Chapter 497: Quest (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 497: Quest (2)
Some people in the world could cow others with just a glance and the force of their presence. Teshelan Lengman Kealunus seemed to be one of these people.
"L-Lord...!"
He was about 5'7" with a typical wizard's build and skin that had become rather wrinkly with age. To be honest, if it weren't for that shoulder-high staff he was holding, I would think he was just an ordinary old man walking down the street.
Step.
However, as he slowly made his way down the stairs, not even the warriors could make a single peep. The look in his eyes was sharp despite his age. However, that wasn't the true reason why the warriors were dead silent.
They too could instinctively sense it.
Although the areas of expertise wizards and warriors specialized in were vastly different, there was no doubt which of the two was stronger.
"Baron Bjorn Yandel." When he finally reached the bottom step, he looked up at me and said, "You really are just like my older brother described. It's a pleasure to meet you."
His greeting caught me off guard. It was hard to believe that the lord of this tower would react to me, a barbarian, in such a polite way, especially after I broke into his workplace with thousands of warriors. One would think he'd lost his marbles.
Step.
As I took a large step forward, he took a step back. This confirmed a suspicion of mine.
He's purposely staying out of range.
Right now, the lord of the Magic Tower was taking particular care to stay out of range of Misplaced Trust. However, I pretended I hadn't noticed and grunted, "Well, I can't say that I'm all that glad to see you here. I'm busy interrogating the criminals right now."
While my tone was clearly hostile, he replied with a smile. "How about we set aside our emotions and have an honest conversation before all that?"
He sounded relaxed, like a man who knew he had the upper hand.
Honest conversation, my ass.
Did this old man not know anything? How could you ever expect a barbarian to understand someone who refused to say what he actually felt?
"I refuse! I told you, we are busy interrogating the criminals right now!"
"But surely you know that they won't say a word now that I've arrived."
That was true. The three wizards we had tied up all had a glimmer of hope in their eyes now that the old man was here.
If they weren't going to talk, I was planning on using force. But since this old man is here, I guess that option is off the table...
"You can take your time deciding what to do. But at this rate, the royal army will soon arrive."
I didn't need much time. "All right. If there's something you want to say, then say it."
"First, will you send your people away?"
"Only the warriors. Marco will stay here."
"Marco? Are you talking about that man over there?"
Marco, who was focused on filming everything, flinched when the lord of the Magic Tower glanced at him. It was only natural that he would get scared at the sight of such a powerful person looking his way.
"The royal family has a right to know everything that takes place here."
"Hm, is that so?"
"Are you denying that?"
"Of course not. As a subject of this city, I wouldn't dare interfere with the affairs of the royal family. But..." He slowly trailed off and glanced at Marco once more.
Crack!
"A-Ah!" The crystal ball in Marco's hands broke, and he fell backward, startled.
"It seems your crystal has broken."
So that was how he wanted to play things? "Huh. I bought it here at the Magic Tower too. I guess it was defective."
"Magical devices are bound to occasionally malfunction, no matter how well-made they are. However, since you purchased it from us, I apologize on behalf of the Magic Tower. If you tell me the exact school you purchased it from, I will have them provide you with a new one."
This old man was a real comedian.
"Ainar, take everyone downstairs. Including Marco."
"Will you be okay...?"
I nodded at her and she quickly escorted everyone downstairs.
"As for you three, you should take a nap for the time being." The three wizards sitting on the floor suddenly passed out all at once. The old man had used a basic sleeping spell on them. With that, only the two of us remained.
"All right, you've sent everyone away, now tell me," I demanded, "what do you have to say?"
"I will be brief since there's not much time." He then took three steps forward, entering Misplaced Trust's radius and looking directly at me as he said, "The Magic Tower will ban all research into or utilizing barbarian hearts from this day forward. That means that anyone who is caught researching them will be punished accordingly, just as they would for studying forbidden magics."
"And?"
"As for those who went to the black market to buy them, they will also be punished."
"What's the punishment?"
"They will no longer be affiliated with the Magic Tower." Simply put, they would be fired. "You may see that as a light punishment, but please understand our situation and know that we can't punish them any further for such a crime."
He was talking like he was worried I wouldn't agree, but I was actually more than happy with his offer. I may have kicked up a fuss about execution and treason, but it would be impossible to prove a crime of that level had actually taken place.
