Chapter 136. The Strongest Party
At that moment, Rimeyer, who had been standing with her arms crossed and listening quietly, interjected.
"But I've heard that the country of Seris is extremely isolationist—outsiders can't just enter as they please."
Rimeyer's voice was grave.
"That's correct. They've twisted the very pathways leading there with magic and bizarre techniques, making it nearly impossible to even find the entrance. I once struggled to reach the gates myself long ago, but ultimately couldn't get inside.
The entire nation is surrounded by walls of unimaginable height—not ordinary fortifications, but colossal barriers as tall as castles. I could have forced my way in, but something felt off, so I turned back."
"Hmm..."
As Lucian and Rimeyer fell into thoughtful silence, recalling Seris's formidable defenses, Violetta took another puff from her pipe and continued.
"Let's table the Seris issue for now. What matters is—Rimeyer, you said you've pinpointed the dark mage's hideout?"
"Correct. We narrowed it down to three locations. Scouts have already cleared two of them with no traces of the target. That leaves only one: likely hidden deep within the old forests of the Eckhart fief."
Lucian's eyes widened at Rimeyer's words.
"You've already checked the other locations? Rimeyer, why are you only telling me this now?"
"..."
Instead of answering, Rimeyer shot him a glare so icy it practically screamed You're pathetic.
'Oh no...'
Lucian felt the back of his neck stiffen.
By the original schedule, they should have departed for the fief early this morning. But he'd spent half the day rolling around with the princess, delaying their departure. Her gaze was pure reproach.
As the atmosphere grew awkwardly chilly, Violetta cackled and cut in.
"Lucian, didn't you say you've had chances to capture the dark mage before but kept failing? In fact, you even fell into his traps and got wrecked, no? Hohoho! So even the great Lucian struggles against him, huh?"
"Well, the circumstances were—"
Lucian had no real defense. It was undeniable that he'd suffered multiple direct and indirect defeats at Belial's hands.
The dark mage Belial kept his identity thoroughly concealed, only revealing himself when he had the perfect opportunity to capture Lucian alive. As a result, almost nothing was known about him publicly.
"Which brings me to my point... Let's hunt that dark mage together. The three of us."
"!!"
Both Lucian and Rimeyer turned to stare at her in shock.
Lucian had never once made such a personal request of Rimeyer before. Not to mention Violetta—he'd always been too prideful, convinced he could defeat anyone alone. Moreover, Rimeyer was perpetually busy as the Royal Knight Captain, and Lucian himself wasn't the type to ask for favors.
But.
"That's an excellent suggestion. I'll join you."
Rimeyer agreed to Violetta's proposal without a second's hesitation.
Lucian's jaw practically hit the floor. This combination was nothing short of catastrophic.
Two of the kingdom's strongest swordsmen and one of the continent's greatest archmages.
While their lineup was absurdly offense-heavy with zero consideration for defense or healing, if these three united, they'd form an unstoppable force that no one on the continent could withstand.
'At last... I can finally end Belial.'
Lucian's heart pounded with battle fervor.
"Count—no, Marquis—I assume you're on board too? Meet us at the castle gates later. I need to pack."
Violetta rose as if the matter was settled, her voluptuous hips swaying seductively beneath her loose robe as she exited the basement.
Left alone in the secret room, Lucian and Rimeyer stood in silence.
Rimeyer moved first, tossing a cold remark over her shoulder as she walked away.
"Lucian. Get your head straight. See you later."
"Y-Yes. Rimeyer."
He wasn't sure if she meant he should focus for battle or stop fooling around. Either way, his conscience stung as he hurried after her up the basement stairs.
The legendary hunt of three was about to begin.
After the basement meeting with Violetta and Rimeyer, Lucian quickened his pace toward the royal guards' quarters on the palace outskirts.
Kara and his elite soldiers awaited him there.
'Damn it...'
His steps grew heavier as he approached.
By the original plan, they should have left early this morning. But Princess Catherine had shown up unannounced at dawn, trapping him in her pink-hued chambers—and then there was the transparent barrier incident to deal with, delaying them half a day.
The real problem? He hadn't even sent a messenger to Kara, who'd been waiting all this time.
When he opened the door to the quarters, he found Kara standing rigidly at attention, fully armed. Her expression was stiffer than usual.
"My lord. Did something happen?"
Kara asked cautiously.
"Ah, nothing major."
At Lucian's reply, Kara unleashed her pent-up frustration with razor precision.
"Last night, you explicitly said we'd depart early this morning. Yet half the day passed without so much as a glimpse of you. We've been ready since before dawn, waiting this entire time."
Her tone remained respectful, but the hurt beneath was palpable.
Lucian broke into a cold sweat and scrambled for an excuse.
"Ah, my apologies, Kara. His Majesty summoned me urgently at dawn... It was a confidential matter of state. I couldn't spare a messenger."
The absolute trump card—a royal summons.
Kara exhaled softly at this.
"Even so, you could have sent a servant with at least a brief word. Do you have any idea how... how worried I was?"
She bit her lip and turned away.
Logically, she understood—if it was the king's command, there was no choice. But a nagging doubt lingered in her chest.
'Why was I so frantic with worry?'
Lucian had been in the safest place on the continent—the heart of the royal palace. The chances of him being assassinated or endangered were practically zero.
Yet when he didn't appear all morning, she'd felt an inexplicable, smoldering anxiety.
It was a strange, sticky emotion—one that couldn't be explained by a mere knight's loyalty to her lord.
"My apologies. That was my oversight. We'll depart immediately this time—wait outside."
"We've been ready since yesterday. The only one who needs to prepare is you, my lord."
At Kara's pointed reply, Lucian scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
He rushed back to his royal quarters, haphazardly packed his belongings, and returned outside.
At the castle gates—their designated meeting point—Kara, the soldiers, and Rimeyer, resplendent in her gleaming white armor, were already waiting.
"Lucian. You're late."
Rimeyer's icy gaze bore into him. Her tone chastised him for dawdling despite having so little to pack.
"Ah, is that so? I was just—"
As Lucian attempted another excuse, a leisurely voice called out from afar.
"Yoohoo~"
It was Archmage Violetta.
She carried no luggage—just a slender wand—as she sauntered over, her hips swaying lazily. Her voluminous breasts bounced heavily with each step, visible through her loose robe.
Rimeyer's eyebrow twitched at this carefree—no, lazy—attitude.
"The Archmage must find walking difficult with such heavy chest weight slowing her down."
Rimeyer delivered her signature frosty insult disguised as an observation.
But Violetta just laughed it off, utterly unfazed.
"Ohhh~ If only I had a lightweight chest like someone here, I'd have run over with no wind resistance~"
She glanced pointedly at Rimeyer's armor-concealed bust and shrugged.
For the first time, a spark of anger flared in Rimeyer's usually emotionless eyes.
"My chest is... well above average. Have you ever considered that yours might be abnormally large?"
"My, average? Knight Commander, a real man's hands should overflow when gripping them! Yours look like they'd fit neatly in one palm~"
"How vulgar! On the battlefield, oversized breasts are nothing but dead weight!"
"Ohhh? Is that why you—"
Ahem! "The road ahead is long! Let's stop this and depart at once!"
Lucian coughed loudly and hurriedly mounted his horse.
The kingdom's guardian knight captain and the continent's greatest archmage.
Watching two grown women—both holding positions of immense authority—bicker like children over
breast size
at the castle gates...
Lucian massaged his temples, struck by a powerful premonition that this Belial-hunting journey would exhaust him more through
this
than any actual combat.