The Kant region lies right between the borders of Latnia and Roran.
In the past, it was a single region, but it was divided and absorbed into the territories of two different empires.
The dividing line between the west and east is marked by a plaza located in the middle of the city.
The west belongs to Roran, while the east belongs to Latnia.
Although they are divided, there aren’t any structures blocking the way.
It is close enough to reach Hecar in about two days of walking.
“The city of espionage.”
“Do you know about it?”
“It’s situated between the two empires. There’s no border.”
Isabel seemed to know quite a bit about the Kant region.
“If it’s about espionage…”
“Right. There’s also an intelligence agency branch here.”
On the western side, which is Roran’s territory, there is said to be a hotel owned by the JS Group.
This meant we could save on accommodation costs in the future!
“We will be in the east for the time being.”
“What? Why? How come?”
“I was asked for help.”
“It’s only one job a month, isn’t it?”
“Is that so? Anyway, if we pick up one more job while we’re here, we can pay back the money faster.”
That wasn’t an incorrect statement.
If we helped out with a light job while rotating, we could earn that much more money.
“Oh! I almost forgot. Can I wander around here a bit?”
“Yeah. It’s fine. Come back here once you’re done.”
I thought of searching for something in the Latnia area, but I was too pressed for time to look for anything.
Though the city was split in half, there might be something to find if I searched the Latnia side.
“Where are you going?”
“To the bookstore.”
Before I knew it, Isabel had stuck closely to my side.
I needed a magic textbook sold in Latnia.
What I lacked the most right now was knowledge about magic.
I could use simple spells without much difficulty, but the problem was their power.
Knowing the names of the spells would significantly increase their effectiveness.
I had definitely realized this when dealing with the monsters on the snow-capped mountains.
“If you just know the name, can you use powerful magic?”
“Exactly.”
“I know the name of a powerful spell too.”
“What is it?”
“Meteor.”
It is a spell that is notorious for dropping meteors from the sky.
“Have you ever used it?”
“No, I couldn’t use it even if I tried.”
“You couldn’t?”
“Yeah. I wasn’t able to use it.”
Isabel’s magical proficiency was between circles one and two.
Meteor would certainly be a spell of a much higher level.
In other words, even if I knew the name of the magic, I couldn’t use it unless my proficiency reached that level.
“Still, knowing it is better than not knowing it. I might be able to use it someday.”
“That’s true. Maybe I’ll be able to use Meteor one day?”
“Sure.”
Isabel and I wandered around the bookstores in the eastern Kant region.
“The magic textbooks are on the second floor.”
Eventually, we found something in the corner of a shabby bookstore.
“This book looks quite old.”
The second floor of the bookstore was a dark space where even light didn’t reach.
Only after I created light to brighten it up could I see the books on display.
“There don’t seem to be many.”
“Then let’s buy them all.”
As there were no price tags, I felt a bit tense bringing the books to the counter.
“Each one is 10 Silver.”
The prices in the Kant region were the same as in Roran. The currency used was also Roran’s.
I handed over 40 Silver and left the bookstore.
I headed towards the central plaza to meet Aila.
“Can I take a look at that book too?”
“Sure. It’s not like it’ll wear out.”
As I arrived at the central plaza with the books, Aila was already with someone.
As I got closer, I was able to make out his face.
“Solche?”
“Why, are you still messing around with the wrong potion…?”
“What’s the problem? It makes for good infiltration, doesn’t it?”
It seemed Aila had been asked for a favor from Solche.
“Then let’s go to the branch and talk.”
“Alright.”
I followed Solche into a building located in the east.
“Why is the branch in the east?”
“There’s one in the west too. We have created branches on both sides for monitoring and control.”
The building being used as a branch was decorated like an ordinary house on the inside.
When a secret passage opened, Isabel was visibly surprised.
“Wow. The wall just opened?”
“Who’s this?”
“She came with me, is there really a need to worry about her?”
Upon Aila’s words, Solche completely opened the door to the passage.
“Let’s go in.”
As we walked along the passage leading downwards, another room emerged inside.
I was very familiar with it, but Isabel gazed around in fascination.
Solche looked at Isabel with an unimpressed expression.
“Do you not like her?”
“That girl isn’t a sword mage, is she?”
“Correct.”
“How can you trust a crucial force from an enemy country?”
“She’s not from Latnia.”
At those words, Solche turned to Isabel, who timidly replied.
“I’m from Midlen.”
“Where in Midlen is there a sword mage?!”
“Aren’t you calling me here to ask for a favor?”
Solche seemed to have a strong dislike for sword mages.
However, he wasn’t dismissive or condescending.
On the contrary, knowing their skills made him want to scrutinize and handle matters even more thoroughly.
It was Solche who had dissuaded me from confronting Juan in the past because he thought it was beyond my abilities.
I concluded the interior of the intelligence agency branch looked the same throughout.
Seeing the inside, which looked almost identical to the Tholis secret base, I thought so.
“Let’s go inside and continue the conversation. You two wait here.”
“You are so frustrating.”
“It’s better to be cautious.”
Solche left me and Isabel behind, taking only Aila into an inner room.
It wasn’t because he didn’t trust me, but rather because he wanted to keep an eye on Isabel.
“Who is that person?”
“Solche—someone I received help from in the past.”
“Seems like a high-ranking person?”
I wasn’t sure of Solche’s rank, but he didn’t seem particularly high-ranking.
“Did he seem to dislike me?”
“Maybe? Sword mages aren’t very welcomed in Roran.”
