Chapter 38: The Wizards' Party (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 38: The Wizards' Party (2)
For some reason, Yernil suddenly found herself thinking about the man who had just left. She didn't know why.
‘Professor Enver, was it?’
The way he’d looked at me with that strange expression and asked if I planned on staying lucky… it felt like he was probing for something.
An instinctual sense of danger sent a chill down her spine.
Besides, the conversations happening here were all…
“I heard you succeeded in binding a Tier 7 magic tome.”
“They say a few magic items from the East arrived at the docks.”
“I’m thinking of developing a new practical magic spell.”
She couldn’t understand a single word!
Yernil had long since given up on trying to join the conversation.
Instead, why not follow the one thing that had piqued her interest?
‘Professor Enver.’
Her Soundmapping, which had already blossomed into its second stage, began to track Professor Enver.
Above the central staircase.
The second-floor hallway.
The family head’s private drawing room.
It was the same path she’d taken while pushing Avison’s wheelchair. Past the second-floor card room, past the library, and now, in front of the balcony.
‘He stopped!’
She heard the sound of shoes dragging. Professor Enver was turning his body ninety degrees.
And then.
Knock, knock, knock!
A knock on a door. The room at that location was the first guest room on the second floor.
Someone came out from inside.
—What is it?
A woman’s voice.
—I told you I’m not here to mingle. It’s a pain.
—Some important news came up. Listen carefully.
Professor Enver said.
—Caleb. That guy might know more than we do.
—What are you talking about? You mean he’s a possessor?
—No, that can’t be it. He flat-out challenged Meldini under the lie detection spell.
—So?
—It seems he didn’t just blindly attempt to bind the magic tome and succeed. Someone must have taught him.
—You mean Cumulonimbus?
—Yes.
—The fox-spirit possessor?
—Could be. I don’t know. But it looks like he has other knowledge he hasn’t revealed yet.
—Like what?
—Like the soul preservation spot he found in the Labyrinth on his first try.
—…
—Or the treasure room he also found on his first try.
—Hmm.
—If Caleb has the knowledge of a fox-spirit possessor, there’s a high chance that possessor was a hardcore veteran who cleared high-difficulty content over and over before coming here.
—That’s possible.
—This is our chance! We have to sweet-talk him and bring him over to our side!
—You’re going to tell him?
—No. That’s too risky. He’s close with Meldini. But we definitely need to get Caleb on our side. I’m going to request a meeting with the higher-ups, so don’t leave for a week. Stay on standby.
—I was only planning to be here until the day after tomorrow.
—Change your schedule.
—Tch.
—We have to hurry. If we drag our feet, Blackdog will approach Caleb.
*
“…is what you heard?”
I had slipped out to the first-floor terrace with Yernil and was now listening to her full report on her Enver-tracking expedition.
This was more interesting than I’d expected.
Especially the part about Blackdog.
“What’s Blackdog?” Yernil asked, curious.
“It’s a large organization based in the northern slums of this city.”
“What do they do?”
“Ostensibly, it’s a company that provides various services and magic support, based on private security and detective work.”
A perfectly good and lawful organization that never, ever breaks the law.
Even though, by sheer coincidence, their rival organizations or anyone who got in their way had a habit of being ruined by disasters or dying in accidents.
And even though many Blackdog employees have been found to be involved in such incidents due to their strictly personal deviations, after which they conveniently fled and became wanted criminals, with baseless rumors circulating that the company is hiding them.
“So… isn’t that a criminal organization…?”
Yernil’s voice trembled.
She was right.
But why would a violent group like Blackdog want to contact me, and why would that put Enver in a difficult position?
‘Could there be possessors inside Blackdog, too?’
It was a definite possibility.
In fact, from a possessor’s perspective, joining them might be the smarter move.
Weren’t Enver and I the crazy ones for choosing to live in a magic university where Meldini was running around swinging her lie detection magic and threatening to kill everyone?
Judging by how Enver was wary of Blackdog, it seemed the possessor organization at the magic university and Blackdog weren’t on good terms.
It was only natural.
If someone from the other organization did something stupid like staying outside the Labyrinth for over two weeks, it would mean mutual destruction for their side as well.
