246. Shaman (4)
Shaman’s Alley.
This is the street where shamans oppressed by the empire gathered.
Because Cornell was originally a very desolate area, it created a gloomy atmosphere.
Recently, as Cornell became a large city thanks to the full support of the imperial family, Shaman’s Alley also developed.
The streets became brighter, and many people came for mystical experiences or sightseeing, even if they were not shamans.
But….
‘As the streets get brighter, the back alleys get darker.’
The current time is 10 PM.
People wearing robes pass by the streetlights illuminated through witchcraft several times.
However, it is not possible to identify all of them as shamans from the South.
Most shamans living in the original empire wear robes and hide their identities.
First of all, the urgent priority is to find the mercenaries working under Mago.
Because they are natives of Cornell and are familiar with witchcraft.
Even the same shaman will be able to identify those who come from outside.
「Owl House 2」
This is the second branch of the bar run by Margo.
I entered a spacious tavern in the middle of Shaman’s Street.
“Welcome. Uh… ?”
In the past, a bald mercenary who was severely scolded when he came to a bar with Irina.
When he made eye contact with me, he flinched as if he had met her mad dog.
“It’s been a while?”
“Oh, it’s been a while…. “What are you doing here?”
I calmly approached the counter.
And then, I asked him as he was cleaning his glass and slowly closing down the business.
“Don’t worry. “I just came here to ask you something.”
He lightly opened his palms wide, saying he had no intention of fighting.
Then, he spoke to him in a serious voice.
“Have there been any shamans wandering around here recently who appear to be foreigners?”
“You mean a foreigner…? ?”
The bald-headed owner pursed his lips and frowned.
Then, as if something occurred to me, my lips parted.
“A group of shamans wearing black robes passed by today.”
After hearing his words, I glanced out the store window.
Wanderers often wander around wearing robes even at 10 o’clock at night.
It was common to cover one’s face in the shaman’s streets.
“There are people wearing robes all over the streets?”
In response to my question, the former mercenary slowly shook his head.
With eyes full of confidence.
“You will know when you see. “The energy is completely different from that of ordinary wanderers.”
He was a man who once worked as a mercenary and protected Cornell.
He seems to have a unique ‘feel’ as he is familiar with vigilance and combat.
“Okay, where did you go?”
I decided to trust his intuition after holding the sword hilt.
“This is the path of the mage. “It’s a back alley in the deepest center of Shaman’s Street.”
The store owner stretched out his finger and pointed to a deep, dark alley.
A distant passage where you cannot tell how deep it is due to the darkness.
“Perhaps if you came all the way here, you might have come to get ancient magic tools…. A store called Crow’s Nest is the most likely.”
Is it because I have stayed at Cornell all my life?
Margot, as well as her subordinates, were very smart and well-versed in geography.
“Thank you. “I remember.”
I nodded to his clear explanation.
Afterwards, I took out a gold coin from my jacket pocket and placed it on his counter.
“Oh, do you know what a place called Crow’s Nest looks like?”
“It’s an ordinary-looking store, so it’s hard to tell with the naked eye.”
He looked out the window with me.
Because it was past 10 o’clock, most of the store lights were turned off.
“However, it is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, so the light will be on alone at this time.”
The member chuckled as if he knew the place well.
“How nasty the witch grandmother there is….”
“Is grandma running the business 24 hours a day by herself?”
The store manager shook his head at my question.
“No. I work 12-hour shifts with my daughter’s shaman. “At night, you mostly do it yourself.”
“I understand.”
Once I had enough information, I smoothed out the uniform jacket I was wearing.
Afterwards, I quietly walked out of the store alone.
“….”
The store manager was staring at me as I walked out.
He tilted his bald head and caught his eye on the gold coin lying on the counter.
The former mercenary leader picked up the gold coin without thinking about it.
However, the moment I checked the cross section, my eyes started sparkling.
“Oh, you were a noble…?” ?”
Because it was a gold coin issued by the imperial family worth a whopping 10 gold.
He couldn’t help but laugh at the situation where one month’s rent for the store was paid off in an instant.
“That’s strange…. When Mago talked to me, she said she was always whining about having no money….”
He cleared his throat and carefully put the gold coin in his pocket.
And then, I watched intently as a man entered a dark alley.
「――――――」
The path of the mage.
This is the street where the most secretive and dangerous among shamans come and go.
The Shaman’s Street was bright because there were street lights along the main street.
This place was very dark in the evening unless you carried your own lantern.
“….”
Sometimes, the sound of a black cat crying fiercely through the dark gaps.
I can only hear the sound of an owl.
The Mage’s Street was crazy quiet.
