Ian regained consciousness only briefly. The sedatives and sleeping medication administered by the doctors soon pulled him back into deep sleep, while the mages took turns guarding his door.

Now that they knew the magical anomaly was preventing communication, the next step was sending people directly rather than messenger birds.

The mages picked grapes one by one as they shared their concerns.

“Even if we can contact Bariel, can we move Ian? In his current state, he probably can’t take a single step outside the bed.”

“You saw his condition. It’s a miracle he’s even alive.”

“The only option is having the mages who remained in Bariel come and replenish his magical power.”

“How long will that take? About two weeks probably.”

“Well, it’d be better if Ian recovers before then.”

Having survived the horrific crisis, they could finally make light jokes. The mages gazed at the vineyard sprawling beneath the clear sky, each lost in their own thoughts.

The green grapes, specially cultivated within the palace grounds, created the perfect picture of freshness among the verdant leaves. Some thought Clifford seemed a more pleasant country than expected, while others wondered about movement among the grape vines.

A mage peering out the window pressed his forehead.

“Good heavens. Beric, that kid…”

“Leave him be. Maybe because the prince and princess are young, but they get along well with Beric.”

“That’s rather rude. Rather than getting along, I’d say they’re fascinated by him.”

Three children surrounded Beric, continuously offering him grapes as if feeding an animal. From a child’s perspective, how amazing must it be to watch food constantly disappearing as if into a bottomless pit?

“Try this one too, Beric.”

“Then this one next. It’s sweetest when it’s soft and plump.”

“Are these grapes too? Ah, I’m getting sick of grapes now. Don’t you have meat? burp“

“Meat? We do! I’ll give you some after you finish these. Eat them like before. All at once.”

“Okay. Watch carefully. This is the last time.”

“Woooow!”

Pop them in his mouth and pull them out, leaving only bare stems. If that’s a talent, it’s certainly a unique one. The mages watched incredulously from the window.

Usually at this time they’d be busy at the Ministry of Magic, but everything felt peaceful now, as if they were on vacation. Though it would have been hell if Ian hadn’t safely awakened.

Just then, someone appeared.

Swish

“How is Lord Ian?”

“Your Highness. He’s been sleeping since the doctor’s last visit. The doctor said even slight movement is still too much – he needs long, thorough treatment.”

“Is that so?”

It was Prince Noah.

Surely he’d already received a report, so why ask? He didn’t seem to have business with the sleeping Ian. The mages astutely realized Prince Noah had come to speak with them.

“What brings you here…”

“A soldier just left the palace to deliver a letter directly.”

“I see. Thank you. Bariel will be deeply moved by Clifford’s consideration and kindness.”

In truth, it wasn’t sent to save Ian. Rather, it was a measure to prevent war due to misunderstanding. Prince Noah pulled up a chair and gestured for everyone to be seated.

“Do you have something to discuss…”

The situation was somewhat complicated. More precisely, it was complicated for the mages to handle without Ian. Clifford had tried to secure Idgal behind Bariel’s back, and when that was discovered, they attempted to form a magical contract with Ian.

But as they could see, everything was temporarily suspended. The mages tensed, anxiously waiting to hear what Prince Noah would say.

“About that mage called Felix…”

Noah smiled leisurely, as if well aware of the mages’ state of mind. Though he generally had a smiling face, his even more curved eyes now gave off a rather meaningful air.

“He’s finally started talking.”

“Is that true? What did he say?”

“Why did he betray us and with Clifford-“

“Hey, hey, hey.”

“Well, anyway, please tell us what he said.”

It was rather awkward to mention betraying the Ministry of Magic and approaching Clifford right in front of the party in question. Noah shrugged, indicating he didn’t mind.

“First, I’m not sure how credible this is…”

“What do you mean…”

“He said Idgal has some connection to Lord Ian.”

“What?”

Silence fell. The mages stared blankly at Noah, their expressions suggesting they weren’t sure they’d heard correctly. But he repeatedly tapped his chest, as if swearing he was only stating facts.

The silence shattered instantly. Several mages jumped to their feet, rolling up their sleeves.

“That crazy bastard, let’s kill him right now.”

“Calm down, calm down. He’s probably not in his right mind from torture.”

“No, fuck this. His tongue works fine enough to apologize, but what? Ian has something to do with Idgal? That bullshit’s not even worth listening to.”

“I agree with that. If he spouts that nonsense after returning to Bariel, it’ll only cause trouble for Ian. Let’s kill him.”

“Try to calm down. We’re not alone here.”

Prince Noah watched the mages’ confusion with interest. Their reaction clearly showed how problematic it would be if Felix’s testimony reached Bariel. He tapped the table, directing everyone to sit back down.

“Pardon us, Your Highness, but may we see Felix ourselves?”

“Of course. But before that, I have a small request. I’d like this to be a small gift in return for the humanitarian treatment of Lord Ian and you mages.”

“We… whatever it might be, we cannot decide without Ian.”

“Hmm. It’s nothing much. Just to minimize, absolutely minimize, any mention of Felix’s connection to Clifford when reporting to Bariel, and-“

This essentially meant concealing Clifford’s attempts to secure Idgal. It seemed unlikely Ian would approve of this.

As the mages bit their lips awkwardly, Noah continued:

“There are places throughout Clifford that need magical power. While you’re here, I’d appreciate your help if possible.”

