During the brief silence, Turan watched the people down at the banquet, laughing, talking, and enjoying themselves.

Badal's recent attack and the battle in the forest could technically be called a kind of war, but what Lida was speaking of now was on an entirely different scale. It promised a bloody clash in which hundreds, perhaps thousands of wizards would kill one another.

He suddenly thought of the Berg couple, who had recently lost their lives. They had not been the only casualties. There had been others, like Bin, the knight who had first welcomed Turan to Zavillin.

To those of exalted rank, they were no more than insects, yet every one of them had been a human being capable of thought and love—and dozens had died. The war between Ravista and Baraha would probably claim even more lives.

"It sounds as though your preparations are complete."

"There is still much we lack, if one wishes to be particular. But you know as well as I do: however much one prepares, one can never be perfectly ready."

Besides, every moment they spent preparing gave the enemy more time to prepare as well.

"What do you think your chances of victory are?"

"Four in ten. With sufficient support from Parsha, however, we believe they would rise to six in ten or better."

"Support, you say."

"As I understand it, your vassal, young Solif, has unfinished business with Baraha."

Their eyes turned toward Solif down at the banquet, where he was thoroughly enjoying his drink. He was chatting merrily with Berit, who had left them a short while earlier after being all but shooed away.

To look at him, he seemed like any ordinary young noble. It was hard to imagine that he was actually a powerful guardian who could withstand attacks from hundreds of wizards for hours, as well as a great wizard of the Sun bloodline.

"He seems to be growing rather close to the young lady from Zahar. Are you sure it is wise to leave them be?"

"Yes, well. So far, it doesn't seem too bad."

Lately, after finding that Turan showed little interest in her, Berit had begun hovering around Solif. Presumably, her strategy was to show interest in another man to provoke jealousy, or to divide House Parsha from within.

Amusingly enough, though, it was Berit whose affection grew deeper with each meeting. Turan honestly struggled to understand just what she found so attractive about Solif... But men and women saw things differently. It was hardly impossible.

"I should call him over and ask him about this himself."

"Of course. Before you are lord and vassal, you are friends. I understand."

Lida gave him a gentle smile. After the banquet ended, Turan was the last to leave. He summoned Solif as soon as he reached the sitting room. Having thoroughly enjoyed the festivities, Solif still reeked of liquor.

"What's this about all of a sudden?"

"Ravista is going to war with Baraha. Interested in lending a hand?"

Solif stared at him in bewilderment. And understandably so. How could anyone ask so casually whether he wanted to join a war between great houses as a mercenary? Anyone overhearing Turan might have thought he was asking him to run an errand.

"... Would I be going alone?"

"Maysa and I can hardly leave our base as well. But this is entirely your decision. If you don't want to go, we can focus on supplying equipment instead."

Of course, they could also place other nobles and knights under Solif and form a proper army. House Parsha was still young and lacked a solid foundation, but levying troops from its vassal houses would let it mobilize several hundred wizards.

Yet aside from improving their fighting strength, expanding the army offered nothing but disadvantages. More people meant more supplies, and every relatively weak wizard they added would slow the march.

Moving a large force from Kalamap to Ravista, then onward to Baraha, would take an appallingly long time. And if they traveled through the North Sea, House Zahar might resort to some underhanded scheme to obstruct them.

"If you go alone, I'll lend you Vije. The journey will only take a few days."

Ravista's forces would naturally sail for nearly a month, land in the grasslands, and then march northeast. If Solif timed his departure from Kalamap on Vije appropriately, he could join them in as little as three or four days. In other words, he could support a distant expedition while minimizing his time away from their base.

"But I'm not sure sending just me will be enough to win."

"I can't rule out unforeseen factors, but in terms of strength, it should be enough."

In the battle that had sparked this war, Baraha's House Head had suffered grave injuries in exchange for placing a lethal curse on Osel. Even accounting for the other high-ranking nobles supporting Osel and the many Holy Relics of his house that had armed him, it meant the gap between their abilities was not enormous.

Considering that the curse on Osel had probably been a 'skill,' Baraha's House Head must have exerted his full strength as well. At the very least, he was no monster like Badal, Arabion's House Head, whom even the three of them together could not easily handle.

If Osel and Solif joined forces against Baraha's House Head while Ravista's nobles drove back Baraha's...

"We still have time. If you agree to go, I'll ask Maysa to devote her full strength to making a magic tool for a month. Something to help you fight or stay alive."

A month was the optimal crafting period for an Enchanter to create a powerful magic tool. If Maysa, with her mana approaching a House Head's, poured her strength into a single item for that entire time, the result would be more powerful than a middling Holy Relic.

The reason she had been unable to make such things freely until now was that doing so would greatly weaken her for a time afterward. With no way of knowing when Arabion might invade, weakening their strongest wizard would be a crippling blow.

Still, if they were sending Solif off alone, it was only right to bear that burden. What if he lost and died, or was captured and turned into a new body for Baraha's House Head? Not only would Parsha lose one of its three leaders, but their enemy Baraha would likely gain an explosive increase in strength.

