Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 152

‘Seriously, does he have a bottomless pit in his stomach?’

Romandro muttered, watching Beric with a dumbfounded expression as he devoured a whole pig roasting to a golden brown on one side of the garden.

It was clear what it meant to be a glutton. The way he was stuffing fistfuls of meat into his mouth, he looked every bit like a madman. Beric smiled happily and raised his glass.

‘Another bottle!’

‘Hey, you! Enough already! Do you have a bottomless pit in your stomach? You took a week to travel a few hours, and you have no shame?’

‘Don’t you know that when I drink, I can drink endlessly?’

‘You’re destined to die from a burst stomach rather than a sword. Oh my, I can’t even speak. Really.’

Beric’s throat was clogged with meat, while Romandro’s was clogged with disbelief. Regardless, Beric continued to tear into the meat, half out of his mind.

‘Ian, that guy’s going to cost a fortune in food. He’s not cost-effective at all.’

‘Still, well, catching a pig is cheaper than the money we spent earlier, right? What were you thinking, saying all the slaves were Ian’s? Right? Wow, this meat is really good!’

Romandro’s face flushed at Beric’s words. Yes, he admitted it. He had misspoke because he was too flustered and nervous.

Leaving aside the Astanans, bringing in slaves of unknown nationalities had made additional expenses unavoidable. They had provided doctors for the dying, clothes for the naked, and food for those on the verge of starvation.

‘Do you, do you even know the hardships of a public official?!’

‘Huh? Why would I? And what does that have to do with you misspeaking? Ian, am I right?’

Romandro grabbed his neck and closed his eyes, and Ian patted his shoulder.

‘He’s gotten smarter after suffering a bit outside.’

His voice was full of laughter. That meant Ian agreed with Beric. Romandro sighed and apologized again.

‘I’m sorry.’

‘It’s fine. Thanks to you, the building was vacated, so it’ll be easier for the guards to clean up. And Beric, just so you know, your one meal is more expensive than what we spent on those people.’

‘No way!’

Even as he said that, Beric was gobbling down a chunk of meat the size of his head. The bowl was empty in an instant. Mini, flustered, flipped the firewood with a poker.

‘Beric, please eat slowly! The Astanans have barely eaten half a bowl!’

‘My stomach isn’t even half full yet?’

The Astanans were chatting and filling their bellies with Hasha. Judging by the occasional laughter, they seemed to be talking about their hometowns.

When one of them made eye contact with Ian, they bowed and smiled shyly.

‘Judging by how the Lugerspell Guard is handling things, it won’t escalate into a big problem. After the investigation, if there are any illegally enslaved people, we can restore their identities and wrap up the matter.’

‘Parkens, what about him?’

‘Find out who the assisting necromancer is, then hand him over to the guards. Since he engaged in illegal slave activities, he should be punished according to the relevant laws.’

Parkens was locked up in the mansion’s warehouse. Or rather, he was passed out and recovering.

Romandro, having heard Ian’s instructions, nodded, taking a sip of his drink.

‘Understood. I’ll take care of this. Ian, don’t worry about it and focus on becoming the next Minister of Magic.’

As Romandro put down his glass with a determined expression, Beric openly mocked him. His giggling was as clear as day.

‘He’ll probably make another mistake and buy something weird again?’

‘You shut up and eat, or today will be your last meal!’

‘Ian’s the one who feeds me, why are you taking credit? If no one’s home, I’ll raid the kitchen!’

‘Do you think our Mini is that easy to deal with?!’

The two of them started their childish bickering again. The Astanans, who had been startled by the loud noises at first, seemed to be used to it now.

Hasha, who had been sitting on a chair, jumped down and ran to Ian. A man followed him, staggering behind.

-Ian!

‘Hasha, are you short on food?’

-No, we all have plenty. It’s not that, but do you remember that there are many shamans in Astana?

‘Yes. You told me. That the shamanism they believe in differs between factions. So, if you go back, you might be able to get a new body with the help of another faction. I remember it clearly.’

Hasha thumped the man’s knee with his tail. The man opened his mouth and stuck out his tongue.

A strange pattern was drawn in the center. Beric and Romandro both looked puzzled, but Ian understood.

-This man is a diviner, and he says he has something to tell Ian.

He was a kind of prophet. To divine fate was like being lost at sea and counting the waves. It could easily change with a small breeze or the splash of a fish.

Ian realized that the man’s expression was excited and gave his permission.

‘If it’s good, I’ll listen, and if it’s not, I’ll reject it.’

-Of course, it’s good! If the benefactor’s fortune turns out bad, I’d rather cut off my tongue and seal it forever!

As soon as Ian gave his permission, the man divined the future in an unknown Astanan language. His prophecy was translated into Bariel through Hasha’s mouth.

-Even if you stumble and lose your way, there is only one path in the end. Even if the path seems to have changed, everything is connected when viewed from the sky, so you will eventually return to that place. As you wish.

‘How was it? Good words, right?’ Hasha panted and laughed, but Ian couldn’t help but make a strange expression. For some reason, it felt like that path meant ‘history’.

Even though many things had changed, it seemed that after 100 long years, everything would find its destiny and create the world that Ian knew.

‘What is it? It’s not a prophecy, it’s a riddle.’

-Prophecies are originally open to interpretation.

Hasha retorted at Beric’s words. The diviner bowed and returned to his place, and Ian quietly moistened his lips with wine. Then, Mrs. Vivianna handed him water instead and worried.

