CH 23.1

‘If I search through the whole continent, I might find a couple more people. But we don’t have time.’

Just in time when I needed him, Rumdrax was in Fire Prison, making him easier to find.

“If I meet Sana after I die, she will go after my head for this.”

I wondered why Zoe, who didn’t care about whether people were terrible, exemplary, or weird, was reluctant to get Rumdrax for me. It must have been because of her responsibility as an aunt.

“Keep it a secret from Mother.”

“I’m sure she is watching everything.”

“Auntie. You have to accept my request. Whether you are doing it as my aunt or as someone working for a guild, please do this one thing.”

She told me to be good at distinguishing between work and private matters, but the boundary between the two faded as time went by.

Zoe sighed and asked while contemplating.

“Fire Prison is still too much for me.”

“My auntie can do it.”

“If I get caught, you will be in danger, too. As you know, torture in a Fire Prison is not something people could withstand mentally.”

Zoe said based on the assumption that she might fail. I was worried that if I failed and she was caught, information about me would leak.

Being not confident didn’t fit Zoe well. However, it wasn’t like her hesitation was baseless.

‘It’s because of me. I became her weakness.’

The only niece left by her sister, and her affection naturally grew.

“Auntie, I believe you will make it.”

I said the best thing I could tell.

“Where does that groundless confidence come from? I told you not to trust people easily.”

“My trust in you isn’t groundless.”

I took out the report I prepared in advance and handed it out to Zoe.

It was the data that investigated and recorded the process of how she made Journee and how it grew. I made it in advance to help Zoe write memoirs about Journee in the future.

‘I wish that day would come.’

I didn’t expect to show it now.

“Please read it.”

When I put out the data in front of Zoe, she reluctantly accepted it.

Her eyes moved quickly from side to side. There was one fact that the report showed.

—That the number of people visiting Journee was increasing significantly.

In a way, it may be a small achievement, but the growth was noticeable.

“Look, auntie. This is my aunt’s potential.”

Zoe fixed her eyes on the report I wrote, not responding.

Her fingers were trailing through Journee’s growth forecast line.

A steeply soaring line from the bottom left to the top right. Her finger touching the end of the line was shaking slightly.

“Are you sure this will happen?”

Of course. Since it was the future I saw, heard, and experienced.

I nodded with confidence.

“My Journee can stop or start a war?”

Below the graph, I wrote down what Journee was capable of doing in the future.

The sentences took the form of expectations, but these were what Zoe actually did in the past.

“You can save thousands of people or kill thousands of people.”

Zoe raised her eyes and looked at me.

“You…. Haa, let’s stop talking about this.”

Zoe sighed deeply. It seemed hard to believe for her.

Zoe rubbed her face a few times with her hands. Then, the gaze she directed at the report finally directed at me.

“Let’s do it.”

“Really?”

I suggested it, but I didn’t know Zoe would accept it easily.

I thought she would think about it for at least a day or two.

“Do it. Let’s see if Fire Prison is worth its name.”

Zoe’s eyes were burning.

The firewood of passion became her fuel.

“I’m going to infiltrate to Fire Prison.”

A few days later, Zoe came up with a plan. It was also a plan for her to infiltrate by herself since there was no one with a talent as good as her in Journee yet.

‘I need someone to help Zoe as soon as possible.’

I focused on our plan while Zoe solved matters about Journee on her own.

“How are you going to sneak in?”

“What do you mean how? I will just grab some guard, get their clothes, and pretend that I left my stuff behind.”

“Isn’t it dangerous?”

“The idea of getting a convict out of Fire Prison itself is dangerous enough.”

I added after contemplating.

“It would be nice if you get some new recruits. Just a weak ago, you recruited a new trainer. If both of you have a similar build, there should be no problem.”

“Even the eye colors have to be matched.”

“I’ll try to find someone who wouldn’t raise doubts.”

We discussed possible problems that might arise.

“I need money.”

“Funds are essential to work. How much do you need?”

Zoe put out a paper with the amount written on it.

It was quite a large amount of money, but I wondered why she didn’t say anything and handed out the paper instead.

“I’m not spending the money carelessly. But, first of all, I have to teleport to the area where the Fire Prison is.”

Teleport was an essential means of transport connecting major cities.

However, it cost a lot of money for each trip; therefore, ordinary people couldn’t afford to use it.

“You know I have to write down my identity when I use teleport.”

“That’s right. Therefore I’m thinking about what we should do about it. If you don’t use teleport, you will be delayed, and I did tell you that I was in a hurry.”

A way to teleport without exposing her… There was only one thing that came to my mind.

“I’ll come with you. You will go instead of Janice as my maid. After teleporting to the nearest city to the Fire Prison, I’ll stay behind.”