Anagin Chronicles

Chapter 206. To Delphi (2)

Master.

Come ‍​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌‌‌​‌‍to think of it, there wasn’t much Anagin actually knew about him.

Whether ‍​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‍it was carpentry, farming, or medicine, he excelled at everything. Anagin only knew that he was incredibly talented and strong enough to beat even him senseless, but when it came to the man himself, he knew next to nothing.

He ‍​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‍didn’t know his name, where he came from, where his hometown was, or even how old he was.

The ‍​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‍only thing he really knew was that Master had come all the way to Anagin’s hometown because he was searching for something.

Beyond ‍​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‍that, whenever he tried to learn more, he was always stopped by Master’s characteristically slippery way of speaking and the occasionally unapproachable aura he gave off.

Well, Anagin had never been interested enough to ask in the first place.

Anyway, because of that, even after hearing that Master might be one of the Rebels, he wasn’t particularly surprised.

Rather, he found it completely believable.

After all, the pressure he had felt from Erysichthon was something he had also felt from Master. Now that he thought about it, the two did have something in common.

’Still, let’s not jump to conclusions too early.’

Inside the airship they had taken from the fisherman mage.

Anagin lay alone in the captain’s cabin, lost in thought.

After all, he couldn’t say with absolute certainty that Master was the one who had attacked the Temple of Delphi. At most... about 98 percent.

Who was to say there wasn’t at least one other strange man in the world with golden hair, a golden beard, and flesh-colored gloves besides Master? There were all kinds of bizarre people out there.

Therefore, Anagin didn’t completely rule out that remaining 2 percent possibility. Why it was exactly 2 percent, even he didn’t know.

Knock- Knock-

As he was thinking about one thing after another, someone knocked on the captain’s cabin door. Just from the sound, he had a good idea who it was.

”Come in.”

As soon as Anagin gave permission, Sphinx entered.

Along with Horse-head in his human form.

”Haaah......”

Both of them looked as exhausted as if they had just finished grueling manual labor.

Ah, maybe ‘as if’ wasn’t the right expression. They had actually spent all that time piloting the airship with Spanich, so they really had done grueling physical work.

However, Anagin was not a man who cared about such trivial details.

With great dignity, he asked why they had come to the captain’s cabin. If they had shown up without any business whatsoever, they should prepare to be punish—

”Didn’t you say to come back after we learned how to pilot the airship?”

”Did I?”

”Let me go. I’m seriously going to kill this bastard.”

Horse-head, who possessed absolutely no sense of humor, created a trident and tried to stab Anagin.

Sphinx barely held on to his sanity as he stopped Horse-head.

”Please endure it. I’m enduring it too.”

He had only said it to cheer them up because they looked exhausted, yet this was the response he got.... Anagin couldn’t hide his disappointment.

Naturally, Sphinx’s response was cold.

”Brother. Don’t tempt me too. You’re making me want to stab you too.”

”Was it really that hard?”

At Anagin’s question, the playful commotion died down, replaced by a heavy, serious atmosphere.

Sphinx brought over two chairs from the corner, sat down with Horse-head, and began speaking.

”It wasn’t as hard as I expected. Piloting a ship basically requires strength and stamina, but we’re...”

Sphinx trailed off, but Anagin understood what he meant.

Sphinx was a monster, and Horse-head was an elemental.

It might have sounded discriminatory, but work like this simply wasn’t that difficult for them.

”Then why do you both look so exhausted?”

”Because there are so many things to keep track of.”

Sphinx began listing the various components necessary to pilot an airship.

Things like the Bronze Navigation Disc, which allowed them to read the wind currents that moved the airship, the Wind Clock, which displayed the ship’s speed and travel time, and the Sky Compass, which kept them oriented even in the vast sky.

”They’re all incredibly delicate, so you have to check them constantly. It drains your mental energy a lot more than you’d expect.”

In other words, the convenience came at the cost of requiring constant attention.

And that wasn’t all.

”According to Mr. Spanich, piloting the airship isn’t the end of it. It also has to be maintained properly.”

”You two are going to have a lot of work to do.”

”What are you talking about? You have to do it too.”

”What are you talking about?”

Anagin shot upright in alarm.

He wasn’t joking.

He had absolutely no intention of learning how to pilot an airship.

It sounded like far too much trouble.

There was a reason he had dumped the responsibility onto Sphinx and Horse-head in the first place.

”No, Brother. You have to learn it. Absolutely.”

”But why? Are we short on manpower?”

”No. It’s because if only the two of us keep flying it, I think we’ll crash the airship someday.”

Sphinx said something terrifying as if it were perfectly normal.

”Then you’d be in danger too— Ah.”

