The church district within the capital of the Riana territory.

Back when this city was still called Lortle under Zelkis rule, many church officials, western merchants, and adventurers came and went, and stores and inns thrived to serve them.

However, even before the current lord officially took office—when he was still a magistrate—the surveillance and restrictions had gradually intensified, and once he officially became lord, those controls accelerated further.

Now, hardly any citizens come near this district. While the rest of the city continues to develop steadily, this area has become completely desolate.

The only ones who now sleep here are either adventurers down on their luck, or those who remained in the city due to missions from the church or the western nations—and were too slow to flee.

A little over a dozen of these late escapees were now gathered in one of the abandoned buildings of this run-down area.

Normally, they would avoid openly gathering due to the soldiers’ watchful eyes, but today, the lord and his retainers had left the city to participate in the war that was about to erupt between the eastern and western regions.

To send them off, the soldiers had gathered in the noble district and central plaza, which meant fewer troops were assigned to this area. A perfect gap in the net.

They hadn’t missed their chance.

These were adventurers who, since the time when the city was called Lortle, had primarily taken on requests from the church and western merchants. But due to their late awareness of the church’s shift in policy, they had drawn the attention of the lord’s faction. Among adventurers, they were known as the “church group.”

While it’s technically still possible for them to work as adventurers in this city, everyone knows the church group is despised by the lord.

Furthermore, they had originally prioritized easy jobs from the church and western merchants, avoiding the harsh assignments typical of the frontier. Over time, they became more and more isolated, and now, hardly any local adventurers are willing to team up with them.

Hunting in the wilderness is difficult with just their group. But even if they wanted to leave the city, they don’t have the funds to rebuild their lives from scratch elsewhere.

The payment they received for a job from western clients a few years ago is what’s kept them afloat until now—but they knew the time for a decision was approaching.

Still…

“What do we do…? Are we really going through with this?”

“We have no choice… At this rate, we’re doomed either way.”

Only pessimistic words filled the air.

The request they had taken on years ago was simple: If a war ever breaks out, use a certain item at a designated location.

Back then, they had multiple collaborators and weren’t this cornered. They thought more personnel would be added later, and that escape after fulfilling the request would be easy.

But now, only those gathered here remained.

Although the church and people from the west had withdrawn from the capital, they still had some presence within the Riana Domain. If they ignored the request and simply disappeared, they might face consequences from those very groups.

Some had fled the city, thinking anything was better than wasting away here. But with no way to safely re-enter the city, and with the roads outside crawling with monsters, traveling east was practically a death sentence.

They all knew that.

Meeting each other’s eyes in silence, they nodded.

“It’ll be the first night. I don’t know the details of that thing, but there’s no doubt a commotion will erupt. We stay hidden until then—and when it starts, we use the chaos to escape.”

“Got it. Make sure you’re prepared, alright? We can’t stop by Arios. We’ll be traveling through the rain, so let’s pack for at least a week.”

The men nodded again and briskly exited the building.

◇

Around mid-February in autumn, the rainy season the men had waited years for had finally arrived.

In the past, the water channels running through the city would flood every rainy season. But when the current lord first arrived as magistrate, he overhauled the city’s infrastructure, which resolved that issue.

Thanks to that, streets no longer emptied out during rains as they used to. While foot traffic still decreased, there were at least a few people walking about—and even patrols continued.

Likewise, the surveillance on the church district and the guards at the city gates didn’t ease up during the rainy season.

However, on the first night of the rains alone, both the church district watchers and the gate guards temporarily leave their posts to inspect the city for abnormalities.

That hadn’t changed in years—and it was the only window they had.

“…Are you ready?”

Gathered once again in the rain, the men were uniformly cloaked in thick mantles over their gear, each carrying a large, sturdy bag on their back.

These bags contained everything they’d spent the past month and a half gathering to prepare for escape.

“Yeah. Let’s move.”

One man answered the leader-like figure, and the rest nodded in turn.

In the pouring rain, carefully avoiding patrols, they dashed through the city and arrived at their first destination: the northeastern canal.

“Alright… Let’s use it.”

One of them pulled a bottle from his bag and poured its contents into the canal.

The others followed suit, releasing the contents of their magic potions into the stream.

Because of the constant rain, the water level was high and the current strong—everything was quickly carried away.

They had received the substances years ago and didn’t know exactly what they did, but they assumed they were some kind of magic potion.

The job was simple: pour all of this potion into the city’s water channels, and then pour a different substance into the well behind the orphanage as the final step.

That was it.

None of them could’ve imagined such a small task would end up leading to this much hardship.

“Next is the church district. Let’s go.”

Tossing the now-empty bottles into the canal, the men ran off toward the church district.

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Sera ・Blessing・【Hideout】+1【Prayer】【Mira’s Blessing】【Wind’s Garment】 Blessed Item・【Floating Orb】+1【Shadow Sword】+1【Scarlet Bee Needle】【Fairy’s Eye】【Dragon’s Lung】【Amber Sword】【Danrem’s Thread】【Serpent’s Tail】【Ankle Bracelet】【Amber Shield】【Purple Wings】【Red Sword】【Monkey’s Arm】・8 cards

Seriana・【Area Identification】・【】・0 cards

Elena・【】・【Green Fang】【Amber Sword】・4 cards

Alec・【Strong Strike】・【Red Shield】【Fierce Horned Trumpet】・10 cards