut—”

Eugene sighed and interrupted, “What are you trying to say…?”

“In any case, that’s why I’m standing here. I definitely wasn’t going to eavesdrop, but by standing here, won’t you come over to talk to me anyway?” Melkith laughed as she winked in an exaggerated manner. “Then it worked out exactly as I thought it would!”

“Enough. Just get up here,” Eugene gave in reluctantly.

“Do you need help from your big sis?” Melkith said teasingly. “Now, now… you can’t have forgotten, can you? This big sis is the Tower Master of Aroth’s White Tower. You usually can’t even buy a single word from me, no matter how much money you’re willing to pay.”

“Then just stay there,” Eugene huffed.

Melkith instantly backtracked, “However, Eugene, you and I don’t just have an ordinary relationship, now do we? If you need my help, I can go anywhere you need me to. So, of course, I can climb up a few floors.”

In a single leap, Melkith hopped over the window sill. Clicking his tongue in exasperation, Eugene closed the window.

“Oh my… I did take a glance at him in passing yesterday, but he really is huge. I’d believe it if you said he was a cross between a human and an ogre,” Melkith commented.

Eugene complained, “You’re being quite rude.”

“It’s just because you’re from a different cultural background. In Aroth, this sort of thing is said very casually… such a joke can even be said between people who aren’t all that close to each other. Could it be that you really haven’t heard jokes like this in Kiehl or Samar?” Melkith asked as she sat across from Ivatar with a smirk.

Far from being angry, Ivatar chuckled and introduced himself, “From the Zoran Tribe, my name is Ivatar Jahav.”

Could it be that he hadn’t learned how to use honorifics when learning the common language? Or perhaps he was trying to play to Melkith’s sympathies by appearing unrefined…?

Sitting down a little further away from Melkith, Eugene explained the conversation that he had been having with Ivatar so far.

“Just as expected,” Melkith nodded with a bright smile after hearing the whole story. “Do you know? For Spirit Summoners, the Samar Rainforest is treated as a holy site. As you may already know, the land there is full of spirits. Do you know what’s one of the most common subjects discussed amongst Aroth’s schools of magic?

What is the origin of magic?

Although it’s accepted that the ancient magic that was used in the mythical age when the gods still existed was modernized to become the magic of today, among all those various different types of ancient magic, the origins of spirit summoning are said to be rooted in the animism that was practiced by Samar’s primitive religions—”

Eugene cut her short, “Can’t you just get to the point?”

Melkith acquiesced, “This means the shamanism used by Samar is a kind of primitive spirit summoning. Though whether or not human souls can be regarded as just another kind of spirit isn’t a debate that I’d really like to get into. To consider humans as a type of spirit — isn’t that just an insult to all spirits? Spirits aren’t filthy like humans can be.”

“So what does that mean?” Eugene pressed.

“Well, regardless of my opinion on that matter, Samar’s shamanism… particularly its necromantic side, is a type of magic with its own strong foundation of beliefs. Ah, I still think that shamanism is, in the end, just another type of magic, not black magic. After all, when it comes down to it, necromancy is simply tying another person’s soul to someone else's body for some time, right? While necromancy might be one of the more advanced arts within shamanism’s array of abilities, what I was talking about just now has many differences when it comes to how the necromancy of black magic deals with souls.”

The corners of Melkith’s mouth rose slightly, “I’m aware that there are many types of spells within Samar’s shamanism that make use of souls and spirits as catalysts or sacrifices. However, when it comes to specializing in the control of

souls

, shamanism isn’t the best type of magic for it. Eugene, you know what that means, right?”

“I’ve got a good guess, but I can’t be certain. After all, I still don’t know much about shamanism,” Eugene admitted.

Melkith chuckled, “Fufu, if that’s the case, then allow this big sis to be confident for you. Human-bone towers? Mass human sacrifices? While I would like to dismiss those as just being part of their barbaric culture, if the souls of those who died during the battle are being stolen, then what other kind of magic could be responsible for it other than black magic?”

Ivatar made no response. He quietly folded his arms as he listened to Melkith speak, while Eugene also kept his mouth shut, even as his expression twisted into a scowl.

“Although I’m not sure what they’re planning to do with so many souls… I can be sure of one thing,” Melkith stated confidently. “Any black magic that requires so many souls to be used as a sacrifice must be some terrible act of heresy. This might not have been the case during the war three hundred years ago, but that kind of black magic is not tolerated among the black magic of

today

. In the first place, following that era of war, it has been strictly forbidden for any human practitioners to use the human

soul

when practicing black magic.”

Eugene frowned, “So you’re saying that Helmuth is behind all of this?”

“I heard that the Demon King of Incarceration came to the Knight March in person? I’ve already heard the story myself, but don’t you think that what the Demon King of Incarceration said… was terribly ambiguous? The Demon King of Incarceration specifically said that

he

wouldn’t be the one to end this peace first.” Melkith giggled and crossed her legs. “I don’t think there’s any reason for the Demon King to show up in person just to lie. Because, as something like him, every word he says is reinforced by the weight of his own existence. In that case, doesn’t that mean the black magic that is about to be cast in Samar won’t threaten the peace of the current era? After all, the Demon King himself doesn’t seem to be intervening in it….”

“Are you trying to say that this is all just some trivial matter that will only play out within the bounds of the Samar Rainforest?” Eugene said doubtfully.

“I’m not sure what exactly is going to happen, but,

hmm

, shouldn’t that be the case?” Melkith hummed thoughtfully. “From the perspective of the Demon Kings of Helmuth, it might just be a small affair happening in some forest out in the country.”

At these words, Ivatar’s clenched fists let out a cracking sound.

“Well, I think there’s no doubt that someone in the Kochilla tribe is preparing to cast some black magic on a huge scale,” Melkith conceded. “Ah, Eugene, have you heard about that?”

“Heard about what?” Eugene replied.

Melkith turned to Eugene with a smile, “Balzac Ludbeth has disappeared from Aroth.”

1. The word that Tempest actually uses here is the Korean word for

fake

, as in a believer of fake facts or religions. ?