Anagin stopped himself halfway through his rebuttal.

Sphinx could fly.

And Horse-head was an elemental.

The chances of either of them being seriously endangered by an airship crash were relatively low.

The one in the greatest danger would be Anagin himself.

He wasn’t sure whether an elemental would survive falling from such a height, but since Sphinx could always help Horse-head, the fact remained that Anagin would be the one in the most danger.

Faced with such a reasonable argument, Anagin eventually promised to at least learn the basics of piloting an airship.

”Haaah, now I have to learn that too. My life is so miserable......”

Anagin sincerely pitied himself.

The whole reason he had decided to head to the Temple of Delphi after debating whether to go or not was so Sphinx and Horse-head could learn to fly the airship, allowing him to travel comfortably.

And now that dream had completely fallen apart.

Nothing ever seemed to go the way he wanted.

It almost felt as though the heavens themselves were testing him.

“Mr. Spanich would be dumbfounded if he heard that.”

For a moment, Anagin almost nodded unconsciously.

After all, Spanich’s home had been destroyed because of Anagin, and now he was working in Corinthos.

Saying something like that in front of him would have taken an incredible lack of conscience.

As it happened, Spanich had learned to pilot an airship because he had first been assigned as an escort, then became a mechanic when they were short-handed, and somehow ended up learning navigation as well....

’What a tear-jerking story.’

Still, Anagin refused to admit it so easily and deliberately changed the subject.

“You seem to have chatted quite a bit with Spanich?”

”Well.... We officially introduced ourselves first. Properly, by exchanging names.”

Sphinx looked oddly proud.

It wasn’t exactly something Anagin wanted to hear about, but since Sphinx seemed happy, he kept listening.

Maybe if Sphinx stayed in a good mood, she wouldn’t make him learn how to pilot the airship.

”I think they lost all of their territory after fighting you. A practitioner family lives off its reputation.... Not that he blames you.”

”Really?”

”I think he’s being sincere. In fact, he says he respects the choice you made.”

Anagin believed Sphinx.

Spanich himself had said something similar before.

Besides, judging from the kind of person he seemed to be, it sounded like something he would genuinely say.

He hadn’t known the man for very long, but sometimes you could get a pretty accurate read on someone even after only a short time.

Sphinx went on to tell him about what Spanich had been doing since coming to Corinthos, how he’d been living, and various other personal stories.

Apparently, while helping Spanich navigate and learning navigation from him, they had spent a great deal of time talking.

After listening to everything, Anagin offered a brief impression.

“It seems a lot of things really happened.”

”Funny. Mr. Spanich said the same thing about you.”

”Why?”

”Well......”

Sphinx trailed off and gestured toward Horse-head sitting beside him.

”Because you contracted with an elemental, and your name has appeared in Talaria Weekly several times.”

”Ah.”

”Maybe that’s why, but he doesn’t seem unhappy about being drafted this time either.”

To send Anagin as Corinthos’s representative, Halysis had assigned only Spanich to accompany him.

Alone, without any additional support.

Anagin had wondered if that had put him in an awkward position, but apparently that wasn’t the case.

”Personally, I think Mr. Spanich wanted to participate in the Midas subjugation. Besides, I don’t think life in Corinthos really suits him.”

”Why? Is it a bad place to live?”

”It’s not that it’s a bad place. I just don’t think it fits his personality. Mr. Spanich grew up somewhere peaceful like western Anapik. Corinthos was probably too intense for him.”

”Now that you mention it, I kind of want to see it for myself.”

He found himself curious about what kind of place could make Spanich feel so uncomfortable.

”Don’t you want to talk to Mr. Spanich sometime?”

”Out of nowhere? I don’t really have anything to say.”

”A conversation doesn’t have to have a purpose, does it? Besides, the fact that you listened to everything I said without interrupting makes it seem like you’re interested in Mr. Spanich too.”

For once, Sphinx looked straight through him.

It annoyed Anagin a little, but he didn’t get angry.

Instead, he admitted it honestly.

”Well... I guess that’s true.”

Perhaps because he hadn’t expected such an easy admission, Sphinx was the one left speechless.

”Then...?”

”Ah, I’m still not going to talk to him separately. Unless something comes up to talk about. My head’s just a bit of a mess right now.”

It wasn’t a lie.

Ever since Master had come to mind, his thoughts really had become tangled.

If Master truly belonged to the Rebels, then there were so many things he wanted to know.

For example, why had he come to Anagin’s hometown?

Had he been plotting something from the beginning?

Did he really know nothing about the plague?

Whenever questions like that surfaced, his head started to ache.

Sphinx, who had seen Anagin suffer headaches before, didn’t press him to speak with Spanich any further.

