Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 133

‘What is the meaning of this, Commander Hale!’

‘There’s a limit to how outrageous you can be!’

‘Aaaah! Quickly, someone do something!’

It was chaos. Ian was also inwardly surprised, but the one who had been directly attacked must have been even more so. He was clutching his hand, which had been burned by the cigarette, and collapsing, letting out painful groans. His colleagues approached to check on his condition, and soon, someone who appeared to be his superior grabbed Hale by the collar.

Though, given the difference in size, it looked more like he was hanging onto him rather than grabbing him.

‘Are you crazy? Is that what you want?’

‘Commander Seilo, please calm down!’

‘Let go of me!’

While the commanders were not significantly superior in terms of magical power, Hale was an exception. Look at his physique. Moreover, unlike the Magic Support Department, which only handled office work within the palace, they were field workers who went out and dealt with monsters almost every day. Their combat sense, honed from killing and disposing of enemies, was incomparable to that of ordinary magicians.

‘Seilo, those who seek to kill others must also be prepared for their own death.’

‘What nonsense are you spouting!’

‘Your subordinate tried to burn my guy’s palm, so I burned him first. Any objections?’

Seilo slowly released his grip and examined his fallen subordinate. A fire magic circle was drawn on his right hand. If Ian had shaken his hand, his entire palm would have been burned.

‘Still, your actions were excessive!’

‘Excessive? If so, I apologize. I should have summoned the flames myself.’

‘…….’

Hale took out a cigarette again and muttered. He had been gaining popularity lately due to the Roxanne battle, but his combat magic had been famous even before that. The power of his heavy and penetrating attacks was quite impressive, even aside from his political standing.

If he were to use magic here…

‘How unlucky! Remember that the Magic Department is a community! Take good care of the new recruits, and if something like this happens again, I won’t stand by. I’ll report it to Wesley!’

Seilo shouted loudly, as if to show off, and took his subordinates away. He didn’t even wait for a response. The other departments who had been watching also did the same.

‘Well, good work.’

‘Welcome, newbie. You’re in for some hard times.’

‘Don’t talk to him, you idiot.’

‘Alright, alright. Let’s go. Let’s go do some work.’

‘Oh, excuse me. I’ll just pass through.’

Despite showing interest, they were clearly giving off an atmosphere that they didn’t want to get involved. The conference room, which had been bustling just moments ago, was now filled with silence.

‘Haa.’

It was Tommy who broke the silence. He sighed deeply and glared at Hale. What was he going to say? Just as Ian thought that.

‘I told you I don’t like it when you burn things with your cigarette. It leaves ashes.’

He said, taking out a handkerchief from his pocket and cleaning the floor. Nakina chuckled and took out a cigarette, just like Hale.

‘Tommy has a weird obsession with cleanliness. Anyway, be careful from now on. You need to improve your magic sensing ability. How are you going to be the newbie with such a dull sense?’

It seemed they were misunderstanding that Ian had tried to shake hands without realizing the trick. But what did it matter? He had handled it well without stepping in, so he could only laugh.

‘Thank you.’

‘Yeah, yeah. Now that you’re in the Magic Operations Department, let’s do our best, whatever it may be. Make yourself comfortable.’

Those who could have each other’s backs in battle.

That was the image Ian remembered of the Magic Operations Department. It was natural, given how urgent and dangerous the field was. Back then, it seemed the goal was to train those with that level of skill…

‘What about the other members?’

‘Ah, they’re all off work. They’re all on leave after returning from the Roxanne battle. They don’t come out unless there’s something urgent, since they don’t know when they’ll have to go out again. You’ll meet them slowly.’

The atmosphere of a department usually follows its leader. Ian glanced at Hale, who grinned and held out his hand. He was asking for the handshake he couldn’t do earlier.

‘Welcome, newbie.’

‘It’s nice to meet you too, Commander.’

He had the physique of someone who could have succeeded as a warrior, not a magician. He patted Ian’s shoulder and then stretched. It was as if he was saying to stop the boring initiation ceremony.

‘Well then, shall we go for a drink?’

‘What do you mean drinking from midday? Let’s have some beer.’

‘Ian, you drink beer, right? I don’t know much about noble tastes.’

‘Of course. But I have company.’

‘Company? Who?’

Slam!

As soon as he finished speaking, the front door of the conference room opened. Beric, with a swollen face, yelled in alarm.

‘Iaaaan! Everyone else is coming out, why aren’t you? I thought we got separated!’

He had been told to wait at the entrance of the conference room building, but he must have seen the magicians leaving and couldn’t wait any longer. The people from the Magic Operations Department stared at his appearance with their mouths open.

‘…What is that?’

‘He looks terrible, it’s a miracle he can even walk.’

‘He’s Beric, the magic swordsman I’m with. He’s like that because we were sparring at the training grounds.’

‘So, is he the one who fought Commander Jayrut?’

‘Yes, he is.’

Tommy and Nakina’s gazes met at the same time. The Magic Operations Department was already short on manpower. They were happy that Ian had joined, but he also had a magic swordsman under his command? And it was that guy who was the talk of the town?

‘This is a complete bonus, isn’t it?’

‘A bonus, a bonus!’

Tommy and Nakina’s eyes sparkled. They approached him, putting their arms around his shoulders as if they were glad to see him. Beric’s expression twisted at the sudden skinship, but only for a moment.

