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Duke of Whitewood and the thrilling search for Mysticism.

Before proceeding, Duke of Whitewood explained why she had brought Hannon.

"I thought the boy might need it."

Duke of Whitewood grinned as she spoke.

Her sharp intuition was unmatched.

As expected, I needed Hannon.

More precisely, I needed someone to cover for me at the academy while I was away.

‘Duke of Whitewood never hesitates to use whoever is necessary, regardless of age.’

The search for Mysticism had to be carried out in secret.

Mysticism had more ears in this world than one might think.

Even I couldn’t grasp the full extent of its information network.

‘The game never covered that part in detail.’

All I knew was that it had an extensive intelligence network.

But to what degree it was involved, I had no way of knowing.

Since I was closely connected to Duke of Whitewood,

Mysticism would undoubtedly be aware of that fact.

It was clear that they would be watching my movements closely.

‘To avoid being caught…’

I needed a decoy while I moved outside.

‘Originally, this was supposed to be an event during the winter break.’

Yet again, things were happening ahead of schedule.

‘And Vulcan’s downfall was supposed to be in Act 5.’

I was following the scenario,

but the pace was accelerating far too quickly.

This would inevitably impact the flow of events.

Still, I couldn’t afford to miss the opportunity at hand.

In fact, now was the perfect time to strike Mysticism.

Right now, Vulcan’s forces weren’t yet fully assembled.

That meant I could take him down more easily.

"Hannon."

I didn’t mind leaving for a while.

But there was one crucial thing to keep in mind.

"As you may have already noticed, everyone will likely see through your disguise."

It was fine with those who already knew my true identity.

But there was one person Hannon absolutely could not get caught by.

"You must never let Lady Iris discover the truth."

Iris believed that I was Hannon.

The only reason I had been able to stay by her side all this time was because of that assumption.

‘If she finds out I'm not actually Hannon…’

There was a high probability that I’d be permanently banished from the Empire.

After all, it would mean that an outsider had repeatedly entered the imperial princess’s chambers.

‘I’ll figure out a solution later, but for now, she must never find out.’

I gripped Hannon’s shoulders tightly.

This was a mission of utmost importance.

"I’ll inform the people around me, but make sure to avoid Lady Iris at all costs. If you get caught, you’ll be dragged into trouble too."

If I were punished alone, that would be one thing.

But Hannon could also get implicated.

When I warned him, Hannon blinked his eyes a few times.

Then, as usual, he gave a lazy smile.

"Don’t worry. I don’t really like her anyway."

Hannon, who was her real family, was never particularly fond of Iris.

That fact left a bitter taste in my mouth, but I didn’t comment on it.

With his evasive skills, Hannon would have no problem avoiding her.

"Alright, Duke of Whitewood, I’ll go see Aquiline now."

"Go on."

After receiving permission, I left the guest room.

I already knew exactly where she would be.

The Special Department.

As I walked in that direction—

"Oh? Husband?"

There, struggling with a pile of documents, was Vinesha.

I glanced at the pendant securely fastened around her neck and raised my hand in greeting.

"Vinesha, I was just looking for you."

More importantly… was she still calling me ‘husband’?

She had already clarified that she had no real feelings behind it,

so it seemed the habit had just stuck.

"I need to talk to Musika for a bit."

"Musika?"

Vinesha's eyes widened.

But she quickly caught on.

"Is this about the cult?"

"Yeah, that’s right. Can I ask for your help?"

"Of course, it’s no trouble."

She led me to an empty classroom nearby.

After setting down her documents, she took a deep breath.

"Alright, I’ll call her."

Vinesha closed her eyes and channeled energy into her pendant.

Her eyes changed to a deep blue hue.

The atmosphere around us shifted.

A chilling sensation brushed against my skin for a brief moment.

"Hello, hello?"

In an instant, Vinesha’s mannerisms changed completely.

It was proof that Musika had successfully possessed her body.

Grinning, she leaned back in the chair.

"Musika, Narea has been kidnapped by Vulcan."

"Hmm… so it finally happened."

Musika let out a bitter laugh, as if she had expected this.

"Do you know what Vulcan’s goal is?"

"He’s trying to melt down heroes and absorb their power."

"That’s right! Your intel is as sharp as ever."

Mysticism’s leader, Vulcan Zebra.

He was after the strength of heroes.

He sought to extract the talent and divine blessings engraved in their souls.

That was why he had relentlessly pursued Acrede.

Among all the heroes of past, Narea possessed the strongest divine blessing.

Thankfully, due to that very blessing, only half of her soul had been taken.

The other half and her body still remained with Acrede.

"It was Vulcan who sold my information to Abomination too."

The Keeper of Souls.

Aquiline.

Her abilities were tempting but also posed a great threat to Vulcan.

Just as I was now using Musika to track Narea’s soul,

Aquiline’s powers were an obstacle to his plans.

So he had sold Musika to Abomination.

‘If the original timeline had played out, Musika would have died.’

But I had saved her soul, allowing her to assist me.

For Vulcan, this was the worst possible development.

"Vulcan likely knows that I escaped from Abomination."

