Chapter 17
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Fellow Travelers Secured (6/6)
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"Phew, thanks to you mages, we don't even need to light a fire or fetch water. I've never had such an easy time setting up camp. I'm Blan."
The smugglers seemed to treat each other as equals. But whenever a group forms, there's always someone closest to being the leader.
The outgoing type with the biggest voice, the one who greets first in situations like this. Among the smugglers, Blan appeared to be the boss.
"It's nothing. We just figured we'd share the fire you already lit."
Richer the old man treated them with a constant stream of hearty chuckles, like some naive tower mage oblivious to the ways of the world. It wasn't just his speech—his expression was kindly to a fault.
Tae-jin, who knew Richer's sly fox nature all too well, felt a strange twist in his gut. It was like watching his messy little sister transform before heading out.
The rabbit beastkin expressed his thanks again to the old man.
"That's easy to say, but not so easy to do. You two took in four total strangers without a second thought."
Richer put on an expression like he had no idea why that might be dangerous. Seeing that utterly fake face made Tae-jin surge with the urge to blast it all away.
The rabbit beastkin smiled and continued.
"Security inside the Kaiso Kingdom has improved, but the bandits haven't vanished completely. Travelers and merchants are cautious around strangers."
By the campfire's light, the scars on his face writhed dynamically. They twitched with every flex of his facial muscles, twitched with every flicker of the flames.
"Oh dear, I suppose that's true. But you four don't seem like bandits. You're not carrying any vicious weapons."
Richer desperately averted his eyes from the dagger in the man's hand—as he prepared his meal—and the scars crawling across his face.
"That's true, but... where are you mages headed?"
"We're on our way to the imperial capital."
"That's a long journey. But to reach the Empire, wouldn't it be faster to take a carriage from Remigio City than Rahis City?"
The rabbit beastkin made a fair point, and Richer the old man leaned in like he was sharing the world's greatest secret.
"Of course. Well... I don't know your name, so it's hard to chat properly."
"Pavilion."
It was an unnecessarily fancy name. Something like 'Kim Rabbitman' would've been perfect for memorizing.
The other two smugglers, excluding leader Blan and the rabbit beastkin Pavilion, were the quiet types. Tae-jin mentally dubbed them Mustache Man and Goatee Man.
"Yes, Mr. Pavilion. My disciple here is on his way to register as a mage, you see."
"An unregistered mage, eh. Does that have anything to do with heading to Rahis City...?"
"I've heard rumors of conscription for travelers passing between the Kaiso and Volterio Kingdoms lately. Not sure if it's true, but..."
"I've heard whispers of conscription too. Seems targeted at nearby residents, though."
"Exactly. I'm affiliated with the tower, so no worries for me, but my disciple's still a civilian. I don't want him getting drafted or caught in some uproar while crossing into Volterio. Of course, as my disciple, he'd probably be fine. But better safe than sorry."
His facial acting was flawless, the perfect worries of worldly-naive, timid mages. Mustache Man and Goatee Man nodded along from the side.
"I see."
Pavilion gave a simple acknowledgment and fell silent.
He wasn't dumb enough to blurt out, 'We're pro smugglers who sneak across borders—want to join?'
Richer the old man whispered as if he already trusted them completely.
"That's why we're skirting the main roads and checking border towns for a way across."
As he spoke with that innocent look, the smugglers nodded in understanding and held their tongues.
Tae-jin felt a twinge of impatience inside, but Richer didn't push the conversation further.
The next to speak was leader Blan.
"By the way, is your disciple an otherworlder? He has a unique look. Hair and skin aside, his features."
"Spot on. He crossed through a gate to become a mage and settled here. Begged me to teach him, so I took him as a disciple. Pretty earnest kid."
For a split second, long-forgotten anger erupted in Tae-jin's heart like a volcano, but superhuman self-control kept his face straight.
"Amazing. First otherworlder mage I've seen... But aren't otherworlders exempt from conscription?"
"Could be even riskier. Spread a rumor that an otherworlder was killed by the enemy, and it might drag the otherworld into the war."
"Isn't that a dangerous gamble to pull off lightly?"
"If it's an even match, sure. But if one side's losing, they might toss it out as a desperate play. Best to avoid the risk altogether."
The conversation wrapped up neatly. Night deepened, and the smugglers insisted on taking the watches themselves. They'd been given water and fire without effort—who were they to complain?
They didn't seem malicious, so Tae-jin and Richer nodded.
