Genius Wizard Hides His Sword Skills [EN]: Chapter 126

126. Undercurrent (2)

The iron bars were emptied in an instant. The members of the Central Council moved with perfect coordination, each dragging one of the criminals down.

“Ugh, ugh! Let me go!”

“You bastards!”

They were blindfolded again and herded into a corner.

Woo-oong!

Immediately, I summoned Illimita’s subspace.

“You’re not planning to take all of this, are you?”

Angel asked, pointing to the iron bars. His guess was spot on.

“Yeah. I was only going to recover the magic bombs, but it seems like the iron bars could be useful too.”

Of course, I was taking the magic bombs that could obliterate a 1km radius.

‘These are hard to come by too.’

The transport iron bars were specially made by the Magic Tower. Although they could be cut by the power of Aura [a type of energy or life force], they were definitely useful.

Originally designed to prevent any powerful criminal from escaping, they were said to be impervious to most magic.

[There’s no reason not to take them.]

Moreover, thanks to the infinite subspace, the size of the huge iron bars was not a problem.

Woo-oong!

Illimita’s subspace gradually increased in size.

‘This is the first time it’s gotten this big.’

The black portal grew to be over 10 meters in diameter.

Woo-oo-oo…

It devoured the iron bars in an instant.

“Ah, and Preacher.”

Angel whispered again.

“As you saw earlier, it seems the person next to Hustaaf escaped. Is that alright?”

It was a scene they both witnessed. They couldn’t hear the conversation, but the person who received something from Hustaaf disappeared soon after.

‘Probably a teleportation pendant or something.’

He must have teleported to the Magic Tower to report the situation.

“It’s fine. I expected some exposure anyway.”

After all, what they saw was only the tip of the iceberg of our abilities. We didn’t even show them any proper black magic or clues about the beastmen.

“It’s actually a good thing. It’s just enough to pique the Magic Tower’s interest.”

The dispel magic and the unidentified knight. The Magic Tower couldn’t help but be curious about our identities.

“I suppose they’ll think we’re Revoluca and chase after us.”

I felt sorry for the organization called Revoluca, but they were going to take the blame anyway.

“Since we’re already committing fraud, should we make it a bit more convincing?”

“How so?”

I smiled at Angel and shouted loudly towards the criminals.

“Finally, we’ve struck a blow against those Magic Tower bastards! It’s time to make our name, Revoluca, known!”

The criminals began to turn their heads this way and that. Their eyes were already covered by the blindfolds, so they were only listening to the sound.

“You must have suffered a lot in Killave as well.”

I mentioned the name of the Five Stars to Angel for no reason.

[Why Killave all of a sudden?]

‘Yeah. Dipone said that Revoluca has many scions [descendants] of prestigious families. I’m just trying to give the Magic Tower that much information.’

[But what does that have to do with talking to these guys? You said you’re sending them directly to the underground prison.]

‘Yeah. But I’m going to leave one of them here.’

My gaze turned to Kohir, who had been impaled by Angel. He was definitely a criminal, so there was no need to bother finding out his identity.

‘When the Magic Tower arrives, they’ll interrogate him themselves.’

His limbs were already unable to function. He was bound with magic restraints, so he wouldn’t be able to escape.

[But why Killave of all families?]

‘I just suddenly thought of that guy Irahan.’

Since he was a scion of a prestigious family, Irahan suddenly came to mind. That’s why I mentioned it.

‘Anyway, I feel sorry for Killave again.’

[If Killave ever finds out what you’ve done, they’ll go crazy.]

Repeatedly plundering their possessions and even tarnishing their name, they would be dumbfounded if they ever found out.

‘Well, anyway, it’s all over.’

I had retrieved Aileen, collected all the items, and left a message for the Magic Tower.

“Let’s go now.”

At my declaration to return, everyone began to move busily.

Except for one person.

“Take me with you! Don’t leave me here! Please!”

The lonely cry of Seno Kohir, the butcher of Ihalram, echoed through the canyon.

* * *

The port city of Ias, where the Magic Tower was located.

Beneath it, there was an underground space that no one could imagine.

“Ugh, werewolf! Try to hold it properly!”

“Damn witch. Who do you think you’re calling that?”

Several people were gathered there.

‘Sigh, here we go again.’

An unexpected construction was underway in the underground hideout of Ias.

[Even if we install this, I’ll feel much more at ease.]

The reason why Aries and Angel were bickering: they were installing iron bars in front of the barrier created by the Guigwang Clan.

“No, you stupid wolf. Hold it here, not there!”

“Hmph. You should have given proper instructions. You clearly said ‘here’ earlier!”

They were stacking the cut iron bars in layers in front of the orange light. Aries was using sealing magic to fix the iron bars.

‘Even if the barrier is breached, we’ll be able to buy some time.’

It was a material with formidable durability against magic, meant to prepare for any possible emergency.

“Um… Young Master.”

At that moment, a youthful voice was heard from the bottom of the stairs.

“Is there anything I can help with?”

It was Aileen, with a refreshing smile.

“It’s okay. We’re almost done. Just rest.”

Whenever I looked at her, I couldn’t help but smile. A small connection from a thousand years ago, yet she had sacrificed herself for me.

‘I’ll make sure you’re rewarded enough for the rest of your life.’

