The Guides Arrive
The desperation in their voices and eyes held no trace of falsehood. In a situation like this, what would be the point of lying? Fanatics driven by ideology might still attempt it, but these two hardly seemed the type, and statistically such people were usually leaders or at least mid-level officers—rarely found among the rank and file.
“How many have gone through that teleportation circle so far?”
“W-we’ve only seen about six ourselves.”
“S-seven. Two of them went together once, remember?”
Six or seven made little difference, but their eagerness to answer was a good sign. After that, we asked a few more questions—about the guides, how to make contact, whether there were any passwords or signals.
“So you’re saying we just wait under that tree and a guide will come? And we won’t be told where we’re being taken?”
“T-that’s right. We haven’t been allowed that far ourselves.”
It was the classic cut-off tail. The lower ranks were given no important information, only a single thread leading to the next level. Whether this was because the organization was still weak or because it was already disciplined enough to operate this way, I couldn’t tell, but at least the basics were in place.
“You’re certain no special mark is needed to recognize each other?”
At Geil’s question they nodded vigorously, fear plain on their faces. Even if our presence had calmed them somewhat, the killing intent in our eyes was impossible to hide.
“Probably not. If what they say is true and their souls have already been stained at the first gathering, then showing the color of that soul—and a fitting summon—should be enough.”
“Th-then…!”
Geil’s expression twisted. Of course it would; if that was how it worked, he had no way of contacting the so-called guide. We could always drag more people in for questioning as long as Granbipra was with us, but without knowing the exact method, even that felt uncertain.
“…This is troublesome, but we have no choice. For now, we’ll have to play along with their little game.”
Only after hearing that did Geil’s face relax. With everything that had happened, he must have momentarily forgotten that we had the perfect summoner for infiltration right here.
“That aside, what should we do with these two?”
Letting them report back would be annoying, yet killing them didn’t sit well with me either.
“Haa…”
A sigh escaped me. There was only one answer.
“…We’ll have to lock them up again.”
When we stepped through the teleportation circle, a wide clearing greeted us. Granbipra and I had come first, just in case of traps or ambushes, but it seemed unnecessary.
“Is there anything unusual nearby?”
“Nothing at all. There’s a spell that detects when the circle activates, but nothing else in the area.”
At Granbipra’s confirmation, I took out the communication orb and contacted Elena.
“It’s safe. You can come through.”
The circle lit up again and Elena and Geil crossed over.
“There’s no one else around. They’ll probably arrive soon.”
“Then what about us?”
I might pass, but Elena and Geil would never survive the group’s ridiculous test. We could claim they were fellow summoners hoping to join, but their talents were far too outstanding, and Elena’s appearance especially drew the eye. We couldn’t afford unnecessary attention.
“Do you know any concealment or stealth magic?”
I already knew she could use spirits to create illusions. Elven stealth techniques were famous as well. The question was whether she could hide an entire body, not just trick the eyes—and whether such a technique would work even in this relatively open space.
Instead of answering, Elena made a light gesture and summoned her spirits. In the next moment, both she and Geil vanished completely. Even their presence was gone; the technique was remarkably refined. When I turned to Granbipra, he too had already disappeared without a trace.
“Will this suffice?”
“It should.”
I started walking toward the tree we had been told about. I didn’t know when the guide would come, but if they had already received the signal, we wouldn’t have to wait long.
“It would be convenient if this led straight to their headquarters.”
That would be ideal, but in the worst case the link could be cut here. Not because they would discover our identities, but because secret organizations rarely risked connecting new recruits directly to the center. They watched new members for a set period and only granted access to those who met their conditions. That was the safe, proper way to manage such a group. If someone who knew too much turned traitor, the entire organization could be threatened.
“Come to think of it, I forgot to ask about their purpose.”
Now that I thought about it, that had been a critical mistake. I knew they wanted to return to being Dark Priests, but I hadn’t asked what they intended to do afterward. An organization’s purpose was vital. Even if it was only a surface-level reason, it still revealed the direction they meant to take.
“Not every organization moves according to some grand cause or meticulous plan, you know.”
Her words weren’t wrong. That was exactly why I had dismissed the Dark Temple as nothing more than a few summoners’ petty rebellion until Kainaknus was captured.
But if someone capable of subduing Kainaknus existed within their ranks, and if Raiven was connected to the Dark Temple, then such naive assumptions had to be avoided at all costs.
“Well, for now we can only wait for these guides to arrive quickly.”