“But I’m half demon, right?”
Isabel had recently learned that she was a hybrid.
At a glance, she didn’t look too different from a human.
If she had horns or wings, she would have died by now.
She was much closer to being human than to being demon, which likely allowed her to live without significant problems so far.
“Well, it’s fine. People have never liked me much anyway.”
“How did you learn to use swords or magic?”
“From books. I figured I could do it by looking at the books people discarded. When I tried it, it worked.”
There was a reason she confidently considered herself a genius.
Who could take a book and immediately put its content into practice?
When Aila bluntly said Isabel wasn’t a genius, she must have been quite shocked.
In terms of swordsmanship, she could be considered close to being a genius in some way.
However, in terms of magic, she couldn’t be seen as one, as her understood spells were far too low-level.
Of course, she had taught herself, but so had Jema. Nevertheless, Jema had learned magic at a much higher level.
After waiting for a while, Aila emerged from the inner room.
“Let’s go.”
“How did it go?”
“I’ll tell you after we get to the lodging.”
We crossed from the east to the west and booked a room at the JS Group’s hotel.
As soon as we entered the room, Aila settled down at the living room table.
“I’ll start with the job.”
“Okay. What is it this time?”
“It’s about monster takedowns.”
The Kant region has a unique geography situated between Roran and Latnia.
As a result, there are phenomena where monsters migrate in large numbers during certain times.
During such times, they often break away from their groups to raid cities or villages.
This time, the problem was that orcs were spotted establishing a colony near the Kant region.
Orcs multiply significantly within a few months, so if we don’t deal with them quickly, it will become a serious issue.
The problem is that orcs possess relatively high intelligence compared to regular monsters, so mediocre soldiers won’t be able to handle them.
In the east, the knight order from Latnia is said to be dispatched, while in the west, Roran’s mercenaries are hired.
“Do we have something to do?”
“I heard that there aren’t many mercenaries being recruited this time.”
Aside from the orcs, the frequency of monster appearances has increased, so mercenaries are busy elsewhere.
“What’s a monster?”
“You’ve never seen one?”
“No.”
Isabel said she had never seen a monster since she was born, aside from humans.
“That’s likely. You wouldn’t see monsters in a city with good security.”
Aila explained that in the Latnia Empire, there are almost no chances of encountering monsters as long as you don’t venture too far from the major cities.
“Anyway, it seems the intelligence agency is busy looking for people too.”
Additionally, this time Roran and Latnia would be cooperating in the monster takedown.
“Is it with the Latnia Knight Order?”
“Probably a few sword mages will come out as well.”
Most of the sword mages in Latnia are from the Kingdom of Tholis.
“I’m not very keen on that.”
“Still, we have to do it. Even though we’re split between east and west, half of them are Roran people.”
Though I didn’t like it, I had no way to refuse.
The raid team was scheduled to assemble in two days, so we had about a day to spare.
With my free time granted, I decided to take a look around the eastern region.
“Why did you come along?”
“Just to pass the time.”
It seemed she wanted to come out because it felt awkward being alone with Aila in the hotel room.
Having come out without a particular destination in mind, she simply wanted to take a walk.
Isabel didn’t ask me where I was going at all.
“By the way, what’s your relationship with her?”
“Who?”
“You and your sister. Are you siblings?”
“Do we look alike?”
Isabel examined my face slowly and shook her head.
“I was originally a man.”
“Then she’s your older sister?”
“We’re not related by blood.”
Explaining it to someone was quite a complicated relationship.
To put it simply, I was a debtor and she was a creditor.
“She’s like a guardian.”
“Is that so?”
“Are you going to Roran like this?”
“Probably. I think it’s better than staying in Latnia.”
There’s an unspoken slave system remaining in Latnia.
Many humans cross over to Roran to escape it.
However, given Isabel’s skill, she likely wouldn’t have to be treated like a slave.
“Let’s pop in there for a moment.”
Isabel crossed in front of me and entered a store.
As I followed her inside, the shabby store was neatly organized with various odds and ends.
Though it was an antique shop, it seemed that there was a main product.
Behind the shopkeeper were numerous jars displayed.
“What can I help you with?”
“I’ll just take a quick look.”
Hearing Isabel’s statement that she would merely be looking around, the shopkeeper’s expression slightly soured.
He probably felt dissatisfied since it seemed we would just be browsing without buying anything.
Isabel was looking at small bowls.
“I think it would taste good if you filled this with water and drank from it.”
“Water doesn’t really have much taste.”
“I mean, it’s more about the feel.”
As the time spent browsing grew longer, the shopkeeper seemed to try to subtly hint for us to leave by clearing his throat loudly.
“Let’s get going.”
“Oh, just a second.”
Isabel approached the shopkeeper and started asking about the decorative potion on display.
“If you drink this when injured, it will help heal. This one has an antidote effect.”
After receiving short responses from the shopkeeper, Isabel purchased a few healing potions.
Coming out with a handful of potion bottles, she handed some to me, telling me to keep them.
“Why did you buy this?”
“Tomorrow we’re going to take down monsters, and you might get hurt, right?”
For simple wounds, just applying a bit of saliva would heal them quickly.
In the first place, I typically wasn’t the sort to get wounded easily.
Aila also wasn’t a beginner who would get hurt to that extent.
“Well, it won’t hurt to be prepared. But carrying it around is a bit inconvenient, so let’s buy a bag to keep them in.”
“That’s a good idea.”
Afterward, we bought a bag to store the potion bottles and returned to the lodging.
