“It’s risky, but still a gamble worth taking,” I insisted.

“I wonder about that. Do you really believe everything will go as smoothly as you claim?” Lerrhagen questioned.

“What do you mean?”

“Even if there truly is a black magic user among those high nobles, what if they refuse to use black magic despite facing mortal danger?”

“…”

“And if they do use it, that’s also problematic. The biggest issue with black magic is its unpredictability and instability. You can’t anticipate how they’ll react.”

Tch. He had to point out such an obvious flaw.

Lerrhagen was right, of course. The best outcome of this plan would be immediately identifying the culprit, but the worst would be gaining nothing while only provoking my enemies. Still, wasn’t it worth trying? What strategy in this world guarantees 100% success?

Gaining even a little information seemed better than being manipulated while doing nothing.

Though I had anticipated some resistance, his serious opposition left me momentarily speechless. In the past, I would have simply pushed forward regardless, but after what happened at the festival…

Perhaps I should promise not to enter the forest, then secretly follow Lerrhagen when he goes in with the others? He might cooperate with that plan.

But wait—wouldn’t that put me in real danger? With Lerrhagen beside me, I could at least hide behind him, but alone I’d have to fight by myself. Should I threaten to go in alone if he doesn’t let me accompany him?

No, that wouldn’t work. Given Lerrhagen’s personality, he might refuse to cooperate entirely. And after finally mending our relationship, I couldn’t risk making it worse.

‘Ugh, this is maddening.’

Silence filled the room for a while as I stood quietly with my lips tightly sealed. If it were anyone but Lerrhagen… with Rigan, I could have forced cooperation even through violence, but that was impossible with Lerrhagen.

How could I persuade him? No, persuasion probably wouldn’t work at all.

While contemplating a thousand different thoughts, I slightly slumped my shoulders. Suddenly, I heard a light sigh from above.

“Haah.”

I looked up slightly. I’m the one who wants to sigh, so why is Lord Lerrhagen sighing? I was about to snap at him when his pale eyes fixed directly on mine. After what felt like an eternity, those seemingly emotionless eyes that had been regarding me indifferently closed slightly, and his deep voice resonated through the room.

“…It’s not like you’d listen to me anyway.”

Huh?

Surprised by this unexpected development, I blinked. Despite my deliberately keeping quiet, Lerrhagen continued speaking.

“Let’s try your method. I’ll push them to their limits and create a situation where they have no choice but to use black magic.”

“What?”

“However, you must never leave my side. If I can’t see you, I’ll immediately blast the entire forest to find you. Keep that in mind.”

His words were practically an agreement, and I smiled broadly.

“Of course! No one values my life more than I do.”

“Well, it certainly doesn’t seem that way.”

“Then let’s decide on a location, check it in advance, and trap all our ‘targets’ in the forest. When you create the ‘situation’ and someone uses black magic, we’ll capture them if possible.”

“I doubt it will go that smoothly.”

“It will. Because you’re here, Lord!”

If the strongest being in this world couldn’t do it, who could? A strange pride welled up inside me, making me feel his power were my own. Seeing my excessive enthusiasm, Lerrhagen slightly furrowed his brow.

“But will it be alright?”

“What now?”

“What if the real culprit is actually among them?”

“What do you mean what if? I’ll demand they return me to my original form immediately, then execute them on the spot.”

“Hmm.”

“It doesn’t matter. I’ve never trusted anyone to begin with.”

“…”

“Humans should always anticipate betrayal. Especially someone like me, surrounded by enemies.”

Lerrhagen remained silent at my words. Soon after, he vanished without another word. Despite his abrupt departure, I wasn’t particularly upset. Instead, I thought:

‘Good, now I have Lerrhagen’s cooperation.’

Well then, shall we make ‘preparations’ for the hunt?

* * *

From the moment he appeared in this dimension, Lerrhagen had never once been weak. He had received only the greatest gifts from Gela, and in exchange, he lost his emotions and heart—but he didn’t mind. 

