17 – Episode 17
#17
“What a mess…”
Ian sighed, lowering his head.
The squabbles of medieval power brokers were wholly unfamiliar to him, a common citizen of the modern world.
Perhaps if Ian had been born the youngest son of a conglomerate, he might understand the ruthlessness of power. But for someone who has always lived as an ordinary citizen through all of his lives, understanding the minds of the powerful is not within his grasp.
What is power, actually? How lofty it must be to drive a son-in-law out and poison a father-in-law.
Watching a bride-to-be in danger of being abducted by her future husband, he feels a sense of unease that is difficult to put into words.
Despite all this, Ian had come to understand that he held a crucial piece of the puzzle in his hand.
“Hm, I’ve certainly heard quite a story.”
As Ian was about to get up subtly, Lucy firmly grasped his hand and wouldn’t let go.
It was time to pay for this medieval-style melodrama.
“If someone else finds out about this conversation, I’m dead.”
“Ah, don’t say that. Just get married to your fiancé…”
“Rather than get married to that bastard, I would rather die!”
Upon hearing such an emotional outcry, Ian silenced himself.
Indeed, thinking about having to live with a man who had killed her own parents… It was a horrifying prospect.
“What’s the reason you’re telling me this then?”
“…you’ve seen it too. The pursuers are already closing in.”
The corners of Lucy’s eyes reddened.
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Tears soon trickled down her cheeks.
“I don’t have the confidence to run away alone anymore…”
With a choked sob, Lucy wiped her tears and said forcefully.
“Wizard Ian! Help me escape! I’ll stake the honor of the Talion family! I will absolutely reward you according to your efforts!”
Ian scratched his cheek.
“Hmm, have you ever considered that I might sell you out?”
“That filthy creature might give me a few silver coins and call it done. But I can offer you everything.”
“Everything?”
Lucy asked with a stern face.
“If you want, I can even give you the Talian lineage.”
Despite his stern expression, his voice was trembling, pitifully.
‘The Talian lineage…’
Even if Ian was a magician, he was not such a fool as to not understand what it implied.
Promising the Talian lineage meant a proposal of marriage.
He would fulfill the demands that the Mercenary Captain hoped to grasp in Ian’s hands.
There was no room for disagreement; this was a tremendous opportunity.
Though it is now vague, originally Ian was a son of a farmer.
To be born as a son of a farmer in a medieval fantasy world and become a junior noble at a young age? Unquestionably, that’s an enormous success.
That’s how it is for Ian, the third son of a farmer.
But…
How about for Ian Eredis Raven, the disciple of the magician Eredis?
‘It isn’t bad to switch classes to nobility like this.’
Ian had magical talent.
More precisely, the ‘ability to manage the status window.’
Living as a noble and engaging in politics is good. But, since he was born in a fantasy world, shouldn’t he see the end of magic?
Having thought this far, Ian smirked.
When given the opportunity to elevate his status, he didn’t feel greedy. Perhaps he was a born magician.
Ian organized his thoughts.
Helping Lucy undeniably contributes to his experience as a magician.
It was also a good opportunity to earn travel expenses.
He had to earn money anyway. No matter how much money Eredis gave him, more was better.
It would definitely be more cost-effective than becoming a mercenary because he has no money later on.
“First of all, just help shake off the pursuer. Then, you’re on your own,” Ian told Lucy.
“To be honest, if you’re looking for protection… it would be better to find someone who can handle a sword. A wizard is not a fighter.”
A wizard is one who researches mysteries and communicates with the world, not a killing machine that recklessly kills people.
“Then…”
Lucy choked, gripping her fist tightly.
Ian continued.
“But if you pay me, I’ll help you get away. You figure out the rest.”
“Heuk… hic…”
Lucy wept profusely.
Ian was a bit taken aback.
‘Even though I said I’d help…’
“Thank you! Ian! So… so grateful…!”
Lucy hugged Ian and cried until she collapsed from exhaustion.
At that moment, Ian realized that the girl in front of him was just a woman who had just come of age.
She was not a noblewoman of the Talleyrand family, Lucy, but an eighteen-year-old girl who had to flee after her parents were murdered.
Ian lent her his shoulder until she was okay.
#
“The story grew long, friend.”
