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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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According to his story, I was the first to notice the enemy’s pursuit, perfectly assisted Rankbink, and even before Rankbink gave orders, I read his intentions and succeeded in rescuing Banis himself and the dwarf from the situation of being caught by the enemies.
In the dire circumstances where we had no choice but to abandon the carriage, I read the enemy’s thoughts, successfully evaded their pursuit, and even counter-attacked some of the trackers at night, dealing with them and replenishing our lacking supplies.
In that situation, I even gathered information about Rankbink’s whereabouts and established the safest escape route possible.
Despite such achievements, when the trackers were closing in on him, Banis had no choice but to inform me of the existence of the secret passage (he added that thanks to my achievements, he could trust me enough to tell me), and by actively utilizing it, we succeeded in escaping, like a story straight out of a novel.
‘There’s nothing particularly wrong, but…’
The process was strangely embellished and exaggerated, so to speak.
The way I voluntarily took night watch even after entering the secret passage was depicted as if I had become a loyal knight.
Perhaps because of that…
When I mentioned that I counter-attacked the trackers and obtained information, the lord’s voice was filled with goodwill as he asked me in detail what kind of information I had obtained.
“They didn’t seem to know the details. The situation was urgent, and I was in a position where I had to ambush them alone, albeit a small number, so the one I captured was seriously injured.”
“Even a small piece of information is fine. If you found out anything, please let me know.”
Of course, it was a lie. I had no intention of revealing everything to them in a refreshing manner.
‘The longer it takes and the more they fight, the better.’
The weaker the territory becomes, the more advantageous it is for me.
However, it was necessary to reveal some information.
With Rankbink’s whereabouts currently unknown, the Owalan Barony was in an unfavorable situation.
Although the merchant union without title or justification couldn’t wage a territorial war, if they were determined, they could at least engage in banditry.
Therefore, it was necessary to release some information so they could prepare.
‘It’s beneficial for me if they become weaker, but it’s a loss if the territory itself collapses because of the merchant union. The merchant union must not win.’
If things went wrong, I might have to leave the territory before it collapsed due to the monster wave.
From my perspective of wanting to turn the Owalan territory into a dungeon, that would be an unpleasant outcome.
“Hmm… They seemed to be hired by merchants.”
“…Merchants?”
“Yes. It didn’t seem to be just one, though…”
Moreover, I informed them that there were multiple mercenary groups hired, not just one or two.
At that moment, Kuman let out a small sigh.
“Why is that?”
“Well…”
Kuman revealed that he and the merchant union of the Siglen County were in friction.
“Is it about that incident?”
It seemed to be a story he had already reported.
“Then the merchant union…”
“It seems they are making moves to bring us down after hearing about the information regarding the dwarf rental.”
Even if they didn’t know the specific tactics, now that they knew who the enemy was, they would be able to prepare to some extent.
“The problem is that Sir Rankbink’s whereabouts are unknown. He was our greatest force…”
Indeed, considering his appearance of risking his life and fighting at the forefront to help Banis escape, the trust he received from his attendants, and according to their stories, even the mercenaries hired by Baron Owalan trusted and followed him to the extent of his abilities, it made sense for them to regret his absence.
“Ah, Jimnis. You’ve worked hard.”
“No. I merely did what I had to do.”
“Still, I can’t just let it slide. You rescued my son, the heir to the territory, and even found out information about the enemy. If I just let it go, countless nobles would laugh at our family.”
“Is there anything you want?”
“Not particularly.”
It was meaningless to receive money at this point, and it was unlikely for a family without a magician to have reagents.
The status of an honorary soldier was sufficient, and since I wasn’t a noble, I didn’t have much need for honor either.
In other words, there was nothing for me to gain from the baron’s family.
“This is troubling. It’s not a favor that can be resolved with a gold coin or two. Hmm.”
After thinking for a moment, the baron soon nodded and said,
“Right. There was that. Summer.”
“Go and bring a ruby.”
‘A ruby… a gem?’
I couldn’t hide my surprised expression.
Seeing my expression, the lord laughed as if satisfied.
“Hahaha. Even if you don’t have greed, a gem is still surprising.”
“…Yes.”
‘Did they have gems?’
It was unexpected.
For a baron’s family in this frontier to have gems…
‘This is beyond expectations.’
This was fortunate.
If they had even one gem, it would be very useful in many ways in the current situation.
‘Even if it’s small, it’s fine. I can use it while charging it.’
It’s not something that can be used permanently.
Each gem had its limits, and once that limit was reached, it would shatter.
Even the shattered powder, albeit with greatly reduced efficiency, could be used at least once.
If they had it, I could use it effectively.
After a while, the gem Summer brought was not of a very small size.
It was about half the size of a pinky nail, and with this size, it had a value of over 10 gold.
“Jimnis. This is a reward for your hard work. Take it.”
“Thank you. If there is anything you need, please call upon me anytime. If it is the lord’s order, I will do my utmost.”
It was difficult to refuse if the lord summoned me anyway.
So what I said was just a kind of lip service.
