Chapter 138
RMSBS - Episode 138 . Tracing the Attack (2)
It only took two days for the airship to reach Altea, the capital city of the Magical Kingdom from Grinpell .
When Altea finally appeared through the window, Kei gathered everyone from Desir’s party .
“We will arrive in the capital shortly . Let us terminate your contract at this point . Thank you for your hard work . ”
Kei signed their contracts, designating them as a completed mission .
The mercenary contract would be fully terminated once they submitted their signed contract to the mercenary guild in the Magical Kingdom . They would also receive the balance of the bounty .
The first main questline would be cleared with this .
After saying bye to Kei, Pram spoke up, as they headed back to their rooms .
“This quest was quite simple for a Level Three Shadow World . "
“It’s not over, so you can’t quite relax yet, Pram . ”
Pram nodded at Desir’s sage advice .
If things went smoothly, the Shadow World would have been cleared . However, they were forced to enter the hidden second main questline .
Desir’s face was filled with anxiety since even he didn’t know anything about these series of events . It wasn’t even recorded in the history books they had studied up on .
Desir glanced at the room where Kei and he had held a conversation .
‘Under normal circumstances, the first quest and the second quest tend to be related in a major way . I wanted to collect as much information as possible… ’
Sword Grand Master, Kei Hazmaryoon was not one who was easily befriended .
Though his likability with Kei had sufficiently increased, he still didn’t say anything beyond what was necessary .
He was never loose-lipped, even when he was chuckling affably . If anyone attempted to delve into a sensitive topic just a little bit, he’d block them by changing the topic .
As a result, Desir had to give up on getting information out of him .
Leaving his disappointment behind, he loitered around for a while . The airship landed on the field soon enough .
Altea had a lifeless atmosphere compared to lively Grinpell .
The skyline was blocked by skyscrapers . People wore dark-colored clothes and were very quiet .
As Desir’s party descended onto the landing field, someone walked towards their airship . It was a middle-aged man with a big scar on his cheek .
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Desir secretly ascertained their mana circle . He was roughly a Fifth-Circle . Even for the Magic Kingdom, which had an incomparably stronger magical force than other kingdoms, to be a Fifth-Circle mage was no simple feat . This man was powerful .
*Thump*
*Thump*
Soldiers saluted him in unison as they saw him .
But he frowned as if seeing something utterly unpleasant .
He saluted Kei who was standing on the deck half-heartedly .
“Good job, Major Kei Hazmaryoon . ”
“Commander Darren Aleph, we successfully obtained ingredients, so you don’t have to visit us like this . ”
“Well done for completing this mission with such a body that is utterly devoid of magic . ”
“… It was definitely not easy . It would be the same for magicians . ”
He chuckled .
“Do not make a mistake of equating swords and magic, Grand Master . While we magicians split the ocean and blow away mountains, you’d slice with your sword through a few mere obstacles at most . Even though you’re referred to as the Grand Master, you’re no exception . ”
He jabbed his finger at Kei’s chest . His attitude was certainly very rude .
However, Kei laughed and brushed his hand away .
“So, what did you visit us for? I don’t think you came all this way here just to tell me that . ”
“I’m here to check if all the ingredients arrived safely . It’d be very troublesome to have any issues before we commence the experiment . Anywho, who are those people?”
He gestured at Desir standing on the side .
“They’re the mercenaries that I hired to guard the airship . ”
Guards for the airship .
Desir did not miss it, even though it was only made as a passing comment .
‘We were hired to guard Aldin though . ’
Desir realized Kei was hiding the existence of Aldin Sepius . He didn’t know why, but it was certain that Aldin couldn’t be exposed here .
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“That’s unusual . I didn’t think you’d hire mercenaries . ”
“It’s because we lost too many subordinates to carry out the order of his majesty . ”
“In some ways, it’s a natural consequence . Why do you operate soldiers with weapons in this day and age? You are the only unit that uses weapons now . ”
He looked around the soldiers, then spoke with a wide smile .
