Chapter 709
Chapter 709
In Levien, which only has two gates, the South Gate and the North Gate, what are the chances that I will encounter the Demon King’s army hiding at the gate where I am waiting?
It seems more likely than not that the Demon King’s army’s disguised identity is Ogwen, but I don’t know for sure, but it’s not a figure that I can expect. Nevertheless, the fact that I was able to catch them was the result of the Laughing Bell gang, who succeeded in exposing the spies who were hiding in Levien less than a day after the meeting began.
It’s a bit disappointing that I can’t guarantee that I caught them all, but I think I did a great job as a former war officer dealing with a professional spy. The rest can be found out through the newly captured prisoners.
Thinking like that, I went to the laughing bell while holding the survivor with the wrinkled nose, and he greeted me with a faint smile.
“You caught it really quickly?”
“Thanks to the information you guys found out, I would have missed it if I didn’t know you were using mutation magic.”
That would be the case, because the magic power of those who came in with mutation magic was barely noticeable.
I was looking for something like a magic spell that moves by using the structure of a body that was arbitrarily twisted by mutation magic to hold on to it, so I got caught. If I had tried to track it down with magic like I usually do, I would have missed it with a high probability.
“Tell him to hand this guy over to the heretic judges who followed the saintess, and tell the wizard who created the gate that I will pay him a separate tribute later. Laughing Bell, you move with me.
“All right·”
I woke up from a long-awaited deep sleep and thanked the nameless wizard who had helped me create the recipe. I left my true nature and headed out into the street with a full-of-moment laugh.
The sight of the streets, where the sun has not yet fully set, being dyed in sunset colors is enough to stimulate people’s emotions. However, given the circumstances, I thought that there would be no one who would be emotional among the numerous soldiers. However, since Levien is the front line of Etisel, it actually looks more peaceful than when the Allied Forces were stationed outside.
“When did you say curfew was?”
“The bell will ring soon. It will remain that way for as long as the talks continue.”
“If I want to use my time wisely, I have to hurry.”
Even though it was an exhibition, I was worried about whether control would be good since there was no curfew in Levien, but it seemed like it was just a needless worry when I saw that most of the stalls were already cleared out. Upon closer inspection, I saw that the children running around excitedly were more like their parents coming home early to enjoy it.
It was a truly heartwarming sight, but I didn’t have time to appreciate it for long, so I moved toward the north gate, which had an atmosphere that was the complete opposite of the pastoral scenery. Laughter Bell was puzzled by my appearance as I ran using all my horsepower, but I didn’t ask for an explanation.
The North Gate, which surprised the city people and arrived at, was so desolate that it was hard to believe that it was the same city where the warm scenery they had just seen unfolded. The reason for this was that the gates were closed much earlier than usual, just like the town’s curfew, so there was no one coming and going, but there was another real reason.
“Salute to the brave man!”
“What about the salute? You are neither a soldier nor a noble, so just relax.”
If there are five necks hanging on the road where people are passing by, and those necks belong to the Demon Tribe, and soldiers are guarding them fiercely, then even if a clown comes, the atmosphere cannot be good.
“Was there anyone acting suspiciously?”
When I asked the spies’ heads, which were human until I took the prisoners, and turned into horned demons, as if the magic had worn off quickly when they died, the guard, who still couldn’t relax, answered.
“As you said, some of the troops disarmed and hid to watch, but no one stood out.”
I asked because I had been paying attention and activating my senses as much as possible the whole way here, but I couldn’t feel any magic, so I guess it was a waste of time here too.
It’s a pity, but there’s no other way. I have no choice but to walk around and explore.
“Just in case, please keep an eye out even after curfew. If you happen to encounter the Demons, avoid combat as much as possible… Just look at them with the mindset of living and reporting back in detail.”
“Oh, I understand!”
Originally, I didn’t like looking for needles in a haystack, but now I was in no position to be picky. If it were normal, I would have thrown him a silver coin, but since there was a ban on alcohol until the end of the meeting, I just gave him a brief thank you and ran back to my hometown. Eventually, Bell, who couldn’t overcome his curiosity, opened his mouth to laugh.
“Are you heading back to your original state?”