I had conveyed the necessary information, so there was no reason for me to stay here.
Therefore, I was able to naturally leave the lord’s residence and headed straight home.
‘At this rate, I don’t know when the request will end.’
This was a bit regrettable.
I was hired under the pretext of protecting Mutre…
‘I can guard him while they repair the underground passage, but it’s impossible to accompany him on the return journey.’
It’s a miracle that I brought him this far.
But taking him back again?
‘Even if we use the secret passage, the destination is fixed.’
Somehow, it might be possible to take him out of the Owalan Barony, but it was impossible to enter the Siglen Count’s castle.
I couldn’t predict what judgment the baron would make.
Upon returning home, I was able to receive an enthusiastic welcome from Athena and Thea.
“You’re back?”
“Yeah, I’m back.”
“I heard it was dangerous. Are you injured anywhere?”
“Didn’t Kayla tell you? I’m fine.”
“Still, I heard even the knight went missing…”
“The atmosphere in the territory will probably be gloomy for a while.”
Athena seemed a bit depressed, as if she hadn’t expected such a thing to happen.
“A war won’t break out, right?”
It was an incident where even the territory’s only knight went missing.
It made sense for her to have such thoughts.
“Well. There’s a possibility that it might happen.”
It might not be a formal territorial war, but if the mercenaries belonging to the merchant union were determined to engage in banditry, it wouldn’t be much different from a war.
‘Since I provided information, the lord will respond.’
In the process, we were likely to be conscripted under the name of a request.
Even with the position of an honorary soldier, if it was an emergency of that scale, it would probably be meaningless.
That was probably what Athena was worried about.
Well, there was nothing we could do about it even if we worried in advance.
Thea led me to have a meal first, and since it was dinner time, we were able to have a comfortable meal together for the first time in a while.
Even Athena erased her worried expression and showed a relaxed face during this time.
After dinner, Athena called me aside.
“First of all, I’ve finished everything you asked me to do. I’ve moved all the items received from Kuman to the basement.”
“Really? Good work. I’ll have to go there tonight.”
Since I was still in the middle of the request, I had to go secretly.
‘They won’t come looking for me in the middle of the night.’
“Tonight?”
“Yeah. I’ll be back before dawn.”
“You must be tired…”
If the preparations were well done… I might be able to create the specter tonight.
‘The skeleton will be difficult, though.’
Amusingly, the difficulty of creating a skeleton was dozens of times lower.
The situation was very ironic.
“Okay. I’ll keep that in mind.”
Athena couldn’t stop me.
In the current unstable situation, me becoming stronger was also helpful for their survival, so she couldn’t bring herself to stop me.
After leaving a message to Kayla that I would be going out at night, I secretly left the castle.
When I opened the basement of what was once Nenson’s house, the magical energy felt much thicker than before I left.
‘With this level of density, it would be difficult to completely conceal it even with the barrier I set up.’
It was close.
I thought Athena had done a good job.
On one side, the reagents purchased from Kuman were piled up, and on the other side, the staff I hadn’t seen in a while was steadily emitting magical energy.
‘Goblin hands, deer antlers, magical beast fluids…’
They were all things I had ordered.
‘Good. It’s perfect.’
She probably didn’t have much time, but it was beyond expectations.
‘She must have worked hard.’
There must have been some reluctance too.
However, she prepared all of this for me.
As much as I showed trust in her, she properly reciprocated.
‘Then, I should reward her accordingly.’
Whether a war breaks out or the monster wave occurs, Athena and Thea won’t die.
Especially Athena, who was worried about a war breaking out.
Although I couldn’t prevent it from happening, I had no intention of letting her die, at least.
‘I have to make it happen.’
It was preparation for her and strength for her.
Survival and freedom.
Under any circumstances, I never forgot these two things.
And for that, power was necessary.
I immediately started drawing a magic circle on the basement floor.
The materials were the magical beast fluids prepared by Athena.
I infused additional magical energy into the engraved magic circle.
And I filled the prepared offerings into various parts of the magic circle.
‘In the center… the shadow of the soul.’
It was preparation for creating a specter.
This wasn’t the end.
It was a trick, but there was nothing better than this to increase the density of magical energy in the area.
An aura of thicker density than usual enveloped the surroundings.
Of course, the staff obtained from the cave was gripped in my hand.
Taking a brief breath, I waited for sufficient magical energy to accumulate inside the magic circle.
When the preparations were complete…
I arranged the magical energy in the air and recited the incantation.
Then the magic circle began to glow with a murky light.
Magical energy began to rapidly drain from my body.
That magical energy moved to the staff, was strongly amplified, and supplied additionally to the magic circle, and soon the magic began to be completed.
‘Is it a success?’
The offerings placed on the magic circle began to crumble into powder one by one.
The powders were sucked into the central gray bead, the shadow of the soul, and soon cracks began to form on the bead.
Crackle.
– Aaaaargh!
A somewhat familiar voice was heard.
Kumar, the pitiful soul who had died and become a shadow of the soul, was screaming his last scream.
And soon that voice began to change.
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