The Invitation
Erian Belgard had remarkably good stamina.
Actually, thinking about it, it made perfect sense.
She was someone who had been exiled and wandered all over the continent entirely on her own.
Walking day in and day out was bound to build up one's physical endurance.
But she didn't bother pointing that out to Jane.
‘She’s the type who works harder when she’s provoked.’
“Haaah! Aaagh!”
Jane was running with her teeth clenched, clearly hating the thought of falling behind after speaking so confidently earlier.
It was the desperate struggle of a mage trying to meet her daily quota by any means necessary.
...
A good chunk of training time passed.
Roan, who routinely trained for eighteen hours a day, was still moving, but the other two were a different story.
Jane and Belgard trudged into the inn, looking utterly exhausted.
The massive, completely empty lobby greeted them.
“At least it’s quiet. It would’ve been annoying if there were other people around,” Jane muttered.
“Indeed... I had no idea word of what happened in the slums would spread so quickly.”
This was the reason the inn was so empty.
News of them resolving the threat near the city had already gotten around, earning them lavish hospitality.
Jane slumped onto a seat in the empty lobby and stared out the window.
She shook her head in disbelief.
“...He’s seriously insane. Just how many hours has he been at it?”
“I agree... His stamina is truly remarkable.”
Belgard chimed in, agreeing with Jane.
“Um... Jane?”
She called her name tentatively.
“What?”
“Since our first meeting was a bit chaotic, we never got to properly introduce ourselves. I thought we should at least get to know each other a little...”
“I guess...”
It was a fair point.
But Debi Jane was a mage of the Magic Tower.
By nature, she was highly distrustful of others.
‘Why does she want an introduction? Is she plotting something, or does she have some ulterior motive?’
Normally, she would have hidden her true thoughts.
She would have bristled and snapped, “No thanks, get lost,” just to keep her guard up.
But the Debi Jane sitting here now was different.
She had been unconsciously influenced during her travels alone with Roan.
“Do you have some kind of ulterior motive?”
...Like this!
Meaning she had developed the habit of just speaking her mind directly!
Belgard was slightly taken aback by her bluntness.
But only for a moment.
“Yes, actually, I do. There’s something I’d like to discuss... but to do that, I felt I needed to know more about you first.”
She readily nodded, admitting she had an agenda.
She even cast a subtle glance toward the outside.
‘It’s obvious. It’s about Roan.’
For instance, “Do you trust Roan?” or “What is your relationship with him?”
Formulating a decent response in her head, Jane began her introduction.
From the Magic Tower, a mage, specializing in fire magic.
After listening to the brief introduction, Belgard immediately followed up with questions.
What time do you sleep? How much do you eat? What is your staple diet? What time do you wake up?
She seemed poised to interrogate Jane about her entire daily routine.
“...It varies? For meals, usually just a loaf of bread. Sometimes I skip them entirely.”
Though she found it bizarre, Jane answered anyway.
Watching her, Belgard nodded solemnly.
“I see. Now I understand. That explains why your stamina is in such a state.”
“...What’s wrong with my stamina?”
“You traveled with Roan first, so I found it puzzling that you lacked physical endurance to such a degree.”
The nagging was fully loaded.
Working hard is well and good, but a structured routine is vital.
Eating light is fine, but you must never skip meals.
You absolutely must get enough sleep.
A barrage of nagging poured forth, enough to make one's ears bleed.
There was no way Jane, with her fiery temper, would just sit there and take it.
Just as the corner of her mouth twitched, on the verge of an explosive outburst—
Slam!
“Alright, everyone! Attention!”
Roan burst through the door.
The tension that had been about to ignite instantly fizzled out.
It was perfect timing, as it also cut off Belgard's lecture.
“Ah, Roan. Is your training finished?”
“No. Just physical conditioning feels a bit lacking. I’m going to do some hardcore training like I usually do.”
Was this the secret behind his monstrous physical abilities?!
Stunned for a moment, Jane asked him:
“...We don’t have to join you, right?”
“Of course not! You guys can just relax and rest.”
...But if she stayed here, she would only be subjected to another barrage of nagging.
She figured she would lose her temper less if she just tagged along with Roan.
“I’m coming too.”
“Oh, is everyone going? Then I shall join as well...”
“Oh? Really? That’s great. Since you’re coming, you can help me with my training.”
Accepting without hesitation, Roan led the way.
Though they had never officially discussed it, Roan had naturally assumed the role of leader.
...
Change of location.
The forest near the city.
Being on the outskirts, monsters frequently appeared, but—
Boom! Bang!
They were no match for Roan's party, who had already grown significantly through numerous trials!
“Is that the best you’ve got? Come out and fight me already!”
Jane, in particular, was unleashing her magic with ferocious intensity, as if venting her pent-up frustration.
“Jane’s in great shape today. Is it because of the physical training?”
“No! I’m always this good! It’s just that every enemy we’ve faced up until now has been a freak!”
Whoosh!
Once again, her fire magic flared.
Even in her rage, her mana control was extraordinary, ensuring the surrounding foliage and trees remained untouched.
Having cleared out all the monsters in the vicinity, Jane withdrew her mana.
