Chapter 109 The Wrath of a King-Level Mage

We learned from the coachman that we were in "Rostan," which seemed to be two towns away from the capital.

They were brought to such a place in just one day. If the man hadn't been careless, he might not have been able to escape.

Furthermore, we would have to change carriages when we arrived at the next town. It seemed that the capital was not within the coachman's scope of work. Although they promised to find us a transfer carriage after we arrived at the next town, I still felt like we were going to be ripped off.

Because there were two children, they probably thought we couldn't do math and wouldn't know how to bargain, so they deliberately caused trouble after we arrived at our destination.

~~~

Overall, the journey to the neighboring town went relatively smoothly.

Just as I expected, the coachman jumped off the carriage and hurriedly drove away, saying he was looking for a replacement carriage for us. But he was just taking the money to get to the capital and only going halfway.

"Damn it!"

If this were me in Buryny, I probably would have chased after the coachman and given him a good beating, but I'm not in the mood for that right now.

Besides, it's only two hundred magic crystals, which is nothing to me. There's no need to delay my trip over such a small matter. I can just put all the blame on the girl.

The neighboring town wasn't very big either; after walking for a few minutes, you'd see a place to rent horse-drawn carriages.

"Damn brat! Where did he run off to?"

At that moment, a loud shout interrupted my thoughts. When I looked in the direction of the sound, I found that it was the man who had been chasing me in the forest. He had actually gotten ahead of me and arrived in the neighboring town.

"Quick, hide!"

I reacted immediately and pulled the girl into a nearby alley.

Although there was only one man, because he was carrying magical artifacts, I, who cannot use magic, might not necessarily be his match.

Peeking out slightly to observe the man, I noticed he was talking to a stable boy from the neighboring town.

"Damn it! Isn't it here? Where did it go?!"

From his rough voice, I could tell he was trying to find out our whereabouts, but clearly he hadn't gotten the information he wanted.

"call……"

I was somewhat relieved that I arrived here after him. If he had known that we were traveling to the capital in a carriage, he might have caught up with us.

Without that magical tool, dealing with him would have been a piece of cake, but he just happened to have my weakness firmly in his grasp.

Not long after, I watched the man mount his horse and ride away, his voice fading into the distance, and only then did I feel relieved.

However, we can't be careless, as those guys are very likely to linger in the same place several times.

The reason they were yelling was probably to make us hear them, so that they would come out on their own after they left. If they turned around at that moment, it would be exactly what they wanted.

"...Are you...alright?"

Although the girl was hiding behind me, she was still covering her mouth with her hand and trembling.

It seems that being severely beaten by a man and having two ribs broken has become a psychological trauma for her. She trembles with fear whenever she hears a man's voice.

"It's alright, they've already left!"

However, considering that the horsemen here are also like male companions, I decided to stay here for the night and set off again tomorrow morning, just to be on the safe side.

It wasn't just to get a good rest; more importantly, there were more carriages traveling in the morning, so they wouldn't be intercepted.

Again, just to be on the safe side, I didn't go to a hotel or other place to stay, but instead chose a place that was no different from an abandoned house as my lodging.

The main reason was to let this so-called young lady experience how harsh the world is. Born into an aristocratic circle, she probably would never have the opportunity to come into contact with this kind of world in her entire life.

Although at first they might find it hard to believe, staring at me with wide eyes and open mouths.

However, once I moved out, I realized that the hotel owner was likely an accomplice. As long as I could fall asleep peacefully on the soft bed and wake up to the familiar dirty warehouse, I finally settled down.

But to my surprise, it seems that my joke went a bit too far.

The girl didn't sleep a wink all night.

At the slightest sound or movement, she would sit up in fright, staring fearfully at the doorway, terrified that something might suddenly appear and snatch her away.

After confirming that nothing had happened after a while, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. In short, he kept repeating this behavior.