That realization made everything clear.

Now I understood why the timeline had accelerated.

With Musika freed, it was much easier for me to track Mysticism’s headquarters.

Vulcan must have been in a panic.

"He must be rushing his plans."

No wonder the scenario was progressing so fast.

Unintentionally, I had been continuously backing Vulcan into a corner.

"Can you find Narea’s soul?"

"As long as her body is still alive, her soul can never be completely severed from it."

Musika’s eyes glowed an eerie blue.

She, too, had once had a happy life—

A life that Vulcan had utterly destroyed.

Of course, she wasn’t going to let Vulcan go unpunished.

"Even if you understand your past life, there's a limit, right? We need to teach him a lesson."

Musica clenched her small fists tightly.

They were tiny, almost cute fists.

"Let’s go to Narea’s reincarnation! Once we check directly, we’ll have our answer."

"Yeah, got i—"

I started to respond but abruptly stopped.

A thought flashed through my mind.

As Musica turned to me with a questioning look, my gaze slowly returned to her.

"…Musica, if Vulcan knows you’ve returned, he’ll try to act quickly, right?"

"Hmm, that does seem likely."

"And since he’s being chased by Duke of Whitewood, he’ll feel even more pressed for time, won’t he?"

"That’s true as well."

Musica agreed with everything I said.

"…Then how likely do you think it is that Vulcan, unable to capture Acrede right away, will choose to strike elsewhere first?"

Musica blinked.

After a brief silence, she arrived at the same conclusion I had.

"One hundred percent."

Vulcan was not the type to be overly cautious—he acted according to the situation.

And now that things had become urgent, he would move quickly.

I already knew the next person Vulcan would target.

And that person was someone deeply connected to me.

Or rather, not to me directly.

To Vikamon.

The transcendent sage, Zerion’s reincarnation.

She was Vikamon’s younger sister.

Xenia Niflheim.

* * *

A bright morning.

Students bustled about, hurrying to school.

Among them walked a student with striking honey-blonde hair.

Isabel Luna.

Lately, she had been showing a wide range of emotions.

As she made her way to school, she alternated between deep contemplation, frowning, and smiling.

To anyone watching, it was an odd sight.

Even Sharin, who usually dozed off, found herself staring at her instead.

"Bel, what’s up with you?"

"Ah, no, sorry, I was just lost in thought."

Startled by Sharin’s voice, Isabel lifted her head.

She couldn’t even meet Sharin’s eyes and instead covered her face with her hands.

"…I must be crazy. Completely crazy."

Isabel kept her hands over her face.

Through her fingers, she stole glances at Sharin with a conflicted expression.

Sharin scratched the back of her neck, looking away.

She already had a rough idea of what was going on with Isabel.

It’s always tough until you admit it to yourself.

Feeling mischievous, Sharin puffed out her cheeks.

"Hannon is an idiot."

When Sharin insulted Hannon, Isabel let out a deep sigh and nodded.

"Yeah, that guy’s a fool."

A complicated look crossed Isabel’s face.

Before she knew it, they had reached the entrance of the Magic Department building.

After saying goodbye to Sharin, Isabel turned toward the Martial Arts Department building.

With every step, her heart pounded harder.

Her hands were sweating from nerves.

What should she say when she sees him?

How did she used to act around him before?

She couldn’t quite remember.

Lost in thought, she continued walking—until she spotted a familiar figure ahead.

A short boy with black hair.

This wasn’t his true form, but it was the one Isabel was most accustomed to.

Her body instinctively froze.

An awkward smile crept onto her lips.

She felt so incredibly awkward.

But that didn’t mean she didn’t want to say hello.

In fact, greeting him was something she absolutely had to do.

"You!"

So she forced herself to approach warmly, tapping his shoulder.

He turned to face her.

And the moment he did, Isabel’s awkward smile disappeared.

"You."

"Wow, you figured it out already?"

Hannon grinned playfully.

It was a frivolous, unserious kind of smile—unlike him.

But Isabel didn’t care about that.

What mattered was why Hannon was here and why Vikamon wasn’t.

"Where is he?"

"He had something to do, so he left it to me. Oh, right, he was looking for you. He asked you to meet him at the west park."

"For me?"

Isabel suddenly recalled that Duke of Whitewood had visited.

Duke of Whitewood seemed to care about Vikamon deeply.

‘The reason she came here…’

Could it have been to meet Vikamon for something important?

She had a bad feeling.

Knowing Vikamon, he had probably walked straight into something dangerous again.

Isabel grabbed Hannon’s arm tightly.

"What exactly is he doing?"

"He said he was going to see his sister."

Hannon answered nonchalantly.

Hearing that, Isabel’s expression turned strange.

What kind of nonsense was that?

"Isabel."

Just then, someone called her name.

A woman, looking as though she had just woken up with a hangover, approached them.

"Professor Vega, good morning."

With a face still reeking of alcohol, the woman was none other than Professor Beganon.

"Your name was submitted for a special field study, personally arranged by Duke of Whitewood."

"What?"

Isabel’s eyes widened more than ever.

A completely unexpected field study had been scheduled.