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"Can I see it?" Adolin asked.

"I don't have one with me. I made a few copies, but they're hidden," the Count said. Adolin frowned. It wasn't like he was capable of decoding them, but he was curious to see what they looked like. The Count noticed his frown.

"I'll bring one before going North."

"That works," Adolin said, his frown vanishing.

"Do you think there's something more important in them?"

"It's possible. Elis managed to decode a few words from each of them before focusing on the first letter. One of them mentioned the organization multiple times. I'm hoping that letter will provide some answers." Adolin nodded slowly.

"Why didn't Elis decode that letter first?"

"He said that aside from the word 'organization,' nothing else in that letter matched the others. Starting with the first letters was supposed to make decoding the rest easier and faster." The Count shook his head.

"I'm not sure what would have happened if he'd started with that one. Maybe we would have learned more about them... or maybe not."

"Have you spoken to any other cryptographers?" Adolin asked.

"No. Everything happened too quickly after the castle was attacked. Even if I had approached others, they probably would have been killed as well. Now, at least with the Emperor's support, we should be able to get the letters decoded. His palace is the most secure place in the entire Empire. Even if they wanted to stop us from deciphering them, they couldn't."

"If the Emperor decides to help," Adolin added.

"Yes. There is always the chance he'll ignore everything that's happening. It wouldn't be the first time he's done that." The Count's expression darkened for a moment before he exhaled and composed himself.

"This time," he said, his tone regaining its confidence, "should be different. The situation on the frontlines is worsening, the organization dared to attack this close to the capital, and everything else that's happening throughout the Empire should be enough to make him act." The Count interlocked his fingers.

"Hopefully."

"Let's hope so," Adolin said. His time was running out, and he still had a few things to settle before leaving the estate. He dismissed the spell around them and glanced at the Count.

"I have a few things I need to take care of. Hopefully we'll meet again." Then he vanished. After a few casts of Blink, Adolin was back in front of the storage building. The civilians were still there, and even though the fighting was over, the soldiers remained vigilant. They stood guard on all sides, weapons at the ready. Most of the civilians were inside the building, while a few remained outside. The atmosphere was still grim and heavy. The air reeked of ozone from every direction.

It would take a few hours for the burnt mana to dissipate; until then, the entire estate would smell of it. The civilians kept their voices low, as if speaking too loudly would bring the danger back. Maya was still standing with her mother and the maids, while Sir Tristan stood a few steps away from Sir Elliot, who was lying on a bench. His bandaged arm rested across his chest. Adolin didn't have much time, so he decided to start with Sir Elliot. He stopped in front of the man. Slowly, Elliot opened his eyes.

The moment he saw Adolin, he stumbled to his feet. He stood at attention, his hand striking his chest.

"Lord," he said, a pained grimace crossing his face.

"At ease," Adolin said. Elliot relaxed, lowering his hand as the grimace eased slightly.

"Let me see it." Sir Elliot nodded and extended his injured arm. The bandage wrapped around the stump was stained red, though most of the blood had already dried. The bleeding had stopped during the battle. With Mana Control, Adolin gathered the mana above the bandage into a thin line, transformed it into wind mana, and changed its nature to Sharpness. The bandage was sliced cleanly and fell to the ground. He heard footsteps behind him. Through Mana Sense, he recognized Sir Tristan.

The knight didn't say anything and simply watched Sir Elliot's arm.

"This will hurt," Adolin said. Elliot nodded and gritted his teeth. There were probably better ways to do it, but making another clean cut would be faster. With a quick Sever, Adolin removed the clotted tissue, and the wound began bleeding again. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. He touched Elliot's arm and cast Pain Relief, something he was supposed to have done beforehand... Oh well. He was too tired, and his head felt like it was about to fall off.

He cast Pain Relief on himself as well. Not that it would help much, but any relief was better than none. Adolin had around seventy percent of his mana left. Regrowth would require nearly fifty percent. That was another mana potion wasted, but he'd already promised to restore the hand. He took hold of Elliot's arm and closed his eyes.

To restore the hand, Adolin had to manually guide the mana, as spells capable of regrowing limbs consumed an enormous amount of mana, and this was the only method he currently had access to. Adolin studied Elliot's intact hand, using it as a template. He cast Regrowth and carefully shaped the mana to mirror it. Then he visualized the entire process. The bones forming. The flesh. The veins. Every part growing individually. Slowly, the hand began to regrow.

Through Mana Sense, he watched every change, adjusting the spell whenever necessary. The entire process took over a minute. Finally, Sir Elliot had a new hand. Adolin opened his eyes. Elliot stared at his restored hand, slowly flexing his fingers before making a fist and turning it over. It took him several moments before he finally calmed down.

