Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 946

The silence was heavy.

Ian tried hard to hide the trembling of his fingertips, pulling down his sleeves. The mages, who had been enjoying their beer, had long since sobered up at the sharp, chilling situation.

“Minister Arena, what happened?”

At Ian’s question, she glanced at the bodies of Jack and Langard, then sighed deeply.

“…When they didn’t return on time, we were about to send someone from our side.”

Waiting. It was supposed to be a simple assignment, but as time passed, Arena grew anxious, thinking she had misjudged the situation. It was just as Arena was about to order a duty mage to go through the portal.

“Um, we found the mages’ bodies and brought them up. It was just high enough for a ladder, so the villagers worked together to…”

The mages’ eyes turned toward the voice. Come to think of it, there were unfamiliar people gathered. They had assumed they were outsiders who had come to the Imperial Palace on business, but that wasn’t the case. They were residents of a village near the area where Jack and Langard had been dispatched.

“Jack and Langard entered the Red Forest a week ago, so they started working right away after they went there.”

They must have thought it would be nothing, that even if there were monsters, the two mages would finish it quickly.

No, to be honest, the entire Magic Department thought so. In the past ten years of the monster war, they had already confirmed the overall danger of the monsters, and even if their power was rising again, the two were among the elite. They were mages who had participated in battles around the outskirts of Bariel more than anyone else.

“So?”

Ian asked, looking at the horribly fallen bodies. There were holes in their necks, chests, and abdomens. It was the same kind of wound he had seen in the previous report.

Instead of Arena, the villagers answered Ian’s question.

“Since we knew the date the mages were supposed to return, we just went about our daily lives and waited. We thought the mages would take care of their business and return on their own…”

“But, there was no news until last night. We were supposed to have a drink together at our pub after they finished their work early, so we thought something was wrong and formed a search party with the villagers to enter the Red Forest.”

They carried torches, armed themselves with Dera weapons [a type of local weapon], and even released the village hunting dogs. Thanks to that, they were able to find the two bodies before sunrise, recover them, and transport them to the village.

“…Any suspicious points?”

Arena’s voice cracked. It was a completely dry voice in the silence.

“Just like with the hunter last time, and with these mages, we didn’t find any unusual signs in the Red Forest. The village doctor said that they seem to have been dead for more than three days…”

The two mages had fought a life-or-death battle, but the nearby village had not noticed anything at all.

This meant one of two things.

“It was either an ambush, or the opponent was overwhelmingly strong.”

It was Hale. He recalled his mercenary days and put a cigarette in his mouth. Then, he approached the bodies and scanned them with a somber look.

“Even if it was an ambush, there were two mages. It’s clear that the opponent was not easy.”

“Yeah, that’s right. No matter how much you hit them in the back of the head with an ambush, it’s hard to take down two at the same time. Unless their guard was completely down.”

“What do you mean by that?”

The mages frowned at the incomprehensible words, but Ian muttered softly.

“Could it be ‘humanoid’?”

“That’s right. A young girl, a lost old man, or an injured person who was attacked by the monster they were looking for. If it was someone like that, the two wouldn’t have suspected it.”

A humanoid monster. If this was true, it would be a very tricky problem. The closer a monster is to human form, the more intelligent and stronger it is.

As recorded in the monster war 100 years ago, the former King of Toolun was a prime example of a humanoid monster. They act like humans and perceive like humans, but in the end, they are the source of evil.

“It’s not certain, but it’s good to keep the possibility open. Did you call the Imperial Palace coroner?”

“Yes. He’ll be here soon.”

Arena answered Hale’s question quietly. She seemed to be in considerable shock.

She had not lost a single subordinate in the past ten years of war. When the Imperial Guard lost a magic swordsman, the Magic Department had not lost a single mage, and she had been happy to think of the media’s uproar as a glorious confirmation of their power.

“Ha, damn it.”

But she had lost subordinates. To an unknown monster, at this moment when they were grasping the end of Gaia’s peace, without any warning or notice.

Death was like that, but Arena couldn’t accept it. If she had known that losing subordinates felt like this, glory or whatever…

“I’m going crazy, really.”

“Minister.”

As Arena bit her lip in self-reproach, the mages approached and comforted her. But they were just as heartbroken.

What would they tell Jack and Langard’s families? How would they explain to the citizens of the Empire that such precious children of God had lost their lives so meaninglessly?

“First, make sure this doesn’t leak out.”

Arena rose and gave a low command. In the distance, the Imperial Palace coroner was seen running.

“If rumors spread that a monster powerful enough to take on two mages has appeared, it will cause chaos. We don’t know anything about it yet. Fortunately, the Red Forest doesn’t have a lot of traffic, and it’s on the outskirts of the north, so we’ll conduct an investigation with the help of Astana.”

“Understood.”

“Instead, issue a travel ban near the Red Forest in the north for a different reason to the citizens of the Empire, and that village. What was the name again?”

