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The sun had set, and it was a serene night, with the moon rising.

In front of flickering candles on the table, a retired knight sat.

[Where there is light, there is no mist; where there is mist, light cannot be seen, so the two cannot coexist.]

The inscription in the middle caught his attention, and his gaze lingered, unable to move on to the next page.

At that moment, there was a knock on the door.

“May I come in, Sir Jereon?”

“Of course.”

Upon receiving permission, a middle-aged man with a sword entered.

It was Mark, who had been Jereon’s lieutenant during his active duty.

Seeing Jereon engrossed in reading, Mark frowned slightly and asked,

“Have you found anything satisfying?”

“What satisfaction could there be? I read in the hope of finding something worthwhile.”

Jereon, feeling bored after a long reading session, began to yawn frequently.

“Was it okay to let that man… go just like that?”

“Why are you asking such a question, knowledgeable as you are? Didn’t everyone feel it? If we hadn’t let him go, we might all have been wiped out.”

Mark couldn’t deny it.

“Well, it seems I should return the emblem of the knights. We, who never flinched even against superior enemies on the front lines, who could have known we would retreat against just one young man? It’s a blow to our dignity in many ways.”

“Why did that man willingly hand over the book?”

“Was my story entertaining? Perhaps. So, why did you come in?”

Mark, momentarily forgetting the purpose, cleared his throat and replied,

“The meeting with the abbott has been arranged.”

“Already? Sooner than I expected. Alright, when should I go?”

“You could go right away.”

“Now?”

“Yes. The sooner, the better, they say…”

Upon receiving unexpected news, Jereon frowned momentarily before immediately rising from his seat.

“Alright. Let’s go right away.”

They headed straight to the monastery.

As soon as they reached the main gate, the abbott and the monks waiting there rushed out excitedly.

“Welcome! We’ve been waiting for you! The noble Knight Commander of the renowned Order of Light has honored our monastery with his presence!”

“You were waiting for me?”

Jereon couldn’t understand why they would wait for a retired knight like himself, not some noble from the palace.

He quickly sensed that there might not be good reasons behind it.

“We’ll escort you this way.”

The abbott led Jereon and his companions inside.

“I doubted my ears when I first heard! The famous executor of Light, Sir Jereon Alkin, has graced our monastery with his visit! Truly, as Lumendel said, light always exists by our side!”

Starting with praise for Jereon, the abbott began to chatter about the monastery’s history and his own deeds.

Jereon listened to all his stories without saying a word, with a serious expression and closed eyes.

“Oh, I must have talked too much in my excitement to have such a distinguished guest with me. I hope you weren’t uncomfortable.”

“…”

“Sir Jereon?”

“Ah! I apologize. Your story was so uninteresting that I unintentionally dozed off.”

Jereon stretched his arms out and yawned.

“I think we’re done here, so now let me start my story.”

“Y-Yes, please.”

The abbott, trying to conceal his embarrassment with a forced smile, said,

“Actually, I visited the monastery earlier today.”

“…!?”

The abbot’s face subtly twisted momentarily, unable to manage his expression.

“Oh, I see! I had no idea at all! Have you come to pray to Lumendel?”

“Let’s just say it’s a little bit of everything. But more importantly, there’s been an increase in people following the mist in various parts of the Empire, so I was checking around my cities.”

Rather than being flustered, the abbot nodded knowingly and cautiously asked,

“D-Did… Sir Jereon not know?”

“As you can see, I’m no longer a knight. With no one to inform me separately, what could I possibly know?”

Jereon’s worldly attitude left the abbot speechless.

It felt as if he had disclosed something that shouldn’t have been revealed.

“Seems like something I didn’t know was secretly happening in the Empire.”

“S-Something you didn’t know? How could a mere monk like me know about that?”

“Well, you’ll know if you check.”

Jereon pulled out a book from his belongings as if to prove his point.

The abbot, astonished after checking the book, could only emit a faint groan, unable to close his gaping mouth.

“Having such a lost look on your face makes me feel embarrassed.”

“T-That’s not it…”

Despite wanting to leave this place as soon as possible, the abbot’s body remained still.

It seemed frozen under the intense gaze of the retired knight, still sharp as ever.

“Tell me everything you know.”

* * *

[Man, whenever I’m about to start a fight like I’m ready to throw punches at any moment…]

“I can’t give you anything good to do, Kaeram.”

[Of course, master.]

Kaeram nodded, turning her gaze away.

There’s no need to waste time reading content that will only make me laugh, anyway.

If someone else needs it more, it’s only right to give it to them, right?

I didn’t just bring it along to get involved in troublesome matters.

[So, where are we going now?]

“To someone who can satisfy my current curiosity…”

Just as she was about to ask who that was, Kaeram abruptly shut her mouth.

She seemed to have caught on to who I was going to ask about.

With a small smile, I stepped into the dark alleyway.

Upon reaching the left corner, I spotted a wooden door and without hesitation…

*Creak*

I went inside.

A woman with short hair engrossed in solitary reading by the flickering candlelight.

Approaching her without any hesitation, I sat down, and soon her gaze turned towards me as she closed the book.