“You said you were going to train, right? What are we doing—”
Jane cut herself off.
She had sensed a faint trace of human mana.
“Hmm? What is it?”
Should she handle it alone? Or with the others?
...In the past, she would have handled it alone, no matter what.
But not anymore.
‘Is it because I trust Del Roan? No. No way. I’m only doing this because we don’t know how dangerous they might be.’
That, too, was a form of trust.
But Jane, not realizing this herself, called out to the other two.
“Did you think of something good?”
“No, I sense human mana.”
“Pardon? Hmm... I don’t feel anything...”
“It’s very faint. They’re intentionally concealing it.”
Based on the mana she felt, Jane voiced her deduction.
“A forest near the kingdom. Mana hidden so well that even Roan didn't notice it. And they're deliberately keeping out of sight.”
“...Suspicious indeed,” Belgard murmured.
Belgard agreed.
Roan was thinking along the same lines.
“You can’t tell if they’re armed or anything, right?”
“I can’t tell that much. Unless we had someone who specializes in scouting or reconnaissance.”
“Scouting... Reconnaissance... I do know the perfect person for that.”
“That old comrade of yours?”
“Yeah.”
But the reality was that they couldn't find even a trace of him right now.
“For now, the three of us will have to manage somehow.”
“Does that mean... we are going to eliminate them...?” Belgard asked hesitantly.
Roan shook his head at Belgard's reluctant tone.
“No, we need to extract information.”
“So, we capture them?”
Jane prepared to summon her mana chains, a spell she had used so often she could do it in her sleep.
But once again, Roan shook his head.
“If they’re as strong as Jane says, they won’t talk even if we capture and interrogate them.”
“...Then what are we going to do?”
Roan's actions were always unpredictable.
Thus, she had to ask.
“Glad you asked.”
Upon hearing Jane's question, Roan immediately laid out his plan.
“We’re going to get captured on purpose.”
...It was, yet again, an incomprehensible strategy.
“But! There’s an important catch.”
An equally baffling condition was attached.
“We have to act. We need to make them feel like they barely managed to subdue us after a hard fight.”
“...We have to throw the fight?”
“Yes, I’ll give it a try.”
It was an unwelcome proposal for Jane, who preferred direct force.
But Belgard seemed to agree.
Two against one.
By the law of majority rule, Jane was forced to go along with the plan.
...
“Oh no— oh dear— they’re just too strong—”
Roan’s acting was absolutely atrocious.
“Ugh... this is dangerous...”
Belgard was mediocre at best.
“Kyaaaah! My mana...! My mana is completely depleted! I can’t even cast basic spells like this! It’s over... at this rate... ahhh...”
And then there was Jane, delivering an Oscar-worthy performance.
Seeing her tremble from head to toe, the assailants chuckled.
“See? They’re all talk.”
“For real. No matter how much people hype them up, they’re nothing special. How could they possibly beat us, trained in the grand mansion?”
They were spilling their own secrets without even being asked.
Roan, keeping his head bowed, smirked inwardly.
‘This makes things so much easier. If they were from the kingdom or the empire, they would’ve never spilled the beans so easily.’
“Um... Roan?”
Belgard, casting a sidelong glance at the assailants who were now bickering over who had done a better job, whispered softly.
“What do we do now?”
“We go to the grand mansion.”
“Are we fighting back now?”
It was a pity for Jane, who was raring to fight, but Roan had no intention of doing so this time.
Why?
“No, if we just stay still, won’t these guys take us there themselves?”
Because there was absolutely no need to fight.
Though she still didn't like it, Jane decided to trust Roan's judgment for now.
And so, all three of them were bound with ropes and dragged to the grand mansion.
They expected a commotion to break out here, but what happened next took an entirely unexpected turn.
Thud! Whack!
Screams and the sound of flesh being struck echoed through the mansion.
The assailants, now crawling on the floor, barely managed to shield their heads with their hands.
“You absolute ruffians! I told you to invite them politely, not launch an assault!”
A man who appeared to be the lord bellowed, venting his fury.
The surrounding nobles and servants began to murmur among themselves.
“M-My Lord...! We were only...”
“Silence!”
Silencing the assailant's excuse with a single word, the lord took a moment to catch his ragged breath.
Then, he let out a deep sigh toward Roan's party.
“I am truly terribly sorry. I had no idea these fools would commit such madness... It is entirely due to my lack of oversight.”
It was a solemn apology.
Yet, his smile felt somewhat artificial.
“Drag these scoundrels away at once!”
The guards dragged the assailants out of sight.
The lord, who had been glaring at them with huffing breaths until the very end, finally bowed his head to the party.
“Please, let go of your displeasure. I instructed them to invite you, not kidnap you like this... I suppose I should have been more precise with my wording.”
“An invitation?” Belgard asked.
At Belgard's words, the lord pulled something out.
It was a letter with the words "Banquet Invitation" written on it.
You are cordially invited to attend the banquet hosted at the grand mansion.
“I wished to offer our esteemed guests proper hospitality. Though our beginning was rather rocky, would you do me the honor of attending?”
His tone was polite, and his face wore a smile.
Yet, beneath his voice lay a subtle, cold mockery.