Suspicious
A guard approached, shaking his head as if flustered by the unfamiliar situation.
He seemed all too familiar with the scene.
"Tokdan-nim, we can't have you causing trouble here."
A guard who approached without hesitation, despite the man being a 4-Class Mage or higher.
His attitude was a far cry from how he would treat Arthur, the chief mage of Count Arno.
"Huh? What'd you say?"
"The line's backing up behind you, Tokdan-nim."
"Whoops! Look at me, totally spaced out! Sorry about that."
The man slapped his forehead and let out a hearty laugh.
His gaze landed on me.
But the absurdity hadn't faded.
"Huh? And who might you be? What's with you folks standing here? Move aside quick—can't you see the soldiers struggling?"
It didn't seem like an act; he appeared genuinely puzzled.
For some reason, it looked like the man could only see the black earth horse in his eyes.
"Ahem, that's what I'm saying. How are we supposed to go with you holding on like that?"
"Huh? This is yours? Ah! Black hair! Right, yeah! I called you, didn't I?"
"Can we go now?"
I'd expected Petronia to be full of mages, given the Magic Academy and magic market.
I just hadn't anticipated running into such an odd one.
At least he didn't seem malicious, which was a relief.
"No way, no. Mind sparing a moment to chat? No, please, just give me a bit of your time!"
The man trailed after us persistently, even as we tried to move along.
Was he really a 4-Class Mage?
Unlike any mage I'd met before, there wasn't a speck of arrogance about him.
Is he really 4th-Class?
Doubt crept in, but checking again confirmed it was true.
Lena seemed curious about this Tokdan fellow too.
"Sorry for the late intro. Name's Tokdan, mage. I'm teetering on the fourth circle's edge. Teach students at the Academy."
"Ah, I see. I'm Theo. Just stepped into the third circle recently."
"Huh? So young and already third? Wow, impressive. How come I don't know you? Theo, Theo... Rings a bell somewhere."
He must keep tabs on young talents as an Academy professor.
But my rapid growth was too recent for him to have caught wind.
Tokdan began scrutinizing me closely.
This time, I examined his glasses.
I was dying to know what those let him see.
Invention's Insight activated.
Magic Analysis activated.
Mana Reaction Analysis Blueprint discovered.
Unnecessary blueprint.
Discarding blueprint.
The system had stayed silent when I first spotted Tokdan.
This seemed to be the reason.
Like a sub-function of a mana circuit scanner?
It couldn't detect full mana circuits, but it could gauge mana reactions adequately enough.
Tokdan, who'd been peering at me intently through the tool, tilted his head—then burst into boisterous laughter as recollection hit.
"Ahahaha! Knew the name sounded familiar! Finally met you! You're that guy!"
I stood there blankly, clueless, but his next words explained the laughter.
"Saw the Purification Ring you made. Heard all about the Sunogi's fame too."
"Ah, you knew about those...?"
"War's on—hard not to hear."
His frankness suggested he wasn't a bad sort.
Still, it felt strange how widely my items had spread.
Ignoring my mood, Tokdan scratched his head sheepishly.
"Ugh, so this must be yours too, then?"
"Yes, it is."
"Whoa, no way! Already crafting something this advanced. Honestly, no clue how you did it. Should've sought you out sooner..."
Tokdan sounded genuinely regretful.
And he explained why without prompting.
"Truth is, when we first heard rumors about you, we talked about sponsoring you."
"Sponsoring me? Why...?"
"This world's small, especially crafting circles. Full of us old fogeys! Then word of a young crafting mage spreads... You think we could ignore that? Huh?"
Tokdan seemed to have pent-up frustrations.
He vented them unasked.
"Other fields get hot young prospects, but we're stagnant like rotten water... Sigh. Who'd want this rough work these days?"
Tokdan let out a long sigh.
He glanced at the black earth horse and sighed even deeper.
"But if you're crafting this level and already hit third circle... Our offer's probably pointless now."
His proposal did feel a tad late.
As Tokdan said, I had no interest in anyone's sponsorship.
It'd just tie me down.
But I was curious where a 4-Class mage like him belonged.
"Tokdan-nim? What exactly is this 'we' of yours?"
His face lit up at my question.
Tokdan glanced around furtively, then whispered in my ear.
His demeanor was incredibly shady.
"Heard of the Magic Engineering Research Association? We reinterpret and explore ancient mysteries in modern ways."
"Ancient mysteries...?"
"Yeah! We've got a descendant of Magrid in our group. Helping advance our research. You've heard of Magrid's heirs, right?"