Of course they wouldn’t trust each other. They’d want to have each other under perfect surveillance and control.
Once those feelings festered, friction and conflict over the Labyrinth’s limited resources were bound to arise.
I’d need to do some research on Blackdog.
‘This is a huge catch.’
Honestly, if Enver had been a little more careful, he wouldn’t have revealed his hand and spilled so much information.
Why?
Because during her contribution evaluation back when she was a slave, Yernil had made statements like, ‘I knew the bald party was chasing us because I heard them.’
If I were Enver, the moment I suspected someone was a possessor, I would have checked their party members as well. Based on that statement, I would have realized she was a Soundmapping user.
You get sloppy with your analysis, you make mistakes, Enver.
And…
“Thank you, Yernil.”
I was so proud of her.
Was this really the same Yernil who had cried her eyes out at the sight of a goblin on our first day in the Labyrinth? When did you get so damn useful?
“Um… but…”
While I felt like giving her a hundred kisses, Yernil was, for some reason, looking at me hesitantly.
“I know it’s wrong to eavesdrop on other people.”
“….?”
“I only listened because they were talking about you, Caleb. I’m not usually like that. Really.”
She suddenly launched into a confession, emphasizing her own morality.
It seemed the act of eavesdropping itself was weighing on her conscience.
But I was the one who told her to do it…
Suddenly I was the only one who felt like a piece of trash.
“Don’t worry, Yernil. It’s okay.”
“I don’t eavesdrop on you, Caleb. I really don’t.”
“I know. Don’t worry. Let’s go back to the lobby now.”
*
Still, there was one disappointing thing.
The person Enver had scurried off to consult was a guest staying in a guest room.
I had hoped it would be someone from the magic university. Or at least someone from here in Sohen City.
Wouldn’t that have helped me immediately identify friend from foe? But if it was someone from far away, there was little chance we’d cross paths.
Though, confirming that the Enver club’s reach extended far beyond Sohen City was a gain in itself.
“The first guest room on the second floor, you said?”
I might as well find out who was staying there. Through the innocent Avison.
“That’s my oldest sister.”
Huh?
“Her name is Isel Berten. She’s a Tier 5 wizard! She works in the East but came home for a short visit. She had so much luggage that she stuffed it all in her room, and now she says it’s too crowded, so she’s sleeping in the guest room.”
Wait a minute.
That was an unexpected answer.
I had already done a thorough investigation of Avison’s siblings.
The eldest son of the family was Clorence, but he had an older sister.
Isel Berten, a Tier 5 wizard.
But Isel was no possessor.
She had been called a magic prodigy since she was young, was always top of her department, a scholarship student, and had graduated after following only the most elite track.
There were no records of her suffering from severe amnesia, having a sudden change in personality, exhibiting strange behavior or making odd remarks, becoming a recluse, or demonstrating incredible knowledge unique to possessors.
So, the probability of her being a possessor was low.
And yet, she knew Enver’s identity and was helping him?
Hmm.
It was possible. In fact, thinking about it the other way, it might be stranger for a powerful magical family like the Bertens not to have contact with people like Enver.
And it would also explain why Enver ran straight to Isel.
Because I was a wizard with a possessor’s knowledge, but not a possessor myself.
Isel was in a similar position. She was friends with a possessor, but wasn’t one herself.
Perhaps Isel was in the best position to probe or investigate me.
Maybe that’s why he went to her?
Suddenly, a variety of possibilities opened up.
For example, perhaps the Bertens were the ones who mediated between Blackdog and Enver’s group to prevent any major incidents.
Or perhaps the Bertens were the ones who protected the possessors from Meldini’s violent verification attacks.
Given the family’s power, either scenario was entirely plausible.
“But why do you ask about my sister?”
“Oh, I just sensed someone was there and wondered if she wasn’t coming to the party.”
“She usually finds parties a hassle.”
“I see.”
I would have liked to talk to Isel, but according to Yernil’s intel, she planned on staying cooped up in her room. What a shame.
“But she’ll come down today. Since Father is attending. Probably when the game starts soon.”
“A game?”