“Well, it’s very easy to get soldiers with weapons . Your management is worth considering, in the sense that what you work with is always available in great supply . ”
“Commander, I would appreciate it if you would avoid speaking as if my subordinates are expendable . ”
“Why? Are you offended?”
There was a long pause .
Kei stared at Darren quietly .
“Well, anyway, I want to see the ingredients . ”
“… This way . ”
Kei spoke, but he looked incredibly subdued . He glanced at Desir’s party and gestured at one of the officers .
“Officer Penen, please take the soldiers to the guild carefully . They wouldn’t know their way around here . ”
“Yes, sir . ”
Officer Penen was quite an interesting man . He had introduced Desir’s party to Kei right at the beginning . He grabbed a carriage and joined Desir’s party .
Desir looked back at the airship .
“That man… However high his rank may be, he’s way too rude . ”
Penen shook his head from side to side .
“Well, that’s what it is like . Magic skill is the standard for everything in the Magical Kingdom . ”
Just as he had said, everything was decided by magic skill in the Magical Kingdom . The most excellent magician became the king .
“As you’ve seen in person, nobody can reach Major Kei’s sword skill, but people in the Magical Kingdom are overly proud of their superb magic skill . They detest and are ashamed of soldiers that wield weapons . I consider it a miracle that Major Kei got promoted to the rank of major at all . ”
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His title of Sword Grand Master suited him perfectly, seeing his piercing energy he employed while cutting down that Transcendent Wyvern .
But his rank was only a major . The most powerful swordsman of his times . It was unthinkable for a man with his skills to be treated like this .
“You must respect Kei very much . ”
“Of course . Not just me, everyone in the unit must feel the same as I do . Major took care of and trained people like myself who have no talent in magic . He made our lives livable . I would do anything for him . ”
Penen’s voice was very dignified, evidently filled with pride .
“There was hardly anyone who could keep up such a rude attitude in front of him until now, due to his majesty’s favor . But since his majesty began to favor some magician from a foreign country, things like that have become increasingly common . ”
Penen finished with a sigh .
They arrived at the mercenary guild while chatting away .
Penen bowed his head slightly when all of Desir’s party got off the carriage .
“Thank you for your hard work . ”
The officer closed the door and went away .
Desir felt he had gained some small details that might come in handy later .
‘I’ve got great information . ’
Desir’s party handed the receptionist their mercenary contracts from the Sword Grand Master in the mercenary guild .
As expected, they got a system message .
[-‘The last hurrah’ Quest has been completed . ]
[The main quest in progress remains . ]
[Please complete the remaining quest to receive a full clear . ]
[Rewards will be added up after clearing the remaining quest . ]
Desir stretched his arms .
“So we have one last quest . ”
The remaining quest was the elimination of the power backing Pureus .
Their clue was a fragment of a mana cluster they had obtained after killing the Alchemist .
Desir pulled out the mana cluster . There was a serial number on its backside .
3-BYET_
The last letter of the serial number was illegible .
Desir pondered aloud .
“Mana clusters were only manufactured in the Magical Kingdom . They were managed very securely to prevent the technique from leaking . ”
In order to make magical artifacts, a catalyst was required to gather the mana .
In the modern days, mana stones were created by an enchanting method designed by Zod, whereas the only way to mass-produce a similar tool in these times was making something like the mana cluster they held a piece of .
It was obvious how valuable mana clusters would have been .
People were only allowed to purchase them after a strict background investigation .
Romantica spoke up .
“As mana clusters are thoroughly managed, there must be records of people who bought them . We need to check those and find out who purchased the mana cluster matching this serial number . ”
“But there’s no way they’ll show such records to outsiders like us, is there?”
Pram’s comment was absolutely correct . There was no way an outsider like them could look at such sensitive internal records .
“Yes, I suppose so . But, just because they aren’t willing to show us, doesn’t mean that we cannot see them . ”
“What?”
Desir turned to Pram .
“You don’t always have to use gentlemanly means . ”
Chapter brought to you by Kevin H .
ED2: Purplemen101
TLC: N/A
QC: Dr Lock