Ch.71Hunter, or Prey (2)

Snake that Swallows the Gold Coins, Dieta.

After removing her family name Albania, her daily life as a commoner hadn’t changed surprisingly much. As always, she organized documents in her office and maintained friendly relationships with business partners.

Her daily routine as a merchant remained unchanged.

If anything had changed, it was her daily life as “Dieta.”

Whenever she took a moment to breathe while handling work, sipping coffee, or absently looking out the window, Dieta would unconsciously let out a sigh.

“Haah……”

The employees of the trading company interpreted her sighs as ‘She must be tired from having so much work,’ but to Knight Passion, who guarded Dieta most closely, it was far from that kind of sigh.

Dieta gazing out the window with melancholic eyes.

That gaze was one of longing for someone, like a girl desperate to meet her lover. Since she normally didn’t make such expressions, Passion found this side of his master unfamiliar yet refreshing.

‘She seems to have fallen hard……’

Passion groaned.

He had been guarding Dieta for over 13 years now. Though he initially protected her at her mother’s request, after years of service, Passion psychologically regarded Dieta as his little sister.

A cute little sister with a significant age gap.

And it seemed this little sister had found someone she liked.

Passion, who cherished Dieta dearly, would ‘normally’ have immediately sought out the man she had fallen for to question and evaluate him… but knowing who it was, he couldn’t do that.

‘It must be that young man, Ivan.’

What kind of person was Ivan?

Talented, hardworking, and skilled. Moreover, he was a rare romantic knight-aspirant in an era that heavily valued knightly pride, honor, and loyalty.

Even from Passion’s perspective as a knight, he couldn’t give the young man a low score…

‘And on top of that…’

He had infiltrated the villa to rescue Dieta.

He had risked his life fighting against the Knight Commander.

And finally, he had brought Dieta all the way to Cambria.

In other words, he was a benefactor to whom Passion should kneel and bow. And imagining those events… it was no wonder his master had fallen in love. Passion let out a sigh.

‘He’s quite the catch.’

With a bright future ahead, there couldn’t be a better match.

However, that young man Ivan didn’t seem interested in romance. Nothing was more pitiful than unrequited love.

“Sigh……”

Watching his master stare out the window and exhale her 37th sigh of the day, Passion broke into a cold sweat. Finally, Dieta muttered in a small voice:

“I miss him…”

A very quiet murmur.

But the knight’s superhuman hearing caught it nonetheless. As Passion was watching his master and seriously considering whether to bring Najin to her…

Knock knock.

A knock came from outside the door.

The secretary’s voice announced a visitor. Dieta thought there shouldn’t be any scheduled visitors today when the door creaked open and someone entered.

Anytime. Freely. Really comfortably!

Standing at the door was the person Dieta had repeatedly emphasized could visit the trading company whenever he wanted, and should be quietly sent up if he arrived.

“I came because I have something to ask.”

It was Najin standing there.

Dieta’s eyes widened. With slightly parted lips, as if she’d been struck on the head and stunned, Dieta blinked.

“Dieta.”

Najin spoke her name.

Though they had agreed to speak informally but reverted to formal speech, they had at least agreed to use names. Thinking she might not be responding because he wasn’t calling her by name, Najin called out to Dieta, but…

“Hiccup.”

In this case, Najin’s call landed as a critical hit. With ears turning bright red, Dieta began hiccupping.

2.

After gulping down tea and taking several deep breaths, Dieta finally recovered from her status ailment and spoke.

“So… you said you came to ask about Regenoff City?”

The reason Najin visited Dieta.

It was to gather information about the location of a request he had accepted. After hearing Najin’s brief explanation, Dieta tapped her fingers on the table, organizing her thoughts.

“Regenoff City was once a city where black mages ran rampant. It was decades ago, but a rather large group of black mages had occupied the city.”

The black mage den, Regenoff.

That’s what the city was called decades ago. Recalling information about the city, Dieta continued.

