The Rebirth Of The Hero’S Party’S Archmage [EN]: Chapter 46

46.

Of the four adventurers hired as bodyguards, Rain was the lowest ranked. The other three were all Silver-ranked adventurers.

Willis the lancer.

Brieanne the rogue.

Yarnar the mage.

They were all skilled fighters, but I thought they were a notch below Bart and Rem, who were of the same rank.

However, after listening to the adventurers, I learned that the two of them were skilled but lacked contribution points (because they were relatively new).

After introducing themselves, they rode comfortably in the carriage back to , where they met the head of the family’s guard at the inn.

“I am Bardwell, the captain of the guard. I heard that the young lady hired you all on the spot, and since the young lady has a good eye, I have no doubt about your skills.”

“…….”

“To briefly explain the mission, it’s all about escorting the young lady while traveling to , while staying in , and finally while participating in the black market of .”

He was a middle-aged man with a nervous demeanor, but he was actually very kind, contrary to his appearance. Bardwell glanced outside and said.

“Of course, you all know that this is an illegal matter, right?”

“Of course.”

“But it’s better to be prepared. Originally, the Order turned a blind eye to it, but there are rumors that this time might be different.”

It was probably because of the Inquisitorial Order, ‘Children of Gold’. Perhaps the Magic Special Task Force might be snooping around for the same reason.

– Rain Ludwig, a fabrication.

Imagining that sly-eyed man approaching with dark intentions made me feel a little uneasy… but hey, what could possibly go wrong?

“Is there anyone here who wants to buy something at the black market?”

“I do.”

“Rain, is it? You’ll have to buy it with your own money. Of course, if the price is the same as or lower than your reward, we can pay for it instead.”

No need for that.

I brought enough money.

Several minor explanations followed, and when Rain yawned, unable to overcome his drowsiness, Bardwell finished speaking.

“We’ve rented the entire inn, so sleep in whatever room you want. We’ll sleep today and leave right away tomorrow morning.”

“How long will the journey take in total?”

“If everything goes according to plan, we’ll be back here in nine days. Is that all? Then dismissed.”

* * *

The Ludwig family’s mansion, Belle Wynn.

A heavy silence hung over the small banquet hall, which the family used for casual meals.

At the head of the luxurious dining table, Scalzi Ludwig sat unusually, with his son and daughter-in-law sitting to his right, and Seri and Bran to his left.

“Now, read it again.”

The youngest, four-year-old Bran Ludwig, who had been sucking on his fingers, looked at the letter again and began to mumble with his small mouth.

“Rain Ludwig is the top student in the mid-term exam.”

“This time, Seri, read it.”

“Rain Ludwig has been named the top student in the midterm exams.”

Scalzi’s expression, staring at the candlelight with his fingers interlaced, was ominous. But the next moment, the corners of his mouth twitched and laughter leaked out.

“Hehehe.”

“Ahem, ahem.”

“Hehehe.”

Not only Scalzi, but also Caveon, Brim, and Seri began to giggle. Caveon clapped his hands once, and the banquet hall lit up brightly.

All the servants and guards of the mansion were seated at the tables filled with extravagant banquets, and they all began to applaud.

“Congratulations, Master!”

“Congratulations, Lord!”

“Congratulations, Madam!”

This was a congratulatory party.

As soon as he received the news that Rain had become the top student, Scalzi rushed back to Belle Wynn Mansion from Rivarden Magic School. It was his first homecoming in 19 years.

Scalzi, who was enjoying the applause, raised his hand to stop the commotion.

“Rejoice to your heart’s content! Your efforts in diligently assisting Rain to grow up so well are also great.”

Today, not the Ludwig family’s servants, but daily hired workers were busily moving around the hall, preparing food and carrying wine glasses.

When the hall became noisy with the clattering of dishes, Caveon smiled.

“I thought it might be difficult to aim for the top student this time, as Warden’s third daughter and other talented individuals have entered, but I was wrong.”

