Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 924

“Excuse me?”

An external employee greeted the unusually quiet Magic Department door. But there was no response.

‘Why is it so quiet?’

It’s always the loudest place, despite having the fewest personnel among all departments. But today, it was strangely silent. There were no mages lounging in the lobby, and even the staff walking through the corridors seemed tense and rigid.

The employee made another sound.

Knock knock.

“Is anyone there? I have an urgent document that needs approval—Ack!”

As the door opened, sharp gazes from the mages poured out like needles. Each one looked exceptionally on edge, and there was a palpable tension in the air.

The mages glanced away and buried their noses in their bookshelves.

“We’re not accepting anything.”

“But, I’m from the administration department.”

“Come back later. We’re busy today.”

“You’re all just sitting at your desks…”

They weren’t even doing anything. They were just anxiously biting their lips, constantly checking the pocket watches hanging at their desks.

Is this another one of the Magic Department’s quirks? The employee stood there, unsure of what to do, holding the documents. The office was surprisingly quiet. The only sounds were the occasional ‘tsk’ or the vibration of someone shaking their leg.

Ticking, ticking.

“5.”

5? Why, why are they like that? Why are they suddenly counting down?

“4, 3, 2, 1…”

It was noon. But as far as the employee knew, the Magic Department’s lunch break was from two o’clock?

The moment the clock hands overlapped, the mages jumped up, and at the same time-

“Assemble!”

Arena’s booming command echoed as she burst out of the Minister’s office.

The mages, as if they had been waiting for it, jumped up and rushed out, pushing the employee aside. He spun around, trying to hold onto the pile of documents.

“Let’s go!”

“Yeah, let’s go!”

“Grab your weapons!”

“Weapons? Do we even have any?”

“If not, so be it!”

The external employee, puzzled, followed them to get the documents approved. It was like a group of back-alley thugs rushing into a determined battle.

Soon, they arrived at the Magic Department’s garden. Arena, in her uniform, stood with her arms crossed, a cigarette in her mouth.

“Excuse me…”

The employee approached her hesitantly. Since the mages wouldn’t approve the documents, he thought he might try to talk to the Minister.

At this, the aide smiled and blocked his path. Then, he made a gesture of slitting his throat with his hand. As if to say that touching her now would bring trouble.

“Eek!”

“Give me the documents. I’ll process them and send them over.”

“B-but, it’s urgent.”

“I’ll process them as quickly as possible.”

The aide turned away, indicating that was all he could respond with.

Meanwhile, the mages seemed to pay no attention to the employee. They were checking the magic circles drawn on the lawn, exchanging hand signals.

“No issues here.”

“Here too!”

“All clear!”

When everyone shouted that they were ready, Arena lit her cigarette.

“Proceed.”

As soon as her command fell, the mages released their magic power.

Zzzzzzz.

The moment when individuals with unique magical signatures were connected into a single golden stream was always awe-inspiring. The employee, despite having finished his business, watched the mages’ actions as if he were hypnotized.

Then, soon-

Whoosh!

A portal opened in the air.

But no one entered. They just looked up at the other side of the portal. They were waiting for someone to come out of the portal. Arena also waited silently for time to pass.

Flick- Thud.

The cigarette ash fell. The cigarette burned slowly but steadily. When it was burned down to the filter, Arena threw it away in annoyance and walked down the stairs.

“Hey. Everyone, move out.”

“Yes, understood!”

“Ugh, damn it. Why aren’t they coming!”

At Arena’s command, the mages who had been waiting eagerly flew into the portal one by one.

The employee’s eyes widened as if they would pop out. He grabbed the aide’s sleeve and stammered.

“W-where are they all going? Are you leaving the Imperial Palace?”

“Yes, it’s an external assignment.”

“Even the Minister?”

Arena, hearing the employee’s muttering, glanced back and shouted at the aide.

“Keep things safe!”

“Yes, of course.”

Clack.

The aide saluted, and Arena lightly flew up and disappeared into the portal. At the same time, the portal quickly closed. The employee was so surprised that his mouth hung open.

“W-w-what about the Imperial Palace!”

“We’ve already submitted the external assignment forms.”

“No, that’s not the point-”

“Well, they’ll be back in two hours, so why don’t you go have lunch? Isn’t it almost lunchtime for the administration department?”

“That’s right, it is.”

“If it’s right, then that’s that. Let’s go.”

The aide smiled as he pushed the employee’s back.

Leaving only the minimum number of people to maintain the barrier, all the mages left for the north. Bringing Ian back was the first goal, and bringing back the guardian consent form was the second. For some reason, no one seemed worried about Ako and Hale, but well, that wasn’t important.

‘Whatever happened to Ian, he’ll be back in two hours.’

It was essentially an outing using their lunch break. In fact, lunch break had no meaning to them, but anyway.

Squeak.

The aide sent the employee out and then firmly locked the Magic Department door.

-Lunch break changed! Come back later!

…with a sign posted.

* * *

Inside the portal, the mages rushed towards the light ahead. As their robes fluttered, one of them asked.

“Minister, what if something happened to Ian?”

Arena kept silent. Even though the promised day and time to return had arrived, there was no response. Something must have happened, but the Magic Department’s response would depend on what it was.

When Arena remained silent, the mages behind her shouted as if to cheer themselves up.

