June was undoubtedly a season that made people restless.
It wasn’t just because the season was dry and hot.
Nor was it solely because this month was called "The Month of Strife." As the holy day of the Red Knight, many important battles in history had started and ended in June.
So people, quite superstitiously, believed this to be a test from the Red Knight—the Red Knight made people feel irritable. Even many wars had been triggered by the initiators’ inability to endure this restlessness... As long as they avoided any conflicts in June, Lady Luck was believed to bless them with good fortune co July.
Of course, this was false.
Contrary to popular belief, the Twelve True Gods were not so closely-knit group. It was rely that their powers happened to be similar enough to rank them as peers.
The Red Knight and Lady Luck were not that familiar with each other; in fact, one might say their relationship was not very good.
The reason why many important battles began and ended in June was actually due to the convenience of summoning "The Red Knight’s Three Hundred Knights." Also, many large-scale rituals useful for war would see a boost in efficacy, with at least a 30% and at most an 80% increase in effectiveness signified by green text during June.
Just like that fat man who couldn’t count to three.
The green font always seed irresistible.
Because of these "discounts," many legion commanders would try to arrange for the decisive battles to fall in June. This ant that the resources they had stockpiled could potentially multiply several tis over during this month.
This aggressive strategy towards warfare often led to hasty conclusions and the end of drawn-out stalemates.
However, many people took an "it’s better to believe" attitude towards these strange rumors. And the threshold for malign rituals that could "worsen relationships between others," "bring about disaster," or "cause accidents," also lowered sowhat.
Thus in June, the security checks for foreign Transcendents and Ritualists were ramped up.
Taking the subway required much more preparation. When their destination was another country, inspections had to be carried out on both sides––an extensive array of docunts had to be confird, and travelers were only allowed to cross borders during this especially perilous ti if they had guarantors from both sides.
However, Annan and his companions were an exception.
Although he couldn’t ntion this to Salvatore for the ti being, Annan had already registered Kafney as one of his "players." He could directly bypass any ritual and contact Kafney across the void.
With the Queen’s own certification for Annan, he could naturally be invited as the "Duke who prefers to remain anonymous."
After all, Annan’s signature was on their "departure request," and they had the docunts already issued by Queen Kafney on the "arrival side." The line-up of guarantors was formidable to say the least...
This was no United Kingdom, nor was it the Underground City. People were rather conscientious here.
The "White Cloaks" of Winter’s Hand and Noah’s crow-headed agents were not foes to be taken lightly. Even if there were any with rebellious intentions, they surely wouldn’t expose themselves in full public view.
After presenting the docunt, they boarded the train without any hindrance.
The subway was considerably less crowded than it had been two months ago.
May, dubbed the "Month of Trade," had just ended, resulting in much less comrcial transportation and travel.
––Because during May, protected by the Silver Baron’s undergod, the God of Transportation, it was guaranteed that transit vehicles would not suffer any mishaps.
Even if the driver was drunk, the "Ferryman," the God of Transportation, could forcibly steer the vehicle safely.
Even a lost ship captain could be dragged back to shore by the Ferryman as long as the ship was still operational.
Players had even experienced this kind of "automatic driving."
They affectionately called the Ferryman the God of Veteran Drivers.
Among the players’ community, the Ferryman’s popularity had suddenly surged. It was said that even when players drove, they would symbolically worship the Ferryman, praying for a smooth journey...
To prevent loss due to unforeseen circumstances, large-scale trade would certainly be scheduled for May. And due to the intense overti work in May, June and July usually provided a comparatively long holiday for those involved.
Annan had even boarded the train when the entire carriage was empty, except for the three of them.
This situation continued until they reached Saint Felix Province.
Because a man with whom Annan felt sowhat familiar boarded the train.
He appeared to be in his fifties, with a head of slightly curly chestnut hair. He carried a not-so-large suitcase and looked sowhat tired—but considering the extensive procedures required for travel this season, he could be said to be in a sowhat good mood.
––It was Nigel Elliott, the man Annan had t the first ti he traveled to Winter at the beginning of February!
He had said he was going to the Frost Fort to gather material, curious about the legendary wind that could directly slice flesh... However, based on Annan’s speculation at the ti, he was probably commissioned by soone to go there.
Annan had paid special attention to Frost Fort when he was dealing with the nobles of The North Lands because he had a favorable impression of this painter, Nigel.
Annan’s intuition told him that he was a decent person.
If he was indeed involved in the rebellion, Annan planned to take care of him a bit. It was better for Annan to capture him himself than for Nigel to be unwittingly chopped up by soldiers from an unknown side.
However, further investigation by Winter’s Hand revealed that Frost Fort was not involved at all. And the people there were peacefully living in an ease that was almost unsettling... For a garrisoned and militarized fortress, its residents were living even more comfortably than those in Frost Speech Province.
And now, on the subway to the Royal Capital of Noah, Annan had encountered this man again.
This surprising coincidence had already amazed Annan.
After pondering for a bit, he grew even more curious about what the uncle had been up to.
––You sold your house in the Royal Capital of Noah, endured four months of freezing in a foreign land, what on earth was your goal? And why would you choose June, an exceptionally troubleso ti, to head back to Noah alone with just luggage in tow?
Moreover, this ti he returned with only a suitcase and not even his painting board.
It certainly piqued Annan’s curiosity.
What was he planning to do?
However, Mr. Nigel clearly did not recognize Annan, who had transford into the form of David. None of the players who followed Annan at that ti had beco his travel companions—and the present Annan showed no resemblance to the Paper Princess at all.
To Mr. Nigel, Annan and his group were complete strangers.
Then an idea struck Annan.
He planned to approach him under the pretense of "I’m a fan of yours" to strike up a conversation...
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