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If there is oil in the global village, then here in this neighborhood, magic ore takes its place.

Magic ore is the most important resource in modern society, a pillar that supports civilization and a mighty force.

Magic ore is produced through mining.

In its natural state, high concentrations of magic power gather underground and condense. After a long time passes, if internal pressure increases or external shocks occur, the terrain changes, and the condensed energy bursts forth, allowing the magic ore to be mined from underground.

People call the exposed underground rift.

“… Rift?”

Camila, leaning her head against the window, muttered the question.

“It sounds like the word we heard in the meeting room last time. They say it’s a place where an incredibly important resource is buried.”

“Impressive that you remember. That’s right. There are only a few facilities more important than rifts in the northern regions.”

A rift is a “Class A” national critical facility in South Korea. It means it’s a place that must be protected at all costs if war breaks out.

“Where are those few places?”

“The Military Government Headquarters and the Duke’s stronghold.”

Currently, there are only two places in the north that are more important than rifts. One is the Military Government Headquarters that commands the Imperial Army, and the other is the stronghold of the Duke who has governed the north for a hundred years.

“The Duke?”

Camila tilted her head automatically.

“He’s the one who rules the north. If we’re talking lineage, he’s a branch of the royal family, and a powerful Archmage who participated in the Magic Tower-Cult War. You know Francesca’s last name is Ranieri, right? He was a noble who fought alongside her family’s ancestor.”

“Sounds like someone you can’t mess with.”

Anyway, rifts are that important.

And Francesca is currently dispatched to one of those rifts.

“Camila.”

“Yes?”

“You’re about to see something interesting soon, so bear with the cold and roll down the window for a moment.”

Camila’s head tilted curiously at my words. After a moment of confusion, she lowered the backseat window and peeked her head outside.

The cold winter wind and biting chill seeped into the vehicle’s interior.

The vehicle, traveling down a snowy road, soon passed through fields and entered a forest, smoothly climbing up a mountain road.

At last,

“… Wow.”

Camila’s eyes widened in amazement as she gazed out the window.

In the icy cold winter sky.

A blue aurora, emanating a chilling glow, painted the daylight sky.

—

**Episode 11 – There’s No Trouble at the Northern Front**

The daughter of the great Archmage Ranieri.

An elite civil servant in the Magic Tower Secretariat’s Economic Management Department.

An alchemist surpassing the Ivory Tower, the main hub of alchemy.

There are many titles that refer to Francesca.

By birthright, she was upper class from the moment she was born, and in terms of ability, she managed to join the Secretariat—one of the hardest places to get into in the Magic Tower—before the ink on her diploma even dried.

Especially in alchemy, she was unparalleled.

The Ivory Tower, known for its pompousness in the Mauritania Continent’s magical society, had even the alchemists of the Red Desert, who enslave with gold, acknowledging her skills, so no further explanation was needed.

“Administrator, where should we move this?”

“Follow the instructions we received the other day. The golems on-site must not stop operating. Make sure to periodically maintain their joint lubricants so they don’t freeze…”

“Administrator! A notice just came from the Secretariat, how do we process this?”

“Bring document form 37. Just send it to my room.”

“Administrator! The Oracle committee members are today…”

After three long hours of driving in the car with Camila, Francesca was having one of the busiest days she’d ever experienced at the rift.

Despite the whirlwind of requests for approvals and reviews from the Secretariat personnel, Francesca was managing without showing signs of fatigue.

“Ah…”

Francesca’s gaze suddenly landed on us, seemingly startled as if she hadn’t realized we had arrived, but she quickly composed herself and gave us a small nod in greeting.

“Excuse me for a moment. Everyone, please come back later.”

“Understood. Administrator.”

The Magicians from the Magic Tower promptly vanished. Francesca, now alone, turned her attention to me and Camila.

“I didn’t expect to see you here. Good to see you.”

“It’s only been four days.”

“How has the Hero been?”

“I’m doing well!”

Francesca smiled brightly at Camila’s cheerful response.

“I’m glad to hear that. I was worried since you’re on the frontline. I’m relieved you seem healthy.”

“I feel the same. About that time…”

As Camila began to speak, she glanced around, then lowered her voice to continue.

“We haven’t seen each other since I came back from the black market. I was really worried.”

Francesca’s lips curled upward at Camila’s genuinely concerned words.

“Thank you for caring. I know the Hero must have it much harder than me in the rear, being on the frontline…”

“Ah! It’s just a matter of burning some forests!”

“… Burning forests?”

“Yup!”

“… Not trees?”

Francesca began to question, her expression bordering on bewildered. Her violet eyes, reminiscent of violets, blinked in surprise.

But Camila, seemingly unfazed, waved her hands dismissively and continued her banter.

