When Dallion had agreed to the deal, he’d never thought that the ring was aimed at impressing a potential overseer. For one thing, it was ludicrous to think that Ber—a drunk, leech, and flake—would have anything to do with one. Furthermore, a ring wasn’t something that an overseer, or even a hopeful, would be impressed with. There wasn’t a person in the imperial capital who had any illusions that Ber amounted to anything.

“Told you I’d get it,” the leech lied through his teeth. “Just took a little time.”

On the outside, Dallion maintained his composure. Deep down, he was cursing Ber. Of all the people he had to brag about, why did it have to be them?

The real overseer glanced at the ring in the noble’s hand, then at Dallion. It was difficult to tell whether he had seen through the illusion, but it seemed more than likely.

“You got this?” the woman narrowed her eyes, doubt emanating from her like a coastal lighthouse.

“I had help,” Ber said with false modesty. “I have my good friend here to thank for that.”

Enduring the forced pat on the back, Dallion forced a smile.

“So—”

“What do you want in return?” The woman interrupted, turning directly to Dallion.

It was possible for him to play the game and make Ber seem like the hero, or whatever he wanted to be. Yet, after everything he’d gone through in the last couple of hours, Dallion decided it was better to get right to the point.

“A trip outside,” he said.

Everyone in the vicinity froze. Openly making such a request made two things very clear: either the person making it was stupid or confident in his worth not to get punished. It was well known that every word or action made its way to the emperor. That was the reason all the coup attempts tended to be made by archdukes, who spent most of their lives on the outside. And yet, Dallion was confident in what he was doing.

“Leaving the emperor’s city is forbidden,” the woman said. “Unless you have the emperor’s permission.”

“It’s not what I heard.” Dallion remained calm.

“Saying that will only get you in trouble.”

“The emperor sees everything in the city, but we aren’t in the city now, are we?” Not to mention that he had also ignored all the void items flooding the capital. Maybe he found it amusing, maybe he didn’t care, or, most likely, he was strong enough to know that no one would dare oppose him.

“What did you tell him?” the overseer hissed, darting to Ber and grabbing him by the neck.

“Nothing!” the noble replied, out of habit. “Just that we used to sneak out from time to time…”

“We used to?” the woman sighed. “Let him go, brother.”

Reluctantly, the overseer did so. The other onlookers also returned to their chores of doing nothing.

That was close, Dallion thought. He had already moved his left hand behind his back, fingers ready to cast a weapon summoning spell.

“When he says “we” he means us,” the overseer said.

“I suspected.”

“And why would the new Elazni heir want to go outside? That’s not a thing imperials do. Even the emperor himself has only left the capital twice.”

“I have some unfinished business.” It was time to roll the dice. Thanks to his music skill, he could tell that he wasn’t exactly trusted, so it was time to take a chance. “Just so you know, that isn’t the real ring,” he added. “It’s just an illusion copy.”

“There’s no trusting anyone these days,” Ber shrugged, not particularly upset. “Not even family.”

“I know,” the woman said. “Doesn’t matter, though. You’d need to have the real thing to make an exact copy. It was a stupid request, anyway.”

“Hey.” Ber took a few steps towards her. “I’ll get it next time, I promise. This was just a trial run.”

“Brother,” the woman said sharply. “Take him to our place. After what he’s gone through, he deserves a few hours with the old gang.”

“You sure?” The overseer frowned.

“It’ll be fine. I need to have a chat with this one and will be with you soon enough.”

Without a nod, the overseer grabbed Ber by the shoulder, then both of them sunk into the ground. Dallion’s senses allowed him to follow the series of actions without issue, although he still took a step away for good measure.

“He’ll be fine,” the woman said. “Don’t worry.”

“Somehow he’s always fine.” Dallion grumbled. “I’m Dal.”

“I know who you are, Baron. I think it would be better if you don’t know my name.”

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

“Why?”

“We’ll never see each other again. You probably won’t come back and even if you do, you won’t come here.”

That was some truth to that. Dallion’s current focus was on leaving the cage as quickly as possible. Once he was done with everything, he might return, or maybe he’d go to the Alliance instead.

“Lead the way,” he said.

Walking through the overseer’s quarter was unusual in its commonness. One would think that he was walking through the single slum of the capital, and in a way, it was just that. Everyone here was platinum blond. The vast majority were humans, just like the Luor family back in Dallion’s home village. Now and again he noticed an overseer among the croud, their dark presence unmistakable from the rest.

“When are you set to become an overseer?” he asked casually.

“Maybe in a few months,” the woman replied. “Maybe never. It all depends if one of the others decides to retire or the emperor gets bored.”

This was the first time that Dallion heard that overseers were given the option to retire.

“Don’t you have to pass the third awakening gate?”

