Solitär's words made Aura nod involuntarily, thinking that it was indeed true.
Then, watching Solitär and Fíliya walking side by side, she felt something was off.
Where is it...?
She fell into a brief contemplation again.
Oh... it's the shoulder distance!
Before, when these two walked together, there was still a gap of about twenty or thirty centimeters. But now... their shoulders were almost rubbing against each other.
What kind of events happened while I wasn't looking...? I just feel like these two are getting closer and closer.
Aura thought with a complicated expression, but she didn't say anything more as the group embarked on their journey once again.
Over the following days, Fíliya's party would occasionally sense the mana of the Magic Special Forces. However, those guys seemed to have received new instructions; the moment their detection clashed with Fíliya's group, they would flee at top speed.
"Are we being watched?"
On this day, Solitär seemed a bit impatient. If not for Fíliya stopping her repeatedly, she would have insisted on capturing a few Magic Special Forces members to dissect and see if they were truly immune to pain.
"No. With their style, if they were monitoring us, they wouldn't leave such a huge opening. I think... we most likely just have bad luck and ran into the period where The Empire is conducting a large-scale recall of the [Magic Special Forces]. These forces usually only patrol the borders, but just counting the ones we've met, there have been nearly ten squads... These guys should also be rushing towards the Imperial Capital and just happened to encounter us."
"Looking at it this way, The Empire must be brewing some kind of plan. I haven't seen this kind of large-scale mobilization of the [Magic Special Forces] before."
As Fíliya spoke, she lifted the cloth bag in her hand and shook it gently.
Under her movement, the bag emitted a crisp clinking sound.
Inside were all the [Magic Special Forces] badges she had collected along the way—she had already amassed over thirty of them.
It had to be said that the workmanship of these Magic Special Forces badges was quite good and they had decent collection value. It was just that other people certainly wouldn't have the means to attack the Magic Special Forces as wantonly as Fíliya did.
"Sigh... I feel like I missed out on something."
Sitting in the carriage, Fíliya suddenly let out a sigh, piquing the curiosity of Solitär and Aura.
"Mm... it's nothing. It's just that when I was in Weise, I chatted with that guy Denken. I did him a small favor, thinking I could count on him to look after us once we reached the Imperial Capital. But analyzing the current situation... the changes in the Imperial Capital are likely even greater than I imagined. That old fellow Denken might not even be able to save himself, right? I guess I can't count on him."
Fíliya spoke with a regretful face, but this matter wasn't particularly important to her. Soon, she began chatting with Solitär about other things.
After a trek lasting two months, Fíliya's party finally saw that magnificent capital city.
The mere sight of the giant gates, thirty or forty meters high, proved one point: the level of development of The Empire far exceeded that of other nations.
"Tsk, tsk... They raised the gate again... It used to be only twenty meters high. They've really done a good job with this vanity project."
Standing before the gates of the Imperial Capital, Lady Fíliya's expression remained extremely calm and confident.
"Let's go. Enter the city."
Fíliya held Solitär's hand with one hand and beckoned to Aura and Linie with the other. The group walked leisurely up to the guards as if nothing was amiss.
Fíliya saw it very clearly; the moment that guard met her gaze, he was obviously a bit unnatural, which made her even more disdainful.
She thought to herself that The Empire wasn't all that much. The guard exposed that he recognized her in an instant... Hmm, presumably her portrait was already well-known by the various departments of The Empire?
Hmm... then when will some capable assassins come?
Fíliya chuckled lightly, surprisingly feeling a faint sense of anticipation in her heart.
"Wasn't entering the city a bit too smooth...?"
Even Aura felt it was somewhat inconceivable. Although they had the identity-concealing magic, for a few demons to just waltz into the human nation with the strongest magical power... wasn't this a bit...?
"What else did you expect? I told you, that magic of mine is powerful. Unless it's a character on the level of Frieren, you don't need to worry about being seen through. Besides... I get the feeling that I'm the only one being targeted... Why is that?"
Fíliya subconsciously recalled the guard's expression, as well as those Magic Special Forces guys she had encountered before...
Hmm, could it be because of the [First-Class Mage] identity?
Is The Empire hunting down all [First-Class Mages]? Are they that bold?
Having arrived at a conjecture in her heart, Fíliya immediately felt a bit doubtful again. She still didn't believe the Magic Special Forces dared to go to such lengths. What level are you guys at, daring to oppose us?
Forget it, let's find a place to stay first. As time passes, things will surely become clear.
Fíliya temporarily abandoned her thoughts and led Solitär and the others into the city.
"Wait! What is that!"
Miss Aura suddenly let out a cry of surprise.
Everyone looked in the direction she was pointing.
It was a merchant caravan unloading goods. If one had to say there was something special, it was that the [workers] moving the cargo were all using magic to unload it.
"Look at your ignorant appearance. Here, there's more over there."
Fíliya spoke grumpily, then pursed her lips, gesturing towards another direction for Aura.
Aura looked over and saw that wherever her gaze landed—whether it was a young girl shopping, an old man tending to flowers, or children stacking stones with magic—everyone was filled with the aura of mana.
"Don't tell me everyone in [The Empire] is a mage..."
Aura murmured in disbelief.
"Of course not. Can't you tell at a glance? These ordinary citizens are at the apprentice level at most... They can't be counted as mages at all; they've just mastered some magic convenient for daily life... But that is shocking enough. The Empire is indeed a nation with a very dense magical atmosphere. From this perspective, the nation that Flamme dreamed of, where [everyone can use magic], has indeed been built."
Fíliya spoke in a calm tone. This struck Solitär as somewhat strange. After all... this fellow beside her was Flamme's direct disciple, and her relationship with Flamme was very good... In that case, seeing her teacher's dying wish achieved a thousand years later, why use such a cold tone? It really wasn't like her character.
"Because although The Empire is prosperous... this is built upon the sacrifice of other nations. The people of The Empire can live such happy lives because the Imperial Army campaigns across the continent, oppressing the people of weaker nations. This is completely different from the appearance of human unity that Flamme envisioned. However, this can be considered a sickness of humanity. Look, even without the external enemy of the [Demon Race], humans will still lay hands on their own kind."
Fíliya seemed to pierce through Solitär's thoughts, speaking her explanation before Solitär could ask.
"Mm... it's still a bit too early to ponder such propositions. Let's go, I'll take you guys to eat something... Though... I don't know if that shop I liked has gone out of business."
Fíliya changed the subject, a smile reigniting on her face, and began leading the group toward the alley in her memories.
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