Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 916

The sun began to set. As the wind grew colder, torches and bonfires were lit throughout the Imperial Army camp. There were also more soldiers on guard duty here and there.

“The security is tight. It’s like they’re doing it on purpose, to show us.”

Hale and Ian agreed with Ako’s mutterings. They had just been assigned temporary quarters and were waiting inside the tent. Sitting quietly like this, they could see, hear, and feel quite a lot.

The night that followed was too quiet. It was hard to believe that they had fierce enemies so close. Ako, who was peeking out through a gap in the tent, whispered.

“They’ve lit fires over there too.”

It wasn’t particularly unusual. Normally, the rule was to minimize lights for concealment, but the north was an inherently cold region. Especially now, with winter approaching, even the tribesmen who were born and raised in the north couldn’t withstand the cold night wind with bare skin.

*Swoosh.*

Ako rummaged through her bag and took out a few glass bottles filled with potions. Hale stared at them, then waved his hand.

“…I’m good.”

“Oh, why! The ones I made are really useful, you know?”

“Isn’t it more that they’re famous, not useful?”

In many ways. Hale muttered, and Ako got angry.

“Just take them when I give them to you. Do you know how much these cost, you jerk!”

Hale kept avoiding her gaze even as she grabbed his collar and shook him back and forth. Ian, who was carefully putting lukewarm stew on a plate, cautiously added.

“Professor Hale, I recommend you take them if you have room in your pockets. I’ve been helped by them before.”

When even Ian chimed in, Hale reluctantly put a few potions in his inner pocket. Ako gnashed her teeth at the sight of him not even checking what they were. Should she just take them back?

“What about your meal?”

“I’ll eat after I go. It’s easier to move when my body is light.”

“Hmph, like anyone’s going to leave any for you?”

Ako crossed her arms and snorted, while Ian gently grabbed Hale’s arm. It was a way of saying, ‘Be safe, don’t get hurt, and return safely.’

Hale just chuckled and disappeared into the darkness outside the tent.

*Swoosh!*

Walking straight ahead would get him discovered by both the enemies and the Imperial Army. Although he was essentially going to cause a commotion, there was also information to be gained by taking advantage of secrecy. Hale hid himself in the bushes and cast a spell.

「Invisibility」.

*Zzzing! Sparkle!*

A soldier who spotted something golden sparkling in the bushes rubbed his eyes. What was that? Did he see it wrong? But he couldn’t find anything, so he quickly lost interest. It was a relief. Hale sprinted along the edge of the palisade as fast as he could.

‘It’s translucent and doesn’t last long.’

The invisibility magic Hale could use had clear limitations. There were potions among those Ako had given him that could help with this, but he still didn’t even think about touching them. He’d heard that if you carelessly consumed them, you’d get addicted and become a minion of that crazy Ako. Then, was Ian okay?

‘…….’

Hale shook off his distracting thoughts and focused on his mission again.

*Whoosh!*

The moonlit field. The grass parted left and right, tracing Hale’s path. No one noticed. Only the animals tied to stakes, grazing on the grass, sensed the presence and perked up their ears.

Hale quickly crossed over to the Astana camp and paused at the atmosphere, which was quite different from the Bariel side.

‘They’re a tribe that mainly uses necromancy, huh.’

The stench of corpses permeated the air. It was clear that there was a mix of humans and non-humans.

‘This is going to be a pain.’

He had only encountered a necromancer once while working as a mercenary, and they were not easy to deal with. As the battle progressed and corpses piled up, the opponent’s power would continue to increase.

“Oh, an arm fell off.”

“Try to attach it properly. Come here, I’ll sew it on for you.”

“Haaahm. I’m hungry.”

“Oh my, you’re having it easy.”

Those who had been turned into corpses and those who hadn’t were freely moving around, reorganizing the camp.

Hale felt the invisibility magic on his body slowly fading and quickly looked around. He didn’t have much time. Which one was the king’s tent?

-*Ggrrrroooaaak.*

At that moment, a strange sound came from above. Unlike Hale, who was looking up, the soldiers were slowly passing by with things in their hands, saying it was time.

