After the coronation of King Mark, the Kingdom of Dan slowly began to stabilize once more.
The wounds left behind by the Dark Day had not disappeared, but the people had no choice except to continue living. Markets reopened fully, trade routes regained activity, and soldiers resumed regular patrols throughout the kingdom.
Still—
The death of King Dan remained carved deeply into everyone's hearts.
To prevent such a tragedy from happening again, a special investigation group was formed directly under the crown. Its purpose was simple:
Track down Kar, the assassin of the King.
And uncover the truth behind the sudden appearance of the demonic beasts during the Open Clash.
The investigation quickly spread across the continent. Shadow Guards moved secretly through cities while royal knights searched for traces of demonic activity near the borders.
Yet Kar had vanished completely.
Almost like a ghost.
No one knew where he had gone.
No one knew who stood behind him.
And that uncertainty frightened the kingdom more than anything else.
—
Meanwhile, King Mark began his formal education as ruler.
Many ministers expected him to struggle.
After all, among the royal siblings, Mark had always been considered the least politically ambitious.
But to everyone's surprise—
He adapted frighteningly fast.
The lessons regarding governance, economics, diplomacy, military command, and noble management seemed almost too easy for him.
While reading through royal materials, Mark even began wondering if the royal instructors were simplifying things intentionally.
"Are king lessons supposed to be this easy?" he once asked genuinely.
The old royal tutor nearly fainted hearing that.
Within only a few weeks, Mark had already begun personally handling portions of court affairs.
And unlike many nobles expected—
He was efficient.
Very efficient.
He finished documents quickly, remembered details perfectly, and understood political situations with surprising clarity.
Even Irwin silently acknowledged his talent.
One evening, Irwin entered Mark's chamber along with the other siblings.
The doors remained closed for hours.
Servants waiting outside heard no shouting.
No arguments.
Only long silence.
When the meeting finally ended, Mark's expression had changed completely.
He looked shocked.
But strangely happy as well.
Whatever had been discussed between the royal siblings that night—
No one else ever learned.
Not even Henry.
—
Far away from the capital, Henry continued rebuilding his territory.
The newly expanded Barony of Tecka had become enormous after the King's decree. Forests, rivers, hills, and the vast Deckra Mountains now fell under his authority.
Much of the land remained untamed.
Unexplored.
And possibly dangerous.
Henry therefore organized several exploration teams to investigate the mountains and forests for resources.
Weeks later—
News arrived that shocked the entire territory.
The lower regions of the Deckra Mountains contained enormous reserves of Melarium.
Not small traces.
Not scattered deposits.
But entire veins rich enough to support large-scale mining.
The moment the reports were confirmed, Henry immediately began operations.
Mining camps were established.
Roads were built.
Merchants flooded toward Tecka seeking contracts.
And within months—
The Barony of Tecka became one of the wealthiest territories in the kingdom.
Melarium was extremely valuable throughout the continent due to its connection with machinery, artifacts, and mana engineering.
The discovery changed Tecka completely.
Trade caravans now constantly moved through Verna carrying ore, tools, and supplies.
The once dying land had become a center of prosperity.
Sometimes Henry himself stood overlooking the mines in silence.
It still felt strange to him.
The same land once abandoned by everyone—
Now attracted nobles and merchants from all over the kingdom.
—
During this time, Henry also continued his training.
The old veteran from the tournament had revealed himself to be none other than the Third Elder.
A legendary former soldier known throughout older generations for fighting demonic creatures directly during the Demonic War.
Though Henry had technically defeated him during the tournament—
The Third Elder still far surpassed him in experience.
Especially regarding demonic energy.
"You fight well," the old man once told Henry.
"But your understanding of demons is shallow."
And thus Henry began learning under him.
Whenever free from political duties, Henry traveled to train with the Elder.
The lessons were brutal.
The old man cared little for noble status.
Henry was thrown into forests, forced to survive nights among corrupted beasts, and repeatedly taught how demonic energy behaved differently from ordinary mana.
"Demons do not fight logically," the Elder explained.