“How can just burning a few trees clear the mountains? You gotta let it rip and burn it down to push through.”

“…….”

“Anyway! Even though the winds blow south and progress may be slow, I can definitely burn part of the mountain range by February.”

“Specifically, by February 17, we’ll have secured the paths and supply routes needed for the offensive operation. Before that, we’ll take care of the protruding Naroda mountain range branches to the south.”

“Right. That’s the place where monsters sometimes descend from, isn’t it?”

Francesca’s expression became quite intriguing at the thought of wiping out a portion of the mountain range and an entire mountain chain. If another magician had said such a thing, they would have been dismissed as boasting, but Camila was far beyond the average magician.

Francesca, staring at Camila with her mouth slightly agape, murmured.

“… What kind of person are you?”

“……”

I wasn’t even aware I had spoken, and as if snapping back to reality, Francesca hurried to close her mouth and fix her expression.

Fortunately, Camila was so entranced by the aurora in the sky that no one but me heard Francesca’s musing.

—

“Don’t wander too far, play nearby, okay?”

“Don’t worry!”

Excited, Camila waved her hands and dashed off.

Having sung praises about wanting to see the rift after witnessing the aurora, I couldn’t help but let her go.

“Well, since it’s a restricted area, she can’t even get close to the rift anyway.”

“Why didn’t you go with her?”

“Why would I go to the rift? This is Imperial territory…”

Glancing at Francesca, who wore a gentle smile, I lifted my gaze to the sky.

The sparse blue sky was covered in a blizzard, painting a gloomy gray, but the blue aurora, reminiscent of a deadly chill, adorned the gray skies.

I pointed at the aurora in the sky and asked Francesca.

“Is that the magic erosion phenomenon?”

“Yes, you know it well.”

Magic erosion is the term used to describe phenomena seen near the rift.

When suddenly exposed to the released high-concentration magical energy, the properties and forms of the natural ecosystem change. The academic world refers to such phenomena as magic erosion.

The prime example being the coniferous forests in the northern regions of the Kien Empire, and the aurora we see before us now.

“I’ve heard explanations about it every geography class, but this is the first time I’m seeing it live.”

“Is that so? I’ve seen rifts a few times, so it’s nothing out of the ordinary for me.”

“You’ve seen rifts yourself? What, were you sightseeing?”

“Not exactly sightseeing… it was more of a business trip.”

Watching the aurora brightening the midday sky, I let out a short sigh.

“Hmm…”

Honestly, I never liked geography much. I didn’t fare well on that part during entrance exams, and even after coming to this place, my skills in geography didn’t particularly improve.

If anything, they had worsened rather than improved. In this area filled with magic, divinity, and mysteries, geography exams often ended up with complicated questions related to magic or the supernatural.

But just as…

A splendid encyclopedia was beside me.

“Administrator? Could you elaborate on that?”

“…I’m not a tour guide, you know.”

“Oh, hurry up.”

“…….”

Francesca, who was more knowledgeable about magic than anyone else in our party, let out a small sigh and began her explanation.

With a tired expression, she sighed and pointed her finger stiffly at the sky.

“You’re aware of the six stages of rift formation, right?”

“I know that.”

“Then you must also be familiar with the three types of rifts.”

Rifts evolve through six stages and ultimately manifest in three distinct forms.

“Concentration, Ascension, Differentiation, Diffusion, Collapse, and Half-life. When magic power accumulates and pressure rises, at some point, energy explodes, altering the landscape, and the concentrated magic power bursts forth. At that time, the changed landscape becomes the rift.”

Francesca nodded as she continued her explanation.

“As time passes and the concentration of magic power decreases, rifts stabilize through the half-life. Once the concentration drops to levels that don’t significantly affect the human body, that’s when we can start mining magic stones. Got it?”

“Yes.”

“Although the way magic spreads differs depending on whether it’s an emission-type, radiation-type, or collapse-type rift, once the high-concentration magic power trapped underground comes into contact with the natural ecosystem, everything changes.”

The magic power spreading into the land and sea could transform the soil and flora and fauna, and the magic energy dispersed in the atmosphere could alter the climate.

Francesca’s finger pointed toward the aurora floating in the sky.

“See how the climate near the rift can be affected? That’s a common phenomenon seen with emission-type rifts. Of course, sandstorms that cover specific regions of the Northern Regions or the Mauritania Continent for months fall under a similar category, but explaining that would take too long, so I’ll skip it.”

“…….”

“The important thing is that animals exposed to magic power flowing from rifts for an extended period undergo mutations. Have you heard of mutated beings?”

I nodded.

“I know about them. The reason monsters in the Mauritania Continent have become ferocious is also due to the influence of rifts, isn’t it? Their appearances have drastically changed.”

“That’s right.”

