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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Ruby
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Yuma stared at the clock hanging on the wall of the special compartment.
10:30 PM.
It felt like a time so disconnected from the physical limits he was currently experiencing.
Step.
Passing by Hecard’s sprawled corpse and the charred remains of the unnamed magician.
Sitting in his seat, Yuma felt the drowsiness washing over him.
“I need to rest a bit. Don’t go to the front where the bodies are.”
Yuma said, slightly reclining his seat as he looked at Cloney.
Cloney nodded vigorously.
“Yes, yes! Sleep well!”
Yuma slowly closed his eyes.
“Wake me up after 3 hours… 3 hours.”
Because who knows what might happen if he slept any longer on this damned train.
Yuma fell asleep almost immediately after speaking.
Cloney’s sparkling golden eyes stared intently at Yuma’s face.
‘He’s handsome. He’s handsome. He’s handsome.’
Cloney admired each of Yuma’s features one by one.
‘Hmm… I’ll become the greatest magician on the continent!’
Only then would she be able to stay close to him like this.
The golden eyes gazed at Yuma for a long time.
Then she took out the magic book she always kept in her bag and started studying intently.
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Clank─
Yuma slowly opened his eyes.
His mind cleared as if a thick fog was lifting.
He saw Cloney dozing off in the window seat.
The clock on the wall showed 4 AM.
“…”
Yuma patted Cloney’s shoulder.
“Cloney.”
Cloney raised her head, opening her eyes wide.
“Y-Yuma!”
“Didn’t I tell you to wake me up after 3 hours?”
Cloney bowed her head deeply.
“I-I’m sorry. You looked so tired…”
There were about 3 hours left until they reached Arkan, the transit city at the end of the line.
“Now you sleep. For the remaining time.”
“Yes.”
Cloney reclined her seat and quietly closed her eyes.
Yuma picked up the magic book Cloney had been reading.
Rustle─
The way he turned the pages nobly made him look like a young professor at an academy.
‘I can’t understand a word of this.’
He couldn’t comprehend any of it.
After skimming through about three pages, Yuma closed the book and looked at Cloney who had fallen asleep.
‘Resonance, was it?’
The blue-haired sword saint.
The being that Princess Brigitte, who had received the oracle, needed to meet along with Cloney to become the ruler.
The transit city, Arkan.
From here, it belonged to the southern part of the empire.
He had to find the guy mentioned in the oracle while taking Cloney along.
‘If only the target was clear… like an object, it would be easier to find.’
Unfortunately, the target to find was a person.
It was obviously going to be a difficult journey.
Yuma turned his head towards the being that had been staring at him.
“Do you have some business?”
It was one of the people Yuma had coldly ignored a few hours ago.
A man with noticeable blue hair.
“Ah, hello! Sir Yuma. I’m Mayor Gelmore, managing the transit city of Arkan where we’ll arrive shortly.
If you have any plans in Arkan, I’d like to assist you in any way I can. Sir Yuma, you are the savior of my life.”
The mayor of Arkan, Gelmore.
He was the administrator of their first destination.
“Good. But first, I’d like to look around the city freely with my companion. I’d appreciate it if you could recommend some decent places to stay and eat.”
Gelmore bowed his head vigorously.
“O-Of course. I’ll help ensure you have no inconveniences using the city. And it would be an honor if you could meet me once more before you leave.”
“If it’s not a problem for you to come find me.”
“Of course, Sir Yuma.”
Gelmore felt no need to maintain his dignity as a mayor in front of this man.
Because he had single-handedly driven away the Dawn Revolutionary Group, which had the intimidating reputation of having many master-level members.
And because he had directly witnessed that power.
A skill that was clearly appointed purely on ability, not by luck or chance, as the representative of the princess.
The princess’s sword.
‘The sword of Princess Brigitte…!’
The ash-gray haired man before him seemed not the least bit lacking to be called that.
Gelmore thought that this person might really become the sword that could bring down His Highness Prince Schwarze.
Gelmore wrote down a list of inns and restaurants where they wouldn’t need to worry about being overcharged or falling for shallow tricks.
And on the back of that paper, he wrote his own name.
Gelmore handed the paper to Yuma with both hands.
“If you show this, no one will try to mess with you, Sir Yuma.”
This was certainly very practical help.
“Thank you. I’ll be going now.”
“…Yes!”
But gratitude was gratitude, and annoyance was annoyance.
Clank─
7 AM.
The magic train arrived at Arkan, the transit city at the end of the line.
