Hugo stepped outside the tavern, quickly scanning the drunken faces leaning nearby as he descended the stairs. His eyes swept over the darkened streets of the town, searching for the figure in the black hooded cloak.

But despite his immediate pursuit, the person had already vanished without a trace. He hurriedly checked the alleys nearby and pulled out his detector, but the device’s light stayed dim.

The faint mana lingering earlier—likely belonging to that person—had also disappeared completely the moment they were gone. It meant they had already left the vicinity.

Teleportation?

The only logical explanation for someone vanishing so suddenly and without a trace was the use of teleportation or a portal.

Though he regretted not confirming their identity when he first sensed something suspicious, the circumstances hadn’t been ideal. He pushed aside his frustration for now.

It had ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ crossed his mind that Leonardo, hearing rumors of being pursued, might have come to spy on them—but there were plenty of mana users aside from him. Even if Hugo sensed someone with mana, it wouldn’t automatically mean it was him.

Besides, the mana that had disappeared just now was far weaker and entirely different from what Hugo would expect of Leonardo.

What I sensed... was water. Definitely not fire.

Given that Hugo’s primary attributes were ice and water, he had an exceptional sensitivity to water-related elements. He could also detect fire—the opposite of his elements—just as clearly. From what he could tell, the mana lingering earlier was undoubtedly water-based, not fire.

Since it likely wasn’t the person he was desperately searching for, there was no need to hunt them down. Still, the way the cloaked figure had kept watching him was undeniably suspicious.

It could’ve simply been someone wary of an outsider’s mana... but Hugo didn’t think so.

For one, his adjutant Flynn was highly skilled in mana concealment, so unless there was direct physical contact, it would be difficult to detect that he was a mage just by looking.

Moreover, since arriving in this town, Hugo had deliberately kept his mana hidden. Which meant—the cloaked figure had been spying on them not because they sensed mana, but for other reasons.

What could those reasons be? Simply because they were strangers?

Hugo’s gaze shifted to the rooftops. With a single effortless leap, he landed lightly on the roof and instinctively surveyed the surroundings. But he soon gave up pursuing the vanished presence.

Someone eager to leave wouldn’t have risked lurking and observing him first. If that person had stayed with a specific goal in mind, they would eventually reveal themselves again.

“Commander?”

Flynn, who had quickly followed his superior outside, also climbed onto the rooftop and stood beside Hugo. Scanning the area, he realized the cloaked figure had disappeared and asked:

“Shall we track them down?”

Hugo shook his head.

“No need. They’re already gone.”

****

The two returned to the tavern on the inn’s first floor. They apologized for rushing out so suddenly and exchanged a few final words with the men.

As a gesture of goodwill, Hugo paid for drinks at every table, including theirs. Thoroughly drunk, the men praised him as a generous brother and Flynn as a loyal friend, quickly bonding over their drunken camaraderie. As the night wore on, they stumbled off to their homes.

Back in his room, Hugo opened his artifact case and pulled out a communication magic tool. He contacted his other adjutant, Gabe Landon.

“Gabe.”

—Commander? You caught him already? Want me to send reinforcements?

Gabe sounded surprised, assuming Hugo had already captured Leonardo and was reporting in.

“No, it’s not that. I need you to look into something.”

—What is it, sir?

“Two weeks ago, there was a report of about ten monster corpses discovered in Frost territory. Any record of that?”

—Monster corpses? In Frost? Isn’t that where you are now? That area’s not known for monsters, so there shouldn’t be any reports. If there were, both you and I would know.

“I thought so too. But I just heard locals talking about monster corpses found nearby.”

—Hmm... Give me a moment.

A brief pause followed, accompanied by the sound of papers rustling, before Gabe’s voice returned.

—First of all, nothing about monster corpses in the latest report from ten days ago. I double-checked the Frost territory records for the past three months—still nothing about monsters.

“I see... Any other odd reports?”

—Well... the Delberg Merchant Group stands out. They usually stick to major cities, but recently, a representative paid a visit to Frost territory. The area’s small and sparsely populated, not exactly a place for big business.

“...If the story about monster corpses is true, that might explain why Delberg showed up. The corpses were reportedly discovered packed in a box. Doesn’t that sound like they were being transported as merchandise?”

—Hah, smuggling? But still... ten monsters wouldn’t fetch much coin.

Hugo stared out the window at the shadowed mountain range, barely visible in the dark. As if recalling something, he added:

“There might be more than ten.”

****

Gabe reported a few additional details to Hugo. Due to the dry climate in Frost territory, natural wildfires occurred from time to time, so the lord had independently hired water mages for fire control.

This immediately reminded Hugo of the water-attribute mana he’d sensed from the black-cloaked figure earlier. Though there was no proof they were connected, the coincidence left him uneasy.

At first, he’d speculated the string of fires might be tied to Leonardo. But every time he felt close to an answer, the pieces slipped away, leaving him feeling off-track.

In the end, Hugo pushed the tangled thoughts aside. He needed rest if he was to visit the Frost territory lord—Servia County—first thing in the morning, armed with his authority as commander of the Central Council’s army, to inquire about the monster corpses.

But the incident happened just as he drifted into deep sleep.

“Commander! We’ve got a situation! There’s a fire—wake up!”

Hugo snapped awake at the urgent knocking on his door. Through the window, flames blazing on the distant mountainside lit up the night.

Throwing on his coat, he rushed outside to find Flynn standing near the door, his expression tense.

“How did a fire break out so suddenly?”