The Magrid heir talk surfaced again.
But Petra, who'd been listening silently behind me, stepped forward as if she could bear it no longer.
"Who dares claim the title of Magrid's heir besides the Apostle? Heresy! Heresy, I say! I shall slay you, mage!"
This was getting messy.
"Same as ever here—changes on the surface, but not really. Hmm."
Camilla perched on a familiar building's roof, murmuring as she overlooked Petronia.
She'd handed the lich's items to Theo and slipped into the shadows.
But Theo's chat with that short old guy was dragging on—what was so fascinating?
In the meantime, she'd shadow-jumped to scout Petronia.
Making sure no tails were on Theo.
But she couldn't focus.
It was that conversation right before her shadow jump.
"Weird old man's spouting nonsense. Master’s the only heir of Magrid."
Hearing that, she'd almost gone back.
But with the human undead there, it should be fine.
She could shred a lich solo; a non-combat 4-Class mage was nothing.
Better to check surroundings for other threats.
"Hmm, Magic Engineering Research Association? Kill 'em all? Never heard of 'em..."
Truthfully, Camilla didn't care what the Magic Engineering Research Association was.
The problem was she'd never heard of it.
An organization with a 4-Class mage should've been on her radar long ago.
Yet it operated in secret, unknown even to her.
"How dare they impersonate Master! Yeah! Wipe 'em out! What if they cause trouble and pin it on him? Master's the real heir!"
Camilla spun wild scenarios alone.
Sure, it looked like a normal group on the surface.
But something smelled off.
"Even has a 4-Class mage... Hmm, digging into this'll take time. Can't leave Master's side either. Tricky! Tricky! Tricky!"
She clutched her head and stomped on a rooftop, frustrated.
Then it hit her—this was Petronia.
"Still around? Been a while..."
She muttered to herself and tapped her face a few spots.
A subtle change rippled across her features.
Wood-like cracks sounded—
Her face transformed in an instant.
The previous Camilla vanished; now a middle-aged woman wore her clothes.
Camilla, abruptly a middle-aged woman.
But she wasn't thrilled with the look.
"Urgh, can't tweak my build 'cause of the prosthetics. Hope it's okay..."
Face changed, but body shape was the issue.
Her current prosthetic arm and leg fit her original body.
Altering shape would ruin their function.
"But for Master! Let's go! Aja aja! Kill 'em all!"
Chanting her bizarre motto, Camilla melted into the shadows and reemerged in a deserted spot.
A back-alley brothel district.
She strode familiarly.
Her clothes had changed too.
Blending seamlessly into the vibe.
She stopped at a building, knocked four times, and called out.
"Mello! Let's play! She says she'll make you a doll if you don't!"
A crash echoed inside, then instant silence.
And then—
The door creaked open.
Just a sliver.
But Camilla jammed her fingers in without hesitation.
No closing it now.
The prosthetic gripped firm, unyielding.
Through the gap, she beamed.
"Hee-hee! Long time no see! Mello! Still kicking? This hand's thanks to you! Cool, right? He-het!"
Inside, a man frozen gripping the knob.
No—a young man Camilla's apparent age, staring blankly.
Even with the face change, Mello recognized her instantly.
"Y-you..."
Mello's face bore a long diagonal scar; an eyepatch covered one eye.
A weathered look.
But seeing Camilla...
His one good eye shone with longing.
Camilla, though, was different.
The instant she confirmed Mello, she conjured eight finger-sized blades from the shadows and flung them everywhere.
No hesitation.
Stab-stab-stab-stab—
Gurk—
"Gah! What the— you psycho bitch! Why kill my hires?!"
Eight corpses slumped around Mello.
The blades had severed the hidden assassins' throats in a flash.
"He-het! As expected of busy Mello! Mr. Popular now? Friends of yours? Sorry! But mine first! Got questions!"
Eight bodies.
Camilla's sunny voice.
Mello, dumbfounded.
No stale greetings needed between them.
Mello sighed deeply, smirking crookedly.
"What, not satisfied with the Aura Master intel last time?"
"That? Perfect! It worked, but... meh."
"Looking at you, it sure did. So, what do you wanna know?"
Mello's gruff tone.
Camilla beamed at the familiar voice after so long.
But after a brief ponder, she placed her request.
"He-het! Hey, know the Magic Engineering Research Association? Oh, and... connection between Grand Duke Layas of the North and Lena. Dig it up!"
Camilla's request wasn't just the Association.
It included info on Lena too.