“Toboro Village.”

“Right. Toboro Village. Evacuate all the residents there to Astana as well. If the village is empty, we’ll use it as a base for our investigation team.”

“Ah…”

The village chief, who seemed to be the leader, couldn’t hide his troubled expression. It was harvest season, and it wouldn’t be easy to evacuate the village right away.

Above all, they had not suffered any damage. The monster might have already moved elsewhere through the Red Forest.

“Do you want compensation?”

The village chief, who had been thinking for a while, raised his head with a glint in his eyes at Arena’s suggestion. But he had no choice but to shake his head with a stiff face.

“No, it’s nothing. We will cooperate with the mages’ investigation as much as possible.”

Arena’s eyes were so cold that they were almost murderous. It felt like she was determined to find out the identity of the monster and crush its head, even if it meant burning down the entire Red Forest.

“We will reopen the portal. You go back first, tell the villagers about this, and prepare. I can’t guarantee exactly when we’ll contact you again.”

“Yes, I understand, I understand.”

“Ian.”

Arena ordered Ian to reopen the portal.

The formula written on the floor was half-erased due to the commotion, but Ian wrote it down again without hesitation. This time, considering that ordinary people would be using it, he made the altitude as close to the ground as possible.

Ziiing. Ziiing.

The villagers were startled by the portal that suddenly appeared behind them and flinched. Then, they bowed to Arena and the mages and carefully put their hands into the portal.

“Then, we’ll be ready.”

“Okay.”

They glanced at Jack and Langard lying down, then disappeared into the portal.

As the outsiders disappeared, the coroner came and examined the mages’ bodies.

“Ah, this is…”

“Move them carefully. And analyze them thoroughly.”

“Understood, Minister.”

“Send the report directly to me, and the aide.”

“Yes.”

The aide was holding a notepad on his arm and writing something diligently. It was a record of the villagers’ statements before the mages arrived after the emergency call.

“I’ll organize it and share it soon.”

While the coroner moved the bodies and the aide ran to the office, Arena stood still in her place, not moving.

The mages looked at the grass where Jack and Langard’s blood had dried and suggested.

“I’ll go this time.”

“Yes, me too.”

“It would be good to form an investigation team of about five people instead of two. And let’s go prepared. Jack and Langard went with too light of a heart.”

They thought it would be nothing, that the monster that killed the hunter would be nothing more than a trivial creature in front of their magic. The victories of the past ten years had given them arrogance and hubris.

“I’ll go and avenge Jack and Langard. That bastard, I don’t know who he is, but I’ll chew him up for both of them-”

“Enough.”

Arena cut him off. Her emotions, which had been pouring out in anger, were now calm. Ian was unconsciously tense at Arena’s gaze, which he had never seen before.

“Did you forget that the Imperial Joint Recruitment period is coming up? To put up a barrier and see if there are any magic swordsmen, it’s better to have a lot of people.”

As she sighed and took out a cigarette, Hale, who was next to her, lit it for her. He seemed to have already noticed what decision Arena had made.

“I’ll go. And limit the number of people going with me to three. I’ll let you know by tomorrow, so be aware of that.”

“You’re going yourself, Minister?”

“Why?”

During the recruitment period, the Magic Department’s work guidelines were to minimize magic consumption. The standard practice was to increase the number of people assigned to a mission to share the magic consumption. But to deploy only three people?

Moreover, considering that the experienced Jack and Langard had been defeated, it was clear that ordinary mages would not be able to catch or track the monster.

‘Rather than sending more people to return as corpses, it’s better for me to go and take care of it.’

The mages were speechless for a long time at Arena’s decision. They wanted to stop her, but they couldn’t think of a reason to do so. They glanced at Ian. It would be nice if the smart Ian would add a word and stop Arena.

“It will be difficult to keep the rumors from spreading if the Minister goes herself.”

That’s right! The Minister’s movements cannot be kept secret. There would be those who would question it, and eventually, the rumors would spread throughout the center! It was a far-fetched but possible assumption.

“It’ll be noisy and chaotic during the Imperial Joint Recruitment period, right? There aren’t enough people who are so free that they’ll care that the Minister of the Magic Department went out on business. At least not here in the Imperial Palace.”

It was a place where thousands of talented people from all over the country, no, all over Gaia, gathered to compete and test their potential. If the number of mages was small, the work wouldn’t get done, so they would look at it with suspicion, but if a small number of people, including the Minister, were absent, it wouldn’t be noticeable.

“And Ian, you’re here.”

“Please don’t say that.”

“I’m not just saying it as a formality.”

If something happened, there was Ian, who could use as much magic as Arena. If Ian and a few other skilled people like Hale were standing firm, there would be no problem with the event.

“I’m going this time.”

Arena had made up her mind, and she declared firmly as if to say not to argue.

“I’ll go, and I’ll take care of it.”