“Aggggggh…”
Ray let out a groan as he narrowly avoided a melting rock pillar by crawling sideways.
If he hadn’t deflected the heat beam using his Spatial Blade, he would have surely died.
“What kind of power is this?”
Even though the Sigini Mountain Range was a place overflowing with mana, enhancing magical power, it still shouldn’t have been this powerful for a 2nd Circle spell.
“I need to adjust my armor…”
Blocking such wide-range heat energy attacks with a sword was incredibly inefficient.
Ray threw away his half-melted sword and buried himself in the snow that hadn’t melted yet.
Steam rose around Ray as he bit into a handful of snow to cool down his overheated body.
As his body temperature dropped, his consciousness began to fade.
“Ughhh…”
For how long had he lain there?
As he tried to move his limbs to get up, an unfamiliar voice sounded nearby.
“What is that? Is it human?”
“It’s definitely human!”
Ray weakly waved his hand.
His luggage had vaporized and half his clothes were burned off.
Though he could probably make it back in this state, getting some dried meat or water would be very helpful.
While Ray was lost in hopeful thoughts,
A ranger clad in leather armor stomped over, grabbed a fistful of Ray’s hair, and yanked him up.
“Are you an Imperial citizen?”
“Yes, I am.”
Recognizing the ranger, Ray forced a bright smile despite the situation.
The ranger carefully inspected Ray’s appearance before tossing him aside.
“Secure him.”
Other rangers rushed forward to tie up Ray’s hands and feet.
Confused, Ray struggled against them.
“Hey, isn’t this Imperial territory?! Can you really do this to an Imperial citizen?!”
Ignoring Ray’s protests, the rangers quickly bound him so tightly he couldn’t even wiggle his fingers.
A dagger was pressed against Ray’s neck.
The interrogation began.
*
After casting her magic, Luna swayed where she stood, unable to keep her balance for long.
Her depleted physical condition combined with unleashing such powerful magic left her feeling faint.
Sir Jenkins quickly caught Luna.
Didier approached and whispered to Jenkins.
“Sir Jenkins, we should wrap up the training.”
“That’s what I was thinking.”
Luna’s magic had exceeded all expectations in scale.
It was more than enough to attract the attention of rangers and other beings residing in the Sigini Mountain Range.
With children present, they couldn’t afford to take any more risks.
While Jenkins and Didier discussed returning, the children gathered around to look down the opposite mountain.
“The mountain melted…”
“That magic was amazing!”
“Can all mages just fire off magic like that?”
At their innocent questions, Jenkins pinched the bridge of his nose.
“If all mages were as powerful as Luna, the world would’ve split in two by now.”
Shaking his head, Jenkins called the children together with Didier.
“That’s enough training. Let’s head back.”
The children cheered softly.
Not many kids enjoy leaving home only to work hard.
Jenkins carried the exhausted Luna on his back.
Even moving quickly, it was a two-day journey back.
With Didier leading the way and Jenkins guarding the rear, they hurried down the mountain range with the panting children in tow.
They moved as quickly as possible while also trying to cover their tracks.
However, their opponents were skilled.
The rangers easily discovered the tracks of the knights and children and pursued them.
The next morning, before dawn,
Didier, standing guard, placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.
Jenkins, who had been catching a quick nap near the children, instantly opened his eyes.
Crunch!
Footsteps approached nearby.
“Damn…”
Didier muttered under his breath, frustrated that they hadn’t noticed the approach until now.
There were few beings who could suppress their presence to this degree against knights.
Didier shouted loudly.
“Hello! What brings you here?”
The resonating voice woke the children one by one.
Rangers emerged from the darkness.
Didier and Jenkins immediately manifested their Sword Auras.
The blue flashes briefly dispelled the darkness.
“This is Imperial territory. While we know your duties, revealing yourselves so openly puts us in a difficult position.”
“…”
The rangers silently closed the distance further.
Jenkins’ brow furrowed.
He could sense more than ten rangers approaching.
While rangers generally have slightly lower average combat strength compared to knights, this was their home turf.
