Chapter 95: Fate (4)
The central magic tower of the empire, located in the middle of the island.
Elbon, the master of alchemy, was wandering around the lobby of the tower with a worried expression on his face.
He had a good reason to be concerned. His beloved disciple had not returned to the tower for a whole day.
All Elbon had asked his disciple Enia to do was to buy some simple herbs.
It was too risky for Elbon to go out himself, since his reputation had been tarnished by the commotion he had caused at the tavern.
Some of the followers of the Temple of Abundance had even sent him threatening letters, so it was only logical to send his disciple Enia instead.
But Enia, who had left the tower to run Elbon’s errand, had not come back yet.
Elbon had been immersed in his research for a long time and only realized that fact after staying up all night.
It was inevitable that he would be worried about his disciple’s situation.
“He’s not the type to get into trouble…” Elbon muttered.
The herb shop that Elbon had sent Enia to was a place they had visited together many times before to buy ingredients.
There was no reason for Enia to forget the location of the shop and get lost.
It was also hard to imagine that Enia had been attacked by someone.
Enia was a magician with talent in combat magic, unlike Elbon.
She was a rare gem that Elbon had found among the commoners of the countryside.
That’s why Elbon had always asked other masters to teach Enia combat magic.
If she had to fight outside the tower without preparation, Elbon might even lose to Enia.
There was hardly any situation in the island where Enia could be harmed by a villain.
“What is he doing out there… tsk tsk.”
Elbon clicked his tongue and continued to pace around the lobby with a displeased look on his face.
The junior magicians avoided him as they saw his sour mood.
Even some of the masters from other branches frowned and went inside when they saw Elbon.
But Elbon kept walking around the lobby.
He wondered if he had been too harsh on his disciple and made him run away in resentment.
That thought even crossed Elbon’s mind.
Eventually, Elbon came to one conclusion after wandering around for a while.
“I have no choice. I have to go out myself…”
As he decided to go out of the tower himself, he saw one of the tower’s staff members coming in.
The staff member had a crude-looking envelope in his hand.
The staff member spotted Elbon and stopped. He held out the envelope and said,
“Master. There is a letter for you.”
“A letter? For me?”
Elbon’s eyes narrowed as he heard that there was a letter for him.
The letters that were sent to Elbon usually came in elegant envelopes.
And the seals on the letters were also from famous families that Elbon recognized.
But this letter had a seal that Elbon had never seen before.
The sender’s name was not even properly written on it. It was a suspicious letter.
Elbon took the letter from the staff member and felt annoyance and doubt rising in his mind.
The staff member who delivered the letter tried to leave after saying,
“I’ll be going then. If you need anything, please call me at the lobby…”
“Wait. Who sent this letter?”
But Elbon stopped him and asked about the sender of the letter.
He was already busy enough trying to find his disciple, and now someone sent him an incomprehensible letter.
If it was from someone insignificant, he intended to throw it away.
The staff member looked embarrassed as he heard Elbon’s question. He said with an uncertain expression,
“I don’t know who sent it. I just received it from someone outside.”
“Tsk. Fine. Go ahead.”
Elbon spat out his tongue and waved his hand at the staff member.
The staff member finally bowed and left.
He sent such a letter when I’m already swamped with finding my disciple.
Elbon suppressed his rising anger and roughly tore open the envelope.
Thud.
The envelope ripped apart without using a knife. It was a rough gesture.
Elbon bit his lips as he took out the letter from the envelope and checked its contents.
If it was something unimportant, he planned to shred it into pieces.
“What kind of rude people sent this letter? Tsk.”
Elbon opened the letter and started reading it carefully.
The first thing that caught his eye was the bloodstain on the letter. It was at the bottom of the letter. He saw it as soon as he opened it. A foul smell of blood entered his nose through Elbon’s nostrils.
Elbon’s brows furrowed involuntarily.
It was a barbaric act, whoever it was.
Elbon’s gaze moved to the top of the letter.
“…”
Elbon read the letter with a grim expression, line by line.
The first line was a courteous greeting.
And then the sender’s purpose followed.
They wanted to meet with Elbon.
They said they would visit the tower and go to Elbon’s laboratory, so he should tell the tower in advance to avoid the inspection.
They also said not to reveal the contents of this letter to anyone else.
The letter was full of unreasonable and rude demands for Elbon.
If it weren’t for the last line of the letter, Elbon would have thrown it away in anger.
‘We have attached Enia Claude’s bloodstain as well. If the contents of this letter are not fulfilled by the scheduled time, we cannot guarantee the safety of your disciple.’
Crack.
Elbon clenched his teeth as he read the letter.
He then looked at the bloodstain on the bottom of the letter again.
It was his disciple’s blood.
He could verify it with the reagents in his laboratory.
Elbon felt a surge of rage in his throat.
“Th… these bastards…!”
Elbon’s face turned red as he crumpled the letter in his hand.
He had to go back to his laboratory right now.
And he had to use the reagents to check if the letter was true.
If the letter was true.
