The Prodigal Son Returns
The tavern was buzzing with excitement. The expedition party, which had only been the subject of rumors until now, had finally returned. A huge crowd had gathered at the tavern to hear their tales, and the party members were spinning their stories with flair for the eager audience.
"The road there was easier than we expected, but after we ran into that massive Mystery, we didn't stop fighting for a single moment."
"The legacy the Queen prepared wasn't some ordinary trinket—it was an enormous castle! The majestic and beautiful architecture is something you could never imagine without seeing it yourself!"
"Have you ever seen monsters swarm without end? The monster wave that hit our camp made regular monster waves look like child's play."
The crowd listened to the adventurers' stories with rapt expressions, enjoying them as if they were their own. Unlike their own monotonous lives of repeated monster subjugation, the expedition party had ventured beyond the front lines and embarked on a truly magnificent adventure. Not only had they fought Magranas's minions, but they'd even brought back the Queen's legacy. It was the kind of heroic tale every warrior couldn't help but envy. Nobles and commoners alike hung on every word.
Watching the scene from a slightly removed corner, I quietly sipped my drink. As always, Neon stood at the center of the tavern, using a table as his stage and delivering his tale with masterful flair. Seeing the crowd cheer at his storyteller's tongue—which wouldn't have been out of place if he'd changed careers to professional bard—I couldn't help but chuckle.
"Looks like he's managed to pull himself together."
He probably hadn't stopped worrying about his old connections at the Blue Tower. But he knew worrying from the North wouldn't do any good, so he was focusing on his work as an adventurer for now. Still, as his companion, I couldn't just ignore his concerns. I mulled over what to do.
"First, heading to the Blue Tower is definitely happening."
"We need to understand the situation before we can respond properly."
"Human relationships sure are complicated."
I nodded at the words of Adela and Beatrice, who sat beside me. We needed to know exactly what was going on to make any judgments on our end. Unlike the straightforward relationships of the North, the Central region was tangled with factions and power struggles, making it dangerous to act recklessly.
"The best solution is usually just smashing through with raw power."
In all honesty, I wanted to smash anything that stood in our way—Blue Tower be damned. But the tower hadn't done anything wrong. They'd simply been terrorized by black mages, leaving their key forces on the brink of death. On top of that, Neon had abandoned the tower to become a black mage. Even if he was now an officially recognized black mage by the Holy Kingdom, he'd still draw sharp looks. In fact, we were the ones who needed to tread carefully, which left me wondering how to handle this.
In situations like this, there was usually someone who would immediately latch onto Neon's black mage status and make a fuss about it.
"Neon probably wants to visit the Blue Tower. What should we do?"
Having grown into a true adventurer at heart, I could only think in Northern terms, so I wore a troubled expression. That's when a familiar middle-aged man approached us.
"Did you say you wanted to go to the Blue Tower?"
"Ah, Count Edenberg."
He appeared holding a large mug of beer in one hand and grinned as he took a seat beside us. At the arrival of such a high-ranking figure, Beatrice subtly averted her gaze and hid behind me. Adela, however, paid him no mind and continued focusing on her snacks. Unbothered by the two monster girls, Count Edenberg laughed heartily and pulled an antique medal from his pocket.
The medal was engraved with a blue deer standing beneath a white moon. It looked incredibly valuable at first glance, so I stared at him with a puzzled expression.
"I heard one of your party members used to belong to the Blue Tower. Since he distinguished himself for the North, I can't just sit by and do nothing."
"This is...?"
"A medal bearing my name. With this, you'll receive treatment higher than an elder at the Blue Tower."
"Will there be no repercussions for you?"
"If they have a problem, tell them to come to the North and complain. I'm the one funding half their research budget—who do they think they are to defy me?"
As the Blue Tower's biggest sponsor, Count Edenberg laughed arrogantly and downed the liquor in his mug in one go.
"If they don't treat you like honored guests, send a signal with the communication magic tool. I'll cut their research funding immediately."
Our Count really doesn't hold back. I'd known it since the Hornst incident, but he truly was an aggressive man. That same intensity was probably why his subordinates trusted him so deeply.
"Thank you. I won't forget this kindness."
"This is simply repayment for all the hard work you and your party have done for the North. It's not kindness—it's compensation."
With those words, Count Edenberg stood up without hesitation. Having truly come only to hand over the medal, he disappeared into the noisy crowd to enjoy Neon's storytelling. I couldn't help but admire his nonchalant attitude.
"Now that's what a noble should be."
"That seems closer to a tyrant than a noble..."
"Shut it. He's way better than those Central nobles."
When I thought about the Central region, which had been on the verge of total collapse just moments ago, the North seemed like paradise. The hottest topic in the tavern right now was whether the Central region would collapse or hold out before Magranas marched south. How dare they compare it to the North?
I neatly ignored Beatrice's comment and spent the rest of my time at the tavern in a much more relaxed mood. Now that I had powerful backing to run wild if needed, the rest was simple.
I informed Neon of the situation and began preparing to head to the Central region. We stocked up on supplies in my inventory and made plans for what to do once we arrived. Thanks to Neon preparing more diligently than anyone, we finished our preparations without any major issues and set off from the front lines toward the Central region.
After passing through several cities and villages, we finally arrived at the gateway city of Harmun.
"Welcome to Harmun!"
