Chapter 56: A Master’s Escape

Adventurer’s Guild.

Arcadia Capital Branch, Underground Secret Chamber.

“Hey, Heukyeong. I’m really hurt. You didn’t show your face once after the Demon Lord subjugation, and now you only come looking for me at a time like this.”

A middle-aged man with a heavy pipe in his mouth, Branch Master Randolph, grumbled as he puffed out thick smoke.

His bushy beard and the deep-set wrinkles around his eyes were full of mischief.

However, Logan, being in the position of asking a difficult favor after a long absence, failed to notice this and repeatedly bowed his head in apology.

“…I’m truly sorry, Branch Master Randolph.”

“Hmph! Is saying sorry enough!? You brat, do you know how betrayed I felt because of you? When you suddenly went up on the platform with Her Highness the Crown Princess, I thought, ‘Ah, Logan has finally abandoned me! He’s abandoned the Adventurer’s Guild!’”

As Randolph exaggeratedly scolded him.

Fiona, who was next to him, slapped him on the back.

“Hey, that’s enough with the jokes. You’re going to break the kid.”

“Alright, alright, Fiona. Good grief… To think Logan was a disciple of that Jingeom… No wonder he seemed different from the start.”

Randolph grumbled but looked at Logan as if he were proud.

At that gaze, Fiona glared at Logan.

“What? Logan, you didn’t tell him you were my disciple?”

When Logan went up to the imperial capital with Irene, Fiona had strictly instructed him to use her name at the Adventurer’s Guild.

That way, it would be much easier to get quests in the strict capital.

Although she had left the capital and hadn’t taken on quests for a long time, the guarantee of a Gold-rank adventurer, Fiona, would have been more than enough.

However, Logan had not used her name.

“Well… Master, didn’t you say you wanted to live quietly in the countryside? You already went through so much because of me, I didn’t want to cause any unnecessary trouble. It would be a hassle if they contacted you from the capital to confirm…”

“Aigoo… You truly foolish boy…!”

Fiona, as if her heart was about to burst at her foolish disciple’s answer, roughly ruffled his hair.

“M-Master. My hair, please stop…”

Logan’s face turned slightly red, as if embarrassed to be treated like a child in front of Randolph.

“Khaha… Right, right. You two really get along well. Especially you, Fiona… The way you look at Logan is just…”

“Shhh…! Stop with the nonsense and just take good care of the Magic Tower Master.”

Fiona cut off Randolph’s mischievous joke sharply.

“Yeah, alright. But my goodness… really… those Magic Tower guys have gone all the way. I can’t even begin to guess what kind of mess they’ve made.”

Randolph clicked his tongue, dangling the pipe in his hand.

“We will investigate that on our side. For the sake of future events, we must restore the Magic Tower Master to his original state as soon as possible.”

“Right, right. If it’s you, Logan, I’m sure you’ll handle it well.”

“I’m sorry, Branch Master… The Adventurer’s Guild is supposed to remain neutral…”

“Oh, come on, neutral my ass. Adventurers are guys who work for either money or romance, and these days, I’m getting a headache from the bastards who only work for money.”

Indeed, the noble faction and the Church had commissioned many quests from the Adventurer’s Guild to incite the imperial citizens.

Of course, they didn’t openly use the word ‘incitement,’ but rather packaged it as support activities for the empire.

“Hmph, foolish bastards. They don’t know that if those guys take over the empire, the line for quests will only get shorter. They’re not monkeys, why don’t they understand this simple thing, tsk tsk…”

Randolph, clicking his tongue, continued in a reassuring tone to Logan’s party.

“Anyway, don’t worry. This secret chamber where we’ve hidden the Magic Tower Master, those guys won’t find it easily. Only a few truly trustworthy people know about this place, so you can rest assured.”

“Yes, thank you, Branch Master…”

“More importantly, I’m more worried about those mage fellows who left the capital to draw their attention.”

“…Yes, I’m very worried about them too.”

With the help of Kairen and Rina, he had been able to easily rescue the comatose Iren.

Moreover, since the enemies were already dead drunk, the task was even easier.

But the next day, they would surely realize that Iren was gone.

They would immediately launch a large-scale search operation.

If so, even this secret chamber guaranteed by Randolph was at risk of being discovered.

To delay that as much as possible…

• “Kairen, Rina… thank you so much… but from here on, I’ll do it alone.”

• “What are you talking about, Hans? Do you think they’ll be fooled without us? No matter how stupid they are, they’re not foolish enough not to realize.”

• “That’s right, Hans-ssi. Senior Kairen, despite how he looks, is a man of strong justice. And so am I.”

• “…Don’t say unnecessary things, Rina.”

• “It will be quite dangerous… Are you sure you’ll be okay…?”

• “Hmph, we were already in danger the moment we left the tower with the Master. Since it’s come to this, we have to see it through properly.”

• “That’s right! And if the three of us stick together, they won’t be able to catch us easily, you know?”

• “Yes… Both of you, thank you so much… And Sir Logan, thank you very much as well. I will surely repay this debt…”

• “And I am truly sorry, but… please… take good care of my master.”

• “Please take care of him, Sir Logan.”

• “…Please take care of him.”

