Chapter 50
Chapter 50
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 50
Chapter Title: The Heretic of the Magic Tower (9)
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“This filthy sense really never gets any better.”
“Is that so?”
“You’re the magic expert here, so you’re probably fine.”
Fortunately, without being discovered by Rias, the quartet of Namei, Ermina, Justina, and Karin arrived in the southern part of the Imir Kingdom. While the three suffered from the characteristic nausea of teleportation magic, complaining of dizziness, Karin alone was perfectly fine as she surveyed their surroundings.
As it was located on the northern hemisphere of the Round Star continent, the south was quite hot, but since it didn’t border the sea directly, it was also dry.
It was hot, but the sweat dried quickly, so it wasn’t unpleasant.
The weather itself was remarkably clear, making it feel refreshing instead.
While Karin waited for the three to come to their senses, the sound of galloping horses reached them from afar.
The most sensitive to combat situations, Justina recovered first, and Namei chewed the inside of her cheek, spat out some blood, and opened her eyes wide.
The ones riding toward them on horseback were two elves.
“Oh. For people who flew in via a transfer gate, you all look surprisingly fine.”
“Are you Mr. Kiss of the Spiegel?”
“Yeah, that’s me. Which one’s this light attribute mage named Ermina?”
“That would be me, but my condition isn’t great right now, so could you give us a moment?”
“I see. She looks half-dead on her own. You all need a rest first anyway.”
Whether it was Namei’s polite response that worked, or if they simply weren’t overly aggressive toward friendly parties to begin with, Karin let out a sigh of relief at the unexpectedly relaxed atmosphere.
It was said that elves didn’t kill people when plundering as long as there was no resistance, but they were infamous for mercilessly crushing anyone who put up a real fight, so she had been on high alert the moment they came face-to-face.
“Come on, drink some water and let’s chat while you get your bearings. Rushing a few minutes won’t change anything.”
Justina caught the casually tossed waterskin, checked its contents by opening the cap, and passed it to Ermina. Ermina, still looking queasy, took a sip and sat down on the ground with a much improved expression.
Now that the situation had settled, Kiss began to speak.
“Then, let me ask how much you know about us and our situation.”
“The nomadic elves of the Spiegel, living in the grasslands below the southern border between the Pallan Empire and the Imir Kingdom. Due to the atrocities of the Reaper cultists that recently occurred in southern Imir, you lost your main pastures and your livelihoods became difficult, leading to an increase in plundering. To resolve this, you cooperated with part of the Empire to successfully eliminate Slaughterer Karsis, an executive among the Reaper cultists. However, the contamination wasn’t removed, so you requested a light attribute mage. Is that correct?”
“Huh, an answer with no human stink to it. Boring. Well, we’d like to hear about our visitors’ backgrounds too. Possible?”
“I’m Namei Christe, the one who acted as the contact for the request to Ermina at the Magic Tower. Just remember I’m connected to the Tower.”
“Ugh... I’m Ermina Cassias. The light attribute mage you requested.”
“Karin Udette. I came along with Senior Justina for her business.”
“Justina Lebedev. I came to check because I suspect this matter is related to my brother.”
“Namei, Ermina, Karin, Justina. Got it. Fine to just use your names?”
After confirming everyone’s agreement, Kiss started to change the subject but paused to ask,
“Who can ride horses?”
“We all can.”
“Alright, four of you... Karin in front of me, Ermina in front of Mike, Justina behind me, Namei behind him. Get in position and mount up.”
Ermina briefly wondered if three people on one horse would be too much, but the sturdy steeds, who didn’t look like they’d tire easily, carried the extra weight without issue and began galloping off.
“Impressive horses.”
“Oh, you can tell? These guys are basically our feet, so breeding and raising good ones is an important job for us.”
“I see. From our Lebedev perspective, sharing a border with the demon tribe, we need horses for cavalry, so it’d be great if we could exchange later.”
“We can’t mass-produce ones at this level. If you’re serious, get in touch later.”
Faster than expected, the horses raced ahead, arriving near the heavily damaged area in less than an hour. Elves were gathered there in groups, chatting.
“Hey, you lot! I brought the light attribute mage we were promised!”
“Ugh, boss. My ears are gonna fall off. Tone it down.”
“Whatever, just say hi!”
