Riezel and Lizbeth's journey to Sinielle, in terms of its original purpose, was without a doubt a failure.
They had obtained no information on the Hidden Land, nor any clues regarding the Dimensional Magic Cube—though they had learned some secrets previously unknown to them, those secrets did nothing to aid them in achieving what they had set out for.
Riezel had decided to make this trip precisely because of matters concerning the Dimensional Magic Cube and the Hidden Land, yet he failed to accomplish either goal—the trail had gone completely cold.
From this point onward, if he still wished to pursue the secrets of the Dimensional Magic Cube and the Hidden Land, he would have to come up with a new plan.
Now that the expedition to Sinielle had failed, Yuri was asking him what he intended to do next, since she could tell that the matter of the Hidden Land was important not only to Lizbeth, but to Riezel as well—it wasn't something unrelated to him.
From what she knew of Riezel, even if this trip had failed, he had no intention of giving up.
And sure enough...
"Do you know anything about Theresis?"
Riezel suddenly asked Yuri this question.
"Theresis?"
Yuri was briefly stunned before she caught on.
"You suspect that the Theresis Clan, the vassal of the Reinnail Clan—the one said to have buried Reinnail's final queen in that ancient ruin—is related to the Queendom of Theresis in the north?"
Riezel had already told Yuri about the inscription on the stone tablet before Euryale's tomb, so she was aware of the Theresis Clan's existence.
"How could I not suspect that?" Riezel replied without denying it. "One is called the Theresis Clan, the other the Queendom of Theresis—who'd believe the two have no connection?"
At this, Yuri nodded in agreement, but the one who answered Riezel's earlier question was not her.
"Theresis is a country located in the northern region of the continent."
Marilyn chimed in, stepping forward to explain.
"Because of the extreme cold up north, the lands of Theresis remain perpetually blanketed in ice and snow, so the other countries came to call it the Queendom of Ice and Snow."
"Actually, it wasn't originally called Theresis. It used to be a small country named Zynia. Later, due to various hardships and survival crises, Zynia elected an exceptionally capable queen and placed her upon the throne."
"And that queen was indeed exceptional. Once she ascended the throne, she carried out numerous reforms. Not only did she ensure Zynia's survival amid the frozen wastelands, but she also expanded its territory, uniting the scattered northern tribes that had long lived without a homeland."
"In this way, the country grew stronger and stronger, eventually becoming one of the four great countries on the continent."
"It was then that Zynia changed its name to Theresis."
Marilyn explained that Theresis was also the surname of that very queen.
Zynia renamed itself Theresis in her honor, to commemorate her great achievements, and declared itself a queendom—signifying that the country owed its existence entirely to its queen.
For centuries thereafter, the throne of Theresis was inherited exclusively by the descendants of that queen. Every ruler since had been female, making it the only country on the continent where only women could inherit the throne.
"But because of that, in time, internal conflicts began to arise—and the cause was dissatisfaction."
Marilyn continued, her face expressionless.
"It began with the princes of the royal family, who resented the law that only women could inherit the throne, and their resentment led to open rebellion that emboldened nobles who shared that same resentment, those unhappy that the throne had always been monopolized by women."
"Soon, many nobles joined the cause, and gradually, Theresis descended into full-blown civil strife. Especially within the royal family, where princes and princesses stood on opposite sides—one faction demanding the abolition of the female-only succession rule, the other insisting that to abandon it would be to forget their ancestors' legacy and betray tradition."
"In the end, the quarrels and clashes grew fiercer, until even the neighboring countries began harboring bold ambitions after witnessing the chaos within the once-great state."
"Theresis's situation has worsened ever since, to the point that it now faces both internal turmoil and external threats—on the verge of collapsing entirely."
Marilyn spoke of the current state of Theresis, and from her tone, it was clear the topic affected her as well.
Yuri listened in silence.
'Could this be the future that awaits Jinas?' Yuri couldn't help but wonder.
After all, Jinas too was now divided between the Royal Faction and the Duke Faction, showing faint signs of civil strife.
If Jinas fell into a conflict like that of Theresis, it might perish even faster.
Considering the lands surrounding Theresis were mostly small countries, it could still hold out for now despite its turmoil. Jinas, on the other hand, bordered Reiburg—the warlike country among the four great countries that glorified warfare itself.
If Jinas descended into chaos, Reiburg would undoubtedly invade with full force and seize Jinas in one stroke.
Against an equally powerful neighbor, a divided Jinas would have no chance of resistance.
'Perhaps that's why the two factions haven't gone all-out...' Yuri thought silently. 'They both know that a full conflict would only benefit others, so for now, their rivalry remains restrained—at least for the moment...'
Of course, Riezel had no interest in such political matters.
"Could that first-generation queen have been a descendant of the Theresis Clan?" Riezel asked, focusing on what truly interested him.
Marilyn gave her answer.
"It's said that the First Queen of Theresis originally came from a powerful northern tribe, and she herself was the leader of that tribe."
"At the brink of its downfall, Zynia encountered that tribe, and its people were deeply impressed by the queen born from that tribe."
