novel(5)
| ← Ch.146 | Ch.148 → |
Malecia watched Dane Walker and Den as they moved away then headed to the meeting place.
The meeting location was a shantytown located in the remotest part of the slums. The reason they were using such a place as a base was that it was selected by their collaborator, Jiren.
It was obviously a retaliatory measure, but Malecia did not care. He was not going to stay in Lotten for a long time, and at most, he would be leaving in a week. Despite the stench and uncleanliness that permeated all around, Malecia walked casually into the shack where he and his subordinates were staying.
On the battlefield, there were times when you had to be covered in mud dirtier than this place for months without being able to shower. Compared to that, this place was clean.
"Welcome back."
When his men stood up and tried to salute, Malecia waved to stop them.
"Let's keep the empty formalities to a minimum."
"Yes, understood."
The subordinates sat down again, and Malecia sat down in an actual proper chair situated at the highest seat.
"Dane Walker's in Lotten."
Malecia's words surprised his subordinates.
"Really? Why would that Magic Swordsman of Thunder come all the way to Lotten?"
"Then wouldn't the Adventurers' Guild Director be moving as well?"
Dane Walker was famous for being Glont's right arm. Everyone knew that the reason this elite among the court magicians had left the palace and become an adventurer was because of Glont's influence. And so, his sudden visit to the ruin naturally raised suspicion that Glont was on the move.
Malecia beckoned the noisy subordinates to be quiet.
"I know what you're worried about. If Glont comes here, our work will definitely become more difficult."
Malecia unconsciously touched his eye patch. It was Glont who took away one of his eyes, so whenever he thought of the Adventurers' Guild Director, his hand unconsciously went to the eye patch.
"But fortunately, it looks like only Dane Walker himself has come to Lotten."
Malecia suddenly recalled the civil servant who found him while he was secretly observing Dane Walker. He had not been concealing his presence earnestly when he was observing. However, it would not have been easy for an ordinary person to have found him unless they had good eyes.
He had talked with him to see if he was an adventurer disguised as a civil servant sent by Glont with Dane Walker, but he didn't find anything in particular. Rather, the boy seemed quite weak, so it was amazing that he found him.
He seemed to have become a little sensitive from having come to Lotten in a hurry. He laughed to himself, thinking that there was no way a civil servant would have any kind of influence on his work anyway.
Malecia's subordinates breathed a sigh of relief.
"Of course, Dane Walker is also pretty tough, so be vigilant. And just in case Glont comes, we'll pull the schedule to tonight."
"Wouldn't Jiren's party protest?"
As his subordinates worried, Malecia gave a wild smile.
"You don't need to know. We're pushing ahead."
Rather, they were probably wanting to finish the job quickly to kill Malecia and getting impatient.
"Yes!"
The subordinates answered energetically and spread a map of the Lotten neighborhood on a hastily made table of planks. The map was quite detailed, and the location of the ruin was newly drawn on.
"This is enough for military use. Where did the map come from? asked by Malecia
"We were able to acquire it in a place called Big Mama Information Agency, " the subordinates replied while handing over a bundle of documents.
Malecia nodded at his subordinate. If it was the Big Mama Information Agency, the accuracy of the information didn't need to be doubted. He looked over the documents and asked, "Is the information about the ruin also from Big Mama Information Agency?"
"Yes, it is."
Malecia compared the documents given by Aries with those purchased from the Big Mama Information Agency.
"Hmm, it is presumed to be the tomb of the last of the Holy Tribe. Well, that's not wrong."
Malecia's subordinates looked at him oddly at his nuance.
"If it is not incorrect, does that mean you have some hidden secrets?"
Malecia shrugged his shoulders."I don't know exactly either. However, I heard from the master that it is a tomb but also not a tomb."
Malecia's subordinates could not understand what he was saying. It felt like he was uttering some strange play on words.
"In other words, it is a burial mound without a body buried within it."
"So you're saying that the large ruin is just a burial mound?"
When his subordinate asked like it was absurd, Malecia nodded.
They couldn't understand why such a large tomb was built if a body wasn't going to be buried in it. Their boss, on the other hand, emotionally understood the act of making a mound without burying the body.
In the past, there were so many colleagues whose bodies could not even be recovered during the war of conquest of the Blood Emperor who wished to expand the empire. There was a time when he was young when he silently dug because he thought it would be too vain of a death if he didn't at least make a burial mound.
After a fleeting moment of reminiscing, Malecia smiled bitterly and immediately wiped the expression off of his face.
The subordinates placed black pebbles on the map, marking the positions of the guards.
"Our goal is the magic stone, 'Miracle Crystal, ' the last legacy of the Holy Tribe, which is believed to be at the heart of the ruin."
Malecia began to move the white pebbles that represented themselves and explained the operation.
-o-
The clock was pointing just past eleven at night. After being slammed by work all day, Flam and I were mentally exhausted and sagged.
Flam said with a tired face, "If this continues, we might actually have to work overtime every day until we get back to headquarters."
"I think that will likely be the case."
Flam frowned and shook his head as if he had heard something terrible."This is not something that a person should have to do."
Dano, who was lying on his desk, raised his head at Flam's lament.
"Today was the first day for you guys. It's been half a month for me."
I smiled at the grumbling Dano."But it ended early because the two of us are here."