The next morning, I went to the rental point to inquire about the situation. After paying a large sum of hush money and travel expenses, someone finally agreed to give us a ride.

Looking at the girl's bloodshot eyes, I felt truly sorry, but I couldn't expose my lie, so I could only look at her helplessly.

Throughout the journey, she would hold onto my clothes tightly and stare intently at the back of the carriage, showing no signs of wanting to sleep despite not having slept all night.

"well……"

Although she was a girl I didn't know, after spending two days with her, my opinion of her wasn't too bad.

An absolute brainless idiot.

That's my assessment of her. As for his self-righteous attitude, although it annoyed me, I ultimately have to blame her parents.

She became like this mostly because she learned it from her parents. After all, children have a very strong ability to imitate and can imitate adults' behavior, especially bad habits.

Several times along the way, they were chased by a lone figure on horseback, but he was not an accomplice of the kidnapper.

If he were to actually appear, the magic wouldn't be so stable.

But the girl still shrank back in fear, then gripped my arm tightly, glancing at the group of people out of the corner of her eye.

Before I knew it, my mood had lightened. After all, I was already on my way back to the capital, and even if the man came after me, it would probably be too late.

Until the carriage enters the capital, after a brief stop, a familiar figure will lift the curtain and peer inside.

The girl was hiding in my arms in fear, but I knew perfectly well that it wasn't a kidnapper, but a guard on duty.

Considering that I had been ambushed by the captain of the guard, which led to my capture, I was also nervously watching the guard.

Fortunately, he didn't recognize me. After a quick check, he told the coachman to let me pass.

Only then did a strong sense of relief well up in my heart.

After entering the capital, the carriage stopped at the stables of the Star Moon Inn. This was the destination I had told the coachman. For this, the coachman actually extorted a lot of magic crystals from me again.

Upon arriving here, I instinctively felt safe.

Stepping off the carriage, I felt much more relaxed. All I had to do was escort the young lady back to the mansion on foot and then ask for the appropriate reward; that would complete my mission.

"Hey! Miss? Where do you live?"

Perhaps because I had been swaying in the carriage for several hours, and also because I had slept in a dilapidated house last night, I felt quite tired.

It was as if they had caught that fleeting moment of vulnerability.

The girl was suddenly dragged into an alley.

"This is bad!"

It was only then that I suddenly remembered that the starting point of my pursuit was the Star Moon Hotel, where I had stayed for a long time!

"Damn it!"

I had completely forgotten something so important. Watching the girl being dragged into the alley and disappear around the corner, I hurriedly chased after her.

As I entered the alley, I was shocked to find two people carrying the girl and heading deeper into the alley, without the accomplice carrying the magical artifact.

"First Layer: Rashomon"

Realizing this, I quickly gathered my magic power, and a tall earthen wall rose up in front of them, blocking their path.

"Damn it! Slough isn't here! That brat's magic is a real pain!"

"Waaaaahh ...

The girl's mouth was stuffed with a rough cloth, and her eyes were filled with tears of panic.

Furthermore, he must have been slapped, as his entire face became red and swollen.

"Kid! I was planning to deal with the girl first and then get back at you, but you just had to come and deliver yourself to my doorstep! Do you want to live too long?"

Of the two men, the one who spoke was the man who had attacked me at the hotel.

They didn't seem surprised that I knew magic; instead, they approached me with a malicious smile.

It seems that someone did indeed hire the man to deal with him, but who could it be?

Thinking back to the guard captain's sneak attack, a clear image suddenly appeared in my mind.

—Your Highness the Seventh Prince!

I really can't think of anyone else but him.

The ability to control the captain of the guards and entrust such a man as the mastermind behind it all does indeed seem very much like the Seventh Prince's style.

Is it because I saved the Sixth Prince that he harbors resentment and wants to get rid of me?

Even though I know King-level magic, I prepared magical tools in advance. It seems that I am their primary target.

They probably didn't expect that I, who can't use magic, could escape, so were they underestimated?

However, he hadn't shown any magic from beginning to end, so now it was time for these people to pay the price.

So.

"Let you taste the wrath of a King-level mage!"