Episode 624
Episode 624
"Thank you."
"Indeed. But things won't turn out the way you're imagining."
The Skeleton Principal offered his advice with disinterest.
He could read the family head's thoughts as clearly as if they were laid out on his palm.
Most likely, he was thinking the same thing as some of the empire's most ambitious figures.
—'By allying with the Wardanaz family, the most powerful magical noble house in the empire, I can get ahead in the power struggle within the empire!'
Such thoughts weren't surprising—any family with even a hint of ambition would have them.
Every family in the empire wanted theirs to grow stronger, wealthier, and more prestigious.
And for those people, a family like Wardanaz was an attractive partner.
An ancient lineage, formidable power, vast influence—a great noble house...
The problem was that the Wardanaz family wasn't like other families that simply sought to grow stronger, wealthier, and more prestigious.
Just as the Skeleton Principal had no interest in establishing a family to compete for the empire's highest honors, the Wardanaz family head was the same. Mages who had reached such heights inevitably transcended worldly affairs and remained detached from the world.
When there were shimmering truths to pursue in the distance, why would they care about the empire's sticky, bothersome power struggles?
But the family head before him paid no heed.
"That boy might have different goals."
"Hmm, I suspect he'll be even harder to deal with..."
"...?"
* * *
"Prahgal is the god of life."
"?"
Upon returning, Lee Han doubted his ears at Jiklin's explanation.
"Not the god of tentacles or chimeras?"
"Even evil gods make reasonable-sounding claims, you know."
Giselle answered indifferently while searching through her family's records of past battles with the Prahgal Cult.
Evil cults always made plausible-sounding claims.
If their doctrines were obviously absurd from the start, why would fanatics even exist?
The Prahgal Cult's doctrine was roughly: 'Lord Prahgal is the god of life, and the people of the empire are incomplete beings. Therefore, we must accept his essence to become greater and stronger beings.'
"And those 'greater and stronger beings' are chimeras?"
"Technically, they're not exactly chimeras... It's closer to using Divine Magic to perform Transformation Magic."
As Lee Han and Giselle whispered among themselves, Jiklin felt a slight pang of loneliness.
She knew they were both mages, but being left out of their conversation still made her feel excluded.
"If an evil god worshipper has appeared here, there's a high chance others are lurking nearby."
"Right. The knights assigned to scout are checking the area now. Though they've probably already fled."
"What about asking the Shadow Patrol for help?"
"Ha, ha, ha. Have you lost your mind?"
"...You didn't have to say it like that."
Lee Han frowned slightly, a little sulky that his serious suggestion had been shot down so bluntly.
Giselle, taken aback by his reaction, hesitated.
"...I thought you were joking."
"Is it really that bad?"
"Imagine if the White Tiger Tower, responsible for handling a matter, went to the Black Turtle Tower to ask for help."
"!"
Lee Han immediately understood.
'But you guys teamed up when you needed to, didn't you?'
When necessary, they subtly cooperated while still following their own orders!
"Ahem."
As her sister and his friend kept to themselves, Jiklin cleared her throat pointedly.
Only then did the two look up at her.
"Is something the matter?"
"??"
"Um... well... we're currently interrogating the captured mercenaries. Would you like to join us?"
"Ah, yes. I'd be happy to participate."
"Though I doubt they know much."
"Shh. Be quiet. She's trying to be considerate."
"Is she your sister?"
* * *
Despite waking up late, the captured mercenaries tried to remain composed.
"Damn. Was that bastard an evil god worshipper? No wonder the pay was so good..."
"Shh. Shut your mouth."
Experienced mercenaries knew exactly how to handle situations like this.
Keep quiet, say little, and insist they knew nothing.
In their current situation, it was actually advantageous that they genuinely knew nothing.
The most dangerous thing would be to panic and babble, potentially making some careless slip of the tongue.
If they were misunderstood as being close to the evil god worshippers, or having any connection to them, they'd be rotting in the underground prison for over ten years.
"You all know this well enough."
"You'd better handle this right. Don't act like a rookie."
The mercenaries hammered strict warnings into each other, just in case.
If one of them got scared under the knights' pressure and fabricated something another mercenary hadn't even done, things would get messy.
"Follow us."
The knights locked the mercenaries away separately before beginning their interrogation.
"Where did you meet the evil god worshipper?"
"In... in Chantmar City, Sir. I swear, I really didn't know anything! They just said they'd pay, so..."
"Destination?"
"Frostport. They said they just needed a ride to Frostport... I really didn't know! Please, have mercy!"
"The payment was suspiciously generous. You didn't doubt it?"
"Good grief, if we doubted every client who paid well, how could we even work as mercenaries?!"
"Fine. Then tell me everything you know about the evil god worshipper. Anything suspicious, no matter how small."
"W-Well..."
"Was there any mercenary who talked a lot with the evil god worshipper?"
"I... I don't know that either..."
The mercenaries only answered what was necessary, immediately replying "I don't know" to everything else.
Trying their best to recall and explain things would only make things more troublesome.
On top of that, rumors spreading about mercenaries blabbing about their clients wouldn't do them any favors.
The knights seemed to sense this, glaring at them.
"Worn-out scoundrels. Even though they barely had time to talk, they're all acting the same."
"They're just keeping quiet because there's no benefit in flapping their mouths. Typical mercenary behavior."
"What should we do? There might be someone colluding with them."
