The following morning.

Vikir pushed himself out of his shabby tavern bed.

He had turned down Highsis invitation to stay in the fortresss guest quarters the night before.

Hed already paid for the room the day before.

As he descended the creaky wooden stairs and entered the first floor, the guards from the previous night stood guard in front of the tavern and saluted in booming voices.

Salute!

I am not a member of the Morg family, you do not need to salute.

Sir Vikir, you are Red Castles hero, and we will never forget how you saved our lives in the depths two years ago, so we salute you from the bottom of our hearts!

Thats when Vikir decided to call it quits.

He couldnt afford to feel awkward all the time.

Just then, one of the waitresses from last night rushed over and handed Vikir a bag.

Hey there if you dont mind, I thought Id give you some snacks for your travels .

It was a skewer of the best cuts of beef, some herbal antiseptics, and dark-coloured beer in a cold glass bottle.

When the guards saw it, they sighed deeply.

What in the world has happened to that woman? they said.

How can Nancy, the cold wind of the tavern, the epitome of rudeness, be so kind

I guess shes suddenly awakened her spirit of hospitality .

What a cruel world. Looks are all that matters.

But Nancy wasnt the only one who had changed.

Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding.

As soon as the sun rose in the morning, three steeds approached Vikirs tavern.

The three horses were followed by numerous other carriages and servants.

Riding on the horses at the forefront were the three flowers of Morg.

Morg Highsis, Morg Middlesis, and Morg Lowsis.

For some reason, they looked different than they did yesterday.

To begin with, they had fairer skin, red lips, darker brows, or more defined features.

They looked natural as if they werent wearing makeup but right now they were actually wearing heavy makeup that took an extreme amount of time, money, and effort to put on.

On top of that, they were wearing formal outfits that they would never normally wear.

Afterwards, Morgs three sisters greeted Vikir and dismounted from their horses.

Even the notoriously ill-tempered Highsis said thank you in a gentle voice to the servant who helped her to her feet.

Vikir said to the triplets.

Is it okay to travel unarmed during war?

It was an innocent question.

But they answered with a glint in their eyes.

I am armed.

I am also fully armed. Its called combat readiness.

Ho-ho-ho, although my sisters makeup is more like camouflage than armour.

The youngest of the three sisters expressions stiffened at her sisters comment.

What? Camouflage, thats referring to the face you hid with your brush~

I only covered my face; how about you, sister? You completely obscured the outline of your chin. You also made your nose stand out with shading, but for what? That almost sounds like civil engineering.

Okay, move your bangs out of the way kid, so I can play soccer on your forehead.

As the three Morg suddenly began to argue with each other, the air around them began to swirl with magical power.

Despite their smiling faces, the air around them was growing chilly.

However, their fight was quickly interrupted by a single word from Vikir.

Have you contacted the Baskervilles?

Highsis was the first to raise her hand and answer.

Yes, I sent an owl yesterday to tell them that Mr. Vikir has returned.

Slowly, his title changed from sir to Mr.

It was Highsiss way of trying to be more respectful.

Vikir, of course, wasnt phased at all.

All right, then. Ill go by myself from here.

They were still in front of the tavern. He just meant he was going to make the trip alone.

The three sisters were openly disappointed.

Are you sure you dont want us to accompany you ?

Its a long way to the fortress border.

The roads are complicated, and you could get lost.

Im sure youre busy, but its okay.

We arent busy! we arent busy at all!

Were so bored these days that were sleeping all the time! Were not busy because the barbarians are quiet.

Why dont you just come with us, well show you the sights and give you some advice

No, thank you. Id appreciate it if I could just borrow a horse.

Vikir clapped his hands and thought to himself.

When I return home, Ill have to report that Morgs men are playing around.

Such disloyalty is unforgivable, sleeping around while borrowing someone elses land.

Then. Highsis came up behind him, pulling a pale white horse.

Only its ears were dyed pink.

