At the words of Badal, House Head of Arabion, the noisy plain fell instantly silent. However angry they were, none could easily raise their voice before that mighty wizard.

["For this matter, I entrust full authority to Lin Arabion, my dear second cousin and the hero who led us to victory in the Battle of Dakan. I ask that you regard his words as my own."]

With that, Badal closed his eyes and retreated a few steps, like an old man utterly drained of strength.

The vassals did not protest his decision to appoint a representative despite appearing in person for so important a matter. It worked to their advantage: if the House Head handled the discussion himself, they would have to speak under the weight of his intimidating presence. More than anything, though, Badal truly looked exhausted as he stepped back.

A moment later, Lin, the Arabion elder Badal had just introduced, took his place.

"Now, please hear me out. As for the documents currently circulating..."

He went on to claim that, most regrettably, a Zahar noble had recently infiltrated the main compound and stolen and forged several confidential documents. Apart from the fact that the Zahar noble in question did not actually belong to House Zahar, his claim came fairly close to the truth. Naturally, however, the vassal houses found it unconvincing.

"Since when have Arabion's defenses been so lax? What about the Citadel of Light?"

"The circumstances in those documents match my younger brother's death exactly! We've already arrested and questioned the man who claimed to have seen the monster! Forgery, my ass!"

"Enough of this nonsense!"

Perhaps the elder seemed less formidable than the House Head, for the heads of the vassal houses raised their voices one after another to refute his claims. Taking advantage of the uproar, Turan called to Asiz beside him.

"Asiz."

"Hm? What is it?"

"That person over there. Do you happen to know her bloodline?"

Turan pointed to a sturdily built middle-aged woman standing among a group of young Frost-blooded nobles. He had singled her out because the symbol within her was a tightly clenched fist, just like the one he had seen in Badal.

"Uh... I think she married into that house, like Uncle Haram did with ours. Her bloodline specializes in close combat, I believe."

"Can you find out for certain?"

"Is it important?"

"Very."

"Give me a moment."

Without further questions, Asiz went straight over and struck up a conversation. The Frost-blooded nobles initially seemed annoyed by the uninvited interruption of their important discussion, but before long they were smiling, won over by his friendliness. He returned with an answer in less than three minutes.

"She has the Strongman bloodline. Why the sudden interest?"

Turan started to answer, then glanced at Badal standing some distance away and shut his mouth. Arabion's bloodline ability merely read the flow of wind; it did not grant exceptional hearing. Still... he could not shake the uneasy feeling that someone of Badal's caliber might control every current of air nearby and listen to their conversation.

"It's too open here. I'll tell you later."

"When we're back?"

"Yes."

Having placated Asiz, Turan recalled the bloodlines he had just seen within Badal, House Head of Arabion: the lightning-filled cloud representing the Storm Bloodline, and the tightly clenched fist. In other words, he possessed three bloodline abilities—wind, lightning, and strength.

'Yet Badal's parents were nobles with the Arabion and Karmine bloodlines.'

Of course, the genealogy he had read in the study did not give the bloodlines of Badal's grandparents. It could have been an ancestral throwback from an earlier generation. Nevertheless, Turan privately suspected that the Strongman bloodline was the result of some artificial process. After all, both Solif and Maysa possessed only two bloodlines. Perhaps the work of "shaping the mind" was a prerequisite for granting a new bloodline ability.

As he stood lost in thought, he heard Midella, House Head of Berg, shout shrilly from farther back.

"I have no wish to argue further. Punish those who tormented Lady Maysa—my niece! How cruelly must you have treated her for the heir to a great house to flee her own family?!"

Solif flinched beside him for reasons of his own, while the others cried out their agreement in unison.

The documents detailing the Arabion nobles' corruption were full of accounts of harm inflicted on the vassal houses gathered here—houses that had refused to collude with them. Yet the largest portion concerned their persecution of Maysa. A house ought to handle its own affairs, certainly, but had they not gone far beyond what was acceptable?

Besides, many of those present were distant relatives of Midella, which also made them blood relatives of Maysa. And the safety of a great house's next House Head was, in itself, a matter of grave importance to the vassal houses that would depend on her protection.

The elder hesitated briefly, then made an unexpected claim.

"I understand the documents state that Maysa... that Lady Maysa ran away of her own accord, but that is not what happened. Lady Maysa was abducted while taking an outing beyond the city. By those Zahar bastards."

"What?"

"What absurd nonsense now..."

"Is Arabion full of nothing but idiots, that nobody noticed dozens of Zahar nobles invading? Or are you saying the House Head of Zahar himself came to the Dakayn Plains?"

