Upon returning to the Empire, Rudger immediately poured his remaining time into Dreamland.

He read related books and studied papers, gathering as much information as possible.

However, no matter how much he tried to learn about something that wasn't properly known, it was merely scratching the surface.

Rudger finally had to make the choice he had been postponing.

"Master. It's me."

Rudger lightly knocked on the door of the room where Grandel resided.

Even such a simple action required quite a bit of mental preparation.

After all, the other person was a vampire who had lived for a long time, a willful master, and a legendary 8th-tier archmage.

Considering Grandel's usual behavior, she would certainly berate him for not visiting until now.

Or conversely, she might criticize him for having a specific reason to visit, calling him heartless.

It would be fortunate if it ended with simple criticism.

Using that as an excuse, who knew what strange demands she might make - that was the unpredictable nature of Grandel.

But perhaps those worries had been excessive.

Making all his preparations to endure any situation seem futile, Grandel's response from beyond the door far exceeded Rudger's common sense.

"No business."

With those words, Grandel cut off the conversation as if refusing to speak further.

Rudger could only stand still beyond the door for a while.

'What's this? Is Master in a bad mood right now?'

Grandel never refused meetings themselves, whether she was in a good mood or bad.

Rather, when she was in a bad mood, she would deliberately try to torment others, so allowing entry was expected.

But what on earth was this?

All sorts of thoughts couldn't help but run through Rudger's mind.

Could she be angry? If so, should I apologize? Does she really think it's nothing? Is she just tired and doesn't want to meet right now?

For Rudger, it was extremely difficult to fathom her intentions.

However, one thing he could clearly understand was that Grandel didn't particularly want to meet him.

"...I understand."

Rudger had no choice but to withdraw.

It was because he knew that trying to forcefully request help from Grandel here would have the opposite effect.

For whatever reason, Grandel appeared not to want to meet him.

Whether that would be just for now or continue into the future remained to be seen.

For now, it was certain that Grandel was different from usual.

'I should ask Hans about Master's condition.'

Rudger immediately moved his feet.

Right now, Hans was too busy with many things to handle to ask him immediately.

He planned to return to Theon and at least look for materials about Dreamland in the library but that plan changed when Hans came looking for Rudger instead.

"Brother, did you return well from the Kingdom of Seville?"

"Yes. Do you have other business looking for me when you must be busy?"

"Well..."

"Is it because of Master?"

Hans, who had been hesitating, nodded.

"...Yes. I just came from trying to see Master, but she refused to meet. Did something happen while I was away?"

"When you first went to the Kingdom of Seville, Grandel was quite irritated."

"I understand."

"Then she said she would go out for a change of mood. We had no particular reason to stop her, so we left her be."

"Something happened there."

"Your Master...well..."

"Speak comfortably."

"She encountered people from the Order. That is, people from the Lumensis Order."

"..."

Rudger's eyebrows twitched.

Though he tried to hide it, what Hans said was quite shocking.

"That sounds...like it didn't end with just an encounter."

"Brother. Do you know that there's a key figure from the Bretus mainland in this city right now?"

A person's image suddenly flashed through Rudger's mind.

A woman wearing a tiara who had shown curiosity when seeing him at the imperial palace.

"High Priestess Remia."

"She's been staying in Leathervelk after leaving the capital recently. It seems Archbishop Freden is providing quite a lot of convenience."

Archbishop Freden was also someone in his memory.

On a rainy day, she was the person who had subtly recommended religion after responding to Rudger's divine energy.

She had excellent eyes for recognizing others' talents, but sadly, she didn't know that her target for recommendation was of the holy royal bloodline she served.

A priestess who naturally responds to the blood of holy kings, and a person who recognizes others' talents - the two of them were together.

Moreover, one of them, the priestess, even encountered Grandel who was out for a walk.

"Was there any damage? It wouldn't be strange if at least one district of the city was destroyed."

"No fight broke out. Surprisingly."

Considering Grandel's identity and personality, it was surprisingly peaceful but that's why Rudger felt uneasy.

"The two of them talked to each other. Quite a long conversation at that. After that, your Master has been in that state. She's been confined to her room since returning."

"..."

"I couldn't dare to eavesdrop on the detailed inside story. However, I feel it might have been better if they had just fought it out clearly right there. Though I'm not in a position to evaluate anything arbitrarily."

"...No. Just telling me this fact is enough."

"What do you plan to do about your Master?"

Rudger recalled Grandel's voice saying she wouldn't meet him from inside the room.

His gaze turned toward the direction of Grandel's quarters before falling.

"...I'll leave her be for now. Trying to force a meeting with Master right now would only further disturb her state of mind."

Was there any need to risk triggering a time bomb by unnecessarily touching its detonator?

But Rudger vaguely felt that above the time bomb that had no deadline until now, the remaining countdown had started to appear.

"Then what about the Order's side..."

"Leave them be too. They're not people we can touch from the start. Not right now."

* * *

High Priestess Remia sat leisurely drinking tea in the courtyard.

The cathedral's backyard is always beautifully landscaped. It was the optimal place for taking a rest outdoors.

Of course, Remia wasn't there just because she wanted to rest.

