Early that evening, some of House Parsha's wizards assembled at the mansion's training ground after dinner. There were 136 in all: Haram, an upper-tier wizard, five middle-tier wizards, ten lower-tier wizards, and 120 knights. The Enchanters Melo and Asiz had been left behind, along with the minimum forces needed to maintain order.

Standing before the warriors gathered for battle, Turan slowly began to speak.

"In a little while, we leave for war."

Murmurs spread at the abrupt announcement, but the wizards' faces showed resignation rather than bewilderment or fear, as though the inevitable had arrived. Several days before summoning them, he had already ordered them to write their wills.

Everyone now knew that House Parsha had taken Maysa in and come into conflict with Arabion. One of them bravely voiced the thought.

"Are we attacking Arabion?"

"No."

Only at Turan's denial did bewilderment begin to show on their faces. If not Arabion, who were they fighting? Surely he hadn't made them write their wills and secretly assembled an army merely to hunt monsters.

Was one of the Gray Zone's vassal houses plotting a rebellion, prompting a punitive expedition? Or was it Zahar? Surely they weren't invading a house in the western forest?

As the wizards' thoughts whirled in confusion, Turan said something none of them had imagined.

"We are going to attack Baraha."

"Baraha...?"

Why had he suddenly brought up that great house in the distant east? Some of them didn't even know exactly where House Baraha was. Being a wizard did not necessarily make one more intelligent than an ordinary person, and many had little enthusiasm for learning. Indeed, unlike ordinary people, most of them knew even this much only because Solif, one of House Parsha's three strongest fighters, had once been Baraha's heir.

"I'm sure you all have questions. Why we must attack Baraha, and how we intend to do it."

"... Yes."

"Please tell us, my lord."

Over the past few months, Turan's steady instruction in magic had earned the Parsha wizards' respect for their young House Head. But suddenly invading a distant eastern great house was another matter entirely. It might have been different had Baraha invaded Parsha first. But to demand that they embark without warning on an expedition that would take months, when nothing of the sort had happened?

In a great house, the House Head's orders were as absolute as divine will. Even so, Turan and House Parsha had yet to acquire that degree of authority. Personal ability could do little to solve that problem; only time could build such authority.

So Turan had to persuade them. He had to explain why they must go to war in the distant east. He could hardly expect them to fight to their full potential without telling them why they must risk their lives.

"About a year ago, Baraha committed a truly appalling crime."

As he began, Turan used wind magic to carry his low voice into every listener's ears. It was an advanced technique that let his voice reach dozens of people with force without his having to shout. Far beyond mere amplification, the finesse involved would have left even Arabion nobles skilled in wind magic crying out to know how he had done it.

"Their leader, Resion Baraha, launched a treacherous attack on the House Head of our ally Ravista. And he did so while Ravista was hosting them as guests."

The assembled wizards exchanged shaken looks. Someone had violated the custom of hospitality, which wizards held all but sacred—and not just anyone, but the head of a great house? Had anyone other than Turan made that claim, they would all have told the speaker to stop spouting bullshit.

Of course, there was the minor problem that, contrary to what Turan's account suggested, Parsha and Ravista had not been allies when Baraha's House Head launched his surprise attack in Ravista. But no one troubled themselves over that detail.

"And as you all know, Solif, our house's military commander, was originally Baraha's heir and has a legitimate claim to the succession. We will therefore join forces with Ravista, which must exact its rightful price in blood, and help install Baraha's rightful ruler."

Thus Turan laid out, in terms they could easily understand, why they needed to fight alongside Ravista: their legitimacy, their justification, and even the tangible benefits.

"Any questions?"

"If I may, my lord."

The first to speak was Moson, the second son of the lord of Vigen, to whom Turan had once handed over Kalamap. A middle-tier noble, he could be considered the representative of the wizards dispatched to Parsha.

"We all understand why we must fight. But would it not be too dangerous to transport so many troops there and back? I know your sacred beast is large and powerful, my lord, but it will be difficult to travel quickly with all of us aboard. If Arabion were to invade while we were all away—"

"There is a way."

Turan cut him off at just the right moment and looked around at them all. Night was settling in, and those who met his gray eyes gleaming in the torchlight flinched.

"The means are classified, but we will soon arrive in Baraha's lands. And once the battle is over, we will return as quickly as possible."

"... In that case, I have no objection."

Moson could not begin to imagine how that was possible, but he bowed his head without pressing further. If the means of travel Turan spoke of proved unworkable, he could raise the issue again then.