"I... thank you, Lord," Elliot said, unable to take his eyes off his restored hand. It was a little paler than the other one, but that would change within a few days. Soon, both hands would be weathered identically. Adolin slapped the man on the shoulder.

"Go get some rest. Your body is drained. Make sure you eat something." He turned and noticed Tristan speaking with another knight, one of the men who had been guarding Eduard. A few seconds later, the knight left, and Tristan approached him.

"Lord," Sir Tristan said.

"We've been ordered to follow you after you leave the estate." Adolin simply nodded.

"Your orders?" Adolin thought for a moment. He didn't want to walk all the way back to Zent Village and delay the merchant even more than he already had. So...

"Help the Count deal with the aftermath and take a few days off. Then meet me in... the City of Wolt." Yeah, that was where the caravan was headed.

"If I'm not there, head to House Morcant's... estate?" Tristan simply nodded. He really needed to learn more about where he was going. At least he remembered the caravan's destination was Wolt. After that, they would head to Revel's estate... or castle... or wherever she lived. The only things left for him to do were visit Maya, collect his compensation—which he expected would be brought to him—and finally teleport back to Zent.

Hopefully, Revel and the rest of his party would still be there, and he wouldn't be forced to travel alone. He had no clue how to get to Wolt... maybe that would be perfect. If they'd already left, he'd finally have some time alone. Adolin didn't really care how he got to Wolt. What he needed was a day or two of rest. Nothing else mattered after everything he'd gone through over the past few days. He noticed Maya glancing at him every so often while the kitten struggled to be let go. He chuckled softly.

Tristan and Elliot gave him strange looks. Adolin ignored them and strode toward Maya. As he approached, Maya studied his face and instinctively started to take a step back. He wondered if he still had that look. A moment later, she relaxed. That answered his question. He stopped in front of her. At that exact moment, the kitten bit Maya's hand. She grimaced as it slipped free from her grasp, dropped to the ground, and without hesitation ran straight toward him.

With one tiny, adorable leap, it latched onto his leg and immediately started climbing. Every movement hurt, as most of his leg was still uncovered. It wasn't that bad, though. If anything, it distracted him from the pounding headache. A few seconds later, the kitten settled on his shoulder, its tiny claws digging into his skin. Well... He kind of deserved it. Maya stared at the kitten but didn't say anything.

"How are you feeling?" Adolin asked. He didn't know what else to say. The girl had lived through something no child should. She had also helped him quite a lot by finding the traitors and taking care of the kitten. He had promised to show her more spells, and he usually kept his promises.

"Good," she said, still looking around. A few spells should cheer her up, he thought.

"What kind of spells do you want to see?"

"Spells?"

"Yeah. I promised I'd show you some." Maya thought for a moment, then glanced toward the roof where Saer was still standing.

"I liked the fire spells." Adolin flooded the area with his mana.

"What's your favorite magical creature?" Maya glanced at the kitten on his shoulder, a smirk spreading across her face.

"Dragons!" He didn't answer. Instead, he focused on the spell forming around him. He shaped the mana into a dragon, then another, then a third before transforming it into fire mana. Three dragons appeared above them, each as large as a tall man. They flapped their wings and soared higher into the air. Maya's eyes widened, sparkling.

"Woow," she muttered. Adolin smiled and sent them diving toward the ground. They crashed into it, and with a quick wind spell, he kicked up a cloud of dust, making the impact feel real. The constructs roared before all three breathed streams of fire. Their size almost made it real, the only thing lacking was the sound of their roars. A few gasps came all around him and everyone nearby had stopped whatever they were doing and watched the show. One by one, the dragons took to the air again.

The only sound left was the crackling of the flames. What he planned next was quite dangerous. There were probably safer ways to do it, but this one felt more authentic. He focused on the mana surrounding the dragons and poured even more into them while changing its nature. Adolin made two of the dragons' flames burn much hotter. One turned white, another blue. It still felt like something was missing. So he added a fourth dragon. Purple. The temperature around them changed instantly.

As the flames burned, the heat spread throughout the area. Adolin glanced around and saw that no one seemed to mind the sudden change in temperature. If anything, they were enjoying the show. So he continued controlling the dragons for another minute. He found the warm atmosphere pleasant, but sadly he didn't have much time left. He dismissed the spell and spent a few more moments with Maya. The girl was adorable... and surprisingly smart.

With a gift like hers, she'd make an excellent mage if she ever chose that path. She was still too young, a few years away from awakening her blessing. Maybe he could try teaching her earlier and see if she could awaken her mana core ahead of time, just like in his old world. But that was a problem for the future. He noticed Eduard walking toward the storage building, probably bringing his compensation. Adolin stepped aside.

"Status," he muttered. It was finally time to see what Class Skill the blessing had chosen for him.