The Blue Mist swiftly filled the entire room, overflowing into the grand hall where the victory banquet was being held. In an instant, everyone present was transformed into ice sculptures—the royalty and nobility of the five kingdoms had been wiped out in one fell swoop, not a single soul spared.
The Bard strolled leisurely through the mist, returning to the banquet hall and Bell, who remained seated in his chair, taking small bites of the food before him. Glancing at the frozen figures, he remarked, "Have you considered the consequences of this?"
The Bard paused, then replied, "Of course. Not only have I considered them, but I intend to continue. These so-called nobles are nothing but parasites on the nation. Eliminating them all will only make the nation stronger!"
"If only a nation without kings or nobles could exist."
Bell shook his head. "No, I don't think it's about the nobles themselves. It's about those specific people—their greed and incompetence. If every king were a wise ruler and every noble a virtuous servant of the nation, such tragedies wouldn't occur."
The Bard countered, "That's impossible. Whether it's the Imperial Throne or noble titles, as long as they're inherited by bloodline, they're destined to corrupt eventually!"
Bell retorted, "Then abolish hereditary succession altogether! Let meritocracy prevail—the capable rise, the incompetent fall!"
A silence hung between them for a long moment. After a full five minutes, the Bard finally spoke again. "I'm leaving. I'm going to try to establish a nation without nobles. What about you?"
Bell sighed. "I'm going home, of course. I've already achieved my initial goal of adventuring, and now that everyone else is gone, what's the point of staying?"
With that, Bell drained his final sip of wine, rose, and departed. The Bard followed suit. The two strolled leisurely from the banquet hall, paying no heed to the chaotic scene of soldiers at the entrance. There, they parted ways, each heading in opposite directions.
Meanwhile, Tribios was in the Ice Cave beneath the Demon King's City, the final battlefield. As she gazed at the scene before her, she saw that it was exactly as it had been when she arrived three hundred years later—no, there was one slight difference.
A time-traveling Magic Circle was missing. Tribios retrieved a thick scroll from her person. This was the one Artemis had given her during their first meeting, meant to allow her to leave this era and return to her own time, three centuries in the future. But she had never used it, saving it until now.
Now, setting up the Magic Circle here would be perfect.
Of course, its effect wouldn't be to return her to her own time, but rather to transport her back three centuries. The trigger condition: "Tribios" standing in the designated spot. This would perfectly complete the closed loop.
After setting up the Magic Circle, Tribios glanced once more at Eve, the Druid, who lay motionless on the ground, and then at the oval Ice Egg on the ground. Finally, she silently departed.
Tribios then circled the Demon King's City, intending to check if the Heroes' Divine Artifacts were still there. As expected, the Priest's Blue Heart Pendant and the Catgirl Ranger's Green Longbow were missing, likely taken by the Bard.
The Bard's Travel Book and Bell's Greatsword Dawn were naturally on their persons. Of the remaining three Divine Artifacts, the Druid's artifact remained unknown, while the Sorcerer's artifact resided within his body, destined to be claimed by Castorice three centuries later.
With this in mind, Tribios ventured into the cellar of the inn adjacent to the Demon King's City's central district. If Castorice could cut through space here to access the Demiplane in three centuries, entering it would be trivial for Tribios.
A Century Gate materialized in mid-air. She stepped through it, finding the battle between the demons summoned by the Travel Book and the Guardians of Faith summoned by the Priest already concluded. Only a single, motionless Guardian of Faith remained standing in the center of the battlefield.
Tribios circled the Demiplane, initially intending only a symbolic inspection, but she actually discovered something significant.
Thanks to her exceptional spatial Perception, she sensed another Demiplane connected to this one, like a hidden door or passage. Tribios opened a Century Gate and stepped through, finding herself before a picturesque villa complete with gardens.
She paused, momentarily stunned by the stark contrast in style between this Demiplane and the previous one. After exploring further, she realized this place must be a temporary residence, research lab, and storage facility created by the Wizard known as "Hero."
After all, the [ Create Demiplane ] spell was incredibly convenient. Building a house within one was essentially like having a mobile home. Whenever he needed rest, he could simply cast the spell and instantly return "home."
In addition to essential living supplies, the demiplane contained a vast quantity of Magic Items and magical materials. Under normal circumstances, the edge of a demiplane should consist of a stretch of land followed by the endless void. However, this demiplane featured a peculiar 'dock' where a slightly damaged wooden ship floated suspended in the void.
Undoubtedly, this was the Wizard's Divine Artifact, the Magic Ship. Of course, Tribios had no idea what it was yet, but she could sense its extraordinary nature.
Though she couldn't explain why this residential demiplane was linked to a combat-oriented one, nor what these magic items and materials truly were, inheriting the legacy of such a powerful Wizard was undoubtedly a windfall.
Yet Tribios sighed. What good were these magical treasures now? In the Grand Duchy of Augustus—or rather, the "Eternal Holy City" Okhema—the sole Chief Wizard was gone. Currently, the nation's most accomplished mage seemed to be Melly, the "Magic Power Insulation" specialist.
Regardless, Tribios first recorded the coordinates of this place before departing for her new home, Okhema. There, she retrieved another scroll—Jay's Illusions—and activated it.
Immediately, towering mountains erupted from the earth, completely enveloping Okhema. Tribios murmured to herself, "Until we meet again in three centuries, everyone..."
