Chapter 93: Capturing the Warlock

I took Merdie, and we teleported to the Kingdom of Vestier.

The teleportation magic circle was located at a difficult place, and it was near the capital. It would be easier to go to all the places in the country of destination that way. I also incorporated a spell that would detect whether there were humans nearby. We teleported after I got the information and confirmed no one was there.

However–

“Bastards, who are you!?”

We heard somebody shout from behind us.

This is bad, so there’s someone here!?

I turned around, and a man with two large horns protruding from both sides of his head and tanned skin stood there watching us.

“…Who?”

“I’m the one asking you! And bastard did you just teleport now!?”

Whoa, he did see us.

What to do? He doesn’t seem to be a person, though…

The magic incorporated in the teleportation detected the characteristic wavelength of people’s mana. Therefore, it could not detect animals and demons.

We teleported, thinking there was nobody around, but we ended up being seen by a non-human something.

He did not attack us, so we can’t ‘seal’ his mouth, right?

Would he listen if we were to ask him to keep this a secret?

He did seem to be roguish, and I think it was luck that he did not immediately attack us, though…

“Hey, are you ignoring me?”

Oops, I was just lost in my thoughts, and he was already offended.

“No, we did not have the intention to –“

“Hmpf, oh well, humans are the only ones who teleport. You saw me… so your life is mine.”

The man suddenly attacked us.

“Ice Lance!”

“!?”

Somehow we were able to stop him.

My magic was on standby, so I was able to cast a spell quickly.

The man’s sharp claws stopped 10 inches away from my eyes. Countless ice spears restrained all his limbs, so he was rendered completely immobile.

“W, what’s this!? Blast it!! Something like this!!”

The man tried to destroy the ice, but it didn’t even flinch.

“W, why!? I’m a warlock, but why can’t I destroy this ice!?”

Heh, so he’s a warlock.

Warlocks have diverse appearances, so it was my first time to see this type.

“Halt, what should we do with this person, meow?”

Merdie asked while hiding behind me.

The self-proclaimed warlock was still struggling, but it seemed he couldn’t destroy my ice spears that were restraining him.

I wanted to ask him why he attacked us, but we had to hurry to Merdie’s father, right? And so –

“Ice Lance!”

I sealed the self-proclaimed warlock in a massive ice pillar. He probably won’t die with something like this. I plan to let him out and interrogate him after Merdie’s business was done.

“Let’s leave this guy here and go to your father, Merdie.”

“G, got it, meow.”

I headed to the capital with Merdie.

---- * * *-----

“Halt, I have something to tell you, meow.”

“Hm? What is it?”

Merdie suddenly said as we approached the gates we had to go through. They were the entrance to the capital of Vestier.

“Truth is, I ran away from home, so I left this country, meow. That’s why, even though you came here with me, I might not be able to enter, meow.”

“Eh, is that so?”

Even if her family summoned her, if she couldn’t enter the capital where they were, then it was meaningless.

Regardless, we decided to try our luck. We might be able to enter just fine. I don’t think that a person won’t be able to return to the capital just because she ran away from home.

---- * * *-----

“Next. State your purpose for coming to the capital. You don’t seem to be merchants.”

The deer beastkin, who were guards at the checkpoint, assessed our clothes and belongings. They then deduced that we were not merchants.

For some reason, Merdie had pulled the hood of her robe low, so it covered her face.

“We came to sightsee,” I answered.

Merdie did not want me to talk about the fact that we went to visit her father because he collapsed.

The red Letter Bird, which was usually used by royalty, came to Merdie, so I thought she might have her own circumstances.

I understood since I also have stuff I don’t want to talk about. I decided to go along with her request without question.

“We apologize, but we cannot receive tourists as of the moment. A problem occurred in the capital.”

The deer beastkin then explained. The merchants were allowed to enter the capital, but the duration of their sojourn was restricted. Tourists, on the other hand, were completely prohibited from entering. Even entry and exit of the beastkin residents were also closely monitored.

“Please, we really need to enter no matter what, meow. I beg you, could you please do something about this, meow?’

“…Are you a beastkin?”

They couldn’t see her face, but they asked after examining her hands and tail.

“Yes, meow.”

“Then, you should know the law of this country. If you are truly determined to pursue your own will when being restricted, then show your strength. We follow the powerful– that’s the law of this country.”

After saying those words, the deer beastkin called out to the guards at the station.

“Apparently, these two wanted to enter no matter what. Let them take the test.”

“Yes. Please follow me.”

A dog beastkin came, and he escorted us somewhere.

Merdie obediently followed them, so I decided to do the same.

---- * * *-----

“Please attack that target with all your might.”

After following the dog beastkin, we arrived at a training facility near the capital’s outer walls.

A severely battered round target that was approximately 1 meter in diameter, and 2 meters tall, stood in the center.

“We had to destroy that?”

“Indeed. However, please refrain from using magic. Those will know whether you used magic or not.”

We looked in the direction the dog beastkin was pointing at. Huge crystal balls were placed in several areas, so it looked like we were being surrounded.

Apparently, we really had to destroy the target without using magic.

I’m a Sage, though…

Not only that, my status was fixed, so even my physical strength and offense ability were fixed at 10 points.

Hmmm... If I did not cast a spell and directly use magical power to move my body, would that count? I tried it once, back at Alheim. When I punched Amon, I used magical power to strengthen my body.

‘...’

The crystal balls surrounding us did not react.

Just for the sake of it, I also tried to cast magic.

“Fire Lance.”

I conjured a fire spear on my palm, and the crystal balls glowed red.

“W, what are you doing!? I just told you that magic is prohibited!!”

The dog beastkin panicked and tried to stop me.

“Ah, I apologize. I just wanted to see what would happen if I used magic.”

...So that’s how it was.

There would be no response if I used magical power to move, but the crystal balls would react if I cast a spell.

“Jeez… Anyway, I’ll reset the crystal balls. If you use magic one more time, I’ll fail you.”

“I understand. Thank you very much.”

I strengthened my body using magical power and strode towards the target.