It seemed like he’d seen the word fog mentioned in the Part 2 spoilers. Satin dug through his hazy memories. Meanwhile, the coachman explained the situation in more detail.
“At dawn, fog started rising from the forest. There were people who saw it. They thought maybe someone had lit a fire or something—but guess what? By the time the sun came up, all of Cloverland was wrapped in fog!”
Fog rising from the forest. Satin slowly pieced things together.
It’s the Demon King. The Demon King has appeared.
A line flashed through his mind—something about the main characters cutting through the fog to reach the Demon King’s castle. This fog was a signal. A sign that the Demon King’s castle had emerged.
Why the hell did I forget this?
In Dark Age, the villain Satin attempts to summon the Demon King but is killed by Cain’s group. However, the summoning isn’t stopped, and the Demon King descends anyway. That’s what Part 2 is all about.
Unconsciously, Satin glanced at Cain. Maybe he had something to say about all this?
“Looks like we won’t be heading back today,” Cain said, calm and composed. He didn’t seem particularly pleased about the situation, but he wasn’t exactly upset either. It was more like, well, that’s inconvenient. He clearly wasn’t expecting the Demon King to show up.
“…Yeah, guess so,” Satin replied, deflated.
Of course Cain wouldn’t know. How could he possibly know that the summoning he interrupted had continued?
Satin tried to figure out what he should do next. But as he thought about it, a question crept into his mind.
Wait, is this even my problem?
Satin had never tried to summon the Demon King. He had no duty to defeat him either. In other words, this situation had nothing to do with him.
Instead of dwelling on pointless thoughts, Satin checked how much money he had left. Thanks to Rita, they’d stayed at a high-end inn last night, but they’d need to find a different place for tonight. Something cheap, like the one they’d stayed in the first night.
I can’t afford to stay long.
He’d only brought enough for what was supposed to be a two- or three-day trip. He hadn’t saved much to begin with. Back in his village, there’d never been a reason to spend big, so he’d never felt the need to save.
Maybe I should look for a cheap room to rent instead of an inn.
The fog would disappear on its own once the Demon King was gone. Then the lockdown would be lifted. But who knew when that would be?
Satin stole a glance at Cain.
He’ll take care of it, right? Will he? What if he doesn’t? No—this isn’t the time to worry about that. I’ve got my own problems to deal with.
Demon King or no Demon King, Satin had to focus on his own survival first.
First, I need a place to stay. Ugh, what about food?
Even the cheapest inns would add up over several days. And once you factored in meals, the costs would really stack up. He figured he’d need to find both lodging and a way to earn some money.
Wonder if they have a labor office here.
There’s always demand for manual labor somewhere. Satin wasn’t as brawny as Cain or Edward, but he was still a man—he probably wouldn’t be turned away right away. Even if he got fired quickly for lack of skill, as long as he got paid for the day, he could stretch it out for another night or two.
While Satin was working out a plan in his head, Rita kept pressing the coachman for details.
“Did they say how long the lockdown’s supposed to last?”
“Since they don’t know what the fog is, they said they’ll keep things shut until it’s figured out.”
“And when’s that supposed to be?”
“Who knows.”
“It’s just some stupid fog!”
“You should go outside and take a look, miss. Once you see it, you won’t be calling it stupid.”
The coachman, having returned the deposit, said his goodbyes and left the inn. All around the lobby, others in similar predicaments could be seen.
Rita scratched her head and turned to Satin.
“How about we just stay here for a few more days?”
“Yeah, I was actually thinking of looking for a place. This inn’s a bit pricey.”
Assuming “here” meant Cloverland, Satin replied with an awkward smile, but Rita frowned.
“I mean here—this inn. The schedule is messed up because of me, so obviously I should cover the expenses.”
“Oh, really? Then thanks—a lot.”
He was too broke to even pretend to decline. As early as the day after tomorrow, he might have to sleep on the street. And honestly, Rita wasn’t wrong. If they hadn’t met, he would’ve already left Cloverland yesterday.
If it had been someone else footing the bill, Satin might’ve felt a bit guilty about relying on them—but fortunately, he knew who Rita really was. And knowing that Rita was someone who’d never be troubled by money? That was a relief.
“What about you? What’re you gonna do?”
Rita turned to Cain. Satin also glanced his way. Cain had been staying in Cloverland this whole time, so surely it wasn’t a big issue for him. He could just go home. And once he figured out what the fog was, he’d go defeat the Demon King…
But Cain’s response was completely unexpected.
