Ute walked cautiously through the streets of Theoret's E District.
The last time he had come to Theoret was thirty years ago, when he had just taken charge of the Hill School. Unlike this uninvited visit, however, he had been invited to join a Secret Realm expedition organized by Theoret back then.
It was that very expedition that had turned his life upside down.
Secret arts!
Secret arts capable of transforming his very being had become his lifelong pursuit.
But thirty years had passed, and he still had precious little to show for it.
As he felt his body aging by the day, the despair in Ute's heart grew deeper.
Yet at that very moment, word of the Hill Inner School had actually emerged from Theoret. For Ute, who had led the Hill School for thirty years, this was an enormous shock.
Once he learned how the Inner Faction fought, he became especially impatient.
He contacted the Ryder Family and, after conceding some benefits, secured their cooperation for this venture.
To Ute, this was perfectly normal.
Although people called him a master, the Hill School's reliance on external tools in combat had long since made him accustomed to borrowing any power available.
Even if many people considered that beneath their dignity.
"What a tangled maze of streets!"
Following the map in his memory, Ute skirted one alley and entered a side lane branching off another.
These were not memories from thirty years ago, but information his planted agents had gathered bit by bit and sent back to him.
The secret safe house he was heading toward had likewise been arranged by an agent.
Of course, this was not the agent who had been exposed.
He had planted this agent separately.
Ute had understood since childhood that he should never put