Chapter 187 – Reason
The planned time.
The first to appear was a pair of men.
Their whole bodies were covered in black cloaks.
It was as if they had suddenly surfaced from within the darkness of the night.
Like the night had melted and taken shape.
But it was just an illusion. The two also wore black masks.
(What is this mana pressure…)
I gulped, there was something abnormal about the energy surrounding them.
And there was a lot of it as well. And something was merged with it that felt like it went against the rules of this world.
(A combination of illegal potions and special relics. Dangerous methods to boost your ability. Sacrifice your humanity to become a monster.)
While the Royal Magicians Order was made up of the finest magicians in the kingdom, only a handful would be able to win against these two.
(If it comes to a fight, the new recruits will be…)
A head-on battle would result in casualties without a doubt.
Some of them may die.
I was reminded of how much we needed to avoid it.
(In any case, we have to focus on tricking them until the end.)
The two men inspected the people from House Albarn and House Eniagram.
I could not read their emotions.
Silence fell over the ruins.
Perhaps they were feeling cautious. What if they had noticed that there was a Royal Magician here. What if they knew that this transaction would put them in a bad position?
(Calm down. You are thinking too much.)
I could not allow the others to see that I was anxious.
In order to protect everyone, this plan had to succeed no matter what.
The strong feelings hardened my body.
I sighed quietly so that no one noticed. And after calming my breathing, I relaxed.
I would be prepared if something happened.
The two men made some hand signs towards the outside of the area.
And then another man stopped out of the shadows.
He was wearing a black hood. And his mask had a complex embroidered pattern on it.
(He is even stronger than the others…)
The man stepped forward and spoke.
“We are happy to have such an opportunity to meet with you all, important pillars of the kingdom. May our bonds be strong. Now, let us begin.”
And then the servants of the two houses carried the bags forward. They seemed to be very heavy.
There were three bags from each house.
The man bowed his head politely and then inspected the contents.
“Are you sure that it is the correct amount?”
“Yes. It is precisely the number agreed upon.”
“It seems to be the case. Wonderful.”
Said the man with the black hood.
“You are someone who can be trusted. I can tell.”
“Thank you.”
“However, what about the others? It is possible that there is someone among you who has an evil heart.”
“What do you mean?”
“I think there is someone here who is targeting us. For instance…”
The man with the hood paused dramatically.
“Someone from the Royal Magicians Order.”
I focused on keeping a straight face. I could not allow my anxiety to show.
His suspicion could not turn into conviction.
The infiltration of House Albarn and House Eniagram and the negotiations had been conducted with great caution. Even if there were people watching, they should not have noticed.
So it was likely that this was a bluff. He was baiting us into panicking.
“Impossible. They would have no way of knowing about this.”
Said a butler. It was no lie. Even he did not know that his master had a change of heart a few hours ago.
“However, two rats crawled into your house the other day. Two very capable rats. And they were using concealment magic.”
Said the man with the black hood.
“For instance, how do we know that man right there is not a Royal Magician?”
He said while pointing to one of the Albarn servants. But I knew that it was actually someone else.
(Luke…!)
Everyone was looking at him now. However, Luke just reacted with a troubled expression. He did not say anything.
This was to not give them anything to consider.
“That’s not possible. I have known him since he first started to work with us.”
“But he could be using a transformation potion.”
“Yes, I suppose that is possible…”
“Let’s ask some questions then.”
Said the man with the black hood.
“Are you a Royal Magician?”
“No, I am definitely not.”
“You are quick to answer. As if that will make you more believable.”
“It is just a habit of mine.”
I gulped while watching them. Even though I knew who he was, I almost forgot it was him.
‘In a way, I’ve been acting ever since I was a child.’
I recalled when he said that when infiltrating Count Wilhelm’s mansion.
He was the former dark-sided masked student, after all.
And so his acting was more believable than most people.
“I see.”
The man with the hood nodded and continued.
“If we had time, I would have you all interrogated. But sometimes compromises have to be made. And so I will trust that this transaction is fair and as we planned in advance.”
The two men then picked up the bags.
Just one was already large, but they could pick up three as if it was nothing. It was likely the result of the illegal potions.
“Thank you. I am grateful to all of you who are involved with this transaction.”
The hooded man said with a polite bow.
“However, caution is one of the most important attributes of our work. We must eliminate any risks, and protect ourselves. If there is a traitor among you. If we were to be betrayed right now. How could we keep ourselves safe? Well, the most realistic solution is to set a trap underground. Thousands of kilograms of gunpowder, which was salvaged from someone’s house. And a device to detonate it.”
His voice rang clearly through the ruins.
“Now, perhaps we will meet again in a different life.”
In the next instant, hot winds that were over three thousand degrees evaporated everything in sight.
The moment it happened, I shouted with everything within me.
“Magic Barrier activate!”
I had shouted because I needed support.
Even with all of my power, I could not stop it alone.
But if I were to get the others’ help…
If we all worked together, there was a chance.
The first one to join me was Luke.
He understood the structure of my barrier at once, and activated magic that reinforced the weak parts, raising its overall strength.
After showing this example, the others followed.
Misha was next, and then Miles.
This came from experience working in an environment that required you to adapt quickly.
And the newcomers also activated magic barriers.
“Ilis! Add the water attribute!”
It evaporated under our feet in an instant. The explosion that erased everything.
Even the water that was strong against fire was not enough.
The air started to burn my skin.
With wind magic, I managed to push most of the deadly blast outside.
My vision was filled with white light that was more blinding than the sun.
I closed my eyes, but was still surrounded by light.
What was happening to my body? Did it even exist?
The floor collapsed, and we plummeted to the underground.
Once I realized that we were rushing towards the ground, I activated wind magic.
“Wind Blast.”
The wind cannon acted as a cushion for us.
I lost my balance and landed on my face, but the main was about the same as when I usually fall.
I was alive.
I had a body.
And so I sighed with relief.
“Are you all alright!?”
I looked around.
There were a lot of people lying down in the darkness. It was not easy to tell their condition.
And so I went around and checked each person.
Once I was sure that every member from the unit was safe, I sighed with relief.
(The others also aren’t in too bad a condition.)
After looking around, I realized why.
There was an idiot who prioritized others rather than themself.
“You. You only focused on strengthening the barrier rather than protecting yourself.”
“A little.”
“Why are you always so…”
“Because it’s what my heart told me to do.”
Normally, he had no interest in other people.
The only reason he would do it, is because there is someone different here, who he wants to protect.
And as dense as I was, I still knew.
It was me.
Deep in my body, my heart beat loudly.
No. I shook my head.
I could think about such things later.
Right now, I had to focus on getting everyone out of here safely.
“Apparently, we were right to be cautious.”
I heard the hooded man’s voice coming from the top of the large hole that opened up.
“That being said, only two of them are decent. The others are hardly worth our notice.”
Came the emotionless voice.
“We will deal with them now. Starting with the Royal Magicians. Don’t let a single one escape.”
thanks for the chapter