“Why are you stating the obvious so seriously?”

“Is that so?”

“What I was worried about was that Marchena was the examiner, but fortunately, she didn’t let personal grudges affect the scoring.”

“Is that so? I heard that the two of you were close friends since your school days…….”

Brim, who had never had a proper conversation with her father-in-law, carefully opened her mouth, and then Seri spoke.

“Grandfather, when I go to , I’m going to be the top student there too! Like my brother!”

Seri is currently the top student in the middle school of Rivarden Magic School. Some call her a genius young lady who will follow in Krista’s footsteps.

Of course, as Seri, who learned magic from Rain, she gets angry every time she hears such whispers and tells them to correct it to a genius who follows in her brother’s footsteps, but…….

Scalzi looked at such an excellent granddaughter and laughed heartily.

“Ahahahaha! Of course. You are of my blood, Scalzi. You are a talent who will gloriously add to the family name like Rain!”

And he gave Brim a meaningful smile.

“You have given birth to such wonderful grandchildren; your contribution is the greatest. You are indeed worthy of being the daughter-in-law of the Ludwig family.”

The emotion that welled up hotly in Brim’s heart at that moment was… an emotion that could not be described.

Feeling her eyes getting hot, Brim lowered her head for a moment, and then quietly left her seat.

When she didn’t come back after a long time, Caveon went to look for her and found her wiping her eyes with a handkerchief in the hallway of the mansion, her eyes wet.

“Goodness, why are you crying so much on such a good day?”

“It was the first time.”

“?”

“It’s the first time Father has called me daughter-in-law, today.”

Brim was the daughter of a fallen baronial family with low status and no wealth. There was a gap in status that could not be overcome with Caveon, the heir to a powerful family.

Therefore, Scalzi, who was trying to find a bride from the royal family of the Archduke or the same magical family, had vehemently opposed the marriage with Brim.

But when his son refused to change his mind, he left the mansion with the cold words, “You are not my son”…….

“I always felt sorry. Because of me, you…… became estranged from your father, who was also your teacher.”

“…….”

“If I hadn’t come along, maybe you would be married to someone of high status and getting along well with your father, and…….”

Caveon chuckled and approached Brim, nodding his head.

“Of course, that would have been the case. Princess Sion was so pretty; she might have been my wife by my side now.”

“……!”

“But if that had happened, Rain wouldn’t have been in my life. Seri too, and Bran too. All those children are gifts that you gave to our family. My father has acknowledged that too.”

In the moonlight shining through the arched window, Caveon kissed the back of Brim’s hand. A stifled sob escaped from Brim’s lips.

“Don’t cry over things like this yet. That child’s life is just beginning, isn’t it? He will give us more amazing gifts in the future.”

* * *

The journey to was not difficult. They just had to go southwest along the Sun Road that runs through the southern part of the Empire.

The escorting adventurers moved in pairs at the front and rear of the moving column.

Rain kept hoping to be in the same group as the mage Yarnar… and that time came during the first night watch.

“You want me to teach you sonic magic?”

“Yes, yes! You can’t learn that anywhere else.”

“This is… it might be rude to say this, but you can’t use it if you don’t have musical talent. So it’s a little difficult to teach you…….”

“It’s okay if I can’t use it. I’m just too curious about the principle.”

Rain’s appearance, shining purely and nodding his head wildly, was quite endearing.

His face is also handsome…….

Yarnar shook off the thought of being completely charmed by a pretty boy and answered with a dry cough.

“First of all, my geomungo [Korean zither] has four strings. Each string makes a different sound, and you can select a magic circle with the first string you pluck.”

The first string is water, the second string is fire… and so on, selecting attributes.

“And you create runes with the trembling of your hand, the trembling of the string, and mathematical formulas with the combination of melodies. This is difficult to explain in words…….”

