Clink.
There was a sound as the locks engaged. The invaders from Austen had surrendered, so Para had brought out some cuffs, shackling them from wrist to elbow. The material looked strange, showing that it wasn’t an ordinary restraint.
“Is this perhaps adamantium?”
“Ri-ght.”
Para confirmed in an eerie voice that the metal, which resembled opaque ice, was just as Theo guessed. It seemed to be something she’d made. “I created it in order to catch a master, but there was no time to use them on the battlefield. So I left them in the warehouse, but they can finally see the light.”
“… Well, I’m glad it’s useful.”
“Right? These things are also part of my role.”
Paragranum might describe it as useless, but it was a ridiculous tool that could even restrain masters. Normally swordmasters could tear apart steel handcuffs with their superhuman physical abilities and aura. So, strong magic handcuffs would be ruined if they continued to inject aura. Even mithril would warp if a sword master used their power properly.
Only pure adamantium would do the trick. Adamantium was difficult to handle, so it was rarely used. However, Paragranum had created the restraints through some unknown manner. Mujak’s relaxed expression stiffened as he realized how strong they were.
“Theo!”
“Ah, yes.”
At that moment, a White Tower magician approached him and issued an edict, “His Majesty wants to meet the intruders.”
“I understand. Is there anything else?”
“No. You can take this transport to the royal palace.”
“I will.” Theo nodded without hesitation. Even if Mujak was bound, he was still a sword master who had crossed into the transcendent realm. Theo wouldn’t feel relieved unless another Tower Master took over.
Theo pulled on the chains a little rougher than normal.
Rattle.
A few drops of blood emerged from Mujak’s mouth.
“Well, it’s rough.”
“……”
Theo just spoke coldly without letting the chains go slack. For whatever reason, they were trespassers who had tried to enter Ellenoa’s dwelling. It meant that Theo couldn’t welcome them kindly. No, it wasn’t just that. Theo soon realized that his emotions were boiling inside him.
“What brings you here?”
“Hrmm?”
“If you’re from Austen, you should remember what you did in Bergen.”
Vince had told Theo who [Shackler] was, the ones disguising themselves as elf slave traders in Bergen. Thus, Theo also knew the truth behind the Bergen incident.
Mujak closed his eyes with a bitter smile. “I don’t have anything to say. I won’t make excuses.”
“Your responsibility for the past won’t disappear. And I don’t want you to apologize to me.”
“That’s right. Treat me as you like.”
Theo would’ve become angrier if he had spoken empty words, but he couldn’t do anything against this attitude. Theo dragged the chain forward roughly. After reading the unusual atmosphere between the two of them, the rest of the group followed.
Rattle, rattle.
In the end, the uninvited guests from Austen couldn’t even see the high elf’s face as they were dragged away.
***
“You went through a lot of trouble, Quattro’s Captain.” Kurt III, whose eyes had dark circles from the night before, examined Theo’s group from the throne. He stared at Mujak and the Janissaries, who were the cause of the emergency gathering.
Kurt III spoke in a mocking manner, “You were the ones who caught the four uninvited guests?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“This doesn’t look good. Well, they’re here, so uncuff them.”
“Huh? That…”
Theo was surprised by Kurt’s instructions, but other people protested before he could reply. This place might be filled with senior magicians, but Mujak was a sword master who excelled at melee.
“Your Majesty, you can’t!”
“You can’t set those criminals free from their restraints!”
“At least keep their legs tied!”
Kurt held up a hand. “Stop.”
Simultaneously, somebody landed beside Theo.
Kung.
Her red robes fluttered from the landing as a terrifying presence unfurled. The Janissaries fell, foaming at the mouth as they received the full impact of Dragon Fear. Only Theo and Mujak could stand straight.
Kurt’s eyes narrowed. “If it is like this, are there any objections?”
Who would be able to go against Veronica? Nobody dared refute Kurt’s words, and they fell silent. They couldn’t say anything because none of them would dare to fight Veronica. Kurt nodded at their implicit agreement and looked at Theo again, who sighed and pulled out the key.
Clink.
Once the restraints were released, Veronica spoke, “Old man, if you move without permission, I’ll kill you.”
“… Hu, how scary.”
“Keep looking forward. I won’t hesitate to kill you if you speak nonsense. So, look forward.”
She’s serious.
Theo noticed Veronica’s serious tone. Veronica would kill him if he took even one step. She would kill him if he spoke nonsense. The evidence that her threats weren’t empty was her red hair which blazed like fire.
This is the Tower Master’s battle readiness.
He had faded in and out of consciousness when Veronica had faced Superbia. However, Theo now had a clear view of her eight Circles revolving, and the pressure seemed to increase the gravity in the room.
