Episode 963
Episode 963
Without realizing that the more wicked disciple of the evil archmage was about to explode in rage from afar, Bardan laughed cheerfully.
"Hahahaha!"
Truth be told, he wasn't actually cheerful at all.
How could he possibly be cheerful when his relics had been stolen and his mansion half-destroyed by some crazy magic criminal's attack?
But among the city's nobility, dignity and pride were paramount.
Even if his mansion had been wrecked, throwing a tantrum or bawling his eyes out in front of others would be tantamount to declaring, "This is all I'm capable of."
To maintain dignity and pride, one had to keep up a smiling face before others even when their mansion was destroyed and relics stolen—as if such matters were trivial.
'Damn magic criminal bastard. Was stealing relics not enough that you had to wreck the mansion too? Must be some lunatic who went berserk while learning magic. The Imperial Knights should be hunting down scum like this first, but instead they're spouting nonsense about "righteous thieves"!'
Yet the bitterness wasn't so easily dispelled.
Just looking at the rebuilt mansion was enough to recall the staggering amount of gold coins spent on repairs after that bastard's attack—which only made sense.
"Lord Bardan. The garden fountain is truly magnificent. Despite the recent unfortunate incident, the mansion's beauty remains undiminished."
Before the banquet began, early-arriving guests toured the mansion while flattering Bardan.
Thanks to this, Bardan's bitterness subsided slightly as he nodded in response.
"I summoned the Empire's finest craftsmen. The spirit stones embedded there alone cost as much gold as the weight of all the servants working in this mansion."
"Indeed... Only Lord Bardan could manage such wealth. It's beyond anything I could dream of."
Once the flattery began, it continued unabated, with no one wanting to be outdone.
"Come to think of it, this city has no shortage of fools. Calling gold-hungry intruders 'righteous thieves'!"
"Exactly. What are the knights even doing? They should be tracking them down and hanging them immediately!"
"......"
Though Bardan didn't respond, the corners of his mouth lifted slightly, his expression softening.
Noticing their flattery was working, the guests' expressions brightened as well.
None of the guests here truly cared for or cherished Bardan.
They'd only come for his connections, wealth, or to humor his insufferable temper.
A bit of praise to lighten his mood was a small price to pay.
"That western wing still isn't complete. I plan to summon mages from the Stonemason Guild to rebuild it even more splendidly. I'd been meaning to tear it down and rebuild it anyway—this just worked out perfectly. It'll be the most beautiful mansion in Granden City—"
Just as someone was stifling a yawn during his tedious boasting—
BOOM!!!
"......"
"......"
The guests froze as a section of the freshly rebuilt mansion exploded with a deafening blast.
But no matter how stunned the guests were, none were as shocked as Bardan.
His mansion, rebuilt with wealth he'd sweated blood to extort, had been destroyed in an instant.
"Wh-what kind of lunatic... What in the... How—"
A familiar, sinister mage appeared at the edge of the shattered mansion's second floor.
Bardan's voice cracked with horror as he shrieked:
"St... Stedal Nago! You madman, again?! What are you doing?! Stop him—!"
He frantically called for his guards, but the magic criminal's attack was faster.
A barrage of spells had already begun.
As magical storms tore through the surroundings, the guards suddenly understood why the old adage existed: "Never give a mage time to cast when facing one."
When lightning, flame, darkness, and ice—powerful, destructive elements—came crashing down without the slightest delay, the guards chose evasion over charging through the magic.
"Take cover!"
"Shut up! What nonsense is this?! This is MY mansion!"
"It seems the mage came fully prepared! Engaging head-on is impossible. You must retreat for now!"
The guards' response was textbook perfect.
When facing a mage who had prepared thoroughly, the proper tactic was to first create distance, evade their firepower, and strike back only after their spells were exhausted.
But to Bardan, this was utter nonsense.
For a mage to cast such powerful spells as these required extensive preparation and time—especially inside his own mansion, of all places.
If they had managed to sneak in and prepare without being detected, then the only explanation was that the guards had been negligent in their duties.
"You bastards! If you had done your jobs properly—!"
"Escort him and fall back!"
The guards seized Bardan and forcibly pulled him away.
Meanwhile, the savage magic criminal methodically demolished every building and structure within range.
"......"
"......"
After putting distance between them, Bardan, trembling violently, suddenly shrieked:
"He's not stopping!! He's still going!"
"T-This is strange. No matter how many mana recovery methods he has, the strain on his body should have limits..."
The experienced guards were baffled.
A mage's magic was a formidable and deadly weapon, but the mage themselves was still flesh and blood.
No matter how thoroughly prepared, after unleashing several high-tier spells, there should have been a lull—a moment of exhaustion.
Yet this "Stedal Nago" seemed to mock that very logic, casting spell after spell without pause.
'Are there more mages? Is this some kind of trick?'
"Stop him! I said stop him!"
"W-We can't..."
The guards hesitated.
In a one-on-one duel, perhaps—but charging into the midst of a mad mage's barrage was anything but simple.
Who could have expected another magic criminal would strike again like this?
"He—he's moving!"
"?"
"He's advancing!"
A short scream erupted.
Having initially thought themselves safe at a distance, the guests could no longer endure and bolted for the main gate.