‘That’s…….’

-*Gguueeeeeeak!*

*Whoosh!*

A monster made by piecing together the corpses of magical beasts. It was a creation called ‘Astana’s masterpiece.’ It was essentially for intimidation rather than killing, but seeing it in front of him was quite imposing.

Hale, who was instantly covered in sticky, hot liquid, squeezed his eyes shut and held his breath. The soldiers who were about to roughly clean up the spilled filth tilted their heads when they discovered a human figure.

“What, what did that thing spit out?”

“Hey, you there? Who are you?”

“Haa…….”

Hale roughly wiped his face with his hand and let out a deep sigh. He was definitely going to have to get double pay for this. Hale’s golden eyes flashed as he revealed his presence to the soldiers.

“…This, you guys touched it first, right?”

“What? What did you say? No, wait a minute! Isn’t that a mage?”

“It’s a mage! A mage has invaded!”

The Astana people who saw Hale’s golden eyes panicked and shouted. …This wasn’t what he meant by using his body, damn it. He could almost hear Ako’s cackling laughter from here.

“What? A mage?”

“Beat the, beat the drum-!”

“No!! Everyone stay still!”

Amidst the flustered soldiers, a man in fine clothes suddenly appeared. His expression was strange. It was as if he had been waiting for something, as if he was afraid, and as if he was dumbfounded by Hale’s appearance.

“Ah, um, excuse me, mage?”

“…Are you the king of Astana?”

“No, I am Parkuku, the representative of Astana. But why, why are you here? How on earth did you…….”

The representative looked back and forth between Hale, who was covered in monster filth, and quickly tried to figure out the situation. So, right now-

“I came to blow up your camp.”

“Yes?! No, wait a minute!”

“I can assume this is an attack, right? I feel like I’m going to die from the stench.”

He had only intended to cause a small commotion, but now that it had come to this, he would have to blow everything up and burn it to the ground. Hale tried to light a cigarette, but then realized it was also soaked in filth, and he gritted his teeth. …He would grind them to dust without a trace.

“Wait a minute!”

The representative raised both hands and kept trying to calm Hale down. When you think about it, he was the one who had sneaked in, so who was he to say who had attacked first? The words of protest almost came out of the representative’s throat, but thankfully, reason kicked in first.

“Are you a mage from the Bariel side?”

“I’m not affiliated with the Magic Department.”

The answer that he was ‘not’ affiliated with the Magic Department had many implications. The representative gestured for the soldiers who were aiming their spears at him to step back.

“Then, are you the one who came with the Magic Department earlier today?”

“That’s right.”

“Oh my god! Oh, heavens!”

The representative raised both hands to the sky and shouted. Hale just frowned, shaking off the filth that kept dripping down. The soldiers also couldn’t understand why the representative was acting like this.

The representative, overwhelmed with emotion, tried to hug Hale, but he couldn’t get close because of the filth, so he just gave a polite smile instead.

“I’ve been wanting to meet you. Really!”

“Do we know each other?”

“No, not really. It’s a long story. If you don’t mind, would you like to go to the barracks, or rather, would you like to wash up and change your clothes first?”

Hale stood still, wondering what these guys were up to. What would change if he took off all his clothes? He tilted his head a few times as if annoyed by the constant stench, and then agreed. Fine. Since he had come to use his body, he might as well go all in.

“Where do I go?”

“This way! This way! Hey, what are you all doing? Lower your weapons and escort the mage. And dim the torches! We absolutely can’t let the other tribes know!”

“Yes, yes! Understood.”

“Clean up here, and hurry. Okay.”

Since they were tribes that lived with nature and against nature, they had the ability to quickly notice even small changes. The appearance of a mage had caused a small commotion, so some of them might have already noticed. Of course, they didn’t know about the mage yet, but it was only a matter of time.

“Mage, here are some clothes-”

“It’s Hale.”

“Yes, yes, oh my, what a nice name. The thing you just saw is a creature that eats and disposes of various waste products from here. It’s a bit disgusting at first, but it all gets absorbed into the ground in a day or two.”

