The Royal Audience
Regression.
The ultimate miracle, allowing one to correct past mistakes and salvage failures.
To that grand declaration offering him one more life, Roan answered without a second thought.
"No!"
It was incredibly casual.
A rejection as light and breezy as his usual banter.
It carried so little weight that it was hard to believe this conversation held the fate of the continent, regression, and total destruction.
Naturally, the **Time Mage** could not comprehend his response.
"...Did you refuse? Or did I perhaps mishear you?"
"I refused, yes. I don't need something like a second chance."
Roan had kicked away a miraculous stroke of good fortune that had rolled right to his feet.
It was an unbelievable choice, not just for the Time Mage, but for his companions as well.
"...Why on earth would you refuse that?" Jane asked, her eyes wide. "It's directly related to those seeds of destruction you kept warning us about. Doesn't this mean you get another chance even if you fail?"
"That's true," Roan admitted.
He didn't deny that it was an unparalleled, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Even so, Roan did not change his mind.
"I don't need a safety net," Roan said. "If I have something to fall back on, my desperation will fade."
To fail meant experiencing the deaths of his comrades all over again.
And knowing a second chance existed might cause him to loosen his grip on the present reality.
That was something he had to avoid at all costs.
He had to cling to his desperation, biting down on it and never letting go.
Therefore,
"Thank you for the offer, but I've staked everything on this life. I don't need regression magic."
He calmly explained his reasoning and flatly refused.
The Time Mage stared at him quietly before nodding slowly.
"An eccentric one, indeed."
His voice held no reproach.
Rather, it carried a hint of amusement, as if he felt refreshed.
"Then I, too, shall look forward to seeing what path you tread—you who have rejected even regression."
As a mere observer, he could not intervene directly, but he could at least offer a bit of vague advice from time to time.
...Of course, whether this man would ever actually come to seek his advice was another story entirely!
"You've done well to climb all the way up here. Not just you, the eccentric, but all of your companions as well."
The Time Mage's gaze shifted behind Roan.
These were people who, in the original timeline, would have walked completely different paths, only to unite for a single fleeting moment.
Even though you regressed, you chose to walk alongside everyone instead of letting yourself be consumed by your emotions.
The Time Mage opened the exit.
"If you pass through here, you will be able to return to where you came from."
Saying so, the Time Mage stepped closer to Roan and handed him something.
It was an artifact shaped like the hour and minute hands of a clock.
"...With that, you can visit this place whenever you come to the Magic Tower. If you ever wish for advice, feel free to drop by anytime."
Though you might not ever need it, of course.
Adding those silent thoughts, the Time Mage pressed it firmly into Roan's palm.
Then, with a soft rustle, his figure slowly faded, as if dissolving into the mist.
"...What? Is he even hu—"
Jane's words cut off abruptly.
The frozen time had begun to flow again, and the delayed chill rushed over their bodies all at once.
"Let's head back for now. Doesn't seem like we'll get anything more by staying here," Roan said.
They had plenty of questions, but there was no need to hash them out here.
Regression, the Time Mage, and the rejection of a second chance.
Deciding to discuss these matters later, they threw themselves toward the exit.
Step.
As their blurred vision snapped back into focus, the entrance of the Magic Tower appeared before them.
The bone-chilling cold that had threatened to coat their bodies in frost had also vanished without a trace.
But Roan and his companions didn't even have time to be surprised by the sudden shift in space.
"...What is she doing?"
Their attention was drawn to **Xaraxia**, who was standing face-to-face with someone.
"Uh... did someone pick a fight with her?"
"Well... with Miss Xaraxia's personality, she's practically a magnet for trouble."
It was a remarkably relaxed observation.
But then, such nonchalance was only possible because they had absolute faith in Xaraxia's strength.
Still, they couldn't just stand by.
They walked over to where she was caught up in the commotion.
"Xaraxia, what's going on here?" Roan asked.
"Ah, Mr. Roan. It's nothing much," Xaraxia replied.
She pointed to a banner folded up in a corner.
"Someone from the kingdom saw this and came looking for us."
Damn it!
It seemed their illegal banner had caught the kingdom's attention!
"Ugh... I should have told you guys not to hang that thing from the start," Jane groaned in belated regret.
However, as they listened further to Xaraxia, the situation seemed to be heading in a completely different direction than they had feared.
"The kingdom seems to have been quite impressed by what was written on it, so they've invited us to the royal palace. I was told the invitation came directly from the King himself."
"...What? Seriously?"
"Yes. It seems the deeds you accomplished before I joined the party have finally reached their ears."
It was the honor-related goal Roan had envisioned in the past.
By simply focusing on his work, fame and recognition had naturally followed.
Wait... why do I have a bad feeling about this?
As always, Roan's sharp intuition began to ring alarm bells.
**Jercoils Lionheart**.
A man who ruled the kingdom through sheer neglect.
Why would a man like that go out of his way to invite them?
There had to be an ulterior motive.
Is he trying to put us under his thumb, just like the Holy Empire did?
It was a mere hypothesis, but he was nearly a hundred percent certain. Roan's gut was more accurate than anyone's in these situations.
Clip-clop, clip-clop.
As if to dispel Roan's doubts, the sound of hooves drew near.
Looking up, they saw a procession of luxuriously decorated carriages pulling up in front of them.
"Wow... it's incredibly fancy..." Velgard murmured.
"Looking at the crest, it seems to be from the royal palace," Jane noted. "It must be related to what Xaraxia just mentioned."
