I Became a Ruined Character in a Dark Fantasy

Elia plopped down onto a chair, her mismatched eyes still gleaming with curiosity.

"Well, for now. Not perfect, but good enough." Ian shrugged and stepped toward the empty seat between them.

As he did, he glanced briefly at Lily, who lay sprawled and fast asleep on the crude bed against the opposite wall.

On the floor beside her, their gear lay neatly arranged by type atop a spread-out cloak. The fastidious organization was instantly recognizable.

Sitting down, Ian set his plate on the table and added, "I heard you had a rough time preparing all this food. Good work, Elia."

"It wasn’t that hard. The fairies helped a lot," Elia replied, scratching her cheek.

Of course, even with help, preparing food for hundreds couldn’t have been easy.

With a small grin, Ian scooped up a spoonful of stew and tasted it.

"As expected, the best-smelling dish was yours."

It was excellent, good enough to remind him of home.

"I’ve never tasted stew this good in my life. And it’s not just me. Everyone was eating like it was their first time having food," Miguel added with a laugh.

"It wasn’t that good," Elia insisted, her cheeks flushing faintly as she waved off the praise. "Besides, the people here haven’t had proper food in a long time. Anything we gave them would’ve tasted good."

"Eh, I don’t know about that," Miguel said, smacking his lips. "But from what I saw, they’ve been surviving on whatever they could grab." He grimaced as he turned to Ian. "Fish, birds, turtles... and I swear I saw some horrible, squishy things with way too many legs laid out. Those had to be monsters."

"Probably octopus or squid," Ian muttered.

Miguel blinked and looked at him.

Ian took another bite of stew, ignoring Miguel’s curious look, and asked, "So, anything else I should know?"

The question was merely to buy time for a relaxed meal, though Elia continued to watch him with curiosity.

Miguel shrugged. "Well, nothing much. No one had the energy to cause trouble."

"About the count’s adjutant..." said Elia, cautiously.

Ian looked at her, and she lowered her voice. "After we finished preparing the food and were taking a short break, he came up to me and started asking questions."

Miguel frowned deeply. "What? Why didn’t you say that earlier?"

Ian, however, gestured with his chin for her to continue, his spoon slowing.

Elia glanced at Miguel before continuing, "He asked if you really became the new master of the Magic Tower, how those people fell to corruption, and how you found the tower... things like that."

Ian narrowed his eyes. "A spellcaster, huh?"

Elia nodded. "Yes. You wouldn’t have guessed from his appearance. When I asked where he belonged, he said blue."

Miguel snorted, downing the water in his cup. "Sounds like he’s got something to hide. Got nervous and started probing first, I’d say."

Ian offered a slight nod, but Elia shook her head. "I don’t think that was it. If anything, he sounded resentful of the Magic Tower. He said it’s not just the Gray Tower that deserves punishment."

Miguel blinked, while Ian’s lips twisted slightly. "That’s interesting."

It wasn’t just Theodore’s expression from earlier that came to mind.

"It sounded like he was wondering if you knew how to lift the Magic Tower’s restrictions."

"So what, he’s planning to trade the location of the Blue Tower?"

Elia nodded, still keeping her voice low. "Maybe. He said he’d ask you directly. I didn’t know enough to answer."

Now that he thought about it, the response seemed instinctive. She was only proficient in basic arcane spells, but she was a mage nonetheless.

Chewing slowly with a faint smile, Ian finally murmured, "If things go well, I might end up learning the location of another tower."

"What do you mean?"

"Wait, do you actually know how to break the tower’s restrictions?" Elia asked, eyes wide, following Miguel’s question.

Ian let out a short laugh, shaking his head. "No, but Theodore might meet someone who does—if he survives long enough."

Miguel and Elia blinked, exchanging glances.

As Ian resumed eating his stew, Elia leaned forward and asked, "Is this connected to what you discussed with the count?"

"Something like that. The plan’s changed a bit."

Nodding, Ian glanced between Elia and Miguel before continuing, "Hector’s fleet won’t be coming with us."

"Huh?" Miguel frowned

"Then what will they do?" Elia asked in confusion.

Ian took another bite, then slowly lowered his wooden spoon as he continued, "If we head straight south from here, there’s an island ruled by a corrupted lord. A traitor from the Empire. The count’s going to lead his fleet there and launch an attack."

Holding his spoon just above the plate, he added, "While we hide somewhere on the island."

