Ch.3535. Magician Uni

A petite beauty with a stern expression.

As a mage, “Yuni” quite enjoyed her life as part of the Hero’s party. No, enjoyed wasn’t the right word—she was genuinely immersed in it.

Before joining the Hero’s party, she had been one of the disciples of the Tower Master.

Her spell incantations were unusually slow, making her less effective as a battle mage, but in exchange, her firepower was exceptional.

Her style suited the Hero’s party’s combat approach quite well, as they employed mass tactics with the Holy Knight Order.

She would complete her incantations while watching the Holy Knights fight on the front lines, then unleash a powerful attack at the right moment to earn her keep.

Just one or two spells, but with firepower that was incomparable to the female knight Millia, who could barely protect herself, or the archer Silvina.

Being in charge of firepower for the Hero’s party was quite an honor for a mage.

However, Yuni wasn’t in the Hero’s party for honor.

What she really enjoyed was watching.

Observing the antics of the Hero Gwon Heejin was an entertainment unlike any other for Yuni. She particularly enjoyed watching the process of issuing and distributing the commemorative coin Cordana, losing track of time.

“Why did you make something like commemorative coins? Was it really because you needed military funds?”

“That’s part of it.”

“Why waste precious holy power on them? I understand it’s to prevent counterfeiting, but is that really necessary? It seems like they wouldn’t have any artistic value anyway, with your face embossed on them.”

“What a rude thing to say.”

“Just be honest with me~ I’m asking nicely.”

In the early days of the party, when the typically quiet and expressionless Yuni crossed her arms and asked about the purpose of issuing the coins, the Hero pretended to give in.

“Probably in a few months, no, just one month, people will start trading Cordana. Everyone will be desperate to get their hands on even one.”

“Why? It’s not particularly useful.”

“Usefulness doesn’t matter. As long as the supply is limited and people believe it can be a measure of wealth, the price just goes up. Though you all probably wouldn’t understand.”

“Is that so…?”

The Hero’s words proved to be true.

After defeating an Orc Lord who had been leading a large group in the southern continent and pretending to care about the common people with a few words, the price of Cordana began to stir. As they started to seriously confront the Demon Lord’s army, the upward trend accelerated.

At some point, false rumors began to spread that dividends would be paid to Cordana holders if they succeeded in defeating the Demon Lord.

It was quite entertaining to watch people pour their entire fortunes into acquiring a single worthless gold coin. It felt similar to secretly viewing an erotic picture.

That was why she had become close with Gwon Heejin.

Pretending to like someone who provided such entertainment wasn’t a big deal. In fact, at some point, she actually started to feel they got along well.

‘Being with the Hero means I’ll never be bored.’

But that belief was shattered in vain.

Of course, it was because of the battle with the Beast King.

***

The battle with Beast King Leoneo.

Though it happened quite some time ago, it remained an unforgettable memory. It was natural to remember the day when what should have been a smooth journey was ruined so pointlessly.

“Saintess! Look ou— AAAAARGH!”

The sight of Holy Knights dying pathetically as they charged at the Beast King.

“Come! I’ll cut you down in one stroke!”

Gwon Heejin drawing his holy sword with confidence. Leoneo charging forward with tremendous momentum, showing no fear of the Hero.

After a fierce battle, it was the Beast King who eventually retreated. Even with his strength, he couldn’t completely overcome the numerical disadvantage.

“Run, run, catch him.”

The Hero kept screaming, “Catch that bastard, catch that bastard,” while clutching his hand where fingers had been severed, blood flowing freely.

The female knight Millia responded to his command and charged—

But with her inadequate skills, she couldn’t land an effective hit even on the severely injured Beast King. She was knocked unconscious by a casual side kick from the Beast King who found her annoying.

The mage Yuni, compelled by a sense of obligation to do something, began casting a spell belatedly.

Unfortunately, before her incantation was complete, the Beast King had disappeared.

Her powerful fire magic, known for its devastating effect, ultimately exploded into empty air.

Brilliant fireworks illuminated the sky as if celebrating the downfall of the Hero’s party. The party members could only stare blankly at the scene.

…After that day, Yuni found it difficult to enjoy herself anymore.

It was because she realized the Hero’s party’s journey was no joke.

‘I thought I could just stay in the back and unleash an attack now and then.’

If her casting speed had been just a little faster, or if she had the ability to cast while moving, she could have delivered the final blow to the enemy. She couldn’t believe that failing to do just that had created such a lasting problem.

The expression of the blood-covered Beast King glaring at her was still vivid in her mind.

Yuni never wanted to meet that terrifying creature again.

He had shown such skill even when ambushed while traveling lightly to attend a tribe member’s wedding—it was hard to even imagine how formidable he would be when formally leading his army.

And there was one more factor dampening her enthusiasm.

The fact that the Hero’s party was receiving tremendous criticism as the price of Cordana collapsed.

She had learned about this a few days ago while communicating with Gwon Heejin.

While the Hero was careful about discussing Cordana with other party members, he tended to be unusually honest with Yuni. He seemed to think that Yuni understood him.

