The Max Level Hero Has Returned!

Chapter 1376

Aeria and Davey read the letter with anticipation.

- I can tell you about Empress Redimia's end, the tragedy of that day, and the last favor she asked of you. Come alone to Bernhardt Canyon, the site of the accident, on the Night of Syras. Someone might be watching, so try to meet as discreetly as possible.

The Night of Syras meant the evening the waning crescent moon rose. The Bernhardt Canyon was a massive gorge bordering the Lyndis Empire and the adjacent Goran Kingdom.

Aeria and Davey silently finished reading the letter and looked at each other.

“Where did it come from?”

“It came from a merchant company within the Lyndis Empire. But it has no sender, so someone must have slipped it in halfway.”

A respectable company that valued its reputation would never permit a letter without a sender.

So the possibility of it being surreptitiously added or being a fake courier was quite high.

“They told you to come alone? Are they crazy? And you actually want to go?”

“I don't remember anything from back then, Davey. My father said that either the shock or something else must have wiped out my memories entirely.”

Amnesia itself was not extremely rare. Aeria had even lost all her memories once before, so she had a strong aversion to forgetting things.

However, when Davey looked into her deep consciousness and found no buried memories, he judged that it wasn't just run-of-the-mill amnesia.

“That's why I want to know! I’ve always wondered what exactly I forgot from back then. But... I also know I can't really go alone.”

If one looked at it rationally, it was an event from over a decade before. It was very unlikely that knowing about it now would change anything for her.

Even so, her eyes showed that she desperately wanted to know the truth.

“Since you just broke the rule and told me, you might not get to hear the truth of that day.”

“But going into danger when I know you'd worry would mean I don't trust you.”

He couldn’t help but feel thankful to have such a thoughtful wife. Just as he trusted her, he figured she only said such words because she trusted him as well.

As that thought hit him, his body reacted first.

“Oh? Kyak!”

Davey quickly grabbed her slender arm, spun her around, and sat her down onto the chair he had been sitting on. Then, he kissed her and pulled away, watching her bury her red face in her hands.

Nearly three years into their marriage, he still didn't know if shyness was in her nature or just a kind of instinctive charm.

“Uuh.” She didn't know what to say.

Davey gave a smile and said, “Thank you for trusting me.”

“Who else in the world would I trust if not you?”

“More importantly, they told you to come alone. Everything will depend on who sent this.”

‘Is the sender truly trying to reveal the truth, or are they after Aeria?’

Only the anonymous sender could possibly know. The letter alone gave the same vibe as a kidnapper demanding money and telling a victim’s parents not to call the police, but it was too soon to backstab them based on just a feeling.

“First, there's something I need to check before we go,” Davey told her.

Aeria didn't understand. “To check...?”

“Jeo-Seung checked the records of Empress Redimia's soul. Apparently, her soul didn't ever pass on to the River of Souls.”

“What?” Her eyes widened. “What... do you mean?”

“As in it literally didn't pass on. Either her soul is wandering, or she isn't actually dead yet.”

Or, for some reason, she couldn’t pass on to the River of Souls.

Being extinguished would’ve left some trace or record, and since Jeo-Seung said there was none, that couldn't be it.

“Whatever the case, it seems like I’ll have to go to the actual site to find out anything. Since I have business there anyway, let's go together,” Davey offered.

“But if they know you’re there, do you think they’ll still give me the information?”

“Don't worry,” he assured her.

‘They won't know I'm there, even if they become time travelers.’

He suddenly called out, “Amy!”

“Did you call me, Your Highness?” Amy, who was walking down the hallway carrying a huge stack of documents, rushed over when he called her name. “Do you have a task for me?”

“Prepare for departure to the Contas Empire. We'll keep the entourage as small as possible. Take Reina and Princess Maria with you.”

“Princess Maria?”

She was the daughter of the current King of the Hyeon Empire as well as the friend of his sister, Tanya.

