"Sir Aile, you've arrived. Have you thought about what I told you yesterday?"

"Yes."

Lorna, greeting Yuder a bit away from the mages busy reconstructing the shattered defensive barrier, lowered her voice as she surveyed the surroundings.

"What will you do? Would you like to join me today to see the ruins and other places? Or will you wait until all your companions return?"

"If it's okay, I'd like to go today."

It was an obvious choice, without room for hesitation. Upon hearing Yuder's answer, Lorna nodded in affirmation as if she had expected it, subtly surveying their surroundings.

"I thought you might say that. Please, follow me."

Thanks to Yuder's help with the mages all day yesterday, the atmosphere had considerably softened. However, if they found out he was joining her to the ruins, someone might suddenly object. As a result, Lorna took advantage of the others' busiest time to move, avoiding their attention.

"We'll need to join the others, but they're all people who've come from the village together, so you won't feel too burdened."

As she said this, two familiar mages waited behind a half-collapsed building.

"Ah, hello. When Lorna mentioned you might come along, we weren't sure, but you're really here. Did you rest well yesterday...?"

"Yes. Thanks to you."

Though the mages, who had fully experienced Yuder's Cavalry strength on the journey, didn't express their joy openly, their eyes revealed their relief at Yuder's participation. They soon began moving along a narrow path behind the collapsed building. The path wasn't naturally formed but had been crafted by felling trees and leveling the ground.

"It was fortunate that despite the numerous barriers breaking yesterday, a considerable number of barriers protecting this path remain intact. Of course, if monsters cause a disturbance like yesterday, it won't be much use."

Lorna, holding an offensive magic tool in her hand, spoke quietly. Her gaze was constantly surveying their surroundings.

"Exactly which places were you planning to visit today?"

"Five warehouses, the control points for the main barriers and amplifying barriers protecting the ruins, and Magic Spring Ruins roughly these."

"That's quite a bit. Will you be able to check all of them by today?"

"That's why we need to hurry. Due to the monsters, I'm assuming quite a few of your barriers also got broken. We need to quickly assess the damage."

Just imagining the tenacity of the mages who, despite the rampant growth of the Great Sarain Forest that threatened to consume everything if neglected even a little, managed to maintain so many facilities, was overwhelming. As they walked, Yuder meticulously scanned the visible surroundings, recording the topography in his mind.

'This is a place with drastic changes in terrain. I can't see well because of the trees, but there seem to be many precipices that one could tumble down with just a slight misstep.'

"Is the path too rugged?"

One of the other mages, guessing why Yuder was looking around so much, awkwardly started a conversation.

"No. But did you create this path because there was a need for a shortcut?"

"No. Most of the flat paths around here are being used as trade routes and we would need permission from others to use them. If it were just for short-term round trips by merchants or mercenaries, it would be fine, but we stay here for a long time and didn't want to pay usage fees, so we just blazed a new trail."

The mage, who had responded, spoke with tremendous pride.

"Even when it's hard, it's best when the heart is at ease. Our local mages are probably the strongest among all mages on the continent."

The implication of needing others' consent to use a well-paved road was tantamount to them being deeply involved in the overland trade occurring within the vast jungle.

There were many who made a fortune by providing their well-maintained trade routes to others and receiving a certain commission, but if they had been so stingy towards the mages who had helped others for such a long time, even during the periods of massive monster outbreaks in the west, that was a separate issue.

'Being so stingy they're shaking their teeth, indeed... now it makes sense why they aren't on good terms.'

"The guys from the Tain Family. It's such a relief that I haven't seen their usual noisy behavior of controlling the roads severely for months, stating they were starting a new business and creating new trade bases."

"Right. There were many rumors that they were making such a fuss not for normal items, but something dangerous. With the monster outbreaks, the monsters must have drank a lot of water because of the abnormality, so that's a good thing."

Thinking about the long-standing symbiotic relationship between the Tain Family and the Western Mage Union, Yuder suddenly turned his head at a comment he couldn't easily ignore.

"A dangerous item... What kind of item do you mean?"

