Embracing Magic - E.M Chapter 171 (Part 1)

Lientas was the largest city in the Maven Kingdom.

The interesting thing was that although commerce had flourished, the true foundation of its development lay in industry.

Lientas was the most advanced city in the entire Central Continent in the art of metalcraft.

There were many blacksmiths, and even more professional artisans.

The precious metals crafted in Lientas were recognized as the best not only in the Central Continent, but even in the Western Continent.

Rodin had heard the name “Made in Lientas” even in the Western Continent, which showed how famous the city’s craftsmanship was.

Although not as renowned as its precious metals, the weapons and armor produced in the forges were also fairly well-known. They ranked among the best even within the Central Continent.

Because of this, many mercenaries stopped by Lientas to get their weapons and armor made or fitted.

“Is their craftsmanship really that famous?”

“So they say. If you buy a few here and sell them in the Western Continent, you can make three to four times the profit.”

“Wow! That much?”

“Yeah. But even within the city, there’s variation. Some shops make excellent stuff, others are a mess. You’ve got to choose carefully.”

Because the art of craftsmanship was so famous, all kinds of riffraff had opened jewelry shops here.

In Lientas, even if prices were a bit high, many clueless drifters bought things without knowing better.

“Well, I guess a lot of people come here just because of the rumors.”

“Exactly. And unlike weapons, with jewelry, the average person can’t really tell a luxury item from a fake.”

“I wouldn’t know either.”

Rodin also couldn’t tell which accessory was better just by appearance.

However, if one projected mana into it, one could gauge how much effort had gone into making the item.

“We’re heading to the inn first, right?”

“Yeah, we should.”

“Once we’ve settled on the inn, I’ll head over to the Mercenary Guild.”

“Me too! I want to go!”

It seemed Bianca’s mercenary instincts were stirring after a long while.

It didn’t seem like a bad idea, so he decided to let both of them go.

“Go ahead.”

“But… is this city free of pickpockets?”

“What city has no pickpockets? Still, it should be better than Aramia. I heard security here is pretty good.”

“Phew, that’s a relief.”

This place wasn’t just the largest city in the Maven Kingdom, it was practically the face of the kingdom itself.

Because of that, not only the Duke of Lientas, but even the royal family took great pains to maintain public order.

“That one looks good.”

“Yeah, it’s definitely the biggest. We’re just staying one night for now, right?”

“That’s the plan.”

In truth, luxury inns with annexes were almost always clean.

Any minor differences were tolerable.

But the food was another matter. If the food was bad, there was no point in a long stay.

So they usually booked one night and extended their stay only if the food pleased them.

Fortunately, the annex rooms at the top-tier inn were mostly vacant.

They chose a room of reasonable size and ordered dinner right away.

“Mm, not bad.”

“Big Brother Rodin, it’s delicious.”

“Brother, I’m satisfied too.”

“If we can afford it, we should stock up on food from here.”

The food was even tastier than that at the Aramia inn.

Maybe it was because they had crossed into a different country, but the cuisine felt unfamiliar and fresh, which made it all the more appealing.

“Brother, I’m heading out. Sister Jena, I’ll leave things to you. Bianca, let’s go.”

“Okay.”

After sending off Jena, Rodin started Frouval’s illusion lessons.

The quiet atmosphere made it easy to focus on studying.

‘It’s almost time for the next level.’

The pocket watch’s hands were nearing the end of the 3 o’clock hour.

The minute hand hovered around 55 minutes. It looked like he’d transition to the 4 o’clock lesson within a few days.

‘The pace is faster than I thought.’

As he continued studying the runic language, the number of runes he knew had increased significantly.

By now, he had learned over 25,000 runes.

‘But does the Frouval really know every single rune?’

If that were true, it was impossible not to wonder how.

Unless one had created the magic system themselves, knowing every rune was supposed to be impossible.

*Knock knock!*

“Brother, we’re back!”

“You’re back?”

Stopping the illusion class, Rodin stepped outside.

The fact that Larry had bothered to knock probably meant he had something to say.

“Something up?”

“Brother, there’s a request.”

“So?”

“It’d be great if you could take it with me.”

Rodin was puzzled by Larry’s words.

A platinum badge and an iron badge accepting the same request?

It wasn’t impossible, of course.

Large-scale monster subjugation requests were usually open to all ranks—from platinum down to wood badges—without discrimination.

But Larry knew Rodin didn’t like those kinds of requests.

It was hard to imagine he would’ve taken a subjugation request just for points.

“What kind of request needs me involved?”

“It’s an escort mission.”

“They’re hiring both an iron badge and a platinum badge for an escort job? That’s weird.”

“I thought so too, but once I heard the details, it made sense. The escort target is a five-year-old child. The destination is the Kingdom of Luvain.”

The destination being the Kingdom of Luvain was fortunate for Rodin.

That’s where Marquess Richmond and Tower Master Tamia had gone, so he could stop by while handling the request.

Still, escorting a five-year-old? It was a bit absurd.

Who exactly was this child, to be traveling all the way across a country to reach Luvain?

“A five-year-old? Who’s the kid?”

“Apparently, she’s a princess of the Kingdom of Luvain.”

“What’s a five-year-old princess doing in the Maven Kingdom? That doesn’t make sen… Ah! There was a civil war there recently, wasn’t there?”

“Yeah. She’s the daughter of the royal consort who fled during the civil war. That prince is now the king, apparently.”

Rodin remembered that the civil war in Luvain had ended about half a year ago.

It had started nearly four years ago, and countless people had died during that long conflict.

Even after it ended, there had been several assassination attempts on the new king.

Seeing that he was calling her “daughter,” it seemed she had survived the assassinations.

It sounded like her safety was now somewhat secured.

“But what about the royal consort—or should I say, the queen now?”

“She’s gravely ill. Word is, she’s on her deathbed. It seems she can’t make a long journey.”

“Tell them this: I’d like to meet the queen.”

“Hehe, I figured you’d say that. I’ll tell the Mercenary Guild tomorrow.”

Hyung_Otaku2

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