A month later, on the southern shore of Testu's Island, a small boat was preparing to depart.
At first, Nolan had planned to lie low, recover his strength, wait for his forces to grow, and then move with overwhelming momentum.
That approach suited Caria's current situation and could have resolved a whole series of thorny problems at their root.
But the world never moves according to one person's plans. The unexpected is always bound to happen, and Seluvis's letter had forced Nolan to change course.
Since arriving on Testu's Island, he hadn't even had many chances to confront enemies head-on, let alone kill and harvest souls.
The scouts sent by the Cuckoo faction couldn't even make it past the outer patrols and local villagers. In the end, only a handful ever reached Nolan.
Yet faced with such circumstances, Nolan felt no discouragement at all.
If no one was willing to come knocking, then he would go looking for trouble himself. Best case, he achieved his goal. Worst case, he simply withdrew.
"Teacher, are you ready? Let's go."
Nolan took a deep breath, grasped the witch teacher's hand beside him, and stepped onto a small wooden boat with her.
As the oars dipped and rose, the boat slowly drifted away from the shore, gliding into water as smooth as silk.
Their destination lay deep within the southern reaches of Liurnia, in the heart of the lake region.
Not only was it the strategic core of the entire area, but its mixed population made it a place where all kinds of people gathered, resulting in especially tight security.
Even so, with the aid of sorcery, the two passed through layer after layer of defenses without incident and successfully entered the region.
Nolan and Sellen avoided the main entrance, took out the Karolos hoods they had prepared in advance, and quickly put them on.
The water here flowed gently, and the constant traffic of merchant ships around them provided excellent cover.
The guards at Gatefront Town were no fools. Sentry posts and patrols had long been put in place.
However, most of the defensive force was concentrated around the busy harbor. No one expected anyone to slip through the outer perimeter instead.
Even so, for most ordinary people, breaking through this line of defense would still have been nothing more than a fantasy.
But Nolan's stealth, honed through hundreds of battles, allowed him to slip right under the sentries' noses and infiltrate the town without a trace.
His bare feet sank deep into pitch-black mud. Dark sludge splashed up, staining robes that once symbolized status and refinement.
After tearing a few holes in them and slashing several cuts with a knife, the formerly respectable sorcerer now looked no different from a refugee fleeing disaster.
Once the disguise was complete, Nolan found a place to lie in wait.
Through gaps between the nearby trees, he could faintly see flickering firelight swaying in the distance.
It was midsummer, the air thick and heavy. A light breeze blew in from the lake, bringing a hint of coolness, yet he remained still, silently watching the far-off glow.
Time passed bit by bit. Just as he had anticipated, a Haima mage and a Cuckoo knight approached with a small group, sharp scolding meant to keep the soldiers alert echoing through the air.
By sheer coincidence, the knight was the very one who had been negligent while eating in Gatefront Town before. Nolan couldn't help letting the corner of his mouth lift slightly.
Enemies really did cross paths in the narrowest of places. And honestly, this worked out perfectly.
A bully who preyed on the weak wouldn't dare cause trouble for two seemingly harmless sorcerers right in front of a Haima instructor.
As they drew closer, Nolan and Sellen exchanged a glance and nodded in mutual understanding.
As if rehearsed, they stepped forward together, raised their hands high, and shouted in unison,
"Sir, don't attack!"
The sudden scene startled the drowsy sentries awake. Reflexively, they tightened their grip on their spears, eyes filled with vigilance as they stared over.
In an instant, the atmosphere grew taut.
The instructor and the knight reacted even faster, raising staff and straight sword at the same time. In the darkness, starlight flared as they shouted toward a patch of blackness not far off,
"Who's there? Show yourself!"
Before long, two figures came stumbling out of the dark.
Both were caked in mud from head to toe, looking utterly miserable.
The moment they saw the soldiers standing in the woods, they rushed toward them like lost children who had finally found their family again.
Before the instructor could even bark at them to stop, the pair ran too hard and too fast, slipped, and sprawled onto the ground together.
Even then, one of them grit his teeth through the pain and struggled to lift a hand, his voice shaking as he said,
"W-we… we need to see… Preceptor Seluvis…"
...
A Glintstone lamp burned with a pale white glow, flooding the room with light.
A slightly worn wooden table sat in disarray, documents and books spread out haphazardly. A man in a wide-brimmed hat was seated there.
Several guards stood behind the middle-aged man.
They came in all shapes and sizes. Some were fully armed warriors, others held staves like sorcerers, yet without exception their eyes were dull, their gazes fixed mechanically on the surroundings.
This was the highest point in Gatefront Town. From here, you could take in the entire settlement at a glance, and it was also the very heart of the town's defenses.
"It's been days since I sent that letter. Why is there still no reply? A Preceptor offering to join of his own accord… Caria wouldn't turn that down, would it?"
Seluvis muttered to himself, frowning hard.
These past days, his irritation had reached its limit.
Ever since Caria retook Testu's Island… no, to be more precise, ever since that brat Nolan showed up at the academy, all of Seluvis's plans had been thrown into chaos.
He had meant to use Origin as bait, hook Sellen, and push their "cooperation" further. Instead, that woman had run off to Caria without a second thought, all because of a disciple.
He had also planned to slip away to Caria once the war began and seek out the Lunar Princess, but then a Banished Knight infiltrated the academy, and thorns like him ended up under Elkario's constant watch.
When the fighting truly started, he was strapped to the war effort with no way out.
Being sent out to defend a town looked carefree on the surface, but he knew full well how many sorcerers outside were watching his every move.
Those two damn bastards… if I get my hands on them, they're going to pay.
Seluvis's face went livid. His teeth ground together with an audible creak.
In a foul mood, he was just about to head into the inner room to rest. He had barely taken two steps when a knock suddenly sounded at the door.
At this hour? What do these idiots want now?
Annoyed, he glanced toward the doorway but didn't bother to rise.
"Come in. What is it?"
"Lord Seluvis, the lakeshore patrol caught two sorcerers from Caria. They claim to be your relatives and say they want to defect."
Relatives? I have relatives? Aren't I an orphan!?
Seluvis froze.
Wait. Defect? That wording sounded strangely familiar…
A possibility flashed through his mind, and he snapped his head up.
"Take me to them. Immediately."