"High Priestess Remia."

"Welcome, Archbishop Freden. I was waiting for you."

As if she knew she would come, Remia welcomed Freden with a gentle smile despite her private time being intruded upon.

Freden glanced her gaze to survey across from Remia.

Beyond the table set with tea and refreshments, one empty chair was prepared in advance knowing she would come.

'As expected of a mainland priestess.'

She had heard that priestesses see things that others cannot see.

Though Freden herself had some expertise in that area, her talent was too humble compared to what the other side possessed.

What priestesses see is something of a different dimension, that's why they usually wear tiaras over their eyes to cover their gaze.

It's to avoid seeing anything other than what they are meant to see.

Freden naturally sat in the empty seat.

If she knew she would come, there was no need to beat around the bush.

"I heard you went out to the city recently."

"Yes. I felt too stuffy staying inside. Will it be a problem? I had escorts with me, so nothing particular happened."

Freden shook her head.

"There won't be any problems. Wherever you go in this city is your freedom, High Priestess. I dare not comment on it."

However, Freden continued.

"There are currently terrible beings lurking in this city. At least two of them. Though nothing happened immediately, I fear that the impure beings hiding in this city might notice the High Priestess' presence and try to harm you."

As the Archbishop of Leathervelk, Freden holds quite a high position.

However, even that position was nothing compared to a priestess.

If High Priestess Remia were to suffer any injury, that responsibility would fall entirely on Freden.

"I'm sorry. I lacked consideration in that aspect. However, my going out to the city is deeply related to what Archbishop Freden just said."

"By deeply related, you mean..."

"You just mentioned it, didn't you? That impure beings are hiding in this city. I moved to meet them."

"..."

Freden's lips quivered as if to say something, then fell into thought.

Remia didn't hide her motive.

Moving while knowing it was dangerous meant she must have seen something with the unique eyes of a priestess.

Even so, advice and counsel should not be spared.

Freden spoke in a gentle tone.

"Curiosity is unavoidable. But the impure beings suspected to reside in this city are not of that level."

"Not of that level?"

"...Recently, there was an incident where a forest near Leathervelk completely disappeared. And at that time, I heard the sky turned blood-red. The holy knights who were dispatched to the scene all testified unanimously. That unique gloomy energy, it was clearly a vampire that our Order has been hostile towards and tried to kill for a very long time."

Vampires, like dragons, were a race that was only passed down in legends, a beautiful and noble race that freely manipulates blood.

However, vampires' greatest terror was one thing, Immortality.

A being that can live for eternity is hostile to the Order, and moreover, that creature is hiding somewhere in this Leathervelk.

The next dangerous element was considered to be the Beast of Gevaudan that reappeared, but it hadn't shown itself since the Kunst auction incident, so its threat level had been pushed to a lower priority.

From the start, the Order's main enemy, the blood vampire, and the Beast of Gevaudan couldn't be compared on the same level.

The Beast of Gevaudan can be killed but vampires cannot be killed.

That's where the difference in class between the two beings begins.

Moreover, isn't Remia one of the Order's main forces, a priestess?

If that vampire tries to harm her, no one can stop it.

"Vampire. Indeed, that level of magical power and unique energy would be difficult for any being other than that to emit."

"...Don't tell me you met them?"

"It wasn't intentional. I just moved thinking I would only sense their presence from afar, but they were quite sharp."

Freden's hardened face showed no signs of relaxing.

Though Remia spoke as if it was nothing, the gravity of the matter was far from ordinary.

What made it more concerning was that Remia had survived after encountering that vampire.

How on earth?

"Surprisingly, conversation was possible so we had a talk."

"...High Priestess. Though it's not my place to say this here, please lower your voice. The mere fact of exchanging words with that vampire is an act taboo in the Order itself."

"Isn't there no law that punishes simply having a conversation?"

"Even so, I fear such news reaching others' ears."

"You don't need to worry too much. What you're concerned about won't happen."

A smile full of joy spread across Remia's lips.

"Rather, the situation might become more interesting."

"How can you...Did you see something?"

Remia didn't answer but that silence alone was enough of an answer for Freden.

"Is that possible? Wasn't it a being that couldn't be seen until now?"

Priestesses see what others cannot see.

Essence, fate, or some future.

The range is broad yet vague but at least what they speak has never been wrong.

In the past, the mainland mobilized the Order's main forces to hunt down vampires but even with priestesses mobilized, the vampire hunt failed.

Rather, it mockingly toyed with the mainland's forces before disappearing.

The reason was that the vampire's fate could not possibly be seen with priestesses' eyes.

It could be said to be a being comparable to demons.

Not only encountering such a vampire but seeing something?

"It seems there's been a change in that vampire. How fascinating. That a fate that didn't exist originally, or couldn't be seen, has become twisted. What's more interesting is that this change wasn't achieved by their own will. Someone else changed the vampire's fate."

"A vampire's fate changing. What exactly did you see there?"

"Don't be surprised when you hear this."

Freden perked up her ears as much as possible at Remia's words.

"Death."

Even though she had mentally prepared herself, Archbishop Freden almost let out a scream.

"I saw that vampire's death."