She probably wanted to help Anagin put the past behind him.

But Anagin didn’t particularly want to do that.

Whether he let go of the past or not, nothing Anagin had done would simply disappear.

And if they talked like that... he felt like he might actually grow attached to the guy....

His instincts told him that was something he absolutely shouldn’t allow.

* * *

Anagin tried to keep a reasonable distance from Spanich, but that didn’t mean he deliberately avoided him.

They saw each other during mealtimes and exchanged casual conversation.

They simply never talked beyond that.

Of course, even that soon came to an end.

”We’re arriving now.”

Even though they had intentionally traveled slowly so they could learn how to pilot and maintain the airship, they had already reached the Temple of Delphi.

The Temple of Delphi had come back into view much sooner than expected.

However, it looked nothing like Anagin remembered.

The lively Festival Village, which had resembled a city with its countless entertainment establishments despite lacking city walls, had completely disappeared.

In its place stood ruins that had yet to be cleared away, armed groups occupying the area between them, camp-following merchants, and beggars.

Whatever battle had taken place here, the atmosphere was undeniably grim.

One only had to look at the sharp, suspicious gazes directed at Anagin’s group as they disembarked from the airship.

To an outsider, it would have looked as though Anagin himself had attacked the Temple of Delphi.

”Was it always like this?”

Horse-head, hidden beneath Sphinx’s hood, asked.

”No. It used to be far livelier.”

”It seems more serious than I expected.”

Sphinx and Spanich each spoke, both clearly shocked.

Unlike them, Anagin carefully shrank the airship and stored it inside Pairon, his Interspatial Bag. Just in case someone tried to steal it.

”Where are we going first?”

After surveying the surroundings, Sphinx asked.

She had only heard they were coming here, not their exact destination.

”Where else? I told you we’re visiting the Temple of Delphi.”

”Ah...... Right away?”

”Yeah.”

”Will... they actually let us?”

Sphinx glanced again at the armed groups that were still watching them warily.

Everyone seemed suspicious of them, making it doubtful they would simply allow them to head to the Temple of Delphi.

If things went wrong, it looked like a fight could easily break out.

Of course, Anagin neither knew nor cared about any of that.

”It’s not like we need anyone’s permission.”

Anagin headed straight toward the Temple of Delphi.

Originally, he had wanted to fly there directly in the airship, but Spanich had said that would violate proper etiquette, so they had compromised.

The whole trip was already enough of a hassle. If someone got in his way now, he was going to be annoyed.

Whoever had said that bad premonitions never missed the mark had been right.

As Anagin approached the Temple of Delphi, someone predictably stepped in front of him.

”Hey. Stop right there.”

Judging by his appearance, he was a practitioner.

Was he one of those participating in the Midas subjugation?

”This area is under restriction right now. You can’t go any farther.”

”By what authority?”

If it had been one of the priests who actually belonged to the Temple of Delphi, that would have been one thing.

But this man clearly wasn’t, so Anagin challenged him instead.

”Others are inspecting the situation first.”

”I’m inspecting it too. To see if the Oracle really was turned into gold.”

”I don’t know who you are, but don’t get so arroga—”

”Anagin?”

Just as Anagin was debating whether or not to punch the practitioner blocking his path, a third voice interrupted from the distance.

A bright young woman’s voice that felt completely out of place amid the desolate scenery.

”Huh? It really is Anagin!”

The owner of the voice was Irida of the Wind.

A member of the New Argonaut Expedition Team, the younger sister of The Great Warrior Atalanta, and a princess of the Kingdom of Arcadia.

Wearing equipment far superior to what she had before, she recognized Anagin from afar and ran toward him.

The practitioner blocking his path awkwardly stepped back in surprise, and in that brief moment, Irida used the blessing of wind to rapidly close the distance until she was standing right in front of Anagin.

”It really is you!”

Thud!

Irida greeted him by placing a hand on his shoulder.

Sphinx and Spanich were startled by her sudden appearance.

So was Anagin.

She was acting far too familiar.

Well, they were friends....

Ah, wait.

”It’s so good to see you again! I thought you might come, but the others were skeptical, so I figured maybe we wouldn’t get to meet.”

”The others...?”

”Tramachus, Thyreos, and Lynceus.”

Tramachus of Flame, Thyreos of Reinforcement, and Lynceus of Farsight.

Irida listed the members of the New Argonaut Expedition Team.

”They’re here?”

”Of course. Over there.”

When Irida pointed her finger, those bastards could be seen.

Tramachus.

Thyreos.

Lynceus.

It truly felt like it had been a long time since they’d last met.

The moment Anagin saw them....

Tatatatatak!

He sprinted over and planted a kick squarely into Tramachus’s chest.

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