"Greater Demons have appeared around here, too!"
"When did they get through?"
"Thank goodness Lord Roland was on his guard..."
Imagining themselves guarding Farn as he recuperated here, only to be surrounded without warning and die horribly after a desperate battle, everyone felt their scalps prickle.
As a mage's followers, few of them were afraid of death, but being ambushed like this and dying for nothing would still have felt deeply humiliating.
Fortunately, nothing of the sort had happened!
"Teacher, those people actually knew I was recuperating here, and they could mobilize the Greater Demons that appeared before. They're certainly no ordinary foes.
"But any action they take is bound to leave traces.
"Could we use this opportunity to follow those traces and find the real mastermind?"
Setting aside his own safety, Farn turned his thoughts to other matters.
"We don't have many means available right now. We'll still need your help as a Grand Mage."
"You want to find the person truly responsible for Master Augut's death?" Roland glanced at him.
"Of course," Farn said.
"Being killed by your own people is entirely different from dying at the hands of Greater Demons," Roland said meaningfully.
"Are you confident you can start a civil war now and cut out the rot?"
Farn froze for a moment.
"I believe you understand Sinvira's situation better than I do, and you already have suspects in mind," Roland said.
"But right now, you aren't strong enough. You'd be better off giving more thought to protecting yourself.
"Only once you've grown stronger and have enough power to control the situation will you be able to turn the tide."
Everyone was shocked by his words.
But on reflection, they had to admit that their faction did not yet have the strength to deal with the conspirators.