"Of course, if anyone tries to buy a barbarian heart through the black market in the future, their punishment will be much worse," he elaborated. "It will be no different than trying to obtain a banned item."
All right, he even made sure to add a preventative clause for the future as well.
"And?"
"We will not submit any formal complaints about your unauthorized intrusion into the Magic Tower today. You broke inside to admonish us for our crimes, but after hearing your side of the story, we acknowledged our wrongdoings, and you eventually forgave us. That's the story that will be known to the public."
I was left speechless. Even though I knew he couldn't lie within the radius of Misplaced Trust, I still couldn't believe what he was saying. "...Are you serious?" This old man was willing to officially put it on record that the Magic Tower had been defeated by a bunch of barbarians.
"I am."
Rather than feeling pleased, the only thing I felt was unease. Nothing in this world was ever free. "So what do you want in return?" I asked bluntly like the barbarian I was.
"Of course not. As a subject of this city, I wouldn't dare interfere with the affairs of the royal family. But..." He slowly trailed off and glanced at Marco once more.
Crack!
"A-Ah!" The crystal ball in Marco's hands broke, and he fell backward, startled.
"It seems your crystal has broken."
So that was how he wanted to play things? "Huh. I bought it here at the Magic Tower too. I guess it was defective."
"Magical devices are bound to occasionally malfunction, no matter how well-made they are. However, since you purchased it from us, I apologize on behalf of the Magic Tower. If you tell me the exact school you purchased it from, I will have them provide you with a new one."
This old man was a real comedian.
"Ainar, take everyone downstairs. Including Marco."
"Will you be okay...?"
I nodded at her and she quickly escorted everyone downstairs.
"As for you three, you should take a nap for the time being." The three wizards sitting on the floor suddenly passed out all at once. The old man had used a basic sleeping spell on them. With that, only the two of us remained.
"All right, you've sent everyone away, now tell me," I demanded, "what do you have to say?"
"I will be brief since there's not much time." He then took three steps forward, entering Misplaced Trust's radius and looking directly at me as he said, "The Magic Tower will ban all research into or utilizing barbarian hearts from this day forward. That means that anyone who is caught researching them will be punished accordingly, just as they would for studying forbidden magics."
"And?"
"As for those who went to the black market to buy them, they will also be punished."
"What's the punishment?"
"They will no longer be affiliated with the Magic Tower." Simply put, they would be fired. "You may see that as a light punishment, but please understand our situation and know that we can't punish them any further for such a crime."
He was talking like he was worried I wouldn't agree, but I was actually more than happy with his offer. I may have kicked up a fuss about execution and treason, but it would be impossible to prove a crime of that level had actually taken place.
"Of course, if anyone tries to buy a barbarian heart through the black market in the future, their punishment will be much worse," he elaborated. "It will be no different than trying to obtain a banned item."
All right, he even made sure to add a preventative clause for the future as well.
"And?"
"We will not submit any formal complaints about your unauthorized intrusion into the Magic Tower today. You broke inside to admonish us for our crimes, but after hearing your side of the story, we acknowledged our wrongdoings, and you eventually forgave us. That's the story that will be known to the public."
I was left speechless. Even though I knew he couldn't lie within the radius of Misplaced Trust, I still couldn't believe what he was saying. "...Are you serious?" This old man was willing to officially put it on record that the Magic Tower had been defeated by a bunch of barbarians.
"I am."
Rather than feeling pleased, the only thing I felt was unease. Nothing in this world was ever free. "So what do you want in return?" I asked bluntly like the barbarian I was.
In turn, he responded with a name. "Master of the Tritten School, Lurendel Garlinbarret." The same wizard that put in the request for my heart on the black market. "Please drop the charges you've made against her."
I sighed. So this was all about her. I paused to collect my thoughts before asking him, "Is that woman really worth it?"
"She's an incredible wizard. She was momentarily blinded by greed and ended up making a foolish decision, but I have no doubt that one day, her research will greatly benefit this world."
I didn't doubt him. Just from the way he was talking about her, it was clear that there was something special about this woman.
Lurendel Garlinbarret... It seems I might have caught a bigger fish than anticipated...
Whatever the case, I'd have to ask Amelia to look into her later.
"So, what do you think of my offer? I'm hoping to hear your answer now."
"It's good. I agree to it."