As Yuder seriously responded to a thoughtlessly blurted-out comment, the mages made a surprised expression, and soon poured out the rumors they had each heard.

"Um, well, I'm not sure. There were rumors that they were creating a route to smuggle in raw materials for expensive drugs that nobles often use, and also, what was it?"

"Human trafficking."

"Ah, yes. In the large cities of the South, aren't illegal betting fight arenas where random opponents fight each other becoming popular? There was a talk that they were running out of people to put up for that, and they were bringing them from other countries. They said that was making a lot of money. So there was a rumor that the Tain Family was also trying to get involved in that."

The mages failed to notice the gradual darkening of Yuder's eyes upon hearing this.

'Human trafficking?'

There was such an incident in his past life. Shortly after Emperor Katchian ascended the throne, all kinds of crimes, including human trafficking, raged out of control as illegal fighting arenas became popular among the dissolute nobles. Eventually, Yuder had to suppress them as the Commander of the Cavalry. Many noble families were involved in the event, lost their property, and Emperor Katchian gained considerable fame thanks to that.

'But that was later than now. According to the investigation at the time, the Tain Family was not involved.'

Lost in his thoughts for a moment, Yuder slowly opened his mouth.

"It would be a terrifying matter if true... But moving ordinary people through the vast jungle isn't easy. It's a hard rumor to believe."

"That's understandable. We thought the same. But for about a year, there have been quite a few rumors among merchants and mercenaries about witnessing very ordinary-looking strangers in the jungle."

"Even among our Western Mage Union, there were some who claimed to have seen them. It was dismissed as a hallucination because it seemed so unbelievable."

Yuder's mind was tangled upon hearing the mages' words.

It's not a crack in the air, but a person

If the witnesses were not only the mages who mostly stayed near the bases or ruins, but also the merchants and mercenaries roaming the entire Great Sarain Forest, then the chances that this was no mere rumor were quite high. Could it truly imply that they'd partaken in the forbidden trade of this era, or that they had intended to?

'...It's not impossible, I suppose...'

"Over there, you can see the first warehouse."

Before the thought was concluded, Lorna, who had been leading the way, turned and pointed to a certain place. Just as she said, a warehouse sprang up suddenly in the forest. The mages quickly tucked away their interest in rumors and swiftly approached, scanning the surroundings.

"Huh, looks like those bastards haven't made it here yet. It's intact."

"There's not a single broken defense spell."

"Good. Let's move on to the next warehouse."

Fortunately, the warehouses, said to be arranged in a circle around the center of the Magic Spring and the magic circle, were mostly intact. But the mages, heading joyously towards the point where they could control the magic circle, were soon to realize that life was not always accompanied by luck.

"All the major defensive spells here are a mess... How about there?"

"It's worse here. It seems that more than half of the amplification circle is broken."

The mages moved around the massive magic circles drawn with magic stones, avoiding the broken ground and fallen trees. To Yuder, it was not clear how badly the situation was damaged, but the mages couldn't hide their shocked expressions, as if this place looked even more dreadful than any other disaster scene.

"We had just started to see a reaction from the magic power in the vicinity of the ruins on the amplification circle... What should we do if all this turned out to be futile?"

"Don't despair before you've even seen it. We need to go and assess the situation first."

"But look over there. The trail of monsters who broke the circle leads to the ruins..."

The eyes of a mage filled with minor fear were directed towards the forest, where the massive claw marks disappeared.

"It's too dangerous. We should report back about this and return only after the base restoration is fully completed."

"The monsters are likely gone from the ruins, leaving only their traces! If we retreat now, who knows when we'll have the leisure to return and examine it leisurely."

Yuder squinted his eyes and heightened his senses while the mages debated. He focused on sensing any signs from the direction where the monster tracks disappeared, but he felt nothing in particular.

'I don't know how far away those ruins are, but for now, there are no immediate threats. But it's not a bad thing to prioritize safety.'

"Those who want to go back can return first and report. I will take responsibility and check the ruins myself."

At that moment, Lorna made a decision amongst the mages. Everyone else, it seemed, had decided that their lives were more valuable. Yuder squeezed himself in between the mages and spoke.

"I will accompany you."