Embracing Magic - E.M Chapter 95 (Part 2)

When he left the training room, it was just in time for lunch. He enjoyed a delicious meal prepared by Margaret.

“Big Brother Rodin, it’s great.”

“What is?”

“The tasty food. Grandma Margaret is the best!”

Bianca gave a thumbs-up in the direction of the annex. Margaret was eating there with Matthew.

“Yeah, hiring her was a good decision.”

“Hehe, you’re the best too, Big Brother Rodin.”

“Don’t smile like that. It reminds me of someone unpleasant.”

Rodin glanced over his shoulder as he spoke. Sitting on his shoulder, Undine pointed at herself.

“Who?”

“Just a water spirit.”

—Heeheehee.

That laugh. Undine’s odd giggling.

It was her way of expressing herself, so it wasn’t easy to tell her to stop. But listening to it continuously was rather off-putting.

“What do you mean, a water spirit?”

“Just something like that. I’m heading out for a bit.”

“Where to?”

“I’m going to try making an artifact. Need to buy some materials.”

Rodin had gleaned an idea for a spatial artifact from the Bolas Kingdom’s statue. He decided to act on it without delay.

“Come back soon.”

“I won’t be long.”

Rodin grabbed some money and a bag before leaving the house. The commercial district was a bit far, so he would need to take a stagecoach.

He paid the fare and boarded the stagecoach. The roads were well-maintained, so there was barely any jostling.

‘The western continent could learn a thing or two.’

While stagecoaches were available in Lanse, they were scarce in other cities. Even in Bontis, a relatively large city, stagecoaches were nowhere to be found.

‘But then again, I’m no longer a Westerner. I don’t need to concern myself with the West.’

The stagecoach ran smoothly and reached its destination—the bustling commercial district.

He had visited this place not long ago with Margaret when they bought cooking tools. As he had noticed back then, the commercial district was teeming with people. It felt as though the entire population of the region had gathered here.

“Thank you.”

He alighted from the coach and began purchasing the materials he needed one by one.

He bought a mithril ingot, several high-grade mana stones, and stocked up on silver dust and reagents, which would help inscribe the magic circle.

“Oh!”

As he explored the commercial district, he noticed the mercenary guild was not far away.

He had been meaning to visit, but finding the time had been difficult.

It wasn’t exactly nearby, and without any other reason to visit the commercial district, it had been easy to put off.

“Might as well drop by since I’m here.”

With his hands full of goods, he headed toward the mercenary guild.

This region had many mercenaries, so the guild building saw a constant stream of people coming and going.

Mercenaries with swords, those armed with spears, and even some in full plate armor—all with varying attire and equipment.

‘So many people going in and out…’

He waited for a moment, unable to open the door with his hands occupied. He considered using a magic hand spell but dismissed the idea since he felt too lazy today.

After a brief wait, a mercenary rushed out of the building.

Rodin quickly wedged his foot between the door before it could close, slipped inside, and made his way into the building.

*Jingle!*

The doorbell rang, but not a single person turned to look. With so many mercenaries constantly entering and leaving, it was hardly surprising.

“Excuse me.”

Rodin approached the counter and called for the staff. The attendant glanced over, then walked over with a slightly annoyed expression.

“What do you need?”

“I have a mercenary badge, but I haven’t completed any requests yet. Can you tell me how long it remains valid?”

“May I see your badge?”

“Here you go. Magic Hand!”

This time, he had no choice but to use the Magic Hand spell.

As he did, the attendant’s initial indifference gave way to visible curiosity. Even in a place with many mercenaries, magic-using mercenaries were rare. Seeing one, even a 1st or 2nd-circle mage, was uncommon.

On the other hand, Rodin used his 2nd-circle Magic Hand with just an incantation, indicating he was at least a 4th-circle mage.

“Let’s see… this is a bronze badge. Bronze-level mercenaries are required to complete at least one request per year. At first, you’ll only get a warning, but eventually, your badge will be revoked.”

“One year, huh… I have less than a few months left.”

“Yes, judging by the date on this badge, you’ve got less than three months left. You should take on a suitable request soon. Oh, and of course, it has to match your badge level. Doing lower-tier tasks won’t count.”

“Got it. I’ll look over the requests.”

Like in the Western Continent, bronze-tier requests were posted on a board here as well. Once a mercenary reached the silver tier, they’d get half their requests from the board and the other half directly from the counter staff.

‘Nothing here seems quite right…’

Escort missions took too long, with round-trip travel requiring a month. He was reluctant to commit to such a long period.

Monster extermination missions were even more drawn out, taking up to three months when factoring in travel and the actual mission duration. Choosing one of these meant risking having his badge revoked before completing the job.

‘Hmm? Potions? Swords and shields? Why are they asking for these?’

Rodin pulled down a request sheet and brought it to the counter.

The attendant sighed softly after reading it.

“This one’s a bit of a hassle.”

“Why is a request like this even here?”

“I suppose you haven’t heard, since you haven’t been to the guild lately. It’s been the talk of the mercenary circles. Five countries from the central continent have decided to join the war in the Western Continent.”

It was a startling revelation.

It didn’t make sense that countries from so far away would involve themselves in a distant war.

“What? Why would they do that?”

“They’re concerned that if the Ingram Empire unifies the Western Continent, its influence might reach the central continent.”

“That sounds like an unnecessary worry.”

“Many people think so. But the Ingram Empire unifying the Western Continent does make them uneasy.”

It wasn’t a completely unfounded concern.

The Western Continent was smaller than the Central Continent, but the difference wasn’t vast. It would take the combined territories of about 50 out of the 62 kingdoms in the Central Continent to match the size of the Western Continent.

If the Ingram Empire unified the West, it would become an immense power, holding vast lands.

Even the mere thought of the Ingram Empire setting its sights on the Central Continent would terrify its kingdoms.

“So, the potions and weapons are for the reinforcements?”

“Yes. They’ll be supplied to the reinforcements from the Central Continent and to the Kingdom of Landert.”

“Does that mean they’re supporting the Kingdom of Landert?”

“Three of the central continent’s countries have allied with Landert, while the other two have teamed up with the Kingdom of Aslan. Our Kingdom of Lennox has sided with Landert.”

The Kingdom of Landert was the strongest among the Western Continent’s alliance of 13 nations. While it paled in comparison to the Ingram Empire, it was the only nation that had managed to resist the empire’s onslaught.

Additionally, both the Landert Kingdom and the Aslan Kingdom were situated on the eastern side of the Western Continent, closer to the central continent, which made trade between them more active.

“They’re not giving away potions and weapons for free, right?”

“Of course not. Whether you purchase them elsewhere or craft them yourself, the guild will buy them at market price.”

“The guild, huh… Is Marquis Richmond not participating in the conflict?”

“Marquis Richmond has committed to supporting territorial battles in another region, so he can’t move just yet. But once that’s resolved, he will join the fight.”

Marquis Richmond was currently assisting the Marquis Rottan of the Kingdom of Maven, another noble from a foreign country.

There had been much criticism about aiding a foreign noble, but Marquis Richmond pressed ahead, citing personal ties as the reason.

“I’ll take this request. It asks for 100 units, but what if I sell more than that?”

“You’ll get credit for the number of units you deliver. If you sell 400 units, it’ll count as four bronze-level requests. If you sell 1,000, it’ll count as ten.”

“Understood. I’ll prepare the potions and bring them in.”