“Oh, you haven’t blown the curfew yet? You’re clearly planning to take a break when the curfew bell rings, so I wanted to ask you something.”
It was like training a shit dog, but what can I do? The pitiful one has to dig the well. As expected, as soon as we arrived back at the main castle, the sound of bells and trumpets began to ring mixed together.
[You look busy?]
And at that very moment, something like a water droplet suddenly flew next to me and spoke to me.
“What is this?”
It appeared so suddenly that I couldn’t even call it a sound, so I clenched my fist reflexively, but I couldn’t hit it right away because I could feel the spirit’s energy from the water droplets.
In fact, I wasn’t even sure about it, and it was so subtle that I hesitated whether to do it or not, so I was about to decide to do it first and think about it.
[Ah, I said that I would come and see you, Spirit Master Serta, right?]
I probably would have stretched out my arm if the conversation hadn’t been so urgent.
“Oh, I’m sorry, this is my first time seeing spirit magic.”
[This is a technique that uses lower-level spirits. It has not become popular due to various restrictions, including distance, but it is useful in these cases.]
You’re saying that there are levels to the spirits?
As soon as I heard it, I thought it was some kind of blasphemous remark that would put a slave trader to shame, but I let it go thinking that there must be a reason why a master-level spirit magician would say something like that.
“I will accept your offer. However, I have other things to do, so it might be difficult for me to do it right now.”
[I received a brief report that you are in the process of exfiltrating the hidden spies of the Demon King’s army. Is there anything I can do to help?]
“Probably not… No, are you by any chance near the conference room right now?”
[Yes, that’s right. Since it’s the center of the city, it’s easy to manage the spirits.]
management···?
Even though each word made me feel uncomfortable, I decided to believe that there must be a reason since he was a master-level spirit magician.
“Is it possible to speak to Saint Deoni through this spirit? I am on my way now, but I would like to save some time.”
[Of course, please wait a moment.]
Yes, even though the words are a bit off, he is someone who can communicate well. If we talk seriously later, I am sure we will come to the conclusion that it was just a misunderstanding.
Thanks to Serta’s unexpected help, I had the opportunity to have a long-distance conversation, but I had to get to the conference room to achieve my goal, so I hurried along, and a familiar voice came out of the water droplets along with a little noise.
[Is this how I should say it, warrior? Can you hear me?]
“Yes, I can hear you well, Saint. It may be sudden, but is there any sacred method that only works on demons?”
[Suddenly, what is that… Ah! I understand! It’s because of the spy?]
“you’re right·”
The sacred laws that are created from the blessings and grace of the gods do not discriminate between races or religions. However, aren’t there other uses that stem from differences in races? For example, a sacred law that stabilizes magical power to help those who have unintentionally experienced magical overload.
Even though the explanation was probably lacking, Saint Deoni quickly found the answer, proving that she understood my intention perfectly by muttering something like, ‘According to that experience…’
[This is a sacred technique used when young demons collapse due to excessive use of magical power while their magical organs are not fully developed···]
That’s a perfect answer too.
“I think that’ll do. We’re almost there, so let’s talk about the rest when we get there.”
[I will prepare]
I wish I could just listen to the story and use Pavabak, but since I am a complete idiot except for the saintess’s official attack method, I need to meet her in person, shake hands, and learn how to apply divine power to activate the method.
As the conversation ended, while I was climbing the stairs, leaving behind the spirit who had fallen to the floor as ordinary water, the laughing bell that had been silently listening to our conversation continued spoke with an expression that looked like Archimedes shouting Eureka.
“Hero? If it’s as you two said, wouldn’t it be possible to expand the search radius with the help of the Heretic Judges?”
It was a simple yet profound realization that suited her expression very well, but this time I had no choice but to reject it.
“I can’t do it”
“yes?”
“What I’m trying to do is to first bless the area and then trace back the magical power of the target to which the blessing is applied, so not only the heretic judges but even the saintess can’t do it.”
“···yes?”
The reaction of rolling your eyes and tilting your head as if you don’t understand is completely normal.
If I didn’t have the memories and senses of that time when I turned my eyes and tracked down Soha Shinore, I wouldn’t have even imagined it, let alone tried it.