The Manor Lord's immense power begs the question: why does such a massive Dimensional Rift still exist here? The answer lies in the early days of his ability acquisition.
Back then, his understanding of his powers was rudimentary, and his combat prowess limited. A Birth-type Dimensional Rift materialized, spawning an intelligent, humanoid 'monster'.
In any other location, this creature would have caused widespread panic, a formidable foe capable of inflicting mass casualties. Yet, the newly empowered Manor Lord thoroughly thrashed it. However, he failed to kill the monster, allowing it to escape.
Perhaps terrified out of its wits, the strange creature vanished into hiding. Bound to his Territory, the Manor Lord's ability faded when he ventured beyond its borders, leaving him powerless to pursue it.
As a result, the original monster spawned from the Dimensional Rift survived, preventing the rift from closing. Instead, it gradually expanded, mirroring the situation with Sakura Prefecture's "Godzilla."
However, there was a key difference: Sakura Prefecture had simply given up on the problem, while the Manor Lord relentlessly sought a solution.
For instance, he had enlisted the help of the Hunter and Hermit siblings, but because the Manor Lord couldn't draw or accurately describe the monster's appearance, the Hunter's tracking ability failed to lock onto its target.
He then turned to the Martyr, a powerful and benevolent figure known for never refusing a request, who readily agreed to assist in the search.
He even reached out to the Prophet, but the reclusive woman simply ignored his message, offering no response.
Ultimately, even after the deaths of the Hunter and the Martyr, the matter remained unresolved. The Manor Lord was left with no choice but to silently remain within his territory, "sealing" the Dimensional Rift to slow its expansion and prevent any more monsters from emerging.
He even concealed the Rift entirely, so that the ordinary people living in his territory remained blissfully unaware of its existence, continuing to live their lives in peace.
Today, however, the Dimensional Rift had spread beyond the Manor Lord's territory, discovered by the people of the Scholar's Territory, and finally brought to Elysia's attention.
This wasn't a case of "secrets always coming to light." The Manor Lord had merely hidden the truth from the ordinary people to maintain stability, but he had never concealed it from the White Eagle Eight.
Baldy Burke wasn't authorized to know about this, and Elysia had only recently taken office. Yet, now that Elysia had come to him, the Manor Lord explained everything without reservation.
The pink-haired girl nodded. "I can help you fix this Dimensional Rift, you know?"
The Manor Lord was startled. "You have a way to find that hidden monster?"
To be honest, so much time had passed that the Manor Lord had completely forgotten what the monster even looked like, and he couldn't provide any useful clues.
Elysia shook her head. "I'm not going to find the monster. I'm just going to forcibly seal the Rift."
As she spoke, a massive purple Key materialized in her hand.
Repairing Dimensional Rifts was second nature to her. She didn't even need Herta's assistance; Elysia could wield this Great Key herself.
At Elysia's request, the Manor Lord stood motionless, not even needing to touch her. In the next instant, they were soaring ten thousand meters above the ground. Elysia aimed the Key at the Dimensional Rift and declared, "There might be a surge of monsters soon. But if we endure this, the Rift will disappear."
The Manor Lord was puzzled. As the white substance radiated outward from the Key, sealing the Dimensional Rift, he detected no sign of the expected surge in monster activity. In fact, quite the opposite seemed to be happening: the monsters he had been holding back at the rift's edge, desperate to escape, were now retreating entirely.
Elysia also sensed something amiss. The data signature of this Dimensional Rift seemed fundamentally different from the previous two.
Across the English Channel in Great Britain, Herta, who had just settled into bed, immediately rose and resumed her research, determined to unravel the slightly peculiar data.
Time passed slowly. Despite these unexpected developments, this "Dimensional Rift Sealing Operation" proved to be the simplest of the three, concluding in under eight hours.
The Manor Lord stared dumbfounded at the now-sealed, white-tinged sky. It felt as if the immense weight that had been pressing down on his shoulders had vanished into thin air, replaced by a long-lost sense of relief.
The Manor Lord turned to Elysia, his voice filled with heartfelt gratitude. "I can't thank you enough, Madam."
Elysia waved her hand dismissively. "Don't mention it. We're colleagues, after all. And please, just call me Elysia."
But the Manor Lord remained bowed, insisting, "No, no, no. This is a debt I can never repay. If you ever need my assistance in the future, I will do everything within my power to help you."
To be honest, Elysia struggled to imagine what assistance the Land God, confined to his small plot of land, could possibly offer her. Nevertheless, her influence in White Eagle had now extended into a new territory.
By the time the matter was resolved, dawn had broken. Elysia had no intention of catching up on sleep. After leaving the Manor Lord's territory, she immediately called the Prophet. After briefly recounting the events, she couldn't help but ask, "Prophet, why didn't you respond to the Manor Lord earlier?"
Finding a single, lost monster should have been child's play for the Prophet, right?
But instead, Elysia heard the Prophet's genuinely surprised voice over the phone. "Ah... ah? Is that so? How could I have been completely unaware of this?"
Now it was Elysia's turn to be puzzled. "You didn't know?"
"J-just a moment!" After a short pause, the Prophet spoke again. "I've located him. He's in..."
The Prophet then rattled off an address, and to Elysia's astonishment, the location was absurdly close—right within the Scholar's Territory.
She had imagined the monster hiding at the ends of the earth, but it turned out to be right next door to the Manor Lord's domain? What was this, hiding in plain sight?
Without hesitation, Elysia immediately set off for the address the Prophet had given her.