"Unlikely. That evil god worshipper wouldn't bother luring these kinds of mercenaries into their cult. They're not the type you can trust even a little."
"True..."
"Still, keep interrogating them. We need even the smallest lead."
"I'm considering whether to use torture or bribery."
"Both seem... Huh? Sir Jiklin!"
The knights, who had been discussing, stopped their conversation and saluted as Jiklin, Giselle, and Lee Han arrived.
"We were just pausing the interrogation to plan our next steps."
"Hmm."
Jiklin nodded.
"From now on, I'll take over."
"Yes, ma'am!"
Since she had brought her sister and her sister's friend, Jiklin intended to show her competence as a knight.
"The recorded conversations so far are as follows—"
CRACK!
As Jiklin reached for the documents, she lightly bumped into the wall beside her—and the solid rock wall crumbled.
The knights watched in awe, while the mercenaries were struck with terror.
They had braced themselves for some level of torture, but... 'Isn't that just execution??'
"I was distracted for a moment. My mistake."
"It happens!"
The mercenaries couldn't even fathom what kind of thoughts could shatter a rock wall.
"Hmm. So, currently—"
"G-G-GYAAAAAH!"
One of the mercenaries, locked in the cell closest to the entrance, suddenly screamed.
Trembling violently, he pointed a shaking finger at Lee Han.
"Y-Y-Y... You!"
"?"
"You... that mage...!"
"What are you talking about?"
Lee Han feigned ignorance shamelessly.
After all, it wouldn't be good if the other knights found out what he had done.
Even Lee Han had to admit—pretending to be friendly, slipping a sleeping potion into their pot, and then running off was a little underhanded.
"W-What kind of nonsense is this?! You're that mage! The one who came to us... Wait, did you knock us out?! Since when?! Since when did you do it?! Answer me!"
The mercenary shouted in panic, unable to believe it himself.
"Are you saying all those men were tricked and knocked out by some greenhorn kid?"
They'd rather believe some cultist had done something strange to make them collapse.
"Silence. If you don't keep quiet, you'll be punished."
"K-Knight! Look at that mage! That mage did something to us... did something to us!"
"How dare you speak such insolence to our family's guest, you mercenary scum!"
Even with restrained words, the knights' fury exploded at having their dignity insulted.
The cell door opened, and the knights showed the loose-lipped mercenary what real punishment looked like.
"Gah! Ugh! Kugh! I-I was wrong! I spoke out of turn! Spare me!"
Since the interrogation wasn't over yet, the knights stopped their beating at an appropriate point.
Thoroughly pummeled, the mercenary cowered as he glanced around.
'Was I dreaming...? No, that can't be!'
Then he spotted a familiar knight standing beside that handsome mage.
Both were unmistakably from the Moradi family!
'S-Since when were we under the Moradi family's surveillance? Could everything have been monitored by them? Even this interrogation...?'
A chill ran down his spine.
If they'd been watched since setting foot in the north, then this interrogation might just be a test—to see if they'd lie about what was already known.
If so, stubbornly keeping his mouth shut would be the worst choice.
If he tried that in front of knights who already knew everything, he'd immediately be charged with contempt...
"I-I remember now! That cultist bastard once said he came from the west!"
"What? Keep talking."
"And... and also... Ah! Two days ago, another mercenary talked with that cultist for a few minutes. Interrogate him!"
"Oh-ho."
The knights were astonished by the mercenary's sudden cooperation.
Why would this hardened merc suddenly turn so helpful?
"Are mercenaries usually this cooperative?"
"No. This is quite remarkable."
Even the knights were baffled by the unexpected change, unable to explain it to Lee Han's question.
Watching this, Jiklin, who had been adjusting her gauntlets, sighed in disappointment.
She had wanted to show her competence as a knight in front of her sister and her sister's friend...
After finishing the hunt and interrogation, Lee Han rested at the lodge while teaching his junior.
"Right, Eandurde. This herb is edible. This one's poisonous. It'll be useful at school."
"Edible herb!"
"And if you follow the river, you'll sometimes find cabins. If no one's inside, break down the door and check under the shelves. Professors usually hide cellar entrances there."
"...?"
Alsicle, standing nearby, frowned at their ominous conversation.
What kind of talk was this?
"Lord Wardanaz, are you inside?"
"Another visitor?"
"This is all your fault, Lord Alsicle!"
Lee Han grumbled.
Since Alsicle had spun all sorts of tales—both true and false—to the knights to slip away alone, visitors kept showing up.
"S-Sorry. But I didn't make anything up..."
"Is that really the point right now?!"
"Eep."
Alsicle glanced nervously at Lee Han.
The sting of his previous betrayal must have been deep—even eating sardines together hadn't smoothed things over.
"There is someone who wishes to see Lord Wardanaz..."
"Yes. Let them in."
Lee Han hastily cleared his desk while replying to the attendant, expecting more knights.
But when the door opened, only one person entered—an elf knight with a cold demeanor.
Something about her reminded Lee Han of Giselle and Jiklin, and a dreadful thought crossed his mind.
"Could you be...?"
"Jidorf of the Moradi family. Welcome, travelers from afar."
"Eep!"
Alsicle hiccuped in shock upon seeing the head of the Moradi family.
'What did you do?!'
'I didn't do anything!'
'...Didn't you catch a cultist yesterday?'
'...Other than that, I didn't do anything!'
Alsicle vowed never to trust this Wardanaz boy whenever he said, "I didn't do anything."