CHAPTER 606: CHAPTER 603: GOING HOME

The rented carriage proceeded along the streets of Springs.

Within this all-too-familiar environment, Ronald gazed upon the outdoor scenery, adjusting his state while contemplating his next move.

"..."

Firstly, heading to the island to stem the crisis at its source was impossible.

It would take Ronald two full days just to fly there, and the problems encountered en route rendered this option no longer feasible.

At the same time, because of the time reversal,

Ronald had seen all of Springs’s changes with his own eyes over the past few days.

Although his perspective didn’t allow a full view of the entire city, he could barely piece together a rough process through some detailed inferences.

Tomorrow, Harvest Day itself,

Twice during the day, Springs would suffer from mysterious assaults.

The first attack came from the planned assault of the "Nine Commandments" meeting; the second occurred after official forces had dealt with the "Nine Commandments" meeting when the cult magicians became aware of this and began to make trouble in the city.

Based on the facts, the official strength of Springs was indeed unquestionable.

The two attacks that happened during the day only had a very small impact and could be considered a paragon of perfect response.

—But then night fell.

—The situation suddenly spiraled out of control.

Queen Dantrian arrived at the port area as part of the celebration route, this being the most lively part of the entire festival and the key moment for her speech as the national leader.

But at that moment,

The escapees from the "Infinite Negative Realm",

A group of Great Wizards led by artificial deities and bearing primordial texts, approached from the sea.

The people from Barrier Mountain, without any scruples and using information from the "Nine Commandments" meeting, launched their most ferocious attack on Dantrian.

From there on, everything moved towards an unpredictable future.

This was true for everyone.

What the Barrier Mountain folks hadn’t anticipated—was the extremely powerful official force of Gred, combined with the aid of wizards from all over the world. The cumulative strength of various personnel managed to directly defeat their attackers.

The situation in Springs, on the other hand, was even worse.

They had methodically and assuredly dealt with the "Nine Commandments" meeting and the cult magicians, but the Barrier Mountain magicians arriving from the sea were not part of their defensive plans.

So at night, during the festival that was the center of everyone’s attention,

The casters from the two factions unleashed their power, completely exposing all the mysterious aspects to the citizens of Springs and to those individuals of various social strata from around the world who had come to partake in this grand celebration!

This moment was unlike any other.

Even if Springs had the means to deal with such a situation, they could not manage to erase the memories of ordinary people due to the intense offensive from the Barrier Mountain magicians, leading to a severe loss of control over the secrecy of the mysterious side.

According to the scenes Ronald had seen before entering the time reversal,

It was no wonder that Springs ended up in that state after such an incident.

"..."

"First, I should start with the first two waves of attacks..."

Inside the carriage, Ronald sorted out his thoughts.

He pulled out the map left by Catherine and looked at it, his expression somewhat vacant.

No matter the situation in Springs, the final cataclysmic change was bound to affect every corner of the world, so the effort to prevent the spread of secret knowledge was doomed to fail.

So, did he still want to go to the Harvest Day celebrations,

To engage in these battles and efforts that were destined to be futile?

"Hss..."

At that moment, the discomfort in his soul reverberated through Ronald.

He drew in a breath of cold air, then shook his head with a wry smile.

The vision first appeared on Harvest Day. Even if Ronald had rushed to the island, attempting to find a way back to the "Infinite Negative Numbers Realm," it would likely be in vain due to the time difference between the two worlds.

With his personal ability.

Right now, the best... or rather, the most suitable choice.

Would probably be to act on Harvest Day itself, trying to minimize the casualties among the innocents during the celebrations.

"..."

"Sir, we’ve arrived."

"Thank you—here is the fare."

"You take care now!"

Night-time carriage rentals were more convenient for travel.

Arriving a few minutes ahead of schedule, Ronald was dropped off on the riverside district streets.

After paying the driver.

Ronald stepped down from the carriage and slowly walked deep into the street.

The rental carriage didn’t stop directly at the apartment but at one end of the street.

So Ronald walked for just over a minute before he stood once again in front of his riverside district residence.

"..."

Under the streetlamp’s glow, Ronald silently surveyed the building.

The apartment at night was still eerily quiet.

Although Ronald had only been gone from his perspective for just over ten days, in this world, a month or so had truly passed.

Seasons changed, the temperature dropped rapidly.

There were indeed some minor changes to the building since Ronald left—like the broom at the entrance, used to sweep away the snow. Or the investigators that used to keep watch around here were now nowhere to be seen.

"..."

"Phew—"

Ronald exhaled with a somewhat complex feeling.

The power of ’Fury’ sensed the situation inside the apartment; someone was in his residence, their emotional fluctuations very stable, not like those of an intruder or an enemy, but neither was it the most familiar Herloyce.

Who could this person be?

And why were they in his home?

Ronald listed several possibilities in his mind.

——After he left, Herloyse, considering safety, also left, so the landlady might have re-rented the room.

——As the original owner disappeared, someone from the mystical side might want to get something out of his residence, so they rented the room from the landlady.

——It could even be that the maid from the Adler family, mentioned in the Ginkgo Leaf Chamber of Commerce intelligence, finally found this place. In the absence of any lead on Ronald, perhaps she temporarily settled here?

Roland’s thoughts were all over the place, but his footsteps did not stop.

After all, it was essential to retrieve some artefacts he had hidden in the room himself.

With a hint of curiosity, Ronald confidently ascended the spiral staircase to the third floor.

He had absolutely no intention of concealing his presence.

The now Ronald, with several original texts, had strength incomparably greater than when he left; even if the spy leader from Entrode attempted a surprise attack, he was entirely confident of capturing the assailant.

Click—

Ronald took out his room key.

The key fit perfectly into the lock on the door.

Not having changed the locks—could that mean the apartment hadn’t been rented to someone else yet?

He pondered in his mind.

Ronald adeptly unlocked the door.

Then, an unexpected figure, with dazzling platinum blond hair, sat right there at the office desk in the living room.