“Yuni, listen. If we continue like this, we might end up being stripped naked and stoned to death in the public square. Maybe even worse than that… Ugh, those barbarians. Even fraud under the Special Economic Crimes Act only gets you five years, but they throw stones just because they lost some money?”

Death?

Even if she dismissed the Hero’s nonsense about Special Economic Crimes as his usual gibberish, she couldn’t easily ignore the mention of possible death.

Yuni pressed the Hero, asking “What on earth are you talking about?” but his answer wasn’t satisfactory.

“See you soon. We need to work together to overcome this situation. I need you, just like I need the others. Just try to speed up your incantations, okay?”

The Hero’s promise of reunion with a “Let’s try again!” wasn’t enough to alleviate Yuni’s doubts.

Why are we being criticized? She pondered alone but couldn’t find an answer.

After all, Cordana investors were limited in number, and they were all educated people.

They must have all known that Cordana was useless when they bought it, so she wondered why they were blaming others. No one had forced them to buy it.

‘Could they have actually believed the claim that the treasures of the Demon Lord’s castle would be distributed?’

‘Well, of course they’d be angry after losing money. It would be uncomfortable.’

‘But should I worry about my life because of that? Why?’

Above all, Yuni and the other party members had simply followed the instructions of the Hero, Gwon Heejin.

The Hero and party members did not have equal say. That’s why Gwon Heejin could select party members based on appearance.

If that was the case, the Hero should bear the responsibility. Yuni, the mage of the Hero’s party, thought this was reasonable.

Yes. That’s enough.

Having made up her mind, Yuni looked at her companions and said, “Yes!” When the usually quiet Yuni spoke up, the party members’ attention turned to her.

“About four days? The Hero should arrive by then.”

“Did you communicate with the Hero again?”

“Yes, this morning. When the Hero arrives, we’ll be able to leave this village.”

“…Even if we leave now, anyway…”

“By the way. I’m thinking of quitting the party and returning to the Magic Tower.”

At Yuni’s sudden announcement, the female knight and the Saintess looked at her in disbelief.

Their faces seemed to say, “At this point?” They probably wanted to say it was too late to back out, but Yuni thought differently.

“My situation is different from yours.”

“Different? How is it different…?”

“You are… never mind.”

Yuni decided to keep quiet.

Unlike the Papal State, which had lost dozens of Holy Knights, and the Empire’s noble society suffering from the collapse of Cordana, the Magic Tower had not been deeply involved with Cordana.

This was partly thanks to Yuni’s repeated warnings not to buy such useless things.

‘But if I’m honest, they might get angry.’

It wasn’t that she was afraid of the Saintess and the female knight, but Yuni’s specialty was watching, not fighting.

We’ll be parting ways soon anyway. No need to waste emotions unnecessarily. Yuni decided not to waste her mental energy.

The Hero would return soon. Yuni decided to accompany the Hero’s party only until they left the border area of the Demonic Land. After that, her plan was to shut herself in the Magic Tower for 3-4 years, lose interest in outside affairs, and quietly focus on research.

Then everything would become quiet. That was Yuni’s judgment.

***

At the same time, at the Magic Tower.

The Magic Tower was a place coveted by all mages on the continent.

While the public expected mages to eliminate hundreds of monsters with flashy magic, most mages affiliated with the Tower preferred to shut themselves in their rooms to conduct research.

Some spent their entire lives studying a single ancient magic book until death, so even fewer were interested in matters outside the Tower.

Of course, the Magic Tower wasn’t completely unrelated to Cordana. There were some who had tried to earn research funds easily by investing in Cordana, only to suffer losses.

However, the impact had been less severe.

Mages were more obsessed with immediately purchasing expensive materials rather than putting money into Cordana and waiting for months, and it also helped that Yuni, from the Magic Tower, had occasionally chided them, saying, “Don’t buy useless things.”

Perhaps because the damage was minimal.

These days, there was even an atmosphere in the Magic Tower of mocking mages (those active outside the Tower) who had suffered great losses from Cordana.

Professor Weaver, who had performed a stone-throwing spell on the former Prince with ultra-fast incantation, was a prime example.

Mages seriously researching earth magic were excited, saying Professor Weaver seemed to have gained some insight, but other mages mocked him, calling him an idiot and saying he was throwing a childish tantrum after losing money.

Up to this point, the Magic Tower seemed to have sidestepped the Cordana frenzy.

However, lately, a suspicious atmosphere had been detected.

First, research funding from the Imperial Palace had been drastically reduced.

Since the Imperial Palace had even apologized, explaining that the cuts were due to genuine budget shortages rather than retaliation, the Magic Tower couldn’t really protest. After all, funding wasn’t an inherent right.

“But they’re hiring additional court mages in the midst of this? And only those specialized in battle magic? That doesn’t seem right.”

And there was something else strange.

The preference for the Magic Tower among magic department students about to graduate from the Academy had decreased. Some were even giving up positions that had already been secured for them, simply because of an inexplicable aversion.

“What’s going on…?”

At this point, even the Magic Tower, which typically had little interest in outside perspectives, couldn’t help but fall into contemplation.