-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"But who could have done this? Do you have any idea, young master?"
"No, not at all."
Davian thought slowly.
Someone who knows about the relationship between Bellus and himself.
'Of course, they seem to be a bit mistaken.'
Someone who knows where Bellus lives.
He first thought of the people he met in the Batian Lake area one by one.
'Those people know that Bellus and I are not lovers.'
Then who could be mistaken that Davian and Bellus are lovers?
Davian turned his head.
Mons.
But Mons wouldn't have done that.
Then who else would make such a mistake...?
"Mons."
"Yes? Young master."
"The magic ingredients you bought to give to Bellus. You bought them there, right? The person you met on the street then. What was his name...?"
"Pabs, the magic ingredient shop owner?"
"Oh, right. Pabs. You bought it from him, right?"
"Yes. You told me to go there, young master. That guy was very kind. I told you, he didn't even take money. And he seemed to have given me good items."
"How much did you talk about there? About Bellus."
"Just... well..."
"Did you talk about her being a lover or anything like that?"
"No. Of course not. Just that she's a spirit magician, a woman, and that you told me to take special care of her... something like that?"
"Let's go."
"Yes? Where? To the magic ingredient shop?"
"Yeah. To that Pabs or Fobs or whatever his name is's shop."
Davian and Mons hurried out to the street where the magic ingredient shop was located.
"Huh? This is it? The shop is completely empty?"
"We've been played."
"Yes?"
"Damn it. We've been completely played by that Pabs or Fabre or whatever his name is."
Kanzar City, the capital of the Alkancia Kingdom.
In an ordinary back alley tavern on the outskirts of the city, 'Exitium'.
Below the shabby toilet alley behind the tavern is a secret underground space.
One of the secret meeting places of the anti-Alkancia intelligence organization created by the Marino Empire.
Fortis Karun, one of the mid-level executives, came down the underground stairs.
"You've arrived!"
"Have you come."
Although it is called a meeting place, there are never more than four people gathered here.
It is an organization that thoroughly hides itself.
Two people who had come down earlier greeted Fortis Karun.
One was still sitting in a chair, probably a similar level executive, and the other stood up to greet Fortis.
"Have you been well?"
"Yes. Did you have a good trip?"
The man sitting in the chair asked.
"How was it? That boy. Before we knew it, his name started to spread all over the continent."
Fortis slowly walked over and sat in the remaining seat.
"Interesting. Very interesting."
"Interesting?"
"What's certain is that he's not just an ordinary academy freshman."
"We know that too. Last week, he stopped the war between the Byzant and Aront families in eastern Pax Continent. Our plan to kill Rogue Byzant and destroy the Byzant family failed again beautifully. Because of that guy."
"I heard that too. Aside from his unbelievable skills for his age, he's amazing."
"Don't waste time. Tell us your impressions of meeting him in person. Well, who should we send to get rid of him?"
Fortis Karun tapped the table with his finger.
The lower-ranking man quickly got up and headed to a kettle placed on one side of the wall.
Whoosh.
The man, who lightly created a flame with fire element magic, began to boil the water in the kettle.
Then, he finely ground the dry tea leaves next to him.
After putting the ground tea leaves in a strainer, he put them in the kettle, which was already bubbling, and a wonderful tea scent spread throughout the underground chamber.
The fact that Fortis signaled to bring the tea meant that the story would not be short.
"I did some work first to see his skills. I lured a bandit who was rumored to have won in a one-on-one duel with a 5-star swordsman to join the 'Red Fang' bandit group in Elton City. As expected, he took a position as an executive as soon as he entered."
"I heard that. His name was Cron, wasn't it...? He's quite a talented guy for a bandit."
"Yeah. Then I simply set up the board. I made the cronies led by a guy named Cron indiscriminately assault me in an alley. Of course, matching the time when that Davian guy would pass by."
"Oh, how was it? His skills. The rest of the bandits wouldn't be worth a handful. Did he and Cron have a showdown?"
"No. He got knocked out by one hit from the attendant he was with. Cron even had a sword, but the attendant didn't even draw a weapon."
"Attendant?"
"His name is Mons, I heard. In my opinion, he's no ordinary expert."
"To have such a person as an attendant... He's definitely not ordinary."
The lower-ranking man set the teacups on the table and carefully poured the tea.
"The scent is good."
"It's tea that I got when I went to the Alkancia Kingdom."
"The Pax Continent is definitely fertile."
The executive sitting across from Fortis also took a sip of tea.
"So. You didn't just come back without checking his skills. What did you set up and come back with?"
Fortis smiled bitterly.