Even a knight would struggle against two rangers.
‘Why are so many rangers mobilizing?’
Ranger squads usually consist of 3-4 members.
This meant at least a full platoon had been deployed, and the atmosphere wasn’t good.
‘Is it because of Luna’s magic? Even considering that, this reaction seems excessively sensitive.’
Zzzt!
Several rangers manifested their own Sword Auras.
As the tension continued to escalate, Johanna and the other children drew their weapons with tense expressions.
Jenkins suppressed a groan.
They needed to avoid conflict if possible, but if it came to a fight, they absolutely needed ‘that guy’.
“Master!”
Just then, the voice of that fellow rang out.
Normally hearing Lei’s name would make Jenkins shiver, but today he responded with relief.
“Lei!”
He turned toward the source of the voice.
Lei was being dragged along, bound by ropes.
“…?”
Seeing this unexpected sight, Jenkins rubbed the back of his neck in confusion.
“Weren’t you coming to help?”
“Looks like I’m the one needing help.”
“…”
Jenkins felt a headache coming on.
Looking over Lei’s appearance, from his half-burnt clothes to his disheveled hair, everything was in disarray.
“Did the rangers do this to you?”
“Nope, got struck by lightning on a clear day.”
Struck by lightning on a clear day?
After some thought, Jenkins figured out what had happened.
Magic.
Lei had been caught in the aftermath of Luna’s magic.
“Kkkk…”
Jenkins started giggling uncontrollably in a very undignified manner.
Annoyed by Jenkins’ mocking laughter, Lei furrowed his brows.
“What the hell…”
Before Lei could vent his frustration, one of the rangers kicked him in the back.
Whack!
“Oof!”
“Shut up. We didn’t bring you here to chat.”
“Huh…?”
While pretending to groan in pain, Lei heightened his alertness.
He could sense the presence of a powerful being approaching.
Lei looked up.
He met Luna’s cold gaze as she clenched her fists.
Lei mentally screamed inside.
‘Don’t summon the spirit…!’
Following Lei, Didier noticed the intensifying wind and urgently grabbed Luna’s shoulder.
“Not now!”
“…”
In response to Didier’s whisper, Luna relaxed her grip.
The fierce winter wind settled down again.
Both Lei and Didier let out relieved sighs simultaneously.
Meanwhile, Jenkins lowered his sword and took a few steps toward the rangers.
Even with a blue blade at his throat, Jenkins didn’t appear overly tense.
“Why do the rangers feel the need to confront us so aggressively? What’s the reason?”
“What business do you have in the Sigini Mountain Range?”
One of the rangers in the back asked.
Jenkins casually shrugged.
“We ventured deeper to give the children survival training. Isn’t that obvious?”
The children standing behind Jenkins clearly looked like small kids.
The ranger continued questioning.
“Where’s the mage? Why did they cast such a large-scale spell?”
“Ah, about that…”
Jenkins glanced at Lei.
The rangers must have already interrogated Lei.
Jenkins had to align his story accordingly.
“…Recently hired a new mage for the count. They wanted to test out some magic and came with us.”
“…”
“Then after the experiment, they suddenly left alone. We were heading back to the barony since we didn’t want to draw unnecessary attention.”
“We found no traces of anyone besides you.”
“If you saw the traces of the magic, you’d realize that person isn’t an ordinary mage. While rangers are known for their excellent tracking skills, they aren’t omnipotent, right?”
Though phrased indirectly, Jenkins was essentially saying the rangers had failed to find the mage’s tracks.
The ranger who asked the question muttered to himself.
“…I don’t understand the mage’s actions.”
Why climb the Sigini Mountain Range with heavy equipment just to cast a spell and leave alone?
Jenkins chuckled and replied.
“Mages have been doing strange things for ages, haven’t they?”
“…”
Jenkins’ statement was actually quite reasonable.
Even if the mage had been planning something, it was unlikely they would have shared information with the knights and children.
Since Lei’s and Jenkins’ testimonies roughly matched, there wasn’t much more to question.
Jenkins raised both hands and asked.
“Can we go now?”
