Chapter 61
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: Ember (1)
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A man draped in a filthy black robe stood before the shopkeeper.
His hood was pulled low, hiding his face, but he was tall. The wrist peeking from his sleeve was so gaunt the bones protruded sharply.
"Come on, can't you cut me some slack? I'll bring the money as soon as I can..."
The robed man pleaded desperately. In his hand, he clutched a small chunk of ecronium that gleamed with a dull blue hue.
"How am I supposed to trust a stranger I've never seen before? You're not even from around here."
The shopkeeper scowled fiercely.
"Give it back."
With that, the shopkeeper snatched the ecronium from the man's grasp.
"Ah, wait a second! If that's the case, how about some collateral?"
The man fumbled frantically, patting himself down.
As he rummaged through the robe's pockets, a handful of twigs and leaves spilled out, and a short staff loosely tied at his waist clattered to the floor.
With a startled "Uwaaah!", he yanked off his hood and scooped up the staff.
His thin, grimy face was framed by thick brown hair, now fully exposed.
"No, I don't need any collateral. No credit, I told you. If you want it, pay up."
The shopkeeper waved him off firmly.
The man dithered, still digging through his pockets in search of something.
"Please, have some mercy! Without this, I can't cast spells!
I'm a court mage, I told you earlier. I've got an important mission. I'm just short on cash right now."
"Lib, that guy."
Clemence turned to me. I nodded.
"I heard..."
That man... the court mage Barcus, only known to me by name?
I frowned.
A mage should have a mana flow distinct from ordinary people, but I couldn't make it out on him clearly.
Luwen and Claus Sage, even my friends from the knight academy's magic department—I could see their flows, but this guy...
The shopkeeper still didn't trust him, and the man kept pulling out unripe fruits and broken twigs from his pockets in a fluster.
Each item only made him seem less credible.
"I don't have any proof of my identity right now. I gave everything valuable to the coachman just to get here after getting lost. If you still can't trust me..."
"Should we help him?"
Clemence asked quietly.
If he's a court mage, he's practically one of our group. No reason not to.
I nodded.
"Wedi, you've got my wallet, right?"
Wedin, who had been glaring at the man, handed the wallet back to Clemence with a displeased look.
Clemence took it and headed down the stairs. Wedin and I followed behind.
"Kids, thank you so much."
Barcus scooped up a handful of my snacks with his bony hand and shoved them into his mouth one after another.
Was he starving for days to look this ragged, or was he just naturally skinny? Hard to tell. But the filth came from wandering far too long.
"I'll repay this kindness the moment we reach Elgrace. I had to spend all my money just to get here."
"It's fine. Don't worry about it."
Barcus was deeply moved by Clemence's warm smile.
"Seriously, if I'd met a kid like you sooner, I wouldn't have gone through all this."
"Bad luck, I guess. Any injuries?"
"Well, I did trip a few times on the way..."
As he spoke, Barcus hiked up his baggy robe to reveal several scrapes.
Clemence examined them sympathetically, and feeling better, he showed her the scratches on his knee too.
"Bad luck?"
Wedin, walking a few steps behind, couldn't hide his suspicion.
"Does it make sense for a court mage to go out for a stroll beyond the walls and get lost?"
"Well, he looks the part, at least."
Wedin shut his mouth, unable to argue.
Barcus's story went like this.
Two days ago, he'd gone for a light walk near Beldayne and lost his way in the forest.
He wandered until nightfall without finding the path, then stumbled on a village. The locals offered help but demanded money and goods in exchange, so he handed them over.
On top of that, to ride a cart to Beldayne, he even surrendered the ecronium embedded in his staff.
Without it, Barcus couldn't use magic.
So he'd tried to buy some at a Beldayne general store, but he had no money left...
"Why not go back to your lodgings first and ask the kingdom knights for help?"
"Oh, come on, that's impossible."
I'd asked logically, but Barcus shook his head vigorously.
"Those lofty kingdom knights wouldn't listen to me. Or the Lesis Duchess? Heavens, I'd have to turn the world upside down to borrow from her."
He stuffed the last of my snacks into his mouth and crumpled the bag into my hand.
The Lesis Duchess was no pushover, sure... Clemence's expression soured.
I grabbed Barcus and quickened our pace toward the inn.
"Anyway, let's hurry back. Everyone's worried about where you've gone."
I hadn't actually seen anyone worried, but no need to mention that.
Glancing back as I led the way with Barcus, I saw Wedin looking after Clemence, whose face was stiff.
The inn bustled late into the night with preparations for tomorrow's departure.