“Emperor Contas is hosting a conference soon. The ruler of the Hyeon Empire will also attend. It's been a long time since Maria saw her parents' faces.”

“Understood. I will make the preparations.”

“And you will attend,” he added.

“What?!”

Noting her surprise, Davey snapped his fingers. A faint light then began to gather around her.

“Your Highness? What is... this?”

“It's a high-level illusion magic that ensures others will see you as me. You will go to the Contas Empire through the most public route possible, and attend in my stead.”

“J-just a moment, Your Highness! You want me to stand in for you at such an important meeting?”

“You are Heins Territory’s acting lord. Therefore, even as a baron, you have the necessary authority.”

As a baron, she was one of the lowest-ranking nobles, but practically no one in the Rowane Kingdom dared to treat her carelessly.

“You can make the judgments and the decisions.”

She still felt overwhelmed. “That's too heavy a burden for me...”

“Amy.”

Once he called her name again, she closed her mouth and stared at him.

He continued, “It's okay to make mistakes. Consider it as gaining experience.”

‘That way, I can finally get some rest.’

Sure, her acting as his disguise was one reason, but the main reason was that he was exhausted from too much work lately.

* * *

The Bernhardt Canyon had been a completely restricted area for over a decade.

The first reason was the danger of frequent landslides, and the second was that the mana in the area was unusually twisted. If a novice mage entered, their mana circuits could twist up entirely.

Without doubt, it was one of the worst places on the continent.

In terms of feng shui, it was anything but a good location, always steeped in darkness.

A deep, dark night fog filled the surrounding area. It was dark already, and the thick fog made it feel even darker.

Of course, unlike Earth, the sky in Tionis was bright with dense starlight beyond the moon at night, casting a gentle glow, but that meant nothing within the fog.

Davey moved across space and arrived at their destination. He then put Aeria down, linked arms with her, and covered his entire body with an illusion to conceal himself.

The narrow path between the steep cliff faces looked unstable in many places.

“Do you remember anything?”

She had been in an accident there in the past. Since he had confirmed it was not simple memory loss, he asked if she felt any kind of trigger, but Aeria shook her head.

Instead, she wore a complex expression. “Nothing comes to mind, but... I don't know why, I feel so sad.”

“Let's go in. It's the waning crescent.”

The waning crescent of Syras, one of the two moons.

Hearing that, Aeria gripped the lamp she had prepared and pulled her robe tighter. She then summoned a spirit and had it wait nearby.

That done, she slowly walked toward the location written in the letter.

When Davey had investigated the gorge before, he’d only been able to conclude that it was an area prone to accidents, which was why it had been designated a restricted area.

The accidents weren’t just simple cliff collapses, either. Landslides happened nearly constantly, as if entire dirt mountains gave way under heavy rain and crumbled without end.

However, there didn’t seem to be any issues since they'd arrived, and there was no sign of major movements.

Of course, even if a landslide occurred, Davey believed a master-level individual could easily evade it.

Aeria nervously gulped and walked forward silently.

As he followed her quietly, concealing himself with illusion magic, he noticed her hand was trembling slightly.

“Ah...”

[It's alright. I'm right next to you, so don't be scared.] frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓

Aeria was startled and hesitated when he suddenly took her hand, but she soon smiled in relief and kept walking. Soon enough, her trembling went away.

The fog grew thicker the deeper they walked.

Davey then discovered that a strange mana flow phenomenon in the area was responsible for the thick fog. Even if one was hiding in the fog or darkness, it was meaningless to a Death Lord-class necromancer.

Davey couldn’t help but laugh, thinking of how others thought that it was a natural phenomenon. If anything, it was similar to a vampire's fog concealment. The difference was that the fog in the gorge was too clean, like a natural phenomenon.

After walking a little further, someone wearing a robe slowly approached Aeria.

The old man in a black robe said, “I was waiting for you.”