“I’m not sure. I woke up from the noise—it was already burning.”

Flynn looked flustered too, clearly having been jolted from sleep. Following Flynn’s pointing hand, Hugo saw people rushing near the flames, hauling buckets of water to fight the fire.

The blaze was dangerously close to the residential area. Left unchecked, it could spread rapidly to the nearby homes. Flynn turned to Hugo with an anxious face.

“Commander, what do we do?”

Hugo had been careful to hide the fact that he was a mage. But neither his pride nor his sense of responsibility would let him stand by and wait for Frost territory’s hired mage to arrive.

His eyes hardened as he glared at the roaring fire outside the window. Then he turned to Flynn and spoke firmly:

“Duty comes first.”

“Yes, sir!”

Flynn answered with enthusiasm, as if he'd been waiting for this moment. The two immediately rushed toward the fire.

As they approached, the size of the wildly flickering flames appeared even more ferocious and enormous. This wasn’t the kind of blaze that could be extinguished with buckets of water alone. Hugo stepped forward, standing before the fire, and addressed the people struggling to carry water.

“Everyone, step back.”

Startled by his sudden appearance, one of the townsfolk widened their eyes and asked:

“W-Who are you?”

In the middle of this urgent situation, a cold, intimidating man had suddenly appeared and ordered them to retreat, leaving the townspeople staring at him, bewildered. Hugo looked down at them with sharp eyes and repeated, voice calm but commanding:

“Step back.”

His overwhelming presence, as if daring them to make him repeat himself, made the frightened people falter. They hesitated, setting down their buckets and stepping away. Flynn called out to them with an awkward smile:

“Alright, leave this to us. We’ll handle the fire—please step back!”

Hugo turned his gaze back to the flames in front of him. The scale of the fire wasn’t unmanageable, but it was dangerous enough to threaten the area, and even without strong winds, the flames were spreading at an alarming rate.

Moreover, unlike typical forest fires that start deep in the mountains, the suspected ignition point was dangerously close to the town. That suggested either embers from the residential area had spread—or this was arson.

Under Flynn’s instructions, the townspeople backed away to a safe distance. Once Hugo confirmed the area was clear, a large blue magic circle formed before him. Gradually expanding in size, it soon grew as tall as the raging flames.

Countless streams of water surged forth from within the magic circle—powerful jets that resembled enormous water serpents lunging forward with jaws wide open, crashing into the burning hillside. The townspeople watched in awe as the giant water serpents devoured the flames in an instant.

As the torrents of water struck the ground, the embers scattered violently in all directions.

Flynn reacted quickly, casting a barrier in front of the townspeople to shield them from the flying sparks. The water churned the ground like a plow, leaving the flames struggling to regain strength. Soon, the scattered embers, overwhelmed by the relentless downpour, were snuffed out entirely.

The people gasped, marveling as the mage swiftly suppressed the massive fire. Even as the water rose to their ankles, soaking their pants, and thick, acrid smoke made them cough, their cheers did not stop.

“A mage!”

“Thank goodness—thank you!”

“He put it out in seconds!”

The confused townspeople surged toward Hugo as if seeing a savior. But when he turned to face them, his cold aura made them hesitate. Hugo carefully scanned their faces, then asked the person standing nearest:

“Where are the guards? Why isn’t anyone from the lord’s castle here to put out the fire?”

The townspeople exchanged uncertain glances. Finally, one of them spoke up: 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

“Usually, when there’s a forest fire, the guards and mages from Frost territory come to handle it. But most of the fires happen way up in the mountains. This is the first time it’s been so close to town... And, well, it’s dawn—they probably haven’t noticed yet.”

Hugo’s brow furrowed. Something wasn’t right.

A fire breaking out this close to a residential area should have drawn attention sooner. But even after all this time, with the fire extinguished, there was still no sign of the lord’s guards.

Flynn, noticing his commander’s frustration, turned back to the townspeople to gather more information:

“Did anyone see how this fire started? Maybe you noticed where it spread from—or if someone set it deliberately?”

He deliberately phrased the question to leave open the possibility that Leonardo Blaine was behind it. But the townspeople only exchanged confused glances and murmured uncertainly:

“I was asleep and came out when I heard the noise...”

“Same here...”

“Isn’t it just a forest fire?”

None of them seemed particularly concerned about the cause.

Flynn suspected the people had grown numb to the frequent fires plaguing the region. Hugo, silently observing the crowd’s indifferent responses, soon turned and strode into the smoke-filled area where the flames had been extinguished. Flynn quickly followed.

“Commander, wait for me!”

Hugo walked into the haze without hesitation. With the darkness of dawn and smoke making it hard to see, he conjured a glowing orb and floated it above. The surroundings brightened like a streetlamp, revealing the muddy ground soaked by the water magic.

“Cough... Ugh, the smoke’s awful. Doesn’t this bother you, Commander?”

Flynn caught up, eyes watering from the acrid smoke. Hugo, kneeling to inspect the damp soil, answered without looking up:

“Flynn, contact the nearest Council branch—now.”

Flynn obeyed but asked curiously:

“Understood. But why, sir?”

“It’s arson.”

Hugo’s voice was firm, his tone leaving no room for doubt. Flynn paused briefly at the answer, recalling Hugo’s earlier concerns, then cautiously continued:

“Arson? If you think Blaine’s behind this... You said it’d be harder to catch him if we attract attention. Is it alright to call the Council investigators?”

Instead of replying immediately, Hugo scooped up a handful of charred soil and held it close to Flynn.

“Don’t you smell that?”