But Bardan, suppressing his terror with sheer rage, bellowed:
"If he moves, he'll leave an opening! Seize him!"
"...Understood."
This time, the guards obeyed.
Even a rampaging mage would show openings when moving—
Krrrrumble—
"......"
"......"
"T-That's... the spirit stationed in the mansion, isn't it?"
The guards were stunned to see the Water Spirit, recently redeployed to the mansion, now shielding the mage.
What kind of magic had been used to turn a guardian spirit to the enemy's side?
But the summons didn't stop there. From the opposite side of the mansion, a massive Golem charged forth, accompanied by undead summons.
At that moment, the guards' last shred of patience snapped. They swiftly fled down the same path the guests had taken.
No matter how much they were paid, this was beyond endurance.
"You damned cowards! Don't you dare come back! After all the coin you've—!"
Bardan stomped his feet and screamed, but the guards didn't even glance back.
At this point, it wasn't just one mage—it had to be a dozen or more, all coordinating to assault the mansion.
Staying in such a situation was pointless. The guards, seasoned as they were, knew when to cut their losses.
With even the guards gone, the magic criminal leisurely continued his demolition work.
Despite the main building's magical defenses, the relentless barrage of attacks slowly began to crack the walls.
"N-No! Stop! What do you want?! What do you want, damn it?!"
Finally, Bardan's resolve broke.
His earlier torrents of curses and fury vanished, replaced by desperate pleas to the magic criminal.
If this could be settled with gold...!
"Nothing."
"...What?"
"I want nothing."
"......"
The low, rough voice overwhelmed Bardan completely.
The greatest terror he'd felt all day surged through his entire body.
To cause such chaos and then say he wanted nothing—what kind of monster was this?
Nothing invoked fear quite like an unknown entity beyond all comprehension.
"M-m-monster... You're a monster...!"
Ignoring Bardan's cries, the magic criminal returned to demolishing the mansion.
Too terrified to notice, Bardan failed to see the undead summons retrieving valuable items from the rear of the mansion and tossing them over the outer wall.
-Who... who's throwing these things?
-Who cares! Just grab what you can, quick!
"Hmm."
Alsicle sat at an outdoor table outside the Red Brick Café, flipping through a magazine titled <This Year's Most Promising Imperial Ice Mages>. As usual, he planned to nitpick and seethe with jealousy over other ice mages' achievements.
-Did you hear? Stedal Nago has appeared again! And at Sir Bardan's mansion, no less!
"Pfft!"
Alsicle nearly spat out his coffee. 'What the hell is that kid up to now?!' He'd sent him off for club activities, and here he was raiding a noble's mansion. For a moment, Alsicle wondered if this actually counted as a club activity. 'Is it...? Is this really club activity?' But no matter how he thought about it, it didn't make sense.
If it were club activities, shouldn't it be done by suspicious, anonymous mages rather than under Stedal Nago's identity?
-Didn't he raid someone before too?
-I heard that Bardan fellow didn't learn his lesson after getting robbed last time, so they had to take more drastic measures. This time, they completely wrecked the mansion.
-What an incredible mage! Who'd have thought such mages still existed these days?
-Exactly! And get this—that dwarf Uap who got robbed last time is now distributing all his workshop's assets to his subordinate dwarves.
-What? Why on earth?
-Scared out of his wits! Last time, he got dunked headfirst into the canal—who knows what they'd do to him this time? Hahaha!
The nearby patrons loudly praised the bold vigilante.
'...Did Gonadaltes order this...?' Alsicle groaned in frustration, unable to make sense of it no matter how hard he thought.
Why would a good-natured kid like Wardanaz raid a noble's mansion?
Just then, Arian called out to him.
"Sir Pengerin!"
"I-I had nothing to do with it! Wardanaz acted on his own!"
Seeing Arian rushing toward him, Alsicle instinctively blurted out an excuse, afraid of being scolded as a senior mage for standing by idly.
"What are you talking about? Some patrons have come forward to sponsor your research, Sir Pengerin."
"...Why!? I mean—is that really true?"
Alsicle barely stopped himself from shouting "Why!?" and instead coughed awkwardly—hardly the most gracious reaction in front of potential sponsors.
But Arian nodded understandingly.
"Your shock is understandable. Your research is so brilliant that most people struggle to grasp its significance."
"Ahem... Thank you."
"Actually, Sir Wardanaz mentioned your research while discussing the polo match."
"...??"
Alsicle faltered, unable to follow the sudden shift in topic.
Frankly, he didn't even understand the "polo" part.
"...What does a polo match have to do with my research?"
"Ah, so you don't know that part? It's a bit of a long story."
"Then give me the short version."
"You could say Sir Wardanaz performed spectacularly while riding a griffin and secured sponsorship promises."
"...My apologies. Please explain the long version..."
Arian, as if expecting this, took a sip of tea to wet his throat.
Just then, another voice chimed in from nearby.
-Where do you think Stedal Nago will strike next?
-Who knows? Probably some greedy bastard's house. Everyone's too scared to even breathe right now! Hahaha!
-They wouldn't wreck Bardan's mansion three times, would they?
"Wait. Three times? Wasn't it just once? Last time..."
Alsicle squeezed his eyes shut at their reaction.
He should've just listened to the sponsorship offer and left immediately!