A Leaking Gourd Inside Will Leak Outside As Well. (1)

Shio’s library had been closed for more than fifteen days—the first time since Exorsus opened.

Although I called it “the first time in more than fifteen days,” in truth the library had never once failed to open.

Still, few people found the prolonged closure strange.

Continent-dwellers rarely visited libraries, and representatives visited them even less, so Shio found Kim Han’s visit curious.

It wasn’t completely abandoned—one of the Rebound Legion’s representatives was closely connected to the library.

For the first time in a while, Merus escaped the barrage of retaliatory tasks.

Kim Han had ordered him to visit the library, saying he worried about Shio and the two masters who hadn’t been in contact for a long time.

Merus’s complaints continued inside the carriage heading for the library.

“Sigh, there’s so much work. So I like it. But it’s too much. So I like it too much… Still, it’d be nice to work while resting a bit. Right, I want to ‘like’ it while resting. But I can’t. Work never stops. So it’s endlessly good…”

Grumble, mutter.

Merus never let his tongue rest in the moving carriage; the coachman glanced over more than once.

The coachman had confirmed Merus was alone, so the continuous talking seemed odd. He convinced himself someone else must have boarded while he wasn’t looking.

When the carriage arrived and the coachman again confirmed only Merus had alighted, he couldn’t help but gape.

Merus kept grumbling as he stepped out and headed toward the library.

“(grumble grumble) …!!”

The torrent of words collapsed the instant his hand touched the library door.

Merus stepped back as if startled.

He looked so shaken that the coachman, who was about to leave, hurried back.

“Are you all right?”

“Ah, I’m fine. You should go on.”

“Yes? Ah, yes. Then I’ll go.”

Only after the coachman had fully left did Merus turn his gaze back to the library door.

Merus pulled the hood of his peeled-back robe deep over his head and no longer wore the playful expression he usually had.

If Kim Han had been watching, Merus’s expression and movements would have been serious enough to recall the clever star.

The moment Merus’s eyes lit white, his mouth opened.

“Eyes that Oversee the Battlefield. Observe.”

As the low incantation slipped out, the light in his eyes brightened.

The light—magical and blinding—flickered, and Merus’s face contorted.

He grimaced, drew a red “Lightning-Struck Wood, Ritual Sword” from his magic pouch, gripped it, and focused his gaze.

“…Invocation, ‘Sophia’s Record.’”

As his murmured words faded, leaving a strange vibration, divine power surged.

A book of light descended toward Merus like a vision.

It came down steadily, as if an angel delivered a god’s message.

Twice Merus’s height and intimidating at a glance, it touched him, then seeped into his body as grains of light and vanished.

“…Phew. Searching ‘Sophia’s Record.’ Category: Barrier. Immortal rank or higher. Features: instills fear, generates illusions, forbids approach.”

Grains of light rose and vanished repeatedly around him as he read like a magic spell.

“Found it! Manifest.”

Merus’s forceful voice echoed, and a book appeared before him—smaller than the one that had descended but still large and thick enough to be used as a weapon.

The luminous book flipped its pages rapidly with a rustling sound, then, just as the speed seemed to slow, it stopped.

“Let’s see. Timor’s Barrier? The name sounds ominous… Damn, of course.”

[Timor’s Barrier]

It is the barrier Timor—the god of fear who delighted in such entertainments and, at the time, a transcendent—placed around the troubled emperor to set upon his throne.

The closer one approaches the barrier, the stronger the killing intent and fear one is exposed to, and the moment one contacts it, mental assaults via illusions follow.

This dreadful barrier forbids anyone not only from approaching but even from daring to look at it.

The method to break it is simple yet arduous: shatter it with a power stronger than that granted by its creator.

Back to his usual expression, Merus slumped to the ground and gasped for breath.

He looked visibly strained, whether from invocation backlash or because he had summoned the Creator’s archive, Sophia’s Record.

Merus tucked trembling hands into his sleeves and forced out more divine power.