“Did they say the black mages consumed the entire city? I heard they brainwashed the lord as a hostage and spread a perception-inhibiting veil across the entire city to establish some kind of foundation.”

“…That’s quite large-scale?”

“That’s why it’s recorded in the Empire’s history books.”

How did it end again?

Muttering this, Dieta clapped her hands as she remembered.

“Then they were caught by the Empire, and the Royal Guards, along with Imperial Knights and mages, swept through the entire city. I heard the Red Tower Master burned the city to the ground.”

“Burned the city?”

“The black magic had taken such deep roots.”

Dieta stood up, rummaged through the bookshelf, and handed Najin a book. It was a history book on the Empire’s modern history.

“Here it is. The Regenoff Annihilation Campaign.”

Annihilation (殲滅).

It was a section with quite a chilling word. As Najin skimmed through the history book, Dieta continued her explanation.

“That was about 50-60 years ago, and the city was rebuilt under a newly appointed lord. I heard it’s been making a name for itself as a commercial city since then… but it seems some troublesome incident has occurred?”

Najin nodded.

“A request came in to exterminate black mages.”

“Hmm, that’s something to be sensitive about. They’ve barely shed the stigma of being a black mage den, so getting involved with black mages again would be troublesome.”

Najin looked at the history book.

The Regenoff Annihilation Campaign.

An incident where the central government of the Empire stepped in to exterminate a group of black mages led by the Seven-Ringed black mage ‘Kephalon’ and everything related to them.

-Seven-Ringed black mage…?

As he glanced through the history book, Merlin spoke up.

‘Do you know this person?’

-No, I don’t know him. But Seven-Ringed means he was quite powerful. In today’s terms, he’d be almost at Tower Master level.

Ring (環), or Circle.

Najin knew it was a classification of a mage’s level, but he didn’t know the exact units.

‘How powerful is seven rings?’

-Close to Sword Master level.

Merlin explained.

-Think of Eight-Ringed (八環) as Sword Master level. It’s not an exact classification, but from eight rings, they’re called Arch Mages. Seven rings is close to Sword Master level.

He still couldn’t grasp it well.

Since Najin hadn’t experienced what a Sword Master could do, that realm still felt like grasping at clouds.

-If I were to compare you as a mage, you’d be around four or five rings.

‘Is that so?’

-Yes. About that level.

While listening to Merlin’s explanation and flipping through the history book, Najin’s finger stopped. In the middle of the history book was a name he couldn’t ignore.

Operation Commander Gerd.

Najin had heard the name Gerd before. The First Pillar of the Empire and the one called humanity’s strongest Sword Master.

“Ah, I heard Lord Gerd, who was a Royal Guard at the time, also participated.”

“Is that the Sword Master Gerd?”

“It should be. He was originally part of the Royal Guard.”

So it was quite a major incident.

That was the impression Najin got. Since he hadn’t experienced that realm yet, he could only imagine it in his mind.

“There’s nothing particular to be cautious about when going to Regenoff. Perhaps just be careful as inquisitors might join the request?”

“…Inquisitors?”

Najin narrowed his eyes.

Inquisitors. Being related to religion, he naturally became wary.

“Yes, the Sacred Blood Order will probably dispatch inquisitors. It’s their role to handle heretics like black mages. They’re quite fierce people, so it’s never bad to be careful.”

Not the Sacred Light Order.

Then it didn’t matter much. Najin exhaled briefly and closed the history book.

“Thank you for the information.”

“Was it helpful?”

“Yes, very much.”

Dieta smiled.

“But what to do about this? It’s too early to thank me.”

She gestured, and her secretary brought a wooden box.

The box contained Najin’s armor that had been sent for repair and an adventurer’s bag filled with various equipment.

“It’s a gift. The adventurer’s supplies are also filled with items from ‘our trading company,’ so please use them well.”

Dieta stood up, unfolded the repaired armor, and approached Najin.