At that last remark, the nobles instinctively turned toward Badal Arabion. If those murderers from the Enril Desert truly had come, they would need their mighty House Head's strength to oppose them.

But Badal said nothing, merely keeping his wrinkled eyes closed. The elder cleared his throat to draw their attention and spoke.

"We are conducting an internal investigation into who abducted her. But we cannot make proper progress while you distrust us and we remain divided like this. So please, cooperate with us. If all of Arabion stands united, how would those filthy desert hounds dare lay hands on the descendants of the Thunder Lord?"

Apparently, Arabion's main house had decided to blame the entire affair on Zahar nobles. After all, what better way was there to mend internal divisions than to emphasize an external enemy? And given that they were secretly colluding with Zahar anyway, even in the worst case they could simply stage a conflict.

"Could all of this really be a Zahar scheme?"

"If it is, isn't that a problem in itself? It means Arabion has been utterly unable to counter their machinations..."

"Now that you mention it, you're right."

But there was something the elder had failed to anticipate: the vassal houses instead took his argument as evidence of Arabion's failed leadership.

Normally, they would never have dared say such things before their mighty House Head. But it was another matter when he appeared so old and infirm. As the murmuring spread, a look of dismay crossed the elder's face.

"W-wait..."

"Stand aside for a moment, Lin."

The elder, who had been about to speak, hastily stepped back at the aged voice restraining him. Badal, who had stood silently with his eyes closed until then, had stepped forward.

As the old House Head took the lead once more, the members of the vassal houses ceased their denunciations and looked at him.

"As we have said, Zahar nobles appear to be involved in this affair. Nevertheless, my kinsmen must bear responsibility for at least some of the harm done to our vassals. I shall form an investigative commission that includes representatives from among you to look into it."

Though he was not using wind magic as before, Badal's voice was far stronger and clearer, reaching even those standing a considerable distance away.

That was not the only change. Clouds gathered in the perfectly clear sky and thunder rumbled—a display of power much like the one at the departure of the Dark Elf subjugation force. Witnessing this glimpse of his immense strength, the vassals faltered and nodded.

"I-if you are willing to make that concession, my lord..."

"We would be satisfied with that."

Had he simply flaunted his power and browbeaten them, their pride would have kept them from submitting. Instead, Badal displayed his strength while treating them respectfully, as though offering a proposal, giving them a way to back down. Thus, although the vassals remained somewhat dissatisfied, they could no longer openly challenge him.

"Hey, is this all right? Things aren't looking too good."

Solif glanced at Turan as he asked, but Turan could not answer. He was witnessing firsthand the change occurring within Badal, who now looked so much more vigorous than before.

'That's...'

The moment Badal stepped forward in earnest and used his mana, something appeared between the previously separate thundercloud and fist. A hammer and anvil—the symbols of the Enchanter bloodline, just like those of House Berg beside him.

The clenched hand lifted the hammer and brought it crashing down upon the anvil. Wind and lightning erupted from the blow, swirling wildly within Badal. Turan could readily guess what it meant.

'The Thunder Lord...'

The wielder of a great hammer who commanded wind and lightning. What was unfolding within Badal's body perfectly depicted the Thunder Lord, the great Freyan whom Arabion revered as its progenitor.

* * *

After his single display of might, Badal reverted to the appearance of a feeble old man and withdrew. Only after several more hours of discussion with the elders did the vassal delegation reach a workable compromise.

As the House Head had promised, Kadram and the other middle-generation nobles would temporarily be stripped of their authority and subjected to a rigorous investigation involving nobles from the vassal houses. The delegation also secured a promise that neither this gathering nor their show of force would be used as grounds for any reprisals.

To Turan, this was the best outcome they could realistically hope for. A complete upheaval of Arabion was virtually impossible anyway. With the middle generation partially neutralized and the vassals having pushed their demands through, House Berg was at least no longer in immediate danger.

The Berg nobles looked far less cheerful upon their return to Zavillin. Maysa, their relative and Arabion's next House Head, had run away—or gone missing—and they had directly challenged their liege house. Although it had been agreed that the matter would not be held against them, earning a superior's displeasure was hardly comfortable.

Even after returning to House Berg, Turan did not discuss the Thunder Lord's existence with Solif and Asiz. Having confirmed that their opponent truly wielded divine power, he was reluctant to speak of him in detail while they remained relatively close. Fortunately, both accepted his promise to explain once they were somewhere safer.

A few days later, as expected, an Arabion investigation team came looking for Turan.