‘Ahem, we’re going to be working with Ian from now on. You’ll be seeing us often too. Nice to meet you. I’m Nakina.’

‘I’m Tommy! We’re going for a drink, wanna come?’

‘…Drink? Will there be meat too?’

‘Yeah! The commander will pay since the newbie joined!’

‘I’m in the red this month.’

‘Who cares~? Let’s go! Let’s eat, let’s eat meat! Let’s drink!’

‘Let’s empty the commander’s wallet!’

‘Yay! But who’s the commander?’

‘Are you stupid? Can’t you see that the mountain bandit-looking guy over there is the commander? Well, it’s okay. I like idiots. From what I’ve seen, there’s no one who can take a hit as well as an idiot.’

The three of them quickly bonded and became a group. Ian and Hale, who were watching from behind, gave a dumbfounded laugh. Hale nodded and suggested.

‘I’ll tell you the detailed work schedule while we drink. Let’s go.’

* * *

Click.

‘Oh my.’

Mini, who opened the door, felt like she had returned to the day of the New Year’s meeting. Seeing Beric, who couldn’t properly support himself, the coachman who was sweating profusely while carrying him, and Ian, who was sighing heavily. That day was at least at night, but what was going on in broad daylight?

‘What brings you here? Oh, Beric! Are you alright? How badly were you beaten to be in this state?’

‘Beric’s here? It is him! He’s really messed up!’

‘We need to call a doctor. This way, who are you!’

‘Tsk tsk. You idiot, I told you to be careful!’

‘Hmm? But why does it smell like alcohol…’

Mini, who had been making a fuss, sniffed and frowned. Romandro also paused and checked the soup stains on Beric’s clothes.

‘He got quite drunk at the Magic Operations Department’s welcome party.’

‘No, Ian, you’re the one who joined the Magic Department, how come?’

‘Kikik… Ah, I can’t drink anymore. Stop!’

‘Stop, you idiot! Yes, stop it!’

Thwack!

‘Aaaah!’

‘Oh, I hit a bruise. Sorry.’

Beric screamed, and Romandro fussed over him, tending to his injuries. Ian slumped onto the sofa and explained what had happened. Beric had sparred with Jayrut at the training grounds, went through the initiation ceremony, and then the welcome party. It was still before sunset, but so much had happened, and he was exhausted.

‘You’ve been through a lot. Ian, would you like some warm tea?’

‘Please, Mini.’

‘Well, it’s a relief that you still have your head on your shoulders after sparring with Commander Jayrut.’

Romandro clicked his tongue and handed Ian a letter that was on the table.

‘A letter came while I was out for a while.’

‘Oh, it’s from Karenna.’

‘The mayor interrogated the bandits and sent a report. Please check it. Hasha! Hasha! Where did he go again?’

‘Where did Hasha go?’

Ian looked around as he tore off the sealing wax. Come to think of it, he hadn’t seen Hasha, who was always sitting in the corner of the sofa. He didn’t think he had seen him this morning either.

‘He’s been going out a lot lately. I have no idea what he’s doing.’

‘Tell him to be careful. Wesley will be watching.’

Hasha’s personality was serious, so he wasn’t too worried, but still, you never knew. At Ian’s words, Romandro nodded and covered Beric with a blanket. He carefully removed the black sword from his waist and placed it on the floor.

Rustle.

Ian rubbed his eyes and opened the letter. It was written in surprisingly small letters, with a lot of information.

-Greetings, Ian. This is Onyx, the mayor of Karenna. I hope you have arrived safely in the capital. This place has returned to normal thanks to your help.

Therefore, I am sending you the news you have been waiting for. It is the answer to your question, ‘Why did the blue-haired child follow the bandits?’

The question of why Hasha’s body, which had been under a spell, followed the bandits when they encountered them remained. Ian frowned as he turned the page and read the words.

-The bandit leader is not certain, but he speculates that it was due to the black sword of the Atan tribe.

The Atan tribe. A warlike tribe that mainly operated north of Bariel, also known as the blood tribe. They would later greatly increase their power during the monster attacks that shook the empire, but they would eventually be defeated and annihilated by the Imperial Guard Commander.

‘Right. That’s coming soon, I guessed it.’

-Regardless of the truth, please understand that I am reporting as I have been informed. The Atan tribe drinks the blood of monsters to survive, so it is questionable whether they are truly human. The black sword they used to summon monsters is said to be the reason why the blue-haired boy followed them.

At the time, Hasha’s body was not human but undead.

If it reacted to the black sword, it made sense.

-I have a question. Is the blue-haired boy you mentioned not human? As the interrogation continued, the bandit kept saying things about slave traders and corpses, which I deemed beyond the scope of a local city to investigate.

Ian realized that the flow of the letter was strange. The last page. He unconsciously touched his forehead.

‘Why do they do things they weren’t asked to do…’

‘That mayor? He looked like he couldn’t do his job! But, why? What does it say?’

-Therefore, I have requested detailed information from the Imperial Palace, so please wait a little longer. I apologize for my previous negligence. Please also convey my regards to Consultant Romandro, who was with you. Then, I will report again. Thank you.

This meant that the Imperial Palace, specifically Wesley, might find out about the situation in Karenna.