The Pioneer’s Unexpected Call
The loud voice calling for their master had drawn everyone’s attention, but not just Roman. Mea, who had come to greet them, and Hekate, who was handling sales to the Demonologist hunters exploring for signs, all turned toward the entrance.
“Huh? What is it?”
Even though it was morning and most of the visitors had already arrived, today’s handful of customers stared at the door with open displeasure.
They had been waiting since the crack of dawn, yet here was someone bellowing as if the place belonged to them.
That glare vanished the instant the door was slammed open with a thunderous BOOM.
“What?”
The visitor looked no older than his mid-twenties.
At most, late twenties to early thirties.
His hair was a vivid violet—brighter than Mea’s deep purple—and his eyes were sharp enough to seem almost lazy from a distance, yet glowed with golden brilliance up close.
The same violet hair and amber eyes that marked Mea, but somehow it was no coincidence.
She had pointed ears, long and tapered, the very symbol of a half-elf that Roman had seen on Leaf.
Combined with the healthy bronze skin, there was no doubt left.
She was a dark-elf hybrid.
Where Leaf was timid, this woman’s posture radiated raw confidence.
A smile sat on her lips, effortless and unapologetic.
She strode in as if she owned the air itself.
That was the kind of presence that made your spine straighten without permission.
“Viola…”
“Why is the Frontier Guild…”
“Damn it, the first floor is enough for you to leave alone…”
Exclamations of shock and awe erupted from every corner.
Roman finally understood.
One of the 8 Pioneers of Res Limen.
Arthur’s teacher and the Guild Master of Frontier.
Viola Pelletier.
How could he have not recognized her?
After all, the connection with Arthur and Ray was already there.
Wait… why the hell is someone this powerful walking around without a single retainer?
She hadn’t uttered a single word except to order him around, yet the entire building felt like it belonged to her.
Even Hekate, the building’s true owner, couldn’t quite stand her presence.
Viola plucked an empty chair from the bar counter, dropped into it, and scanned the room with a lazy glare.
“What’s this? Why are you still here?”
She pointed at the corner where Roman and Mea stood.
Disappear. That was the clear meaning behind her words.
Outrage?
Not in this field.
The moment the top hunter refused, even a Pioneer or someone with the rank of Grand Duchess would have to answer to her.
But the moment she started bullying with raw authority, it wasn’t just her reputation—it was the entire Frontier Guild’s credibility that would take a hit.
“MASTER!!”
Finally, a replacement for the duty roster.
“LATE!”
“I’m sorry! Master is moving too fast!”
That was a face Roman hadn’t seen in a long time.
Arthur Carlyle.
He spotted them, gave a short nod, and immediately took charge.
“Everyone, please be patient. Please write your names on this register. We will arrange for you to join Frontier Guild’s upcoming expedition.”
Arthur held up the clipboard, forcing smiles back onto faces that had been crumpled by the Frontier’s usual rewards.
“If we can join the Frontier expedition…”
“Hehe, we were about to head out when we saw the esteemed Pelletier lady. My mind went blank… Anyway, I’ll just put my name down…”
“Hunting Void Beasts is basically a gamble. If we can’t find one, hiring a Demonologist is pointless. Might as well join the Frontier expedition.”
One by one, the visitors slipped out like water down a drain.
They had brushed aside the Pioneer’s displeasure and chosen the safe option of betting on an uncertain hunt rather than risk everything.
Soon the Thelema School lounge fell silent again.
Viola finally let out a satisfied whistle and pointed at Roman and Mea.
“You two. Get over here and sit.”
“As unchanged as ever, Viola.”
“Elves don’t change until they die.”
She chuckled, still far from death.
The casual tone suited her perfectly.
“Sorry, but I already have plans.”
“Huh?”
“Just reach out later and I’ll come to the Frontier Guild instead.”
“Heh?”
Viola threw her head back, laughing.
Arthur beside her looked visibly tense.
His earlier loud voice and today’s unusually fierce demeanor were new.
Roman hadn’t asked, but he didn’t need to.
“Is it more important than me?”
“Me? Pioneer? Guild Master of the Five Great Guilds?”
Who didn’t know that?
But in the end, Viola was still a human.
Compared to Ray and Leaf, who had already shared secrets deep enough to risk their lives, the choice was obvious.
“My teammates are waiting.”
“I came here for a serious conversation.”
“I promised my teammates a serious talk too.”
“Whaaaat?”
Viola’s shoulders loosened as she stretched the words out.
Only then did Roman remember what Ray had said.
She’s the craziest woman I’ve ever met.
Under the mounting tension, Viola continued.
“Not bad. You’ve got some guts. I like that. But I’m a busy woman too, so I’ll ask once more. Which one of you is more serious? I won’t ask again.”
This is getting way too pushy.
Seir, help me!
Help me, Seir!
It would be better to step back a little here. That woman is terrifying.
Yeah. Hunting would be fun, but with the Demonologist status like this… tsk.
Sorry, Your Highness the Archduke.
But the answer had come.
Even from the Great Archdemons, the word that came back was that she was terrifyingly strong.
In the human world, she stood at the absolute peak.
