Chapter 34
Chapter 34
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: Mage Lumi
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Two days had passed since we stayed with House Baeltiön. We had also received the carriage and ransom we demanded. Even Durel swallowed hard at the sight of the glittering gold sparkling inside the heavy pouch.
They said it contained one-third of the territory's annual budget. The lord claimed it was the best he could offer at the moment.
With no reason left to stay in the territory, we decided to depart immediately. The lord looked reluctant, but he didn't try to stop us. No—he wouldn't have dared.
At the grand gates of the mansion, I watched as Durel loaded our luggage onto the carriage. In front of it, servants were unhitching the horses from the carriage.
"Are you sure you don't need the horses...? But to pull the carriage..."
Without horses, the carriage couldn't move. It was a reasonable question from the lord's perspective. He couldn't understand why we'd ask them to remove the horses from the carriage they'd so kindly provided. Instead of answering, I pulled the golem's core from my bosom.
"I'll borrow some dirt from the garden. That okay?"
"Pardon? Ah, well... you don't need my permission for that..."
The lord gave his approval. I tossed the golem core I'd been holding into the mansion grounds, and an anomaly occurred right away.
Kurrr rumble—!
A section of the well-kept garden tore free and formed a two-meter-tall golem. In Ailsnor, it was made of snow; here, it was earth. It was designed to construct its body from the surrounding environment.
Its crude, earthen form gleamed with a different charm from the snow golem's.
"Wh-what is that...?"
"It's to replace the horses. It'll pull the carriage."
Thud—!
As the thing, weighing hundreds of kilograms at least, began to move, heavy footsteps echoed out. Some of the servants standing at attention in the back began to murmur. Fear, awe, and faint terror showed on their faces.
Even Durel, from a mage family, said he'd only ever seen golems in academy buildings. To common folk, it must have looked no different from a monster.
"Harnessing complete!"
With the golem hitched to the carriage, preparations were finished. Durel and I climbed aboard, and the golem started moving. Our ties to House Baeltiön ended there. We'd received more than they'd given.
A clean, light parting.
The carriage raced straight south. That was where Raymond had last been sighted, near the southern border. He'd killed two academy mages there before vanishing—that was his final trace.
"Perhaps Sir Raymond headed to Nuarein."
"Nuarein?"
"It's a strange city that belongs to no country. That's why so many criminals flock there. They don't prosecute outside crimes—it's a peculiar place like that."
"A city like that can just exist normally?"
"Of course not. Endless streets of revelry form its essence. Rumors swirl that nobles from various countries back it, and it's not for nothing."
"Sounds like a city nobles built to play in."
"Pretty much."
"No judgment on outside crimes. Good spot to hide out for a bit."
"We'll reach it naturally if we keep heading this way. The issue is crossing the border—I'll handle that..."
Before Durel could finish, the smoothly traveling carriage came to a halt. The golem wouldn't stop without some special obstruction ahead. Something had happened.
Durel trailed off and naturally placed his hand on his sword hilt. Raising his battle aura for a fight at any moment made him look as sharp as his blade. But they weren't foes. No hostility from their side.
I shook my head, and Durel removed his hand from the sword.
I stepped down from the carriage with Durel. I'd already identified them blocking the road ahead through my constantly active Arcana.
Mages. Two of them. As we approached the front of the carriage, a young man and woman in their early twenties stood barring the way.
"Are you the owners of this carriage and golem?"
"That's us."
"We're mages from the Ashen Cataclysm. We came out here on academy orders."
The conversation cut off there for a moment. What were we supposed to do? As I stood silently, Durel whispered softly to me.
'They revealed their affiliation, so they're telling us to do the same.'
Reveal our school name? But Raymond, the current head of the Golden Wind School, was wanted. After a brief hesitation, I frowned and answered.
"Infinite Repository."
"Infinite Repository...? Never heard of that school. One not registered with the academy?"
It was naturally a name they'd never heard. I'd just spat out the first thing that came to mind. When I didn't answer the man's question, the woman beside him spoke up.
"Since you handle golems, you must be connected to the Silent Steel School. Tracing the roots, your schools probably branched from the same line."
"No idea what you're talking about."
"You might be too young to know, but our school and yours are quite close. So, we'd appreciate a ride in your carriage."
"Where to? If it's the same direction, fine... otherwise, you should yield the carriage to us."
That wasn't asking permission. They approached as if we'd already agreed. Were all academy mages like this? I'd have given them a lift if they'd asked nicely. They were no better than outright bandits.
As we still didn't respond, mana began gathering around the two.
I frowned, and Durel placed his hand on his sword again.
"Durel."
"Judging by the direction, Master's prediction was spot on."
"What should we do?"
"Words won't make them back off. Mages are generally like this."
"Can't send them away nicely?"
Whoosh—!
Mid-conversation with Durel, a fierce blaze erupted right in front of us with scorching heat.
"What are you chattering about...? We've given you enough warning—now get out of the way."
As the man menacingly swung the flames in his right hand, large and small swords aimed at him from around his body.
Swoosh—
Each one brimmed with lethal intent. They were real blades. Realizing it late, the man froze in shock.
"Wh-what...? No mana movement...?"
A sharp edge grazed his cheek, and red blood trickled below it. At the sight, the woman beside him shouted in fury.
"You...! Planning to make enemies of us?!"
"Didn't you start the hostility?"
"Didn't you hear?! We're on academy duty! It was a legitimate demand!"
Durel's expression didn't change at the woman's cry.
"And?"
"You... not afraid of the academy?"
"Why should I fear half-baked mages like you?"
"Wh...?"
The woman gaped, speechless at Durel's insult. Watching her, I let out a small chuckle.
"We won't kill you. Turn around and get out of our sight, and we'll overlook this rudeness."
"R-rudeness...? That was us...!"
"I heard the academy values skill over background... rumors lied?"
At Durel's words, the man and woman's faces crumpled simultaneously. As if deeply insulted, they even squeezed their eyes shut. After much hesitation, they spoke in faint voices.
"Our eyes... were blind."
"As you say, we'll withdraw quietly... please show mercy..."
Swoosh—
As Durel lowered his sword, the blades circling the man slowly withdrew. Yet they lingered, still radiating sharp menace—a warning to the pair.
The two obeyed Durel's command. They turned and hurried away without looking back, vanishing from our sight.
"Just letting them go like that okay?"
"Better to let them live."
"What if academy mages track us?"
"I insulted them deliberately to humiliate them. With their sky-high pride, they won't report this to the academy."
"You sure?"
"They're mages."
Durel said that and turned back. His steps toward the carriage felt remarkably light. He wasn't showing it much, but I could guess a little how he felt now.
'You had a big grudge.'
The carriage sped south. The closer we got to the border, the more people we encountered.
A golem pulling a fancy carriage was bound to draw eyes. It openly announced the presence of a mage, so it was natural.
"Lots of mages. This normal?"
"I don't know how many Master has seen, but mages aren't something you run into on roads normally. Probably because a bunch of academy mages poured out to catch Raymond."
"I've seen about twenty just coming here."
"...That's unusual."