“……Where did you hear that?"
"Directly, from Frondier."
Elodie, after hearing that from Frondier.
She was sad, angry, but somehow convinced herself.
She had expected it too. Everyone knew where Frondier would go in this situation, what would be most effective.
"Are you worried about Frondier?"
"……I know Frondier is strong. However, even if Frondier is less noticeable to the enemy's eyes, I'm not sure if he can completely avoid surveillance."
Elodie didn't know much about Manggot. She didn't even know who was at the very top.
But with this much preparation, someone who was determined to overturn the Empire would surely be a cautious type.
Elodie was anxious because she didn't know if they were being as careless about him as Frondier hoped, or if they weren't being careless at all.
That was when.
"Reporting!"
A soldier came running urgently. Sanders' eyes quickly turned fierce.
"Reporting? There's no reason to receive such a thing. It's not even the time for a regular report."
"I, it's urgent, so I hurried!"
The soldier said, catching his breath.
Sanders closed his mouth. A report flying in just before the start of this war. An ominous feeling crept in.
"Then report it quickly. If a problem has arisen, we must respond immediately."
"N, no! It's not a problem! It's rather good news!"
"Good news?"
"It's good news, but when I heard it, I couldn't believe it right away."
The soldier was strangely rambling. Sanders tilted his head, bewildered.
The soldier who came to report was one that Sanders knew well. He was used to this kind of thing and wouldn't usually be flustered.
"The eastern barrier, 'Krasmere'!"
As soon as the barrier was mentioned, Sanders tensed up, and Elodie's eyes widened next to him.
"It has been rebuilt!"
“……What?"
Sanders involuntarily asked back at the soldier's incomprehensible words.
"Rebuild? What do you mean?"
"To be precise, it's not a rebuild, but it's back to its original state, that is, the appearance of the past barrier..."
Hearing that, Sanders' mouth fell open. He unconsciously shouted.
"Restoration!"
"Th, that's right! The barrier has been restored!"
The image of the Tyburn's barrier naturally came to Sanders' mind. He had witnessed firsthand the sight of the barrier, which seemed about to collapse at any moment, being restored as if rewinding. He also knew who had done it.
'...No, wait.'
Sanders had attended the Imperial meeting a few days ago. He had seen Frondier there, sensed his suspiciousness, and heard his plan.
Frondier had planned to secretly infiltrate Manggot's headquarters, taking advantage of the fact that he was less noticeable to Manggot's eyes than other famous people.
If Sanders' thoughts were correct, he would probably be heading towards Manggot secretly even now.
But.
'...Krasmere is the complete opposite.'
News of the barrier's restoration came from a place completely opposite to Manggot's location. It wasn't like Frondier had gone to Krasmere. If he had, that report would have already come in.
Although he hadn't told everyone, in the war against Manggot, where Frondier was now and how far he had reached Manggot was more important than anything else.
In other words, Frondier was not in Krasmere, but 'restoration' had been carried out in Krasmere.
'Then who on earth fixed the barrier...'
"……Ah!"
It was Elodie who made the sound.
Elodie knew who had done the restoration as soon as she heard the report. Mei. Only Mei could imitate Frondier's skill.
But the intention was not immediately understood. Mei wouldn't have moved like that on her own, so Frondier must have given the order.
Although restoring the barrier was an important issue, it seemed like a waste of time for Mei to go to such a place.
Besides, Krasmere was a place where monster invasions were less frequent than in the north, like Tyburn or Yeranhes. There would be more important places.
'Could it be.'
A thought flashed through her mind at that moment.
Only Elodie, who knew of Mei's existence, could read Frondier's thoughts.
"Yes, that's it!"
Elodie's eyes sparkled.
"Whether the enemy is careless or not."
There was no need to worry about either way,
Frondier intended to create carelessness himself.
* * *
Frondier's skill, 'Restoration'.
The rumor that Frondier had restored the Tyburn's barrier was quite famous, although its authenticity was unclear.
Indeed, the Tyburn's barrier now stood as strong as it had in its past glory.
Naturally, Selena, who had been watching from the side at the time, knew about it, and so did Manggot.
"Reporting."
A report was delivered to Belphegor.
"The Empire's barriers are being restored one after another, starting from the east, southeast, and south."
Adela, the woman who had given the first report at the round table, spoke to Belphegor.
Belphegor asked.
"So, you're saying the restoration is being done clockwise?"
"Judging by the order of movement, it's almost certain, isn't it?"
"Hmm."
Belphegor's hand went to his chin.
Adela spoke to him as if he were in deep contemplation.
"It must be Frondier's doing."
“……."
"As Belphegor-nim predicted, Frondier has done something strange."
Belphegor remained silent at Adela's words.
Frondier had always been in Belphegor's sight. Even if everyone else ignored him, Belphegor alone had kept Frondier in mind, like an annoying ant in the corner of his vision.
And finally, he had moved. He had chosen a rather novel method, barrier restoration.
Belphegor also agreed with Adela's words more than 90%.
However, the remaining 10%.
The fact that the restoration had started in Krasmere, which was located at the complete opposite side of Manggot, bothered him a little.
"Adela."
"Yes."
"Go and see the process of the barrier restoration with your own eyes."
“……Yes?"
"Go and confirm if Frondier is really there."
Belphegor had never heard of the skill 'Restoration' even in his long life as a devil. It must be a unique skill that Frondier possessed.
However, if the skill was possible even from a considerable distance, the possibility that Frondier was in a completely different location could not be ruled out.
"Be, Belphegor-nim. That's an excessive thought."
"Are you refusing my order?"
"No! That's not it! It's just that, shouldn't every single one of us, including myself, be contributing to Manggot's effort to break through the barrier...?"
At that, Belphegor's languid gaze fell upon Adela. Adela momentarily avoided his gaze and lowered her head.
"Adela."
“……Yes."
"Prioritize the order I am giving you now. It is more important than anything else."
“……."
"If Frondier is there, that's good. Just confirm that. I will give you a reward that will not disappoint you."
“……Really?"
"Of course."
At that, Adela nodded deeply.
Belphegor threw his voice once more at Adela, who was turning around and walking away.
"Don't get caught."
"Yes."
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Thanks for the chapter
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