Lying on his blanket, Tae-jin sent a telepathic message to Richer the old man.
- Old man, when you set the mood earlier, wouldn't it have been better to push a bit more and get them to take us across the border?
- Better to seem clueless and harmless than come on too strong and raise suspicion. It'll take four days to reach the border via Rahis anyway. We can build goodwill slowly.
Sure enough, what a scheming old fox.
Tae-jin stayed vigilant, worried the watchmen might pull something, and couldn't sleep deeply. Richer, meanwhile, was soon snoring away.
The next day, the six walked together, chatting amiably. Tae-jin and Richer the old man were halfway accepted as part of the group.
They marched briskly for half a day and reached Rahis City before sunset.
"It was a pleasure. Meeting four fine companions made the road far less dull."
"We're the grateful ones. We got so much help. And those stories—rare gems you won't hear just anywhere."
Richer the old man and Tae-jin waved goodbye to the smugglers without a hint of regret.
Nothing much happened inside Rahis City. They spotted the rabbit man delivering soup to an inn, and learned that restaurant sold it for a bit more than in Remigio City.
Of course, with no intent to splurge, the pair opted for regular soup over the 'premium' stuff.
The next day, Tae-jin and Richer headed out the gates a bit earlier than the smugglers again.
This time, though, they couldn't stray too far from the gate to wait.
There was no main highway from Rahis City to the border, and no telling which of the countless side paths the smugglers would take to cross.
"Alright, Tae-jin, you're up."
"I've noticed this before, but why do you always dump stuff like this on me?"
"You handle multiple casting smoothly. I just can't juggle two spells at once."
Richer the old man struggled greatly with compound or multiple casting. Like someone who'd never practiced it in his life.
He'd improved a lot since Tae-jin first met him, but compared to his magical prowess, he was still weak at multi-casting and spell variations.
In these areas, Tae-jin could even offer advice.
"You're great at everything else—why suck so bad at multi-casting? Doesn't make sense."
"Everyone has their aptitudes. Mine's just cleaner and faster single casts."
Richer lit a flame in his palm with a casting so quick and crisp it sounded like a one-syllable grunt, then shook it out.
Not wrong, but Tae-jin suspected the old man had some other hidden talent.
Richer's magical knowledge, mana control, and instant clean casts outshone any mage stationed around the gates.
Not the ragtag gate mages, but the proper gate guardians—they gave Richer a wide berth and yielded to him.
But for a mage of that caliber, 'fast concise casting' felt too modest as a specialty.
Oblivious to Tae-jin's thoughts, Richer fussed and prodded.
"Quit dawdling and get moving. They're coming."
"Ugh, fine."
Using Invisibility Magic and Levitation Magic at once, Tae-jin floated lightly into the air. Radar might pick him up, but to the naked eye, he was a stealth fighter.
Ten minutes or so in the sky, and he spotted the smugglers heading down an eastern side path.
"Found 'em!"
The two hurried ahead along the path, then started wandering around, peering about.
Before five minutes passed, the smugglers appeared behind them.
"Mages! Fancy meeting you again."
This was their second encounter with Richer and Tae-jin. But thinking they'd spotted the pair first, no suspicions arose.
"Oh, hello there."
"What brings you here?"
"Overheard in town that this path leads to a smuggler's route. We're giving it a shot, but... not too confident, so we've been wandering a bit."
Leader Blan pondered briefly, then exchanged glances with his crew. Goatee Man looked a touch displeased, but Pavilion and Mustache Man seemed amenable.
"Um, mages. We're planning to cross the border too..."
"Really? You too?"
Tae-jin nearly burst out laughing at that utterly shocked expression. No doubt about it—Richer's acting outshone his magic.
"So, are you... smugglers, by any chance?"
"Not quite. We just believe in free trade. Fighting for consumers' rights, you see."
What desperate rebranding.
"I... see. Could we join your righteous journey?"
"We were going to hire mercenaries in Rahis but couldn't find any. Care to travel with us and help in a pinch? We'd pay what we can."
"Oh no, no payment needed. We're the ones getting the guide service. If anything, we should pay you—but if you insist, we'll humbly accept a modest fee..."
A bizarre sentence mingling refusal and acceptance, but the smugglers seemed to buy it well enough.
"Alright then, welcome aboard."
"Thank you. What luck."
- See that? That's how society works.
Richer the old man's telepathy rang out, but Tae-jin neatly ignored it.