“You’re saying you’re mentally calculating mathematical formulas while playing music? That’s amazing!”

“No. Would all sonic types be Yorgen types [referring to a specific type of musical genius] if that were the case? There is a playing method that creates mathematical formulas.”

Momentarily, Yarnar’s eyes shone seriously, and a round, clear melody echoed in the forest at night.

“This is a linear function. This is a quadratic function, and this is a cubic equation.”

Wow… this is a completely ridiculous method. I don’t understand it even after hearing the explanation.

I had once thought about researching it during Rin’s time, but I gave up right away, and the explanation in the book was extremely difficult.

Okay, let’s give up on the League Wind type [a specific magic type]. I wanted to use it at least once, but I can’t help it because I’m terribly tone-deaf.

“What are you talking about so happily?”

It was then that Hirfien approached.

Perhaps the journey was quite tiring (she chattered next to the adventurers all day without riding in the carriage), she yawned and stretched.

Yarnar stopped playing and answered politely.

“He asked me to tell him about music magic, so I was explaining it a bit.”

“Really? If it’s okay, can you play me a lullaby? I’m so sleepy.”

“I can’t play a lullaby, but… I’ll play a magic that chases away animals and sounds an alarm if there are intruders as quietly as possible.”

Then Willis the lancer whistled.

“Thank you, mage.”

“Music. It’s camping, but I’ll sleep comfortably.”

Brieanne the rogue said, covering her cloak like a blanket.

In everyone’s expectant gaze, Yarnar began to pluck the strings gracefully, feeling a little embarrassed.

‘Ah…….’

Listening to the pleasant melody next to me, Rain felt his heart warming. A new thirst for exploration was tingling in his mind.

‘The world of magic is really big and vast.’

There are still so many magics I don’t know. There are still so many horizons of knowledge that I haven’t been to.

‘The world of knowledge is really never boring… there’s no end to learning.’

* * *

It was a place where only starlight shone eerily through the cracks in the ceiling. Inside, dimly revealed, were evil ancient Albrazm-style statues shedding tears.

Albrazm style refers to the art style that prevailed in the era before the Tersian calendar, when the lords of the abyss ruled the world.

This is the temple of forgotten kings, out of reach of the Three Divine Dragons… and the hideout of the ‘Crows’ that the ‘Children of Gold’ and the Magic Special Task Force are currently chasing.

“So?”

In the addictive ancient myrrh smoke, a strangely fascinating voice echoed.

“There are no problems on the school side. If we wait about half a year, ‘Number 1’ will graduate as the top student. The operation to secure Rin’s body at that time will be perfect.”

At that moment, the flow of magic filled the area twisted and began to rage like a cold wind. As the myrrh smoke cleared, the majesty of the woman sitting in the upper seat was faintly revealed.

“A body?”

Her hair, which once contained the sky’s light blue, was dyed dark blue as it was submerged in the abyss… but her prominent features and figure on her bronze skin were indeed worthy of being called heavenly beauty.

“I’m sorry, Tureina-nim [a respectful title]. Please forgive me.”

The man who had been prostrating realized his slip of the tongue and immediately hit his forehead on the floor. When the woman exhaled cigarette smoke, the suffocating magical rampage subsided.

“So, what about ?”

Only then did the man carefully lift his forehead, from which blood was dripping.

“‘Number 3’ and ‘Number 6’ are on the move.”

“Ribeni is going.”

“Yes. Not only will he secure the item, but his personality will also cause a massacre, so he will definitely divert the attention of the ‘Children of Gold’ and the Special Task Force. All we need is Tureina-nim’s approval.”

In the myrrh smoke, which had become so thick that even the four directions could not be discerned, the woman sucked smoke from an old pipe with a dragon crest engraved in gold.

Ha…….

And whether she was sighing in hesitation, or just exhaling cigarette smoke, she answered in a sigh that only she herself knew.

“Tell them they can do whatever they want.”