‘Ian, didn’t you say you had to go to the palace early in the morning? Honey, you should stop drinking too. It’ll be hard to get up.’

At Vivianna’s concern, Romandro put down his glass, though reluctantly. She smiled brightly and added.

‘And Ian, I heard you’re running for the next Minister of Magic. Your clothes are very stylish and cool now, but they don’t really suit a minister of a department.’

‘Madam, I was just about to ask you about that.’

Due to the nature of the New Year’s meeting, the clothes they had tailored at the clothing store were infused with a youthful sense. They couldn’t be the same as the clothes worn to take public office.

‘So, I’ve prepared new ones, so please wear them when you go to the palace tomorrow.’

‘As expected of someone whom Romandro trusts and relies on, I feel reassured. Thank you, Madam.’

When Ian kissed the back of her hand and greeted her, Romandro smiled shyly as if he had received a compliment. Regardless, Beric shouted again, holding up an empty plate.

‘Another plate!’

* * *

The next day, at dawn when the morning moon was up.

Ian went straight to the Ministry of Magic without getting much sleep. It was such an emergency that the traces of night work were clear in the Ministry of Magic building.

The same must be true for the administrative department where Romandro had gone. As Ian entered the lobby, the wizards who were walking around wearily greeted him.

‘Ian, have you received any separate contact from the Imperial Palace?’

‘No. If there was, they would have issued an emergency summons with magic. Is there a problem?’

‘I found out while investigating forbidden magic materials. They had separately entrusted the 300-year-old ones to the administrative department. That, uh, Mr. Wesley did. I guess it’s because it was before the establishment of the Ministry of Magic, but we need a letter of cooperation.’

‘Do we need letters of cooperation from all the leaders?’

‘Yes. And it would be good if you had one too. Since you attended the Imperial Palace meeting.’

‘Understood. I’ll write it right away and send it up.’

Screech.

Ian said that and opened the door of the department. Then, there were wizards sitting tightly in the chairs. It was clearly the office of the Magic Operations Department, but he didn’t know why they were all here.

‘What are you all doing here?’

‘Oh? Oh! Ian, shhh. You’re here.’

The first to get up was Acorella. She wiped the drool from her mouth and checked the time. Three in the morning. It was an unusual time to go to work or leave work. She pressed her temples to chase away the fatigue.

‘Let me introduce you. These are the leaders of the Potion Research Department, the Incantation Research Department, and the Magic Tool Manufacturing Department. Haaam.’

At Acorella’s words, the others got up from their seats. They were already familiar with each other because they had passed by each other. The people of the Magic Operations Department were all sleeping together in the staff room at the back of the department.

‘I formally greet you. I am Ian.’

‘Ah, yes. I know. It’s nothing new.’

‘We all know each other’s faces, right?’

‘They are my special friends, so please get along well.’

Special friends. It meant that they were the forces that Acorella had persuaded to push Ian. They could also be seen as regular customers of the potion sales. Ian shook hands with them and took off his coat.

‘If you are special friends with Acorella, you can be special friends with me too.’

‘Ahaha. That’s right. First of all, the Potion Research Department came in with the sole purpose of commercializing the Sildam potion, and the Magic Tool Manufacturing Department is interested in the mass supply of Luron stone. And the Incantation Research Department. Their budget is too small. The reason is that they are a department that studies words, so they don’t spend money separately. The next minister would like you to consider that part, umm. That’s what they said.’

The three departments clearly wanted something from Ian. Ian nodded as if to say, ‘Just trust me.’ Acorella wrote down the names of each department on the chalkboard.

Scribble, scribble.

‘And what about Leader Jang?’

‘Yes. He’s the leader of the Magic Research Department.’

‘I didn’t see him that way, but he’s more popular than I thought. He’s unified with another department that had registered as a candidate. I don’t know what he used to entice them, but if we only count the departments that have decided on a route, our numbers are a bit short.’

Ian actively agreed with Acorella’s words that she didn’t see him that way. He wasn’t a very impressive person, so Ian rested his chin on his hand and nodded.

‘What about the other departments that haven’t decided on a route?’

‘There are quite a few. The ones who don’t care who becomes the minister, the ones who are busy investigating, and the ones who will decide after checking their magic power in principle!’

When Acorella shouted, banging on the chalkboard, Tommy, who had been sleeping in the staff room, jumped up and rubbed his eyes. But he realized it was nothing again and flopped back down.

Ian scanned the department names and fixed his gaze on the very end.

‘What do you think will happen there?’

The Magic Support Department. Minister Wesley’s direct department, and a department that is currently being ignored by both the Ministry of Magic and the Imperial Palace.

Acorella scratched her philtrum and answered.

‘I think they’ll abstain. They’re not showing their faces at all. They know how to be cautious, that’s what it is.’

Tap, tap, Ian counted the number of wizards belonging to the Magic Support Department and calculated. Other departments were departments, but weren’t those guys the most numerous?

‘Does anyone know the contact information for the leader of the Magic Support Department?’

When Ian asked elegantly after finishing his thoughts, the leaders all raised their hands without realizing it. Then Ian smiled with satisfaction and instructed.

‘Let’s summon them. Now, here.’

‘Summon? Ha, will they come if we summon them?’

At the question of the leader of the Incantation Research Department, Ian answered without hesitation.

‘If they don’t come, it’s only a loss for them. They should know how to calculate that much. Try summoning them. I expect them to arrive within thirty minutes.’