It had already been ten days since leaving the capital and resuming their journey.
Zion and Yuria spent their days honing their skills, while Soares was constantly there to support the two.
The ones who finally put an end to the monotonous routine were the Awakened from Earth.
The Atlas and Saint they had mentioned earlier had at last taken the time to visit Frey’s home.
[Wow. When sister Arcs contacted me before, I thought it was some boring joke… but is this really brother Frey? Is this the real deal? Not some doppelganger or anything?]
[Atlas, that kind of rude tone when meeting people you haven’t seen in a while is unacceptable.]
[Saint… I mean, Yumin. I heard it’s okay to just call us by our real names here. Brother Frey said he’d cover for us.]
[…Really? We don’t have to be formal?]
Zion felt a little confused by the scene projected in his mind from Earth.
In reality, through Yuria and Soares, he had only just gained two companions, but somehow it felt like the surroundings had suddenly become very crowded.
It wasn’t entirely wrong, since the number of voices in his head had doubled overnight.
[Alright, let’s synchronize the communicators first… Oh, I see. There are three of you?]
[Two of them and Zion’s—Naia’s son’s—companions he met during his journey.]
[I see. Haha, it feels strange. Even though it’s the first time meeting you, there’s a weird sense of familiarity. You definitely resemble sister Naia a bit. Nice to meet you. I’m, um… usually called Atlas. My real name is Crooks Friedrichs. brother Crooks … or uncle? Haha, just call me whatever you’re comfortable with. I’m not really into drawing lines or being formal.]
The one speaking was a young man who looked to be in his mid-twenties.
Judging by the examples of Frey or Arcs, he was probably at least in his thirties or forties in actual age.
What stood out was his appearance.
Beneath his gentle and kind facial features, the kind of face that wouldn’t hesitate even to spare an ant, was a solid, rock-like physique of a well-trained giant.
Zion felt as if he were facing an impregnable fortress.
Unconsciously drawn to the trained body, Zion’s gaze was met with a natural pose over the communicator as Crooks struck a side chest stance.
Nearby, Saint—who was watching the scene with disdain—couldn’t help but smack his back.
[You’re really something…! What’s with that creepy move in front of someone you just met?!]
[Huh? Creepy? I’m just showing the beauty of muscle.]
[Stop talking like a pervert and move on now that the introductions are done! …Ah, a-actually, nice to meet you. Ahaha, ehehehe… ahem, ahem! I’m Saint. My real name is Choi Yumin. Unlike the other three, my family name is Choi and my given name is Yumin. Choi, Yumin.]
‘Haha, pleased to meet you. Hmm… sister Yumin.’
Like the other three Awakened, Yumin looked especially young among them.
Even at the highest estimate, she seemed no older than her early twenties.
To exaggerate slightly, she could even pass for Zion’s age.
“Sister…. Yumin…?!”
Of course, seeing her chest tighten with emotion at the casual title Zion used clearly showed the considerable gap between her real age and appearance.
[From now on, these two will also train you. Hmm, I’ll have to allocate time properly. Let’s take it easy and exchange opinions.]
‘Before that, I want to introduce these two to Yuria and Soares.’
[Oh, right. They’d be surprised if two more showed up out of nowhere without a word.]
The busy days had begun.
Saint, called the “holy saint,” was a master of White Magic, encompassing healing and support spells.
On the other hand, Atlas was completely ignorant of magic but had mastered every known form of martial arts, making him a close-combat expert.
At first glance, they seemed like complete opposites, but Frey was confident that their teachings would greatly benefit Zion in the long run.
‘That’s exactly why Almighty Naia was so strong.’
With one exception, all Awakened had limitations on the range of skills they could learn.
This was due to the powerful superpower, or “Trait,” gained upon first awakening.
For example, if someone was born with a Trait related to destructive magic—Black Magic—it was very difficult and inefficient for them to learn other types of skills.
Some abilities were completely unattainable.
Traits could not be chosen freely, nor could they be changed if disliked.
Once acquired, the Trait was carried for life.
An Awakened’s future was decided the moment they first awakened.
At first glance, this seemed like an unreasonable and flawed system, but it wasn’t entirely so.
In times of peace, it might be problematic, but when humanity’s survival was at stake in Gate disasters, combat-ready forces that could be deployed quickly were needed.
Awakened could easily and quickly master skills aligned with their Traits.
Moreover, research later showed that the Trait’s limitations prevented excessive MP addiction, thus fundamentally blocking the possibility of Awakened turning into mind slaves.
Like everything, there were exceptions.
The one exception was Naia Alkoth.
Her Trait wasn’t superior from the start.
Naia’s Trait allowed her to learn all types of skills without limitation, but the more kinds of skills she acquired, the slower her growth became.
Her reputation as the world’s strongest was entirely due to her own efforts.
At her prime, Naia was literally a one-woman army.
Not facing a thousand monsters, but a thousand Awakened.
She ranked below Frey in Black Magic, below Yumin in White Magic, below Atlas in martial arts, and below Arcs in Artifact engineering, but her combat style of freely combining all those skills according to the situation was unique to Naia.