The one who saw through the world’s logic said the more complicated something was, the more fragile it became.
Therefore, the simpler something was, the stronger it became.
In other words, Viola was a ticking time bomb waiting to detonate.
“On second thought, the other side seems more serious.”
“Well thought.”
It wasn’t fear driving him—it was worry that the precious Thelema School might get blown to pieces.
Hekate should have felt that ache in his voice.
“I never forced anything. I gave the same answer twice. Really?”
Would I treat Arthur’s friend and benefactor like this?
If I couldn’t get it, it was my loss. Right?
“Your words are wise.”
Just walk away.
Why would the Archdemons always make the worst judgments?
Did the Contractor decide this?
I never said anything! I just said it would be fun to hunt.
These cowards!
“Anyway, I’ve been wanting to see this for a while. So… Roman Sun?”
“Yes, that’s me.”
“You…”
Viola’s golden eyes locked onto him.
Taking in every connection, every detail.
“Interesting kid. I’d like to fight you.”
“Master, that’s…”
“Ah, I know. I know. Demonologists aren’t even allowed to spar. I know. How much grief your Hekate has caused because of that.”
A sudden arrow shot straight at Hekate.
Seeing him look her way, Hekate’s face twisted in disgust.
“Just tell me what you want! Frontier Guild Master?”
“Cold as ice. Your father fought me so cleanly. Did he pass it on?”
“That’s…”
“Ah, sorry. Is the Demon Lord’s true name taboo?”
“Anyway, whatever.”
She was pure My Face.
Even Ray had some of that spirit, yet Viola had turned even her into a regular human.
Absolute strength backing up My Face, huh…
“Anyway, I’ve heard a lot about you. You caught the Chromatic Find, a variant of Void Beast, and this time you even broke a Sentinel?”
“A Sentinel?”
Arthur’s eyes widened in surprise.
After just one day, Pioneer-level information power.
“If you caught that level, you must have caught that guy too.”
“That guy?”
“Jegan. The Undead Jegan. Don’t know?”
“The necromancer of the Cult of the End?”
“That’s right. Didn’t know?”
“The Grand Duchess family didn’t tell you?”
“Ah, no misunderstanding. Arthur never breathed a word about it. Did he make a Demon Lord contract? How did he keep his mouth shut?”
The conversation jumped all over the place, but Viola finally cut off the thread and returned to the original topic.
“The shortcut incident on the second floor. You discovered it, right?”
“That’s correct.”
“I ran into a romantic as well. He was talking about you like crazy.”
“Romantic…? You mean Luke?”
“Yeah. He told our guild he’d join, but he turned us down for some reason.”
If Luke’s nickname was Romantic, it actually made sense.
“This incident is most likely the work of the Cult of the End. It might as well be confirmed.”
“As expected…”
Who else but those kinds of monsters would pull something like this?
“But calling them all Cult of the End is too broad. They’re not a single group. They’re a category. Inside them are countless factions, just like cities.”
Learned in the training ground.
Even among the Cult of the End, there were four particularly large, powerful, and dangerous organizations—the Five Great Guilds, the Six Great Academies, the Three Great Clans, and the Cult of the End itself.
“The Cult of the End is the most extreme. They don’t just worship the Abyss—they believe the Abyss is the true world and are actively working to destroy the outside.”
There was no safe Cult of the End, and among all of them, they were the most dangerous.
And at the same time, our mortal enemy.
“You know that too?”
“Of course. I heard it from Fiona.”
The Cult of the End was the most likely group behind the attack on us.
Adding the Pioneer herself made the probability almost certain.
“Unlike the attack, this is still speculation, but I believe the Cult of the End is behind this incident as well.”
“Reason…”
“The only group that can create shortcuts, Roman.”
Mea answered before him.
Now that he thought about it, the same thing had happened during the training-ground attack.
They had warped the underground space freely.
And it was that necromancer, the Undead Jegan, whose core he had taken that became Axis.
Space magic that had completely cut ties and become lost— the Cult of the End might be preserving it.
“Other groups are desperately trying to create shortcuts, but the only one confirmed to have succeeded is the Cult of the End. Information about a magic that can detect naturally formed shortcuts on the Abyss Academy side has reached us, but it hasn’t been verified yet.”
It sounded like an enormous secret, yet Viola dismissed it with a casual flick of her hand.
“So I’ve been put in charge of the expedition to investigate this second-floor incident.”
“You?!”
Hekate’s eyes shot open.
Viola asked her lightly.
“Why? You’re going too?”
“Ah, no, that’s… a bit…”
Hekate was immediately torpedoed.
“Since the Cult of the End might be involved, I need someone like me to move. The Grand Duchess family, the Union—everyone’s on edge after the training-ground attack. That’s why I’m going with Roman…”
THUD!
“Hey! Roman! Why aren’t you coming…!”
That voice.
Roman squeezed his eyes shut.
I’ll pray for your safety, Ray.
“No, whew, you’re busy. Okay. I’ll come later. Bye!”
“Lyric Cup.”
The presence outside the window vanished instantly.
“Origin position.”
“Loc… location…”