“If Satin’s staying here, I’m thinking I’ll stay too.”
“Wow, you’re seriously like a leech!”
Once again, Cain ignored Rita’s jab like he didn’t even hear it.
***
After a quick breakfast in the inn’s dining hall, the three of them stepped outside. Satin had assumed they’d have to go all the way to the city gates to see the fog—but that wasn’t necessary at all.
“That’s the fog?!”
Rita shrieked in horror. Next to her, Satin’s jaw dropped wide open. It was way more unsettling than he’d imagined.
The only one who remained unfazed was Cain. As if admiring a beautiful painting, he calmly murmured,
“Fascinating.”
Most of Cloverland’s buildings were one or two stories tall. A few taller ones did exist, but they were scattered rather than clustered, so they didn’t obstruct the view. Thanks to that, the fog surrounding Cloverland was visible from just about anywhere.
What’s up with that color?
The fog Satin was familiar with was usually pale and grayish. But the one now creeping around the city was thick and dark, nearly black. Just as the coachman had said earlier, it looked ominous as hell. And strangely, it hadn’t seeped into the city itself—which made it feel even less like normal fog.
Maybe because it had been like that for a while, the townspeople no longer gave it much notice. Some whispered among themselves, but no one stood around gawking like Satin and his group. At least for now, daily life in the city seemed to be moving along as usual.
But that didn’t put Satin at ease.
There’s no way something like that is ordinary fog.
Apparently, Rita had the same thought.
“At this rate, Cloverland’s in serious danger. This place isn’t self-sufficient. Most of the farmland is outside the gates. We need to find a way to deal with that fog.”
Sounding like the administrator of a SimCity account, Rita offered a suggestion.
“Let’s go to the Bureau of Order.”
There was no real obligation to follow, but Satin nodded. Thanks to Rita covering his lodging, finding work was no longer an urgent issue.
But he was worried about Cain. Even if Rita and Edward had agreed not to report him, Cain had tried to use forbidden magic. He might not be too keen on stepping into the Bureau of Order. Of course, he still didn’t realize he may have actually summoned the Demon King…
“You don’t have to come. We’ll be coming back here afterward anyway.”
Satin offered the words out of consideration, but Cain just let out a small laugh and brushed it off. Dark Age was a pretty old novel, and yet Cain’s behavior felt surprisingly modern.
Main characters these days really don’t give a damn, huh.
And so, the three of them boarded a stagecoach headed for the Bureau of Order. All the other passengers were deep in conversation about the fog. Some said it gave them the creeps, others found it terrifying.
The Bureau wasn’t far from the inn, so they arrived quickly. A crowd had already gathered out front—people hoping to get information about the situation. Some were clearly Cloverland locals, while others looked like outsiders, just like Satin and Rita. Most were travelers stranded by the lockdown.
Seeing the crowd, Cain furrowed his brow slightly and muttered,
“With this many people, it’s gonna be tough even getting inside.”
“Wanna wait somewhere else?”
Once again, Satin’s consideration was ignored.
Unlike at the temple, there wasn’t anything resembling an orderly line here—just people pushing forward in a chaotic shuffle. Rita rolled up her sleeves, eyeing a gap in the crowd.
“I’ll try to get in first, so—”
“Miss Rita?”
Edward emerged, pushing his way through the crowd. Judging by the direction he came from, it looked like he was just leaving the Bureau.
“What are all three of you doing here?”
“You’re the one to talk. Did you go inside already?”
“Yeah, because of the lockdown. I was trying to find out what’s going on, but while I was in there, all these people showed up.”
Edward, who had been the first to wake up yesterday, had apparently also been the earliest to show up at the Bureau today.
Either way, this worked out well for Satin and the others. If they asked Edward, they might be able to get the info they needed without having to fight their way inside.
They moved across the street to avoid the crowded front entrance. As they walked, Edward—seemingly having grasped their intent—began to explain.
“They say the fog started from the southern forest. The Bureau’s mage suspects it’s either magic or something very similar.”
Satin turned his head toward the direction of the fog. It looked the same as before—thick and dark, with no visible signs of mana. Maybe they’d see more at the source, but from here, there was no way to confirm if it was actually magic.
Cain, also eyeing the fog, casually remarked,
“Doesn’t really feel like magic.”
Shrugging, Edward responded,
“It’s just speculation for now. Anyway, the Bureau dispatched a search party to investigate. One of their mages went along too, so hopefully they’ll find something.”
“That Bureau mage—would it be the same one who killed the Black Magician four years ago?”