That said, Kurt was still in control. “Then it seems I should listen to the excuses of an uninvited guest. Whether your head remains attached will depend on whether you can persuade me.”
Despite literally having a knife at his neck, Mujak wasn’t shaken at all. “First of all, thank you for listening to my excuses, Your Majesty.”
“Get to the point.”
“I understand. Then I will tell you what is going on.”
The guardian of Austen, one of the Sultan’s most trusted swordsmen, faced Kurt III with confidence. Mujak stood as a representative of a dying country. Supply had fallen and people were starving, so he had come here to save them. Thus, something like madness shone in his determined eyes.
“Austen is currently dying from an unprecedented drought. Meltor’s monarch, please have mercy on us, and give me rice and water for the suffering people.”
“Is that all?”
“No. I know you don’t have to, but if it is possible, I would like to meet the Elvenheim guests who are staying in your country.”
“Huh, you truly have no shame.” Kurt smiled and stared down at Mujak, whose head was bowed. Mujak’s requests would only be given if Meltor was truly generous. However, what were they going to do about the issue of them crossing the border without permission and breaking into the capital?
It was clear that Mujak had other thoughts. Dozens of suspicious eyes cut into Mujak.
Kurt III raised the question that they were all wondering, “Why didn’t you just send a delegation?” ．
Mujak’s green eyes looked down, and he replied in a low voice, “I couldn’t do that.”
“Why?”
“I do not know why, but Andras’ shadows are present at the border of Austen and the Meuse Desert. Above all, I didn’t think you would accept our requests.”
“… How honest. Although you are still being impertinent.”
Andras’ shadows…
But the atmosphere had started to change. After all, it was Austen who was behind the kidnapping incident in Bergen. It would be uncomfortable in many ways for Elvenheim’s ambassadors to face them. That was why Mujak slyly had attracted their attention with his words about the Andras Empire.
“Is this bait? Let’s see what you prepared for us.”
“Think of it as a bargaining chip.”
“Speak quickly, Austen’s fox.”
After being urged to cut to the chase, Mujak pulled something out. Veronica tensed, but Mujak didn’t pull out a weapon or poison. It was a leather scroll. It was common to use leather instead of paper in Austen, since they often lacked wood. It seemed that this leather scroll was the card Mujak had prepared for the negotiations. He didn’t give an explanation as he opened the scroll.
… This?
Theo kept a close eye on Mujak, so he saw the contents of the scroll before anyone else. It was filled with twisted lines and a mysterious mixture of symbols and shapes. Theo quickly realized what it meant as his eyebrows twitched.
Is this a map of the Meuse Desert?
This kind of terrain only existed in the desert. The large canyons and sandy hills helped guide the nomadic people over a long period of time. Still, it was difficult to draw a map of the desert, so a map of the Meuse Desert was a special item. A sophisticated map like this would sell for at least a hundred gold. Perhaps it had been personally produced by the Austen royal family.
However, right now, the map wasn’t important. Mujak pointed to a red dot in a corner of the map and brought up a topic that Meltor couldn’t ignore.
“For some reason, the Andras Empire is controlling this area.”
“What’s going on there?”
“Well, I couldn’t get close. But the empire is showing a big interest and has started a dig site. Our sources tell us that there’s a ruin that contains relics from a previous era. According to something I heard, it was probably built during the Age of Mythology.”
A ruin from the Age of Mythology!
Kurt’s expression hardened. Most ruins of the Age of Mythology had been destroyed during the dark period immediately after, but the Andras Empire had found most of the remaining ones. They didn’t care about the knowledge of a culture from a previous era. Rather, they just wanted the powerful relics inside, and didn’t care about destroying the ruins in the process. It had been five hundred years of hostility.
“… You’ve brought something quite annoying. I appreciate the good faith report, but I know that isn’t the case.”
“Of course.”
At Mujak’s sly expression, Kurt couldn’t help gripping the armrests of his throne tightly. If he wanted, he could give Veronica a single order, and she would burn Mujak to ashes. However, an unexpected person interrupted the conversation at that moment.
“Your Majesty.”
“Huh? Quattro’s Captain?”
“Can I look at this map for a moment?”
“Of course. What do you see?”
Having gotten Kurt’s permission, Theo took the map from Mujak. He had gotten a strong feeling of deja vu from it. In particular, the feeling came from the location of the red dot.
“Ah.”
He had been right. Theo realized why it felt familiar. He had only seen a map of the Meuse Desert twice now, and the first time had been in the Yellow Tower. The red dot was the location of the laboratory that Paragranum had boasted about with an expressionless face.
To think that they found it!
The ruins that the Andras Empire was trying to dig out… was Paracelsus’ laboratory.