“It helps, but no. Some weren’t even awakened. As I said, it all depends on the emperor’s fancy. I’m one of those in line, but that’s no guarantee.”

The further they walked, the less inhabited the area became. The buildings were still there, kept in relatively good condition, only empty. There were shops, taverns, even something which looked like an old arena.

“Why’s this section empty?” Dallion asked. “Gradual decline?”

“You can say that. This is what the original village of Tamin was before the empire started.”

The original village of Tamin, Dallion thought. It looked a lot more sophisticated than a village. At the very least, it had to have been leveled up to a town, although in that case, why were all the guardians removed?

“As the domain developed, larger districts appeared. This one remained unchanged by order of the first emperor. I guess he wasn’t emperor back then.” She glanced sideways at Dallion. “There was a time when the imperial family were the only ones who lived here, but that changed once the third emperor changed the domain to create the imperial palace. This place has been empty ever since.”

“Until there was a need for overseers,” Dallion added.

“No. We were always here. But as Star touched, we weren’t viewed as equals.”

The walking continued for another fifteen minutes, until, as if out of nowhere, Dallion found himself at the end of the city. It was a strange sensation. He could feel the giant bubble that was the capital’s domain, but there seemed to be a void within it.

This is the way out?

The part where the original village touched the external wall was barely a few feet wide, but for anyone with abilities, that was enough. Technically, Dallion had already left the city. Going beyond the wall would be no different as far as the emperor was concerned.

“Won’t any of the overseers care?” he asked.

“No. This is the only privilege they have. While in the district, they can pretend to be humans. Sometimes they even leave the capital for a few hours to see what it’s like. Occasionally, they help us get out as well. You’ll be able to leave on your own, I take it?”

“Yep.” Even without magic, Dallion had learned how to go through walls using the area realm.

“Go for it. Just keep in mind that the opening is a lot smaller on the outside.”

“I get the idea.” Dallion drew a spell circle in the air.

A minuscule portal appeared in the wall’s blind spot.

“Thanks for the help.” He placed his hand in the middle of the shimmering portal. “Don’t be hard on Ber. I owe him one.”

“Sure. Just don’t ever tell him that.”

A split second later and Dallion was outside of the wall. Only now did it become apparent how differently he felt; as if stepping out of a sticky pool of mud. Some of the sensations of the capital were still lingering, but he could feel the freshness of the air.

All my problems are over with one single step, he thought.

It would have been nice, but with life, as one set of problems vanished, a new one came to replace them.

Immediately, Dallion cast a spell to send a message to Euryale. Instead of writing the message, Dallion used his magic threads to create a circle on the piece of paper he had summoned, along with a brief explanation.

Do you seriously think that she’ll reply, dear boy? Adzorg asked in an accusatory tone.

“There are a few ways I could think of.”

That’s not exactly the point. The mage sighed. You started a party at your place while she was having an audience with the emperor, then fled the city. I would have thought that a head’s up would be the least you could—

A circle of magic flashed before Dallion. A moment later, Euryale was standing there.

“Knew you’d make it,” Dallion smiled. “How did it go?”

While the gorgon had no spell craft skills, she had the second-best thing: an active spell within the piece of paper Dallion had sent.

Euryale’s snakes move about, getting used to the sudden change in surroundings. Clearly, magic had a different effect than entering awakened realms.

“You couldn’t wait to get out on your own.” The gorgon’s snakes stirred as she spoke. “Might have been for the better.”

“Huh?”

“The emperor refused. According to him, there’s nothing to worry about and even if the Azures have managed to summon a few nymphs they wouldn’t be a big issue.” A cluster of snakes turned Dallion’s direction. “There won’t be any cooperation. You won’t be joining me to the remaining Azures’ strongholds.”

Why had the emperor refused to let him go? The man didn’t seem particularly interested in Dallion after he had become a noble. One would think he wouldn’t care if one of his subjects mopped up what was left of the enemy forces. Could Alien have had a role to play in this? It wouldn’t be beneath him. As Archmage, the old man had the emperor’s ear, so he could have made the demand.

“So, we both sneak out?” Dallion asked.

“I’m still caught up in a few things at the palace. And I don’t think waiting for me would be the best idea.”

Another complication, though this time it didn’t sound like an insurmountable one.

“After you finish, return to the capital. I’ll find you.”

The gorgon nodded.

“Be careful. The emperor isn’t the forgiving type.”

“Only if I don’t bring him good news,” Dallion said. “After I’m done, I don’t think leaving the capital will be a problem. If not… It was fun being an imperial for a few days.”

“You’ll never change.” Euryale smiled. “Where are you going?”

“To where it started.”

“The vortex fields? They’re crawling with hunters and mercenaries. I doubt there’ll be anything left by the time you get there.”

“Not the field—the dwarf capital. There’s something I need to pick up from there.” Dallion sighed internally. “Something with which to settle my final debt.”