Unfortunately, no matter how nicely it was phrased, the essence behind those words didn't change.
Moments later, with a flash of light, Licht vanished from the room.
Yuuki lifted his head again. The excitement on his face lingered, but his heart was already calm as still water.
It seemed trying to create a rift between himself and Licht with words alone was far from easy. Still—not entirely fruitless.
"Yuuki, you heard Lord Licht. We'll be relying on you next."
Valtos walked over, his pale face and the two vertical black markings giving him an intimidating air, though right now his expression was unusually gentle.
From how Yuuki had acted earlier, Valtos could tell he wasn't like Rades or Sally. He was like him—someone who wanted to change this rotten kingdom.
"I'll cooperate fully."
Sensing the shift in Valtos's attitude, Yuuki smiled faintly and spoke softly.
The plan to invade the capital was something worth meticulous preparation.
"Hurry up already. The schedule moved up, and I've still got things to handle. Use your Spatial Magic and send me back."
Rades's annoyed voice came from the side.
Whoosh!
A sudden slicing sound cut through the air.
A translucent, pale-purple gel stretched into a long whip, lashing straight toward Yuuki.
"Hee-hee, you're not escaping this time."
Sally's teasing voice rang out.
Though Yuuki had been speaking with Valtos, he had already been wary of Sally. So the moment he heard movement behind him, he simply raised his arm and swung back.
A black spatial rift opened!
The gel-whip was instantly swallowed by the rift—and at that same moment, a small spatial portal opened behind Sally.
The gel-whip shot out of that miniature portal, aiming straight for her back.
The sudden shift in air pressure made Sally's cheerful face stiffen. She reflexively leapt to the side.
But Yuuki had deliberately opened the portal inside the shadow behind her—so close and so well-hidden that avoiding it completely was impossible. The whip still grazed her shoulder.
"What precise mana control… Little Yuuki, did you get stronger since last time?"
Sally's shoulder was scraped, but she looked anything but angry. Instead, she stared at Yuuki with bright, intrigued eyes.
Last time, he hadn't reacted this quickly—nor had he been able to open a spatial portal behind her without her noticing.
Valtos's eyes also flickered with surprise. Yuuki's mastery over spatial rifts felt almost on par with his own now.
Yuuki gave Sally a brief, slightly surprised glance. Her instincts were sharp.
His mana control hadn't actually improved. He had simply become more comfortable using his techniques as his mana reserve grew.
"Sally, what do you think you're doing?"
Valtos snapped out of his brief shock and turned toward Sally with evident displeasure.
"Just saying hi. Wouldn't want little Yuuki slipping away again."
Sally adjusted her round glasses, her crimson eyes glinting with curiosity.
Valtos shot Yuuki a puzzled look—clearly unsure why Sally was taking such interest in him.
"I actually have something I'd like to discuss with Sally. Let me know when the operation begins."
Yuuki turned toward Valtos, smiling as if completely unbothered.
"…All right."
Valtos nodded, then opened a spatial portal with a wave of his hand and departed with a very unhappy Rades in tow.
Only Yuuki and Sally remained in the room.
Sally blinked, surprised he truly intended to stay. She had expected him to dodge her like before.
"Now that it's just the two of us, we can talk properly."
Yuuki glanced toward where Valtos had disappeared before looking back at Sally, his expression calm.
"Hee-hee, of course."
Her smile bloomed even brighter.
They didn't speak for long, but Sally's eyes sparkled with satisfaction—almost reluctant for the conversation to end.
Once they finished, Yuuki didn't linger. He opened a spatial rift and left.
"How fascinating… Little Yuuki."
Hands in the pockets of her white open-front coat, Sally grinned to herself.
After leaving the Eye of the Midnight Sun's hideout, Yuuki returned to the tavern. On the way, he delivered the letter he had previously written to the church and picked some soybeans.
In truth, his dimensional storage was already piled high with soybeans. Whenever he needed to come and go for a long stretch, he simply claimed he had been foraging. With no dedicated fields, foraging naturally took time.
Night soon fell.
After finishing the bedtime story for Rebecca's younger siblings, Yuuki returned to his room.
But tonight, he didn't head out to train or visit the black market. He simply sat quietly and waited.
He didn't wait long. A familiar spatial ripple appeared outside the tavern.
Yuuki's eyes lit up. He used Spatial Magic to leave his room, arriving on the street outside—where Valtos was already waiting.
"Let's go."
Valtos nodded to him, enveloping the two of them in Spatial Magic.
When Yuuki's vision cleared, they were standing in an area between the castle town and the royal capital—not far from Leon Town, where the tavern was located.
"Sir!"
"Sir!"
"Sir!"
Voices echoed respectfully from all around.
Only now did Yuuki notice the ten-plus members of the Eye of the Midnight Sun scattered around them, blending into the night.
"You may begin."
Valtos nodded toward them.
The robed figures immediately spread out, each taking a sector. In hand, each held a magic tool resembling a brush, its tip glowing faintly as they used mana to carve something into the ground and the surrounding walls.
Once he saw they were all absorbed in their work, Valtos finally turned to Yuuki, who was staring with confusion.
"They're carving magic runes using mana—forming a massive teleportation array. This is the most crucial and irreplaceable step in our invasion of the capital."
Valtos explained patiently.
(End of Chapter)
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