Chapter 08

Escape from Another World with a Possessor (8)

1. Families Collapse, Society Collapses, the Empire Collapses (6)

The next day.

After a good night’s sleep, Selena woke up feeling refreshed and positive.

It was a good long-term sign that Gayeon was quite righteous. At least until they completed dimension travel, it was better than having someone unpleasant or reckless as a companion.

Of course, even if she were difficult, there would be ways to handle it…

But it would be very sad if the only fellow Korean Selena met had to be controlled with binding magic like a frozen doll.

Also, carrying someone around like that would be inconvenient.

Fortunately, Gayeon was pretty, smart, kind, and gentle.

Although it was a bit troubling that the Empire was still chasing her, since she was a former—would-be—empress whose resignation hadn’t yet been accepted, she was still an excellent escape partner.

Feeling pleased, Selena handed Gayeon the leftover rabbit jerky from yesterday.

Gayeon blinked at having jerky first thing in the morning, but Selena just smiled warmly.

Since they would never return, they cleaned up minimally, washed quickly, and lightly ate. With one backpack each, they were ready to leave.

Preparing was just Gayeon holding Selena’s hand.

“Great! Let’s go! Unnie, your mana is full!”

“Yes. Let’s hurry!”

Using teleport, they hopped north, using coordinates Selena had memorized for her secretly-owned estates and hidden mana stone mines as stepping stones.

“The air is getting colder.”

“Because we’re approaching the Frost Mountains. One more teleport, and we’ll reach the north.”

Technically, they could have drawn a secondary magic circle for a long-range teleport straight to the mountains, as originally planned.

But Selena decided against it.

Using a magic circle would save mana and cover longer distances, but it had a flaw.

If the circle remained, anyone investigating could read the target coordinates and track them.

Previously, the Empire’s pursuers might only have evidence or would analyze it carefully before using it. Since they couldn’t know exactly where the circle led, this was standard procedure.

Selena wanted Gayeon herself, but usually, a kidnapping of an empress would be for some organization or enemy’s bigger plan.

Who would think an Archmage took the empress for personal reasons?

They would assume a hidden mastermind was behind Selena.

So using a magic circle recklessly might alert enemies, put the empress in danger, or lead them into traps, forests, or even enemy territory. It was too risky.

But now, knowing the Empire was recklessly chasing Gayeon without strategy, this method was impossible.

Selena didn’t want to fight a chase with the Sword Master Emperor and his subordinates in the Frost Mountains.

Using stepping-stone teleport, they reached their limit in three days.

“I can’t teleport between cities anymore. The next coordinates are for my estates, so the Empire probably knows them.”

“What should we do then?”

“We have no choice. From now on, we’ll have to travel by land.”

Even if they rode horses non-stop day and night, the three-day teleport cut the travel distance in half from what would take fifteen days. That was enough.

Selena and Gayeon prepared to leave the small estate, pulling their hats and hoods low. Just in case, Selena added a memory-altering magic.

The sixth-class mental magic “Curtain Call” made people see, talk, and sense presence but forget the person afterward.

Among otherworldly magic focused on destruction or defense, this was one of the few peaceful magics along with teleportation.

Its origin involved some high-ranking person experimenting with magic for espionage and assassination, but for now, it prevented a bloody incident from witnesses.

Unless someone was a fourth-class or higher mage, or could envelop weapons with mana at the Expel level, no one would notice anything strange.

Even with hats and hoods, some hair might show—Selena’s silver and Gayeon’s pink hair could attract attention, so extra caution was needed.

Walking outside, Gayeon’s eyes darted around.

“Why are you looking around so much?”

“Oh, nothing. It’s just… the atmosphere is very different from the capital.”

Ah. Selena understood immediately.

As a princess of Roderfel, Gayeon would not have experienced much outside the capital.

Even if she traveled far, it was probably to a nearby resort city, likely using expensive group teleportation.

Selena, who had searched the Empire for dimension-travel clues, had a completely different perspective.

“That’s true. Outside the center, monsters start appearing.”

“I learned the north is dangerous because of monsters… but I didn’t expect such a difference.”

Crossing the river, they reached the first border city in the north, Danil.

As Gayeon said, it was very different from the peaceful central region.

The central region, including the capital, had a modern, refined style—cafés, bakeries, clothing shops, furniture, and little street vendors. Slums aside, it was orderly.

The northern area looked like something out of an adventure novel.

Adventurers, warriors, and mercenaries wandered about. Merchants traded monster corpses and research materials.

Big guys carried swords or spears, wandering the streets for work. Shops sold small trinkets, supplies, and sometimes suspicious potions.

Curious, Gayeon asked suddenly:

“Will it keep changing like this?”

“Near the Frost Mountains, buildings are more like the central region. The Empire invested a lot to block monsters from the mountains, though adjusted for climate.”

“I want to see it someday.”

“You will. Moving large amounts of mana stones requires preparation. We’ll visit the Ariel Fortress City at the foot of the mountains.”

“Oh, right. You can’t move raw mana stones with magic, right?”

“Correct. That’s why moving stones from the Frost Mountains to the Starry Desert was hard.”

Looking back, it seemed like she had fought desperately just to get home.

Now it felt like memories… well, more like endless hardship. After all that, realizing she still couldn’t dimension travel nearly drove her mad. That’s why she had opened seven dimensions before.

Selena forced a smile.

Still, after five years, she could use that experience again. Risking her life in the Frost Mountains and carrying stones in sweat and blood—none of it was wasted.

“That’s incredible. How did you move them? It must have been hard without being caught.”

“Well, how do you think we did it?”

“Huh? Um… um…”

She said jokingly, but Gayeon seriously considered it.

As the top student of the academy department, she thought carefully about questions. Selena decided to help, like a professor keeping a student motivated.

“Give me two seasoned skewers.”

Thanks to the nonviolent impression magic, the street vendor, unaware he was being rude, sold the skewers. Selena skillfully placed them in Gayeon’s mouth.

This was a skill she developed back when she was a seventh-class mage, directing lower mages while doing research.

Called “forced human feeding technique,” it combined the right angle and strength of her right hand, the sturdiness of her left, and her high status. Lower mages were moved to tears by her kindness.

It became a famous story—after completing research, she resigned from the magic tower and went to the countryside for health and happiness.

Gayeon, unaware of this, happily chewed the meat.

“Thank you. Did you have any accomplices?”

“Haha. No.”

“I see…”

Gayeon frowned slightly but continued thinking.