Episode 624
“Iaaan! Where do you think you’re going?”
Bang!
Beric suddenly flung the door open, causing the mages to freeze and turn toward him. It had been quiet for a few days, but judging by his sharp appearance, it was clear he’d been hiding out somewhere, eating and resting.
Ian was nodding as he packed a small travel bag with a few clothes and essentials.
“Toalun.”
“What the hell? Why there all of a sudden? What’s going on?”
“We’re going to find out what’s happening. Beric, pack your things too. And no need to bring food—Toalun is a wealthy country.”
Just then, Hale appeared, dragging a travel bag slightly bigger than Ian’s. The mages didn’t even need to look inside to know what was in it—probably the amplifiers that Quirin and Akorella had left behind.
“So Captain Hale’s coming too? For real?”
“Yeah, that’s right. Take care of him, Beric.”
“Does that mean don’t cause any trouble?”
“Ian, Beric’s been surprisingly sharp lately. They say even dogs learn to understand humans after living with them for a while. Seeing it firsthand is pretty amazing.”
“Damn it! Who are you calling a dog?”
“Speaking of which, sit down. Before we leave, I’ll explain our mission and schedule.”
Beric flopped onto the sofa, crossing his legs lazily, while Hale unfolded a small map—it was a map of Toalun.
“We’ll open a portal near the capital of Toalun, in a place where there’s little sign of life, and start moving from there. We can’t let anyone know that Bariel the mage has come to Toalun, so we’ll move quickly late at night to minimize exposure. According to the map, this spot fits the criteria—away from houses but connected to the main road leading to the capital.”
“Fits, huh?”
“The map’s pretty old, so I can’t be certain. If anyone spots us during the move, we’ll have to deal with them.”
“Hmm. Okay, got it.”
While Hale was briefing Beric one-on-one, Ian checked his reflection, focusing on tidying his clothes. Just as he reached up to fix his hair, the mages waved their hands, drawing his attention. They all knew well enough that if Ian tried to fix his hair alone, it’d look like a cow had licked it.
“From the portal to the capital will take about half a day. The time to return to Kalamath is uncertain. We might return from the capital or open a portal back at the starting point. Everything is flexible and will be decided based on the situation.”
“How long will we be there?”
“At most, a month. We have to return within that time. If we achieve our goal sooner, we’ll come back early.”
“So what exactly is this goal? Are we supposed to chop off the Toalun king’s head or something?”
“The capital is like the palm of the Toalun king’s hand—a grand stage he’s crafted. Beric, if you act recklessly, you’ll be the first to get a hole in your head. So remember, there are only three things we want to find out—”
Hale held up three fingers.
“The western temple, the situation inside the Toalun royal palace, and the whereabouts of Lady Philia.”
“Philia? She’s there?”
“We don’t know. We only suspect there was a problem during the transfer of the puppeteers. Confirming the details is the purpose of this covert mission.”
“Question!”
Beric thought for a moment, then suddenly raised his hand.
“Does Toalun not have a central guard like Bariel? They check IDs to enter the capital, right? What do we use?”
“Good question, Beric. We’ll be disguising ourselves as fallen nobles from Bariel. The story is that we ran a merchant guild, wound it up, and are now returning to our homeland.”
“Oh, fallen nobles, huh? So I’m the young master?”
Beric’s eyes sparkled as if lost in a dream, glancing around proudly. Look at me! I’m a noble now!
“Wake up. You’re the bodyguard.”
“Huh? Then what about Captain Hale?”
“The head of the family. Has two children.”
Two children? Beric looked at Ian, puzzled. Ian nodded toward the door, saying his sister was coming.
“Excuse me.”
“…Molars?”
It was Varsabe, wearing a long, flowing dress. She still had a blindfold over her eyes and looked clearly uncomfortable. Judging by her, she’d probably worn a dress only a handful of times in her life.
“Eh? Why are we bringing her along?”
“If there really was a problem during the puppeteers’ transfer, we can guess several scenarios—internal strife, betrayal, natural disasters, or bandit attacks. The northern region’s security is unstable due to the war, so we’re leaning toward the bandit theory. If that’s the case, Lady Philia might have ended up in the slave market.”
So, having Varsabe with us means we can search the slave market thoroughly without raising suspicion.
There aren’t many ‘women of appropriate age’ who can assist a noble lady with impaired vision and are fluent in Bariel’s language in the entire slave market.
Beric clicked his tongue, eyeing Varsabe up and down.
“She doesn’t fit at all. Bring someone else. What can she do with those bad eyes?”
“That’s exactly why she’s coming.”
“Beric, give me your hand.”
Varsabe hesitantly stepped forward and held out her hand. Beric, confused, took it. She traced up his arm to find his head, then gently cupped his cheek and held it firmly—
Smack!
“Ahhh! Crazy Varsabe!”
“The closer we get to the royal palace, the more information we’ll find about the puppeteers. If we’re lucky, we might even break the spell before we return.”
Varsabe’s vision was linked to the Toalun royal palace. It was dangerous, but as long as she kept her blindfold on like usual, it wouldn’t be a problem.
Besides, Varsabe had a ‘special’ ability. Among the magic swordsmen, she was exceptionally skilled. If used well, that ability could be a great asset against the Toalun king.
Beric scratched his ear and asked indifferently,
“What? She’s got that? I don’t see it.”
