Before long, Elise and Ian arrived at the front of Deere’s study.
However, before they could even enter, they heard the sound of a commotion coming from inside.
“Why won’t you let me go to the Labyrinth?”
“It’s for your own safety!”
The two of them carried on like this, exchanging heated words in a question-and-answer style argument.
Ian turned, wanting to leave.
This was not a war he could mediate.
“Young Master.”
Elise looked at Ian with a face full of anticipation, as if saying she believed in him.
Looking at Elise’s expectant expression, Ian turned his head away, avoiding her gaze.
What could he possibly do when Aetherinra was fighting with her father?
“Elise, I’m a bit hungry. Why don’t we go get something to eat first? By the time we’re finished, maybe they’ll have stopped arguing,” Ian suggested tentatively.
“Young Master, it won’t be too late to eat after you’ve finished mediating.”
Elise looked at Ian again with a pitiful, puppy-dog gaze.
‘Sorry, that trick doesn’t work on me anymore.’
No matter what she said, he would not get involved in this battle.
Thinking this, Ian was about to bolt, but plans rarely keep up with changes.
Just as he was about to leave, he heard Aetherinra’s angry voice.
“No matter what, to avenge Veronica, I am definitely going to that Labyrinth.”
Leaving it at that, Aetherinra pushed open the doors and walked out.
She saw Ian and Elise hiding behind the door eavesdropping, but she only spared them a single glance before leaving without another word.
Watching Aetherinra’s retreating back, Ian said to Elise, “Now that Aetherinra and Father aren’t arguing, I can finally go eat, right?”
But before Elise could reply, Deere’s voice drifted out from the study.
“Is that Ian outside?”
“Come in. I have something to say to you.”
Hearing this, Ian could only bite the bullet and walk in, no matter how reluctant he was.
“Father.”
“Mm, sit.”
Deere pointed to a seat in the room, gesturing for him to sit down.
Ian didn’t stand on ceremony and walked straight to the seat and sat.
“You probably want to ask why I was arguing with Aetherinra, right?”
???
Hearing Deere’s words, Ian mentally placed three question marks.
‘Who said I wanted to ask? Can’t you stop making wild guesses about other people’s thoughts?’
However, ignoring Ian’s bewildered expression, Deere continued talking to himself.
“Not long ago, we clearly identified the source of the Beast Tide.”
“The cause of that Beast Tide is that a Labyrinth was born somewhere in the Magic Beast Forest.”
“I shouldn’t need to tell you what a Labyrinth is, right?”
Hearing Deere’s words, Ian nodded silently.
He certainly knew what a Labyrinth was.
They were things that appeared on the Faloran Continent from time to time.
Labyrinth — the gathering place of Magic Beasts.
The birth of a Labyrinth often signaled the birth of tens of thousands of Magic Beasts.
Furthermore, the destructiveness of a Labyrinth was extremely terrifying.
A high-level Labyrinth could easily destroy a city without any effort at all.
Moreover, Labyrinths were incredibly mysterious.
No one could clearly explain the specific conditions of their birth; they only knew that these things would appear every once in a while.
And every time one appeared, it signaled the beginning of a massacre.
“A Labyrinth was born in the Magic Beast Forest?”
“Then we should immediately dispatch troops to destroy it!”
Although Ian had known about the existence of the Labyrinth for a long time, he still had to act as if he knew nothing in front of Deere.
Observing his own flawless performance, Ian couldn’t help but give himself a big thumbs-up in his heart.
“There’s no need to be in such a hurry. After launching a Beast Tide, the Labyrinth won’t pose any further threat for at least 1 week,” Deere said to him, shaking his head.
“But what does that have to do with your argument with Aetherinra?”
“Sigh.”
Hearing Ian’s question, Deere let out a long sigh and then continued.
“Don’t worry, listen to me finish.”
Hearing this, Ian stopped interrupting and listened quietly to Deere’s speech.
“According to reports from the Knight Order’s vanguard, the Labyrinth is Rank 3.”
“This also means that the highest Magic Beast level inside will not exceed the Rank 3 realm.”
Ian nodded silently.
This part matched his memory perfectly.
“When she heard this news, Aetherinra took the initiative to ask to fight. She wants to enter the Labyrinth to avenge Veronica.”
“But I’m worried about whether there are risks involved.”
“Now that Veronica is unconscious, I don’t want to see Aetherinra fall into any crisis.”
“So, I rejected her request.”
Hearing this, Ian couldn’t help but interject.
“So, that’s the reason you and Aetherinra were arguing?”
Ian found it hard to believe.
The reason Deere and Aetherinra were fighting was actually this simple.
Couldn’t Deere just casually wipe out a Rank 3 Labyrinth himself?
Was there even a need for Aetherinra to head out to battle?
As if seeing through Ian’s thoughts, Deere began to explain.
“Ian, do you know the principles of conquering a Labyrinth?”
“I don’t,” Ian answered Deere honestly.
After all, the game didn’t provide specific details about these things.
Seeing Ian shake his head, Deere began to explain.
“Labyrinth Rule One: A Labyrinth can only be destroyed from the inside; it cannot be destroyed from the outside.”
“Labyrinth Rule Two: A Labyrinth can only accommodate Mages of the same rank or lower.”
“In other words, this Labyrinth can only be subjugated by Rank 3 Mages and those below that rank.”
Hearing Deere’s words, Ian was stunned.
How come he didn’t know that Labyrinth conquest had these two rules?
It was no wonder that in the game, the Labyrinth was subjugated by a team led by Aetherinra and Veronica, rather than Deere taking action personally.
“This is also why Labyrinths are called the most serious natural disasters.”
Deere let out a long sigh.
He had no idea what kind of serious consequences this suddenly born Labyrinth would cause.
“I have already assembled a subjugation team consisting entirely of Rank 3 Mages. We will set out to conquer the Labyrinth in 2 days, when it is at its weakest.”
“But to be honest, I have no confidence in whether we can successfully conquer it. That is why I stopped Aetherinra from participating.”
Hearing this, Ian finally understood.
Deere was worried that something would happen to Aetherinra, so he prevented her from joining the subjugation.
But what he didn’t understand was why Deere was telling him all this.
As soon as that thought emerged, Deere provided the answer.
“I hope you can help me persuade Aetherinra. Tell her not to participate in this subjugation.”
“The only person who can convince Aetherinra now is you.”
Ian felt very strange hearing Deere’s words.
‘Why do both Elise and Deere believe I have that kind of ability?’