Embracing Magic - E.M Chapter 51 (Part 1)
Rodin, who had been lying down to sleep, suddenly sprang up. Hedler and Lant also quickly sat up.
They heard the sound of horses’ hooves. The noise of wheels turning was mixed with the sound of hooves. It was the sound of a carriage racing.
It was past 2 a.m. All the trainees were, of course, asleep, and even the instructors were beginning to lose focus at this hour.
“What’s going on?”
“I have no idea.”
Hedler opened the window and stretched his neck out to look. The main gate of the training center was hard to see.
“I’ll go check it out.”
Rodin immediately made his body invisible and left the dormitory. Fixing his gaze on the main gate from the rooftop, he saw a carriage racing through the gate. It was clearly the carriage of Commissioner Kser, who had left just two hours ago.
‘What’s this? Why suddenly?’
The carriage didn’t even head towards the stables. It stopped in front of the central building, and Commissioner Kser hurriedly jumped out.
‘It looks like something urgent.’
Commissioner Kser was particularly fastidious about ‘dignity’ and ‘class.’ He believed that rushing was unbecoming of a noble and inappropriate for a wizard, given his old-fashioned personality.
Yet here he was, running. Although Rodin couldn’t see his face, he could feel the urgency even from a distance.
‘What could it be? What in the world is happening?’
Rodin wanted to follow him into the central building and listen to the conversation, though he knew he shouldn’t. His body kept twitching with curiosity.
‘Hold on. I can’t.’
At that moment, another carriage sound came from the main gate. This time, it was Commissioner Elrov’s carriage.
Just like before, the carriage raced to the central building, and Commissioner Elrov hastily entered the building.
‘I can’t hold it anymore.’
Rodin, feeling that nothing more would happen, returned to the dormitory and told Hedler and Lant what he had seen.
“The commissioners came back in a hurry at this hour? That’s strange.”
“I don’t know. Something must have happened for sure.”
Hedler and Lant couldn’t think of anything specific either. They could only suspect that ‘something happened.’
“I’m going to the shower room for a bit.”
“Why shower again after just being outside for a few minutes?”
“I might be late, so you go ahead and sleep.”
Rodin grabbed his tracksuit and hurried to the shower room. The shower room, too, felt eerie in the early morning.
‘Jito. Return to your original form.’
―Squeak.
The tracksuit, which was Jito, quickly returned to its original form: a small bird with a long tail and scales.
‘It’s been a while since I’ve seen your true form.’
―Squeak. Squeak.
‘Fly up to that building’s roof and listen to what they’re saying below.’
―Squeak.
When Rodin opened the window, Jito swiftly flew out, moving incredibly fast.
After sending Jito, Rodin closed his eyes. Slowly, he opened his hearing and shared his senses with Jito.
The shared sense was hearing, not sight. The sound of flapping wings was briefly heard, followed by a ‘tap’ sound and then silence.
After a few minutes, familiar voices were heard. The first voice was Commissioner Kser.
—
At the top floor of the central building, all three commissioners, including Commissioner Kser, were gathered.
Commissioner Habinon, who was on duty, was confused, unable to grasp the situation. He wondered why the two commissioners had returned in the middle of the night.
On the other hand, Commissioners Kser and Elrov were full of fear. Even though they hadn’t run too much, sweat drenched their foreheads.
“Hah, Commissioner Habinon. You were really sleeping peacefully.”
“Ah, yes. I was a bit tired yesterday and dozed off for a moment. But what on earth is going on, Commissioner Kser, Commissioner Elrov? Why are you both back at this hour?”
Commissioner Habinon still couldn’t understand the situation.
Commissioner Elrov, frustrated, pounded his chest. He had no idea where to start explaining since he knew so little.
“Hah, the Ingram Empire’s army is nearby.”
“Is the capital in danger already? The front lines should still be further north.”
“No. It’s not the capital; it’s here. We are the target. The intelligence department eavesdropped on a meeting of the empire’s army.”
“Oh!”
Finally, Commissioner Habinon understood the situation. His slightly hazy eyes became clear in an instant.
“Why on earth?”
“The reason is not important. If this continues, they’ll arrive by sunrise.”
“Hmm. We’ll have to fight back. Anyway, they must have sent only a small force; we won’t lose. Our forces aren’t weak either.”
At Commissioner Habinon’s words, Commissioner Kser shook his head.
Under normal circumstances, Commissioner Habinon would be right. The Special Forces Training Center’s power was not weak.
Aside from the Royal Guard, led by a 6th Tier knight, there was no knight order in the Riyaz Kingdom with the power of the Special Forces Training Center. Even compared to the Royal Magic Corps, it was not lacking.
But the problem was one individual! A strong person who could easily deal with many talented people.
“No. We must run away unconditionally.”
“Why are you saying this? It’s not the time yet. We haven’t even finished arranging our assets.”
“Duke Bernstein is included in the empire’s army coming this way.”
“Oh! Duke Bernstein.”
Duke Bernstein was the most famous knight in the Ingram Empire. Even in the Riyaz Kingdom, he was a name everyone feared.
“And they also heard Count Ferrios’ voice.”
“Oh!”
Both Duke Bernstein and Count Ferrios were Tier 6 knights.
Duke Bernstein had a long career with many achievements, and Count Ferrios was once famous as a promising knight who could surpass a master.
“You understand what this means?”
“Have you reported to the royal family? If the central army helps, even Duke Bernstein can’t do anything. There are also the capital defense divisions.”
There were still many troops left in the capital.
Although half of them had died, there were still the Royal Guard, the capital defense divisions, the royal family’s personal guard, and the capital’s protective knight order.
This force was more than enough to handle a small force sent by the empire. Even the infamous Duke Bernstein would not be a problem if they moved.
“Of course, I reported it. No, they contacted us first. They said if we held off the empire’s army, they would attack from behind.”
“Then, we should start preparing as well.”
“That’s why we’re here. We have divided opinions. I’m for fighting back like you, Commissioner Habinon, but Commissioner Kser wants to run away immediately.”
Commissioners Kser and Elrov had already discussed their opinions once before returning to the training center. Both had their reasons, making it hard to make a decision.
“Commissioner Kser, why run away… It’s not the time yet, is it?”
“Commissioner Habinon, do you trust the royal family? Attack from behind? When? After we’re all dead?”
“Well, they said they would attack from behind, so they will.”
Commissioner Kser found Commissioner Habinon and Commissioner Elrov’s relaxed attitudes frustrating.