"No one knew the details of what transpired between them, but according to historical records, the tribe later merged into Zynia, and the tribe's queen was elevated to the throne."
"It's said that when she ascended the throne, she was already a powerful Sword Saint."
"She first used her strength to repel neighboring invaders, then restructured the country and initiated sweeping reforms, bringing Zynia back from the brink of extinction in just a few years."
"Her prestige at the time was unmatched. At her call, many northern tribes willingly submitted to her, joining Zynia one after another."
"After decades of vigorous development, Zynia became one of the four great countries of the continent, officially renamed itself Theresis, and recognized its reigning queen as the founding, first queen who had nearly unified the entire north."
"During the First Queen's reign, Theresis was the absolute hegemon of the north. Even the surrounding countries were showing signs of submission."
"Had things continued that way, the entire northern continent might have fallen under Theresis's rule, making it the second Volcarion."
Volcarion ruled the entire south, uniting the smaller countries there as its vassal states.
Theresis, too, had once held such promise.
Unfortunately...
"After founding Theresis, the First Queen's health deteriorated rapidly, and she passed away at the age of fifty-five."
"Although the royal family soon enthroned a second queen, she was nowhere near the First Queen's equal."
"As a result, Theresis failed to conquer the entire north, and the smaller countries settled down, abandoning their plans of submission."
"For the centuries that followed, Theresis remained stable but unremarkable, never again displaying the might it had under its first queen."
In short, the glory of Theresis was built almost entirely upon the legacy of its first queen, so after her death, even though the country did not collapse, it never regained its former strength, and the north gradually stabilized.
Now, centuries later, Theresis had begun to decline once again, facing both internal turmoil and external threats.
"Many believe that the next great country to vanish will not be Jinas or Reiburg, who are at odds with each other, but the northern realm that once dominated all others—Theresis." Marilyn concluded.
Upon hearing her long explanation, Riezel finally understood the instability surrounding Theresis.
Now, the current situation on the Akasha Continent, to him, was, overall, quite clear.
Volcarion ruled the south—an unchallenged superpower.
Because the southern countries were all its vassals, and with its geography being favorable, Volcarion had become both the strongest and most peaceful nation—no one dared to provoke it.
Jinas and Reiburg, two rival kingdoms, dominated the central region, while the smaller countries caught between them struggled to survive, constantly on edge, walking on thin ice.
Theresis had once united the north, but that era had unfortunately ended.
Now, amid its internal chaos, the smaller northern countries were growing restless—each eager to take a bite out of Theresis, some even dreaming of becoming the next great power.
As for the east and west, most of those lands were controlled by Jinas and Reiburg, while the rest consisted of uninhabitable wilderness—deserts, forests, swamps, and volcanic zones—haunted only by monsters.
Such was the current state of the Akasha Continent.
Having understood this, Riezel realized that the north was actually far more unstable than the central region of Jinas and Reiburg, where full-scale chaos could erupt at any moment.
"By the way..." Marilyn continued. "In recent years, the northern countries have been interacting far more frequently—there's even talk that they might soon form an alliance. Many believe that if this alliance truly forms, the united northern countries will launch a full invasion of Theresis."
Needless to say, that would no longer be mere internal strife but a national crisis.
And yet, Theresis still seemed unable to respond.
"No one knows what the current queen is thinking..."
Yuri, who had stayed silent for a while, finally spoke up.
"I mean, she hasn't taken any action to address the situation. It's as if she's turning a blind eye to the conflict between the princes and princesses. In fact, she hasn't even appeared in public for years—just staying secluded in the palace at Urvashi, the royal capital of Theresis."
"If you're planning to go to Theresis, you'd better be careful. Theresis might be even more chaotic than the Mavros Territory or the Neutral Territory."
Hearing Yuri's warning, Riezel once again fell into deep thought.
Should he go to Theresis?
He hesitated.
He honestly didn't care much about turmoil, but Theresis was in the far north, so it wouldn't be a journey of just a few days.
He could reach Jinas's northern border, the Mavros Territory, from Yeluvia in a few days only because Jinas had canal routes connecting its territories. If those canals didn't exist, the same trip by carriage—without rest—would take over a month.
Unfortunately, beyond the northern border, there were no such canals leading to Theresis.
In other words, if Riezel wanted to go there, he would either have to spend an enormous amount of time on the road or find a way to use Gate—the highest-tier teleportation magic capable of near-infinite range with almost no restrictions.
Riezel, of course, had no intention of wasting time on a long journey.
'In that case, I'll just have to find a way to make use of Gate.'
He didn't necessarily have to go there himself first to use Gate to Theresis, because as long as he knew the precise coordinates, he could use it directly.
'I can send my fastest flying summon and have it travel there at full speed. Once it reaches Theresis, I can locate it through our mental link and use Gate that way.'
'Or perhaps I could use Message to contact someone in Theresis and use Gate through that connection instead...'
Riezel pondered silently, trying to find the easiest and most efficient way to reach Theresis.
===
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