"Maysa takes the risk and makes one powerful item. The two of us protect her while she recovers, and you leave once she's nearly back to full strength. In about two months, probably."

"I get the general idea. But... would my going really benefit us?"

"Of course. Assuming things go well, that is."

If Solif's deployment helped Ravista crush Baraha, Parsha stood to gain a great deal. They would not only place a powerful ally in their debt once again, but also crush a potential enemy.

As he explained, Turan cleared his throat lightly and added,

"Beyond that, there's also the possibility of you formally succeeding as Baraha's House Head."

"Huh."

Solif might be an outcast now, but his original position was that of Baraha's heir. If he eliminated the House Head and absorbed his mana, gaining strength of a House Head's caliber, he would be more than qualified for the position.

Of course, having relied on Ravista, a foreign power, Solif was unlikely to win enthusiastic support from the house's members... But what they needed was to reduce their enemies and gain allies—or at least neutral parties. Even weakened, Baraha was still a great house. If it joined forces with Ravista and Parsha, they would form a power unlike anything this land had ever seen.

"All right, then."

"Don't you want to think it over a little more?"

"A man's got to take a chance at least once in his life."

Solif spoke with a swaggering look.

* * *

Once they had decided to join the war, they needed to improve their chances as much as possible. Turan therefore not only asked Maysa to make a powerful magic tool for Solif, but also ordered Berg's Enchanters to produce magic tools for House Ravista.

Delighted, Lida readily accepted Turan's request in return: when they crushed Baraha, Solif would be guaranteed one of the four shares of the House Head's mana, and Ravista would give him its full support in becoming Baraha's next House Head.

After the week-long festivities ended and Ravista's nobles departed, quiet returned to Kalamap. Or, more precisely, it appeared quiet, while something hot bubbled beneath the surface.

"Raaaaagh!"

"Don't shout! You're wasting energy!"

On a hill near Kalamap—the memorable spot where Maysa had once beaten him—Turan sparred with Solif using the Light of Judgment. They did not know which four symbols Baraha's House Head would combine, but he was at least likely to rely primarily on the Sun bloodline. Their training was tailored accordingly.

Naturally, the clash between these powerful wizards wreaked havoc around the hill. Whenever their whips of the Light of Judgment collided and lashed outward, the ground melted into flowing lava and distant boulders split apart.

At times, they gouged out the base of a cliff, causing its unsupported upper reaches to collapse in a rumbling landslide. Had there been homes nearby, thousands could easily have died.

After a long, fierce bout, an exhausted Solif sprawled out and sighed.

"Ugh. It's been a while since I pushed myself that hard. My head's spinning."

"But training like this really sharpens your skills, doesn't it? You'd been losing your edge lately, probably from the lack of real combat."

"Well, I'm not a monster like you."

People like Turan and Maysa could go months without practicing magic and lose little of their ability, but ordinary wizards quickly regressed unless they trained every day. More precisely, they lost their feel for wielding magic.

Solif practiced daily too, but nothing honed his instincts like sparring with an equal. Of course, fighting to the death as they did in the dueling arena far to the northeast in Frostwind Forest would have been even more effective. Unfortunately, he only had one life.

As he lay catching his breath, Solif suddenly spoke.

"By the way, are you sure that's all right?"

"What is?"

"Leaking information about the war to Berit."

After deciding to take part in the war between Ravista and Baraha, Turan had given Solif a rather puzzling instruction: casually let Berit know that they would be joining the war.

That was easy enough, since Berit often met with Solif instead of Turan, who all but refused to speak to her. What he couldn't understand was why Turan wanted him to do it.

"No matter how I look at it, shouldn't we keep this from Zahar? What if they send reinforcements?"

Zahar's close ties with Baraha were no secret to anyone who knew the situation. Turan and Solif even knew that Zahar had once sent one of its candidates for heir as part of a supporting force. After all, Turan had killed them all.

Turan scratched his chin at Solif's question.

"Well, they'll find out even if we don't tell Berit."

"They will?"

"Zahar has already planted a spy among the servants in our main house. They're too good at covering their tracks for me to tell who. Since they're going to find out anyway, we might as well make them believe we're less wary of Berit. Give her a sense of usefulness, you could say."

They had told no one that Solif would be the only reinforcement. If Parsha made no move until just before Ravista's army reached Baraha, Zahar would be confused.

'They said they would send aid. Why isn't their army moving?'

Turan planned to use that opening to dispatch Solif, crush Baraha swiftly, and seize the initiative.

In short, knowing only part of the truth could be worse than knowing nothing.

"I don't know if it'll work out as neatly as you say."

"I'm not certain either. But we have to do the best we can. We can't sit around forever."

Turan had been trying various things himself to make the plan succeed. He had selected trustworthy sailors from a port city east of Kalamap and sent them to Frostwind Forest, exchanging letters through Vije to keep abreast of conditions there. He had also written to Mago, the Ravista noble he had met in the southeastern grasslands, to ask about the situation in that region.

