"So, what brings someone of your rank to sit with us today?"

Aryandor asked with a smile.

Perrian frowned at Aryandor's words.

"Does it sound like I'm mocking you? If so, I apologize."

Perrian scrutinized Aryandor's expression.

It was hard to tell what he was thinking.

"How much do you know?"

Perrian asked directly.

Staying any longer would benefit neither of them.

"I am aware that you were captured and that you escaped from the dungeon."

"Then, this will be quick. How about forming an alliance?"

"An alliance?"

Aryandor's expression hardened.

"An alliance with you, who has lost everything?"

"I haven't lost everything. I still have the mana stones created by necromancy. You're not exactly in perfect condition either, are you?"

"Our damages are not beyond repair. How bad is your situation if you've come to us?"

Aryandor scoffed at Perrian. Under normal circumstances, Perrian would have stormed off, but he was in a position of need.

The rebels could benefit from having Perrian, but they wouldn't be at a loss without him.

But Perrian wasn't one to back down easily.

"Have you forgotten that I have necromancers at my command?"

Perrian gambled. He didn't know the exact condition of the necromancers.

The royal family was aware of the necromancers, so he was reluctant to go to their location.

Yet, with no rumors spreading, he aimed to exploit the information gap.

"Necromancers, you say..."

Aryandor stroked his chin, staring intently at Perrian.

"You wouldn't want to see them all die, would you?"

Perrian smiled. The rebels had an unusually strong obsession with necromancers.

It could be because they had a necromancer among their leadership, but the obsession seemed deeper.

"Let's start by handing over the necromancers,"

Aryandor said with utter seriousness, unaware of the necromancers' situation.

"Necromancy is my last weapon. Do you think I'd hand it over easily?"

"Hmm... What do you want?"

Aryandor took the bait.

"Ian Astria. He must be captured."

"Ian Astria?"

"A subspace created with spatial magic was robbed. He's the only one who knows how to use spatial magic, so he must have the items."

"Are you certain?"

"Yes. He took the items..."

"No, I mean, are you saying Ian Astria is the only one capable of using spatial magic?"

At Aryandor's words, Perrian narrowed his eyes.

"What are you implying?"

"Don't you have two sons?"

"Ah, you mean Rudy Astria? That kid..."

Perrian was about to dismiss the idea but then his expression wrinkled.

'Rudy can use spatial magic?'

Now that he thought about it, it was indeed strange.

The theft of the subspace had occurred during the chaos in the underground dungeon.

It was likely that when the amplifier was placed in the subspace, its coordinates were checked, and the items were taken.

Could Ian Astria have accessed the subspace during the disturbance in the dungeon?

Ian was a commander of the Royal forces.

If there had been a commotion in the dungeon, he should have been commanding people outside of it.

Could he really have slipped away to where the amplifier was hidden during that time?

It wasn't entirely impossible, but there were definitely awkward points.

"I think Rudy Astria is responsible for this. What do you think?"

It had been only about two weeks since Rudy had come to him asking to learn spatial magic.

At that time, he had known nothing.

And now, he was already using spatial magic?

Perrian pondered and then realized something.

The amplifier.

How had they managed to take the amplifier?

Ian knew about the necromancers but not about the amplifier.

Perrian had avoided going directly to that place to keep the existence of the amplifier a secret.

He had kept its location hidden by handling documents and had only recently visited the place once using spatial magic.

That was at the mansion he used with Rudy.

"Ah...! That was it."

"So, our goals align to some extent."

Aryandor smiled and looked at Perrian.

"Our target is Rudy Astria. How you handle him is of no concern to us. If you promise to kill him, we'll offer you our full support."

"Oh? And what does this support entail?"

"We'll send one of our leaders to you, along with a magical device created with time magic."

Perrian grinned.

The rebel soldiers, mostly untrained commoners, were no match for the Royal army, but their leadership was a different story.

Even the deceased Jefrin and the necromancer Daemon had remarkable abilities, making one wonder how they were recruited.

"Understood. I'll send you the meeting location separately."

"Then, I look forward to our meeting after this matter is resolved."

Aryandor and Perrian shook hands and returned to their respective places.

"Thank you for the information on necromancy. It really helped progress things."

A man sat in front of the empire's head wizard, Franz.

"It was nothing."

It was Robert.

Though both were disciples of Levian, they weren't close. Robert wasn't one to foster friendships, so they merely knew of each other.

Yet, their current meeting was due to necromancy.

"I shared information about Ephomos as a form of repayment for your help with necromancy."

Ephomos.

A few months ago, Robert had investigated Ephomos while traveling to the Railer domain with Rudy.

The person who had provided the mercenaries with information on Robert's behalf was none other than the head wizard, Franz.

From there, the two formed a cooperative relationship.

Franz provided information on necromancers and their investigations, while Robert personally visited the scene.

Given his position as a head wizard, which didn't allow for much freedom of movement, Franz had utilized Robert for these tasks.

"Your student thought I was the one using time magic. You could have given him a hint that we were working together."

"Why should I report every little thing to him? He's not my superior. He'll figure it out on his own."

"Thanks to your student, things went smoothly. He's exceptionally talented in magic. To learn spatial magic in such a short time..."

"Talent? It's just a coincidence."

"If such coincidences keep happening, they're not coincidences but inevitabilities. Isn't he making a name for himself at the academy? That must be the level of a genius."

"Genius, my foot. The kid is anything but a genius."

One would expect Robert to be pleased by such praise for his student, but he showed no sign of it.

"Do you really think so?"

"Yes, the world doesn't call someone a genius just because ordinary people can't understand them. He's just a fool who works harder than others and doesn't know how to compromise with himself."

"Hmm..."

From the listener's perspective, this sounded more valuable than being called a genius. It acknowledged the person's effort, not just their talent.

"Anyway, setting Rudy aside, why have you come all of a sudden?"

It was unusual for Robert to make such a visit.

Originally, he had been cautious about his research on necromancy being discovered, but it was also because of his personality, which didn't favor face-to-face discussions.

"You saw Levian's last moments, didn't you?"

"Nobody saw his last moments. Even those in the Railer domain said they didn't see it."

"I'm talking about before that. Before he went to the Railer domain."

"I was nearby then."

"What expression was he wearing at that time?"

"Hmm... expression... That's difficult."

It felt like the disappearance of Ephomos was just yesterday, but it had been nearly 20 years since that event.

It was hard to recall an expression from that time.

"If you can't remember, that's fine."

"No, I do remember vaguely."

Franz had been close to Levian, almost like a star pupil.

He had a faint memory of his master's last appearance.

"Very sad... No, it was a complex expression. A mix of sadness and regret? Something like that."

"Sad, huh..."

As Robert pondered this with a stroke of his chin, Franz let out a resigned laugh.

"Did you come all this way just to ask that?"

"I dropped by to ask that, among other things, and to see how you're doing. It wouldn't hurt for fellow disciples to check in on each other."

"It's funny hearing that from you. So, that's all you came for?"

"Not entirely."

With that, Robert handed him an envelope.

"What's this?"

"Just some information I've gathered that might be needed."

Franz looked at the envelope with a curious expression.

"Should I open it now?"

"No."

"Huh... well, then. When should I open it?"

Robert stood up from his seat.

"You'll know when."