In Motion

The abnormally large order received by the factories, as reported by Fiana, was apparently kept off the ledgers. However, from the substantial amount of materials that seemed to be 'missing' from the inventory and the overworked apprentices and helpers due to an increase in production quota, it wasn't difficult to see that the factories were producing something in unusually large numbers.

Something was going on, or perhaps, going to happen, that was the consensus reached by Theodore and Kalman upon receiving the report.

Soon after, Fiana left for the duties with the terrariums, leaving Theodore and Kalman to their conspiring.

"In hindsight, I could have just asked you for the Dandelion Mandragora, couldn't I?" said Theodore as he looked back on the road that took him here. "You could have easily gotten some since you're an elder. So long as I agreed to help you, I could have gotten it easily and wouldn't have had to go through all that trouble."

"I doubt that would have worked out," Kalman retorted. "To begin with, if you hadn't pulled off that little heist of yours, I wouldn't have bothered with you. It's only because you showed that you were useful that I reached out to you in the first place."

"I could have just confessed that I was the Demon Lord, couldn't I?"

"But would you have? And I rather not work with a Demon Lord who would give up his identity so easily. Frankly, I was quite disappointed with you in how you dealt with Albatross, but you managed to turn it around, which led me to reevaluate you."

"Ah, that..." Theodore was made to recall how he revealed to Albatross that he was the Demon lord, thinking that it would bring her to his side since she, like the previous Demon Lord, hated this city. It wound up backfiring on him, but with some wit and luck, he was able to turn it around. "I sure was desperate back then. The resources at hand were simply pitiful."

"Excuses do not become you, Theodore."

"Hardly! It was an accurate assessment. If you dismiss everything as an excuse, you'll just lose sight of where the problem lies."

As the two argued, the doorbell of the rear entrance began to ring. It was the time of the day they were both waiting for. Eagerly, they both rose from their seats and went to meet their guest, no, their fellow conspirator.

***

"Leaving aside my older memories, I may have something new for you today," announced Albatross upon sitting herself down in the living room which had since doubled as their meeting room.

"Do tell."

"Go on ahead."

Both Theodore and Kalman respectively had a sharp look in their eyes upon hearing news of new intel. It appeared that their efforts of breaking Albatross's curse were already paying off.

"I'll go get you some tea," said Theodore as he went to the kitchen. This time, he wasn't grabbing the usual Aetherglow herbs. Instead, he grabbed the ones with calming effects, used to help Albatross with the stress caused by her mental conditioning.

After taking a few sips of the tea and feeling suitably relaxed, Albatross steeled herself and began to speak.

There were two things of note that Albatross encountered while running her morning deliveries. The first was encountering an apprentice of a master battlemage. Apparently having some fancy for Albatross, he would stop her every now and then for a chance to chat. Though somewhat unwilling, due to not wanting to draw trouble for herself, Albatross often humored him for a couple of minutes before letting him know that she still has jobs to run.

On this day, when this particular apprentice stopped Albatross, perhaps in an attempt to impress her, he whispered about an expedition his master will be undertaking, one in which he himself would have the honor of joining. It was almost hilarious how loose-lipped he was when trying to impress someone he fancied, though this was also partly because he was under the assumption that an apprentice-in-name would never be able to betray his secrets, making him let his guard down.

Should the truth of Albatross be revealed, there was no doubt that this apprentice would lose his head. That is, if he was lucky.

As for the secrets whispered, the apprentice spoke of his master seeking a treasure hidden beneath the tower. Said to be a powerful artifact, the treasure would allow this master to rival even the most powerful of elders combined.

Having heard that story, Kalman was shaken.

"Is that true!? Is that truly what he said? You're not lying are you?"

"Believe me or doubt me, do whatever you want. I'm just delivering intel to you, as promised."

With a frown plastered on his face, the bewildered Kalman turned to the Demon Lord Larva in the room for guidance.

"There's nothing to be surprised about. The mages have been here for five hundred years. Surely someone had figured out that there's something beneath the tower and kept it to themselves, passing it only on to members of their clan. Though it might not necessarily be an artifact, there are enough reasons to suspect that there's at least *something* down there," Theodore explained. "Rather than that, I'm more concerned about the timing. Perhaps they're the ones who made that order."