I vowed to repay her for the harsh imprisonment she had to endure because of me.

“Hmph. How long do we have to do this?”

Aries’s grumbling voice was heard.

Chee-eee…

Before I knew it, another iron bar had fused with the cave wall.

“Alright. Let’s stop here. That’s enough.”

The black iron bars covered the barrier without any gaps.

“Hoo. I almost died from exhaustion! I was trying to make it safe, but I’m the one who’s going to die!”

“You’ve worked hard. Thanks to you, I feel much safer.”

“Hmph! Well, that’s good enough!”

Aries grumbled for no reason. Angel was looking at her disapprovingly.

“Oh, Angel.”

“Yes, Preacher.”

“How’s the general store opening going?”

A sales outlet to distribute my old items, as well as those of the Central Council. We had just opened the planned general store two days ago.

“Ah, it’s proceeding smoothly without any problems.”

“What’s the reaction of the Anti people like?”

The trade city of Anti was the perfect city to establish our first store.

‘If we make a name for ourselves there, we’ll be successful anywhere on the continent.’

It was the most competitive place for merchants, so if we could survive there, it would be easy to expand in the future.

“I was just about to tell you, but people are constantly visiting, even though we haven’t even put out the items properly yet.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes. Especially the restaurant that opened next door; there’s a line all day long, so it’s impossible to pass by. You have excellent foresight.”

“Kuh-uh. As expected!”

“Thanks to that, many people waiting to enter the restaurant also stop by the general store.”

We had recruited the owner of a restaurant in Ias and opened it together. Thanks to that, the general store was also seeing a trickle-down effect.

[You’re quite the businessman, aren’t you?]

‘What do you mean? How long have I been rolling around in the marketplace? I just didn’t have the money to open a store. If I had the initial capital, I would have made a name for myself as a merchant on the continent.’

[Well done, well done.]

My ambition didn’t stop there.

“The restaurant is the priority now, but soon, when the general store’s items get around by word of mouth, it will be as good as the restaurant.”

“That’s right, because they’re not ordinary items. The nobles and prestigious families won’t stay still. And as you said, the owner of the general store is kept secret.”

The general store that the high-ranking nobles would visit in droves, providing them with a cultural space, was my real goal.

‘Come into my grasp, all of you.’

If you want to find a tiger, you have to go into the tiger’s den. But I was going to lure them into my space.

“Let’s start looking for the next area to open soon.”

“Understood.”

A place that would become a venue for information exchange for high-ranking scions, not just a simple general store. I was planning to stand at the center of them and dig into them.

“Wow. You’re also running a restaurant?”

Aileen’s eyes were shining at our conversation. Her face was somehow a little flushed.

“I just opened one recently. I’m planning to expand it throughout the continent.”

“Ooh…”

“What’s wrong? Are you hungry?”

“N-no, it’s not that…”

Instead of her, who couldn’t answer, a voice was heard from below the stairs.

“Actually, Aileen’s dream was to be a chef. You don’t have to worry about it.”

Admun came up and stroked Aileen’s hair.

“Hoo, a chef? Is that so?”

I couldn’t help but smirk at the sight.

“Let’s go.”

I suddenly grabbed Aileen’s wrist.

“…Where are you talking about?”

“You said you wanted to be a chef. You can be one.”

“Huh?”

“Let’s go to the restaurant right now.”

I would take her to the restaurant in this market right away.

* * *

“Okay. Do it like this. Try it once.”

Aileen’s eyes were shining.

“That’s right. Use the wrist snap like that.”

The regular restaurant in Ias—no, the place that I now owned. Aileen was diligently learning to cook from Mateo, who had been the owner of the restaurant.

[She’s doing well for her first time.]

‘I know. I heard the wok is quite difficult to handle.’

The girl was moving her wrist appropriately, as if her slender arms were useless.

“Hoo. Young Master, who is this girl? You brought her here and are teaching her, but she’s following along quite well?”

Even Mateo was surprised by her cooking skills.

‘Rudolph was also amazing at cooking.’

Aileen suddenly reminded me of him.

“She’s as precious to me as my own flesh and blood. She’ll be visiting here every day from now on, so please teach her well.”

“Of course! Leave it to me.”

Mateo’s mouth was torn as if it would reach his ears.

‘Money is good.’

I had given him a bonus in response to the news that the store opened in Anti was doing well. I was guaranteeing him much more profit than promised.

“Aileen, I’ll eat what you’re making now. Bring it to the table. I have to go to the Magic Tower soon, so it’ll be perfect for breakfast.”

“Ah! Understood!”

Aileen began to put even more effort into it. I turned my back on her and left the store alone.

Clatter!

At that moment, two people entered the store. They were wearing the robes of the Magic Tower and were making a fuss.

“Oh, don’t lie to me, okay?”

“I’m telling you it’s true! Look at this!”

The man showed a wad of paper in his hand, as if he was frustrated. It was a newsletter that contained all the information on the continent.

“Huh…? Hustaaf is really dead?”

“I told you, didn’t I? Not only Hustaaf, but the entire escort was annihilated!”

The events of last night had already been registered.

‘That was fast.’

And the man whispered, looking around.

“But the contents of this newsletter aren’t the whole story!”

“What?”

“There was one survivor in the escort! I heard who’s behind this incident!”

I couldn’t help but listen to their conversation.