Episode 325

“Mr. Ian isn’t here? I heard his vacation was canceled?”

“Suddenly out on a field assignment? Where to? When will he be back?”

Outside the firmly locked office door, employees from other departments shifted awkwardly from foot to foot. They were holding stacks of documents, but there was no one to review them! The mage gave a sympathetic smile and shrugged.

“Sorry about that. It seems the decision was made in an emergency meeting this morning, so the message didn’t get through properly. Other departments have come and gone quietly, but I don’t know when he’ll return.”

“This is driving me crazy. Then what about the assistant—”

They thought about asking the assistant for help, but that wasn’t an option either. Romandro, who was passing by, wasn’t a mage but just an ordinary person like them.

The employees slowly turned their heads to follow Romandro’s retreating figure. He crossed the lobby with a determined expression, as serious as if heading into battle. Sniffling, someone asked quietly,

“…Why is Romandro acting like that?”

It was out of character.

His demeanor bore a faint, almost imperceptible resemblance to the way Minister Ian looked whenever he shook up the royal palace.

Having seen and heard it up close, Romandro must have unconsciously picked up the mannerisms. Of course, since the person was different, the feeling was quite distinct.

“The assistant is out on a field assignment too. If it’s urgent, there’s nothing we can do, but if not, just leave the documents. I’ll make sure Minister Ian gets them as soon as he returns.”

“Sigh. Understood. Please take care of it.”

“Good luck.”

Clack!

Romandro tugged his mustache taut and opened the office door. The atmosphere inside was tense. The mages who had been working were all up and huddled in a corner, while Hale was rifling through Felik’s desk, cigarette dangling from his lips.

Hale greeted Romandro as he scanned the papers.

“You’re here.”

“Found anything?”

“Not yet.”

The personal locker was overturned, and even the trash bin at his feet was tipped over—everything was a mess.

Hale slowly flipped through each sheet, checking for anything suspicious. Then, suddenly realizing everyone in the office was watching him, he shrugged.

“Everyone, get back to work. Don’t mind me.”

“How can we not? You’re acting like this.”

“Yeah. Hey, Felik—did he mess something up?”

“That crazy bastard. Whatever he did, he did it big.”

“If you tell us what you’re looking for, we’ll help.”

Hale just exhaled smoke in response. They weren’t even in the same department, yet they barged in and trashed the desk, and now Romandro had joined in. Clearly, something was going wrong.

“Who sits next to Felik?”

“Me, me.”

“Anything suspicious? Like reports unrelated to work showing up often, or not fitting in? Or, well, you know… just use your instincts.”

As Hale shifted from searching to questioning, Romandro picked up things from the floor and examined them carefully. As he said, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

“We all practically live here, so what does fitting in even mean? He handled his work fine. The only odd thing is that he kept his office and mansion separate.”

“What do you mean?”

“Exactly that. Everyone else receives packages here, but Felik always has them sent to the mansion first. It’s a hassle, but he insists.”

“Now that you mention it, that’s true. Usually, people bring things home after work or even take a half-day off.”

There was definitely something at the mansion. Romandro pulled out a note with Felik’s personal information and read it aloud.

“Restorn Street, No. 343, Noon Mansion, third floor, right?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never been there.”

“Isn’t that what he wrote when he joined? Didn’t he move once? I remember. He suddenly took a vacation, and I had to cover his work.”

It was common for mages to have different registered and actual residences. Since the dormitory was like a second home, many just registered there. Even Hale was registered as living with Nakina and Tomi.

“This is going to be a headache.”

They hadn’t expected to find the place immediately, but now that they were faced with it, it was frustrating. Romandro took out his notebook and clicked his pen sharply.

“Bring Felik’s vacation request form.”

“Huh? Y-Yes!”

“Hey, you—check the dates carefully and figure out when he moved. Since he lived at Restorn 343, start inquiries there.”

Following Romandro’s orders, the mage rummaged through the cabinet and pulled out a thick stack of papers, probably including half-day leaves. Hale stubbed out his cigarette and muttered,

“This bastard just played around instead of working…”

Tap tap. Another mage pointed to a date. It was after the execution of the seven noble houses of the central region—not that long ago.

“We should find something soon. Let’s get moving.”

“Understood. Nakina and Tomi are waiting.”

“Damn it. Felik, you stinky bastard!”

Romandro raised his fist and stormed out of the office. Hale gave the mages a look—clean up after yourselves.

“Mr. Hale! Please tell us what Felik did wrong.”

“Yeah, we want to know too.”

“…Minister Ian will explain it to you later.”

“Mr. Hale!”

Clack!

But Hale didn’t answer and closed the door. Outside, Romandro was briefing Nakina and Tomi on the schedule.

“It takes about an hour by carriage to get there, so our goal is to find out before sunset…”

“An hour? It only takes ten minutes.”

“Huh? What did you say?”

“Captain Hale! Are we really taking a carriage?”

Nakina waved at Hale and asked. Romandro’s face suddenly turned pale. Clutching the carriage like a lifeline, he shook his head.

“I—I was going to take the carriage.”

“Come on. You said the goal was to find out before sunset. We need to save every minute. Let’s go.”

Whirrrr. Whirrrr.

“Absolutely not! No, I refuse!”

“It’s fine. As long as you don’t struggle, you won’t fall.”