"Yes, perhaps you're right. Certainly, things look like they're lining up now."

Albatross, not quite sure what they were so concerned about, began moving on to her next story when she had the opportunity to speak and the other two didn't stop her.

The second story came from when she was making a delivery for an elder. It was an elder that Theodore had not met before as he was not present during his examination. The elder wanted Albatross to make an express delivery to a master, meaning that it was a top priority and needed to be completed before all else.

Upon delivering the package, the master stopped her from leaving as he checked on the goods. As it turned out, the delivered object appeared to be a series of maps of some sort. Though Albatross had gotten a peek at it, she was unable to tell what it was a map of, noting that it looked to be a map detailing something that had many intertwining passageways over multiple floors. She reasoned that it must be a map of the insides of a building, though she didn't know of any building of such complexity and size within the city. The master also muttered something about reaching 'the depths', a phrase that Albatross understood nothing of.

After looking through the maps, the master gave Albatross another package and had her deliver them to the elder who originally sent her on the delivery, possibly as payment for the maps.

After hearing the second story, Theodore and Kalman turned to one another, both wearing puzzled expressions.

"The depths?"

"That can't mean what I think it means, can it?"

"It's too early to decide, I'm afraid." Theodore was remaining calm, but barely. In the back of his mind, he could feel that something was amiss, but he could not quite put a finger on it just yet. "Still, the maps of a building... If we consider only what exists within the wall of Lancea, then perhaps it is not of a building above ground, but a structure that lies below."

"The sewers!?"

"As well as the ruins the city is built atop of, yes, that is what I am thinking about."

"But why? Why now of all times? What's going on?"

"Well, we won't figure it out by pondering on it, we simply don't have enough information. Let's focus on what we can do now instead. Besides, perhaps we'll gain some insight by exploring the past. Isn't that right, Albatross?"

"Right, right, I get the hint. I'll get to writing."

For the rest of the afternoon, the three occupied themselves with compiling information, with Albatross writing down just about everything she knew and heard while Theodore and Kalman sort out the intel. They called it a day only once the sun began to set.

Just as Theodore thought that there would be no more surprises on this day, that night, during dinner, Fiana brought up something most concerning.

"So, I ran into Yulian today," said Fiana.

"Oh, did he mention if he's visiting anytime soon?" asked Theodore, not because he wanted him to visit, but quite the opposite. If he said that the's coming, then he'll have to make sure to cover up even the slightest trace of what he and Kalman were working on.

"I did ask, but he said he won't have time for that for a while. It seems like he's quite busy helping the Archmage prepare for something."

The information made Theodore raise an eyebrow. Kalman as well, started to pay attention.

"What is he preparing for?"

"A summit, apparently. Though I haven't heard the specifics."

"A meeting?" Theodore turned towards Kalman. " Did you hear anything about this?"

"No." Kalman shook his head. "This is the first I've heard of it."

"Then it's not with the Circle then. In that case... Could it be with the imperial court?"

It was known that other than her duties as the Archmages, Stellaria acted as a liaison between the Nixian Empire and the Circle of Mages as well, brokering various deals both over and under the table in the Circle's stead.

"It certainly is possible," Kalman mused, "though from how discreet this all was, the summit must be a secret one."

"Why the secrecy? Are the deals shady?"

"Sometimes that's the case, but for the most part, it's not to keep the secret from the outsiders. It's to keep a secret from the mages. It may not seem that way, but the truth is that the Archmage has been singlehandedly keeping things under control within this city. With her gone, who knows what the others would start plotting."

As those words leave Kalman's mouth, Theodore began to realize something, the feeling of something amiss in the back of his head quickly linking the information he had heard just moments ago together.

"What if it's not as secret as you think?" said Theodore. "What if there are some mages that already know the timing in which the Archmage would be gone from the city?"

Kalman's eyes widened. He was seeing what Theodore was seeing.

"This... This can't be good."

***

End of Chapter 85

***