So, it was an eco-friendly waste disposal unit. Hale handed the clothes with Ako’s potion to the servant as they were, and wiped off the filth with the water they brought.

*Whoosh!*

“Um- I’m a bit in a hurry, so would you mind listening while you wipe?”

“It’s fine by me. I don’t have much time either.”

“Could we possibly arrange a meeting with the mages of the Imperial Palace? Without Lord Crony of the Imperial Defense Department knowing.”

“Why?”

“That…….”

The representative hesitated. It seemed like he was connected to the Magic Department, but he didn’t know exactly what his purpose was. While Hale was shaking his head, the representative cautiously continued.

“His Majesty Hasha, the King of Astana, has a desired course of war. We would like to discuss this, but we already know the Imperial Defense Department’s intentions, and now we would like to know the Magic Department’s intentions.”

“Is the king here too?”

“No. But I can connect you.”

Hale thought for a moment. If they wanted to contact him secretly from Crony, it meant they might have a different opinion from him. If it was the opposite of Crony, it might be in the same direction as the Magic Department. He wiped the water off with a towel and answered.

“Okay. I’ll bring the kids.”

* * *

“Pfft.”

Hale, Ako, and Ian were sitting around inside the representative’s tent in the Astana camp. In the solemn and quiet atmosphere, Ako’s laughter leaked out. Everyone glanced at her, and Ako covered her mouth and apologized.

“Ah, sorry. But, pfft.”

“Ako.”

“Hahahaha!”

In the end, Ako couldn’t hold back and burst into laughter, clutching her stomach. Seriously, Hale, that guy, he was a surprisingly funny guy. He had gone on about how being a mercenary was all about using his body, and then he came back smelling like filth, wearing Astana clothes.

“If Crony sees you like that, you’re done for. Hahahaha!”

“…Can you stop laughing?”

“Ahahaha! You rascal. You should go to Director Arena and ask for more money. Not just hazard pay, but consolation pay. Ah. It’s not easy to have talent in this area.”

“Ahem. Ahem.”

The Astana representative cleared his throat, signaling for them to pay attention to him. Ako wiped her eyes and turned to him.

“Ah, right. Right. You wanted to meet the Magic Department?”

“Yes, it’s an honor to meet you like this. Thank you for agreeing to meet. I am Parkuku, the representative of Astana.”

“I’m Ako.”

“I am Ian Hadel.”

After they introduced themselves, a brief silence fell again. The Astana representative was wondering how to bring up the matter of Crony’s actions, and the three were trying to gauge what he was going to say.

Hale was the first to speak.

“I saw the messengers from each tribe coming this way during the day.”

“Ah, the tribal chiefs were all gathered here at that time.”

“Why?”

“…To strengthen their resolve for the Northern Alliance.”

He couldn’t easily bring up the topic of Idgal [a magical energy source] to Crony. Idgal was a sensitive issue for mages.

“If it’s okay with you, I think it would be better to meet His Majesty first and talk. In fact, all decision-making power lies with His Majesty.”

He would be able to skillfully grasp the current situation and easily open up the conversation. When no one readily answered, the representative closed his eyes as if saying, ‘Oh well!’ and reached out towards the brazier.

*Whoosh!*

The fire in the brazier instantly turned green, and Ian’s eyes widened as well.

*Swoosh.*

As the green light intensified, Ian’s eyes, which had been watching it, also turned green. Bright and warm like the sparkle of fresh leaves. As if they had always been green.

[…I sense a golden light.]

“Ah.”

The flames surged towards Ian and enveloped him. Since there was no sense of malice or threat, Ako and Hale just watched.

[Ian-]

“It’s Hadel.”

Does he know me? Well, the whole empire was buzzing about the noble mage, so it was possible that his name was known in Astana as well.

The king spoke in a voice layered with the passage of time.

[…I see. So, you are Ian Hadel.]

There was a hint of longing in his voice. The king called the child’s name with great affection.

[Dear Ian. I feel you, and you are looking at me, so this is the day we have been hoping and longing for.]