Embracing Magic - E.M Chapter 150 (Part 2)

It wasn’t particularly surprising. Though the curse, initially mistaken for an epidemic, had spread throughout the land, there were still more people unaffected than afflicted.

“What do you want to do? Do you want to stay here a little longer, or leave early?”
“I’d rather leave quickly. The atmosphere here isn’t great… and there aren’t any requests. By the way, where is the territorial war taking place?”

“I heard it’s in the northern part of the border region of the Maven Kingdom.”

“How long will it take to get there?”

“About 20 days? Maybe a month if we take our time. We have plenty of time.”

There were 45 days left until the territorial war. Considering the travel time, even if they took it slow, there wouldn’t be any issues with time.

“Since it’s in the north, how about heading to Aramia in advance?”

“Aramia, huh… Well, since it’s a fairly big city, there should be work for mercenaries.”

Aramia was a fairly large city in the northeastern region of the Lennox Kingdom. While it wasn’t as large as the Richmond Marquisate, it was bigger than Asir, the western trade city.

Aramia was a river port city built along the great Aram River, and through it, one could travel to the Maven Kingdom, the Seldon Kingdom, the Olvena Kingdom, and the Lloyd Kingdom.

“You’re going, right?”

“The Marquis of Richmond is coming sometime today.”

“Ah! The map.”

Larry also remembered the map the pendant had shown them yesterday. Knowing Rodin, he had likely already figured out the general location.

“Yeah. He probably wants to ask about where the pendant’s map is pointing now, so he’ll be here soon. Once everything is settled today, let’s leave first thing tomorrow.”

“Thank you.”

“No need to thank me. I don’t like the atmosphere here either. If I stayed here for a month, I’d end up depressed.”

At some point, the carriage came to a stop. In front of them stood a familiar yet strangely unfamiliar door.

“It doesn’t feel like home.”

“Huh? You think so too? Me too. I’ve lived here for a year and a half, though.”

“Yeah. Was the house in good condition? No squatters or anything?”

“Right now, people in the Richmond Marquisate are selling their homes and leaving.”

In just a few months, the population of the Richmond Marquisate had drastically decreased.

Most of the people who had money and the means to move had already left. Even those without much money were considering relocating to another territory in search of work.

“What about the restaurants nearby?”

“You already know. The food around here has never been great.”

“That’s true.”

It was something they had confirmed long ago.

The restaurants in the area had never been particularly good. It wasn’t that the food was terrible, but it wasn’t appealing either.

And now, with the population decline, the number of customers had also dropped. Expecting bad food to have suddenly improved was unrealistic.

“Looks like we really need to leave tomorrow.”

“Bring out the food.”

“Got it.”

Fortunately, before coming to the Richmond Marquisate, they had stocked up on food in a small village. They had stored as much as 50 servings in the subspace, so there was no need to worry about food for a few days.

“Big Brother Rodin! I’m hungry!”

As soon as they entered the house, Bianca said the same thing as Larry. Well, considering they hadn’t eaten properly since yesterday afternoon, it was only natural to be hungry.

“Alright. Let’s go in.”

They went to their usual dining spot. Without furniture, the house felt empty.

“Let’s see…”

Rodin took out a dining table and chairs from the subspace and set them up. He covered the table with a tablecloth and arranged the tableware properly.

“Looking at it like this, it really feels like when we used to live here.”

“It’s only been a few months.”

“Big Brother Rodin, even if it’s just a few months, this place feels unfamiliar. Like I’m visiting someone else’s house.”

Bianca had the same reaction as Larry. This house was no longer a warm and comfortable place.

“Let’s eat. Since we’re leaving tomorrow, just tell me what you need. I’ll take it out.”

“I’ll just sleep in the carriage tonight.”

“Suit yourself.”

They took out the food and had a combined breakfast and lunch.

After the meal, Larry went straight into training as usual, while Bianca pulled out a book from somewhere and began reading.

—

Just as Rodin was about to rest after the meal, he sensed people outside the door. And it wasn’t just one or two.

“Excuse me.”

“They’re finally here.”

The voice belonged to Hamilton, whom they had seen yesterday.

As soon as the guests arrived, Bianca quickly grabbed her book and slipped into the carriage. Larry, after glancing around, followed suit, disappearing into the carriage with her.

For Larry and Bianca, the few hours they had spent with these people yesterday had been pure torture. The thought of experiencing such discomfort again was worse than death.

Karis and Jena had taken the opportunity to tidy up the carriage while Larry and Bianca were eating, naturally avoiding the meal.

Of course, they did actually work on the carriage.

Having traveled extensively across the Hedenes region, the carriage had a lot of wear and tear. The wheels, in particular, needed to be replaced entirely.

With all four of them gone, Rodin had no choice but to receive the guests alone.

“Welcome.”

“So, this really was your house.”

Outside the door stood Marquis Bake Richmond, his son Harrison Richmond, Administrator Hamilton, and ten knights.

With such a large group, Rodin worried about whether they could all fit inside the house.

“It was my house. Come in, though there’s nothing much here.”
“You all wait here. Let’s go inside.”

“Yes, sir.”

Fortunately, the marquis ordered the knights to remain outside. Only the three of them entered, preventing the room from becoming overcrowded.

However, Marquis Richmond was carrying a large chest.

‘Sigh, why did he bring that?’

Rodin already knew what was inside.

There was only one item that could exude such an ominous and unpleasant aura.

‘What a hassle.’

For now, he guided the Richmond group into the reception room.

Since Larry and Bianca had eaten there earlier, at least three chairs were already set up.

Rodin took out one more chair for himself.

“Please, have a seat.”

“Thank you. First, let me update you on how we handled yesterday’s matter. My uncle, Barclay, has been placed under house arrest. He will likely never leave his residence for the rest of his life.”

“Ah, I see.”

Rodin wasn’t particularly interested in how the marquis had handled things. It was just a family issue now, and he didn’t want to be involved any further.

“As for Segan the healer, he has been imprisoned for now. They say he won’t last long anyway.”

“Yes, he won’t survive even a month.”

“For now, we’ll leave him be and question him whenever we feel like it.”

“I see.”

Rodin gave a half-hearted response, keeping his gaze fixed on the chest.

He wanted to know why they had brought that.

Hyung_Otaku2

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