Chapter 3: Trap (2)
I moved closer to the woman.
Judging from the faint sound of breathing, he was still breathing.
Next I checked her outfit.
Looking at the brilliant blue dress and the sapphire necklace hanging around her neck, it was clear that she belonged to the Blue Magic Tower.
Perhaps the warrior party asked you to find me.
‘Perhaps he noticed my location first.’
When I thought of this, I immediately drew my sword. Even the worst-case scenario is drawn in my head.
But at that moment, my legs gave out. I managed to keep my balance and didn’t fall, but I still had no strength in my legs.
‘… Was it too much?’
I felt like my body was overtaxed when I suddenly jumped while I was just starting to walk. So I leaned against a nearby tree and took a moment to catch my breath.
“Edmund, are you okay? What happen?”
Soon I heard Rafaela and Leon running. I raised her hand to signal that Rafaela was okay.
“By the way, do you know who this is? Looking at her outfit, she’s a Blanc mage tower wizard.”
“Uh, let me check…. Yes, got it. This is Rachel, who was the second jockey senior when I went to the academy.”
“Looks like they are looking for me, but they may have already given me my location. Be careful because it can come all at once by teleportation.”
“What happened? Is it an enemy surprise?”
“I don’t know about that yet.”
I looked around for a while, but I couldn’t see any sign of the others. Likewise, there was no trace of using teleportation magic.
Fortunately, I seem to have failed to inform them of my location.
“Staying here could be dangerous. Tie that wizard up and go back.”
As soon as I said it, Rafaela pulled out her magic rope from the subspace. It was a rope that had the ability to block the magician’s mana, so it was impossible to untie it with magic.
“Edmund-sama, if it’s inconvenient, shall we use teleportation?”
“No, it’s not such a good idea to leave a trail under these circumstances.”
“But….”
“You can restore it with magic and go back. Don’t worry.”
Of course, using mana is only a temporary measure, but there shouldn’t be any problems with going back right now.
I picked up the mage and quickly returned to Speth.
Rafaela looked at me with worried eyes, but he followed me without saying anything.
***
“Um….”
After arriving in Speth, she recruited Swann and other key figures in Speth, and then had Raphaella wake Rachel up.
Rafaela’s recovery magic quickly brought Rachel back to her consciousness.
At first she looked around, not knowing where she was, but then she realized she was tied up and struggled.
Then I crouched down in front of her and she stopped struggling.
“Sa, save me!”
“… It depends on how you do it.”
I took out the Orb of Truth and forcibly put it in Rachel’s hand.
Rachel held her Orb of Truth in her trembling hand.
“Who sent you?”
“Seo, the saintess sent it. Calia-sama and the other mages planned to ambush Edmund if we figured out Edmund’s location and gave him the coordinates.”
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Rachel confided in me even things I didn’t ask. In addition, when I asked a few questions, he revealed the list of people who attended yesterday’s meeting and the contents of the meeting.
The orb of truth was consistently white.
“Then why did you accept this request?”
“That… That, of course, was for money. In particular, 10,000 gold coins were staked for Edmund’s ransom. He said he would give you three times more if you succeed.”
A sample of a snobbish Mage Tower Wizard.
It was exactly as Rafaela said.
“Ask the enemy about their plan to invade Speth.”
Swan, who was quietly listening to the story, asked.
“… Was there any discussion about how to invade Speth? Say what you know.”
“Uh, there was no specific discussion at the meeting yesterday. Lady Calia insisted on invading immediately, citing the fact that this is a pagan land, but the saintess stopped us by saying that we only had to kill Edmund right now.”
“Then the compromise was my assassination plan.”
I checked Swann’s eyes. He seemed quite annoyed at being referred to as a “Pagan.” The sight made Rachel tremble.
By the way, how should I dispose of him now? Killing it like this is one way, but if you do, Calia can use it as an excuse to attack Speth right away.
“Well, I won’t tell you Edmund is here! So, please save me. Well, I still have unfinished research at the Mage Tower.”
She thought for a while, but Rachel spoke first.
“How can I trust you?”
“Contract… I will make a contract!”
“Contract? That alone is not enough.”
Hasn’t that Pesima already betrayed me even after signing the contract? Thanks to that, I couldn’t be relieved with the contract alone.
Rachel was speechless for a moment at this. She quickly shook her head to live.
“That… So how are you going to trust me? I’ll do anything you ask! So please let me go back alive!”
“… ….”
“If I don’t go back now, they will be suspicious. Maybe Calia-sama insisted on invading Speth right away and recruited her soldiers. So, let me help you!”
Rachel struggles to live to the point of ugliness. Usually, when such b*tches are released, they change their posture in a creepy way.
… But it might be more helpful for us to let her live according to her words. At least killing them like this could lead to war right away.
Of course, I still have bad memories of the magic contract, but in fact, the penalty effect of the contract was activated even then.
So, if you put several safety devices on the contract you made with Pesima, it might be really useful.
“Didn’t you say that according to the original plan, if you send the coordinates, the wizards of the Mage Tower and Calia will teleport here?”
“Yes… yes!”
“Hmm… ….”
My first thought was to summon Calia here right now.
If you dig multiple traps, even Calia might not be able to move.
‘… It’s still dangerous.’
