112 episodes
This is how Matilda made a absurd misunderstanding.
That morning, Matilda was eating and remembering the battle that took place yesterday.
‘I knew he was an unusual priest.’
The bell with the magic of soul subordination was removed on the spot, and Ethan’s performance from Velium made it seem like he wasn’t showing his power properly.
However, the ability Ethan showed yesterday was astonishing.
‘A boy who just became a priest knows how to use the highest level 5 holy magic.’
There were also funny moments along the way.
Robert, who is famous for being the white wolf, seems to have misunderstood that Ethan was overworked and used divine magic to save people.
– After all, it was your kiddo. You didn’t have to go out of your way.
The moment she heard that, Matilda had to pinch her arm to keep from laughing.
‘You’re such a stupid man that you can’t even recognize your skills properly because of your prejudice.’
Matilda was convinced.
Of the people present, he was the only one who realized Ethan’s true intentions.
‘That was clearly a warning to me. You’re going to have to stop trying to communicate with the Dark Followers in this swamp.’
Showing off one’s skills to put pressure on them was common no matter the time and age.
Matilda was so sure.
If Ethan heard it, ‘What other nonsense?’ I was thinking of doing it.
A meeting was held when the installation of the base camp began in earnest.
“It is the old mercenaries and the dawn members of Graben who are protecting the base camp.”
In this process, of course, Ethan was classified as a search team.
“In the remaining team, I will put Ethan, two wizards from the Romon family, and a divine beast to act together with the mercenaries.”
Matilda was also hurt by those words.
‘Nonsense! I’m not taking them with me while I’m taking them?’
Matilda clenched her teeth.
My pride as a wizard did not allow it.
Then an unexpected word was heard.
“Just one more, please.”
“Who do you want to take?”
“This is Miss Matilda of the Harper.”
Matilda rolled her eyes.
It was doubtful at first, but the crumpled self-esteem was restored.
‘You gave me a warning yesterday, so are you going to use it properly this time?’
Matilda soon realized why Ethan had called her.
He must have thought she would be useful when chasing down a dark follower.
At that moment, a thought suddenly crossed Matilda’s head.
“no way.”
Matilda muttered involuntarily.
And I couldn’t help but be surprised by Ethan’s sharp number.
‘Are you going to try Eastern?’
In fact, the Dark Followers organization was a point organization, so it was impossible for one person to grasp all the members of the organization.
Because of this, Matilda was suspicious of Easton, but was not sure.
However, Ethan seemed to have noticed that Easton was suspicious at a point shortly after joining the expedition.
‘Maybe he’s trying to take advantage of Easton’s inferiority complex.’
Matilda glanced at Easton.
Not surprisingly, Easton looked at Ethan with scorching eyes.
‘Anyway, it’s not a bad suggestion for me either.’
Matilda walked to where Ethan’s search team had gathered.
“If you stand still, you are a bad person too.”
“What?”
“Even a bunch of shichimi is useless. Aren’t you provoking Easton?”
And he hinted to Ethan that he had noticed it all.
‘Isn’t this enough for my eyes to use?’
If Ethan had known the truth, his blood pressure would have risen.
* * *
Southern swamps.
Two groups of seasoned mercenaries were tasked with navigating the most difficult sections.
The search team, which was organized around Ethan, took on a relatively easy job.
The mercenaries burst into laughter at this decision.
“Even though the manager is rude, he has a deep heart, right?”
“right. Wasn’t it deliberately placed close to the base camp because there were priests and wizards? In case of an emergency, you can escape there.”
Of course, Ethan’s expression was a bit of a chewy one.
‘It’s unwelcome consideration.’
Ethan was more active than anyone else in this expedition because he was chasing the trail of the Dark Followers.
However, he could not disobey the command of Robert, the leader of the expedition.
‘It was said that there was a massacre in a village in a swampy area, and disappearances occurred frequently in neighboring cities.’
Ethan’s eyes as he searched the swamp were bitter.
Ethan recalled what he had been told at the meeting as he organized the search team.
‘The technique itself is typical of a dark follower.’
As it was revealed in the new empire’s capital, Velium, the Dark Followers used life to replace their lack of skills whenever they performed difficult dark magic.
If it was possible to solve the problem with the lives of animals or monsters, they did not dare to bring in human lives.
Of course, it wasn’t because the dark follower had no conscience left.
It was just a matter of risk.
‘If people keep disappearing, they will get attention.’
In particular, after the Anti-Magic War, people’s awareness of dark magic has risen significantly.
Therefore, the practice of dark magic with human life was also a great danger to the Dark Followers.
‘Nevertheless, the need to put it into practice is… It must mean that the work was worth that much.’
months!
A middle-aged mercenary formed in Ethan’s search team cut down the tangled plants with a knife.
He told Ethan.
“This is where the herbalist who came from a nearby city to gather rare medicinals disappeared.”