Unfortunately, he had been unable to send anyone to the land of lakes where Baraha lay, but he trusted Ravista to conduct its own reconnaissance there.

As the two discussed the situation while catching their breath, something vibrated inside Turan's clothes. It was a call through the hand mirror.

"What is it, Asiz?"

The other mirror originally belonged to Maysa, but she had entrusted it to Asiz while she secluded herself to make Solif's magic tool. Looking somewhat haggard, perhaps from working late again the previous night, he cried urgently.

["Turan! You need to come back right away!"]

"Don't tell me it's another attack?"

He had thought the badly weakened Arabion would need more time to regroup. As Turan's expression hardened, Asiz shook his head.

["No... it's the coast. Open has requested help. They say an enormous sea serpent has occupied the shore."]

* * *

At the news of a great sea serpent's appearance, Turan hurried back to the mansion with Solif. Naturally, they could not leave for the city immediately. Until moments ago, they had been fighting so hard that they had nearly exhausted their mana.

After resting for several hours to replenish their strength, Turan and Solif set out for Open on Vije. Ordinarily, the head of a great house ought to travel with dozens of guards, but against a great sea serpent rather than humans, weak nobles and knights would contribute nothing to their fighting strength. Bringing them would also take far too long.

The lord of Open, the port city at the northeastern tip of the Gray Zone, brightened and bowed at Turan's arrival. Still, he seemed somewhat disconcerted that only Turan and Solif had come.

"Oh, my lord. To think you would come to our aid so quickly..."

"This is urgent. Dispense with the unnecessary formalities. What are the losses?"

"Some structures have collapsed, but there have been no casualties."

"That's a relief."

The great sea serpent that had appeared must be one of Armani's kin. They knew how sensitive Turan was to harm done to humans, so they had likely taken care to avoid it.

Ignoring the lord's suggestion that they rest at his mansion first, Turan headed straight for the harbor where the great sea serpent had appeared.

"Wow..."

"It's enormous."

"It would be awful if that thing attacked."

People had gathered around the harbor, murmuring as they watched the great sea serpent standing upright by the shore. They truly seemed to know no fear.

Amusingly, the gigantic serpent, which looked roughly sixty meters long, was also observing the residents and harbor buildings with curiosity.

"Make way! The great ruler of the Gray Zone, the House Head of Parsha, has arrived!"

At the thunderous cries of Open's knights, the startled residents hastily opened a path and prostrated themselves. Though the fact that they had come under the great House Parsha in recent months still did not feel quite real, they at least knew that a great-house head possessed strength no different from a god's.

"Clear the people out. They'll get hurt if a fight breaks out."

"At once."

After giving the lord of Open his orders, Turan passed through the people who revered him like a god and approached the great sea serpent. Solif followed close beside him and murmured.

"That thing's pretty badly hurt, though I don't know why. Who was it fighting?"

"I'm not certain, but those wounds probably weren't made by humans."

Turan answered quietly and approached the harbor. Only then did the great sea serpent seem to notice the commotion among the tiny people and turn its gaze toward him.

"Turan!"

At the cry from the great sea serpent's mouth, the people around the harbor screamed and fled. Its voice was so loud and resonant that it sounded like a roar at an enemy before battle.

But Turan, the one being addressed, could tell that there was no hostility in that voice.

"You again, Armani?"

"You recognized me!"

"What? That little merfolk kid from before?"

While Armani cried out happily, Solif stared at the great sea serpent in disbelief. That was only natural: the last time he had seen Armani, the boy had been no more than a baby shark. He was even larger now than when Turan had last seen him.

"What are you doing here? No, first turn back into a merman. Stop frightening everyone."

At Turan's words, the enormous great sea serpent immediately shrank into the form of a merfolk boy. The ordinary people had already fled in terror the moment it called Turan's name, so only Open's wizards witnessed the transformation.

"I wanted to do that anyway! But there were so many people. I was afraid they'd attack me if I took this form."

"Well, in that case, I suppose you had no choice."

He must have changed into merfolk form upon Turan's arrival because he was certain Turan would not attack him. Feeling awkward at such unwavering trust, Turan noticed that wounds covered Armani's merfolk body as well. He placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, and before long the wounds began to heal.

"Oh, that's warm..."

"Healing merfolk isn't especially difficult, either."

It took more effort than healing an ordinary noble, perhaps because of Armani's formidable power as one of the great sea serpents' kin, but it was well within Turan's capabilities. Soon, restored to full health, Armani cried out in delight.

"You can heal now too! That's amazing! How did you do it?"

"It just happened. Anyway, why did you suddenly come here and cause trouble? You've made quite a mess."

No one had died, but a glance to the side revealed a couple of half-demolished docks that looked as though they would take some time to repair. When Turan pointed at the damage, Armani answered with a crestfallen expression.

"Oh, I didn't do that on purpose. I couldn't control my speed... But more importantly, something terrible has happened!"

"What happened?"

"My whole family recovered not long ago, and they decided to go to war with the humans! I tried to convince them not to, but when I wouldn't change my mind, they tried to kill me, so I ran away!"