“What do you mean what if! We’ll destroy them all! We’ll kill the bastards who touched our youngest!”

“Officially, Ako is the youngest.”

“You’re ruining the mood.”

“I’m running, though.”

“You wanna go, you punk!”

“Everyone, shut up!”

She was already having a headache, and now she had to listen to these stupid mages’ banter. Arena glared at them with contempt and shouted, and the two mages who had been bickering punched each other’s shoulders as they ran.

“We’re here!”

“Get ready!”

Whoosh!

The light grew larger. The first thing they felt was the cold touch of the northern air. The wind that cooled their lungs enveloped them.

Swoosh!

“Land… !”

Arena, who was about to shout ‘land,’ stopped. The mages, who were about to land coolly to seize the initiative, were also puzzled and widened their eyes.

“Huh!”

“M-mages?”

They had clearly set the coordinates to the Bael camp, but it was surprisingly empty. Only a small unit of about a hundred soldiers was guarding the empty camp, but there were no signs of battle.

“What is this?”

Arena looked around. The desolate northern land. There were no enemies except for the camp with the Astana flag. Only the countless frames of the military tents that seemed to have been withdrawn remained.

Arena looked back at the Bael soldiers who were trembling as they looked at them. She didn’t know if it was because of the cold or because they were afraid of the mages.

“What happened? Where’s Ian?”

“Are you talking about that young mage, Ian?”

“Yes. Where did Cronie go? No, more importantly, why is the situation like this? Aren’t we in the middle of a war?”

“Ah, well, that is…”

The soldiers stammered as they explained the situation. The other tribes except for Astana had retreated from the battlefield and gone north, and the Bael main force that was chasing them…

“Faced the Undergod?”

“Yes, and that’s why Commander Cronie died. We were assigned to stay here and watch Astana without crossing the border.”

“This, this is…”

She was speechless. What had happened in that one week? Cronie died? And what was the situation with the Undergod? And Ian?

“Then where is everyone now?”

“They’re probably at the magic stone deposit where the Undergod appeared. I don’t know the details, but it’s complicated, so they can’t leave that place easily.”

“Guide us.”

“Ah, yes, yes. I’ll go get the horses-”

As the soldier was about to run towards the horses, Arena grabbed his arm.

“Aaaaaah-”

The soldier, who was suddenly lifted into the sky like an eagle snatching a rabbit, screamed, half-fainted.

The mages wouldn’t know. The reason they were trembling was not because of the cold, but because of fear. The rumors of their brutal behavior had already spread throughout the Imperial Palace.

“Where to?”

“That way! That way!”

“…You’re speaking informally?”

“I am! I am!”

Arena shook him lightly in the air, and the soldier finally fainted. ‘What do I do now?’ she thought, but fortunately, she saw smoke rising in the distance.

Soon, a hill covered in gold came into view, and she could see the Bael army and the northern tribes strangely mixed together.

“Minister! Th-that!”

“Is that Idgal [a type of hardened magical construct]? Oh my god!”

The mages were shocked, their mouths agape as if they had discovered an ancient treasure.

At the same time, they felt fear. According to Ako’s message, there was a rift below. Then, they suddenly worried that their magic might be neutralized.

“Follow me.”

But Arena descended without hesitation. At this, the Bael soldiers, who noticed the mages’ appearance, pointed to the sky and shouted, and the northern tribes also looked surprised and confused.

Thud!

Arena landed lightly, her robe fluttering. The mages followed suit.

“M-mages?!”

“Hey, where’s Ian?”

And why are they mixed with the enemy minority tribes? There were a mountain of questions, but Ian’s safety was the priority.

Cronie’s subordinate, who had come running after hearing the commotion, recognized Arena and greeted her.

“Are you the Minister of the Magic Department?”

“Yes. I heard Cronie died?”

“…That’s right. It’s a long and complicated story. It’s also related to the Magic Department.”

“Related to the Magic Department?”

Arena raised an eyebrow and frowned.

At that moment, Ako waved his bandaged hand from afar. Both of his hands were broken, and his arms were splinted up to his elbows.

“What’s that?”

“What do you mean what? It’s the genius mage Ako. Did you come because there was no portal response? Good. Is there a healing mage?”

Why does he look like that? The mages were suddenly filled with anxiety. If Ako was in that state, something must have happened. Arena was about to shout for Ian again when-

“Minister?”

Ian, looking disheveled, appeared from among the people. He hadn’t been able to wash properly, his clothes were a mess, and his skin was covered in scratches.

Arena was speechless and wanted to kill her past self.

‘…You idiot! Sending a child was a mistake after all.’

What kind of wealth and glory was she trying to achieve by sending a five-year-old child… Damn it! She would have found a way to twist Cronie’s neck later anyway!

As Arena lowered her head, covering her face, Ian quietly ran over and gathered the mages.

“Minister.”

And the Magic Department seniors. I missed you all so much. He didn’t say it out loud, but the child’s teary eyes seemed to say that he had been having a hard time. Ian ran straight to Arena, and Arena reflexively hugged him tightly.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t return on time.”

“…No, that’s okay.”

Arena picked up the child and made eye contact with each of the Imperial Defense Force people.

“Since the guardian is here, shall we talk? Why are our kids in this state?”