The path to becoming a mage who can earn a living through their talent is fraught with difficulties, no matter where they are. Not everyone born with magical talent can access a proper, decent learning environment to hone their skills and develop.

In this world, that is considered a great stroke of luck. And all the mages gathered here come from diverse backgrounds. Just to make ends meet, they have to take on various jobs to survive. Divris's background is no different. And now, as I—a doppelganger of Divris—see the harsh reality that hasn't changed after all these years of her wandering on another continent, anger and disappointment well up inside me. Is this a sign that Divris somehow still remains within me? The injustice in the world of wizards and sorcerors still lingers like a stain that Divris couldn't face, and now she has to see it again.

Magic brings so much misfortune. In this world, magic is studied solely for use in war and killing. No one cares how it might help or beautify life. It's true this world was created to end prematurely.

There's no hope. There's no salvation.

The next morning, even though I got a good night's sleep, my mood didn't improve at all. Lynn and Daisy understood and tried to do something to cheer me up. They both wrote to me saying that brown hair suited me well. I only changed my hair color to look less conspicuous, while Divris's silver-white hair is rare, and I absolutely love it. It looks cool and dangerous.

I learned a lot about international trade. Even though I'm playing a small-scale trader, I need to learn a lot to do a good job of impersonating her, and maybe I'll even become an entrepreneur. But that day is still a long way off. I needed to create a believable story, but not one that was too perfect.

Daisy continued researching the potions, lotions, and elixirs using samples from this isolated research facility, and she didn't believe her own products were far more effective. So I had to explain why.

"Daisy needs to understand that you've lived for nearly 400 years and are familiar with countless herbs and medicinal plants, right? And when you compare that to a nation's top research team living in a time when many plants were extinct, you can conclude that alchemy in this era is incredibly backward because of the scarcity of ingredients."

"That's so sad," Daisy said sadly, then cheered up after a few seconds. "But I can help."

"I thought you didn't know. Daisy has revived many flower and herb species on our estate."

"That's right, Daisy will make this world green again." The little dragon girl excitedly flew around the room.

I no longer cared about my despairing thoughts when I saw Daisy radiating enthusiasm and hope. She must possess intelligence far beyond that of an adult, yet her soul was still that of a child, and I had to protect this child at all costs and fulfill her wonderful dream.

The fifth day of transit.

A loud explosion erupted in Camelio's room. We and several mages rushed to see what had happened.

Camelio, covered in blood, lay dying in the arms of a mage—the one I had reported as a spy.

The mage's face was streaked with tears. He weakly said,

"I am a spy for Concordia. I surrender and will accept any punishment."

"A spy?" Several mages rushed to the door of the room, their voices filled with shock.All eyes were fixed on the terrifying scene and confession.

I used a forced sleep spell on the other mages.

"Daisy, use your potion to heal Camelio. Lynn, separate the spy." I calmly ordered.

"Yes, sir," Lynn said.

"Understood," Daisy obediently replied.

"Please execute me immediately," the spy said through tears, his face completely rigid with overwhelming emotion.

This doesn't happen in novels, but it has many similarities to the plot of what did happen. It surprised me most.

"You know I have no authority to order your execution, do you, Clement Herman?"

The spy, though slightly surprised that I knew his name, didn't question or ask any further questions. His face remained etched with a sorrowful, melancholic expression, unwilling to leave Camelio's side as Lynn helped him away.

"I killed Dalion."

"Why not leave the trial to Dalion?" As soon as I finished speaking, Camelio's choking and sputtering erupted, causing everyone in the room to freeze.

It seemed Daisy had poured too many bottles of healing potion, soaking Camelio completely.

"Daisy, one bottle is enough," I said gently.

"I haven't experimented directly, so I don't know the dosage. Better to have too much than too little," Daisy said, scratching her head.

I chuckled, unable to argue against that logic.

"Please don't hold him accountable. I was the one who turned a blind eye." Having just recovered from his critical condition, Camelio immediately sat up and spoke aggressively.

"No, Dalion knew nothing. I used mind manipulation to control him," Clement quickly interjected.

"Dalion, Herman. Please tell the truth!" I adopted a stern expression, making the atmosphere incredibly tense.

I had no pleasure in playing the role of a cold, stern judge.

I knew they were both just trying to avoid the other being blamed, so they were resorting to lies and false testimony.

"What about Dalion's injuries?" I asked.

"It was an accident, Miss Marlon. Clement and I had an argument, and he used a prepared potion to commit suicide. I stopped him, and during the struggle, we tripped and the potion broke, causing an explosion. I shielded Clement with my body, which is why that happened."

"The liquid, when ingested, turns the entire body into ash without a trace, but upon strong contact with air, it explodes into a bomb." I was explaining it as if it were a test question for Daisy.

"Phoenix's Ash-Tears," Daisy replied.

I nodded, smiling with satisfaction.