The next three centuries would be a solitary journey for her alone. Taking a deep breath, she began directing the people of the Grand Duchy of Augustus in replanning and rebuilding the city.
Vast tracts of farmland were cultivated. Since they had brought enough food from the Demon King's City to last three years, and harvests would surely come and go during that time, they had no immediate worries about food supplies.
Brand-new residential buildings, schools, and factories sprang up everywhere. Okhema developed at an astonishing pace.
The following year, Olivia's father passed away peacefully in his sleep, bequeathing the throne to Tribios. Tragically, Olivia remained a princess until the end, never experiencing the role of a ruler—though she likely wouldn't have cared anyway.
Thus, adding to her titles as Holy Maiden, Prophet, and Teacher, Tribios gained another: "New Ruler of Okhema." However, perhaps due to long-standing habit and Tribios' own indifference, most commoners still preferred to call her "Holy Maiden."
By the third year, Okhema had almost fully recovered to its peak prosperity during the Grand Duchy of Augustus era, even surpassing its former glory.
In the fifth year, Okhema's first Magic Engineering Academy was completed, with Melly appointed as its inaugural principal. Yes, a Magic Engineering Academy, not a Magic Academy.
Now nineteen years old, Melly had shed her former child appearance, blossoming into a graceful young woman. Through her relentless research, she had indeed developed a method allowing ordinary people to cast spells.
This independent discipline, akin to but distinct from traditional Magic, felt like the relationship between mathematics and physics. To put it simply, solving physics problems inevitably requires various mathematical calculations.
More elaborately, mathematics serves as the "language" of physics, with physics using mathematics to describe natural phenomena and physical laws.
Here, mathematics served as the foundation of magic, while physics underpinned Melly's groundbreaking Magic Guide system.
Just as magic knowledge and personal Magic Power reserves are indispensable for becoming a powerful wizard, Melly's original Magic Guide path demanded even greater mastery of magic knowledge while imposing no requirements on Magic Power reserves.
Melly's first research breakthrough was a staff approximately one meter long, topped with a Ruby. Anyone wielding this staff could cast the cantrip "Flame Arrow," a spell from the Evocation School.
Simply point the staff at an enemy and lightly rub a device at its center with a Finger to directly launch a fist-sized Flame Arrow.
Under normal circumstances, the staff could be used about ten times before needing to be recharged in a special device for further use.
To put it bluntly, the prototype still had many flaws. It was complex and costly to produce, the Flame Arrows were weak, and, most critically, the staff was hideously ugly. Tribios suggested Melly redesign it to resemble a hunting rifle.
After all, this was the first finished product, just a prototype. There were still many areas for improvement, making its future prospects bright!
In addition to the Magic Engineering Academy, Okhema University, the first institution of higher education in Okhema, was also completed in the same year. Tribios herself assumed the role of its first president. By this time, Okhema's education policy had been updated to include:
* Three years of elementary school focusing on foundational knowledge, including literacy, history, and moral education.
* Three years of middle school for advanced studies, including mathematics, basic physical education, and foundational magic.
Physical education here was vastly different from the sports Tribios had known in her previous life. It was a crucial core subject. Students with exceptional physical education grades could enlist in the military immediately after graduation.
Those excelling in mathematics would proceed to university, likely securing positions as senior managers in various factories or assisting Tribios in governing the nation as civil servants.
Those excelling in foundational magic would naturally attend Melly's Magic Engineering Academy, where they would simultaneously study and assist Melly in researching new magic items.
By the tenth year, Okhema had fully stabilized. As wave after wave of highly intelligent graduates emerged from the university, Tribios's workload began to ease considerably.
In the early days, she had nearly torn herself apart, working tirelessly day and night. But now, she could even slack off and nap in her office, and no one would bother her for hours.
With all this newfound free time, she began pursuing other interests, such as writing novels and drawing comics. Of course, to maintain the Holy Maiden's reputation, she couldn't publish these works openly. Instead, she used the pseudonym "Princess Homebody" to distribute them covertly.
Since Okhema's residents enjoyed material abundance and were well-fed, they naturally sought spiritual entertainment. Predictably, Tribios's novels and manga became wildly popular, inspiring many in the city to imitate her style, leading to a flood of similar works.
This was precisely Tribios's intention. So, with shameless abandon, she abandoned updating her own series and instead spent her time slacking off, indulging in other people's creations.
This, of course, sparked widespread dissatisfaction among readers. Some wept and wailed, camping outside the publishing house daily demanding updates. Others seethed with rage, determined to track down the author known as "Princess Homebody" and force her to update her work. But as expected, none of these attempts could uncover the true identity of "Princess Homebody."
One day, Tribios was slacking off in her office, engrossed in the latest novel release, when Melly suddenly pushed the door open and walked in. Tribios froze for a moment, then quickly stuffed the novel under her butt before sitting up straight. "Ahem, Melly? Is there something you need?"
Melly stole a glance at the corner of the novel peeking out from under Tribios's bottom before quickly averting her gaze. She produced a file and handed it to her teacher.
"Teacher, this concerns the situation outside. The original five kingdoms are still mired in chaos, with constant warfare between the various Grand Duchies. However, in the west, a nation called the Dragon Ember Kingdom has suddenly emerged and rapidly expanded."
Though Okhema had withdrawn into seclusion, it didn't mean they were entirely oblivious to the outside world. Hearing this, Tribios murmured, "The Dragon Ember Empire... is it finally about to emerge?"