In situations where one had not personally reached the intended destination, verifying the coordinates before casting Gate to that place was an essential step.
As Riezel had thought, one possible method was to send a summoned creature ahead first and then use the mental link between the summoner and the summoned being to determine the location.
Another option was to locate it through surveillance magic such as Message.
In the world of Overlord, Ainz had once used a magic item known as the 'Mirror of Remote Viewing' to confirm a teleportation spot before casting Gate to travel there.
Because that magic item could display the scenery of a designated location, by confirming the position, direction, and surroundings of his destination through it, Ainz could successfully use Gate to teleport.
If Riezel did not wish to waste a great deal of time on the road, then he would have to do the same—use summoning magic or surveillance magic to determine the coordinates.
Otherwise, even if he managed to cast Gate successfully, there was still a risk of arriving at the wrong place—or worse, in a dangerous region. Especially in the northern parts of the continent, which were covered in ice and snow, one careless mistake could send him straight into a glacier or even an ice river.
In itself, that wouldn't be too bad since, after all, whether it was a glacier or a river of ice, neither could kill Riezel.
What truly worried him was that if the portal created by Gate opened inside a frozen river, the icy water might surge violently through the portal before he even had a chance to cross.
If that happened, the entire royal capital could easily turn into a frozen sea.
For this reason, pinpointing the destination was necessary, and the positioning had to be precise.
'Given that Theresis is too far, surveillance magic won't be able to reach that far, let alone help me pinpoint it.'
'It's better to send a summoned creature there first. It'll take some time, but it's still more convenient than traveling all the way myself.'
'If I send a flying one—one with the fastest speed, it should reach the destination within half a month.'
With this thought in mind, Riezel finalized his plan and decided to carry it out upon his return.
"Looks like you've made up your mind."
Yuri had been quietly observing the deep-in-thought Riezel, and when she saw the look of determination flash across his face, she spoke up immediately.
"Yeah..." Riezel didn't hide it from her. "I'll use a special kind of magic to confirm Theresis's coordinates first, then I'll use my teleportation magic to head over there."
Upon hearing this, the corner of Yuri's mouth twitched.
Another special magic?
Just how many kinds of special magic did he know?
Was it another one of those terrifying magic spells that, once revealed, would send the upper echelon of any country into a frenzy?
'Please, be a normal human for once and stop shocking my poor heart, will you?'
Yuri thought with a helpless expression, then spoke up.
"Forget it. I can't stop you anyway..." Yuri said with a helpless sigh. "Just... try not to cause another earth-shattering incident while you're out there this time, alright?"
Hearing this, Riezel didn't know what to say since that kind of thing wasn't exactly something he could guarantee.
Who knew what awaited him once he arrived in Theresis?
"I can only say you'd better be mentally prepared..." Riezel reminded her. "Even if I don't stir up trouble, the goal of this trip is ultimately to make contact with the royal family of Theresis."
And to approach the royal family of a country—one already in a state of unrest—while being a foreign Sword Saint, could that really go unnoticed?
No matter how one looked at it, there was bound to be some kind of commotion.
Because of this, Riezel could only urge Yuri to brace herself.
"..."
Yuri was speechless.
Did he make her mentally prepared for heart attacks?
Really?
"I should've just left your wounds untreated." Yuri shot him a glare. "Life would've been so much easier if you'd stayed bedridden."
As she thought back on it, ever since this man had recovered, he had been causing one disturbance after another, hardly a day of peace in between. If she had known how troublesome he would turn out to be, she would've simply not healed him back then—just let him lie there quietly as her conversation partner every day.
Come to think of it, he really had been at his most well-behaved during that month of recovery.
However, she had completely forgotten that although Riezel himself had behaved during that period, there had still been several assassination attempts against him. Because of that, the entire Frenzel residence had been on high alert, and even she had been forced to put her work aside frequently to check on him.
If she remembered that, she would realize that even lying in bed, Riezel was still a walking source of trouble—someone who would always find a way to make others busy.
Even now, she still had plenty to deal with.
"I'll have someone gather information about Theresis, but don't expect too much detail—that queendom is too far away."
As she spoke, Yuri glanced toward Euryale, who had somehow sat down beside Riezel, dozed off, and was now leaning her head against his shoulder.
A faint, unreadable look crossed Yuri's eyes.
"As for Her Majesty's identity, I'll make the necessary arrangements right away."
Hearing Yuri's words, Riezel nodded.
"Thanks..." Riezel's tone unconsciously softened. "Sorry to trouble you."
"...Do you ever not trouble me?"
Even though she said this, the sudden warmth in Riezel's voice made Yuri's heart skip a beat, and a faint blush rose to her cheeks as she quickly turned her face away.
From the side, Marilyn gave Yuri a look for a moment, then gazed at Riezel with a long, meaningful stare.
Her stare was practically that of a mother-in-law examining her future son-in-law—full of scrutiny, sharpness, and a bit of challenge.
Riezel, who noticed that stare, was reminded of the first time he had met Marilyn beside Yuri.
Back then, this maid had stared at him in much the same way, her attitude far from friendly.
At the time, he had wondered why she seemed to dislike him so much, but now he finally understood—she probably thought he was just some useless pretty boy trying to charm her master.
Considering his reputation at the time, it was honestly understandable.
Or rather, the original Riezel's reputation had been terrible—a so-called rural prodigy who mingled with noble heirs all day, praised by the wrong crowd, and suddenly started getting close with the noble lady of the Frenzel family, chatting over tea like they were old friends.
Anyone would've suspected he was trying to climb the social ladder.