Before he could respond, Kim Han’s voice crackled through the communication line: “—In the library… gasp… the barrier…”

Merus collapsed onto the dirt in front of the library, exhausted from overusing his power.

He didn’t know what consequences his actions would bring.

A few days earlier, Yohan and his party had announced their incorporation into the Rebound Legion’s affiliated org.

Giorgio, who was present, looked a bit disappointed but quickly straightened and offered his congratulations.

Of course Violentia, thoughtless as ever, congratulated me instead of Yohan.

I met Yohan for the first time since that day in the mansion’s reception room.

Today’s topic was moving from our current residence. With a population neither too many nor too few, finding suitable housing nearby proved challenging, so I asked for advice and accepted it.

“All the nearby houses are used by Magic Tower folk, so find a place a bit farther but as close as possible. Ideally somewhere you can stay together.”

“Yes, understood.”

“You have to leave Exorsus before the fifth year ends anyway, so it’s better to sign a one-year lease.”

“What? Leave?!”

“Yes. Not us, but if you want to establish a legion house in Exorsus, you have to leave and come back. I’d have to check the histories, but it’s at least two years.”

“We officially had our legion approved in early year three, so by mid-year five it will have been over two full years since its founding. Then we can register a legion house. If we register this place as a legion house, we can remain in Exorsus indefinitely.”

This was why Talis, Bioss—our patrons—and I pushed so hard to establish a legion in year three.

Transcendents cannot leave Exorsus. If we, unlike other representatives, were to leave Exorsus permanently, it would be a great loss.

Talis and Bioss’ training is that remarkable, and the legion house where they stay boasts defenses capable of withstanding a god’s descent.

“Ah, and I’ll tell you in advance: if you leave, it’s best to go north. In case you don’t know, the east and west belong to the Heavenly God and Demon God factions.”

“Hmm… Are there any exceptions?”

“None that I know of. Historically, cases like our legion don’t exceed two. Think about it: who would achieve accomplishments enough to create a legion during their training, and in year three at that?”

“…Understood. Then could you perhaps arrange lodgings here?”

“You’re asking for too much. Yohan, have you ever seen a case where you share a building with your subordinate organization? Even the guard corps—captain and regular guards—use separate buildings and rooms. Do you think I—or we—are to be mocked?”

“Ah, no. I’m sorry.”

Perhaps because I, who had been chuckling with a friendly smile the whole time, put on a serious face, Yohan and his three companions were greatly flustered and hurriedly apologized.

“The reason I treat you well is a sense of camaraderie for leading a small elite. Don’t take the conveniences I provide as a right.”

In a calm, quiet voice—delivering a composed warning—I focused my force solely on Yohan.

The two people beside him bowed and apologized again, but Yohan froze, staring daggers at me.

His flustered companions poked his side, but he couldn’t move.

“Tch. How displeasing! That’s enough for today.”

Unlike Yohan’s companions, who scrambled to apologize after my unilateral notice, Yohan only glowered with bloodshot eyes.

It wasn’t voluntary; an overwhelming force pinned him, and as he struggled to dispel it his fists clenched.

But to an observer it was easily misinterpreted.

“Yo, Yohan! What are you doing? Get up!”

“S-sorry, Mr. Kim Han. Yohan isn’t like this.”

“Tch. Take him out. This is only getting worse.”

My actions were calm. I didn’t need to concentrate to suppress someone of Yohan’s skill with sheer presence.

When I stood, turned my back, and walked toward the terrace, I could feel Yohan trembling in small convulsions.

He endured like that for another five minutes before being led out by his two companions with dazed expressions.

Would Yohan, who vowed to dominate the Battlefield of the Gods with a small elite, say he was intimidated by my presence? Even if he told the truth, would the representatives who had been with him believe it?

Heh—I hope he tells the truth. Makes him look more petty.

As I watched the three representatives trudge across the garden with a grin, something vibrated in my pocket.

It was the communication crystal that every legion member carried.

“Hm?”

“—The library… huff huff… there’s a barrier…”