‘And Zion, you have inherited that blood.’
Zion’s current growth rate was even more remarkable than Naia’s at her prime.
Though it had been only a few months since he started fighting monsters, he had already manifested several Halos and even entered Trans state during Artifact crafting.
Saying this was purely due to talent would diminish Zion’s lifelong efforts since childhood, but it was clear he was qualified to be called the Second Almighty.
‘I’m honestly curious how strong he can become, and whether he can surpass her…’
Frey silently watched Zion as he conversed with the new Awakened.
***
About a month after leaving Jedo, on a certain morning.
“Today’s breakfast made by Soares is delicious as always!”
“If it weren’t for Soares, we’d probably be gnawing on dried scraps of ham by now.”
“Ugh… just imagining that makes me nauseous!”
“A journey without Soares is unimaginable now.”
Before the simple breakfast laid out, Zion and Yuria were overwhelmed with gratitude and praise.
It sounded like a joke, but their expressions were sincere.
Soares could only smile wryly to hide her embarrassment.
After traveling together for about a month, Soares had learned one thing: the two were surprisingly incapable of handling daily life.
Forget cooking, it was honestly a bit much that they tried to wear the same clothes repeatedly without washing.
Because of that, Soares felt like a nanny, taking care of everything from start to finish.
‘Still… it’s not all bad.’
Klavis wasn’t such a high-maintenance master.
Having spent a long time as comrades, the idea that she was a master to be served was faint.
Compared to him, the two sometimes seemed a little pitiful, but they were certainly worth supporting.
“We should reach the border city by today. At this pace, we’ll arrive around noon.”
Soares, sitting on the coachman’s seat, unfolded a map and spoke.
Yuria, balancing on the roof while training, and Zion, reviewing an Artifact engineering textbook in the carriage, both looked up.
“Shall we have lunch when we get to the city then?”
“Oh, that sounds good. While we’re there, maybe we should buy some new clothes?”
“Nice idea. Some of our clothes have worn out and can’t be worn anymore.”
The end of the Empire was drawing near.
Pargon, the large border city responsible for trade with the Jewel Tower, was the northernmost city of the Empire.
“There are quite a few people.”
In the still unrefined wide central avenue, shadows of people already appeared here and there.
Travelers in ragged clothes traveling in small groups, fully armed mercenary-looking groups, elderly pilgrims, and even grand and luxurious carriages rivaling their own were all heading south.
“It seems news of the Empire’s restoration has spread.”
“Then are all these people headed to Jedo?”
“Most likely. Jedo is currently a city where chaos makes it easy to seize opportunities.”
Moving against the flow of people heading south, the carriage finally arrived in Pargon.
It was just past noon, as Soares had guessed.
Yuria, having quietly descended from the roof to avoid drawing attention, peered outside with bright eyes.
“Oh, there are so many people. Looks like there’s a festival or something.”
“…That’s strange. I remember it as a populous city, but not this much.”
The mystery was soon solved.
Proclamations from Jedo were plastered all over the city.
The Empire had been saved thanks to Klavis and his comrades, and soon there would be an official coronation ceremony for Klavis.
“At one point, it seemed like the Empire was doomed… but it looks like the gods haven’t completely abandoned this land after all.”
“Right. I had my bags packed to flee north anytime, but now it’s no longer necessary.”
“This is all thanks to His Highness Klavis… no, should I say His Majesty now? Anyway, it’s all thanks to him! As long as he rules, the Empire will be safe for a thousand years!”
No trace of worry could be seen on the faces of passersby.
Their conversations were similar, all dreaming of the Empire’s bright future and praising Klavis’s achievements.
[In a world like this… it’s only been a month and he’s already regained so much trust? And this is the farthest north near Jedo?] Frey muttered in disbelief.
Atlas, Saint, who had been deep in thought, added his opinion.
[I haven’t seen it with my own eyes, so I’m not sure about the exact situation, but perhaps it’s because it’s the northernmost city? The mood of a border city would be communicated directly to neighboring countries, so it makes sense to first eliminate sources of unrest and stabilize public opinion. The inland area might actually be more chaotic than here.]
Arcs clapped his hands and exclaimed, [Oh, Crooks, still sharp as ever.]
“Humph. Well-trained muscles never lie.”
Naturally, Crooks flexed his muscles, which made Yumin look at him as if she had spotted an unpleasant bug.
Frey, after some thought, nodded, [Makes sense. Damn it, we should have tried to persuade that guy no matter what back then! If he’s that sharp, he would’ve been a great help to Zion.]
[Then the Empire would fall?]
[Whatever if the Empire falls… Ah, alright, Zion. That’s a joke, so don’t give me that pitiful look. What kind of attitude is that toward your uncle?]
Though the city was more like a festival, there was one problem.
After searching through the city with their carriage, Zion, Yuria, and Soares finally faced an uncomfortable truth they’d been trying to avoid.
“There aren’t any inns left…”
“Not a single one.”
Zion and Soares said weakly.
Yuria’s next remark dealt the final blow to the sinking atmosphere, “So… are we sleeping outdoors again?”