287 This old man—something’s off.

The royal castle has arrived.

I quietly secured an empty chamber within the fortress, avoiding detection by the humans inside.

Well, only a limited number of humans are present within the castle at this time, so there’s no need to be overly cautious.

I’ve already used Yamada-kun to clear the premises beforehand.

Princes, queens, even the crown prince and queen—temporarily expelled—leaving the castle nearly vacant.

Then, I assigned Yamada-kun to assemble a makeshift defense force.

Still, the purpose of this operation is to have Yamada-kun resurrect the dead, so there’s no need for an over-the-top defensive setup.

Wait—wasn’t that the plan?

There’s an old man here who looks oddly familiar.

If I’m not mistaken, the strongest warrior from the Empire is present.

Yes. No matter how many times I look, it's that old man again—someone I've seen before.

I first saw him in the upper levels of the Elro Great Labyrinth.

He was with the knight faction that burned down my home.

Then, for some reason, he showed up later asking to become my disciple.

Familiar.

Back then, he was an intense old man. Now, years later, he's undergone a class change into an elder.

Hmm.

That old man killed the Sixth Army's prodigy in the last great war.

He's unquestionably the strongest within the Empire right now. So why is he here?

Wait—

Yamada-kun? Isn't this off-topic?

Hold on.

This is quietly becoming serious.

That old man might be stronger than Yamada-kun.

What now?

Well, whatever.

Yamada-kun is definitely not going to die.

Even in the worst case, he'll retreat, won't he?

The operation this time is not particularly important, anyway.

If Yamada-kun fails to breach the elder, the Third Prince, who is held hostage, will die.

If Yamada-kun breaks through the elder and still performs resurrection, the hostage will be saved.

That, however, is only if Potimas's parasitic soul is severed through resurrection.

The Third Prince is possessing the soul of Potimas.

Potimas, the one who has been manipulating the kingdom's senior lords.

The kingdom's senior officials had already been purged, bypassing the Third Prince.

The true intent of Potimas within the kingdom remained unclear. Yet, rather than allow him to act at will, it was better to purge the realm entirely and cleanse it.

Thus, beginning with the king, they had slaughtered relentlessly, taking advantage of the chaos. Yet, as Yamada-kun revived Oshima-kun, a thought occurred.

Once dead, doesn’t the soul of Potimas peel away?

Death ends everything.

Due to system mechanics, death inevitably strips the soul of unnecessary attachments.

If that is the case, then Potimas's parasitic soul should be severed as well.

One cannot say for certain without actually conducting the experiment.

Yamada-kun's resurrection appears to be triggered before the system fully takes the soul.

Perhaps it won't succeed unless revived before the trimming process begins.

Perhaps the soul of Potimas cannot be severed, yet still be revived.

If that happens, we'll deal with it again.

The fate of the Third Prince hinges on Yamada-kun's revival.

He might not even reach that place if he doesn’t break through the barrier.

Why is that old man even here?

Yamada-kun’s role is completely wrong.

Why assign the Empire’s highest-tier combat formation when a decent, average deployment would suffice?

Is he really that opposed to Yamada-kun?

That Yamada-kun is approaching at high speed, riding atop a dragon.

Gin—, it’s too dangerous to proceed further. Let’s stop here.

I mean, breaking into a high-altitude zone from a dragon’s back—how does anyone even manage that?

I can fly freely through the air myself, but after experiencing a vertical shaft dive in the Elro Great Labyrinth, I’ve developed a discomfort with heights.

I’ll fly if necessary, but I don’t particularly desire high altitudes.

Humans are best grounded.

Even if not a peer.

Now then, what will the old man do about that Yamada-kun?

A: Anti-air fire.

O—oh.

The old man’s serious.

Yamada-kun’s group, flying at an altitude nearly invisible to the naked eye, was targeted by a magical barrage.

The range was exceptional.

Magical range is determined by the caster’s magic attack stat and the amount of MP channeled.

Also by how proficiently the magic is executed.

Simply activating spells through skill alone is insufficient.

One must fully comprehend the sequence of spell activation and understand precisely where to channel excess MP.

In this regard, the old man appeared to have a solid grasp.

According to my memory, the old man’s stats should not have allowed magic to reach such a distance.

That it was achieved meant he was channeling a substantial surplus of MP.

The man who once sought me as a master—now standing at such a height.

Not that I made him my disciple, but still... something tugged at me.

Still, flying that far means the power dissipates.

The spell aimed at Yamada-kun was intercepted—neutralized.

Honestly, canceling out a spell from Yamada-kun, the Hero himself... that’s impressive.

And yet, despite Yamada-kun’s stealth, the old man saw through it without issue.

Old man... what are you even?

Seriously... are you even human?

Both the Pope and this old man... are all these old humans just... off?

I wouldn’t be surprised if they were a different species entirely.

Wait... this is bad.

Is Yamada-kun really about to be shot down?

[Ah, no... this isn’t going to work.]

[Wait!? Teacher!?]

[Stop! Stop it! We’re retreating!]

My own worry—shattered by the old man himself.

Using mental communication, he voiced complaints akin to a disciple’s grumbling to everyone present, then immediately activated group teleportation.

They vanished somewhere.

Poof.

Wait—why retreat there?

I’m not the only one struggling to keep up with the situation; Yamada-kun and his group are equally bewildered.

That’s right, isn’t it?

I mean, old man—wouldn’t you have won if you’d kept going?

With the effortless mastery demonstrated earlier—group teleportation executed without strain.

As far as I recall, when we encountered the Great Labyrinth of Elrow, it took considerable time to initiate group teleportation.

Yet now, after a dozen years, his skill has clearly advanced.

With such ability, he should’ve matched the Hero’s party without hesitation.

So why retreat?

It makes no sense.

Well, personally, it suits me just fine.

Still, something feels unresolved.

Reference materials

W-wait a moment! Ronaldo's status at the time of the Elven Village Battle: Magic Stat 1500, Physical Stat 300

Ronaldo's status at the time of the Elven Village Battle: Magic Stat 4000, Physical Stat 400

I've mentioned this before—but it's important, so I'm stating it again.

This old man has grown far too much.