Chapter 327

While Ian and his group were confronting the Clifford carriage convoy…

Otric helped Fillic down as they arrived in front of the border gate. The place was unusually quiet, with hardly anyone waiting. Since this was the closest checkpoint to the Kingdom of Clifford, the inspections and procedures here were stricter than elsewhere.

Suddenly, the border guards inside rushed out in surprise.

“A… a mage?”

“Greetings. What brings you here? We only heard that the Clifford delegation would be arriving soon.”

“Are you alright? This person looks quite pale…”

Bang!

As Otric showed his identification, a loud rumble echoed from afar. The guards instinctively ducked and raised their telescopes to pinpoint the source.

Amid the thundering carriages charging forward, something darted swiftly through the air. Looking closer, it was a person. A flash of light, impossible to discern clearly, flickered before their eyes, and a tremor like an earthquake vibrated up through the ground beneath their feet.

Otric entered the guard post and shouted,

“We’re temporarily closing the border. Do not let the Clifford carriages pass—signal them to stop immediately.”

“What? But all the permits have already been approved.”

“There’s no time to argue! Just do it!”

“Y-yes, yes! Hey! Block the gate first!”

“Buffalo horns! Raise the flags!”

Otric had been preparing to wave his hands cheerfully by the wide-open border, but now it felt like a sudden storm had struck.

The guards scrambled to raise the iron chains across the gate. They climbed the watchtower and waved red flags, then alternated blowing the buffalo horn trumpets.

“Blow louder! Haven’t you eaten yet?”

“I-I just ate.”

“But they’re not slowing down at all. What if they don’t stop?”

The charging convoy looked anything but ordinary. They were pushing full speed as if something was wrong. If they collided like this… Even if the mages could handle it, shouldn’t the guards evacuate?

Murmurs of concern rippled among the guards, but Otric snapped irritably,

“What else can we do? We have to stop them. Go ahead and set up obstacles. I’ll—”

Ziiing. Ziiing.

As Otric unleashed his magic, the guards’ eyes widened in shock, frozen in place. Though called border guards, they were lifelong frontier folk. Seeing Otric gather his power, Fillic, who had been motionless beside him, suddenly grabbed his arm.

“Otric. I need some magic.”

“Huh?”

“You saw earlier. I can’t help at all in this state. Just a little will do. Hurry.”

It was a perfectly natural request. Among mages, sharing power wasn’t unusual, especially in moments like this. It was more efficient for two to create a protective barrier together, even if each contributed less than their full strength.

Fillic reached out his hand, but Otric awkwardly stared off into the distance.

“Sorry, but I’m fine. I’ll handle this alone.”

“Do you even realize what you just said?”

Not just one or two carriages, but dozens charging at full speed—and he wanted to stop them alone? Fillic stared at him in disbelief. Otric’s face flushed red as he shook his head.

“I know, I know. Sorry. You help the guards from behind. That’s better.”

“Ma-mage! The ground’s suddenly rising over there!”

“Waaah! Is that… is that safe?”

“Who told you to stop blowing the buffalo horn? Keep going!”

“……”

At the guards’ shout, Otric turned his head.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Fillic hesitated briefly before retreating. Now everything was clear. From Ian’s test before departure that drained his magic, to his comrade refusing to share power now.

Otric might not know all the details yet, but Ian’s orders were clearly standing firm behind this. Fillic forced himself to ignore the pounding in his chest and kept backing away.

‘The mages have stepped in, so the Clifford carriages will stop. If that’s the case—’

Then the whole truth would come out. If so, it was better to leave Bariel for now. Everyone’s attention was on the carriages. There wouldn’t be a better chance than this.

Fillic dashed toward the border.

Tap tap tap!

‘If I can just get past that, I can avoid capture.’

“Huh? Mage? What are you—”

“Move!”

“Mage!”

Fillic ran forward with all his might, almost falling over. He shoved the bewildered guards aside and passed through. They never expected a mage to attempt an illegal departure, especially right in front of everyone.

The commotion made Otric turn around, and reflexively, he gathered a magic orb and unleashed it.

‘Otric, could it be—’

It was almost an automatic reaction. Ian’s secret order had triggered it.

“If Fillic takes hostages or tries to escape, suppress him decisively.”

Boom! Bang!

Fillic tumbled forward. The guards, realizing what was happening, rushed to restrain him, and others joined in.

Fillic gritted his teeth, desperately drawing on every ounce of strength to release magic. He seemed ready to blast away those clinging to him.

“Fillic! What the hell are you—!”

“Let go! I said, let go! Damn it!”

“What have you done!”

“Ahhh! Mages! Why are you doing this?!”

Ziiing! Ziiing!

Boom! Bang!

The clashing magic erupted in a deafening roar, and groans, screams, and shouts vanished in an instant.

---

“Hmm. You really messed him up. Really messed him up.”

Beric muttered as he looked down at Fillic, bound tightly in ropes and covered in blood, unconscious. He lifted Fillic’s lips, then eyelids, then lazily shook his limp arm like a toy.

Barsabea tapped his shoulder with her knee.

“Stop fooling around and seal his magic quickly.”