“Is it that place?”
Across the shallow stream, a store with its lights still on comes into view.
It would have taken a long time to find it had it not been at night due to the ordinary sign and building shape.
Just as the mercenary said, the lights are turned on at night.
I followed this and quietly crossed the stream bridge.
The moment you reach the front of the store.
“… !”
Two robed figures appeared on either side.
The height difference between the two was about two heads.
“Is there anything I need to see at this store over there?”
A low voice was heard from within the robes of a tall man.
He was very fluent in the imperial language for someone from the South.
“Business is over, so come next time.”
A firm, short word as if you were the owner.
However, I didn’t care.
I just look over my shoulder and stare into the glass window.
Numerous bookshelves and a table in the middle.
Two figures wearing black robes were sitting there.
‘Those guys must be the leaders of the palace shamans.’
From Noble mtl dot com
While I was alone in understanding the situation.
The short shaman opened his mouth as if he was suspicious.
“Hey, did I hear wrong? “The store is closed!”
For a witch doctor, the voice was quite young.
Like Cynthia, who was almost 15 years old.
“Well.”
I looked at them alternately as they blocked my path.
Then she stretched out her finger and pointed to a sign hanging on the store door.
「Open for business.」
“That’s strange, this store is definitely open all year round.”
The guys followed my finger and looked at the sign.
Then, the tall guy shamelessly changed the status to ‘Business closed.’
“Are we done now?”
“No.”
I laughed and shook my head.
“Furthermore, most shamans are proud and walk alone.”
I explained exactly the information I heard from Margot in the past.
“But there are four people walking around like this. “It seems like it’s all in one piece.”
I spoke loudly so that the managers inside the store could hear.
As if telling me to come out if I bother you.
“It’s like belonging to a ‘nation.'”
That moment.
A dwarf gatekeeper who concentrates magical power in his palm, just as Margot pulled the staff.
I warned with lifeless black eyes.
“If you raise that hand, you will die.”
“… !”
He didn’t even use a spell yet, but he immediately realized that he was going to die.
So the tall guy stopped the successor.
“Stop, I don’t think you are an ordinary opponent…” .”
“Yes, in times like this, a senior should guide you well.”
Obviously I was hiding my auror and powers.
However, the senior gatekeeper began to be alert as he sensed something unusual.
That good sense soon proved that they were not just novice shamans.
‘You’ve come to the right place.’
“Where do you belong?”
“Do you think I’m leisurely enough to tell you?”
He still had his back to me and calmly tilted his face.
Then, the young, emotional shaman became angry.
“This bastard…” .”
“No, he has a point. “Report and come back.”
Perhaps because he is senior, he has a clear sense of rank.
The tall shaman quietly entered the store and approached the men who appeared to be the leader.
After that, he quietly whispered into his superior’s ear.
As if reporting on myself.
After a while, he motioned for me to come in.
“Go in.”
The junior shaman who confirmed the signal spoke to me in an awkward imperial language.
As if responding to this, I passed him and entered the crow’s nest.
――――――.
A strange doorbell rang like the sound of a crow.
After this, the moment I come in and the door closes.
‘Hmm… ?’
A completely unexpected smell wafted through the store full of old grimoires.
The shaman’s alley is obviously very narrow and the air is stale.
It’s a place where a strange smell of medicine mixes and makes the tip of your nose tingle.
The air here was refreshing, as if I had entered a deep forest.
“Okay. “What do you have to do at the store?”
A small-bodied shaman sitting at a table asked, his face covered with a robe.
But, like the shaman outside the door, his voice was quite young.
‘Most of the southern court shamans are young…’ ?’
“No, there are a lot more than you.”
“… !”
He speaks as if he read my thoughts.
I felt strange about this and frowned.
“Um-. “Are you a friend of the kid who laid Yeonseongjin here?”
You can feel Mago’s magic even from afar.
We slowly stood facing each other at the table as if we were looking at each other in an extraordinary way.
“I’m sorry, but I’m an old friend of the owner of this store. “We just closed the business for a moment and chatted together.”
A young shaman who explains his mission in a calm voice.
The imperial language was clearly used.
“If it looks strange outside, it’s no big deal, so just go back.”
It seems that Mago, who drew Yeon Seong-jin in Cornell, is known as the guardian of the city.
It seemed like she was simply treating it as if she had sent her day here on patrol.
“A friend?”
As if agreeing with his calm argument, I took out a chair.
And then, I sat across from the young shaman who seemed to be the leader.
“That’s strange.”
A soft jawline slightly visible in the dark shadow of the robe.
At first glance, he was not the same age as the grandmother who owned the store.
On the contrary, he looked quite young, like a child.