Being exposed to high-concentration magic energy from underground is no different from being exposed to radiation. The physical structure is altered, and they mutate into entirely new creatures, 180 degrees different from their original forms. Humans are no exception.

A human who once walked on two legs might suddenly crawl on four, their skin covered in a black shell like a crustacean, or they could climb trees at incredible speeds to pounce on passing animals.

Because of these phenomena, mutated humans have been considered demon-worshipping fiends since ancient times. As always, the treatment of mutants has been the responsibility of organizations like the Inquisition and various religious institutions across the continents for centuries.

“As a magician, I cannot help but appreciate the Inquisition in this regard. If they hadn’t handled the mutants, no matter how many magic towers existed, related research would have lagged behind by a hundred years.”

Francesca’s eyes sparkled with sincerity and gratitude.

Watching her smile, I tilted my head in confusion and couldn’t hold back my curiosity, asking her a question.

“Isn’t it just making excuses? Many people died during the early research on rifts and mutants, and the cult providing the blood that the magic tower would have shed over centuries is what you’re thankful for, right?”

A strange smile appeared on Francesca’s lips. The woman leading the way halted suddenly, standing still and staring vacantly at the air.

After a moment of laughter, Francesca suddenly asked me,

“Do I have to answer that?”

“If you wish to, go ahead.”

“Um… Then I won’t.”

With a soft smile, Francesca turned away without saying another word.

We hurried our steps in silence, and after a while, we arrived at a building guarded by the Imperial Army.

*

Francesca was in charge of restoring the Northern Regions’ transportation network and overseeing rift security.

During the early days of her dispatch, she was solely focused on maintaining the railways, but as time passed, she began to find her footing.

Solving issues on-site while accommodating mages from the magic tower and the Empire, Francesca was now operating from a building with a proper office, using communication magical tools.

“If we run out of fuel for the trains, let’s start drawing power from the surplus golems. We need to get the railways operational by any means necessary.”

“The magic stones mined from the rifts will be refined right here in the Northern Regions. However, due to the outdated facilities, there’s a high chance we won’t meet the production requirements requested by the military. The latest facilities to refine magic stones in the Empire are located far away in the western ports, so please bring the materials and personnel from the homeland to ensure we can procure fuel immediately in the Northern Regions.”

“Though it’s a makeshift plan, anything is better than nothing. I’ll approve it, so please submit your business plan. I need to report to the Oracle by the end of the day, so hurry up. Now.”

As soon as she entered the office, Francesca grabbed the communication device and issued instructions to various locations. She was busy because she had to handle two tasks simultaneously, but, in truth, what she was doing was practically public works.

While Camila just needed to accompany the army and set fire to the mountains, and Lucia had to rush to save lives in refugee camps, Francesca had to negotiate with the Imperial government even to begin construction or even to organize meals for the workers.

She was swamped with the need to exchange official documents and coordinate opinions with the Imperial government one step at a time.

“Ha…”

“Are you all done?”

“Yes… The urgent matters are taken care of now….”

Putting down the communication device, Francesca slumped onto the sofa like dried jerky.

I unwrapped a piece of candy from the desk and handed it to her.

“Thank you, Colonel….”

“Not at all.”

Halfway reclined on the sofa, Francesca rolled the candy in her hands and let out a small groan. It seemed that the numerous stressful tasks were weighing heavily on her.

Leaving Francesca, who looked like she was about to collapse at any moment, I took out my recording device and captured all the material in the office. From the restoration of the Northern transportation network to the magic tower and the Imperial Ministry of Magic’s joint magic stone refinement project, and even the positioning of the Imperial guard units stationed at the rifts.

-Click. Click.

As I flipped through the papers and took pictures, I felt Francesca’s gaze upon me.

She was watching everything I did with narrow, half-lidded eyes. After briefly meeting her gaze, I tidied up the documents I’d finished photographing and spoke up.

“Administrator, nothing special happened today, right?”

“Yes.”

“Well… I didn’t come here just because I had free time. I have something to convey.”

Something to convey?

Francesca’s eyebrow lifted slightly as she lay diagonally on the sofa. With interest, she straightened up and opened her chest, focusing on the words that would come out of my mouth.

I pulled a chair over and sat across from Francesca. She still lay on the sofa with a relaxed expression, her curious eyes glancing at me.

“Do you remember the bet you proposed to me before? About clearing a route.”

“Yes, I recall.”

Her soft reply came back.

I took out the phone I had used in front of her before and continued speaking.

“I got a call today. They’re arriving in the Empire soon.”

“…….”

“I’m going to meet the broker soon, do you have time for that?”

Her silken purple hair swayed with a nod.

She said, “I’ve been feeling bored, so that’s a relief.”

A faint smile appeared at the corners of Francesca’s lips.

“I’ve been waiting.”

 

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