For now, curious gazes turned to Ermina, the most crucial personnel. After greeting every single one without exception, Ermina was led by their hands right to the edge of the contaminated land, and the moment she stood there, her face hardened.
“B-blood... curse. Resentment. Blood soaked into the earth, cursed by the grudges of those unjustly murdered. Purification itself will take a while, but it doesn’t seem impossibly difficult.”
“Well, thanks to our friend’s help, we have enough food and horse fodder to last a while, so we can afford some time.”
“May I go a bit further inside? To check battle traces or such.”
“Sure. The fight happened in front of the altar, so it’ll be a good reference for the most contaminated spot.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
Kiss led the way, Ermina in the middle, Mike following behind, and Justina tagging along as the human side’s combatant—the group of four stepped onto the defiled ground.
The blood soaked into this land had previously acted as a detection device, making it extremely dangerous, but now that all the remnants had gone into hiding, it hardly mattered if they noticed.
Upon arriving at the site of the fierce battle, they found a stone altar and blood-sculpted objets d’art slashed by sword strikes and shattered to pieces. At the center of those wounds were traces like lightning strikes and faint remnants of divinity.
Ermina’s expression froze solid as she examined the traces.
“Th-the one who took down Karsis... seems to be able to use light enchantments, even if not a specialist.”
“Huh, really? Never asked what they could or couldn’t do.”
“Yes. Here on the ground, there are stab marks from swords or spears, and faint divine traces remain on them.”
“...A sword master too. No, definitely one of the top powerhouses on this continent. The wounds left on the earth are too clean and thin. They wielded aura powerful enough to cleave the ground, yet controlled its thickness into a razor-sharp form.”
The corner of Justina’s mouth twitched slightly.
In truth, Ermina had been thinking the same, but lacked the courage to voice it.
“I have questions about that ally.”
“Can’t do that. We recognize him as one of our bloodkin, and we promised complete secrecy.”
“No matter what?”
“No need to say it.”
Before Ermina could intervene, a swift draw shot from Justina’s waist, but Kiss cleanly blocked it with a dagger hidden in his right sleeve and grinned.
“What, dumped by the guy you’re looking for?”
“I haven’t been dumped!”
From Kiss’s perspective, Justina was decently strong, but clearly not on the level of Julius, whose racial potential had gone off the rails into superhuman territory. She’d be around the level of an elf who’d trained diligently for 150 years.
Preferring swift, sharp strikes over heavy swordplay, she unleashed several quick attacks aiming to pierce Kiss’s defenses, but failed even once before the distance opened again.
“Now. If you stop here, I’ll let it slide. A brat in their early twenties acting on impulse. And considering you’re with the one who’ll purify this land, I can overlook this much.”
“...And if I keep going?”
“I’d have to give proper punishment to someone daring to tarnish the Spiegel’s honor with force.”
The dagger spinning in Kiss’s hand vanished in the blink of an eye, replaced by a long, heavy sword that looked hard to handle even from horseback.
And even as it began to move, she couldn’t follow it with her eyes—Justina realized she’d been attacked only when her own sword was knocked from her grip.
“No matter how fast, it’s only 15 years. Even with human growth speed, it’s too early to challenge 200 years of sword mastery. There’s a reason Imir and Pallan fall to our plundering without resistance. We may be few, but even a handful of average strong humans can’t stand against us.”
“...I trained so hard to catch up to my brother... to hear his praise.”
“Don’t know who your bro is, but if you compare to our benefactor’s skill, I’d rate you an ant in front of a person.”
Justina ground her teeth, sheathed her sword, and quietly bowed her head.
With a casual wave of her hand as if to say she didn’t care, she approached Ermina.
“How is it? No problems?”
“...Yes. I can do it. But, if I finish all this...”
“Didn’t they say the Empire’s handling compensation?”
“Um, could I ask... where that person who did this is?”
“No. Absolutely not.”
“Please.”
“No. This is also the result of negotiations with the Empire. The Empire, the person himself, and us—all agreed not to reveal it.”
Ermina’s mouth opened and closed repeatedly with an expression like she desperately wanted to say something, but she finally bowed her head. Kiss lightly patted her back and prepared to head back.
Kiss thought to himself.
These guys don’t sit right with me, but since they’re looking for Julius, they must have some connection.
Putting up with them for Julius’s sake, really.