“Y-yes, yes. Got it. But do you think he lost his molars too?”

“…He’s going to die.”

Unlike Beric, who chuckled darkly, Otric sat in a corner of the checkpoint, tears streaming down his face. The betrayal by a comrade and the guilt of having harmed someone with magic weighed heavily on him. The mages tried to comfort him, but the more they did, the more he sobbed.

“Sniff… No, I mean, Fillic…”

“I know, I know. That bastard’s a real piece of work.”

“I’m not a field agent, so… sniff… I’ve never used magic on a person before, so this is… I’m sorry. To the guards too…”

“Oh no, it’s fine. We’re soldiers after all. Small injuries are part of the job.”

Though the usually quiet checkpoint was anything but peaceful now.

The injured members of the Clifford delegation waited for a nearby village doctor, while those able to move helped salvage the wrecked carriages. Ian surveyed the scene and called over a child standing dazed.

“Now, Prince Noah.”

No answer.

May, standing close beside Noah, deliberately avoided looking at Fillic, which only confirmed Ian’s suspicion. She was clearly someone he recognized.

“The mages are bringing a doctor from the village. Once this is settled, we’ll inform Clifford’s side of the situation. But before that, it seems there’s something you want to discuss.”

They couldn’t leave Bariel’s territory until everything was out in the open. Otherwise, they’d be stranded in the wasteland with no hope of aid from Clifford.

“Understood, understood. Haah.”

Noah nodded to May to bring something. She reluctantly agreed, and only Ian and Noah stepped away from the chaos to sit facing each other.

“It was a few days ago. To be honest, I don’t know the exact time.”

“Three days ago, estimated between midnight and dawn.”

“Right. Three days ago. It was an ordinary day. We were passing through the forest and night fell, so we made camp. And, as you suspected, we were ambushed.”

Creak.

May carefully entered and set down a heavy pouch. It rattled with something inside.

“At first, we thought it was just a band of thieves, but the more we saw, the stranger it became. Eventually, they drew their swords.”

Noah showed his sword with a shrug. It was decorated with jewels on the sheath, so he thought it was ornamental, but apparently not. The blade was dull black, coated with melted magic sealing stones.

“But Fillic didn’t have any stab wounds.”

“Yeah. That’s because someone else faced my sword.”

“…So there’s another accomplice.”

“Didn’t you expect that? If anyone would know, it’d be you. But this person seemed no different from other mages. How could they attack the official Clifford delegation alone?”

Though he had seen many horrors due to curses, he was still the heir to a kingdom. They would have prepared for danger entering Bariel’s capital, and the guards protecting him were likely as skilled as knights. Ian nodded in curiosity, and the guards drew their swords to confirm.

Sssring.

“Does Clifford really use precious magic sealing stones like that? Just melting them onto a sword?”

“That’s the best we can do since the mages we need to watch are all outside the kingdom.”

Not wrong. The palace’s goal was to unite the magic department, and abroad, to eliminate threats.

“So, do you know who was with Fillic?”

“You probably know better than I do, don’t you?”

Noah nodded toward his pocket. When he opened it, Ian saw it was filled with Idgals—those amber-hued gems that were the Achilles’ heel of wizards.

“…Indeed. I know them all too well.”

That was the very proof that the man had informed Felik of Melania’s survival. Contact with Melania meant a connection to the Rutherford Guild. The Idgals were irrefutable evidence confirming everything.

“They wanted the jewels bestowed by His Highness. Their intentions were clear, but we had no choice.”

It was the middle of the night, a surprise attack, and on foreign soil. Noah’s side had no option but to accept the enemy’s terms. Yet, they had made a choice here that would shift the course of events…

“A regrettable decision.”

“It was the best we could do. At least until you started chasing after us.”

In exchange, they had received the Idgals.

If only they had lost the jewels outright, they could have used that as leverage to gain the upper hand in the upcoming alliance. Though, admittedly, it was humiliating for the kingdom’s official envoy to be outmaneuvered by just a handful of outsiders.

“They were wizards. We couldn’t protect the jewels His Highness entrusted to us, so who knows what pretext they might use!”

“Still, it was right to reveal the truth. Otherwise—”

Not only would the head of the Magic Department find their position compromised, but tensions between the three nations would have escalated.

Noah had decided to set all that aside and instead secure a ‘price’—a reward far more valuable than any fertilizer they might gain through alliance. The power to keep wizards in check.

“Is that all the Idgals you have?”

“……”

They had just returned from Bariel, having observed the wizards’ abilities firsthand. They summoned flower showers from the sky, created entire universes, and upheld the prestige of a great nation.

If they could secure Idgals comparable to the magic-sealing stones, Klipoford could respond with strength equal to Bariel’s.

“Prince, I will ask only once more. If I find any discrepancies between what you tell me and the truth, I will show no leniency.”

Noah narrowed his eyes but said nothing further. He clearly understood the gravity of the situation.

“…They’ve signed a direct contract with Klipoford worth a hundred times that amount. They handed over the jewels as payment.”

Ian silently pressed his forehead. Even this alone was significant, but a contract a hundred times greater? It was clear that Idgal production was proceeding far more actively than he had imagined.