The desert city of Colony had been unusually noisy recently.

The cause was none other than the capital reconstruction project.

The capital had suffered significant damage due to the attacks of the Scorpion and Snow Horn.

While the entire capital hadn’t been obliterated, a section of the city wall had completely collapsed, the royal palace was destroyed, and the northern and eastern districts of the capital were severely impacted.

In light of the situation, Carmaxes III made a bold decision: to use the national treasury to restore the capital.

Of course, it was evident that this would negatively affect the governance of the nation later, but thanks to this decision, the capital was being rebuilt at a very rapid pace.

However, Carmaxes III had another grave concern lingering in his mind.

“…Are you saying that the damage caused by the Shimoon—or rather, the strange gates—is increasing?”

“Yes.”

“Haah, a perfect case of misfortune piling on misfortune.”

He sighed deeply and, after some thought, asked, “What about the reported damage within Colony?”

“There isn’t much at the moment, but it seems likely that reports of damage will start pouring in from various places soon.”

“And the Baba Yagas?”

“…Aside from the Golden Flash, they’re currently following our directives, but at this rate, they might soon reach their limit.”

Upon hearing the secretary’s report, the king fell into deep contemplation once again.

As the secretary had stated, for now, the Baba Yagas were handling the strange gates in line with the kingdom’s interests, but this would not last long.

Although the five Baba Yagas could be considered Colony’s greatest force, they weren’t officially part of the nation.

They were merely gladiators of the Colosseum, free to come and go as they pleased without any obligation to remain tied to Colony.

Letting out another sigh—he wasn’t sure how many he’d heaved by now—he scratched his head in frustration.

‘Things have been fine up until now.’

Opinions had long been raised about officially incorporating the Baba Yagas into the state.

But Carmaxes III—no, from the very first king—there had been a reason why the five Baba Yagas were generously supported without being made part of the national apparatus.

The reason was convenience.

The very reason Colony, situated in a desert, had managed to thrive to this extent was none other than the Colosseum.

However, the first king who initially conceived the Colosseum and the Baba Yagas had a goal that leaned more toward securing military strength than mere prosperity.

Colony possessed numerous untapped gold mines that were absent in other nations.

As a result, before Colony became a unified kingdom, it faced a shortage of resources and the constant threat of invasion by foreign nations.

To address this, the first king devised a method.

He established the Colosseum and began gathering powerful warriors from across the land who were unaffiliated with any specific nation.

Among them, those who ranked in the top five were granted treatment better than that of nobles, even if they weren’t officially tied to Colony.

The title “Baba Yaga” was created specifically to ignite the ambition of strong warriors.

The intentions of the first king proved effective.

At the time, unaffiliated warriors from all over flocked to Colony, drawn by money, fame, and status.

Colony, which had lagged behind other nations in terms of military power, bolstered its strength with the Colosseum gladiators.

Strictly speaking, this was more for show, but it sufficed.

The system wasn’t intended for launching invasions but for defending the nation from external threats.

The gladiators and Baba Yagas lived up to their names, justifying the system.

Moreover, for the king and Colony, this system offered numerous benefits.

Since they weren’t official members of the kingdom, complete control was impossible, but as long as they were beneficiaries of the kingdom’s resources, a degree of influence could be maintained.

And if they ever caused problems, the kingdom wouldn’t be held accountable for their actions.

In short, the system allowed the kingdom to leverage the strengths of these powerful individuals without politically involving them or weakening the monarchy.

However, that was all in the past.

With the emergence of the strange gates, the situation had changed.

‘I need to bring the Baba Yagas under control.’

Of course, the situation wasn’t urgent enough to require immediate action.

The current gates were troublesome but didn’t pose catastrophic damage yet.

However, other kings were undoubtedly also contemplating how to deal with the strange gates they might face in the future.

‘The strange gates are evolving.’

Even now, haven’t they worsened into something akin to the disastrous gates?

What if these gates evolve into an even more advanced form?

Or, what if they don’t evolve but start causing far greater destruction than they do now?

‘If we wait until then to respond, it’ll be too late.’

For Colony, more than any other nation, this held true.

To Carmaxes III, officially incorporating the Baba Yagas into the kingdom was a long-term priority.

Among them, the one he was most focused on was…

‘…The Golden Flash. I must find a way to bring her into our fold.’

The Golden Flash had already become an existence qualitatively different from the other Baba Yagas.

Thus, she became someone they absolutely had to secure by any means.

However, it was far from an easy task.

From the start, she wasn’t swayed by money or fame.

The only one who could influence Seolrang was…

‘Marquis Palatio, and no one else.’

In other words, unless they could first win over Marquis Palatio, bringing Seolrang to their side was impossible.

Carmaxes III, grappling with the matter, eventually muttered to himself: “Is that the only way?”

As if he had made up his mind, he spoke resolutely.

“…How much time is left until the ball in Lartania?”

“Two months remain,” the secretary replied.

At that, Carmaxes III thought, ‘I’ll settle it there.’

His eyes gleamed with determination.

***

At that moment, Seolrang’s secretary, Lime, stood atop one of the newly reconstructed buildings that had been partially restored in less than two months.

“Hm~ That should do it,” Seolrang said.

