I had not expected the outer wall stone to be this cold. Raid stood in a corner of the alley that ran along the eastern outer wall of the imperial capital Verga, pulling his coat closed around himself. The stone pavement absorbed the thin light of early dusk, remaining a dull gray. From beyond the wall came the sound of carriage wheels striking the stones and what sounded like a peddler's angry shout. Daily life in the imperial capital. It had nothing to do with him being here. He had been moving since dawn. From the era when he was the Empire's foremost mage—memories from more than fifteen years ago, walking the halls of the National Mage Academy 《Toumonin》 with his own strength—he unfolded the structure of the royal capital in his mind. The location of the dungeons. The times of guard rotations. The patrol routes of the knights. He still had the knowledge. It hadn't rusted. But it was useless now. The more knowledge he had, the more clearly he could see the height of the barriers