With that, the negotiations came to an end. It was a shame to drop the charges against the woman who tried to have me killed, but all things considered, I'd still gotten more out of this than I'd initially hoped. There was no reason to be greedy.
For some reason, though, the old wizard still seemed uneasy. "Well then. I trust there are no hard feelings between us, right?"
He took the opportunity to gently question me, likely trying to take advantage of Misplaced Trust being active to get a sense of what I was thinking.
"What about you?" I countered. "Do you have hard feelings toward me?"
When I dodged the question and fired it back at him, he unexpectedly answered with a smile. "Of course I have no hard feelings toward you, Your Lordship. Nor did I have any to begin with. You are the chieftain of an entire race, so you're only doing what you must, right?"
This was a very business-like mindset. His willingness to respond made it tough for me to refuse to answer him, as doing so would only make me look bad.
"So," he probed, "may I hear how you feel?"
My honest feelings...
"I would be lying if I said I don't have any hard feelings. Thousands of my kind died in the labyrinth because you wizards were greedy for their hearts. Of course I hate you. But!" I turned my wrist just slightly so that the compass on Misplaced Trust was hidden as I answered him. "Don't worry. I promise that as long as you don't come near us, we will not attack the Magic Tower again!"
This was a trick that only worked when I was the one using Misplaced Trust and the other person couldn't see the needle.
"Plus, you ended up being a much better guy than I was expecting."
Because when I lied, it stopped working.
***
Things were largely uneventful after that, and eventually, the royal army made their way to the floor we were waiting for them on. They were clearly shocked to see the wayward baron and the lord of the Magic Tower having a peaceful conversation. The lord looked their way as they arrived and immediately defended me, arguing that this whole mess was the wizards' fault and that we barbarians were not to blame.
"So... Lord Kealunus, you've asked Baron Yandel for forgiveness, and he accepted it?"
"That's right."
The military commander stared at us in disbelief but didn't pry any deeper than that. It didn't matter to them what sort of deal we had ended up making. From the palace's point of view, the fact that this incident hadn't escalated into an even bigger issue was all that mattered.
In turn, he responded with a name. "Master of the Tritten School, Lurendel Garlinbarret." The same wizard that put in the request for my heart on the black market. "Please drop the charges you've made against her."
I sighed. So this was all about her. I paused to collect my thoughts before asking him, "Is that woman really worth it?"
"She's an incredible wizard. She was momentarily blinded by greed and ended up making a foolish decision, but I have no doubt that one day, her research will greatly benefit this world."
I didn't doubt him. Just from the way he was talking about her, it was clear that there was something special about this woman.
Lurendel Garlinbarret... It seems I might have caught a bigger fish than anticipated...
Whatever the case, I'd have to ask Amelia to look into her later.
"So, what do you think of my offer? I'm hoping to hear your answer now."
"It's good. I agree to it."
With that, the negotiations came to an end. It was a shame to drop the charges against the woman who tried to have me killed, but all things considered, I'd still gotten more out of this than I'd initially hoped. There was no reason to be greedy.
For some reason, though, the old wizard still seemed uneasy. "Well then. I trust there are no hard feelings between us, right?"
He took the opportunity to gently question me, likely trying to take advantage of Misplaced Trust being active to get a sense of what I was thinking.
"What about you?" I countered. "Do you have hard feelings toward me?"
When I dodged the question and fired it back at him, he unexpectedly answered with a smile. "Of course I have no hard feelings toward you, Your Lordship. Nor did I have any to begin with. You are the chieftain of an entire race, so you're only doing what you must, right?"
This was a very business-like mindset. His willingness to respond made it tough for me to refuse to answer him, as doing so would only make me look bad.
"So," he probed, "may I hear how you feel?"
My honest feelings...
"I would be lying if I said I don't have any hard feelings. Thousands of my kind died in the labyrinth because you wizards were greedy for their hearts. Of course I hate you. But!" I turned my wrist just slightly so that the compass on Misplaced Trust was hidden as I answered him. "Don't worry. I promise that as long as you don't come near us, we will not attack the Magic Tower again!"
This was a trick that only worked when I was the one using Misplaced Trust and the other person couldn't see the needle.
"Plus, you ended up being a much better guy than I was expecting."
Because when I lied, it stopped working.