"They consume."
"They corrupt."
"And the moment you hesitate before them, you die."
Slowly Henry's understanding deepened.
At the same time, whenever he had rare moments of peace—
He locked himself inside his workshop.
Blueprints, artifact fragments, mana circuits, and experimental tools scattered everywhere around him. Nabu once described the workshop as "a controlled disaster."
Henry continued developing purification artifacts and studying ancient machinery.
The growth of Tecka had nearly reached the level of the greatest territories.
And for the first time in years—
Life felt stable.
Then—
One day, Henry's father became unusually excited.
"I finally received a reply!" he announced loudly.
Henry blinked.
"A reply from who?"
"My old friend!"
His father rarely showed such enthusiasm.
Apparently, before settling in Verna and marrying Henry's mother, he had traveled the continent as a merchant alongside another man.
The two had once dreamed of building a massive trading organization together.
But Henry's father eventually chose a peaceful life instead.
Even so, during Verna's collapse, that same friend had secretly provided assistance from afar.
Now—
After many years—
They were finally meeting again.
Several days later, enormous caravans appeared near the northern gate of Verna.
Dozens of wagons entered the city carrying goods, guards, and banners bearing the insignia of one of Igdur's major merchant associations.
The people of Verna watched in amazement.
Henry himself went with his parents to welcome them.
There stood a large middle-aged man wearing luxurious merchant robes. His eyes were sharp, but his laughter came easily.
He immediately embraced Henry's father tightly.
"You abandoned me for marriage!" the merchant shouted dramatically.
"And look at you now!"
Henry's father laughed loudly.
"You survived just fine."
The merchant turned toward Henry.
"So this is your son?"
Henry's father nodded proudly.
"This is Henry Tecka."
"As you know, he's the Baron of Tecka."
The merchant suddenly paused before laughing again.
"So you really are that Henry Tecka."
Henry raised an eyebrow.
"That famous already?"
"Very."
The merchant then gestured beside him.
"And this is my daughter."
Henry froze slightly.
The face was familiar.
"Gradia Nicole," she introduced herself calmly.
Then Henry remembered.
The merchant girl from Igdur.
The one connected to the beast incident.
But now she looked entirely different.
Her clothing was elegant and refined. Her posture carried noble-like grace rather than the relaxed appearance Henry remembered.
After the introductions, both families shared dinner together.
Stories filled the hall as the older generation reminisced about their merchant days.
At one point, Henry stepped outside briefly to retrieve some documents.
And there—
He encountered Nicole alone near the corridor.
"You seem to be doing well," she said softly.
"Yeah," Henry replied.
Then after a moment he asked carefully,
"Have we met before?"
Nicole laughed lightly.
"So you really don't remember properly."
"I'm G-ole."
"The one who requested your help with eliminating the beasts."
Henry's eyes widened slightly.
"Right… I thought it was you."
"You look different now."
Nicole sighed dramatically.
"That's because my father forced me into dresses."
Henry almost laughed.
She then explained her situation.
Unlike her father, Nicole had never wanted a quiet luxurious life.
She wanted business.
Trade.
Negotiation.
Freedom.
But her father wished for her to marry a powerful noble someday and live comfortably without hardship.
When he refused to involve her in the main merchant association—
Nicole simply built her own.
Through sheer talent and stubbornness, she had created another merchant company powerful enough to control an entire third of Igdur's trade market.
Henry stared at her in surprise.
"You built that yourself?"
She crossed her arms proudly.
"Of course."
Then she looked slightly embarrassed.
"My father still thinks I should behave more 'ladylike.'"
Henry smiled faintly.
"I think I liked the previous you better."
Nicole blinked slightly.
Then laughed softly.
"That's the first honest thing someone has said to me all day."
The two eventually returned to join the others.
The merchant caravans planned to remain in Tecka for several days to discuss future trade cooperation and Melarium contracts.
And so—
Another peaceful day passed within the growing territory of Tecka.
But far beyond the kingdom's borders—
Darkness still moved quietly beneath the surface of the continent.