### Chapter: 201
After Kraush visited Charlotte’s Lion’s Order.
“Sure thing.”
Kraush heard Charlotte’s cool response.
He thought she’d at least ask why he was taking on such a mission.
But Charlotte didn’t really inquire about it.
She just figured it was something Kraush wanted to do, so she went along with it.
“Shouldn’t you come along too, sis?”
Kraush was flabbergasted at how easily Charlotte replied to him.
Charlotte, with her usual charming smile, lightly teased him.
“It’s all good. I’ll be just fine on my own.”
Thanks to Charlotte, he probably wouldn’t have to worry about being absent from Rahern Academy.
“Oh, speaking of which, that Arthur kid I asked about last time…”
Kraush perked up at her words.
“They said he’d decide around the end of the second-year training program.”
The fake Arthur was from the Special Class, after all.
So naturally, he would have received scouting offers from other groups.
It was understandable.
‘Here I thought he’d jump at the chance to observe me and Charlotte from up close.’
Maybe he was being more cautious than expected.
Given the recent suspicious movements, he might want to keep his distance on purpose.
Thinking this, Kraush thanked Charlotte and walked out of the Lion’s Order.
At that moment, he spotted some familiar black hair.
Someone was trying hard to hide herself pressed against the wall.
Yet her natural physique gave her away—there was no way to hide completely behind that wall.
It was Mary Diana.
The woman once known as the Holy Maiden.
“Mary.”
As Kraush called her name, she flinched and inched out from the wall.
Unlike when she was holed up in her room, Mary was now wearing her uniform.
However, she was far from neat; it looked like she hadn’t even bothered to iron it, and the buttons were a mess.
Especially her hair, which was all over the place from not being properly combed.
She looked incredibly timid, fidgeting nervously.
The image of the Holy Maiden from the past was now a distant memory.
“What do you need?”
Seeing her look as if she was waiting for someone, Kraush asked nonchalantly.
“W-well… I heard that K-Kraush-nim is back, so I came for a moment.”
Shoulders hunched, Mary stammered.
With her gaze fixed to the floor, it was obvious she was really struggling.
It was only natural.
She had likely realized her skills were gone by now.
Suddenly losing one’s abilities?
It must have been incredibly bewildering for her.
And this confusion was evident in her look.
But she couldn’t tell anyone about it.
Especially not Kraush.
If he figured out she had lost her skills and decided to discard her, she’d be left completely without a place to go.
So Mary came here today to confirm that fact.
“Well, I have some work, so I’ll be heading outside of Rahern Academy again.”
Kraush said this as he approached Mary.
At that, Mary flinched even more.
Perhaps she instinctively feared that Kraush would figure out she lacked her skills.
Regardless, when Kraush reached her, he placed his hand on her shirt.
And then he started to unbutton the misaligned buttons to fix them properly.
Mary watched in a daze.
It felt oddly like Kraush was fixing the mess of her life.
“Mary, looks like you’ve finally decided to step out of your room.”
“Y-yes! Since Kraush-nim said I could, I thought I should do my best to live up to it!”
Mary rambled on, trying to express how hard she was trying.
“Good job. You’re really like a fellow first-year now.”
As Kraush smiled and complimented her, Mary went all mushy.
That smile filled her with a desire for approval, and happiness surged within her.
In that moment, she felt she could do anything for him.
“How’s it been with Sigrid lately?”
Kraush casually asked about Sigrid.
“Uh, I… haven’t seen her lately. It’s pretty much over now.”
Sigrid, whom she once followed as a master.
Yet, even though Sigrid hadn’t visited her lately, there wasn’t a hint of yearning in her gaze.
If anything, there was even a slight resentment toward Sigrid.
“I… should’ve been like this from the beginning.”
Mary felt a hint of regret.
If only she had left a bit sooner, she might not have ended up like this.
Seeing that, Kraush gently patted her head.
“It’s alright. You’re free now, after all. You can do whatever you want.”
“D-do whatever I want?”
Mary looked up at Kraush.
Like a dog waiting for commands, she gazed solely at him, ready to obey.
But Kraush didn’t give her any orders and withdrew his hand from her head.
“Well, I have to get going.”
“Oh.”
Watching Kraush walk away without a command made Mary hesitate.
While she was floundering, Kraush gave her a short smile.
“Good to see you out of your room. Train while I’m away, and take care.”
“Y-yes!”
It was as if she took his last words as a command, and Mary responded enthusiastically.
Kraush saw that and pocketed his hands as he walked down the corridor.
Then he took his handkerchief out of his pocket to wipe the hand that had just patted Mary’s head.
His expression remained completely emotionless.
With that, he had effectively severed any remaining ties with Mary.
At least he wouldn’t have to deal with her nagging in the future.
‘Now, it’s just Sigrid and that Adel lady left.’
With those two in mind, Kraush continued on his way.
He was ruthless when it came to those three, regardless of how others might feel.