"Indeed."
The servant driving the lead carriage stepped down, bowing politely as he confirmed their words.
"We have come with a delegation from the kingdom to escort you!"
Pointing to the carriage with an exaggerated gesture, the man beckoned for Roan's party to climb in.
"To escort such heroes with a single messenger would have been terribly presumptuous. The royal family reconsidered and sent this entire carriage procession!"
He bowed deeply.
"Please, accept our sincerity!"
"This is seriously suspicious..." Jane muttered.
Her suspicion was entirely warranted.
**Charbun** nodded in agreement and looked at Roan with a worried expression.
"W-what shall we do, Lord Roan...? If you decide not to go, I-I think we should pull Miss Xaraxia down first..."
Xaraxia's eyes were already sparkling as she examined the carriage, preparing to climb aboard.
Just as Velgard was about to summon his darkness to drag her back—
"We should go," Roan said.
"What...? Really?" Jane frowned. "I feel like those people are going to look down on us and try to order us around..."
"Yeah. I got that feeling too..." Velgard agreed.
"Even so!"
They had to take what was rightfully theirs.
It wouldn't be too late to make a judgment after they heard what the royals had to say.
Why?
"Because we are strong," Roan whispered, low enough that only his companions could hear.
They were strong.
They had attained a level of strength that could never be built through ordinary training, ordinary sparring, or ordinary labyrinth raids.
An artificial god, a half-baked transcendent, a demon.
The entities they had faced so far were dangerous enough to overthrow an entire nation on their own.
And they had overcome all of them to stand here today.
"We might have stumbled, but we never fell. So we can reject them right to their faces if we don't like what they say."
It was not a mere assumption, but absolute conviction.
Roan was always a man of conviction, but the certainty he projected in a situation like this carried a completely different weight.
A brief silence fell over the group.
Step.
The footsteps that followed broke the silence.
It was the sound of his companions walking toward the carriage.
Jane, who was the first to reach it, looked back and grumbled at Roan.
"What are you doing? If you said we're going, you should be the first to get in."
Gush!
The sound of Roan's tear ducts bursting echoed in his mind.
Weeping so hard he was practically leaving a trail of tears, Roan quickly hurried to the carriage.
"...You didn't cry like this when I was practicing my abilities," Velgard muttered, looking slightly miffed as everyone boarded.
With a smooth, comfortable ride, the carriage carrying the party set off.
"People are staring a lot," Velgard noted, looking out.
"We're riding a carriage like this into the heart of the kingdom. I'd stare too," Jane replied.
"Still, it's a relief they can't see inside from the outside."
"Oh, that person's weapon over there is fascinating. May I go out?" Xaraxia asked, her eyes glued to the window.
"No!" everyone shouted in unison.
Amidst their colorful conversation, the carriage crossed the third wall.
The **Second Ward**.
This was where the academy directly managed by the kingdom was located.
Befitting the location, students in academy uniforms were gathered in small groups here and there.
"Ah, speaking of which, did you hear the rumor?" Charbun asked, his voice timid but polite.
"Huh? What rumor?" Jane turned to him.
"They say the princess of the kingdom has entered the academy. Her name was... **Promius**, I believe?"
"What?!"
Memories of that day came rushing back.
He had delivered the hatchling to her and promised to lend her his strength in the future.
As the memory resurfaced, a sense of admiration washed over him.
After all, Charbun, who hadn't even been there for that event, had gathered this piece of news before anyone else.
He was checking off the requirements of a scout one by one, growing into his role perfectly.
Roan's eyes welled up with tears once more.
"Why didn't you cry when I was training my abilities..." Velgard muttered, sighing deeply.
"That's because you're still inexperienced. Keep using it and get used to it," Jane teased.
Amidst the relaxed banter of the party, who chose to interpret Roan's tears as a metric of their growth, the carriage finally came to a halt.
"We have arrived. The **First Ward**, the Royal Palace."
They had finally reached the palace.
"Whoa... this is no joke," Roan muttered.
Though they had visited many luxurious places on their journey, the royal palace of the kingdom was on an entirely different level.
Perhaps it was because the palace occupied the entire First Ward, but even taking that into account, the sight before them was overwhelming.
An enormous garden and a grand palace stretched out before them, as if loudly proclaiming the absolute authority of the royal family.
Spires rose in all directions, and according to the servant, they were used to store the royal family's treasures and possessions.
Naturally, Xaraxia's eyes sparkled at the sight, and she immediately began to drift toward them.
Since the negotiations and rewards were Roan's responsibility anyway, there was no harm in letting her have some free time.
"Th-then... I shall also excuse myself for a moment," Charbun stammered, looking around nervously. "After all, I-I did not experience the events of the past, so..."
Charbun, who had been carefully reading the room, also excused himself.
Since they each took a servant with them to guide them, it wouldn't be a problem.
Thus, the original trio—a combination that brought back a wave of nostalgia—headed toward the audience chamber.
They walked past plush carpets, porcelain crafted by nameless master artists, and pristine, dustless window frames.
As they walked while admiring these sights, they eventually arrived before a massive set of double doors.
"This is the audience chamber where His Majesty the King, the Prince, and the Princess reside. Please show proper etiquette," the servant requested earnestly.
With those words, the doors opened with a heavy creak.
Show proper etiquette, huh...
Sure, he would play along for now.
"Oh... Father...! It seems every single item they possess is a rare treasure...!"
As long as the other side didn't start anything first, that is.