CHAPTER 96
After Babiyen returned from the Asteria barony, our daily life continued.
Rumors circulated that the youngest daughter of the Asteria family was dead, but I paid them no mind.
The Asteria barony was now completely irrelevant to us.
My daily routine was always the same.
In the mornings, I trained with Aigis until the afternoon.
After that, I studied holy magic.
On top of that, I began studying the Apostle Transformation materials I had received from Inferno.
“Order, what in the world is an Apostle?”
I asked my little Order, who was flitting about in front of me. Instead of answering, it just continued to flutter around.
Fortunately, Apostle Transformation wasn't that difficult.
Since I was also learning about divine power during my Holy Knight training, it was within the realm of my understanding.
Of course, I ignored the parts that told me to offer up this or that as a sacrifice.
It was obvious those steps could be skipped.
“Another fulfilling day,” I mused.
If I kept growing steadily like this, wouldn't I one day become a powerhouse on the level of a Lord?
Of course, I kept such thoughts to myself.
“Mm, that’s good-ssumda! That kind of movement is crucial in a fight.”
“I see. I’ve learned a lot.”
While I was spending my days so productively, Aranseol was sparring with Lululio.
Lululio, having been introduced by Rapha Hastel, was incredibly skilled.
It was to the point where Aranseol couldn't claim a single victory during their spars.
So geniuses really do exist.
Even though she looked younger than me, Lululio’s skills were already in a distant realm.
It seemed there was a good reason Rapha Hastel had taken her on as a disciple.
Still, Aranseol appeared to be learning a great deal from her.
Lately, Aranseol had been completely focused on her training.
“Aranseol, aren’t you overdoing it?”
“If I overdo it, you’ll just heal me, won’t you, Harua?”
Well, she wasn't wrong.
“Honestly, it’s not just about me getting stronger. It's because I want to protect you, Harua.”
What a cool thing to say.
“So I’m going to get even stronger.”
Aranseol smiled brightly and went back to her training.
It was a smile anyone would find beautiful.
Unconsciously, my hand drifted to my chest.
The heart that should be there was missing.
What would it have been like if I still had my heart right now?
Would I have felt something?
Without a heart, I couldn't be sure.
Still, I’d recently taken to circulating my holy magic to mimic a heartbeat.
It wasn't because I felt sentimental about not having one.
After my experience with the Dog Keeper, I thought it might prove to be a useful trick.
It served as good practice for manipulating holy magic and would be a valuable card to have up my sleeve for emergencies.
For me, there was no downside.
It was just another case of better safe than sorry.
And so the days of training stretched on.
Babiyen also became more serious about her training than ever before.
She practically lived at the Mage Tower, visiting it almost every day.
Just like Holy Mages, regular Mages also had stages of growth.
Before long, Babiyen’s Seed had bloomed spectacularly, and she was beginning to build the foundation of her Tree.
“Babiyen, you’re really training as if your life depends on it.”
“Don’t talk to me. I might forget my magical formulas.”
Even while eating, Babiyen studied, never letting the grimoire leave her hands.
“And besides, I’m now in a position where I truly have to survive on my own. I can’t afford to be picky, and just as you said, Harua, I can feel the world getting more dangerous.”
Lately, the frequency of Black Dawn’s terrorist attacks had been increasing.
Clashes between the Regular Army and Black Dawn were commonplace, and some people were even evacuating to other cities.
Black Dawn’s movements had become that much more aggressive.
An additional problem was the growing number of Transferees joining their ranks.
“Well, from a Transferee’s perspective, we’re being ostracized more and more, so it’s a real shame-ssumda.”
Just as Lululio said while diligently eating her spaghetti, Transferees were being pushed further to the fringes.
Even people who previously had no strong feelings about Transferees began to avoid them after experiencing Black Dawn’s terrorism. The number of locals who would act maliciously upon meeting a Transferee also grew.
Before, they wouldn't have been so blatant about it.
A shop that was labeled as discriminatory towards Transferees would have been pointed at and scorned.
But now, the level and frequency of discrimination had risen sharply.
It was all because Black Dawn had shattered every positive perception of Transferees.
“Transferees who face discrimination harbor malice and join Black Dawn to take revenge on the locals-ssumda. And because of those Transferees, the locals suffer, and the vicious cycle continues-ssumda.”
The worst kind of cycle had begun to grip the era.
Was the tide of the times truly unstoppable?
Transferees and the people of this world were like oil and water, unable to mix.
Ultimately, to solve this mess, we had to catch the masterminds behind Black Dawn.
Ting-a-ling—
Just then, the inn door opened, and a familiar face appeared.
“Bulldog?”
What was this old man doing here?
After his wife was revived, he had been doting on her so much that he hadn't had a moment to go anywhere.
“What brings you here?”
As I voiced my question to the suddenly-appeared Bulldog, he grinned.
“Is it so strange for me to come see my benefactor?”
He looked much better than before.
It seemed his wife was doing well now, too.
“Harua, I came because I have a gift for you.”
He set the bag he was carrying on the table with a heavy thud.
It was quite hefty; I had no idea what was inside.
“What did you bring?”
“Something good for the body.”
When Bulldog opened the bag, it was packed with a large quantity of what looked like medicinal herbs.
“Oh my, these are all ingredients for elixirs.”
Babiyen looked shocked upon seeing the ingredients.
For her to be surprised, these herbs had to be worth a considerable fortune.
“These were originally meant to be a donation to the Radiance Faith.”
This was the same Bulldog who had gone to the Radiance Faith to save his wife.
Those bastards didn't revive people for free.
A price had to be paid.
This was that payment.
“There’s no need to give it to those Radiance Faith scoundrels anymore, is there? I came to give it to you.”
“No, this is the money you saved up for your retirement. You don’t have to give it to me.”
This was the money he had saved to live a quiet life with his wife after retiring as an adventurer.
I couldn’t just accept it.
“No, take it. It’ll put my mind at ease.”
Bulldog was serious.
He was the type of person who would just leave it here and go, even if I refused.
“Alright. I’ll accept it.”
“Good. It’ll be a big help to you. And it’ll be especially helpful to that young lady over there.”
Bulldog glanced over at Babiyen.
He, too, wielded the elements of fire and lightning.
It seemed he had recognized Babiyen as a fire mage at a glance.
“Let’s have dinner together at my place next time.”
“Yes, I’ll be sure to visit.”
With that, Bulldog waved his hand and left.
There would be no more darkness in his future.
I hoped his life would no longer be filled with suffering.
“Babiyen, take what you need.”
“R-Really? There are quite a few valuable items here.”
“It’s not like I can process this much on my own. Besides, the stronger you get, the safer I’ll be.”
“In that case, I won’t refuse.”
She could have at least pretended to hesitate.
Babiyen rummaged through the bag, deftly picking out what she needed.
Since I was a layman when it came to elixir ingredients anyway, I left the sorting to her.
“Maybe I should have asked Bulldog to introduce me to an alchemist.”
“Well, there are alchemists at the Mage Tower, but their fees are quite expensive.”
As I pondered how to turn these ingredients into elixirs, one person came to mind.
The Designated Merchant, Dark Hood.
Wasn’t it about time for that guy to show up to sell his wares?
Dark Hood himself was presumed to be an alchemist.
Since I did heal him, maybe he would help?
Probably not.
He was the one who left to find the elixirs stolen by the Black Dawn bastards.
I couldn’t even be sure if he would ever return to this city.
There was no point in dwelling on it.
I’d just have to visit the Alchemist Association soon.
Just as I was thinking that, the inn door opened once again.
Another familiar face appeared.
“Arshel?”
The Little Viper, Arshel.
For some reason, we had a lot of visitors this morning.
Arshel walked straight toward our table as soon as she saw us.
Without a word, she pulled out a chair and sat down.
Arshel’s eyes were quietly trembling.
I could see a hint of anxiety in them.
“What’s wrong with you?”
“Sorry, I’ve been followed since this morning.”
Followed?
I subtly glanced around.
But no one had entered after Arshel.
“It’s just… you guys are the strongest people I know right now.”
Arshel spoke incoherently.