“Stay still. Raise your arms.”

Then she carefully helped Najin put on the clothes.

Finally, after checking the fit and adjusting the length of the straps, Dieta gave a faint smile.

“It suits you well.”

Handing over the bag filled with adventurer’s supplies, she waved at Najin.

“Take care on your journey.”

And come back to tell me about it.

3.

“Oh, so you’re that adventurer Ivan.”

A carriage heading to Regenoff.

In front of the carriage was a knight who had come to greet Najin. He was a knight dispatched on the orders of the lord governing Regenoff. He offered his hand to Najin.

“I’ve heard of your reputation. I’m Ilef.”

“Pleased to meet you, Sir Ilef.”

After shaking hands, the two boarded the carriage.

During the journey to the city, Najin was able to hear about the request from Ilef.

“Recently, suspicious movements have been detected in the city’s slums and sewers. Traces of black magic have also been found. We believe it’s related to the black mage ‘Fauve’ who escaped from the inquisitors.”

“Is there more information about the target of the request?”

“Of course.”

Ilef continued his explanation.

“Fauve is a mage who has reached at least the Four-Ringed (四環) level, and her school is unknown. But judging by her record of killing five inquisitors, she might be even higher.”

And as for special characteristics.

Muttering this, Ilef spoke.

“She possesses the masterpiece, Shadow of Fire.”

The black mage Fauve is the owner of a masterpiece.

Upon hearing this, Najin immediately muttered inwardly.

‘Do you know anything about it?’

-It’s a masterpiece I don’t know. Not all masterpieces were excavated in our time.

A masterpiece even Merlin didn’t know.

Wondering if there was more information, he waited for the knight’s further explanation, but Ilef just shook his head.

“I don’t know its effects. Only the name ‘Shadow of Fire’ was revealed from the excavated ruins. However, according to the testimony of an inquisitor who survived the battle with Fauve…”

He said briefly.

“Don’t believe what you see.”

* * *

Click.

The sound of heels echoed in the depths of the underground sewer.

Click, click.

Accompanying the echoing heel sounds was someone’s scream. Someone was screaming their throat raw, but the scream didn’t spread widely. Because several layers of sound-blocking magic were in place.

Only one person heard that scream.

The owner of the heel sounds was humming a tune as if finding the screams circling her ears quite sweet.

The owner of the heel sounds, Fauve, was dragging a human with severed limbs towards the depths of the sewer. Her footsteps, as she hummed a tune, were even cheerful. In fact, she was in a good mood right now.

“The great senior laid such a good foundation. Don’t you think so too?”

The black mages following her nodded.

With three black mages and two living sacrifices in tow, she descended along the underground sewer. Decades ago, the great senior’s plan was ruined by the damned Empire, but…

Those efforts weren’t in vain.

The facility that the great Seven-Ringed black mage, Kephalon, had created beneath this city had managed to escape the Empire’s eyes. Even the flames raised by the Red Tower Master couldn’t burn the workshop located in the deepest part of the city.

The hidden workshop of a legendary black mage who attempted to overthrow the state. Isn’t that a mouth-watering story?

In the depths of the underground sewer, Fauve swirled her finger. Rising black mana seeped into the wall, and… click, with the sound of something being pressed, a path leading underground was created.

Click.

Just as she was about to step onto that path, there was a presence from the other side of the sewer. It was a soldier patrolling the sewer. The moment the soldier, with wide eyes, showed movement to signal the knight…

Snicker, Fauve laughed.

She tapped the lantern at her waist with the back of her hand. As the lantern swayed, a shadow of fire fell across the underground sewer. Breaking the common sense that fire doesn’t cast shadows, the shadow of fire swallowed the soldier’s vision.

Then splash.

The soldier suddenly threw himself into the sewer.

He drowned with his head submerged in the sewer. There was no scream or noise in his death.

Swoosh…

Only the sound of flowing water echoed.