“You are strong, so you must have no heart. No precious beings, no hated beings, no loved beings. Otherwise, it will inevitably become a disaster.”

Back then, when he was merely a divine entity, he couldn’t understand Gela’s words. But as time passed and years accumulated, he eventually had to realize: when strength possesses a heart, it becomes the beginning of catastrophe.

“Master.”

Lerrhagen turned his head at Hasis’s voice.

“What is it?”

“There’s something concerning I need to discuss.”

Lerrhagen narrowed his eyes at Hasis’s words. Hasis took a moment to choose his words carefully before speaking.

* * *

After the invitations for the hunting gathering were delivered to each family, as I had predicted, no house declined to attend. The Duke Elvierts family naturally wouldn’t refuse an invitation from me—or more precisely, from “Estria.”

The Duke Delmen family also confirmed their attendance, perhaps because Rigan had persuaded them well enough.

The Duke Shart family likewise replied that they would attend, and in a situation where all ducal families were participating, the marquis families couldn’t possibly absent themselves. Strangely enough, Marquis Adler was the first to respond among all the invited families. Rather than my previous threats having any effect, it seemed he had his own agenda.

Whatever their motives, it pleased me to see families who had previously ignored my commands now rushing to curry favor. The most surprising response, however, came from Sever Kelliard.

Despite disliking crowded places as much as I did—especially gatherings where nobles assembled with ulterior motives—he unexpectedly expressed his willingness to participate quite readily.

I had planned to force him to attend by bringing up black magic if he refused, so his attendance was predetermined. Still, his strangely proactive attitude toward imperial affairs lately was somewhat difficult to get used to.

I even briefly suspected that perhaps he harbored ill intentions toward me and was using black magic—though I immediately dismissed such an absurd thought.

That afternoon, after receiving replies from each family, I sent Sela out of my room and worked alone on mapping coordinates with magic.

The endpoint of these coordinates was, of course, the Sitchif Forest where this hunt would take place.

Although Lerrhagen’s actions would be most crucial on the day of the hunt, as the person at the center of this event, I needed to familiarize myself with the forest’s terrain and layout beforehand. If possible, I wanted to leave magical traces to help me navigate more easily on the day of the hunt.

“Hmm, I wonder if this position is appropriate.”

While I had been there before, this would be my first time warping directly to the location. Previously, I had always gone with the knights or accompanied by attendants, using a carriage.

“I hope I don’t end up in a strange place. It would be troublesome if I landed outside the hunting grounds.”

Of course, since it was the imperial hunting ground, no one would stop me from going there. However, the point of a preliminary survey is to go quietly without drawing attention, so I carefully checked the coordinates before activating the magic.

Whoosh.

Unlike usual, I deliberately omitted the magic activation words and only recited the coordinates in my mind. Or rather than reciting, it was more like ‘thinking’ them. After days of wielding whips and using magic through sheer will, I had developed a habit of substituting simple spells with thought rather than activation words.

However, unlike Lerrhagen who could instantly appear wherever he wanted, my attempt was clumsy, causing a delay.

‘I should have just used the activation words. Is it because of my inferior skill that it takes longer than when implementing magic circles with proper incantations?’

I grumbled to myself. But since there was no one to blame, I quickly dismissed the thought and looked around.

‘Ah, I made it correctly.’

Fortunately, there seemed to be no problem with the coordinates I had constructed, as I had landed precisely in the familiar hunting ground. Since no one except the imperial family could approach freely, I was certainly alone in this hunting ground.

‘First, I should look for suitable places to set traps, and prepare escape routes in case I find myself in danger.’

Though Lerrhagen would help me, I couldn’t rely solely on him. Ultimately, this was my affair.

With that thought, I began walking steadily forward. However, as I approached the entrance to the hunting ground, I suddenly sensed presences—not just one or two people, but what seemed like a whole group.

‘Who could it be?’

I immediately became vigilant.

Who would dare intrude on my hunting ground? It was daytime, and imperial knights were guarding outside. Yet someone had boldly entered my hunting ground?