“Duke! Just now, we’ve received reports that phenomena similar to the spatial rifts we encountered have appeared and disappeared in other parts of the Empire!”

The atmosphere shifted in an instant.

“What do you mean by ‘other parts’? You’re saying it’s definitely not the North?”

“Yes, sir. Knights and informants stationed in various regions by Peleta have almost simultaneously sent signals via magical devices indicating rift occurrences. We don’t have detailed information yet due to the urgency! The steward is currently continuing to receive updates.”

All trace of warmth vanished from Kishiar’s expression. He gently freed himself from Yuder’s support and gave a curt nod befitting the Duke of Peleta.

“We need to hear what Enk has to say. Lead the way.”

“Yes, sir!”

Yuder followed Kishiar, exhaling slowly in his mind.

There’s not even a moment to catch our breath.

Of course, he was fine. But Kishiar wasn’t. It was concerning that he had to keep pushing forward without a chance to even check his condition.

Still... rifts in other regions? Is this really happening?

The soldier guided them to the uppermost area of Peleta’s outer fortress—a place Yuder hadn’t seen, despite thinking he’d explored most of the grounds.

It was a space dedicated to carrier birds. An open-air room without windows, where countless long perches were mounted. Birds of all shapes and sizes flew in and out of the wall openings, landing on the rods to eat or rest. They walked past flapping wings and hopping birds until they found Enk.

She was standing in front of a desk buried in an enormous mountain of letters. While the sheer volume of paper was astonishing, Yuder’s gaze was pulled more toward the countless ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) magic stone orbs displayed behind her.

...I’d heard Peleta used magical devices to communicate with many regions, but this is on another level.

Emergency communication artifacts that emit colored lights when a signal is received. Though the function was simple, they were prohibitively expensive—most regions could only afford one at best. And yet here, they were scattered like grains of sand. It was enough to make even the Imperial Central Administration weep.

This space was undoubtedly the nerve center and core strength of Peleta, cultivated and maintained by Kishiar himself.

“Enk.”

“Ah, my lord. You’ve arrived.”

Enk stood quickly from where she’d been reading her endless pile of letters. Her face, too, looked far more fatigued than usual.

“I heard about the abnormal rift sightings in other regions. I’d like to know what’s going on.”

“The individuals Your Grace ordered dispatched recently sent emergency signals regarding the appearance of rifts. According to a letter that just arrived from the northwestern region, a black rift suddenly appeared near a city and then vanished without releasing anything.”

Kishiar turned his gaze toward Yuder. Their eyes met—and even without exchanging words, Yuder knew they were thinking the same thing.

Could the rift incidents that started in the North have triggered similar phenomena elsewhere? Or is there another cause entirely?

“Were there any damages?”

To that, Enk answered cautiously.

“No mention of damage was included in the report.”

“If it vanished without releasing anything, I suppose that’s plausible... but we should still confirm for sure.”

Just then, another carrier bird flew in through an opening and landed in front of Enk.

“Excuse me a moment.”

She untied the capsule from the bird’s leg and quickly scanned the tiny letter.

“...This one, just in from the East, says the same. A few locations reported black rifts appearing and disappearing. No mention of casualties here either. At this rate, I suspect the rest will say the same.”

As expected. Over the next several hours, more letters continued to arrive—each one echoing the same reports. Kishiar lined them up and, after staring for a moment, gave a firm order.

“You did well to report quickly, but the information is still lacking. We need to determine whether there truly were no casualties, and get more details about how the rifts appeared and what happened before and after. Issue instructions to investigate.”

“Understood.”

But before Enk could begin drafting new letters, the answer they sought arrived unexpectedly.

“My lord, the Northern Cavalry branch has just received an overwhelming number of urgent letters. They say you should check them immediately.”

They were letters sent by Cavalry members currently on leave across the Empire. Yuder reached into the bundle and opened the first one he grabbed—it was from Kachien Bollenvalt, who had traveled south to visit family. The letter, written in Cavalry cipher and Kachien’s usually neat hand, now appeared scrawled in haste.

—A black rift appeared and vanished near Matakam, close to Ullan. I arrived too late to see it firsthand, but I initially thought the locals had imagined it. However, after interviewing witnesses, I’m convinced it was extremely similar to the ones we saw in the South. I’m sending this letter urgently to inform you, Commander...

Despite the haste, Kachien had included detailed information: location, number of witnesses, size of the rift, how long it lasted—everything they’d been missing.

And nearly every other Cavalry member had done the same.

Some had heard news in their hometowns. Others had directly witnessed abnormal rifts while on break and immediately investigated before writing their findings in letters. Yuder even spotted a report from young Jimmy. At that moment, he could only remain silent.

The knights stationed by Peleta were deployed to spot abnormalities as soon as they appeared—so it makes sense they responded quickly. But these guys weren’t even instructed to act. And yet they responded this fast? And in such detail...

Each letter ended the same way:

—I will continue to gather information on the rift. Please issue orders. I will move as soon as I receive them.

Yuder was overwhelmed by a feeling he couldn’t easily define. A mix of disbelief, admiration—and something unexpectedly warm.

Yes. Strangely warm.

Even while on leave, they hadn’t forgotten they were part of the Cavalry. No one had turned away from their duty. No one had said it was too much trouble or that they were too scared.

No one had made them promise this before leaving. No one had been ordered to do it. And yet they all acted exactly the same, as if coordinated.

We never even taught them this...

“Hm... Looks like we can cancel the order I gave Enk.”

Standing beside Yuder, reading through the letters, Kishiar let out something like a laugh and murmured.

Yuder nodded slightly.

“Thanks to these guys, there’s no need for us to make a move right away.”

“Exactly. It feels like an unexpected reinforcement force has appeared. I thought it’d be difficult to mobilize the Cavalry, but because they were all scattered on vacation... we actually have more cards to play.”

There was a glimmer of amusement in Kishiar’s eyes.

“This situation’s getting quite interesting.”

According to the letters, the rifts had appeared all over: East, West, South, North. In cities, villages, mountains, and along coasts.

And all of them shared one trait—none of the rifts released monsters. They all vanished without event.

“We’ll need to trouble those on leave a bit. For now, tell them to remain in their current regions and continue gathering any rift-related reports. If anything happens, have them relay the information to us immediately through the fastest channels at each branch.”

“Yes, sir.”

“With something this widespread, His Majesty the Emperor might even withdraw his previous position and send me a message after all... I wonder.”