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"So, you're saying you'll be staying here?"
Insanis answered Davian's question.
"That's right. I can't spend even a single day in that hideous house with the broken wall."
"But staying in someone else's house is okay?"
"That's right."
"Until when?"
"Until the construction to tear down all the walls and build new ones is finished."
"Wasn't only one side of the wall broken? Why tear down everything?"
"Won't the color of the new wall be different from the original one?"
"So you're tearing down all the walls because of that?"
"That's right."
Glacie, who was sitting close to Davian, nodded.
"Dragons are originally like that. They're an incredibly possessive race when it comes to their lairs. Davian, you have to understand."
"So, how long will it take?"
It was a construction project to tear down all the walls of the largest mansion in Elton City and rebuild them.
"They said it would take about a month."
This time, Ignis with the red hair spoke.
"Then I'll stay here for a while too."
"Why are you too, Ignis Nuna?"
Davian now naturally used the term Nuna.
"There's an army stationed next to my house. It's too noisy to sleep. I was going to kill them all, but Davian, you told me absolutely not to, so I spared them."
Davian held his forehead and shook his head.
"I'm going back to the royal palace soon, you know."
"You haven't gone yet."
Haa.
Davian sighed.
The army that Ignis was about to kill was the 5th Royal Guard led by Marquis Espin Ellaina.
They had set up a temporary garrison in the north of Elton City, as the demons might retaliate again at any time.
"Do as you please. I'm going to the academy dormitory anyway."
Northern Ice Region.
Deep beneath a giant ice mountain.
Drip, drip.
Cracks began to appear in a huge piece of ice.
Drip, drip, drip.
Small pieces of ice constantly fell to the floor of the cave.
Since the entrance had been completely blocked off over a long period of time, it could no longer be called a cave.
The space under the ice mountain was filled with pieces that had once been melted by hot flames and then frozen again.
Crack.
A large crack formed, and the largest piece of ice split in half.
The figure of a woman appeared between the split pieces.
A face without a trace of blood, silver hair, and silver eyes.
It was the Gray Witch, who had met her death here at the hands of Davian Naohen 2 and a half years ago.
An immense chill and a sharp energy emanated from her.
"How much time has passed?"
Gray Witch of the Northern Ice Region.
She wasn't an immortal being, so she could be defeated.
But it was impossible to prevent her from resurrecting after a period of time.
The Gray Witch slowly looked around.
The cave was completely unrecognizable from its original form due to Davian's flames.
"His name was… Davian Naohen, was it?"
Thud, thud.
The Gray Witch began to walk forward.
Surprisingly, the firmly frozen pieces of ice split to the sides, creating a path.
Thud, thud.
After walking for a while, the outside wind touched the Gray Witch's silver hair.
"Who are you?"
A heavily armored carriage surrounded by layers of thick metal stood where the Gray Witch's gaze fell.
Instead of horses, gray wolves were connected to the front of the carriage, which were susceptible to the cold.
"How dare you use my gray wolves as livestock for humans?"
Swoosh.
A cold aura spread from the Gray Witch's body.
Squeak.
The door of the steel carriage opened, and a person with round glasses on one eye walked out.
"Welcome, Gray Witch."
The Gray Witch's eyes widened.
She had been about to kill the human who appeared before her in a steel carriage pulled by gray wolves, but.
Her gaze was automatically fixed on the steel box the human was holding.
"That's… could it be?"
"You recognize it even though I haven't opened the lid yet."
Click.
The man with the monocle opened the lid of the box he was holding.
Marino Empire Intelligence Agency.
Knock knock.
"Come in."
Atilla Feyman opened the door and entered.
He wore round glasses on one eye.
He was Intelligence Director Heinz Greiten's trusted confidant and the de facto number two in the current Marino Empire Intelligence Agency.
As Atilla Feyman closed the door and entered, Intelligence Director Heinz Greiten pressed a yellow button under his desk.
Wooong.
With a light vibration.
The sounds from the Intelligence Director's office were completely isolated from the outside.
"Did you deliver it well?"
"Yes, Intelligence Director."
"Not only did you advance the Gray Witch's resurrection, but you also pinpointed the exact moment. You're quite remarkable."
"It's all thanks to the Intelligence Director's trust and delegation."
"Did she absorb the heart right away?"
"Yes."
Intelligence Director Heinz Greiten nodded.
"Well done. How much stronger did she seem to have become?"
"I'm a researcher, so I can't really feel things like that, but I confirmed that she was emitting an energy that was incomparable to before."
"Yes, I suppose so. Until now, she was a Gray Witch with her heart cut out. She'll probably be able to emit dozens of times more cold energy than before."
"It might be even more than that."
"Well, she has regained her missing heart."
The item that Atilla Feyman personally traveled to the Northern Ice Region of the Pax Continent to deliver to the Gray Witch.
It was the Gray Witch's ice heart.
The Marino Empire Intelligence Agency had found it buried deep in the central desert region long ago, in order to cover up the cold energy that was constantly emitted from the ice heart.
In fact, it was this ice heart that made it possible to wake up the Gray Witch, who had fallen asleep right when the Elton Academy freshmen left for winter training in the Northern Ice Region two years ago.