Most of the hungover knights had sobered up and scurried about, trying to erase last night's fiasco from their minds.
With far more people leaving tomorrow, there was twice the work.
Twenty kingdom knights, court mage Barcus, the Lesis Duchess and her two maids.
And five knights from the Lesis ducal family's own guard.
They were assigned to escort the duchess exclusively.
With the swelled numbers, the White Guard Knight and Manager Wilton double- and triple-checked the travel plans.
The carriages reclaimed after the Hopf merchants left needed repairs, and food and camping gear had to be restocked.
On top of that, the duchess's finicky demands left Manager Wilton, already swamped, looking paler by the hour.
She incessantly meddled—needing breaks every few hours, specifying exact snacks and drinks.
Her arguments with the manager only settled dramatically when the White Guard Knight intervened, but Wilton seemed to have aged years in minutes.
The duchess made no secret of her displeasure, dumping the rest on her maids before retreating to her room, surrounded by her five guards.
"Guess she fought with Grandpa."
Clemence murmured softly as we watched the courtyard from the second-floor hallway.
Her mother had just stormed inside, hiding her angry face behind her fan.
"With the White Guard Knight? Why?"
"For bringing the family knights."
The Lesis ducal knights wore blue uniforms adorned with elaborate decorations, their cloaks emblazoned with a white flower crest at the hem.
A crest strikingly similar to the White Guard Knight's.
He gazed at it with complicated emotions.
"Mom says it's to uphold the family's dignity, but really, she doesn't trust the kingdom knights. Says they're Prince Raymond's men."
"I see..."
I stared down at Sir Jenard, the kingdom knight commander, deep in conversation with my father in the courtyard.
They'd grown friendly quickly, chatting casually.
Father discussed the delegation's affairs; Sir Jenard, knight management.
I didn't know his loyalty to Prince Raymond, but at least he held no prejudice against other races.
Otherwise, he couldn't converse so easily with my pureblood Luar father.
"I'll ask Dad about Sir Jenard. See if the duchess is right about him being untrustworthy."
"Thanks, Lib."
Clemence smiled gratefully. I scratched my itchy cheek.
"No big deal. Wedin and I came to help you, after all."
We needed to know what was happening in the Lesion Kingdom—who to trust, who to watch.
Sir Jenard at least clicked with Father, so a good starting point...
My gaze drifted out the window absently, catching mana stirring in the annex.
Someone was about to cast a spell. No need to wonder who.
"Clem, I gotta head down."
"Okay. I'm going back to rest. See you later."
I waved to Clemence and hurried down the hall to the stairs.
My mood wasn't great.
I still hadn't told Clemence or Wedin about the Silver Moon Knights.
I knew I had to eventually, but the words wouldn't come.
Once we reach Elgrace and sort out Clemence's situation... maybe then.
The inn's annex held a large communal storeroom.
It once stored carriages, carts, food, and camping gear, but now stood empty.
The servants had hauled everything outside and returned to the inn after finishing.
A few flickering oil lamps cast uneasy shadows in the quiet space.
"Ugh, damn it, why won't it work! Listen to me!"
Barcus's voice echoed from the far end.
Loud enough that it wasn't some secretive business.
"Mr. Barcus?"
I rested my chin on a shoulder-high hay bale stack and peered over.
Barcus had drawn a circular magic circle on the dirt floor and was gathering mana.
His staff lay alone in the center.
"What are you doing?"
I asked out of pure curiosity.
The floor circle seemed designed to aid harmony and fusion. Crooked runes, a few shapes, and the rough form suggested as much.
But the direction of mana he was directing ran opposite to the circle's invocation symbols.
Was Lesion Kingdom magic different from the academy's teachings?
Matching orthodox and reverse flows to invocation symbols was basic intro class stuff.
Barcus noticed me late and nodded in greeting.
"Oh, Liberic. Fixing my staff."
"Can't you just insert the ecronium?"
"It's a delicate thing, this."
Barcus proudly lifted the staff, but the end cap popped off, and the ecronium from the shop rolled across the floor.
"...Looks really delicate."
"No, it's just not staying put."
Barcus hastily retrieved the cap and ecronium.
He jammed the ecronium roughly into the staff's groove, forced the ill-fitting cap on.
Then, just before it fell apart again, he swiftly placed it in the circle's center.
"Then use magic to... fix it in place..."
Arms extended forward, eyes closed, Barcus took a deep breath and began gathering mana.
I watched intently, fascinated.
It was the first time I'd observed someone else casting so closely.