"I sincerely apologize for putting Div... Diana Marlon in this situation. I've suspected Herman of being a spy for a long time, but from the beginning, I've cherished him as a friend. I've secretly protected him for the past year. I even devised a plan to help him escape if he were discovered."

"But where could I escape to? My life in my home country is already incredibly harsh. Only here do I feel valued, cared for, and loved. If I return without any information, not only I but also my family will not be able to live in peace. If I die in the line of duty, at least my family back home will be compensated," Herman expressed.

"The solution to this is easier than you think, my dear star-cross lovers," I said calmly, sitting down in an empty chair.

Both Herman and Dalion blushed.

"Even the Grand Sorceress has figured it out?" Dalion's eyes widened in panic, but quickly turned sad again. "We kept this very carefully hidden." He no longer concealed anything, knowing I could cast a lie-detection spell as easily as eating a meal.

"I don't care whether I live or die, but..." Clement said.

"Please don't take your life so lightly," Dalion said angrily, but all we could see was an incredibly deep love mixed with the fear of abandonment.

Before me was not the powerful mage of the ivory tower, but a seasoned man in love, his fragile heart bleeding with pain because someone was about to steal half of his soul.

"I'm sorry," Clement said helplessly.

"Who do you both think I am?" I said, my voice calm but with a hint of reproach.

"What do you mean, Miss Marlon?"

"I mean, do you both assume I have the authority to judge you two or something? Don't you find that a little ridiculous?"

"You won't report this?" Clement asked in surprise.

"Why should I report it? As I said, I have no authority."They both suddenly understood, their faces brightening.

"So, Miss Marlon will help us?"

"You're quite brave, Dalion, but when it comes to love at first sight, no one can judge."

"What about the mages sleeping out here?" Lynn asked.

"When they wake up, they won't remember anything that happened here," I replied.

"Let me move them back to their bedrooms," Camelio said.

I learned more about Clement's situation; he was a pawn of Concordia, forced into espionage because his family had a younger brother with a talent for necromancers. If he didn't want his brother executed by the kingdom's laws, he had to work as an intelligence agent.

The talent for necromancers was unique to only one character in the novel, and in five years, when he was fully grown, he would become a deadly threat to the entire continent of Fel. Irving Herman, the necromancer, transformed half of Concordia into a new Undead empire, leading to a devastating war to save life on the continent of Fel.

And to prevent this young man from descending into that dark path, he had to be raised in the most suitable environment and live within a community that valued him. A place where family and society would love and educate him, in accordance with the true nature and power of a necromancer, arguably the strongest of his time. Not a place of oppression, fear, humiliation, or treating him as an enemy, as in the story. No place better than Necropolis would be the home he needed to be taken to.

"I promise to use my abilities to find your family when we arrive in Concordia and bring them to live in Necropolis. Dalion will fake your death so that Concordia will have no reason to control you anymore." I calmly explained the plan to Clement.

He was too moved to speak.

"What can my family and I do to repay this kindness?"

"Your younger brother has a talent for necromancy, doesn't he? I hope he can make a long-term contribution to Harxon."

"You mean the Great Lich Harxon?"

"Who else, if you know another Harxon who is a Undead King?" I said, half-jokingly.

Seeing his beloved struggling, anxious, and confused, Camelio, standing beside Clement, put his hand on his shoulder to reassure him.

"Rest assured, the Necropolis and King Harxon are nothing like the rumors you've heard. Your family will have a better life there."

I couldn't bring myself to 'witness' what I had read in the novel. When his younger brother learned of his death while working as a spy abroad, his parents also took their lives as the result of being unable to bear the pain of loss. Young Irving was left alone, living a life of constant fleeing, harboring resentment towards his own country, only to become a threat to the world five years later.

The entire intelligence agency of Concordia was a depraved, shameful organization. No matter what divine light they invoked, it was all just cheap, demagogic rhetoric justifying crimes fueled by arrogance and delusions of power. Concordia was the starting point of all evil, and its rotten roots spread far and wide.

I drew the teleportation spell right in Dalion's study and took Clement to his mansion—where Harxon, in the guise of Aster, greeted the young mage from Concordia.

"I am Aster, a friend of Divris. I have heard your story and am willing to help you and your family settle in this land."

Aster led us all to a new settlement he had prepared, unaffected by the energy of the death element. The land was arable and the sky was clear, the sun not obscured by shadows.

"Is this the Necropolis?" Clement couldn't believe his eyes as he looked at the land he had just been brought to.

"I know you were terrified when I invited you to settle in the kingdom of shadows, which might be even more dangerous than Concordia, but now you know the continent of Xeros is much larger than that," I said.

"This is a newly discovered land, bordering the Necropolis; it will be safer and more suitable for humans and elves," Aster continued explaining to Clement.

From afar, Lynn and I watched Dalion and Herman hold hands tightly, gazing at a land where they could live peacefully after all the terrible things they had endured over the years.

And I turned to look at Lynn, wondering if he longed for a similar future.