"Hehe. He's definitely no ordinary guy. That young kid has a lover. And it's in the northern Batian Lake area, far away from the academy."
"Geez. He's a piece of work."
"Looking at his slick appearance, he definitely has a womanizing nature."
The executive nodded slowly.
"Then I guess I know what you set up without you even having to say it."
"Is that so? Then guess what it is."
"You kidnapped that lover of his. Maybe your nasty hobby has come back to life and you've set up traps along the way for Davian to find his lover. Because you want to see how far he can get through."
Fortis chuckled.
"I guess it's time for me to retire. How can my plan be so transparent?"
"Haha. It's just us, so what does it matter? We're talking about it so casually, but the person who goes directly into the traps you've dug will experience hell."
"No."
"No?"
"I hope he saves his lover."
"What does that mean?"
"It means that I've met a guy who's really interested me for the first time in a while. I've become greedy and want to give him a proper setback in a more dramatic situation. A setback worse than death."
The lower-ranking man asked.
"Then this time, you've set up a trap that he can overcome? Just to gauge his level?"
Fortis turned his head.
The soft eyes momentarily became sharp and then returned.
"Could that be possible? This is not something I'm doing to find my personal fun. I just wish it was. But there's an eighty percent chance that he'll die this time."
The man across from Fortis laughed heartily.
"To set up a trap where there's an eighty percent chance of dying and wait for him to come back alive... This is a very nasty hobby. It's like seeing you, the real you, after a long time. Fortis Karun."
"There hasn't been much fun lately."
"Young master, how is it? Are you enjoying academy life?"
"Enjoying it? I'm a complete mess. This round is especially bad."
"This round?"
"There's something like that."
That's true.
It's only been one semester, but how many incidents have occurred?
It's hard to even count them.
"We're almost there. It's Bellus's house."
"I know."
"Well, you can't not know your girlfriend's house."
"I told you, she's not. You're going to get hit, Mons."
"Can you even hit me properly?"
I wonder.
If I gave it my all, wouldn't I be able to flick him on the forehead once?
"Ugh. Never mind."
"But I'm so happy."
"What's with the sudden happiness?"
"Before leaving the territory and coming to Elton City, I never dreamed that those words 'You're going to get hit' would come out of the third young master's mouth. I like the current young master much better."
"I'm not interested in men."
Mons was startled and moved away.
"What! Me neither!"
Then, the gate of Bellus's house opened.
Bellus's grandfather, who was coming out of the house, recognized Davian at once.
"Davian-nim!"
"Hello."
The grandfather ran out and grabbed Davian's arms.
"Bellus... Bellus..."
The grandfather's face was soon covered in tears.
'Tears are hereditary in this family.'
Davian grabbed and raised the collapsing grandfather's body.
"Don't worry. I'll save her. I came to hear about the situation when she was kidnapped."
"Please... please... Our Bellus..."
Bellus's grandfather fainted.
Instead, the villagers gathered near Bellus's house explained the situation that day.
"...Such ignorant and brutal bastards."
Mons clenched his fist.
The villagers' explanation was like this.
The kidnappers did not sneak into the village, nor did they secretly take Bellus away using magic scrolls or magic circles.
Just two villains.
The villains walked into Bellus's village in broad daylight.
When a villager answered 'Who are you?' to the villain's question of where Bellus's house was, he was slapped in the face and has been unable to move from his bed ever since.
After that, four or five villagers were seriously injured.
Finally, the bastards who arrived in front of Bellus's house broke down the door and went inside.
The bastards dragged Bellus out of the house.
Bellus hurriedly summoned spirits, but the bastards even knocked down the spirits.
Even then, they didn't take out their weapons.
"Then they left these words."
"What words?"
"That's... to put it bluntly, they said, 'This is all because of some Davian or Demian guy, so blame him. And if that guy comes, tell him to come to the eastern coast cliff east of here.'"
But none of the villagers surrounding Mons and Davian were giving them resentful looks.
This is because they have not yet forgotten that Davian recently saved all the missing people and returned.
To them, Davian is not an object of resentment, but the only hope that can save Bellus.
"How far is it from here to the eastern coast cliff?"
"It's about a two-day carriage ride away."
Mons looked at Davian.
"Young master, if we hurry right away, we can arrive tomorrow."
"Good. I came to see if there were any traces left, but they openly told me the location and left? Then I have to go find them. Let's go, Mons."
"Yes! Young master."
"Hehehe, to pass by here at this time, you have no fear."
Davian sighed deeply.
"Again? Is this neighborhood always like this? Mons?"
"I don't know either. But there are too many of them."
"Is it even possible to meet bandits three times in less than a day? No, is it the fourth time?"
Comments
Post a Comment