---
Then...
That uneasy feeling returned.
Stronger this time.
Kai stopped chewing.
His eyes drifted toward Persia.
Who was calmly finishing repairs.
Nothing looked wrong.
Nothing sounded wrong.
Yet—
Something inside Kai whispered.
Danger.
Not now.
Soon.
Very soon.
Persia looked up.
Their eyes met.
Only for a second.
Then Persia smiled politely.
Kai forced himself to smile back.
But the feeling refused to disappear.
---
That night—
Long after most of the settlement had fallen asleep—
Kai sat alone atop one of the sandstone walls.
Looking toward the endless sea of dunes.
He reached out once more.
Feeling the mana flowing beneath the desert.
It answered him more easily now.
Not enough to cast anything.
Not enough to fight.
But enough...
To know it was there.
He smiled faintly.
"I'm getting closer..."
Then—
Without warning—
A distant explosion echoed across the desert.
Not here.
Far away.
But powerful enough that even the ground trembled slightly.
Kai immediately stood.
Several guards looked toward the horizon.
Smoke rose in the distance.
Munnu appeared beside him.
"...That's not normal."
Kai silently agreed.
The uneasy feeling in his chest...
Only grew heavier.