He appeared from the fog holding a lamp, stared quietly at Aeria, and looked around.

“You came alone, right?”

“I have the ability to take care of myself. My husband went to attend the conference in the Contas Empire, so it’s time you kept your promise,” she said calmly and firmly.

The old man quietly nodded.

“Very well,” he said with a grin. “Then I will explain what happened to Empress Redimia and you during the accident.”

“Before that, who are you? Why are you suddenly saying this now?”

“Are you curious?”

At his question, Aeria quietly nodded. “Yes.”

“I'm sorry, but knowing won't really matter to you...”

Rumble rumble.

Suddenly, the entire gorge began to shake.

Aeria, startled by the sudden boom, looked around with widened eyes. She felt a strange, alien feeling beyond the thick fog.

“Let me tell you an interesting story,” the old man began. “For a long time, unknown landslides frequently occurred in this gorge. The reason was completely unknown. There was no problem to be found when people investigated, yet whenever a few people entered past a certain point, it’d cause a landslide, as if punishing them like a vengeful spirit.”

Aeria frowned at his words. “What are you getting at?”

“And now, all the conditions to trigger a landslide have been met.”

Boom!!

A gigantic boulder fell. Falling debris wasn’t the main issue, but the landslide of earth and rock looked large enough that even an intermediate spirit would be helpless against it.

“I have no ill will toward you. So, as you go, I’ll tell you a part of the truth.” The old man smirked. “The accident that happened here long ago, you see...”

He seemed to have no doubt that Aeria would die there.

“It was because of the greed of Deorte El Lyndis, that vile man.”

Rumble rumble!!!

Finally, the earth and rock began to pour down.

Suddenly, a massive boulder crushed the old man.

“H-hey!” Startled, Aeria flinched and tried to run toward him, but Davey canceled his magic and grabbed her arm.

He embraced her and explained, “That's not a person. It's a lingering specter remaining here.”

Even if Aeria hadn't said anything, the old man probably would’ve repeated the exact same string of words, like an NPC.

However, the landslide wasn’t on the scale of something that the old man could have caused.

“T-the entire gorge is collapsing!”

“That's strange... He didn't seem to have the power to cause a landslide of this magnitude without preparation.”

Davey couldn’t figure out how the old man had triggered the landslide, but one thing had become certain—the person who’d sent the letter to Aeria always intended to harm her.

Boom!!

He condensed his divine power and shot it up toward the sky. A large hole instantly opened in the thick, artificial-looking fog.

Davey opened his phone and asked, “Aina, did you investigate the person who sent the letter?”

The answer came immediately, as if she had been waiting for him.

- Actually, about that. I found the culprit.

“What? Already? Who is it?”

- Belluard... the reckless son of Vashas that you met before.

Davey frowned at that name. “Are you sure he’s the one who sent it?”

- Yes, that's how it appears. But there’s something rather strange. The answer appeared so quickly that it’s as if someone intentionally spread it. My intuition says someone deliberately leaked this information.

Someone used Belluard to put Aeria in danger. That was what he concluded from their conversation.

If he had really let Aeria come alone, and something had gone wrong with her, he would’ve surely lost it and torn Belluard apart, consequences be damned.

Considering the current situation, someone in the world wanted that to happen.

“They played it smart, but they underestimated me.”

The only things he still didn't fully understand were the thick, artificial fog, like a Blood Polis spell, and the landslide, which seemed completely unnatural.

“Kyaaak!!”

Still amidst the debris pouring down, he wrapped one arm around Aeria and extended the other into the air.

“H-Honey?”

“Your honey has more than a few tricks up his sleeve.”

Crack! Crack!!

At the same time, the massive landslide pouring from the sky froze solid in ice. The flowing earth and rock instantly froze like one big sculpture, and Aeria stared at it blankly.

“Will that... melt?”

“It won't melt for a while, unless there’s some crazy external factor. It’s high-circle magic, after all.”