***
Things were largely uneventful after that, and eventually, the royal army made their way to the floor we were waiting for them on. They were clearly shocked to see the wayward baron and the lord of the Magic Tower having a peaceful conversation. The lord looked their way as they arrived and immediately defended me, arguing that this whole mess was the wizards' fault and that we barbarians were not to blame.
"So... Lord Kealunus, you've asked Baron Yandel for forgiveness, and he accepted it?"
"That's right."
The military commander stared at us in disbelief but didn't pry any deeper than that. It didn't matter to them what sort of deal we had ended up making. From the palace's point of view, the fact that this incident hadn't escalated into an even bigger issue was all that mattered.
"What are you doing? Get to work!"
The commander then ordered that all the barbarians and wizards being detained be set free while the lord of the Magic Tower summoned the thirty-six wizards who were suspected of using the black market and handed them over to Mozlan.
"But I'm afraid I don't see the wizard who was aiming for your heart among these thirty-six, Baron Yandel?"
Using the black market was nothing but a misdemeanor, while the attempted assassination of a noble was a felony punishable by execution. However, it was easy enough to drop the charges against her.
"Oh, her? I thought about it some more, and I don't know if I remembered her name right. There were so many names to remember, I got confused. I'll tell you later if I ever remember who it was."
"...I see."
Master of the Tritten School, Lurendel Garlinbarret...
The commander seemed to notice that she was a part of whatever deal we made but simply left it at that. None of that actually mattered to them, after all.
"Thankfully, everything ended peacefully. Oh, but since you caused a disturbance in the city without royal permission with over a thousand warriors, you are unfortunately going to have to pay a fine. I hope you're willing to be understanding of that," he pled, begging me to pay the small fine and not cause any more trouble.
The commander and his men then began to escort the arrested wizards out of the Magic Tower, which told me it was about time for me to head home too. "Don't worry, Your Lordship," he said before he left. "If we find proof of wrongdoing, we will make sure they are punished appropriately."
"All right, then I'm leaving. I'm hungry."
With that, I started to walk back home. However, I didn't get more than a few steps before Ainar appeared from where she had been waiting for me, and began dragging me back to the holy land herself.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
There was already a festival commemorating our victory against the Magic Tower in full swing by the time we got there. Even though we hadn't planned the celebration, the warriors were happy enough just dancing, singing, and downing alcohol like it was water. The scale of it was bigger than any festival I had ever seen the barbarians throw. Even the barbarians scattered throughout the city came back to the holy land to celebrate.
"Bjorn!"
"Chieftain, you mean."
"Chieftain! Say something! Everyone's been waiting for you!"
As the festivities were reaching their climax, Ainar pushed me to give a celebratory speech. Of course, in good old barbarian fashion, I kept it short.
"We—"
"Wahoo!"
"—woooooon!"
"Behel—aaaaaah!"
My one-sentence speech was enough to whip up the already feverish crowd into an even bigger frenzy.
I can't pass up this opportunity to advertise.
I ordered Kharon to have our moles talk up real estate to the other barbarians. They fanned out and brilliantly executed their duties, becoming perfect salespeople.
"Did you know? We can't stop with just one victory! There's something else we should do!"
"Now we barbarians will prosper even more. And the price of housing will rise even higher!"
"Everyone who doesn't buy land now is a fool!"
"What? You're going to spend your mana stones on a new weapon? What year is it? Why would you use it to buy a new weapon when you can buy land?!"
That'll definitely help our real estate plan.
After enjoying the festival for a while longer, I snuck out of the holy land to return home. When I stepped inside, Amelia was waiting for me on the couch in the dark living room.
"Yandel."
"...Huh?"
"Do you have some sort of disease? One that makes it impossible for you to have a single quiet day?"
Amelia seemed irritated for some reason. Maybe it was because I didn't tell her my exact plan when I broke into the black market. Figuring that was the most likely explanation for her bad mood, I quickly jumped into an apology. "I'm sorry. I didn't even discuss it with you beforehand and just went and did my own thing."
Amelia's expression softened, telling me I'd given the right answer. "...So you know."
"Huh? You just smiled, right?"
"What are you talking about?"
"You smiled! I'm sure I saw it."
"...Don't insult me."
What the hell did she mean by insult? When I plopped down on the sofa with a grin, Amelia cleared her throat, then asked, "So. Do you feel better?"
This woman can always read me like a book.
It was a strange feeling, but I gave her my honest answer. "Yeah. Very much so."
