The Returned Sword King Decided to Become a Tyrant Chapter 96
The Unsolved Mystery (5)
A silver staff that stands proudly. The tip of the staff is blunt like a mace.
And Shin Sung-cheol is briefly revealed in between.
A treasure that has been passed down through generations since ancient times. It was the Hall of Glory.
… … The Pope’s staff, I guess he left it with the saint.
But that wasn’t what was important now.
“How long will it take?”
“I think it will take about an hour.”
“okay.”
I nodded slightly at that sight.
I don’t know what she thought, but an hour was a very short moment compared to the effort and time it took to discover the cause of the epidemic before returning.
* * *
Esteban’s knights, upon hearing the explanation, were beyond surprised, they could not help but be bewildered.
Given that situation, it would have been natural for him to stutter.
“Well, there really were signs of an epidemic.”
It was truly true that I had been half-believing and half-doubting while following orders… … .
Of course, who would immediately accept that an infectious disease would suddenly break out in some unheard-of village?
But, just as the First Prince said… … No, something even more surprising was happening here.
“Black magic… … .”
The knights’ respectful gaze turned to me once again.
I looked at George and asked, lightly brushing aside those looks.
“Did you find anything suspicious?”
“Well, I don’t know if this is correct, but it’s something like this.”
The guy shrugged and handed me something held between his index finger and thumb.
I nodded, watching what the guy quietly handed me.
“… … You came to the right place.”
A brown parchment torn like cloth, with geometric magic patterns drawn on it.
It didn’t matter what the magic circle was, because I could clearly see the dark energy flowing out from within it.
It was definitely the power of black magic.
The guy shook his hands as if he had touched something dirty.
“I don’t know if I’ll dig deeper, but I’ve only found one so far.”
“I see. Let’s continue the search.”
I gave these instructions and put the parchment back in my bosom.
But then, Paladin Roland, who had been following George, spoke to me.
“Why is His Highness the First Prince of Esteban taking care of that?”
“what?”
“It could be an object of black magic. If so, shouldn’t it be kept safely under the custody of the Holy Kingdom?”
“Oh, really?”
I let out an exclamation as if I had heard something interesting. Then I asked with a sneer.
“How cheeky. Are you trying to take it by force instead of recommending it?”
“It’s not coercive. It’s right for the Holy Nation to take care of matters related to black magic. As a knight, I just follow the doctrine.”
“Interesting view.”
“If Your Majesty wishes to continue his relationship with the Holy Nation in the future, please yield to him.”
“Well, that’s true.”
I shrugged and handed it over obediently. Then Paladin Roland, who had received it, turned around and disappeared somewhere.
George, who was naturally watching this scene, glared at me and asked me.
“Have you been hit in the head somewhere? Why are you handing over what you worked so hard to get?”
“It was something I didn’t mind handing over.”
It wasn’t something that could be used for tracking, and there was no need to study black magic, so it wasn’t wrong to say that it didn’t matter.
But George wasn’t the type to take those words at face value.
“… … You must have some hidden agenda. If you were going to give in to such a coercive attitude in the first place, you would have given in. You’re not the type of person to just hand it over just because it’s useless, are you?”
“Think whatever you want.”
“… … .”
I smiled vaguely and answered roughly.
George also didn’t seem to want to ask any more questions.
After the guy left, the village chief who had been waiting approached and asked cautiously.
“I… … Did you by any chance convey the Prince’s message?”
“okay.”
“Wow… …! Wow, it’s an honor.”
Even in this deaf mountain village, rumors that spread throughout the country were bound to be heard.
These achievements included raiding the lands of barbarians and rescuing dwarves.
The village chief must have heard something like that too, as he quickly erased his fear and began to look at me with awe.
Of course, it may also be because they realized that I had not come to harm them.
I looked at the village chief and said.
“East and south of the village. I can sense the aura of dark magic in those two directions. Are there any places where rats might appear there?”
“Oh, maybe so. I have a guess.”
“To guide you.”
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Of course, the familiar controlled by these guys wasn’t just one.
So while the saint was tracking down the dark magic aura, I also planned to finish off the remaining familiars.
To block the eyes and ears of those who had gradually noticed.
“Move quickly.”
One hour. I’ll have everything ready before then.
* * *
Mercenaries standing up and pouring drinks. Their colleagues laughing while watching them.
The atmosphere of the bar where the mercenaries gathered was extremely noisy, and the noise was so loud that it hurt my ears.
But even in such an atmosphere, there was a man and a woman who continued to eat quietly. And surprisingly, no one around them found their appearance strange.
As if to say that no one was there, they continued eating calmly, out of the awareness of the other mercenaries.
“… … .”
As the man continued eating, he suddenly felt something snap in his mind.
At first I didn’t really care.
But that was only for a moment, as another sense was cut off, eventually causing the man’s expression to distort.
Because I know better than anyone else about these feelings that are disconnected in my head.
“… … Damn it, the connection with my familiar was lost.”
“what?”