Hans, Kairen, and Rina acted separately to divert the enemy’s attention.

Deliberately, near the Magic Tower.

Even at this late hour.

They met separately in a crowded tavern, and immediately rented a carriage and left the empire.

They had decorated the carriage to make it look like they were transporting the Magic Tower Master, Iren.

They would probably think that Kairen and Rina had smuggled out the Master, with Hans leading the escape.

They would immediately give chase upon hearing the news.

Thanks to that, they would be able to buy a considerable amount of time.

And so.

Logan and Fiona entrusted Iren to Randolph, finished their conversation, and went outside.

Before parting.

Randolph offered a short word to Logan.

“Logan, you look better now.”

Logan didn’t need to ask; he knew the meaning behind those words.

“…Yes.”

He smiled faintly and nodded.

---

A short distance from the Adventurer’s Guild.

Logan bowed his head to Fiona and said.

“Well then, I will return to the Imperial Palace now. Please be careful, Master.”

“Oh, come on, you’re still ten years too early to be worrying about me.”

His master waved her hand as if to reassure him.

But the disciple couldn’t help but still be worried.

“But… they’ll surely be targeting you too, Master…”

Thanks to the commotion caused by the children from the slums, the security had become even more lax, so it was natural to worry that there would be retaliation.

But Fiona asked with a look that said, “What’s there to worry about?”

“Then isn’t that a good thing?”

“Huh? Ah…”

Logan immediately understood Fiona’s words.

The public opinion war that their enemies loved.

In the midst of their successful campaign, were they going to stir up the slums or touch the orphans?

No matter how hard they tried to incite and cover it up, that would be difficult.

No matter how numerous their enemies were and how much wealth they had, they were already pushing their limits.

“…But I can’t help but worry about you and Hanna-ssi. Please be careful.”

“Alright, alright, I get it, you brat. Just get back to where you need to go!”

“…Yes, then I’ll be on my way…”

As Fiona even pushed him to hurry, Logan bowed his head once more and turned his heavy footsteps.

Because he also had to hurry to inform Anastasia and discuss this with her.

---

The next day, morning at the Magic Tower.

The Magic Tower was turned upside down upon discovering that Master Iren had disappeared.

“Hahaha… I trusted you with this… Are you all kidding me?”

Teron gathered all the mages who were on duty and security the previous night.

The mages lowered their heads and trembled in fear.

“To think you would assign someone else to guard the most important room, that old man’s room, instead of us…”

Teron gripped his brow and shook his head as if his head was aching.

“Do you have any thoughts at all? I told you time and again to be more careful…!”

“I-I’m sorry…! Master Teron.”

“Bring him back before me, right now!!!”

“Yes, understood!”

One mage added, hoping to calm the enraged Teron even a little.

“We’ve heard news that Hans, that bastard, betrayed the Magic Tower and escaped through the north gate of the capital with Kairen and Rina, who smuggled out the former Master. We’ve sent people in pursuit, so you can rest assured…”

However.

It was like adding fuel to the fire.

“You idiot! Are you really kidding me? They left so openly for all to see, and you think that old man was with them?”

Teron gripped his brow once more.

It was because he only had these kinds of idiots that the Magic Tower was bound to decline.

Just then, Irene appeared.

“What’s going on?”

Teron thought as he looked at her.

‘Yes, as long as this woman is here, it’s fine.’

‘The Magic Tower will be revived again and, furthermore, will be reborn as a Magical Nation.’

Thanks to that thought, Teron’s anger subsided a little, and he explained to Irene in a gentle tone.

“Ah, Lady Irene. It seems some traitors have smuggled out the Master and are plotting something strange, so we were holding an emergency meeting. There’s nothing to worry about. We will handle it well on our own.”

“Ah, is that so?”

Irene asked back in a cold voice, as if it were no big deal.

That old man was outside her interests anyway.

For Irene, what was important was to bring about Anastasia’s downfall to get Logan back even a day sooner.

From the looks of it.

It seemed Teron had ulterior motives and was plotting something dirty, but she wasn’t interested.

If she had cared about such things in the first place.

She wouldn’t have joined hands with the noble faction and the Church.

“Well, I trust the Director will handle it well. More importantly, are you preparing the plans for what to do next?”

Irene called Teron ‘Director’ even though everyone else was now calling him Master, not just acting Master.

Furthermore, her attitude was as if she were addressing a subordinate, not a superior.

However, Teron did not show the slightest hint of displeasure.

“Yes, that’s right. You have nothing to worry about, Lady Irene.”

Teron replied even more politely and gently.

He had always treated everyone with a polite attitude.

But it was just an act.

He didn’t genuinely respect anyone.

Because his pride was higher than anyone’s.

But it was different with Irene, who was in front of him now.

He genuinely respected her.

One couldn’t help but do so after witnessing her phenomenal magic.

And.

She would be the first queen of the soon-to-be-founded Magical Nation.

However.

Would she really be interested in such a thing?

In the past, he wouldn’t have known.

Because she had wanted to rise to the most shining and noble position more than anyone.

But, now.

‘I don’t need any of it… I…’

‘Logan.’

‘As long as I can get that man back, that’s all that matters.’

‘If things don’t go well…’

‘I don’t know what I might do.’

‘Logan.’