Several others asked questions afterward: where Maysa and Solif were, whether they would join the battle, and whether Ravista's reinforcements were sufficient. Turan told them that both would fight and that Ravista's House Head was personally bringing an army as well. Since they were going to war, it was better to bolster morale by letting them know how powerful their allies were.

"We leave now. Follow me, everyone."

A little later, they followed Turan to a small building beside the training ground.

"Was this always here?"

"I don't think I saw it the last time I came this way..."

In fact, Turan had recently thrown the building together with earth-alteration magic, so it was only natural that they hadn't seen it. He pointed to a pile of dozens of leather blindfolds inside.

"From this point on, you will all wear these. Until we reach our destination, you are not permitted to see your surroundings. Anyone who removes their blindfold without my orders will be summarily executed."

It was a chilling pronouncement, so unlike the warm, resolute voice of a young hero they had heard moments earlier that the change seemed unreal. The Parsha wizards shuddered, instinctively knowing that Turan's threat was no bluff.

They each took a blindfold and put it on. Unable to see, they moved in single file, hands resting on the shoulders of the person ahead. Turan led from the front, occasionally turning to check whether anyone had removed their blindfold. Fortunately, no one threw their life away out of curiosity.

"This way."

The blindfolded Parsha wizards moved along a narrow corridor like blind sheep following their shepherd. Those with keener senses could tell that they were gradually descending underground.

"We're going down, aren't we?"

"Yes..."

How long had they been walking? Maysa's voice reached them from up ahead.

"You really brought them like this?"

"It's the best option. Is everything sorted out on the other side?"

"Yes. I even went over to check. I think we'll be able to join up soon."

"Good. Let's move straight away."

The brief exchange reassured the Parsha wizards somewhat: Maysa really was joining this expedition. They continued walking with their hands on the shoulders ahead for a little longer. Then, just as they thought they heard a humming noise from up front, they felt the air around them change abruptly.

Where there had been only the smell of earth and dust a moment before, a chilly autumn breeze suddenly blew. Had merely walking forward brought them outside in a single second?

"Good. You can close it now."

"All right."

"Everyone, remove your blindfolds!"

The Parsha wizards removed their blindfolds and were astonished to find themselves somewhere in a deserted forest. Even its vegetation looked completely different from anything found around Kalamap. No, this might not even be the Gray Zone...

"Don't tell me we're actually in the east?"

"Yes, we are."

The knight who had muttered to himself jerked upright in shock at receiving an answer from the exalted House Head of Parsha. Only then did they notice Maysa and Solif beside them, along with Arn, the mysterious masked man who had recently come to stay at the main house.

"Everyone, move out."

As they followed Turan's orders, the Parsha wizards felt both fear and excitement at this hard-to-accept reality. It was difficult to comprehend, but something was certainly changing.

* * *

"Thanks for all your hard work."

"What hard work? Vije had it much worse than I did."

Naturally, using the Jade Mirrors required someone to reach the destination first. Solif had therefore flown east with Armani on Vije several days before the operation began. He had kept in regular contact through the hand mirror, then installed the mirror to coincide with the arrival of Ravista's army.

Turan looked at the clearing on one side of the forest where an enormous mirror had stood moments earlier. Armani had retrieved it at once, leaving no trace behind.

"It's an incredible technique, even seeing it again."

"Just imagining the enemy using it is terrifying, isn't it?"

What would happen if a mirror opened a passage from Arabion—or Zahar's capital—to the outskirts of Kalamap? If hundreds or thousands of wizards poured out without having to worry about defending their own stronghold, House Parsha would meet its end that very day.

"There they are."

A little later, House Parsha's army emerged from the forest and met the Ravista army waiting for them. Seeing Osel at its head, Turan let out a quiet exclamation.

"Oh."

Unlike his usual casually dressed self, Ravista's House Head looked quite intimidating in his battle attire. The spear on his back, the cloak and clothes he wore, his seven pieces of jewelry, and even his jeweled crown—every last item was a Holy Relic.

Of course, it was difficult to find much dignity in the beautiful boy wearing all of it, who now looked to be in his mid-to-late teens... Still, Turan, at least, could gauge the immensity of Osel's abilities from the explosive power surging from his body.

"It has been a while, House Head of Parsha."

"Good to see you, Osel."