If not for the fact that the current Riezel had completely turned his life around—shedding his old name as a wastrel and becoming one of the most sought-after geniuses on the continent, both a Sword Saint and a Tactical-Class Magician recognized worldwide—Marilyn would probably still look at him with outright hostility, especially after all the chaos he had caused and his habit of asking her master for help.
Understanding this made Riezel realize he should probably prepare a proper gift to thank Yuri in person.
'Looks like I'll have plenty to do once I get back...'
Preparing a gift for Yuri.
Summoning the Faceless Shadow for Euryale.
Locating Theresis for the casting of Gate—by sending his summons to fly there first.
"Oh, right, there's also the matter of Ice Maiden and her people."
Riezel suddenly remembered and brought it up to Yuri.
"You mean the magic dolls and the people behind them?"
Yuri, already hearing about those individuals from Riezel, frowned thoughtfully.
"I still can't figure out where this mysterious influence came from... I mean, they actually managed to reproduce the forbidden techniques of the ancient magical civilization—creating those unbelievable magic dolls, controlling the Underground Demon Beast Yarakulon, and even having a female Sword Saint with such terrifying power—it's almost beyond belief."
"Normally, any faction with that kind of strength would've already made its mark on the continent and become famous, but I've never even heard of such a mysterious group existing..."
"It's… truly bizarre..."
Names like Heavenly Hunt, Goliath, Bashe, Tyrant, Giga, Fire Princess, and Ice Maiden—all of which were clearly nicknames—were completely unfamiliar to Yuri, and that, in itself, was deeply unsettling.
"They aren't entirely unknown." Riezel said, as something came to mind. "If I'm not mistaken, the Heretic Assassins you once mentioned to me—they might be under the control of this same group."
"Heretic Assassins…" Yuri's brows furrowed even tighter, her expression turning grave. "If that's true, then their influence is far greater than we thought."
Just then, Marilyn spoke up at the right moment.
"Heretic Assassins managed to successfully kill so many talented magicians in the past."
"Many people already suspected that some country behind the scenes was supporting them—otherwise, it's impossible they could've done so much and remained free."
"If those people really control such an organization, doesn't that mean they're at least high-ranking members of some country—or perhaps private agents working directly for those countries?"
Marilyn's words were, indeed, a valid suspicion.
"You're suggesting those seven individuals might be connected to certain countries on the continent?" Riezel asked, his brow furrowing.
"It's quite possible." Yuri replied. "Otherwise, how could they have trained so many powerful assassins? And how could they have created so many magic dolls?"
Considering the main material for making a magic doll was living humans—though that alone likely wasn't enough—the production process would require numerous magical facilities for assistance, perhaps even a fully equipped mage laboratory.
And then there was the matter of manpower—someone had to be supplying them.
Needless to say, with all these factors combined, it was almost impossible to believe that one or two national powers weren't secretly supporting, funding, or assisting them.
"Also..." Yuri continued. "You mentioned that the young, female Sword Saint called Ice Maiden referred to her weapon as a national artifact, right?"
"Yeah." Riezel nodded.
"In that case, which country does that artifact belong to?" Yuri asked calmly.
A mystical artifact powerful enough to be regarded as a national artifact—how could something like that be casually used, much less taken to another country?
"Well, that alone proves those people have at least one country backing them—or perhaps they themselves are high-ranking figures within such countries."
Yuri's serious observation was, in fact, spot-on.
"Yuri..." Riezel said, looking seriously toward her.
"I know." Yuri nodded, understanding what he meant. "I'll investigate this matter. If that weapon really is a national artifact from somewhere on the continent, then it must be quite famous. In that case, tracing which country it belongs to and who currently wields it shouldn't be too difficult."
And once those details were uncovered, it would likely be possible to determine Ice Maiden's true identity—and by extension, the identity of that mysterious influence.
"Thanks again. I'll leave it to you."
Riezel entrusted the matter to Yuri, feeling reassured knowing it was in her hands.
"No need to thank me. I'm also concerned about those people." Yuri said, shaking her head. "Judging by their actions, they must have a major scheme in motion. They even dared to invade the Mavros Territory, where the Guardian Sword Saint was stationed. If they ever enter the kingdom's interior—if they reach the Frenzel Territory—it'll be a real problem for me as well."
Given her current position, if anything major happened in Jinas, she would inevitably be drawn into it. Knowing this, she couldn't just treat this as someone else's problem—it was only a matter of time before she got caught up in it too.
Besides, since Riezel was already entangled with them, it was likely she would come under their watch as well, so whether for public duty or personal reasons, she had to take the matter seriously.
Not to mention, she truly was intrigued by this mysterious organization.
An organization this powerful, yet so well hidden, with barely any trace of activity—what exactly were they planning?
Regardless, whatever it was, it was definitely nothing good, and certainly not something small.
Yuri decided then and there that she would conduct a thorough investigation.
"You won't be leaving anytime soon, will you?" Yuri asked curiously.
"Nah..." Riezel shook his head. "I still need some time to prepare. I don't plan to go anywhere for now."
"Good." Yuri smiled slightly. "I'll have the information delivered to you before you leave. Until then, you should just stay home and rest for a while."
Her underlying meaning, 'don't go out and cause trouble,' made Riezel let out a wry smile.
"Got it."
What else could he do but agree?
"No other business to discuss, right?" Yuri relaxed her expression and smiled. "If so, keep me company for some tea."
Marilyn, understanding her cue perfectly, immediately pushed the tea cart nearby over.
"Alright." Riezel nodded and couldn't help but smile.
Just like that, the two began chatting over tea, and before long, the atmosphere grew relaxed and pleasant.
===
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