Embracing Magic - E.M Chapter 177 (Part 2)

“I’ll give it to Sister Jena myself.”

“Alright. Go and give one to Bianca too, and you should wear yours as well.”

“Yes.”

Larry leapt over and landed by the carriage that Jena was driving. A moment later, Jena also wore the brooch near the collar of her clothes, close to her ear.

“No need to explain how the communication works, right?”

“Yes. I’ve confirmed it responds immediately when mana is infused.”

In fact, if it had been just the brooch artifact creation, it would’ve been completed on the first day. It wasn’t a particularly difficult artifact for Rodin.

However, since he had to make the detoxification potion, a lot of time had to be invested in the early stages. The mixture of herbs and the initial infusion of magical energy required a delicate process, and unless Rodin focused, the chances of failure were high.

Even so, the detoxification potion production had now reached a steady pace. With only one or two hours invested per day, the potion would be complete in about ten days.

‘Even the handmaid was poisoned, huh.’

It wasn’t just Queen Regina and Prince Arian who had been poisoned by Azahasar Pallite. The handmaid had also been affected. As if the poison had been indiscriminately spread throughout the royal palace, everyone had been exposed.

‘Now that this is done…’

The brooch artifact creation was finished. What remained was to make artifacts for Larry and Bianca.

‘What should I engrave?’

―“Brother Larry! Brother Larry! Come in! Come in!”

―“I’m here. What is it?”

―“Heehee. Just wanted to try it.”

‘Good grief…’

Although he had created the artifact imbued with the communication spell, he hadn’t been able to split the channels. The brooch was too small to allow for individual communication channels to be separated.

So, if any one person activated their brooch and spoke, the other four could hear it as well. It was essentially a five-person shared communication system.

―“Brother Larry! Come in!”

―“What now?”

―“Just wanted to call you.”

Bianca’s playful messages weren’t just being sent to Larry—they were also reaching Rodin and the others.

Jena could be seen letting out a sigh. Karis kept glancing behind her.

“Hey! Cut back on the chatting. When you talk, all four of us hear it.”

―“Ah! Really?”

“That’s right. So only use the communication when it’s truly necessary. Got it?”

―“Aww, that’s no fun.”

Finally, the communication channel went quiet. With the buzzing in their heads gone, a sudden sense of peace returned.

“Hm?”

At that moment, Rodin burst out of the carriage. After staring intently ahead, he shouted loudly.

“Stop! Multiple contacts approaching from the front!”

“Stop! Stop!”

Scott, having heard Rodin’s call, halted the procession.

No one doubted Rodin’s words.

There had already been two magical beast attacks, and each time, it had been Rodin who detected them first. There had even been a time when they waited over ten minutes before encountering the beasts.

When it came to detection range, comparing Gold-tier mercenary Scott with Platinum-tier Rodin was meaningless. All the other mercenaries knew it as well.

Naturally so—Rodin’s detection range was overwhelmingly broader even than that of Tamia, a Tower Master of the 7th Circle. A 5th-class swordsman couldn’t possibly match Rodin’s sensing ability.

“If there are many of them, how many are we talking?”

“Roughly a hundred? They appear to be on horseback.”

“Ah! So, humans. Everyone, form a defensive formation!”

“Maintain the defensive formation!”

The word ‘humans’ caused tension to ripple through the mercenaries. Scott too had already drawn his weapon and assumed a ready stance.

The mercenaries here were also aware of Queen Regina’s situation. More precisely, they knew that Prince Arian, her son, was a target sought by the opposition to the current king of the Luvain Kingdom.

Queen Regina hadn’t hidden the fact. She believed that in order to be properly protected, the full truth needed to be known.

A few minutes passed with the defensive formation in place.

A group of people approached. They were knights, all clad in solid plate mail.

“Whoa, whoa! Who might you all be?”

“We’re mercenaries. Currently escorting a noble individual.”

“We are in pursuit of a criminal. The search is urgent, so we ask for your cooperation.”

“That won’t be possible. As I said, we are escorting an important person.”

Mercenaries on a protection mission had no authority to decide whether to reveal their client. That decision rested solely with the one being protected.

In this case, Queen Regina held that choice. If she didn’t want to reveal herself, the mercenaries couldn’t comply with the knights’ request.

“Absurd! Nothing is more important than capturing a vicious criminal!”

“Are you certain of that?”

Rodin stepped forward. In such matters, it was the responsibility of the highest-ranking mercenary to take action.

“And who might you be?”

Whoosh!

Rodin offered no answer, simply tossing his Platinum Badge. The knight who caught it stiffened instantly.

A mercenary wearing a robe and holding a Platinum Badge—only one person fit that description: the mercenary who had recently become a Grand Mage.

“We would never wish to offend a Grand Mage. However, capturing this criminal is a matter of utmost importance.”

“Are you implying that we are hiding a criminal?”

“That’s… not quite what I meant. Of course we wouldn’t suspect a Platinum Badge mercenary. Still, someone could have snuck in unnoticed. So we simply must check—”

“You believe a criminal could evade my senses and hide here?”

Rodin crossed his arms, blocking the knights’ path. At his sides stood Karis and Jena.

“That’s… not what I meant. We won’t search.”

“That’s a relief. I didn’t want any unnecessary conflict. But—what kind of criminal is it? Knowing the extent of their crimes would help us prepare, wouldn’t it?”

“They’re a heinous villain who burned six villages and massacred around 2,500 people.”

At the mention of 2,500, the mercenaries’ faces also hardened. Perhaps startled by their reaction, the carriage door opened, and Queen Regina herself stepped outside.

“I am the one being escorted. My name is Regina Hesword Luvain.”

Though Queen Regina introduced herself, the knights didn’t immediately recognize her. With expressions that seemed to ask ‘Who was that again?’, they simply looked back and forth between the mercenaries and the queen.

“Insolence! You stand before the Queen of the Luvain Kingdom. Show proper respect!”

“Ah! I beg your pardon. I am Jorge Myers, senior knight of the Kingdom of Seldon.”

At last, the knights all bowed their heads in unison.

The Kingdoms of Selden and Luvain had traditionally maintained friendly relations. They traded many goods in high volume, and active exchanges of personnel were common—including frequent study abroad between the two nations.

Even during Luvain’s prolonged civil war, Selden never sought to exploit the situation for profit.

“Sir Myers, please raise your head. More importantly, I’d like to hear more details about this criminal, if you don’t mind sharing?”

“Ah, well… that is…”

Hyung_Otaku2

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