They’d exhausted their magical power trying to save Ian, and what little they recovered was being given to him. Both requests were difficult for the mages in their current state.

But they couldn’t exactly refuse either, as Clifford was entirely responsible for Ian’s treatment. They exchanged glances, trying to figure out how to resolve this situation.

This is really troublesome.

Should we request an audience with the King of Clifford instead? He seemed more understanding than Prince Noah.

Would Prince Noah allow that?

Let’s pretend to accept for now.

Having worked together for so long, they could communicate through looks alone. Just as one mage was about to speak as their representative…

“Aaaaah! Big trouble! Big trouble!”

Beric, who had been playing outside with the prince’s siblings, came running in. As Noah turned around irritably, thinking this was just like him, he saw a child tucked under Beric’s arm. Their ears…

bang bang bang

“Ears, ears, pop! Pop!”

“Dammit, Beric! Why did you come here?”

“What else could I do? I couldn’t find anyone from the palace, so I came here!”

“Brother, mine turned like this too. Waaah.”

“Don’t cry, it’s okay. Give them here.”

The mages craned their necks curiously. Prince Noah had completely hidden his sibling in his embrace. The other children also came running on their short legs to cling to Noah.

After the momentary shock at the sudden situation, the mages breathed sighs of relief at being able to avoid answering.

“Beric, what’s wrong?”

“Well, you know. How should I put it… A family’s private pain? But I know about it? Something like that.”

“What are you talking about, idiot…”

His pretentious head-shaking was ridiculous. Beric squeezed between the mages to wedge himself onto the sofa. He tilted his head back and muttered:

“Ah, I’m hungry. When’s Ian waking up?”

“Beric. We all saw you eating grapes down there.”

“Grapes aren’t a meal. Thanks to the sudden ear-popping, I couldn’t even eat meat. Damn. I don’t know what’s wrong with people in this neighborhood suddenly.”

Beric stared blankly at the blue sky. Then he spotted a tiny dot. Was it dust on the window? But it grew larger and larger until it was the size of a pinky nail.

Ah, it was a bird.

As he blinked absently…

“Huh?”

Whoosh

Black expanded instantly to cover the sky.

The mages also lifted their heads following Beric’s gaze. They all knew what it was – the black moon that connected point to point through magic.

Everyone pressed against the windows in surprise, their expressions soon filling with joy, delight, and relief.

“W-what is it? How did they all open that?”

“Oh my goodness. Everyone! Everyone!”

“Wow, they must have used some serious power! What’s going on!”

“Let’s go out! We need to go out and tell them to come this way!”

The people of Clifford also stopped what they were doing to stare at the unprecedented sight.

This included Noah, who was carrying his sibling. Knowing that mages emerged when the black moon appeared, he tilted back his aching head with a sigh. His sibling in his arms pulled at his neck, whimpering.

“Brother, what is that? I’m scared.”

“It’s alright. Looks like more guests are coming.”

Whoosh

True to his words, people began falling from the black moon. Figures descended gracefully with gleaming golden eyes. The mages targeted the Clifford palace grounds for their landing, shouting with overwhelming joy.

“We made it properly this time?!”

“Kyaaah! This is amazing!”

“Everyone slow down! It’ll be trouble if we crash into the palace!”

“Can’t hear you! Can’t hear you! I can’t heeeear!”

“Akorella! Calm down, you crazy woman!”

“Ahaha! I wonder where Ian is?”

“Oh, there! There, I can see our people!”

The mages came outside, waving continuously. They jumped up and down showing their delight.

Faint golden lines remained where they traced elegant spiral curves falling downward. Otrik, who had been excited, hesitated as he counted their numbers. One, two, three, four…

“Why, why do they keep coming endlessly?”

“Could it be…”

CRASH BOOM

Had the entire Ministry of Magic come? Just as everyone was shocked, they began landing one by one. Right onto the vineyard the palace had tenderly cultivated.

CRASH BOOM

Swish

Leaves scattered in all directions as the ground seemed to shake. Hale and Akorella looked around from their awkward positions before meeting the surprised gazes of the mages.

“Uh, is everyone okay?”

“That’s, that’s our line. Are you all alright?”

“…Of course.”

“Hey! You guys! You bastards!”

“You took so long we came ourselves! Take that, you jerks!”

“Y-you crazy idiots! Aaaaah!”

As Hale dusted off his coat, they ran to embrace each other, sharing their joy. Though they’d been apart for barely over a week, not knowing if the others were alive or dead had caused great anxiety.

After jumping around while hugging one by one, Akorella was already munching on a bunch of grapes.

“So, where’s Ian now?”

“On, on the third floor of this building…”

“Okay! Lead the way! Akorella coming through!”

“How is Ian’s condition? We only heard he was at death’s door. We’ll share our magical power too. You all look really bad.”

“Ah, it was pretty overwhelming. This way please!”

“Kyaaah! Excuse us!”

As the mages rushed to Ian’s bedroom, Hale finally realized they had completely ruined the vineyard.

Just then, he noticed a small, plump man staring at them dejectedly with tears in his eyes.

“My, my grapes…”

“I’m sorry. But who might you be…”

“I should be asking that, but I’m the king here.”

“…Ah.”

The King of Clifford gestured through his tears that they should go up to see Ian first, and Hale nodded while awkwardly stepping backward.