“…Is this not it?” Lime asked as she removed her hands from Seolrang’s ears.

“No.”

“But I thought I did it very similarly to him.”

“It’s not the same as how Master does it.”

“What part is different?”

“Hm~ When Master does it, it feels kind of…”

Seolrang furrowed her brows slightly, searching her memory, and said, “…like there’s a soft ‘push’ to it.”

She lay down where she stood, pressing her ears with her hands, and muttered in a voice tinged with melancholy.

“I miss Master…”

Lime scratched her head as she withdrew her awkwardly raised hands.

‘…She seems worse off than before. Or maybe, given the circumstances, this is actually better?’

Lime recalled Seolrang’s demeanor before the incident.

Back then, unless something extraordinary happened, she would spend her days lying around, looking bored, except when exercising or doing handstands.

But now?

Ever since she had personally dug and buried the graves of the guild members who were in the guild during the incident, Seolrang’s lifestyle had returned to something resembling her past routine, except for honing a new ability she had acquired.

However, two things had noticeably changed.

“I want to feel that ‘push’ again…”

She would often say things like that.

And unlike before, her previously bored expression was now often replaced with a faint smile at the corners of her lips.

Lime bent down to match Seolrang, who was lying down and covering her ears.

“Shall I try it one more time?”

“Hm~ It’s not the same at all…”

“How different is it?”

“If what Master does is a 1, then Lime’s is about… 0.3.”

“That’s… quite a difference.”

Unconsciously, Lime found herself wearing a slightly sulky expression.

‘What makes it so different?’ she wondered.

Meanwhile, Seolrang, oblivious to Lime’s reaction, muttered quietly, “…Should I sneak over and visit?”

***

The journey back to the Palatio Marquisate was uneventful.

“Stables.”

[Check.]

“Assistant officer.”

[Confirmed.]

“You snake-headed bastard.”

[? What’s your problem? You agreed to it, so why pick a fight now?]

“…Just because.”

Occasionally, Evan and Basiliora bickered, but aside from that, they enjoyed moments of peace under the sunlight filtering through the forest canopy.

Thanks to this, Alon was able to organize his thoughts at leisure.

‘Now that I’ve obtained the Footsteps of the Past, I should go to Lartania soon to use it.’

Recalling the conditions needed to use the artifact, he took out the Staff of the Sacred One from his belongings.

Despite its name, the Staff of the Sacred One was in the form of a glove.

It was an item he had desperately needed.

‘…If I remember correctly, its abilities include stabilization of formations and enhancement of mana?’

A simple ability, but one that surpassed the performance of other staves precisely because of its simplicity.

‘I’d originally wanted this item from the start, but it required having “Lemiel’s Oath,” which was held by Perion. That’s why it took so long to acquire it. I still don’t understand how that became the key item, but…’

With a shrug, Alon concluded it probably had something to do with ancient elves.

Absentmindedly, he slipped the glove onto his right hand.

At first, the glove was loose, but over time, it naturally tightened to fit Alon’s hand perfectly.

“Hm~”

He smiled in satisfaction as he admired the glove’s black base adorned with golden embroidery.

But then, a thought struck him.

‘…Wait, wasn’t this supposed to have a racial restriction?’

The reason he had kept the Staff of the Sacred One safely tucked away instead of wearing it all this time was simple: it was restricted to elves.

In the game, players who obtained the Staff of the Sacred One had to complete an additional quest in Lartania to remove its racial restriction before they could equip it.

That was why he had never attempted to wear it before. Yet, without thinking, he had slipped it on, and it had stayed on.

Confused, Alon decided to test his magic.

‘…It’s real. The formation is more stable, and even with less mana, the magic is noticeably stronger.’

The effects were undeniable.

“??”

Though briefly flustered, Alon soon grew pleased.

‘…This is great.’

In the end, the outcome was all that mattered. Unexpected as it was, being able to bypass the racial restriction and use the item wasn’t a bad thing.

Just as a faint smile crept onto his lips, he thought, ‘Still, I should investigate this, just in case.’

Organizing his thoughts once more, Alon gazed out the window at the forest.

It was a shimmering afternoon, with sunlight making the leaves sparkle like jewels.

About a week later, Alon finally arrived at the Palatio Marquisate.

Before he could even rest, he was greeted by visitors.

Standing in front of his office were a stunningly beautiful woman and a man behind her.

The pair was so striking—anyone would be left speechless—that Alon found himself staring at them in a daze.

Then he recalled something the servant had mentioned.

‘There’s a representative from the Greenwood Trading Company who wishes to discuss an exclusive distribution deal for gold ornaments with the Marquis. How should we proceed?’

‘Gold ornaments, huh…’

Gold ornaments were highly valuable in both his past world and the current one.

Even though his territory now had stable revenue, it was worth hearing the details of the proposal.

But…

‘These two don’t look like merchants.’

Their looks were impeccable, the type to draw universal praise.

As Alon found himself unconsciously drawn to the woman’s gaze…

Drip—

“?”

He saw it.

A single tear rolled down her cheek and trailed along her face.

Then…

“Sniff—”

“???”

The beautiful woman, who had been staring at him with a firm expression until now, suddenly burst into sorrowful sobs.