“…”
The rangers exchanged glances.
Sending them away now? It wouldn’t cause any major problems.
While they might complain about the rangers being overly sensitive, that would be all.
But not sending them away wouldn’t cause any issues either.
The rangers were experts at cleaning up after themselves.
Additionally, many of them had become rough in character and methods from years of living in the mountains.
The gaze of one ranger caught the glint of moonlight as it landed on Johanna’s sword, while another’s eyes swept over the young girl’s figure.
Just then, Lei delivered his prepared line with a pout.
“Master, shall we eliminate them?”
“Shut up and stay quiet.”
Jenkins snapped irritably.
Engaging in combat with the rangers, whether victorious or not, was an unpleasant option.
*
Two horses galloped roughly across the uneven dirt ground.
The horses were well-built with glossy manes, but due to overexertion, they seemed ready to start foaming at any moment.
“We need to rest.”
The man wearing patched-up old armor said.
Judging by his appearance, he looked like a hunter or mercenary taking odd jobs.
The man in a black robe shot back at the armored man.
“Rest? Where exactly? Where is there a safe place?”
“…We’ll soon need to cross the mountain range. We need to conserve our strength. A brothel would be better than an inn. It might delay our pursuers somewhat. However…”
The armored man hesitated before continuing.
“To reduce suspicion, it would be best if you appeared with a woman.”
“…”
The man’s face twisted, but the armored man ignored it.
Not long after, they arrived at Phillip’s County.
The armored man asked the locals and found the most popular brothel.
To outsiders, the two of them looked like capable mercenaries hungry for women.
The man in the black robe and the armored man entered the seemingly respectable establishment called Lilac Evening.
On the surface, it functioned as a restaurant, so a few customers were having light meals on the first floor looking for women.
Jabs from the Jimy Family brightened at seeing the newcomers.
New faces. Could they be here for water extraction?
Just as he was about to exchange pleasantries,
Bella behind him signaled twice on his back with her finger.
This was a warning sign for a dangerous opponent.
Bella, with her keen eye and frequent exposure to high-quality fabrics, immediately recognized that the fabric visible between the gaps of the man’s old armor was an extraordinary luxury item.
Whether it was a noble with questionable taste visiting the brothel or someone with another story, they were a customer whose displeasure was best avoided.
Jabs tactfully cut out unnecessary conversation and dealt with them formally.
The small stable attached to the Lilac Evening building was fully occupied by the two horses.
The man in the black robe and the armored man finished their light meal in silence.
As they ascended to the upper floor, Jabs asked them:
“Is there a lady you prefer…?”
“We can arrange it ourselves.”
“Understood.”
After the customers disappeared upstairs, a silent competition began among the women.
If the visitor turned out to be a noble on a distant outing, they might receive better tips, but stopping any trouble would be almost impossible.
Though Lilac Evening was the most famous brothel in Phillip’s County, it was ultimately one frequented by commoners.
If a noble had specifically come here, the probability of witnessing something unsightly was quite high.
After Bella sighed, she stepped forward.
“I’ll handle the guest in the left room.”
“Alright, good luck.”
Jabs nodded.
Bella tidied herself up and knocked on the door where the robed man had entered.
“May I come in?”
“…Come in.”
Click!
Bella entered the room with her head bowed low.
Inside, there was a bed and a tub prepared with water for bathing.
“Shall I assist you with your bath…?”
WHACK!!
Before she could finish speaking, Bella was slammed onto the floor.
The basket she was carrying tipped over, spilling the items she had prepared for hospitality.
Her cheek stung.
As Bella tried to get up, the man grabbed her hair and threw her onto the bed.
“Aaargh!”
“You despicable commoner…!”
The man mounted Bella.
His strong hands began to strangle her neck.
“Grrr… Do you know who I am? Do you know who I am?! How dare you…!”
Though clearly dissatisfied with the situation, the man was still aroused.
Through her blurred vision, Bella saw the man’s eyes glowing red with vertical slits.
It was going to be a long and arduous night.
Steeeling herself, Bella wrapped her legs around the man’s waist.