"Turan, a wandering noble of the Barrier-user bloodline. Is that correct?"

"Yes."

He was one of Maysa's few friends outside the house, and had happened to arrive nearby a few weeks before the incident, even sending her a letter. He also possessed considerable mana and skill in magic. Laid out like that, the facts made him look exceedingly suspicious. Officially, though, the affair was a Zahar plot, so the suspicion extended only to his possibly being an accomplice.

Naturally, their investigation soon ran into difficulties.

"He was flying through the sky on a swing pulled by that black eagle?"

"Yes, sir. Saw him myself."

"A week ago, too?"

"That's right, sir."

Not only did they hear from townspeople about Solif's activities while impersonating Turan, but the house's servants also testified that they had seen Turan every day. Asiz had made sure to spread the story beforehand.

Of course, a few might have talked if arrested and tortured, but was Arabion in any position to dare do that now?

They even tested the strength and speed of Turan's black eagle, Vije. Clever as she was, however, she put on a feeble display that did not amount to a tenth of her usual strength.

"Vije, faster! I said fly as fast as you can!"

Watching Vije struggle through the air despite Turan's sharp reprimands from the swing, the investigators had no choice but to concede that the black eagle would be of little use in an escape.

Monsters might be more intelligent than ordinary animals, but it was difficult to imagine that she had perfectly coordinated her act with her master and was deliberately ignoring his orders.

Finally, after Turan proved that he was a noble of the Barrier-user bloodline, the investigators acknowledged that he was innocent and withdrew. The process also brought one further realization...

'As I thought, their ties to Zahar don't seem as strong as I'd imagined.'

If Arabion's middle generation had close ties to Zahar, at least one of them ought to have seen Turan's face or portrait and been reminded of his father or grandfather. Their failure to do so meant they either had no likenesses of Zahar's nobles, or had not met them often enough to grow familiar with their faces.

He would have liked to infiltrate their main compound again to investigate, but doing it twice would be difficult. Given what he had done at the end, they would now be aware of a magic tool capable of imitating faces and voices.

After staying another month or so, Turan finally informed Midella that he intended to leave. Considering that his pretext for staying had been to meet Maysa, his departure was actually overdue. Midella thanked him, knowing that he had remained to bolster the house's numbers and help it withstand Arabion's pressure.

"Shall we go, then?"

"I never wanted to ride this damned swing again."

With Solif grumbling that he was sick of riding the swing for days on end, Turan left House Berg aboard it in the middle of the night.

Vije could now fly so high that she would appear as no more than a dot from the ground, leaving no one able to trace their route. They crossed the Dakayn Plains, passed through the forest region gradually being rebuilt by settlers, and flew over the wilderness to Shiraf Marsh.

Despite the swing being heavier than before due to its sturdier construction, they reached the hot springs after only three or four days of flight.

"... Turan?"

"It's been a while, Maysa."

Seeing her for the first time in a couple of months, they found Maysa looking after a baby monkey. Her face and body had filled out very little, suggesting that she had failed to eat on her own. Considering how rapidly she had gained weight when food was delivered directly into her stomach, she would not have looked so thin had she eaten even a little.

"Have you been comfortable here?"

"Yes. Aicul has treated me well."

At Maysa's words, Aicul, the Monkey King who ruled the hot springs, gave a throaty snort.

Unlike his rough treatment of Turan in the past, he was quite gentle with Maysa. Perhaps he simply liked women.

"What are you glaring at, you bastard?"

The displeasure he showed toward Solif made that suspicion all the stronger.

After their brief exchange of greetings, Maysa asked with an anxious expression,

"What happened to House Berg? And my aunt?"

Their safety had probably been her greatest worry during the month she had spent here. Turan and Solif were top-tier nobles who could easily look after themselves, but the Bergs were comparatively weak and had much to protect.

Fear that House Berg would be crushed beneath Arabion's power was also why she had never told them about the torment she endured.

Turan carefully explained everything that had happened on the Dakayn Plains since she left.

"So they should be safe for the time being. At least as long as tensions with Zahar are publicly maintained."

"What a relief..."

A radiant smile spread over Maysa's face at his explanation. She had evidently spent her time here consumed by worry, all but confined to the hot springs.

As Turan nodded in agreement that things had turned out well, she suddenly threw her arms around him. Though she had filled out a little since before, she was still so thin that he barely felt her weight.

"My mind was in such turmoil last time... It wasn't until I came here that I realized I hadn't said this. Thank you. Thank you so much for getting me out of that hell."

Turan wondered what he should say, then gave her a few gentle pats on the back.