gown with icicles adorning it, she readily entered the sarcophagus and laid down.

Shushushu...

When the sound of the lid closing resounded out, Seol Ji-Hu finally regained his wits.

His mind was now silent, her will no longer sounding within.

“Uhm...”

‘Did she just spare me?’ (Seol Ji-Hu)

He half expected to be killed off here, so right now, it felt like ten years were shaved off his lifespan.

Seol Ji-Hu turned around hurriedly to leave, but then, he noticed the chaotic state of the burial chamber.

“........”

And then... For some reason, he began to tidy up the burial goods. He closed the lid properly, and unfurled the red cloth before laying it back on the sarcophagus. He also correctly placed the longsword and the shield back to where they used to be.

The problem only occurred when he was just about done with tidying up.

Plop.

“Mm?”

Something weird happened. When he tried to place the earrings and the proof of chastity to their original positions, they kept falling down. No matter what he tried, they resolutely refused to stay in their original positions.

‘What’s going on here?’ (Seol Ji-Hu)

He only wanted to finish tidying up quickly and leave, so this was one hell of an exasperating event.

“Gimme a break..” (Seol Ji-Hu)

[Gimme a break..]

“?”

[?]

Seol Ji-Hu tilted his head this way and that, before cautiously thinking to himself.

‘By any chance, are you doing this deliberately?’ (Seol Ji-Hu)

[You can take them.]

‘...Pardon?’ (Seol Ji-Hu)

[Thanks.] [It was the first time.] [A person protecting me.] [Come again.]

‘No, hang on. I was...’ (Seol Ji-Hu)

Seol Ji-Hu was about to say something inwardly, but then, he saw the sarcophagus suddenly grow distant from him.

His body was actually being pushed out. No, it was more like someone or something was dragging him away, and before he could do anything about it, he slid past the corridor. Soon, he heard the sound of the door opening up, and the darkened world brightened up once more.

As the door closed shut with a resounding ‘slam’, Seol Ji-Hu looked behind him.

Dylan, Cho Hong, Hugo, and Ian were patiently waiting for him.

Just before Seol Ji-Hu opened his mouth...

“As soon as you entered inside, the miasma dissipated.” (Ian)

Ian spoke up in a soft voice.

“We heard what happened. Listening to the will of the vengeful spirit... That was truly an unexpected phenomenon.” (Ian)

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Ian sounded lonely and wistful as he closed his eyes. It seemed that the vengeful spirit relayed her will to the four people outside the tomb, as well.

“It’s my fault that Samuel’s team decided to act separately like this. If only I didn’t speak of my hypothesis so carelessly, then...” (Ian)

“No, that is not true.” (Dylan)

Dylan spoke in a formal tone of voice.

“We all were given the same opportunity. And it was them who ignored it. They could not control their greed and paid the price for it.” (Dylan)

“Is that so...” (Ian)

Ian sounded resigned. He shifted his gaze over to the accessories in Seol Ji-Hu’s hands – the proof of chastity, and a pair of nameless earrings. From a certain point in time, the fate of Seol and Samuel’s team had become clearly divided.

The older man chuckled wryly and gazed up at the sky, looking somewhat helpless.

“Goodwill with goodwill, and malice with malice, is it... I’ve learned a lot during this expedition.” (Ian)

“I agree. It’s not only humans that possess intelligence, after all.” (Dylan)

Dylan smiled ruefully before turning around. Their Pathfinder might have died, but he too was an Archer.

“Let’s go back.” (Dylan)

Soon, the remaining members of the expedition assumed a new formation according to Dylan’s orders and silently left the tomb’s vicinity.

11 had entered, but only 7 were leaving the forest.

*

The return trip proved to be uneventful. With the sole exception of Ian performing another one of his mind calming magic spell, nothing of note happened.

The mood of the expedition remained... quiet. Sure, they had experienced the annihilation of a friend’s team, but also, each of them had a lot to think about.

It was a rather common event for a person to die in battles against monsters or other enemies. However, today’s circumstance was slightly different. It was Samuel’s fault for making the vengeful spirit their enemy in the first place.

Endless questions still swimming inside his head, Seol Ji-Hu remained confused. He didn’t know whether to feel happy or sad about this expedition.

But, if he were to be honest, he was more regretful than anything else.

[More importantly, if we don’t acknowledge the Warrior who managed to defend against a female Lioner as one of the members of the expedition, then how can we even think about acknowledging anyone else?]

Samuel...

[Name’s Alex. I’m a level 3 Investigative Priest. From Area 4.]

Alex...

Seol Ji-Hu never once thought of them as bad people. Samuel could be a bit hard-headed at times, but still, he was a good leader who did pay attention to the opinions of his teammates. And Alex was a good-natured young man with a bright smile on his face most of the time.

And that was precisely the reason why Seol Ji-Hu found it so much harder to understand. Why did they try to take on the risk, when the situation was anything but certain?

As he walked while submerged deeply in his thoughts, the sky that had been hidden away by the trees began to show up. He could even see the distant Napal hill too, as well as the previous night’s camp site.

“How much do you know about ‘death’?” (Ian)

Soon after they finally managed to escape from the Forest of Denial, Ian initiated conversation with Seol Ji-Hu.

“All I know is that you lose all memories of the Paradise and it becomes impossible to re-enter.” (Seol Ji-Hu) (TL note at the end.)

“Looks like you have some understanding of it. If I were to correct one thing, then there actually is a way to re-enter the Paradise.” (Ian)

Now that was the first time Seol Ji-Hu heard about that.