Yuma and Cloney got off the train.
Yuma frowned slightly. Someone was blocking him at the door.
The being blocking his way was wearing a familiar uniform.
It looked like the clothes worn by the employees of the magic train,
It was a middle-aged man with a stylish mustache.
The middle-aged man naturally led the two who had gotten off the special compartment to a reception room.
A reception room not much different from the one at the capital station.
The middle-aged man bowed deeply.
“Let me formally introduce myself. Sir Yuma. I am William, the branch manager of Halo magic trains in Arkan.”
“I’m Yuma.”
“I’m Cloney!”
Cloney raised her hand brightly with a smile.
William showed a wrinkled yet kind smile.
“Nice to meet you, Miss Cloney.”
William looked at Yuma again.
“First, I’ll convey a message from Count Venosethian. As the owner of Halo, I apologize for what happened last night. And I sincerely thank you for protecting the safety of the train. Regarding the Dawn Revolutionary Group that attacked the magic train, I plan to conduct an individual investigation using my authority. That concludes the Count’s message.”
It was a boring message, not much different from what Yuma had expected.
William opened his eyes wide, which had been almost squinting.
“And now I’ll give you some advice about this city, Arkan.”
When he said he had advice about the land they had just set foot on, Yuma finally became a bit interested.
“When you were in the special compartment earlier, Gelmore, the mayor of Arkan was there. Did you meet him?”
“I had a brief conversation before getting off. He said to tell him if I needed any help.”
William nodded slowly at Yuma’s answer and continued speaking.
“Gelmore, who has been appointed as the mayor of Arkan for 4 years now, is certainly a skilled merchant, but he’s not suitable as the ruler of the city.”
“He can’t fully control the city?”
“That’s right. And there exists a real owner of this city whose existence Mayor Gelmore doesn’t even clearly know about.”
“The real owner?”
“The Underground King Belrak. He controls the underground of Arkan. Using drugs as a weapon. Now he’s grown so big that he’s even eyeing the surface.”
It seems this place was not a transit city, but a drug city.
“Why have you left this situation alone?”
William shook his head.
“We did report it, but we only received orders to conduct an internal audit. However, about half of the city’s security forces are already soaked in Belrak’s drugs.”
Yuma started to understand why the revolutionary army had been shouting for revolution last night.
The state of the country was in shambles.
“I don’t intend to irresponsibly ask you, Sir Yuma, who has come with Her Highness the Princess’s will, to solve this. I just thought you needed to be aware of it.”
“Your judgment is correct.”
It was something he needed to be aware of.
“Is that all?”
“Yes, my business is finished, Sir Yuma.”
“Then let’s go.”
Yuma and Cloney stood up.
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A corrupted city.
A city of pleasure.
A city of drugs.
Arkan.
Yuma walked the streets of Arkan.
It was only 3 PM, but they needed to rest. Cloney’s stamina had reached its limit.
Perhaps because it wasn’t night yet.
William’s warning, the branch manager of Halo in Arkan, didn’t quite sink in yet.
A bearded middle-aged man was admiring and checking the items in a box.
“Wow, fish and fruits are in season these days!”
“Come on, stop admiring. Let’s calculate quickly, Mr. Hans.”
Cloney took in the many transactions happening on the street.
“The trading activity is certainly lively!”
“Indeed.”
Yuma studied the paper he had received from Gelmore. He confirmed that there was an inn nearby.
It was an inn named ‘Wollo’.
Yuma entered the inn and went straight to the counter.
“This is proof of my acquaintance with the mayor of Arkan. Call the owner.”
The staff at the counter saw the seal on the paper and opened their eyes wide.
“Understood!”
After responding loudly, they went into the staff room where the owner’s office would be.
Shortly after, a middle-aged man with white hair walked out to the counter.
“Oh, oh! It really is Mayor Gelmore’s seal. I’ll guide you, honored guest.”
Yuma stared into the middle-aged man’s eyes. When Yuma didn’t follow him up the stairs, the man tilted his head.
“Do you have some other business?”
Cloney also looked back at Yuma.
“No.”
Yuma took Cloney’s small hand and climbed the stairs.
The reason Yuma briefly glared at the owner of the Wollo Inn was simple.
‘His eyes.’
There was a murkiness in his eyes. A rather dirty ominousness.
It might have been a misplaced ominousness felt because he knew Gelmore had already lost control of this city.
However, there was no harm in being cautious.
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