Dano looked at me with tired eyes."That's true. In particular, if it weren't for you, it might have passed midnight."
Dano bowed his head in thanks. The work definitely went a lot quicker after I came back from patrol. Otherwise, not just past midnight, but they might have fallen asleep seeing the sun in the morning. Thanks to this, civil servants who I didn't even know continued to thank me and provide me with snacks.
Although, about half of the snacks went into the stomachs of Dane Walker and Flam. Of course, it didn't matter because there was quite a bit.
Dano was leaning his head on the desk exhausted when something seemed to suddenly come to mind and asked, "Wait, does that mean you're slacking off at the headquarters?"
Oh, I've been caught!
"Ayy, no way. I try my best in everything!"
Dano looked at me with suspicious eyes but decided it didn't matter and said, "Well, it doesn't matter if you finish your work quickly, since you won't be able to get off work until the end of the day."
Unlike his first impression of being taciturn and inflexible, Dano did not interfere as long as you finished your work. In any case, there were only competent people at the headquarters, so no one worked that hard except Demuir, who was responsible for the overall accounting.
In addition, I helped Demuir quite a bit before I was sent out so he should have an easier time.
"Now, let's get ready."
"Yes, let's."
Everyone put their desks together and brought blankets to get ready to sleep.
"By the way, where is Mr. Dane Walker?"
When Dane Walker could not be seen, Flam looked for him with a blanket.
"He said he was going to a ruin earlier. He said he would sleep there."
"Really?"
"Yes, he said he was going to meet an old colleague he has known since he was in the court magician division."
"Hmm, then I'll use Dane Walker's blanket as an extra. It's cold because the blankets aren't that great at insulating." Flam laid all his blankets on the desk and hugged Dane Walker's blanket as if someone was going to take it away.
I laughed at the sight.
"Do as you please."
It became dark when the civil servants on night duty turned off the lights. The civil servants lying on the desk chatted for a few minutes then quickly fell asleep. With so much work, it was not surprising that everyone collapsed into sleep.
I got up quietly, made an illusion of myself sleeping, and left the office. Then, I took out clothes that were easy to move in from the pocket space, changed, and put on a half-white mask.
"Let's see. Was the ruin in that direction?"
I wonder what would be in the ruin of the Holy Tribe. It was presumed to be the tomb of the last of the Holy Tribe, so there might be some interesting items.
-o-
Dane Walker pushed his platinum plate at the guards guarding the ruin and entered the barracks where the general manager in charge of exploring the ruins would be.
"If it isn't Dane Walker! Long time no see!"
As soon as he entered the barracks, an old man with a white beard brightly welcomed him. Dane Walker greeted the old man and hugged him.
"Long time no see. Chief Kermin."
"What do you mean chief! It's been a long time since I became a director. Don't go around still calling me chief."
This old man was a madosa of the court magician division and was in charge of excavating the ruins.
"Have you been promoted?" Dane Walker asked in surprise.
Kermin smiled in embarrassment."That's what happened. I was planning to retire when I got old, but they wouldn't let me go."
Dane Walker laughed pleasantly."Ahahaha, Director-nim, you're one of the few madosas in the empire. This is a position you should have been in earlier."
Kermin smiled bitterly at the other."No, I really think it's time to give up my position to the young people. When I retire, I want to go to a magic school and raise some juniors."
"Oh, I'm suddenly jealous of the students. You're making me want to enter the magic school again."
Kermin smiled as he touched his beard."Hey, you. I can tell you're on the verge of breaking through the wall. Don't joke around."
Dane Walker was embarrassed that Kermin could tell at a glance that he was on the verge of becoming a madosa.
"Hahaha, you know?"
"I've known you for years. How would I not know? It seems like you'll be able to overcome it in one go if you just have the right opportunity."
"Hahaha, I haven't been able to find that opportunity for three years." Dane Walker laughed vainly.
Kermin snorted.
"But following that youngin, Glont, was the right choice. Becoming a madosa at your age is a feat only the Butterfly Tribe can achieve."
When Dane Walker gave up his job as a court magician, Kermin was the one who tried to stop him the most.
"Ahaha, it's ten years too late for me to be compared with the Butterfly Tribe."
On average, the Butterfly Tribe members became a madosa in their late 30s to early 40s. The adult standard for them was being a great magician. But crossing the wall was a different story.
"When you submitted your resignation, the most regretful thing was that I sent you under Glont as a military magician."
"I've heard it hundreds of times already. Moreover, the army was low on military capacity at that time, so we were required to enlist."
There were countless magicians who were dragged to the battlefield and failed to return due to the Blood Emperor's war of conquest.
"And I'm grateful. If I hadn't gone under General Glont at that time, I wouldn't have come back alive."
"Yeah, I sent you under that youngin Glont to make sure you would come back alive. But how was I supposed to know that a pervert who only looks for cute things would capture your heart?" Kermin sighed.
Dane Walker made an awkward smile. It was because, honestly, he still was not used to Glont's tastes yet.
"So did you come past the guards and to this ruin to try and find that opportunity to cross that wall?"
Dane Walker scratched the back of his head."Well, I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel that way, but the reason is a little different."
"Then what is it?"
When Kermin looked at him strangely, Dane Walker carefully spoke.
| ← Ch. 146 | Ch. 148 → |