Chapter 19
Chapter 19
"Probably. I'm not certain, but wouldn't the whole empire be in this state?"
The adjutant answered in a voice lacking confidence.
"In any case, the Magic Tower seems to think it's best to wait until summer, when the monsters disappear completely. They say operating it is out of the question, since it could cause an even bigger accident."
"Can we really trust that the Monster Wave will disappear once summer comes?"
One of the knights beside the adjutant grumbled.
"A wave of this scale is a first for all of us, isn't it?"
"Well...... still, it's a matter of timing and scale. The monsters' characteristics themselves haven't changed. Anyway, that's what the Magic Tower announced."
Leopold did not join in the conversation between the adjutant and the knight.
He merely narrowed his eyes.
"Leopold?"
The boy slowly turned his head beyond the hill.
His golden eyes fixed sharply on the distance.
"There is a port over that way."
It was not a wide, blue sea like the east, but the west also stretched to the edge of the continent, so it bordered the sea.
"Monsters don't usually appear on the seaward side, so there's no need for us to go......."
That was when it happened.
A wind carrying a peculiar scent swirled around them.
It was the emergency signal carried only by major figures of the west: the Tracking Scent.
It was imbued with a special mana that enemy senses could not detect, but western knights who had trained for years could smell it.
He did not know who it was, but it had clearly been sent to the nearest unit.
"We move out."
The boy rose without hesitation.
He did not know who it was, but anyone who possessed the Tracking Scent was surely a person of importance.
He could not know why such a person had come to this corner of the western territory, but in any case, they had to be rescued.
Leopold mounted the horse that had been waiting docilely for him.
He urged his horse on, following the Tracking Scent. Leopold's black horse soon vanished into the darkness, with the knights thundering after him.
3. Leopold Nozen
'Wow.'
The Illegal Warp had already been set up in the garden of the baronial residence.
'As expected, everything was already prepared.'
In the original novel, the knights, including me, were all supposed to fall into the sea and die together. Yet there was no sea in the central region, and all the Warps had stopped.
The sentence had been brief, but I could roughly piece together what had happened.
'If an Illegal Warp was installed and the knights followed along, then it couldn't have been far from the baronial residence, and the reason they let us follow was because they could sell us by the head.......'
And the ones who could install an Illegal Warp were black mages.
I had already heard something similar at the Capital Academy. The rumor that all the black mages had fled across the sea to the Kingdom of Sebon to escape the empire's pursuit.
Originally, I should have passed through this Warp and been sold a month ago.
But it had already been two months.
'I held out quite a bit longer than in the original novel.'
It was only natural. There had been plenty to eat in our territory.
No matter how much those in charge tried to block trade, the people below them still bartered among themselves. We too had been living on things like salt and perilla seeds from House Hawin.
When the lower classes obtained food through barter, it ended up being shared with the higher-ups.
Anyway, that was how we had held out together. Though even that was now reaching its limit.
'And...... once we pass through the Warp.......'
I took the Warp together with Baron Hawin, the knights, the intruders, and even Baron Forman.
Baron Hawin had also brought along quite a number of knights to escort him.
The Warp shook considerably, but it was bearable. Since the Illegal Warp was a technology born from forbidden experiments, it was not greatly affected by the monsters.
"Hoo......."
At the end of the Warp, the smell of the sea filled the air.
Noisy voices could be heard.
"Wow, another group's arrived!"
"Where from, where? Where did they come from this time?"
"Looks like Hawin? That little territory in the central region!"
"The central region? Every territory there is tiny."
When I opened my eyes, which I had closed due to dizziness, a dark port indeed came into view.
As I looked around, people with black mage markings carved across half their faces came running over.
Those eerie markings could not be erased.
That was why they could not live mingled among people. They could not even hide their identities. It was also the price for having approached forbidden magic.
As though he had dealt with them many times before, Baron Hawin stepped forward with practiced ease.
"I've brought the people as promised. You haven't forgotten we agreed on one sack of wheat for every two people, have you?"
What?
I was utterly taken aback.
'Half a sack of wheat per person?'
At that, the black mage immediately waved his hand.
"Now, now."
He cleared his throat, then spoke arrogantly.
"That was a few days ago. These days, lots of territories have been bringing people in, so the price has dropped."
The gagged intruders had already fallen into panic and were screaming. Though of course, not a single sound could be heard.
They had not imagined that they would 'really' be sold like this.
Now that they had suddenly smelled the sea, it seemed to have sunk in that they were truly going to be sold.
Being sold as test subjects for black mages was one of the most miserable deaths imaginable.
The black mage grinned as if this reaction was not surprising at all, and said,
"Four people for one sack of wheat. That's the going rate these days."
I let out a deep sigh.
This was truly unbearable.
I stepped out in front of Baron Hawin and spoke.
"The more I hear, the more outrageous this is. Are you people truly human?"
After pointing it out in a cold voice, I glared at him.
With everyone looking at me, I raised my chin and protested.
"Where in the world does a price get slashed in half in just a few days? Make it three people for one sack."
The black mage looked at me with suspicious eyes and asked Baron Hawin,
"Who is this young lady?"
Ignoring his words, I said only what I wanted to say.
"There are knights mixed in, and they're quite sturdy. Can you give us a full sack for one knight?"
Fortunately, it was a matter of interest to the black mage.
"There's no such thing. It's strictly by head count."
I sneered at that standard.
"Then an old man on the verge of death counts the same as anyone else? That's irrational."
They contributed different amounts of labor and ate different amounts, after all.
While I led the conversation, I could see Baron Forman stirring in the distance.
They were already surrounded by black mages, but it didn't matter. I had deliberately ordered the knights to tie the ropes loosely.
'Right. This is the west.'
He would surely send out the Tracking Scent. If so, it was obvious that the nearest western knight order would come.
'From the moment it was written that they boarded a ship, I guessed it was the western sea.'
Because crossing the sea from the west led straight to Sebon.
Since intercontinental Warps had not yet been developed, they absolutely had to use a ship.
'The north has glaciers, so ships can't sail there, and the southern islands are imbued with the Sleep Curse, so no one can go there recklessly.'
Just as the west had monsters on its plains, the east had monsters appearing even in the sea. So there was no way they would use an eastern port.
Therefore, this Illegal Warp was definitely connected to a western port!
"So, is it correct that this Illegal Warp connects to Milhen Port in the west?"
"No. It's Delpoven Port."
Since I had no way of knowing which port it was, I had just named any port.
I also intended to shut Baron Forman's mouth by mentioning the word 'west.'
Naturally, Baron Hawin fell for my ploy and stated the exact location.
'I was right after all.'
I had intended to bring Baron Forman along no matter what. I needed to summon the western knights with his Tracking Scent.
If he had not been hiding his identity and eavesdropping outside the door, I would have called him and brought him along. The situation would have become far more complicated and difficult, though.
'But since he's a former intelligence operative, I expected he wouldn't miss a night like this.'
He was indeed an old man who worked hard. In many ways, he had more than earned his keep.
'The plums I gave him for dessert weren't wasted.'
That was the highest praise I could offer.
Now I had to stall for time until the nearest western unit arrived.