"The only clues we have right now are the name of this city-state and the dragon fairy tale..."
Castorice took out the diamond-shaped ruby, gazed at its faint glow, and sighed.
"Even my teacher's wisdom can only illuminate this tiny patch of ground beneath our feet. The moment we take the first step, the road ahead will be shrouded in unknown fog..."
"But in my long travels, this isn't the first time."
"Rather than hesitate, sir, let us set out first."
"Perhaps today, fate will take pity on us for once and cast down a little mercy."
Connecting the dock to the ruins of the city-state was a wooden bridge that remained intact to this day.
Yan Huan slowly crossed the bridge, and ripples spread across the strangely colored river below.
"Turn back... Turn back..."
A girl's ethereal voice drifted over from afar.
"Ahead lies the domain of the dead..."
"?"
"Who said that?"
Yan Huan looked ahead and seemed to see only a purple butterfly fluttering about.
Mimi said excitedly:
"What a beautiful butterfly. Is it talking to us?"
Castorice took one look and knew where the butterfly came from. "That is a Whispering Death Butterfly. Wherever many people have died in disaster, they can always be seen dancing through the air."
"In Aedilia, some believe they are Senatos's mercy."
"He turns the last trace of the dead's lingering obsession into these creatures, as though preserving specimens of life."
"Specimens? That's so perverse..." Yan Huan wore a look of disgust.
Castorice continued:
"Others believe they are Senatos's messengers, guiding the souls of the dead to the underworld."
Hearing that, Mimi studied the Whispering Death Butterfly even more carefully.
"The latter explanation feels more believable, considering how direct it was."
"Perhaps." Castorice looked around.
"The fact that we can hear