Amelia nodded her head. "That's good."
After a moment of silence, we switched gears and filled each other in on our days. A while later, Erwen came downstairs too, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes as she joined us for a chat.
Then, the next morning...
"I-It's me...Bjorn..."
The visitor that I'd been waiting for arrived.
"What are you doing? Get to work!"
The commander then ordered that all the barbarians and wizards being detained be set free while the lord of the Magic Tower summoned the thirty-six wizards who were suspected of using the black market and handed them over to Mozlan.
"But I'm afraid I don't see the wizard who was aiming for your heart among these thirty-six, Baron Yandel?"
Using the black market was nothing but a misdemeanor, while the attempted assassination of a noble was a felony punishable by execution. However, it was easy enough to drop the charges against her.
"Oh, her? I thought about it some more, and I don't know if I remembered her name right. There were so many names to remember, I got confused. I'll tell you later if I ever remember who it was."
"...I see."
Master of the Tritten School, Lurendel Garlinbarret...
The commander seemed to notice that she was a part of whatever deal we made but simply left it at that. None of that actually mattered to them, after all.
"Thankfully, everything ended peacefully. Oh, but since you caused a disturbance in the city without royal permission with over a thousand warriors, you are unfortunately going to have to pay a fine. I hope you're willing to be understanding of that," he pled, begging me to pay the small fine and not cause any more trouble.
The commander and his men then began to escort the arrested wizards out of the Magic Tower, which told me it was about time for me to head home too. "Don't worry, Your Lordship," he said before he left. "If we find proof of wrongdoing, we will make sure they are punished appropriately."
"All right, then I'm leaving. I'm hungry."
With that, I started to walk back home. However, I didn't get more than a few steps before Ainar appeared from where she had been waiting for me, and began dragging me back to the holy land herself.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
There was already a festival commemorating our victory against the Magic Tower in full swing by the time we got there. Even though we hadn't planned the celebration, the warriors were happy enough just dancing, singing, and downing alcohol like it was water. The scale of it was bigger than any festival I had ever seen the barbarians throw. Even the barbarians scattered throughout the city came back to the holy land to celebrate.
"Bjorn!"
"Chieftain, you mean."
"Chieftain! Say something! Everyone's been waiting for you!"
As the festivities were reaching their climax, Ainar pushed me to give a celebratory speech. Of course, in good old barbarian fashion, I kept it short.
"We—"
"Wahoo!"
"—woooooon!"
"Behel—aaaaaah!"
My one-sentence speech was enough to whip up the already feverish crowd into an even bigger frenzy.
I can't pass up this opportunity to advertise.
I ordered Kharon to have our moles talk up real estate to the other barbarians. They fanned out and brilliantly executed their duties, becoming perfect salespeople.
"Did you know? We can't stop with just one victory! There's something else we should do!"
"Now we barbarians will prosper even more. And the price of housing will rise even higher!"
"Everyone who doesn't buy land now is a fool!"
"What? You're going to spend your mana stones on a new weapon? What year is it? Why would you use it to buy a new weapon when you can buy land?!"
That'll definitely help our real estate plan.
After enjoying the festival for a while longer, I snuck out of the holy land to return home. When I stepped inside, Amelia was waiting for me on the couch in the dark living room.
"Yandel."
"...Huh?"
"Do you have some sort of disease? One that makes it impossible for you to have a single quiet day?"
Amelia seemed irritated for some reason. Maybe it was because I didn't tell her my exact plan when I broke into the black market. Figuring that was the most likely explanation for her bad mood, I quickly jumped into an apology. "I'm sorry. I didn't even discuss it with you beforehand and just went and did my own thing."
Amelia's expression softened, telling me I'd given the right answer. "...So you know."
"Huh? You just smiled, right?"
"What are you talking about?"
"You smiled! I'm sure I saw it."
"...Don't insult me."
What the hell did she mean by insult? When I plopped down on the sofa with a grin, Amelia cleared her throat, then asked, "So. Do you feel better?"
This woman can always read me like a book.
It was a strange feeling, but I gave her my honest answer. "Yeah. Very much so."
Amelia nodded her head. "That's good."
After a moment of silence, we switched gears and filled each other in on our days. A while later, Erwen came downstairs too, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes as she joined us for a chat.
Then, the next morning...
"I-It's me...Bjorn..."
The visitor that I'd been waiting for arrived.