The long voyage must have taken its toll, so they decided to take it easy today. Upon entering the ramshackle cabin, the air was as muggy and hot as outside.

“It’s hot…….”

After closing the door, Cadel quickly shed his clingy robes, and Lydon, now free, took to the air, shaking his head with sweat.

“Cadel, is this hell? Why is it so hot?”

“It’ll be even hotter in the ‘Desert of Blood’ where I’m going to break your seal. Ah, it’s uncomfortable!”

They needed air conditioning. Cadel flung his soaking wet body onto the bed, longing for modern conveniences more than anyone. As he lay there, dead as a doornail, a breeze wafted in through the open window and cooled him ever so slightly.

Lydon, meanwhile, was sweltering in the heat for the first time in his life. He staggered helplessly, flying in search of a cooler place, but soon realized that everywhere he went was equally hot. His brow narrowed in frustration, and he began to mutter something.

“Huh?”

Rolling onto his side, Cadel squeezed his half-open eyes shut. In front of him, a pure white crystal of ice floated in the air from some unknown source. He traced its movement, and soon the room was filled with shards of ice. At the center of it all was Lydon, sprawled out in the air with a satisfied smile on his face.

“I think I’m going to live now!”

“……It’s the air conditioner.”

It was too pleasant a coolness to condemn the waste of mana. Cadel closed his eyes, reveling in the coolness that chilled his sweat.

* * *

When he awoke from his short nap, daylight was already gone. Cadel shivered and pushed himself up into a crouch. The ice crystals were gone, but the chill still remained in the air.

He glanced at the sleeping Lydon at the head of the bed and yawned lazily.

“……Mmm. Let’s go eat first.”

It was late in the evening and Van hadn’t shown up, so it was obvious that he too was exhausted from fatigue. It would be better if Cadel went alone. He had to be diligent about getting food for Lydon.

Cadel rummaged through his bag at the foot of the bed and pulled out his money pouch, but before he could grab it, something that came with it caught his eye.

“This is…….”

A piece of yellowish parchment. It was the [Scroll of Fate] that Mamil had given him. Cadel’s eyes widened as he looked at it.

“The Principality of Mystic?”

The [Scroll of Fate] revealed the current location of the owner of the mana within it. Since this was a gift that contained Mamil’s mana, the words [Principality of Mystic. Arhem City. Stew of Sky and Stars] written on the paper refer to Mamil’s current location.

‘Is Mamil really here? Isn’t that awesome?’

Before proceeding with the knight order promotion quest, he wanted to visit Mamil at least once. He didn’t expect much because he thought the chances of not meeting Mamil would be higher. It was literally a windfall.

Cadel, who had completely awake, hurriedly rummaged through his bag. There were magic books that he had to entrust to Mamil to decipher, and there were a lot of things he wanted to learn.

Quickly packing his things, Cadel left the room in a huff, not sure exactly where the ‘Stew of Sky and Stars’ was, but he just needed to find it before he moved on.

As Cadel hurried down the stairs, he came face-to-face with Lumen, who was just coming up the stairs. Lumen hugged his luggage and stared at Cadel’s reddened face.

“……Where are you going?”

“To see Mr. Mamil!”

“Mr. Mamil……? Is he here?”

“Yeah, he’s in a place called ‘Stew of Sky and Stars’. Do you know where it is?”

“If he’s there―”

“You do? Then come with me!”

Before Lumen could finish his answer, Cadel grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him down the stairs. It was a slight force that Lumen could have resisted, but after a moment’s thought, he chose to be dragged along.