This one is my favourite, his name is Poppy, and Ive had him since he was a baby. When youre riding him, youre also riding me No, no, please think of it as riding with me, eh, eh.

Sis, didnt you buy that horse in a hurry at the market last night.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, She picked the best one she could find, and I pushed the stallholders hard, but it was a real steal~

Highsis grits her teeth and menaces at her siblings.

Whatever.

Vikir climbed onto the horse.

Until then, the three sisters had been arguing over who would lead Vikir to the edge of the Red Castles boundaries.

Then.

I have a question for you.

Vikir turned his head.

Meeting his gaze, the three sisters stopped moving for a moment and stared up into his face with blank expressions.

It was as if they were mesmerised.

But Vikirs next words brought them back to reality.

Where is Camus?

Camus. Camus Morg.

Hearing the name brought the three sisters back to reality as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over them.

That, that, thats right. Thats right, there was Camus, ugh.

Were gonna have to look all over the place, arent we?

Thats why I told you not to do that, sisters!

The three sisters gasped, realising what they had just done.

Then Highsis answered Vikirs question.

If its Camus, shes entering closed-door training.

closed?

Vikir repeated, and Highsis shook his head, filling in the blanks of what could have happened.

She had heard that after Vikirs disappearance, Camus had organised a search party and spent years searching the Depths of red and black Mountain.

But after failing to recover Vikirs corpse, let alone save him, Camus abruptly stopped searching and entered into a closed-door training session.

And what he heard from Morgs three sisters was startling.

Shes separated from Uncle Adolf.

Highsis said, sounding surprised herself.

I heard that Camus has changed a little since the time he stopped searching for Vikir.

She had lost much of her brash personality and spoke less.

Then, out of the blue, She announced her withdrawal from the Light Side.

Since Camus always followed Adolf like a parent, who was her uncle and the leader of a light faction, the Morg family was shocked even from within.

However, Adolf did not express any official comments about this incident.

He just silently watched Camus, who had defected, joined the Dark Side, which stands at the opposite end of a Light Side.

The Dark Side.

Vikir frowned slightly.

There are two factions in Morg.

The Light Side, which uses magic to achieve results both internally and externally.

And the Dark Faction, which is less publicly visible, but deeply researches and develops magic within the family.

Members of the Light faction travel in and around the clan, slaying monsters and constructing buildings.

Members of the Dark Side, on the other hand, generally dont travel outside of the family.

Instead, they study a particular field or a specific magic in depth, and through countless trials and errors, discover and recreate new magic.

Its the difference between a practitioner and a researcher.

The current leader of the Light Faction is Adolf Morg, and the leader of the Dark Faction is Snake Morg.

Snake Morg. He is an archmage who leads the House of Morg and holds the title of Marquis of the Empire.

The same rank as the patriarch, Respane Morg.

The only thing that comes to mind is his reputation as being incredibly pompous and stubborn.

Of course, Vikir, who had lived through the Age of Destruction, was familiar with the man known as Snake Morg.

This is unexpected.

Vikir frowned.

Before the regression, Camus and Snake had never gotten along.

But somehow, in this life, Camus had suddenly joined hands with Snake.

Since Morgs party is composed of one delegate, 20 senators, and 400 representatives, Camus would most likely have been a senator.

Maybe she wasnt even a senator at all.

Vikir hesitated a moment, then spoke up.

Can you deliver a message to Camus?

Highsis nodded as if it were obvious.

Sure. Its a favour from a friend.

Okay. Then Ill ask you to keep it short.

Vikir nodded, and all three sisters took out pens and paper, ready to dictate.

But what actually came out of Vikirs mouth was very simple and short.

-When you get a chance, lets meet face-to-face.

?

Is that it?

Werent they supposed to be reunited after two long years?

The three sisters, Highsis, Middlesis, and Lowsis, stood in place in a daze.

Turning to them, Vikir added, as if it had just occurred to him.

Oh, and. Be sure to leave the Dark Side.