“Yes.”
Just then.
“Good evening, everyone.”
Three people appeared on the second-floor landing above the central staircase.
Avison and Clorence’s father.
The true power of the Berten family, Sohen’s greatest magical house, and one of Sohen’s greatest wizards.
‘Edward Berten.’
Beside him stood Madam Marisa and Isel Berten.
“…”
Isel, clearly having no interest in bothersome party dresses, was dressed in black cotton pants and a wrinkled white shirt. She scratched at her uncombed, messy hair with one hand shoved deep in her pocket, her gaze sweeping over the lobby with an expression of profound boredom.
And yet, for some reason…
Perhaps because of a beauty that couldn’t be tarnished by such things, she was someone who exuded a strange charisma and aura.
“Thank you all for coming to the party.”
In contrast, Edward Berten looked like a meticulous and perfect man, without a single flaw to be found. His hair was precisely combed and parted, and he wore an expensive, sharply tailored suit with a pocket square. His well-maintained, toned physique was palpable even through the suit.
“This party is to celebrate the fact that although our youngest, Avison, failed in his first Labyrinth expedition, he was blessed with great fortune and returned to us alive.”
It was a statement that could have been embarrassing, but Avison just grinned innocently.
“The two adventurers who saved my youngest son are here with us today. They are the team that has been the talk of the town lately. The wizard Caleb, and the ranger Yernil.”
Edward gestured toward us.
“Thank you so much for coming.”
Applause erupted from all around.
“Before the party ends tonight, I must insist that you both come and see me to receive your reward for saving Avison. I have prepared something truly special.”
Edward said.
“And for all of you who have gathered here today, I have prepared a small event. A game that requires a bit of magic, and a bit of brainpower.”
The wizards looking up at the second floor all wore expressions of interest.
Every one of them was a skilled magic user, and they were all veterans when it came to using their heads.
“The name of the game is ‘Message Lost in the Labyrinth.’”
Something suddenly clicked.
The message the guard at the mansion entrance had written with my and Yernil’s names on it, which had vanished before reaching its destination.
“First, since this game requires the Message spell.”
At a signal from Edward, servants on the first floor brought a large box before the guests.
The box was filled with wands containing the Tier 1 practical magic spell, ‘Message.’
“We will hand out one wand to each of you. And since this is a game played in teams of three, you will need to form teams.”
“…”
“Those of you in the hall are free to form teams of three. In addition, my eldest daughter, who normally despises these sorts of social gatherings.”
Edward introduced Isel, who let out a yawn.
“Isel Berten will also be participating in today’s game.”
A murmur went through the wizards in the hall, especially the young men.
Now I remembered.
I’d been so shocked by the conversation with Enver that I’d momentarily forgotten, but Isel was the eldest daughter of this powerful family, possessing both looks and talent, making her the top predator of the Sohen social scene.
They said if all the men she’d rejected stood in a line, it would stretch from here to the main gate of the magic university.
That’s why these guys were already blushing…
Wait a minute. Yernil, why are you blushing?
“She’s so… cool,” Yernil whispered in my ear, looking deeply moved.
Hmm.
For Yernil, who had trembled in a 1,800-gold dress, the dazzling fashion show of the wizard ladies here must have felt like another world. And in the midst of it all, Isel’s sudden appearance in a wrinkled shirt, cotton pants, and messy hair must have been lethal.
“Nice to meet you.”
Isel strode down the stairs and picked up a wand.
She stopped next to me.
“Thanks for saving my little brother.”
She offered a short word of thanks.
Good.
I wanted to talk to her anyway, so this worked out perfectly.
‘I have to be on your team, Isel.’
“Now, I will explain the rules of the game,” Edward said.
“Have any of you ever played a TRPG?”
I had.
Because the game, Abyss of the Labyrinth, was a TRPG-based game.
Of course, the original TRPGs were purely analog role-playing games played on a tabletop with just pen, paper, and dice, which was a bit different from the computer game Abyss of the Labyrinth.
Still, the game’s system and format were the same…
“The game we will be playing today is a TRPG for wizards. Though we won’t be playing it at a table.”
What’s the grand prize?