“Isn’t it a bit modest for a study?”

“If you look so pitiful, it’s only proper for a disciple to build you a grand one, isn’t it?”

“It must be tough not being a successful disciple.”

The woman sharpened her eyes as if she had expected that.

She was Silica, my mentor, who had come a long way to help her unsuccessful disciple.

“You were doing so well quietly, but as soon as you came here, you caused trouble.”

I realized immediately that it was a daytime matter.

“It was a coincidence. Who would have expected a retired knight commander to come to that tavern?”

[What? I didn’t encourage it!]

Despite trying to dismiss it as purely coincidental, the leader’s distrustful gaze towards me didn’t seem to diminish, even including Kaeram behind me.

“Are the Knights of Light unaware of this matter?”

“It’s not certain yet. The man you met, Jereon Alkin, was the leader of the Knights of Light for a long time. Even though he’s been retired for a long time, most of what happens in the Knights of Light still reaches his ears.”

Although the actual leader was said to be the saintess, it was him who led and commanded the knights.

After retiring, he had been quietly spending his life in his hometown, but rumors started circulating about him moving after the recent incidents in Garam Kingdom involving these fake believers overlapping with mist worshippers.

I suddenly recalled the old man’s words about wanting to verify the truth.

He had mentioned wanting to confirm whether the path he had walked in his remaining years was the right one.

The thought that the day of confrontation with him might not be far off crossed my mind again.

‘…?’

I made a sudden gesture in front of the leader.

“What are you doing?”

“Wasn’t that a new signal from the mist?”

The leader looked at me with a disdainful expression.

I pursed my lips in slight embarrassment.

“It seems to be a secret signal spread among these aspirants of the mist this time. They use this signal to bring people who know it to their place for conversion.”

“’I’ve heard similar stories, but I didn’t think it was such a ridiculous gesture. So, did you go to that place?”

“They were a bunch of lunatics.”

I relayed to the leader what I had heard from the sermon of the abbot and the contents of the scriptures they were reading.

Mainly praising Aeru’s spirit.

“These are clearly madmen.”

She nodded in agreement with my words.

“I want to check out that scripture, though. Is that what you have?”

“Ah, I gave it to the retired commander”

“Why?”

“Oh, as payment for telling an interesting story?”

“…”

There was a sudden heavy silence in the room.

The leader seemed to be hit with a sudden headache, holding her forehead.

She seemed to have a lot to say but seemed to be holding it back.

“There was no title written on it, but the author was written.”

“Okay, tell me.”

“Do you know Dio?”

Dio? I don’t know just from the name. Was the surname not written?”

It was.

When the surname was mentioned…

“Hafenkus. Dio Hafenkus.”

“…Hafenkus?”

The leader’s gaze subtly changed.

From her reaction, it seemed like she had heard of it somewhere, but,

“I don’t know.”

She said it firmly.

“I’m not so free as to remember a lunatic who records such crazy thoughts.”

The leader abruptly got up from her seat, preparing to leave.

“Are you leaving already?”

“I didn’t come here to meet you in the first place. I just stopped by on my way. I’m heading to the palace by this road.”

“Are you investigating whether this incident is related to the royal family?”

“Well, partly. Not as the abbess of the mist, but as the legitimate daughter of the Nigriti family.”

Did it sound like bragging somehow?

Going somewhere under the family name, not my name. It was something that could no longer be achieved by me.

“I won’t specifically tell you to be careful, but…”

As the leader finally opened the door to leave, she looked back at me once more and said,

“Make sure to eat well. Your face is half gone.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

With those words, the leader left the room.

* * *

Having concluded her conversation with Cyan, Silica immediately set off towards the palace.

However, she sensed a familiar presence in a corner of the alley and turned her steps in that direction.

*Tap-tap*

Along with the seductive sound of footsteps, a dark-haired woman emerged from the shadows veiled in the eerie night fog.

Silica, as if expecting the situation, did not seem particularly surprised.

“Why have you summoned me?”

[I didn’t summon you? Aren’t you here just because you’re itching for it?]

“How could I just leave after seeing that rare look in Kaeram’s eyes?”

Silica responded with a relaxed smile.

“The name Hafenkus must have been quite bothersome for you.”

[Don’t get cocky, young leader. Unless you want to be called a silent assassin by your own men.]

Kaeram’s tone was somewhat intensified.

“I don’t know the name Dio. However, I can’t say I know nothing about the name Hafenkus.”

[Even if you know, you have to pretend you don’t.You must understand why I’m even bothering to warn you, despite having to have a private conversation with this woman I despise.]

“Not mentioning it doesn’t mean Kaeram’s secret will be hidden forever.”

[That’s not your concern.]

Kaeram firmly rebuffed Silica’s advice.

“As a follower of Aeru, I have no intention of disclosing Kaeram’s secret. However…”

Silica’s gaze sharpened once again.

“If it harms the successor, the story will change.”

[….]

“Then be well.”

With a final farewell, Silica turned away.

[How annoying…]

Alone, Kaeram’s lips spat out vile curses, too awful to even contain.