Rubens, who had infiltrated Elton Academy as an assistant, put a very small piece of the ice heart into the Gray Witch's bedroom, and the Gray Witch, who had been in a deep sleep, immediately woke up.
"Did you tell her where Davian is?"
"Yes. I even gave her the steel carriage I rode in."
"Well done."
"But, Intelligence Director. Are you sure this is okay?"
"What do you mean?"
"The day His Majesty the Emperor finds out that you tried to kill Davian Naohen..."
Intelligence Director Heinz Greiten raised his index finger to his lips.
"Watch your mouth."
"Yes, Intelligence Director."
"This is only known to you and me, and the moment we leave this room, we have nothing to do with this."
"Yes, Intelligence Director. But..."
"Speak."
"May I ask why you are suddenly trying to dispose of Davian Naohen? Didn't His Majesty the Emperor directly order you not to touch him anymore?"
Intelligence Director Heinz Greiten held his forehead and shook his head from side to side.
"After meeting Davian, His Majesty has become even stranger. It was difficult before, but now it feels completely beyond control."
"Indeed. He even ordered you to capture the ice spirit Glacie, didn't he? But is it okay for Davian Naohen to die like this?"
"If he dies at the hands of a Gray Witch, the Emperor will soon lose interest."
Atilla Feyman nodded.
"Indeed... I suppose so."
Intelligence Director Heinz Greiten also nodded slowly.
"In order to return the Emperor to his former state, Davian Naohen must be eliminated. Of course..."
"We must do it without anyone knowing we did it."
"That's right."
Fifteen days later, Elton City North Gate.
"What is that? Is that a carriage made of steel?"
"How can horses pull something so heavy?"
"That's not a horse pulling it, is it?"
"Wait, is that a wolf? But are there wolves that big?"
The sentry, who was tilting his head, was startled.
"Isn't that a, a Gray Wolf?"
"Gray Wolf?"
"Damn! How long has it been since the demons attacked! Request backup!"
A steel carriage pulled by gray wolves arrived right in front of the North Gate.
"Passengers, dismount and show your identification!"
Squeak.
The thick steel door opened with a sharp sound.
Thud, thud.
A woman with long silver hair and silver eyes.
She was dressed in a gray dress.
The Gray Witch revealed herself in Elton City.
"W, who are you!"
"You're being noisy."
The Gray Witch's eyes moved.
She had only moved her gaze.
But.
Crack, crack.
Starting with the sentry who had shouted, the entire Elton City North Gate began to freeze.
"Is this the city where Davian Naohen lives? The one who dared to set fire to my body."
Thud, thud.
The Gray Witch slowly moved her feet towards the gate.
The gate, which was already frozen solid, opened wide according to the Gray Witch's will.
White cold air was emitted every time the Gray Witch exhaled.
She took out a leather map from her bosom.
It was a map she had received from Atilla Feyman, showing the location of Davian's lodgings and Elton Academy.
"Should I go to his house first?"
Thud, thud.
The Gray Witch, who was slowly moving, raised her right hand and placed it on her left chest.
"It's been a long time indeed. To think that my heart is properly implanted. I can't believe it."
The Gray Witch turned her head from left to right, slowly scanning Elton City.
"I'd like to freeze everything, but I'm in a good mood because I got my heart back, so I'll just deal with that Davian and leave."
Then.
"Stop right there!"
The city guard, who had received the backup request, rushed in.
"Of course, that's if he is aware of my existence and quietly locks himself in his house."
The Gray Witch waved her hand once.
Whoosh.
Icy cold air was emitted.
The cold air froze all the city guards who were running towards her.
Thud, thud.
"Davian Naohen. I don't know why, but it feels like I'm entangled with him in a terrible karmic relationship. Today, I will surely sever the bonds of that karma."
Thud, thud.
Wee-ooh, wee-ooh, wee-ooh.
Less than a month after the demon army attacked.
The citizens were still reeling from the shock of that day.
Elton City's second-level alarm blared.
The city guards who had approached the Gray Witch had all turned into ice sculptures.
An emergency faculty meeting was convened at Elton Academy.
"What's going on this time!"
"We haven't received any contact from the city guard yet."
"Could it be that the demons have attacked again?"
"It's not a first-level alarm, so I don't think that's it."
"I think we should go out and assess the situation."
At that moment, an assistant ran into the faculty meeting room.
"A letter has arrived from the city guard!"
Chancellor Hugo Molton asked.
"Yes, what does it say?"
The assistant held the letter and read it out clearly.
"The Gray Witch is entering the city through the North Gate. Dozens of city guards have already been defeated, and the city guard is virtually helpless."
Leo Martien, head of the swordsmanship department, tilted his head.
"The Gray Witch? The Gray Witch who lives in the Northern Ice Region? No, she died at Davian's hands, so she doesn't live there anymore. Could the city guard be mistaken about something?"
"Perhaps. Anyway, this is what the letter says."
Sirims Andrian, head of the magic department, stroked his long beard.
"It may be too early, but the Gray Witch, who has no heart, is a being who will eventually resurrect."
"Already? That was only 2 and a half years ago."
Stella Cloud jumped up.
"I'll go take a look."
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