“Wow...”

Aeria trusted that Davey would protect her no matter what.

Afterward, he explained what he heard from Aina to her.

She looked troubled when she heard Belluard had sent the letter. “...So that child tried to assassinate me? It is certainly a possibility. He holds a grudge against Eva, after all. It would’ve been a form of revenge to remove me, whom he found unlikable and weak...”

Davey chimed in, “Whatever the reason, he knew a landslide would happen here. An assassination using a so-called natural phenomenon... The failure rate is quite high, but...”

If the natural phenomenon was guaranteed to occur based on a specific trigger, it’d be the best weapon for an assassination, free of any evidence.

They could attempt the assassination and simply deny any wrongdoing, claiming it was an accident since there was no direct evidence.

“They knew from the start. They knew a landslide would happen and bury everything. Specifically, when you entered.”

Davey figured that must’ve been why the Lyndis Empire had sealed off the area. And Belluard, who tried to assassinate Aeria, as well as the mysterious entities supporting him, most likely knew that fact.

If Aeria had died there, the Lyndis Empire would’ve concluded it to be an accident.

Davey, who was famously devoted to his wife, would then lose his mind and overthrow the Empire.

Well, even if he didn't overthrow it, he’d cause a massive disruption.

Of course, Belluard was most likely certain he wouldn't be caught.

“Right. That's why they intentionally leaked the information late.”

Those working with Belluard had no intention of completely hiding the full story.

Contrary to his expectations, they could leak the information that the imperial grandson, Belluard, was involved in the incident. That would let themselves slip away while forcing a direct confrontation between Heins and Lyndis.

Davey knew that it would’ve been easy to manipulate that foolish, reckless boy once they had gained his trust.

Plus, that rascal didn’t even bother hiding the fact that he held a serious grudge against Heins after causing trouble with them.

It sure was an intricate and well-thought-out plan, yet to Davey, who had been through all kinds of ups and downs; lefts and rights; and ins and outs, it was not an entirely novel trick.

Nonetheless, there was one thing he still couldn’t figure out.

“Davey?” Aeria called out.

He asked, “Is there anyone who would benefit from me fighting Lyndis?”

“I don't know...” She also seemed confused, unable to think of any likely candidates.

Crack!!

The earth and rock that he had frozen with the 9th Circle freezing magic began to vibrate. At the same time, an astonishing thing happened. White, glowing fog began to flow out smoothly from inside the gorge, like the mist spreading from a cold storage room.

- Aeria!! Why are you here?!

A woman shouted in an alarmed voice.

However, it didn’t seem like Aeria heard her.

She merely tilted her head and stared at the glowing fog.

- Follow me! If you stay here, it’ll get more and more dangerous!

The voice, like a ghost whispering, rang out again in nobody’s ears. Then, a small cluster of light appeared in the bright white fog, revealing its presence to Aeria.

“D-Davey? What’s this cluster of light?”

“Let's follow it. Whatever it is, it might have some clues for us.”

He felt certain after looking at the pure white cluster of light before them. If what he was seeing was correct, it was the soul of someone completely unexpected.

It seemed she had indeed existed there for over a decade instead of going to the River of Souls.

Regardless of the details, the original goal was for Aeria to regain her lost memories. Hearing it from the person herself would be best.

Davey casually followed the soul, bringing Aeria with him.

The glowing cluster of light led them into a small cave before the landslide could hit them again.

“Goodness. Who thought there’d be a cave here...” Aeria didn’t know the light cluster's true identity.

- Ah... You still can't hear my voice...

The woman's voice sounded regretful. At the same time, her form flickered and changed into the appearance of a beautiful woman.

- A dozen years have passed, and you've grown up so beautifully...

The woman embraced Aeria lovingly, as if she were her own daughter. Yet, to Aeria, it only looked like the cluster of light was circling around her.

Suddenly, a playful thought crossed Davey’s mind.