“Yeah, you know. You saw it yourself, in front of Meilidaily.”
“Meilidaily? Ten years ago? I was almost dead back then, so I barely remember.”
“That’s enough. Anyway, the four of us, including Varsabe, will move together. Departure is at 5 a.m. here, which should be 3 a.m. in Toalun. Pack your things well.”
“Far away! Tell me too!”
Beric stomped his feet on the sofa and accidentally kicked Varsabe’s dress. She reached out her hand again, as if asking him to hold it.
“Hmph. Am I going to fall for that twice? No way.”
“No, you don’t have to.”
Smack!
“Ahhh!”
“Now I can tell just by the sound.”
“This is crazy. Can you hit the other molar too? Damn, where else do you find a noble lady this muscular? You’d make a better bodyguard!”
Beric protested, bouncing around, but everyone ignored him. Varsabe would be veiled throughout the mission anyway.
“Or we all go equally! Why am I always the bodyguard when we leave?”
“Beric, you should be grateful you’re even a bodyguard.”
“Even if fallen, you have to be a noble. It makes it easier to access information in the royal palace.”
Ian muttered as he pinned a brooch to his chest—a seal from a fallen noble family that once existed somewhere in Burgos.
He studied the map Hale had brought, calculating the portal coordinates.
“Once we reach the portal, it’ll take less than five minutes to get to the destination. Prepare horses and carriages accordingly.”
“Yes, understood, Ian.”
“Travel safely. Captain Hale, bring back some snacks. I heard Toalun’s honey pastries are delicious.”
“Oh? Me too.”
“I hope you rescue Lady Philia.”
“Yes! If anything happens, open the portal immediately! We’ll be on standby!”
The mages bustled around, helping Ian pack, while Beric’s mind was completely distracted by the mention of honey pastries.
Amid the noise, Ian alternated between looking at the puppeteer’s portrait and a roughly drawn picture of Philia, then carefully folded them and tucked them into his chest. He silently prayed that the gods would watch over them.
“Ahhh!”
Philia’s scream made the bandits who were chatting nearby all turn their heads.
The market was noisy enough that screams usually went unnoticed, but this was the scream of something worth at least thirty gold coins. They instinctively moved toward Philia—and then flinched in surprise. There was a thin scar on her face.
“What happened to her?”
“Hey! Why’s her face like that?”
“What? Oh my, it really is.”
A woman who had been flipping through a notebook while talking to another merchant looked at Philia’s face in shock. The scar stretched quite long across her soft, flour-like skin.
Philia was crying, staring at the woman repeatedly, but the woman failed to understand what those eyes meant.
“Did you do this?”
One of the bandits asked harshly. The woman, exasperated, put her hands on her hips.
“…What nonsense are you talking about?”
“I asked if you did it. If you’re not the one, just say so. No need to wag your tongue.”
“Good grief! How could I touch her? Her face is the price of the goods!”
“Exactly. Trying to scratch it up to lower the price, huh? Since you can’t take her now, you want her to choke on it?”
“Damn it! I’ve been running this stall for ten years. You think I don’t know what’s fair? It’s obvious she scratched her own cheek with her nails. You can’t even take care of your goods properly, and now you’re blaming someone else?”
As the tension between the woman and the thieves grew thick, nearby merchants stopped what they were doing and watched. After a moment, worried that a knife fight might break out right in the middle of the street, one of the merchants stepped in to mediate.
“I saw it myself. She scratched her own cheek with her nails.”
“What? Seriously?”
“Of course! It’s a prime piece, so it naturally caught my eye. I was watching the whole time.”
The thieves looked at Philia in disbelief, but she stared back at them calmly, as if she hadn’t just been crying.
“This crazy bitch. If you keep acting so sly and defiant, you’re really going to ruin your life. Sis, if you behaved yourself, you could get into the palace and live comfortably. Why do you have to make things so difficult?”
The woman gripped the iron bars and hissed irritably, and Philia replied quietly.
“…I’m not going to the palace. Just mind your own business and move along.”
“Hey!”
Bang!
The woman shook the bars violently, and the thieves awkwardly stepped in to hold her back. With all this baseless suspicion and hurt feelings, there was no way the deal would go through. Besides, thirty silver coins was a bit iffy anyway—they were planning to use this as an excuse to back out.
“That’s enough. Sorry, but we’ll see you next time.”
“No, I’ll give you fifty gold coins. Hand it over.”
Seeing how fired up the woman was, the thieves quietly celebrated. Fifty coins! That meant when the auction happened, the woman would definitely be bidding fifty coins.
“Ahem. See you at the auction, then. That’s all for now.”
“Let’s go! Get the donkey out of here!”
“Yeah, yeah, let’s go.”
“When’s the auction?!”
The woman shouted in frustration, and the thieves glanced at Philia. Her wound wasn’t deep; it looked like it would heal in a few days.
“We’ll put her up in the best condition. Three or four days should be enough. Oh, and tell her this—if she gets any more scratches, we won’t let it slide.”
But Philia, sensing what they meant, gently touched her cheek. She wasn’t going to cause any more trouble.
The donkey moved slowly across the market, and the woman left behind let out a bitter laugh, turning away in disbelief. Philia watched her go.
“See you at the auction.”
She’d already raised the offer from thirty to fifty coins with her own mouth. She was determined to make that woman pay the difference.