“It’s not easy, of course. First of all, you need to revive the dead being. And secondly, you must find a way to bring the person back here, the person who had utterly forgotten about the Lost Paradise. If you meet these two conditions, then you’re given one last opportunity to re-enter.” (Ian)

“Revival?” (Seol Ji-Hu)

“Well, rather than calling it ‘revival’, it’d be more like you praying to the gods for your wish to be granted, instead. Will you please revive that person, or something like that.” (Ian)

The moment he heard that, Seol Ji-Hu felt like a hammer had struck him in the head.

A wish...

That was a rather familiar word to him.

[You have honoured your side of the deal, so I shall honour mine. What is it that you wish?] [And so, do you wish to be revived?]

Indeed, back in his dream...

“Of course, the act of praying for that wish itself is the difficult one. You need to either achieve a great military merit in the battlefield, or get a promise from a god, or get yourself truly ridiculous, unbelievable offerings... It’s not an exaggeration to say that the whole thing is practically impossible.” (Ian)

“...Master Ian, do you think Samuel was trying revive Vanessa?” (Dylan)

“I do.” (Ian)

‘...Vanessa?’ (Seol Ji-Hu)

Seol Ji-Hu shifted his gaze over to Cho Hong after hearing an unfamiliar name. She quickly whispered to him.

“A level 5 Blade Runner. The OG leader of Samuel’s team.” (Cho Hong)

“...I was worried about that, so I tried to warn him, but in the end, he couldn’t let go, could he?” (Ian)

“I can understand, just a little, where he was coming from. They had been teammates for a very long time, and while she was still alive, they were one of the best teams in Haramark, after all.” (Dylan)

“I’m sure that the weight on Samuel’s shoulders was heavy. In any case, I’m deeply worried. Samuel was a capable enough Archer to enter the ranks of level 5. And now, both Vanessa and Kahn, too... Right now, every single upper rankers coun....” (Ian)

Ian abruptly stopped talking and began rummaging through his robe. He then pulled out a round crystal. Seol Ji-Hu remembered seeing something similar in Carpe Diem’s office, but this crystal was several times more clearer.

“Is it from the royal family?” (Dylan)

“Looks like it. Sorry about this, but can you give me some privacy?” (Ian)

“Of course.” (Dylan)

Seol Ji-Hu followed Dylan and the rest, to distance himself away from Ian.

“Is it possible to communicate with Haramark from here?” (Seol Ji-Hu)

“Well, he works for the royals, right? I mean, they are still a royalty, so they should at least possess good quality crystals, no?” (Cho Hong)

Cho Hong replied and lightly clicked her tongue.

“I hope that’s just a friendly call.” (Cho Hong)

“Unfortunately, doesn’t look like it.” (Dylan)

Dylan seemed to get a little tense after seeing Ian’s surprised reaction.

“Wait, it’s not a war breaking out, is it?” (Cho Hong)

“I wonder. Surely, Parasite wouldn’t have the necessary manpower to focus on us right now.” (Dylan)

“In that case, is it the Federation?” (Cho Hong)

“That makes even less sense.” (Dylan)

While they chatted among themselves, Ian’s communication came to an end. As the older Sorcerer slowly walked over, his complexion was definitely not so good.

“What happened?” (Dylan)

“...They say that all communications with the Arden fortress have been cut off.” (Ian)

Hearing that, Cho Hong’s expression crumpled immediately.

“D*mn it! I knew that would happen!” (Cho Hong)

“Let me continue. The last communication was two days ago. The royal family of Haramark has issued an emergency bounty, and has recruited level 3 and 4 Earthlings. And they have issued draft notice to those above the upper levels.” (Ian)

“Draft notice?! Gimme a f*cking break!” (Cho Hong)

Cho Hong angrily shouted out. Dylan calmed her down and asked.

“How many answered the notice?” (Dylan)

“Not even one.” (Ian)

“I thought as much.” (Dylan)

“It can’t be helped. The Arden fortress was the strategy the royal family had pursued against advice, anyway. In any case, they are in the midst of marching towards the fortress as we speak, along with a small contingent of Earthlings accompanying their own armed forces.” (Ian)

Things just got complicated as they were about to return. Ian helplessly stroked his beard. After a short bout of silence later, Dylan asked.

“Will you be heading there, as well?” (Dylan)

“You know it. I’m still employed by the royal family, after all. I’ve received quite a few benefits from them, so I must comply.” (Ian)

“Argh, don’t go! You’re supposed to quit after scouting the Forest of Denial is done, right?” (Cho Hong)

Seeing Cho Hong so vehemently react like this, Seol Ji-Hu became quite curious. He could tell that a war had broken out, yet he failed to understand why everyone was so openly vocal about it.

Dylan finished organising his thoughts and asked once more.

“What did they want from us?” (Dylan)

“The mission to scout the Forest Denial is to be put on hold immediately. Escort me to the previously-agreed rendezvous point. As for the rest, they will discuss it with you. They also added that you’ll be paid suitable compensation so you should rest easy.” (Ian)

“Sounds like the royal family is in a serious bind.” (Dylan)

Dylan slowly shook his head.

“I will have to discuss this with my team first. Can you give us a bit of time?” (Dylan)

“Well, I don’t have a say in that, to begin with. And also, I’m sorry about this.” (Ian)

“This isn’t something you should apologise for, Master Ian. Well, then. ...Ah.” (Dylan)

Dylan was about to gather his teammates around, but he thought of something before that and asked quickly.

“By the way, who is the commander of the forces?” (Dylan)

“It’s Teresa.” (Ian)

“....Pardon me?” (Dylan)

Dylan frowned deeply.

“Teresa Hussey is personally participating?” (Dylan)

“Fufufu. I see that you’re reacting exactly the same as I did.” (Ian)

Ian chuckled loudly and nodded his head.

“That’s right. The princess of the Haramark’s royal family is personally going to war.” (Ian)