"If you experience any inconvenience, please let us know! The Harmun guards will appear anywhere, anytime!"
"Thank you for your hard work."
"Thank you!"
Showing Count Edenberg's medal granted us free passage. We took in the sight of the bustling streets.
"There are so many people."
"Most of them don't look well. They must be refugees who fled the chaos of war."
It seemed the turmoil in the Central region had intensified. Seeing what appeared to be refugees here and there, I clicked my tongue. If things had gotten this bad, it was no longer something a few nobles or the kingdom could resolve. Entire kingdoms might change names, or the map itself might need to be redrawn.
At least the Holy Kingdom had returned to normal, so the damage wouldn't be completely irreparable. Still, ordinary people would have to endure painful days for a long time.
"This is exactly why I can't stand the Central nobles."
"They're probably trying to seize opportunities amid the chaos. When you think about it, the Northern nobles seem almost admirable. Is it because of the Northern Breathing Method?"
Other regions wouldn't be completely unaware of that fact. They were probably keeping an eye on the Central region for their own reasons, just as the North was.
"The countries bordering each region are said to have relatively little chaos."
"Considering the geography, those kingdoms have no choice but to get along with their neighboring regions."
Neon was right. Each region's specialties were incredibly appealing, and the clear difference in military power left them with no option to choose hostility. Politically speaking, cooperation brought far more benefits than losses, so they maintained friendly appearances.
The West had dispatched their knight orders to sweep away the black mages. The East had received support from the start because their royal family was tied to the beastkin and bloodlines. The South had developed a black mana detector with their unique technology. And the North, of course, hadn't seen any black mages appear in the first place.
Mages were smart. Rather than operating in a place crawling with high-ranking knight-grade adventurers and the occasional Sword Master-grade adventurer, it was far better to grow comfortably in other regions. Even apprentice mages knew that much. The occasional strange ones who did appear had already crossed into the North and gotten torn apart by monsters.
"This is all the information the Adventurer's Guild gave us."
When I explained the information the guild had provided, Neon shook his head in amazement.
"How on earth did they gather information like this?"
"The guild's intelligence agents are the best of the best."
I used to be a guild employee myself, but information about the intelligence agents was classified, so I didn't know the details. Still, considering they were either long-trained elves or people of comparable skill, I could roughly guess how incredible their abilities were. Even the transparent cloaks they wore were made from the hides of Silver-grade monsters.
Thanks to the easy access to information, we crossed through the increasingly chaotic Central region and headed toward the Blue Tower. The distance between the North and the Blue Tower was great, but the journey was far from boring.
"Halt! This is the territory of Bandit King Higma! If you want to pass quietly, hand over everything you—Urk!"
"Hehehehe! With this chimera, destroying a city is—Kuhk?!"
We beat up every bandit we encountered along the way and raided hidden black mage hideouts for extra income. The black mage hideouts in particular were especially lucrative.
"Sniff sniff. I smell it. A very strong scent of money."
"Judging by the intensity of the disgusting aura, it looks like a pretty big hideout."
It was like harvesting fully grown crops. Every black mage hideout we spotted along the road, we stopped at without fail. Even if it was just the residence of a single black mage, it didn't matter. There would still be money there.
The two princesses' drive to secure funds—even after obtaining the Queen's legacy—knew no bounds.
"To reinforce the front lines, numerous architects from the North have gone up to Starus. If we want to hire architects from other regions, we'll need even more money."
"Let me see this so-called mobile nest first. If I don't like it once it's complete, I'll smash it right in front of you."
I could only laugh helplessly at Adela, who had become a slave to the mobile nest, and Beatrice, who had entered her nest-denial phase. Whatever their reasons, if this helped calm the chaos in the Central region even a little, that was good enough. It wasn't like I was raiding hideouts just because pulling money out of my long-forgotten piggy bank felt surprisingly fun.
"This smell! It's the smell of money flowing!"
"Where? Let's go quickly!"
"If the nest isn't to my liking after all this hard work, I'm smashing it!"
When Adela detected another black mage hideout and dashed ahead, we followed eagerly behind her. I had no idea that Neon, watching all of this from the back, was staring at us with an incredulous look in his eyes.
"...As long as you guys are having fun, that's all that matters."
"Grrrr."
"Black mages are clearly dangerous beings, so why do they always end up as punching bags whenever Northerners get involved?"
"Grr."
"Because they're weak? Can't argue with that."
After raiding dozens of hideouts on the way and showing off our prowess, we arrived at the empire where the Blue Tower stood with refreshed minds. Confirming the sight of the blue tower standing firm in the distance, we waited until Neon finished mentally preparing himself.
"Hoo... I'm nervous."
"Don't worry. If those mages start harassing you for being a black mage, we'll raise hell for you."
"I produced War Ants just for today."
"Rebuilding the colony is basically our daily routine."
"Please, you guys are making me even more nervous."
We cracked jokes to ease Neon's tension and lighten the mood. It must have helped, because his stiff expression softened a little. With more relaxed steps, he began walking toward the Blue Tower.
"Let's go. Even if they turn us away at the door, I need to at least see my master's face."
At Neon's words, filled with firm resolve, I pinned Count Edenberg's medal to my chest so everyone could see it. I'd heard that mages in the Central region loved scheming and working from the shadows. Let's see if they could still try any tricks after seeing this kind of backing.