He was polite, not like a mercenary.
Ethan didn’t care much, but it seemed that he had put in a person who could be polite to some extent when organizing the search team.
“If you know the point of disappearance, does that mean you had a companion?”
“It is said that the swamps of the south are dangerous, so even herbalists do not act individually. He said that he could make a lot of money if he moved alone, but he avoids it as much as possible because his life is at risk.”
“Then, if money is the goal, it is unlikely that he would have accompanied a proper mercenary group.”
“yes. As you said, they act with a group of hunters rather than mercenaries.”
Ethan nodded his head.
When dealing with a dark follower, he always had to be able to distinguish false information.
For there could always be interference from the cunning Dark Followers and Sisters.
Ethan decided that at least there was no false information in the story he had now heard.
‘There is no special circumstance to suspect that hunters and herbalists have come and gone in groups in the southern swamps since it has happened in the past.’
The southern swamps were dangerous.
And substances from dangerous places have always been expensive.
Therefore, the hunters took risks and came and went in groups to obtain leather or materials.
Are there herbalists there?
Herbalists were rare people who had basic medical knowledge on the Graven Continent.
So it was profitable for hunters to travel with herbalists.
Because it was like carrying an extra life.
In the southern swamps, small wounds can cause death from inflammation, pests, and poisons.
Considering those points, the story of a middle-aged mercenary did not make sense.
“And it is said that all but one hunter and two herbalists have gone missing from the group they were with. Survivors say they were just away from the group to dig for herbs.”
“You are lucky.”
“yes. It is said that when they returned from digging for medicinal herbs, they could not find the party, so they went back to a nearby village. That’s when I found out that the others had gone missing.”
“How many people were missing at that time?”
“… Well.”
The middle-aged mercenary pondered over the vague memories.
It seems to be an unexpected question.
“I heard that more than 10 people were missing.”
“It is said that more than 10 people disappeared without a trace at one time.”
Ethan replied meaningfully.
No matter how accustomed to the filthy things of kidnapping and assassination, the Dark Followers had their limits.
Especially in the swamps of the South, where dangers are everywhere?
Hunters and herbalists must have always been prepared for the dangers around them?
“It’s strange.”
“What do you think is strange?”
The middle-aged mercenary asked Ethan as if he were thinking about it.
Ethan glanced at the middle-aged mercenary.
Robert was felt in the words and deeds of the middle-aged mercenary and the attitude of observing Ethan.
It seemed that Robert had entrusted Ethan to keep an eye on him.
“They knew better than anyone that the southern swamps were dangerous. It doesn’t make sense to me that the Dark Followers left no trace when they raided them.”
At Ethan’s words, the middle-aged mercenary gave a slightly startled expression.
“Then what do you think?”
“Either the Dark Followers were very skilled, or the Hunters and Herbalists were vigilant at risking their lives. I think it’s one of the two.”
“okay.”
“The latter makes no sense. If we had been so vigilant, we wouldn’t have been able to form a group in the first place, and before we got to this point of disappearance, we would have met a long-legged crocodile and have done a great job.”
Even if the middle-aged mercenaries were Robert’s eyes and ears, there was no need to avoid them.
‘It’s easier for me to control the direction of the search team’s activities in order to catch the Dark Followers anyway.’
Ethan thought so.
“Then the Dark Followers were very good, and that doesn’t make any sense. Would we have mobilized talented people in an operation like this just to get rid of a bunch of herbalists and hunters without a trace?”
“Obviously that doesn’t make sense. But then, both possibilities are closed.”
“It would be better for both possibilities to be denied.”
“Ohh?”
The middle-aged mercenary admired Ethan.
Ethan seemed to have reached the possibility he had been guessing.
“If both possibilities are denied, we can assume that this is not the point of disappearance in the first place. Rather, it makes it easier for our search team to get the job done.”
The middle-aged mercenary was already listening to Ethan.
“The head coach told me to search for the priest’s opinion as much as possible. So tell me. In what direction would you like the search team to move?”
A smile hung on the corner of Ethan’s lips, which he thought about for a moment.
“I think it’s right to go a little deeper, judging that the information is a mixture of lies.”
* * *
Ethan’s judgment was correct.
The lie, which is always difficult to distinguish, was often cleverly mixed with the truth.
Ethan thought it was the same again this time.
Therefore, time was not wasted in a place that could unnecessarily delay the search.
Ethan immediately spoke to Matilda.
“Now that there are no other nobles, it won’t be a problem to ask you.”
“Did you take care of me until now?”
“Of course. Because you proved your worth last time.”
“I’m glad you did.”
The search group was wide spread.
However, this did not mean that the formation was broadly disturbed.
Precisely, they were able to protect each other as much as possible while maintaining an effective search distance.
So Ethan was able to talk to Matilda without being aware of his surroundings.
“Do you know anything about what happened here?”
Then Matilda opened her mouth.