*
The Endless Night wouldn’t stop.
One of the World Erosion turned into the Kingdom of Jeblam.
It was a place made entirely of night, where the sun never rose.
In the space where only darkness remained, bizarre towers sprouted up like weeds, and the creatures dwelling within those towers were called the Black Ghosts.
Kraush came to this ceaseless night for one reason.
To meet the world’s best healer, Veltoa Lacroix.
The problem was the location of this Endless Night.
Unlike the generally managed areas of the Kingdom of Jeblam, the Endless Night existed as a lawless zone.
Particularly, the mountain paths leading there were incredibly treacherous.
Not only horses, but even people struggled to walk amidst the dense trees and undergrowth.
These trees and plants were deformed and grotesquely altered due to the influence of the Endless Night.
Thus, even criminals from the human world would never dare to enter the Endless Night.
On this mountain path heading to the Endless Night.
Kraush was moving along quite comfortably.
It was simple really.
Because the carriage Kraush was riding in was no ordinary one.
Clatter clatter—
Despite the branches and plants poking at his feet, the horse showed no discomfort whatsoever.
The horse was, in fact, a skeletal mount summoned by Ebelasque.
The carriage Kraush was riding was also constructed of bones, with no wheels at all.
Thanks to that, the floating carriage passed gracefully above the mountains.
“Did you really have to follow me, though?”
While gazing out at the passing scenery, Kraush turned his head sideways.
Sitting next to him, arms crossed, was a woman who looked up at him.
She had black hair tinged with a golden hue, dressed in a neatly arranged black dress.
Her presence was accented by the crossed arms, drawing attention to her upper body as she frowned.
“Of course, I had to go with you. You thought I’d let you head to the Kingdom of Jeblam alone?”
“I planned to go alone, right?”
“No way. If we promised to live together forever, I have to take responsibility and make sure you are safe.”
That was ironic; Kraush thought he had spent more time dodging danger than actually being safe.
Even with that absurdity in mind, he decided not to push back against Ebelasque, since having her around was convenient.
The problem was that she was not the only one who had followed him.
“Haring, you too?”
Kraush noticed Haring Lagrain, clinging to him, eyeing Ebelasque warily.
As soon as Haring heard the news of Kraush taking a mission via the Lion’s Order, she darted after him.
“Wherever Kraush goes, I will go too.”
Determination sparkled in Haring’s eyes.
Kraush thought it would be dangerous going to the Kingdom, but there was no changing her mind about it.
‘Well, it might actually be good to gain some knowledge about the Kingdom during this trip.’
Kraush figured he wouldn’t be the only one trying to stop the apocalypse.
“Just don’t overdo it.”
At that, both Ebelasque and Haring turned to Kraush simultaneously.
Their expressions read: ‘Who are you talking to?’
The raven from the Crimson Garden perched on Kraush’s shoulder cackled in amusement.
While Kraush reacted awkwardly, the carriage jolted to a halt.
They had finally exited the mountain range.
As they left the mountains, the surroundings began to grow darker.
It had clearly been broad daylight just a moment ago, and now it was turning into night.
Additionally, this darkness was much heavier than any other night.
It seemed a thick fog was rolling in.
As the carriage rolled through this pitch-black fog where visibility dropped to zero, any ordinary horse would have panicked and stopped.
But that was not a concern for a skeletal steed.
After a short while, the night fog began to clear slowly.
Instead, what appeared were bizarrely shaped towers piercing through the night.
The spire-like towers shot up into the sky as if they were attacking the darkness.
Kraush leaned out the window to gaze at the scene.
“Ebelasque, leave the White Skeleton Legion out of this.”
“Why? Weren’t you looking for Veltoa?”
“Even if your White Skeleton Legion moves, they’ll just exhaust themselves fighting the Black Ghosts.”
Kraush observed the Black Ghosts peeking out from the towers.
Those who leaned out to watch the newcomers were all eyeing them.
And when that gazing was over, they were sure to descend en masse.
That meant they considered the newcomers easy prey.
“For now, we keep going. Veltoa is not roaming around out here.”
Veltoa had entered the Kingdom for a singular purpose; to look for curses.
And surely, he was searching for the highest-level curses.
Even Veltoa wouldn’t be able to handle them at will.
The reason he was on this quest was straightforward.
To observe them.
‘What a madman.’
What sort of insane person would venture into a lawless place just to observe a curse?
Kraush thought he simply could not grasp him.
“Then how do you plan to search this vast area without the help of my minions?”
As the carriage moved forward, Ebelasque looked outside with a slightly pale expression.
She was right; the Endless Night was indeed boundlessly expansive.
Feeling like they needed to search this place only increased her anxiety.
But Kraush didn’t seem to care much.
“It’s easy.”
Kraush focused ahead.
To that denser region of the Endless Night.
“At the location where the power of World Erosion is felt the strongest.”
That’s where Veltoa was waiting.
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