Back in the shipwreck in which Zoemi was found out by the faceless god, Guide, a certain person walked through the darkness...
Kiorterell, the last living member of the Ghosts of Bellcephora stuck in the body of the half-breed spirit power user that he possessed, bit his lips holding his breath, and approached the star chart on the rotting, moss-covered wall...
He was sure he knew what it was, although George had never seen it, he was told about it by his father.
A star chart allowed the star power user to gain access to the teachings of whichever law they had the potential in, giving the adept the instructions for training on the appropriate level.
There were only a few of those in existence, and all of them were created for the ships transporting active soldiers – despite being extremely hard to create, the star charts were a better investment than actually letting powerful teachers leave their sects and risk their lives out in the uncertain sea expeditions.
...at least while the line of death was still in place...
"...this brat had been checked by his father, but never actually touched a star chart to make sure..."
Kiroterell muttered to himself, reaching out his hand and touching the base of the chart from which thin lines connected every star in each constellation.
The moment he did that, the star chart came alive and started glowing with a faint ephemeral light.
Some of the constellations remained dark, but not all.
The ones which George's body had the potential to use light up indicating the mastery he could achieve.
Gemini shone the brightest, with only two stars remaining dark.
Taurus and Capricorn were lighted up half on half...
But Kiroterell was focused on a very specific constellation which law would help him immensely at the moment.
"...ah~!"
And just as he hoped for, the Virgo constellation shone with two stars.
"Haha... AHAHAHA~! Yes! I knew it, that brat's father was the one with no talent in the law of Virgo, that's why he could not pass on any teachings about it! I might be stuck in this body, but old Kiorterell didn't say his final word yet!"
The last remaining member of the Ghosts of Bellcephora trembled to form the relieved laughter and cheered.
"Now then, how were you supposed to make the star chart share its teaching..."
Kiorterell muttered to himself and closed his eyes, searching through George's memories.
"...there it is~ Keeper of the stars, Guide, away from their home, this lost child seeks your help!"
The last Ghosts snickered and declared, putting his other hand directly on the two lighted-up stars of the Virgo constellation.
------
The first order of business – after pushing the blame for the property damage onto the easiest and most sinister scapegoat, Cherro - had to be confirmation of the fate of the Barbariacca nation. Many aristocrats didn't want to believe the extent of damage that the single bastard enlisting the help of century-old sages was able to decimate the entire country- and destroy the entire capital of the Bellcephora kingdom - but that turned out to be a fact and not just lipservice putting the king in a slightly more favorable light.
Truth be told, the confirmation of the Barbariacca nation's demise helped convince some of the more stubborn nobles that Cherro's threat wasn't just a small-scale incident – and dealing with it became one of the cornerstones of the trust in the new monarch.
Unfortunately, that was one of the few grossly problematic events that the hard work of the young king and his advisors – the group that included his former fiancee, Miriette Lisea Espine, and the former member of the Ghosts of Bellcephora who was officially acknowledged as the part of and a representative of the Banemor family until the return of the young lord Zoemi – managed to put a positive spin on.
The aftereffect of destroying the entire city – the capital of the kingdom no less – had left thousands of people without homes or even food – most of those people had trouble readjusting to the new way of life and often straight up demanded compensation despite being lucky they even survived the incident in the first place.
Despite being given shelter and food – which already put a strain on the kingdom's treasury, countless letters of complaint would flood into the royal castle bothering the already overworked king.
And those letters of complaint and reports of increased banditry – claiming that some of the bandits were magic users.
As every piece of evidence available suggested, those weren't just some rouge Ghosts of Bellcephora impostors or abandoned bastards seeking revenge, but the fallen nobles that chose to regain their fortune through less than lawful and justified means – mainly stripping travelers from their belongings and often taking their lives.
It was truly a kick in the guts for the new ruler.
The restoration and rebuilding of the capital was a huge operation that enlisted the help of every available earth magician, showcasing the earth attribute to the public eye and making it one of the most respected ones amongst the commoners who could return to their normal lives in no time.
The public favoring an attribute that normally was mocked as being the least noble was a blow that many sons and daughters of lower noble families were unable to take while also facing financial problems while commoners seemed to thrive – which made it even easier for them to chose violence and the path of crime.
That problem became so severe that the King's Guard, an elite group meant only for protecting the royal family was turned into a rapid-response team solely for dealing with the magic-using bandits, which wasn't met with a warm embrace by some of the members used to fighting and dealing with serious threats instead of chasing low-life-turned mages through muddy woods and damp caverns.
Many members of that previously elite group ended up submitting resignation letters but not before adding to the pile of complaints with their own lengthy reports.
And staying on the subject of troublesome reports - numerous sheets of paper written with no spaces left kept arriving from all around the coastline of the Bellcephora kingdom informed the king and his about the sudden disappearance of the uncrossable barrier, line of death – and to make it even more shocking, the repeated sightings of ships sailing on the horizon where there should not be any humans alive, let alone thriving enough to built aid ships.
There were definite differences in the shapes of the ships and sails they used, not to mention completely unknown and never seen before the flags they sailed under.
Some even suggested the existence of other islands or even continents and asked for monetary help to found the exploratory expedition into the unknown, but that had to be put on hold because of the diminishing amount of mana in the air and water the farther away from the previous line of death a ship moved.
The royal treasury could not afford the expense, but both the house of Banemor, Espine, and the remains of the Perserios family did not hold back and pumped a generous amount of gold into the exploration – they reasoning was simple.
The faster they discover the new land, the higher the chance of finding Zoemi.
After crossing the area of the former line of death, the sailors on every ship that left the shores of the kingdom of Bellcephora would complain about the mana-depletion-like symptoms despite not using any magic, which would get more and more severe the further they sailed which turned out a problem that had to be dealt with in order for their mission to succeed.
While that happened, the ships from the other side also were trying to come closer and closer, but they would always turn back at some point, proving that the sailors from Bellcephora were not the only ones dealing with some never before encountered phenomenons.
Still, with the determination clearly on both sides, it was only a matter of time when someone two parties would meet.
In those uncertain times that were about to come, the only thing that seemed definite was that the people of the land of mana would have to prepare themselves for the changes that will soon enter their portion of the world that just opened up for all the new mysteries.
...and while they were at it, the people who knew Zoemi all prayed for his safety, quick recovery, and even faster return home...
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