I sat down beneath the tree. It was easy to tell this was the right one—standing apart from the others, with faint scorch marks and claw scratches here and there.
After that, we waited in silence. We didn’t speak much, partly out of caution that a nearby guide might overhear, but mostly because there was simply nothing to say.
“……”
“……”
Time passed in that silence—far longer than expected.
Late.
At first I watched the sky. Then I tried to connect Raiven and the Dark Temple in my mind, but nothing concrete came of it. Eventually my thoughts drifted to useless memories—like the time I won big at a gambling den during a past journey, only for a fight to break out before I could exchange my chips.
Still, I did win quite a lot that day.
—They’re coming.
While lost in idle thoughts, Granbipra’s sudden message made me turn my head. Three people—a man and two women—were approaching from a distance.
“Finally.”
They looked utterly ordinary. The kind of man and women you could see anywhere, dressed like any other villagers.
It was fortunate I was wearing the dawn-colored clothes underneath. My appearance aside, standing among them would have drawn far too much attention.
I stood up. I had been holding my breath, wondering if there was some password or gesture the cave group had hidden, when one of the three suddenly raised a hand and spread four fingers.
Four?
For a split second my mind raced through possibilities. Even though they were hidden, our group numbered exactly four. Or perhaps it was some kind of code, or the sum of their numbers and mine.
Whatever it meant, I had no answer. When I simply stood there blankly, they stopped in their tracks. Though I couldn’t see them, I could feel Elena and Granbipra preparing for battle. Then the man who had raised his hand suddenly burst out laughing.
“Hahaha! You’re so tense! Relax. It doesn’t mean anything. I was just messing with you.”
He had no idea that his silly prank had nearly cost them their lives moments ago.
“Ah, I see.”
I answered with an awkward smile. Not because I couldn’t control my expression, but because I knew this was exactly the reaction he wanted. When someone played a joke like that, responding with a bright, unbothered face wasn’t the best approach—especially if the other person was supposedly above you. If you missed the timing to laugh along, it was better to look flustered. After all, that was what they were hoping to see.
“That panicked look was really funny, though.”
It hadn’t been funny at all.
“That’s enough. Or at least change up your routine. It’s the same thing every time—it’s getting old.”
See? Even his companion found it tiresome.
“Teasing kids isn’t a good hobby.”
“Y-yeah. I’ll stop.”
In truth, all three of them were considerably older than me. The man who had played the unfunny prank was a middle-aged fellow with a thick beard. The woman was still young, but clearly past her prime. The last one wasn’t quite old enough to be called elderly, but it wouldn’t be long before the label fit naturally.
There were no actual children, yet their group had the natural feel of a family—whether that was intentional, I couldn’t say.
“More importantly, where are you from?”
“The Borepi region.”
I had already learned from the two captives where their recent gatherings had been held.
“Oh, right. Then this’ll be your second gathering?”
“Yes.”
“Still feeling a bit out of place, aren’t you?”
Out of place—probably referring to the forced staining of the soul.
“Yes. A little…”
There was no such discomfort. I hadn’t been forced to begin with.
“Yeah. I felt the same after my first gathering.”
They each began sharing their proud experiences—how power had surged through their bodies the first time they accepted the flame, that strange mixture of fear and ecstasy. They spoke as if trying to ease the guilt and anxiety they still carried.
“Well then, to help you get used to the feeling, why don’t you summon one or two?”
As he spoke, their expressions tightened slightly. They tried to hide it, but the way their hands moved toward their pockets suggested that the slightest suspicious sign would have them drawing daggers before any summon could appear.
Especially the middle-aged man who had played the prank—his eyes had changed completely from before.
Now then, what should I summon?
Capturing them here wouldn’t have been a bad idea, but we had already decided to observe the situation for a while, and dragging them back to the nearby village was too much trouble. So I decided to play along. For the first time in a long while, I traced the summoning circle in the air with my finger, drawing each character one by one. A relatively young summoner forming the formula directly in the air wasn’t a very natural sight.
“Take your time. No need to be so tense.”
I hadn’t done this since the very beginning of my last journey, so the order of the strokes got a little jumbled. Fortunately, that only helped lower their suspicions.
Once the formula was complete and the summon appeared, a small dark fairy with black wings materialized.
“A Dark Fairy. Well, that confirms it.”
A lower dark spirit. I had worried it might be too simple, but it seemed to satisfy them. After all, this was only a verification step—they hadn’t expected anything more.
“Alright, let’s go. The gathering is still a few days away, but we should greet Lord Olsidra first.”