Kairils calmly nodded to the two men in greeting.
"Thank you both for showing me the way. Let's go."
He pulled the door shut behind him without disturbing Ma Lou upstairs, then stepped straight into the freezing wind and snow.
Hearing Kairils leave, Ma Lou flopped comfortably onto the bed.
"Now this is nice! This bed's way softer than that muddy ground outside!"
"Today, I finally got a taste of how Wasteland nobles live!"
Ma Lou stretched luxuriously, then selected "Deep sleep mode" on his system panel without hesitation.
His consciousness slipped away in an instant.
In the Wasteland World, Ma Lou's body lay peacefully on the bed, his breathing growing slow and even. He even rolled over with a perfectly lifelike motion, wrapping the blanket around himself.
Meanwhile.
In the heart of Winterhold, within the towering Divine Hall.
More than a dozen figures already stood silently in the spacious hall.
They stood in orderly rows on either side of the hall.
Had an ordinary Winterhold commoner or low-ranking knight been standing there, the gathering before them would have frightened them into dropping to their knees on the spot!
Without exception, everyone permitted to stand in this Divine Hall belonged to Winterhold's true inner circle of power!
The Captain and Deputy Captain of the Knight Order, the highest authorities of the Winter Church...
Any one of them could shake the Wasteland with a stamp of their foot!
Yet these powerful figures, who ordinarily stood above everyone else and wielded immense influence,
Now held their heads slightly bowed, their hands crossed over their chests, not even daring to breathe too loudly.
Even the Winterhold Archbishop in white-and-gold robes could only stand obediently in the middle of the ranks at a meeting of this stature!
He was not even qualified to