Embracing Magic - E.M Chapter 174 (Part 2)

He had long felt the need for a communication artifact. He’d often considered making one, but the communication magic orbs were far too large.

However, over the past few days, while reading books from the Magic Empire, I came up with a new design for a communication magic artifact.

The magic circles weren’t directly drawn in the books. Still, I was able to grasp the key elements regarding the composition of runes and the arrangement of magic circles.

That much was enough. By combining it with the artifact knowledge I already possessed, I could easily draw a simple form of a communication magic circle.

‘A magic circle that uses mana would be better.’

If only Larry and Bianca were going to use it, a magic circle powered by magical energy would’ve been more convenient. It would require fewer Mana Stones and the configuration of the magic circle would be much simpler.

However, there was a chance I might also need to communicate with Karis and Jena. If I was going to design a mana-based artifact for those two anyway, it made more sense for all four of them to use artifacts that ran on mana.

‘That way, it won’t look like an artifact.’

Before I knew it, I had arrived at a shop that sold accessories. It was crowded with customers browsing the displays.

“Wow! Brother, there are so many kinds!”

“Big Brother Rodin, can I buy something expensive?”

The shop they stopped by was quite famous in Lientas. It had a long tradition and good customer reviews.

Perhaps because of that, the variety of accessories was truly vast. Some were flashy and eye-catching, while others were simple but elegantly designed.

“Buy whatever you want. Don’t worry about money. Karis, Jena, is there anything you two need?”

“Nothing for me.”

“Hoho, Young Master, you’re too kind.”

Larry carefully examined the accessories before selecting one. It was a thin bracelet meant to be wrapped around the wrist.

“Brother, this one’s enough for me.”

“Just one?”

“Yes. Should I get a thicker one? It might be hard to inscribe magic into this.”

“No, that’s plenty.”

Larry handed the bracelet he’d chosen to Rodin. Next was Bianca’s turn.

Bianca also examined them carefully and chose only two— a necklace and a bracelet. The bracelet was identical in design to the one Larry had picked.

“Hehe. This is Big Brother Rodin’s bracelet.”

“Mine too?”

“Yep. We’re family, aren’t we? We should wear matching bracelets.”

Accepting Bianca’s suggestion, the three of them chose identical thin bracelets. On top of that, Bianca had her necklace.

“Hmm, then let’s go with these.”

Rodin selected five additional black brooches with a matte finish. He chose the simplest design possible to make sure they wouldn’t stand out.

These accessories would be reborn as communication magic artifacts.

“What are those?”

“You’ll find out later.”

After paying, they left the accessory shop. Before long, the sun had begun to set.

“Brother, what now?”

“What do you think? Time for dinner.”

“What about Queen Regina…?”

“She can wait until after we eat. She won’t make any moves before nightfall anyway.”

Dinner was delivered to the annex. Today’s meal was also satisfying.

Based on past experience, the more expensive the inn, the better the food. It seemed obvious, but there had been exceptions.

In the Richmond Marquisate, food was mediocre wherever you went. Before Margaret took charge of cooking, there hadn’t been a single meal that left a good impression.

“Brother. Aren’t you going?”

“Not yet.”

Rodin went into his room and took out the five brooches.

‘The magic circle should be… something like this.’

This time, the communication magic he would inscribe excluded the magic for transmitting video. It also didn’t include coordinate-setting magic for changing communication targets.

The five brooches could only communicate with each other. And even then, only sound—not images—could be transmitted.

“This should be enough.”

Though he finished inscribing the magic circles, he hadn’t activated them yet. It was late, and he couldn’t afford to delay any longer.

“Time to get moving. Hmm… Karis, I’ll leave the children in your care.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

“Jena, let’s go.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

If a fight were to break out, it would likely be a situation where they had to protect the queen and the prince. Jena was better suited to a defensive role than Karis.

“Hmm, looks like I’ll have to use some magic.”

Unfortunately, combat dolls based on mana didn’t work well with magic powered by magical energy. It wasn’t that it was impossible to use, but either the duration would be too short or the power would be subpar.

While moving, Rodin gently gathered mana. Then, using only mana, he cast magic.

“Invisibility.”

A wave of transparency wrapped around Rodin and Jena’s bodies. Their forms vanished in an instant.

“You can still hear my voice, right?”

“Yes.”

“I’m going to speed up a bit. The destination is the lord’s castle. You know where that is, right?”

“Yes. I’ll follow you if you fly ahead, Young Master.”

“Let’s go. Fly.”

Rodin took to the sky first, heading toward the lord’s castle. Jena ran across the ground using her own two feet.

Rodin and Jena moved at full speed. Though they were invisible to the naked eye, anyone who happened to witness their velocity would be left speechless.

—

The House of Duke Lientas was a family of swordsmen.

The head of the house, Alfonso Lientas, was a sixth-class swordsman, and his father and grandfather had also been exceptional swordsmen. His son, too, was a fifth-class swordsman, and even his young grandson was diligently learning swordsmanship.

But it was a different kind of household compared to the Richmond Marquisate.

While the Richmond family revered only swordsmanship, the Lientas Ducal House, though also a swordsman’s household, treated mages with respect as well.

It was the largest city in the Kingdom of Maven. And since mages were treated well, many of them had settled in the Lientas Ducal Territory. Quite a few had even pledged themselves directly to the duke’s house.

In other words, while the ducal family itself was made up of swordsmen, the territory had a mixed character.

Rodin had felt that when he visited the lord’s castle earlier in the day to meet Queen Regina Hesward.

There were many places throughout the castle where magic power was concentrated.

In some areas, there were clusters of several dozen mana signatures that appeared to belong to mages. And traces of magic circles that seemed to have been made by mages were also easy to find.

Knock knock!

There were many mages, but none came close to Rodin’s level. Rodin and Jena arrived at Queen Regina’s quarters without being detected by anyone.

“Who’s there?”

―It’s Rodin, the mercenary you saw earlier today.

Rodin didn’t speak aloud but instead conveyed his words through magical telepathy.

The queen flinched at the voice that rang directly in her mind.

Why was someone who claimed to be a great mage visiting at this hour? And why was he not speaking out loud?

Everything was suspicious.

“Hmm…”

―Silent. You may speak freely now. I’ve taken precautions to ensure secrecy.

“No matter how great a mage you are, isn’t it rather late for a visit?”

Though she was a married woman, the queen was still a young lady. Barely in her mid-twenties. Having a man enter her quarters after sunset could easily spark scandalous rumors.

“I understand. But this is the most appropriate time. If it makes you uncomfortable, I can send in my guard instead.”

“Your guard?”

“Jena.”

Jena released her invisibility. The door creaked open, and through the gap, Queen Regina’s eyes peeked out.

“Hmm… does it truly have to be at this hour?”

“Yes.”

“It’s not that I distrust you, Great Mage, but I fear strange rumors might begin to circulate.”

“If nothing happens, I will leave quietly.”

Silence filled the inside of the room. She seemed hesitant to make a hasty decision.

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