At those words, a sharp question burst out from between the black robes sitting across from him.
Familiar, the ones the man was talking about were definitely the ones he had planted in the Hwajeonmin village.
But why did it suddenly stop? The woman in the robe said with a clear expression of displeasure.
“That familiar was created based on the chimera I developed. There’s no way the connection would be cut off without warning. Isn’t it because you’re not managing your magical power properly?”
“Shut up Adele, it’s not one. It must have been cut off by external factors.”
“If it’s an external factor… … .”
“It seems the presence of the familiars has been discovered. Two of them are dead.”
“under!”
That was an even more absurd excuse.
The woman named Adele snorted at the man’s words.
“There’s no way a chimera that can block even the slightest sound would have discovered itself. How obvious would it be to use magical power to be discovered?”
“I’m not in the mood for joking. If there’s anyone who can make something like this possible… … It seems like the high priest has come to see me.”
“… … A high priest?”
Adele, whose mood changed in an instant at the word priest, narrowed one eye slightly.
By the way, I just heard that a large number of healers have been dispatched to Esteban recently.
I never thought I would hear the story of that dirty priest all the way here in Esteban, but if what he said was true, then the excuse that a high priest had come to visit wasn’t completely impossible.
“High priest… … .”
“I don’t know the reason, but it seems that a high priest was sent to a place like this. If that’s the case, then it seems like the familiar was just unlucky to get caught.”
“No, I don’t think I’m unlucky.”
“What are you talking about?”
For a moment, Adele’s eyes flashed with life.
Since the existence of the familiar had already been discovered, it was safe to say that the plan to cause an epidemic was a failure.
Since it was just a light experiment, the success or failure of the operation didn’t matter. But wasn’t the cause of the failure the priest of the Holy Empire, who would be killed without any relief?
If that’s the case, then the story is different.
“That’s good, Roy, let’s go kill the priests.”
“Killing them is easy. But won’t it leave traces?”
“It doesn’t matter. Since the chimera has fallen into their hands anyway, they’ll know it was the work of black magic.”
And I can’t just hand over the information about the new chimera to those guys so easily.
Rather than handing over the Chimera, the essence of black magic created by Adele, it might have been better to kill all the guys in the village and leave some other traces.
Even if they followed their trail, there was no way for them to catch them.
They had the confidence to do so.
“We’ll also have to retrieve the other guys who aren’t dead yet.”
“I see.”
The man, Roy, nodded and smiled faintly.
“Not a bad idea.”
Don’t move immediately.
* * *
Snap-!
The rat impaled by the sword slashed concisely disappeared, leaving only a scream behind.
Instead of blood, only black smoke came out of the impaled rat’s body.
… … Is this the last time?
Chiiik-
As I lifted the corpse that was the medium, the gloves I was wearing began to melt along with a hot sensation. The sight of the entire gloves turning pitch black was so serious that anyone could tell it was a serious situation.
But I didn’t care and just put it in the enchanted storage box. Then I put the contaminated gloves in there too.
A total of three familiars. One of them was left with the saint, so all the familiars in Garon Village were taken care of.
“… … So, for now, we’ve prevented the outbreak of the epidemic.”
However, as long as the mastermind behind this incident remains, the possibility of similar incidents occurring in the future will not converge to zero.
At the very least, it would be good to tie up this matter neatly so that no more nonsense can be done.
Moreover, since negative energy did not disappear so easily, the purification work had to continue during this period when the priests were abundant.
“The first purification operation is now complete.”
As we returned to the center of the village with the village chief, we saw George leading the priests who had completed their initial purification.
The fact that he was moving in a fairly orderly manner so as not to startle the people of the war was a clear demonstration of the future appearance of the General Staff of the Federal Empire.
“Wow, even a snail can roll. Good job.”
“… … .”
As I said that, I looked around the village in more detail.
The shabby wooden houses that are falling apart without even being managed. The famine that has left them without even proper livestock. The slash-and-burn farmers who are so skinny that they can’t even eat properly.
‘Even if it doesn’t hurt right away, is it still like being a fugitive in the end?’
… … Their appearance through the window was better than before, but still trembling with anxiety.
“So, what should we do with the priests and paladins now? Should we rest until further instructions are given?”
“no.”
As George’s strange gaze continued, my lips slowly began to open.
“Instruct the knights to evacuate the savages to a safe place immediately. In the meantime, instruct the priests and paladins to prepare for any possible clash with the warlocks.”
“yes?”
“Move as fast as you can.”
The guy rolled his eyes, puzzled by the sudden order.
The village chief was the same.
But my body, which was explaining, had already passed the guy and was walking towards the direction where the saint was.
Of course, my gaze wasn’t directed at the warehouse. Beyond that, I felt a darkening sensation.
‘Two people.’
… … Yes, my gaze was turned towards the black magicians who had sensed the ideal of the familiar and came looking for it.
I smiled and stroked Elvern, who was tied to my waist.
“I was wondering when you would show up.”
You finally showed up.