"So they’re going to draw the heretics’ attention for us," Elia said, blinking.

Scooping up another spoonful, Ian nodded. "More like the attention of the entire archipelago."

"No, that’s insane... that’s basically suicide, isn’t it?" Miguel asked, almost in disbelief.

Elia seemed to be thinking the same thing.

Chewing, Ian let out a chuckle. "They’ll actually have better odds that way than sticking with us. Once the heathen fleets start gathering, they’ll retreat straight into the Inner Sea."

"To lure them away?" Elia added right away.

Ian nodded. "Yeah. They’ll keep it just barely within reach. He seemed confident. As I said, he’s an apostle of Lu Logis."

Slowly rotating the spoon in his hand, Ian looked at Elia. "And while that’s happening, we’ll slip out quietly and go find the sanctuary those heretics are guarding."

"So we break into an empty house and smash everything inside..."

At Miguel’s dazed remark, Ian let out a quiet snort. "Or, in terms of the Order—‘purification.’"

Miguel coughed awkwardly, then added, "But, there’s no guarantee every ship will follow them, is there?"

Shrugging, Ian took another bite of stew. "Of course not. Some will stay behind. Those are ours to deal with. But either way, it’ll be easier than going straight for the sanctuary."

Elia, who had been stroking her chin, slowly nodded. "If the count manages to escape safely, it’ll be an excellent diversion. And the heretics will be weakened significantly. Their power comes from that ancient god, after all."

"Raskagin. That’s what they call it here," Ian added, looking at her. "The problem is, there are two possible locations for the sanctuary. And they’re fairly far apart."

Miguel frowned as he asked, "Huh? What is this, some kind of corrupted church or something?"

Ian let out a chuckle. "The count thinks only one of them is real, but who knows? Either way, we can’t be certain."

He turned to Elia and tilted his chin. "Go to the fortress library and dig up anything relevant while we still have time. We’ll head for whichever one seems more likely to be real."

Elia nodded. "Yes, I will, Godfather."

"I’ll go with her. I’m slow at reading, but I can help with the heavy lifting," added Miguel.

With a faint smile from her, Ian continued, "And while you’re at it, pass a message to Theodore. If things go well, tell him to head to Barnaso on the frontier."

As Elia blinked and looked back, Miguel added, "Isn’t that where you arrived when you crossed the inner sea?"

Ian nodded, scraping the bottom of his plate with his spoon. "Yeah. Tell him to find Ohara there. It won’t be perfect, but he’ll get what he wants. And let her know I’ve completed the request."

"Barnaso, Ohara, the request... Got it," Elia murmured under her breath, then nodded.

From the look in her eyes, she was clearly curious about how Ohara had managed to break the Magic Tower’s restrictions.

Ian, however, said nothing more and took another bite.

"Seeing how far you’re going with this, you must’ve decided the count isn’t a pawn of the Council," Elia added after watching him for a moment.

Ian shrugged and set his spoon down. "He could still be acting with everything he’s got. But from what I saw, I’d say you’re right. He even casually gave up the name of a bishop who’s clearly tied to the Council."

Elia’s eyes widened.

Miguel also fell silent, and Ian glanced toward the door as he added, "We’ll talk about that later. It’s not urgent right now."

"Wait, you’re stopping there?" Elia asked.

Ian let out a short laugh and tilted his head. "Sounds like Sanford and Charlotte are coming. They should hear this too."

Elia closed her eyes briefly, as if suppressing her curiosity, and nodded. "Alright."

The door opened immediately after.

"Victory to the Golden Demigod!" Sanford entered with an overly respectful greeting, Charlotte holding the door behind him.

"Please forgive my earlier rudeness, Your Grace. I was so startled and busy that I failed to properly offer my congratulations—"

Ian cut him off with a chuckle, "That’s enough, Sanford. I get the idea."

By then, Miguel and Elia had already exchanged glances and were rising from their seats.

"Go ahead and talk. I’ll head to the castle now," Elia said, nodding politely to both Sanford and Charlotte before stepping out.

"See you later." Miguel followed right behind her, giving Sanford a pat on the shoulder as he passed. "Hang in there, brother."

"Huh?"

As Sanford tilted his head and glanced at his shoulder, Ian gestured for Charlotte to block the door and patted the seat beside him with a smile.

"Come here. Have a seat. Looks like our deal needs a bit of adjustment."

The smile on Sanford’s face finally stiffened as he turned toward Ian.