Enrico was sitting, drinking tea, surrounded by seven guards. One of them was seated in front of him, watching suspiciously and seriously—it was clear that there was a heavy pressure in the air from the guard ahead.
"Very well, boy. I want you to answer my questions, and if you lie, your head will be cut off. So now, first question: who sent you here?"
"No one."
The man behind Enrico nodded, signaling that it wasn't a lie. The man behind Enrico was Takeshi Ranmaru, captain of the inner wall guard. This man had a unique ability called Hidden Heart—it was an ability that allowed him to sense when someone was lying. It worked like a heightened instinct of the user, able to feel it as naturally as breathing. He couldn't detect 100% of lies, especially when they were half-truths or omissions.
Even though the man in front noticed Takeshi's nod, he didn't take his eyes off Enrico's face for even a second.
"Second question. What did you come here to do?"
"At the entrance, I said I came to learn and maybe for work, but I have a third reason. I found a dungeon on the border, but it's far too high level for me right now, so I came to recruit some people."
Enrico wasn't lying. In a way, he did want to learn and earn a bit of extra money while staying here these days. To be honest, Enrico knew about Takeshi and the man in front of him because they always appeared whenever something involved Tsuyokuni. If he wanted to, he could easily lie there, but he preferred a more direct approach since he didn't have much time to waste.
"Third question. Where are you from?"
"From the Astrong Academy, and I live in the city of Balia. I'm from the Solcren Ferreira family, in the territory between Vesparello and Floravita."
The man in front of him was Daigo Araragi, the Supreme Commander of Tsuyokuni's forces, an eighth-circle mage, and the second strongest in the Tsuyokuni territory.
"Fourth question. How did you know about the Kagenai?"
Kagenai was a disease kept secret in that territory, so the suspicion around Enrico was great. It was also a secret that the leader of the Akirama family—who was also the emperor of the continent—had the Kagenai disease.
"I saw parts of the future."
All the guards in the room were shocked and incredulous. Who would openly claim to have such an ability? Secondly, only someone with time magic could see the future, and no one currently had mastered it. Daigo saw Takeshi nodding again, confirming it wasn't a lie.
"Are you compatible with time magic?"
"No."
Takeshi nodded again, and Daigo now looked extremely confused.
"Then how can you see the future?"
"Sorry, but that's a secret."
Daigo looked into Enrico's eyes, thinking about what to do to get Enrico to reveal it. He placed his hand on his sword.
"And if I ask you to reveal it?"
The atmosphere grew tense, with a bit of killing intent leaking from Daigo, but Enrico tilted his head and smiled with his eyes closed.
"Then I guess I won't be able to help your emperor."
Takeshi placed his sword at Enrico's throat, with a threatening look from all the guards, but even so, Enrico didn't stop smiling.
"Well, it seems you don't want to save your emperor... What should I do then?"
"Lower your weapon, Takeshi..."
Takeshi removed the sword from Enrico's throat, and the guards stepped back while Enrico calmly passed his hand over his neck. Daigo had to admit he was impressed with the calm the boy showed while in that position. But in Enrico's thoughts, he was sweating heavily.
'I thought I was going to die. Good thing it worked.'
Daigo stood up, approached Enrico, and placed a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it.
"Now, fifth question. How can we cure our emperor?"
Daigo still didn't trust Enrico, but if it could save the emperor, then he would give the boy a chance. Daigo owed his own life to the emperor, as a loyal subordinate and guardian.
"Well, I'll need a few ingredients, and you'll have to gather them because my level isn't high enough. So, sir, do you think you can handle that?"
Daigo looked at Enrico, who was looking back at him amused, and Daigo let out a short laugh at the boy's audacity.
"If you can see the future, then you should know I can."
Daigo smiled confidently, and Enrico took a paper from his bag and began drawing. As he got closer, he saw that the boy was drawing a map. Minutes passed, each line was precise, each curve looked memorized.
"Hmm… it's looking good."
Enrico murmured to himself, drawing the final line. It was exactly as Silvia had taught Enrico to draw, after many requests. Finally, Daigo spoke.
"Solcren... What are you drawing so intently? A map to hunt those ingredients?"
Enrico paused for a moment and then gave a slight smile.
"There are hidden structures that only exist between layers of the underground, a small dungeon, forgotten, with almost no energy... but hiding something unbelievable."
He drew a spiral with a central point in the bottom corner of the map.
"It's a door. Hidden a kilometer below the surface, on the final floor of a dungeon that not even magic maps consider relevant. Most explorers don't even notice—it just seems like a dead hole. No monsters, no mana, nothing."
"And that's where the ingredients are?"
When Daigo asked, Enrico simply pointed to the top of the map, where he had drawn a thin line rising from the center of the spiral and branching into the sky, forming the outline of a fortress among the clouds.
"No... it's a dungeon so weak it gives no rewards, but that's to deceive those who enter it. There's a structure... in the sky, where the true rewards lie. Invisible. Untouchable. Suspended among the clouds and magical mist. It can't be seen or reached by flying because it's invisible to the world itself. Not even eighth-circle tracking magic can find it. The only way to get there is... through the underground door."
Daigo leaned in closer, and beside him, all the guards stared at the map with narrowed eyes.
"You're telling me there's a fortress in the sky that can only be accessed by entering a dungeon that looks dead?"
"Exactly."
"This is..."
The name of that place was the Inverted Pillar, a magical structure so powerful it hid the entrance in the ground and the content in the sky, disconnecting both from the natural flow of mana. That's why no one felt anything at that location.
"The name of that dungeon is Kurai Tenku no Shiro."
Which was the last bastion of an arcane order that tried to seal something that couldn't be destroyed.
"There is where one of the six Nartheis Ranvil level three resides—one of the strongest—and it's also one of the six dungeons that never disappear, so you can use it."
Everyone was surprised and incredulous at this discovery. If it was real, then they would have an advantage over other territories and could somewhat match Sanos, which until now was the only territory with a dungeon that never disappeared.
"Wait... does that mean you know where the others are?"
Enrico just smiled, handing the map to Daigo.
"You better hurry because your emperor doesn't have much time."