At that time, either Elbon or the sender of the letter would have to pay a huge price.
Elbon, who held the letter in his trembling hand, shouted at the staff of the magic tower who was standing in front of the elevator.
“I need to go to the seventh floor! Open the elevator now!”
Elbon’s rough voice echoed in the lobby of the magic tower.
Enia Claude.
The only direct disciple of the alchemy master had been kidnapped.
***
“It’s been a long time since I returned to the empire.”
The borderland between the empire and Crossbridge.
In the carriage of the expedition force heading to the southeast of the empire, Hus, the hero of knowledge, looked out the window and said.
Hus Alemier, who had been an investigator of Cloud, had become a hero of knowledge after receiving the goddess’s choice. It had been almost a year since then.
He was returning to the empire where he was born after a year.
During that time, he had tried to find traces of his brother Evan, but he had not achieved any meaningful results.
Therefore, Hus had to admit the fact that he did not want to believe.
Evan Alemier, the heretic inquisitor, had died.
And it was at the hands of the followers of the evil god that he had been wary of.
“By the way, you said your hometown was the empire, right?”
The voice that came to him made Hus look up and face the opposite side.
Ting.
Sion, who had let go of his bowstring, looked at him with a smile on his face.
Sion Arius, the hero of hunting.
Chosen by the goddess of hunting, Sion held his divine weapon ‘Astra’ in his hand.
The beautiful bow had a sacred atmosphere that suited its name as a divine weapon.
Seeing Sion’s appearance looking at him with a twang of his bowstring, Hus nodded and said.
“I was born in the Alemier family of the empire.”
“A noble with a squint. You would have looked fierce if you weren’t a mage.”
“I was quite popular in Cloud. Is it so strange that a mage has a squint?”
“They’re usually not into rough stuff, right? Unless you lost your eye in an experiment, it’s natural to look weird.”
“…An accident happened when I was young. If it weren’t for my brother, I would have risked my life instead of my eye.”
Hus touched his one eye that was twitching as he said that.
The one who saved him from the accident that happened in his childhood was his brother Evan Alemier.
Evan always scolded him with a heavy tone, but his affection for his family was sincere.
He was someone who sincerely wished for the prosperity of his family.
He would have helped Hus even if it was difficult if Hus had a hard problem.
Just like he came to see him on vacation when he received a letter saying that there was a suspicion of an evil god’s appearance.
“Your brother… The one you’re looking for so much?”
Sion asked about Evan after hearing Hus’s words.
The rumor that Hus was looking for someone was already famous throughout the holy land.
The disappearance of a competent and diligent heretic inquisitor was a big event in the holy land itself.
Especially since he was the family of a hero of this era.
Some people even knew Evan well from before.
It was not strange that Sion, who lived in the temple of hunting, knew about Evan.
“Yes. He was strict but an excellent person.”
“That’s why you’re looking for him. And there are also rumors in the holy land.”
“He disappeared after I finished investigating with his help. That’s why I… I think he fell victim to the followers of the evil god.”
“Is there no possibility that he is alive?”
Thud.
Sion pulled back on Astra’s bowstring again.
The possibility that Evan was alive.
He had not considered it, but it was a story with low probability when he thought about it rationally.
Evan that Hus knew was not someone who would succumb to the forces of evil gods.
He would have resisted them even if he had to die.
And there was no reason for the followers of evil gods to keep a holy knight alive for long.
He guessed that they tortured him enough and offered him as a sacrifice to their evil god.
“Brother is not someone who can be subdued by torture or anything. Even if those cultists tried to persuade him, he would refuse without hesitation.”
“What if they are holding him as a prisoner?”
“Even so, too much time has passed. It’s been over a year since I left the empire.”
“A year. A year is definitely a long time.”
“I wish I could believe that my brother is alive, but it doesn’t seem like such a good story.”
Hoo.
Hus let out a rough breath and looked out the window.
The shadow he had been chasing all his life was gone.
Now all that was left was the hero of knowledge who carried the fate of the world, and the emptiness of his brother that he would feel every time he returned to the empire.
Thud.
Hus opened his bag and took out a cigarette that was inside and put it in his mouth.
It was the thing that his brother hated so much for its unique smell.
But there was no brother left to complain to him now.
Seeing Hus light up the cigarette with magic in the carriage approaching the power of evil gods, Sion put down his divine weapon and said.
“Well, you never know until you check. I’ll wish you luck for now.”
“I appreciate your heart.”
“When the Kueberg expedition is over, I’ll help you search for a few days using spirits, so let me know if you need help.”
Searching with spirits.
It might be a story that could have an effect.
As long as Evan was still alive, that is.
“…You’re talking like a hero for once.”
“Well, people call us heroes, right? Even if it’s just to please them, we have to act accordingly sometimes.”
Hus looked at the hero in front of him in the carriage heading towards the evil god’s power.
He didn’t like him at first, but now he had lost that feeling long ago.
It was Hus’s first time to move with the heroes in an expedition.
If he could finish this expedition safely.
Then he wouldn’t mind having a drink with Sion.