“Please, don’t say that! I beg you!”

Tomi grabbed Romandro’s hand tightly and unleashed magic. Romandro shook his head repeatedly, saying no, that he could never go through what happened before again.

But despite his resistance, his body floated up.

“Ahhh! Nooo!”

“Everyone else seems to be enjoying this.”

“I’m not Beric!”

Thwack!

Whoosh!

With that last scream, Romandro shot up into the sky. His shrieks gradually faded away.

The passing mages looked around in confusion but couldn’t find the source. He had already disappeared far above, like a tiny speck.

---

“Whaaa! This is awesome!”

“Beric! Not awesome, you’re going to get yourself killed!”

“Ahahaha! Woohoo!”

Meanwhile, at that moment, there were others flying through the sky—Minister Ian and his group, just having dropped from the Black Moon.

Their bodies fell without resistance. It was more like a crash landing, but Beric was so excited he flailed his limbs like swimming. The mages shouted toward Ian.

“Minister Ian!”

Whirrr! Whirrr!

The portal collapsed, its magic withdrawn. They were falling lower and lower, along with fragments of the Black Moon.

‘Prince Noah is in the middle of the procession.’

“Minister Ian! Orders!”

“The goal is to stop the carriage! About three kilometers to the border!”

“What? What are you guys whispering about? Tell me too!”

“Shut up! Keep quiet or the noise will interfere!”

“Iaaan! I can’t hear you!”

The wind roaring past made communication impossible. They had to rely on magic. Beric, wanting to join in, and the bewildered Varsabe stared anxiously at the approaching ground.

“If unavoidable, we will accept sacrifices!”

“Understood!”

“Selena, Yen, and Demis, cover the rear! If we block the front first, there’s a risk of collision, so slow down from behind! Tayla, Kanchi, you’re in charge of the middle! Take Beric and Varsabe with you!”

“Yes! I’m on the center right, Kanchi’s on the left!”

“I’ll lead the front.”

“Iaaan! I want to—!”

Whoosh! Ssssh!

Beric drew his sword and waved it around.

The carriage was getting closer—almost there. Tayla, holding Beric, relayed the orders, and he responded with a circle motion of his arm. Ian gestured, and the mages descended even faster.

They fell in a smooth arc like a meteor. The frenzied coachmen whipped their horses and looked up, tilting their heads.

Hiiing!

Clack clack!

“Stay sharp and keep running!”

“Speed up! Faster!”

The mages’ movements in the sky were unusual. Following Prince Noah’s orders, the guards even lowered their flags to minimize resistance. The clatter of wheels, horses’ hooves, commands—it was chaos.

Boom! Rumble!

Suddenly, a tremendous noise came from the rear. Those ahead looked back but couldn’t see through the smoke.

“What’s going on?”

“There’s trouble at the rear!”

“Prince, what should we do?”

Three mages formed concentric circles in the air, falling into position at the rear. Since they weren’t frontline soldiers, none of them had ever used binding magic while flying before—that was the problem, if anything.

Together, the three combined their power to create a single central axis, aiming just behind the middle of the marching formation before unleashing their magic.

“Binding!”

A light burst forth from the ground, shooting up toward the mages before plunging straight back down onto the earth with pinpoint accuracy.

BOOM! BANG! BANG!

Wheeeeee!

“Ahhh!”

“Stop! Wait! What is—!”

The horses, galloping smoothly moments before, were suddenly halted by the binding magic and tumbled to the ground. The carriages struck by the blast shattered into pieces and toppled sideways. Screams echoed, but Noah bit his lip and ordered them onward.

“Don’t look back—just run!”

Swoosh!

At that moment, something passed over Prince Noah. Peering out the window, it was Berrick. He had broken away from the mages and climbed onto a carriage behind them. Flattened low, scanning the surroundings, Berrick’s eyes locked with Noah’s.

“Huh?! This isn’t my carriage! What if you drop me off in the wrong place?!”

“Damn it!”

“Prince of the Kingdom of Vino! Stop the carriage! Or Ian said to smash everything up!”

He never actually said that, but it didn’t matter—things were about to get messy. Berrick shouted, but Noah ignored him and climbed back inside the carriage. Crawling low, he made his way down toward the driver’s seat.

“Gah! Wh-who’s there?!”

“This carriage is mine now!”

“Hey! Over here! Hey!”

The guards lunged from both sides, but Berrick nimbly dodged and kicked them away. Those who fell from the carriage tripped the horses chasing behind.

Rumble. Boom.

Swinging a sword on a moving carriage was surprisingly fun. From the side where Barsabe had dismounted, explosions echoed as well.

What now? Berrick hummed a tune, turning his body toward Prince Noah just as the ground began to shake violently, as if an earthquake had struck.

“Up ahead! The gatehouse is in sight!”

“Keep going! Just pass through it!”

“Maintain your speed—!”

Yujira started to shout, but stopped mid-sentence.

Far off, the earth seemed to rise up. Thick vines shot up from cracks splitting the ground left and right.

“Many Leaves.”

At the boy standing in midair’s gesture, the vines surged swiftly toward the carriages. As the dense leaves crashed down upon them, the drivers instinctively squeezed their eyes shut.

“Stop.”

Then, a soft voice whispered in their ears.

It was Ian’s voice, carried by magic.

“If you stop on your own, you will live. If not, you will die.”