Rather than bow his head as he once had, Turan shook Osel's hand, reaffirming their equal standing. The Ravista House Head looked past him and clicked his tongue in wonder.

"I was told, but... you really did bring an army, House Head of Parsha. How on earth?"

"I gave my word. You'll adjust the reward as arranged, won't you?"

"Of course."

Turan had informed Ravista that he would send substantial reinforcements on the promised date, but he had not disclosed how. It was less a matter of distrusting Ravista than of fearing that spies from other factions might have infiltrated their ranks.

'One of Ravista's nobles could even be a vessel.'

Turning a House Head into a vessel was difficult, since it required virtually taking over the entire house. But kidnapping one or two members and replacing what was inside them might well be much easier. Unless Turan had his spiritual senses open, even he had no way to recognize such a person's true identity.

Indeed, security had been so tight that even the Parsha wizards who had followed him here knew nothing beyond what they could infer from the outcome: that there was some unknown technique for mass teleportation.

"You came as well, Lady Lida."

"Of course. I must fight too. How could I stay behind and wait while our House Head went off?"

"I had hoped you wouldn't come, Cousin."

Osel looked at Lida as he spoke in a tone of lament. Apparently, the young House Head had once again been unable to defy his older cousin, who had been his wet nurse. Unlike her usual appearance as an alluring noblewoman, Lida now looked like a seasoned woman warrior, her hair pulled tightly back for battle and her body clad in scale armor.

"Parsha's House Head, young Maysa, and young Solif... Truly, this is a battle we cannot lose."

"We mustn't let our guard down all the same."

Even as he said it, Turan also believed their chances of defeat were almost nonexistent. Hadn't he originally considered sending Solif alone, albeit with some misgivings? Now he had brought not only himself and Maysa, but Parsha's other wizards as well. If anything, it was an excess of force. He would never have committed this many troops if they could not return to Kalamap whenever they wished.

'As an absolute last resort, we could ask Armani for help too...'

Of course, that would only be an option if things became so dire that the Parsha–Ravista coalition army would be annihilated without his help. If word spread of a great sea serpent appearing in the heart of Baraha's capital, anyone who wasn't a fool would be able to guess the identity of the guest who kept his face hidden.

A little later, the two great houses' combined army began making steady progress northeast.

"Where are we now?"

"South of Lake Okin. At this pace, it'll take about three or four days to reach Helio, the capital."

"Three days... What about the beacons?"

"The alarm went up a while ago. We should assume they're preparing too."

Turan assessed their situation as he and Solif conferred over a map. They had teleported into the land of lakes held by Baraha.

Solif thought Baraha might try to defend from its capital, but was more likely to meet them on the plains before it. When great houses fought a war in one house's capital, the city suffered horrific devastation regardless of who won. It was easy to imagine the terrible carnage that would have resulted had the last war between Parsha and Arabion taken place in the middle of Kalamap rather than in a stretch of plains and forest.

* * *

Two days later, Turan and everyone in the coalition army learned that Solif's prediction had proved even more accurate than expected. On a field some hundred kilometers southwest of Helio, roughly a thousand wizards stood directly in their path. Anyone could tell that this was Baraha's army.

"Looks like they've come to welcome us."

"Whew..."

Was the prospect of fighting the House Head who had once nearly taken his body weighing on him? Solif tugged at his collar, looking somewhat more nervous than usual. Of course, most of the coalition army looked much the same.

They were in enemy territory, after all. Unlike Ravista, which had left some of its forces at home, Baraha had scraped together every last knight it could find and was bound to have a considerable numerical advantage. Even if the coalition vastly outmatched them in actual strength, the intimidating effect of those visible numbers could not be dismissed.

"Do you need time for a speech?"

"Our side is already fully prepared."

"Good. Everyone! The treacherous scum of Baraha stand before us!"

"[Oh!]"

Osel's voice was thin, not yet deepened by puberty. Though it held none of the dignity expected of a House Head, Ravista's wizards answered it with thunderous shouts.

Such was the depth of the hurt and humiliation the earlier surprise attack had inflicted on them. Now that they knew the whole truth, Ravista's wizards would be satisfied with nothing less than the head of Baraha's ruler.

"What more need be said? It is time to deliver punishment!"

With that cry, Osel raised his spear high into the sky, and an explosive torrent of power surged from it. It was Ravista's Holy Relic, the Whale Hunter. The instant the spear of pure white bone was aimed at Baraha's wizards, thousands of javelins rained down from the heavens, heralding the start of the war.