But it bothers me that Calia still has her holy sword, because Calia with the holy sword is virtually invincible anyway.
Of course, even with her like that, there are laws against her, but I’m not in a normal condition yet, so I don’t think she has to risk it.
Then what would be good? I stared at Rachel and thought about it for a while, but I suddenly had a good idea.
“Do you know who Marquis Grenouille is?”
“Yes? Yes. I know. Aren’t you the lord of Grenouville?”
“Yes. Can you make Marquis Grenouille come to Speth tomorrow or the day after tomorrow? It’s not about teleportation, it’s about being able to make them come on foot.”
“Yes? Everything is good… How can I convince you?”
“Didn’t you say that we should send someone to Speth to negotiate with the leader of Speth when we set up the meeting yesterday?”
“The saintess did suggest it. Although, after Calia-sama appeared, she pushed for an invasion of Speth.”
It is good news that the saintess is favorable to negotiations. Because the only person Calia, the single-minded general, at least succumbs to is a saint.
“Then push the plan again. Here, as the person to send to Speth, I secretly recommended Marquis Grenouille. If that doesn’t work, as a second best option, Calia’s closest aide, like Count Calen, isn’t bad either.”
“Still the problem is… How do you convince Calia-sama? Even if the saintess understands, Calia-sama will go on a rampage.”
“He said he would send one or two mages from the Mage Tower to protect Marquis Grenouille and detect Edmund. Oh, and also say that you can figure out Speth’s strategy.”
“… Isn’t that too dangerous?”
This time Swann intervened. So I whispered to her.
“I plan to catch them as well.”
Swan was still dubious, but for now, he didn’t voice any more objections.
“That’s enough, I think I can convince you.”
“… Good. Then we make a deal.”
When I gave the signal, two soldiers from Speth untied the rope.
I took out my sword and pointed it at Rachel’s neck to keep her from doing anything stupid, then activated the contract magic.
A magical contract appeared between me and Rachel.
“First. You never divulge what happened here today. Today you searched around Speth and returned without finding me.”
“Yes! Of course!”
“Second. If you go back to the Empire, Marquis Grenouille or Calia’s closest aide will be able to come to Speth. Third. You keep in touch with me from time to time and provide me with information about the warrior party.”
“Yes, I agree.”
“If you fail to comply with this clause or if the warrior party finds out about this contract, your penalty is… You will lose all your magical talents.”
And this time the penalty was changed. At first glance, it can be seen as weakened, but from the wizard’s point of view, it is tantamount to a death sentence.
Maybe it’s worse than dying.
Even Raphael, who was watching the situation from the sidelines, was stunned.
“That… that’s too much! I’d rather kill you!”
So what about her party, Rachel? She immediately got down on her knees and begged.
“No, I can never concede this. If you don’t like it, die right here.”
But I flatly refused. Rachel trembled and looked up at me.
“Vs. Instead. When I fulfill this contract well, please reward me.”
“What do you want?”
“How about 30,000, no, 20,000 gold coins?”
That was an unreasonable request. In the meantime, I’ve been storing the money I’ve accumulated while working as a warrior party in a sub-space, but it’s less than 10,000, let alone 20,000 gold coins.
But at that moment, I thought of another alternative. Maybe it was an alternative that could give Rachel a solid motivation.
“You guys, don’t you like the magic of the Blanc Magic Tower?”
“Yes?”
“But there won’t be much income yet. Even though Marion became the new Mage Master.”
Rachel’s eyes widened.
Actually, she wasn’t much of a surprise. I had already heard through the princess that another mage tower attacked Blanc’s tower and was kicked out.
Even if that’s not the case, it’s quite foreseeable that other mage towers won’t be left alone in a situation where a mage with low skills like Marion became the owner of the mage tower.
“As I learned magic from Pesima, I knew some of Blanc’s exclusive magic. How about replacing one of them with something that tells you?”
After all, the reason Rachel needs her money is to finance her own magical research.
Thinking about it, the value of learning new magic for her is by no means small.
Especially if it’s the magic of Archmage Pesima.
As expected, as soon as she heard that, Rachel’s eyes went blank.
“Yes! Great!”
With that, the contract was concluded. When the contract was completed, Rachel’s and I’s palms were stamped with seals symbolizing her contract, which gradually faded.
Is it because he came back from the dead, or is it because he feels good about being able to learn new magic? Rachel’s expression was very bright.
“Remember. I won’t teach you magic until you do what I’ve instructed you to do and contribute to capturing Calia.”
“Don’t worry. I will never disappoint you.”
Rachel said as she prepared to use her teleportation.
“Wait, don’t use teleportation here. Write it at least a few kilometers from here.”
“… All right.”
So she transformed into a blue bird and soared high into the sky.
“Is it right to just let him go?”
As she watched Rachel return to the Empire, her swan asked.
It still seemed like she didn’t fully trust Rachel.
“The wizard has set a fantastic condition. I also put a safety device on. They will not betray us at all.”
“… But she still doesn’t seem very believable.”
“Don’t worry too much. I have thoughts too.”
I smiled lightly. And she looked at Rafaela and said.
“Rafaela. Before waking Rachel up, didn’t she cast an eavesdropping spell?”
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“Yes, until the next 24 hours you will hear what she has to say.”
“Okay. If she says something that is out of line with her contract, she reports it to me right away.”