When he stepped out of the nest, Drake, who was sunbathing, greeted Ian.
Drake was not a full-blooded reptile, but perhaps due to the nature of a creature covered in scales, he enjoyed sunbathing.
“[Ah. Longtail.]”
“How’s your body?”
“[That’s…]”
In truth, when he opened his eyes, Ian already knew the state of his body.
The source of knowledge was naturally his teacher Eredis’s education.
‘When a wizard comes in contact with a mystery beyond his abilities, it will strain his body.’
“Ah. There’s no way that will happen at your current ability level!”
“But be careful! As you gain more experience and become more in tune with the mystery and depth, you might push yourself more than your abilities allow.”
Ian realized why he had fainted.
It was because he had used his level 3 summoning spell excessively while conversing with Longtail.
Because he had hastily raised his level through the skill window, his body hadn’t adapted to the level of magic yet.
“You used too much energy trying to understand what I’m saying.”
“Oh no!”
Longtail understood Ian’s words immediately.
He was able to have such a natural conversation so far thanks to Ian’s magic. He completely understood why Ian was straining himself.
“I think I should go now. You must have things to do too.”
“Yes, that’s true!”
Longtail didn’t want to demand strenuous magic from his ailing friend.
“Take a few jewels from the nest. Don’t say you can’t accept them just because I gave them to you yesterday.”
“I had no such intention? If you give them to me, I will take them.”
Laughing, Ian took a few of the offered jewels. He chose mostly crafted gems obviously looted from humans, instead of raw gemstones.
Gems are beautiful and expensive, and sometimes they can be used as offerings in magical rituals.
It was a useful gift.
As Ian collected the gems, Longtail lowered his body to make it easier for Ian to get on.
He intended to give him a ride down the mountain.
“Ian’s woman! You should ride too!”
In front of the low growling drake, Lucy was quite nervous.
Ian didn’t bother translating what Longtail had said.
“Lucy. Please get on quickly.”
“Ah, um… Is it… is it not dangerous? Like, if it tries to eat us or something…”
Lucy voiced her concerns, her gaze filled with unease.
“What if it goes out of control?”
“Geez.”
Ian laughed, finding her remark absurd.
Control, what a joke.
The reason Longtail carried Ian had nothing to do with control or anything of that sort.
Frustratingly, Ian did not bother to explain this.
It would be fruitless to explain magic to a non-magician.
“It’s 100% safe. Just get on.”
“Uh. Uh…”
Ian extended his hand to help Lucy up. The moment Lucy climbed onto Longtail’s back, she tightly clung onto Ian’s waist, ensuring she wouldn’t fall.
She was evidently terrified.
[Then let’s get moving!]
As Drake moved his heavy body, a grating noise echoed through the air, as if a landslide was occurring.
Thump, thump…
The footfalls of the wingless dragon made the ground tremble.
#
Since its establishment, the Rabbit Foot Trading started facing an unprecedented crisis.
“Boss! Let’s just leave!”
“No, shouldn’t we at least wait?!”
The owner of the trade, Rick sighed heavily as he watched the dilemma tearing his establishment apart.
Oh, how on earth are they going to resolve this crisis?
After the magician, Ian, had vanished following Drake, the next day arrived. Despite the rising sun, there was no sign of Ian, which caused a divide among the group. Some insisted on waiting for Ian, while the rest wanted to move on. The group had followed Ian’s final order the previous night, and the horrific battle had left them broken in spirit.
“Mercenaries! Are you still alive?”
“…”
“Mercenaries?”
The group began searching for the mercenaries who they thought might be hiding somewhere. They may have been attacked by bandits, but they were experienced mercenaries who knew how to take care of themselves. They believed it was more likely that the mercenaries had fled than being slain.
But the state of the mercenaries that they found was simply dreadful.
“Dear God…”
They saw how intense the bloody battle must have been, their bodies are laden with wounds, lying lifeless in the darkness.
Like the seasoned traders they were, with their vast travel experiences, they quickly picked up on the unusual situation.
As it is often said, bandits equal experience. Short for they are the experience shuttles running between goblins and touts in a fantasy world.
Whether it is mercenaries, bandits or goblins, these are the three weakest groups battling against each other playfully in the fantasy world, but among them, mercenaries have the highest points.
Who is the leader of these mercenaries?
