I Became a Dark Fantasy Villain

As Mukapa lowered his head slightly while chewing, Ian looked back at Elia and added, "As I said, the central region is about to turn into a complete mess. Don’t stay by my side and get dragged into it. Go take refuge with Thesaya’s family instead."

"I-I can’t do that!" Elia burst out.

Her shoulders jerked upward as she leaned forward urgently. "I came out under the pretext of investigating how the collapse of the Black Wall is affecting the mainland. And I’ve actually been documenting everything. If I flee to the South, I’d not only be abandoning my responsibilities—I’d be expelled from the academy!"

"The desert ruins surfacing would also be an aftereffect. You could investigate that instead," Ian replied, narrowing his eyes slightly.

Elia hesitated, then nodded carefully. "That’s a good alternative, but since it hasn’t happened yet, to convince the academy officials, I’d have no choice but to mention your foresight."

That was enough to make Ian’s eyes twitch faintly.

Clasping her glass with both hands, Elia said, "Otherwise, I can’t explain why I went south ahead of time. There are already clear phenomena on the mainland caused by the collapse, like what’s happening in the Black Sea and the inner sea right now."

So she’s appealing with logic, not emotion…

Ian clicked his tongue inwardly and picked up his glass.