She was a seasoned adventurer who had made a name for herself.
I couldn't understand why she was so terrified.
But her next words made it all clear.
“Cain.”
Cain.
My brow furrowed at the mention of that name.
“Cain… that bastard is following me.”
Cain, who had disappeared after the No-Named Killer incident.
Arshel was being stalked by him.

Cain. The No-Named Transferee with the Ability, “Dimension Eater.”
He was suddenly stalking Arshel.
“Why you?”
Arshel was pretty, but Cain had abandoned her and fled.
So why on earth would he be stalking her now?
“I don’t know! That’s why I’m going crazy. He just suddenly appeared and started spouting all this weird nonsense.”
Arshel looked like she was about to lose her mind from frustration.
Was he missing the warmth of his ex-girlfriend?
But even then, Arshel and Cain’s relationship had never been that deep.
“What kind of weird nonsense-ssumda?”
Just then, Lululio asked a question.
Arshel glanced at her, a look of confusion on her face.
It was natural, as she had never seen her before.
“Ah, she’s an acquaintance of ours. A very skilled friend.”
“He was saying things like he’s a different person now, that he’s become a Transcendent and he’s going to rule the world. He’s completely lost his mind.”
“A Transcendent?”
The moment I heard that, my eyes met Lululio’s.
She was, after all, a member of the Regular Army.
She understood what that meant right away.
“A Modified Body.”
Just as I expected, those words came from Lululio.
Cain, that idiot.
He had clearly become a Modified Body.

And there was no way the Black Dawn bastards would have sent Cain back to this city for no reason.

“Everyone.”
I stood up from my seat, and the others followed suit.
“We have to catch him. We have to catch Cain.”
This was a Black Dawn terrorist attack.