Those serving under, ‘John, the bloodied’, a rather famous mercenary, were assigned as escorts to the group.
If even strong fighters could not escape and were killed…
Then it was certainly due to one of two reasons:
Either the bandits were exceptionally good fighters.
Or, they were not just simple bandits.
Either way, it was a horrible scenario for the group.
“Didn’t you see the Drake yesterday? Would any sane person rob under these circumstances?”
“Who said the bandits are sane? They will follow us no matter what!”
Both arguments had a point.
Logically, no one would continue thievery when Drake was on the prowl, such was the consensus.
And expecting common sense from a thief would be asinine. The two viewpoints fiercely clashed.
“Lord Rik!”
“Lord Rik!”
In the end, the decision was up to Rik. The main point was this: Would he evacuate the top safely? Or would he wait for the wizard out of loyalty?
“Hmm.”
Rik let out a troubled moan. All decision-making power was in his hands. This was the true pain of being a leader.
Rik had to make a decision eventually.
“We wait for the wizard!”
“No, Lord Rik!”
“I will follow what the top master said!”
Rik chose to wait for Ian. There wasn’t a special reason; he just wanted to look good to Ian and make a profit from the deal with the nobles.
It was a dangerous decision, but Rik trusted Ian’s abilities.
Summoning the darkness, controlling the wind, and casting fire magic!
And his charisma, fearlessly confronting the mighty beast, Drake!
Such a person wouldn’t have foolishly followed a Drake and wound up dead. He must have been delayed due to some issue.
10 minutes after Rik made his bold decision.
“Ah! Master Top! Thieves!”
“What? These damn…!”
Rik instantly resented himself from 10 minutes ago.
‘I should’ve just ditched!’
“Everyone stop. Drop your weapons and raise your hands.”
“Oh, dear thieves! Please spare my life! I will give you everything I own!”
“We don’t need that!”
“???”
Sure enough, Drake was hardly sane, traipsing through the mountains like common thieves.
A thief refusing a treasure!
“We know a woman with deep blue hair is in this place.”
“Deep…blue…hair?”
“Yeah. The color of a night sky. And she’s pretty.”
When searching for someone, the usual physical descriptions such as a big nose, long ears, or a conspicuous mole on the face were necessary for people of ordinary appearance.
However, for a beauty, such superficial details were unnecessary.
Beauty is a feature. A very rare feature.
This is why the idea of a beautiful spy in fiction is utter nonsense. What use is being beautiful as a spy? It only makes getting caught easier.
“Ah! Kash! It’s Kash!”
“Kash? Hmm…”
At the mention of the beauty, Rick nodded.
The thieves were not thieves, but human traffickers!
“Where is she?”
“…?”
The top men were dumbfounded. They knew where Kash had gone… but why wasn’t she in sight yet?
“Well, where could she have gone…?”
The thief. No, the human trafficker kicked Rick in the chest.
“Ouch!”
The pain surged as if he was being struck by a whip. But really he was just being melodramatic, nothing was broken.
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“Ha! Judging by your silence, it seems you were paid a pretty penny.”
“What, what money! We didn’t take a cent!”
“Stop lying!”
Once again, as the human trafficker foot-dragged, Rick shed a tear.
His heart was filled with grievances.
‘Selling me for money isn’t even the worst part…!’
Cash was just a traveller. What money did he have to scatter about?
“Where is that mischief Cash hiding! Speak up!”
“I don’t know! I really don’t!”
“Hmph, playing dumb, are you?”
The moment the human trafficker raised his fist.
Thud, thud…
Everyone present felt the unnatural vibration.
The sound of Drake approaching.
“…”
As if agreeing beforehand, all the traffickers closed their mouths.
If caught by Drake, they all would become delicious snacks. However, it was at that moment.
“Ah! Ahhh! Dear wizard! Wiizard!”
“Has this idiot lost his mind!”
Rick screamed with the most agonizing voice in the world. His grievance was genuinely piercing his bones, so the sincerity was enough to touch everyone.
And apart from being touching, it was incredibly noisy.
“Shut up!”
With ears perked up towards possible noise from Drake, the trembling traffickers tried to silence Rick.
But it was too late.
Drake was closing in.
“… Run!”
Just like the previous night, the traffickers once again scattered.