“The owner of this store is her grandmother.”
“Her grandmother may have a young friend.”
A young voice that seemed to be that of a girl returned.
However, it was not just a feeling of youth, like the gatekeeper outside the door.
She was very calm, as if she had lived for decades while wearing the mask of a girl.
“There is a lot of prejudice.”
For a moment we didn’t say anything to each other.
I was just quietly understanding the other person’s estimate.
‘This magical power….’
‘This energy….’
At the end of the search war.
Except for the two seated leaders, the moment when the rest take out their wands from afar.
“Ah… !! “A guest has arrived!!”
The owner’s door behind the store counter opened.
And then, a cool young man wearing glasses approached us.
“I’m sorry. “I was taking care of work for my mother for a while.”
A man pointing at the counter with his finger as if he were the owner of the store.
He approached me with an embarrassed expression and asked for my understanding.
“Sir, I think we will have to stop business for a while today because some of your mother’s acquaintances are coming.”
With both hands joined together, an effortless smile appears.
The girl with a young voice responded by waving her hand.
“You saw it. “An old friend.”
“Yes, I’m sorry, but I think you’ll have to come back tomorrow instead of today.”
A tall leader quietly bowing his head alone.
Instead, a young leader takes control of the situation.
And, the owner’s son appears at the right time to act as a witness.
I stared straight into this perfect scene.
“I see. Understand.”
He shook his face as if responding to the service of a sad young man.
Then he obediently got up from the chair and spoke.
“Yes, I will serve you more kindly next time you come.”
“No, there is no need for that.”
I looked at the young man who was trying to smile and didn’t say anything.
Afterwards, he spoke with cold black eyes.
“Because this makes it clear that you are the ‘Southern Shaman’.”
Southern Shaman.
As soon as the clear name was mentioned, the young man’s expression hardened.
“Guest. That is…. What are you saying… ? “Southern?”
I put my hands on my waist.
He answered by stroking the hilt of Hector’s sword, which was given to him by the emperor, like a lioness’s head.
“The owner’s grandmother doesn’t have a son.”
I gently grabbed the hilt of the sword.
“Besides, it’s hard to believe that someone who is famous for his bad temper has such a young friend. “It’s ridiculous.”
Then he pulled out a sharp, fiercely forged blade.
“You there for the last time.”
With the blade of his sword, he pointed at the remaining leaders who were still silent.
“No, even ‘His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.'”
With the tip of the sword, he lifted the robe of the man with his head down.
Then, the brilliant golden hair unique to the royal family appeared.
“You are the only ones who will come here with His Highness, who is currently supposed to be in the south.”
Leon pursed his lips and glared at me as if my eyes were piercing.
I think my cheeks are a little thin, probably because I’ve been through a lot.
“Bail Mikhail….”
“I’m sorry, I don’t forget someone’s mana once I’ve seen it. In particular, I will never forget a mana as powerful as the Crown Prince.”
As I quickly discovered their camouflage, they all fell silent.
He hid his embarrassed expression and avoided my gaze.
However, the woman who maintained a calm voice alone was different.
“You don’t easily open your mouth about me, Bale.”
A voice so calm that it’s hard to believe it’s from a young woman.
It was so strange, like a wise man with countless experiences.
“Would you like to guess what you are thinking?”
However, this was not the only strange thing.
Because she was hiding her powers perfectly, just like me.
“You seem to be amazed at me. “Because even with your power, you can’t see through my magic at all.”
I slowly removed the robe of the girl who was trying to reveal my thoughts earlier with the tip of my sword.
That moment.
Dark green hair, like a forest, fell down the curves of her bulging chest.
With a fresh scent like Mother Nature.
“… !!”
When the robe was completely pulled back, long green hair appeared.
However, what surprised me was not simply her hair color.
Ears sticking out on both sides of her.
Because it was long enough to be considered human.
“Elf… ?”
A woman who appeared to be about twenty years old took off the robe she was wearing.
Then, an armor-shaped dress that clung to her beautiful body appeared.
“Half right, half wrong.”
Dark green eyes filled with greenery blinked.
She introduced herself by placing her hand on her chest.
“My name is Rize. She is a half-elf and the Dean of Witchcraft for the Confederacy of the Southern Nations.”
A court shaman with the faint eyes of an elf.
She looked at me with great interest, like a test subject she wanted to study.
“You are the veil of those rumors.”
With unique thin eyes.
“The owner of the Grand Auror I really wanted to deal with.”
She stroked her table sensually with her long, soft fingers.
As if trying to possess the other person and manipulate them however they want.
He was the closest thing to the source of magic that Mago had mentioned.