Chapter 35: No Reward for the Right Answer, Punishment for the Wrong One

"Now, all that's left are the experience points, the skill points, and that Spell Modification Card."

"I'll start by allocating the experience."

Roland didn't hesitate much. Compared to rewards like skill points and the Spell Modification Card, which were investments for the future, experience points—things that only served to fill his progress bar—could be used whenever.

Besides, his own cultivation over the last couple of days had naturally pushed his progress bar up by about two thousand points, bringing it to over four thousand. With the twenty-five thousand unallocated experience points, it was just enough to push him to the limit of the Third Ring.

"System, use the unallocated experience points."

[Experience point allocation complete.]

[Host: Roland]

[Rank: Third Ring Advanced Mage (9527/10000)]

Feeling the brimming mana within him, Roland didn't feel much joy. The reality was that a massive ticking time bomb lay right before him. The capital was currently in a state where a disaster could happen at any moment, yet it also seemed unlikely to happen immediately.

Fortunately, after calming down, Roland realized he wasn't entirely without clues. The breakthrough point was the Riskan incident. If the catastrophe that originally occurred at the end of 1029 was something the Imperial Military still had the capacity to suppress and manage, then there was only one possibility: the capital had not yet fallen, and the command system had not yet completely collapsed.

After all, such a major event as the fall of the capital would inevitably cause unrest; it was impossible that no ambitious power-seekers would try to seize the opportunity to realize their own goals. If the fall of the capital had occurred before the Riskan catastrophe—that is, before December 12th of this year—it would have been impossible for him not to notice any signs. It would have been impossible for the military to seal off the area around Riskan in time, and for the Inspection Bureau to have had the time to investigate the truth and issue an arrest warrant for Kalia.

Furthermore, sealing off nearly the entire southern region of the Empire and investigating the general truth was not something that could be done in just a few days. Even if the Imperial Military and the Inspection Bureau were renowned across the nations of the continent for their efficiency, such a massive workload would be impossible to complete in less than a month or two.

Although this wasn't an incredibly useful clue, Roland could at least confirm that he should be able to pass the time in peace for at least another month. Unlike the Riskan incident—Riskan was his hometown, and he couldn't just stand by without trying—the capital was different. If those arrogant nobles died, so be it. At worst, he could find an excuse before things went south to have Flam take him and Kalia to a safe place to hide.

Blackthorn Territory sounded quite nice. He could just say he wanted to visit that treehouse; convincing Kalia with that as an excuse wouldn't be hard, and getting Kalia to convince Flam wouldn't be difficult either. After all, even when Kalia had almost caused a disaster of epic proportions, Flam had lifted it up high only to put it down gently. A request to visit one’s old home clearly wouldn't be refused.

Yes, that was decided. He would observe the atmosphere in the capital, and if anything felt wrong, he’d run immediately!

Having figured this out, Roland breathed a sigh of relief. Although the system had indeed issued him a task, it didn't say he *had* to do it. At worst, he would just pretend the system didn't exist, or wait until he had grown stronger to complete it. Flam, an old monster with such a wealth of experience and terrifying combat history, had tripped up; a "combat power of five" like him, who wouldn't even reach the Fourth Ring for a few more days, had better keep his distance.

Adapting to his current strength and developing in the shadows was the right path. As for the task... he would just let it be.

With that in mind, Roland straightened his posture and lay back on the bed, intending to nap for a while. The dining car wouldn't open until 18:00, and it was only a little past 15:00. He could catch a nap.

While Roland was napping, in the room next door, Kalia was chatting with a troubled Flam.

"Teacher, you seem to be in a bad mood. Did something happen?"

Flam, who was sitting on the bed with her arms wrapped around her knees, looked at Kalia—who was chewing on dried fruit in one hand and propping her head up with the other while reading a novel—and was speechless. "You've been looking down at your book the whole time; you haven't even glanced at me once."

"Oh, you wouldn't be in a bad mood just because of that, would you? Look, I'm looking at you now!" Kalia said, turning her head and smiling at Flam.

Flam: "..."

Seeing that it didn't seem to have any effect, Kalia started to get genuinely worried. "Did something really happen?"

"No," Flam pouted in rebuttal.

"But normally, when we're alone like this, you would absolutely be the one to start the conversation! You haven't just ignored me, you've even been so cold when I spoke to you first. There's definitely something wrong!"

Kalia's words made Flam feel a bit irritable. However, seeing Kalia's earnest eyes and sincere concern, Flam's irritation vanished.

"It's just that you don't know about what's happening in the capital, Lia. If you knew, you'd be in a bad mood too." Flam muttered, then curled up like a doll and fell sideways onto the bed.

"So, what is happening in the capital?" Kalia stopped eating her dried fruit, waiting intently for Flam to share the gossip. Gossiping was human nature, and that held true even for a witch who wasn't a typical human.

"Hmm... forget it. It shouldn't matter if I tell you; this news won't stay hidden for long anyway."

"The Imperial Emperor, Salah III, is about to die."

"Oh." Kalia immediately felt let down. She clicked her tongue and went back to her book. Clearly, for a witch who had had almost no contact with society until recently, Kalia could not grasp how significant it was that the old Emperor was about to pass away.

"Such a calm reaction... well, I suppose that's Lia for you. At the end of the day, she's just an idiot." Flam grumbled, rolling back and forth on the bed with her legs hugged.

"Huh? How am I an idiot again? No, wait, I'm not an idiot!"

"Yes, yes, you're not."

"Aaaah, you old hag, I..."

Before Kalia could finish her curse, Flam sealed her mouth with a spell, making it impossible for her to speak.

"An idiot is an idiot. You dared to call me that forbidden word to my face, which just goes to show you aren't very smart."

"Ah... you haven't been calling me that in private these past few days, have you?" Flam's gaze sharpened, staring at Kalia, who was now breaking out in a cold sweat and shivering.

"Eek!"

"Ah... a confession without torture..."

Looking at the panicked Kalia, Flam already had her answer. But she had always been one to value evidence and never meted out punishment without it.

"You've been with that boy named Roland these past few days, haven't you?"

"I'll ask him about these things. He's a smart person; he knows when to tell the truth. Once I have a witness, I'll carry out the real punishment."

"Ah, as a preliminary punishment..." Flam said, conjuring a rope and tying Kalia to the chair she was sitting on. "You are not allowed to eat tonight."

"Wooooooooh-hooooooo!!!!!"

Kalia began to struggle wildly, her level of despair far exceeding the discovery of her using the forbidden word. It was clear that Flam understood Kalia very well. Rather than a beating, going hungry was a much more effective punishment. She felt it was necessary to teach Kalia a lesson: such a damn forbidden word was not to be said casually.

Absolutely not!