"Hmm?"
Looking at the cover of the record, Derrick let out a quiet sound of surprise.
The expedition report had a roster on its cover, listing every member of the team in detail.
Besides Elder Lovia and her husband, there had been several other Beyonders... One of them was even Waite Chirmont, a current elder of the Six-member Council.
Derrick noticed that many names had an "X" marked beside them, including Elder Lovia's husband.
An "X" meant that the person was dead.
Elder Lovia's husband must have died during that expedition... Could the rumors really be true? Had she eaten her own husband...?
With that question in mind, Derrick opened the record.
It was already quite old. The animal hide had yellowed with age, and the writing had grown faint.
Derrick patiently continued reading.
[Expedition Record, Year XX]
[Objective: Ruined city-state three days' journey to the northeast]
[Original Plan: Travel for four days. Upon reaching the destination, begin exploration, determine the cause of the city-state's abandonment, and search for supplies.]
[Actual Course of Events: Arrived according to plan. The expedition divided into several teams to investigate separately until an unexpected incident occurred.]
[Incident: When one team entered the temple, hidden monsters suddenly attacked, causing part of the temple to collapse and sealing the entrance. The team and the monsters were trapped inside together. As the temple was located within a mountain and the collapse covered a large area, rescue efforts took considerable time.]
[One day later, the rescue team successfully excavated an entrance into the temple. Nearly every member of the trapped team was dead. The only survivor was Lovia Tiffany.
The scene showed signs of intense fighting and large quantities of blood, as well as the corpses of monsters. The other members had either been killed by the monsters or crushed by falling stones. Only Lovia's husband was missing.]
[When Lovia was rescued, she had already advanced from Sequence 6 of the Reader Pathway, Polymath, to Sequence 5 of the Secrets Suppliant Pathway, Shepherd.]
[According to her explanation, a Sequence 5 Beyonder characteristic had remained inside the temple. She took the risk of consuming it and was fortunate enough to advance successfully, allowing her to defeat the monsters.]
[As for why her husband disappeared, she offered no explanation.]
That was where the main body of the report ended. Below it were the signatures of the expedition members, attesting that the contents of the report were truthful and accurate.
An enclosed space, a missing husband, blood everywhere... No wonder people had started spreading rumors that she had eaten her own husband...
Derrick could now understand where the rumors had come from.
He felt frightened and confused at the same time.
He could hardly imagine how Lovia had spent that entire day trapped inside the dark cavern. Terrifying monsters, companions dying one after another, a hopeless situation... How had she advanced to Shepherd? And what exactly had happened to her husband...?
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Just as Derrick became lost in thought, someone suddenly knocked on the archive room door from outside. He jumped in surprise, shooting up from his seat and nearly knocking over the lamp.
"What is it?!"
His heart pounding, Derrick called through the door.
"Come out quickly. The Chief wants to see you."
The guard's voice came from outside.
The Chief wants me?
What a shame. I finally found something useful...
Derrick reluctantly glanced at the documents on the table and said, "Give me a moment. I'll put the files away."
"Don't delay. The Chief needs to see you urgently," the guard replied. "I'll organize the files. You should go immediately."
"Uh, all right."
Derrick had no choice but to leave the room. After the guard searched him and confirmed that he wasn't secretly carrying any documents, he was allowed to leave and headed toward the Chief's room at the top of the round tower.
The stairs spiraled upward. Maintaining a steady pace, Derrick soon arrived at the room of the City of Silver's Chief, Colin Iliad.
"Chief, I'm here."
Derrick knocked first and only pushed open the door after receiving permission.
Inside, Colin stood with his back to him, gazing out the window at the dark world beyond. Against the pitch-black sky, the occasional flash of lightning was the only decoration.
The Chief must be worrying about the City of Silver's future...
Derrick couldn't help thinking.
At that moment, he suddenly felt someone watching him.
Only then did he realize that there weren't just two people in the room.
A third person stood in the shadows beyond the candlelight, studying his face with evident interest.
She wore a mysterious black robe, with silver hair and gray eyes. Her features were exquisite, striking and dignified. She stared intently at Derrick as though trying to see directly into his soul.
Elder Lovia.
"...Greetings, Elder Lovia."
Derrick suppressed the urge to scream and forced himself to bow calmly.
It wasn't that he was cowardly. He had just finished reading a terrifying file about her, only to turn around and find the woman herself staring straight at him. Anyone would have been unnerved.
"Mm."
Lovia's lips curved slightly as she gave him a faint smile, but she said nothing.
Why is she here...?
Derrick muttered inwardly before turning toward Colin, who was slowly facing him.
"Chief, is there something you need me for?"
"There is."
Colin's face was aged, with deep lines running beside his mouth. Looking at Derrick, he calmly said, "The ritual is ready. Elder Lovia is going to advance to Sequence 4."
Huh?
Already?
"You've gathered ten thousand monsters already?"
Derrick asked instinctively.
Since he had once passed along the potion formula for Silas, he remembered the ritual requirements very clearly.
"Not that many. We have fewer than four thousand."
Lovia spoke softly from the side.
"The ritual itself is only a means to an end. What matters is achieving the necessary effect... The quality of a monster's soul is higher than that of a human, so the effect produced by their corruption can be several times greater."
"There's another important issue. The City of Silver can't gather any more."
The Chief added, "We don't have enough space, and we're also running short on supplies to feed the monsters... They're already beginning to die one after another."
"But the City of Silver also needs Lovia. If she can advance to Sequence 4, she'll become an enormous asset and make our investigation of the Giant King's Court much easier."
The Chief continued.
In other words, although the preparations for the ritual weren't truly sufficient, given the City of Silver's limited resources, they had no choice but to begin anyway.
I understand all that, but why did you call me here?
Confusion appeared on Derrick's face.
Colin saw his expression and realized that Derrick hadn't understood what he meant, so he had no choice but to explain more plainly.
"Do you think this ritual can work? Or is there any way to improve it?"
"You previously exchanged for the Black Knight formula with me. Did you gain any insights from it?"
Colin's meaning was already painfully obvious. He was only one step away from directly telling Derrick:
Ask the existence behind you whether Lovia can succeed this way.