novelraw Chapter 214 : Chapter 214
Chapter 214 : Chapter 214
Chapter 214: Pig
"I heard you have a good memory."
Benus didn't come empty-handed.
"I'll give you one day."
What she handed over was a list.
Small portrait sketches with names and distinguishing features written in.
"Demon suspects."
A list of Continental Mages.
It was an unexpected item, but understandable.
Harad had learned of Intelligence Bureau Director Benus's interest back in Ekampote.
When they were attacked by the Liberation Tower Rebellion Faction.
At that time, Benus would have taken an interest in Harad while also becoming conscious of Continental Mages.
There would be various reasons.
Harad was Serzila's bomb, the Liberation Tower was trying to stir up that bomb, if Mages moved the Church would move, then the Empire would react...
But the reason named Ellen would be most decisive.
Her niece and daughter had gotten entangled in this.
"Did you give one to the Church too?"
As expected, Benus snorted.
Why would she do the Church any favors?
Demons were beings that must be killed, and if they loitered in front of her, Benus would gladly oblige.
But there was no obligation to seek them out and slaughter them.
That was the Empire's or the Church's job.
No reason for Serzila to help.
'Thick.'
The list was substantial.
The Serzila Intelligence Bureau had built up quite a Continental intelligence network.
'Some familiar faces too.'
Most of the list was unfamiliar.
Because as Benus said, it was a list of Demon suspects.
Mages and non-Mages mixed together.
Harad only remembered Mages who were strong or memorable from his past life.
"Among these, anyone Ellen and I actually meet will be Mages."
Of those listed, anyone they encountered going forward would likely be a Mage.
Otherwise there'd be no reason to randomly cross paths on this vast continent.
"Ellen sleeps well anywhere. But provide soft bedding when possible."
Benus said seriously.
'Sounds familiar.'
Something Arika had said once.
"And..."
"Every meal needs plenty of meat?"
"Correct. You know."
Come to think of it, Arika was the talent Benus had selected as the next Intelligence Bureau Director.
"Like I said, one day. Memorize it all and leave."
Benus pointed at the list.
"A whole day?"
"It's consideration. Be grateful."
She probably wanted one more day to spend with Ellen.
"I've memorized it all."
Harad eliminated that day.
"Nonsense."
"Really."
Benus's eyes narrowed.
The list was about half a span thick.
"Halora."
"33-year-old suspect in the Empire's Lambda region. Distinguished by a fingernail-sized mole beside the nose."
"..."
The narrowed eyes crinkled further.
Benus continued spitting out names. Harad recited features and appearances.
"Larance."
"There's no such name."
"..."
Her expression revealed it was a trap.
"May I go now?"
Ellen and Jis were waiting outside.
Benus couldn't answer.
She had no justification left.
"If you're that disappointed, help us out. Send word occasionally."
"..."
Benus affirmed with silence.
Now the Intelligence Bureau had no choice but to keep Harad and Ellen in mind.
They'd report any information about Ellen. Send forces if needed.
"...Shameless cunning thieving magical promiscuous bastard."
The list kept growing.
* * *
Roichte.
To reach that port city in the western North required going around the snowy mountains.
A trivial matter for Harad and Ellen.
No matter how harsh the mountains, they were neither as cold nor as dangerous as the Barrier.
"You can come in."
The shadow holding Ellen and Harad's shadows spoke.
Jis said traveling as a shadow was more comfortable than walking on his own feet. Proof of his magical proficiency.
"I'm fine."
Jis's shadow was useful.
Partly due to the Origin's greatness, but one couldn't ignore the capability of the Mage named Jis.
Powerful magic meant the Mage bore greater burden.
The more objects or people entered the shadow, the greater Jis's magical consumption.
"Outside, you need to conserve magical power. Not me."
Harad's magic was conspicuous without exception.
After consuming Embers, it had become even more intense.
Outside the Barrier, he couldn't manifest magic carelessly.
In the Barrier, Harad's firepower mattered most, but on the continent, Jis's stealth was more important.
Shadow magic that Continental Mages couldn't help but envy.
"How much do you know about Roichte?"
"I don't know!"
Jis exclaimed cheerfully.
His excitement was obvious. Travel with friends. That's what Jis had called it before departure.
"I know as much as you."
"And how you know is secret?"
"Right."
A ruined place.
That's what Gullen had said, but Roichte wasn't actually a bad place to live.
The ruin referred not to the territory but to its port.
Originally built for trade with the southwestern continent, but sailing grew increasingly difficult over time.
"Actually 'ruined' just means compared to before. The sailors all eat and live well enough."
"Right. Even if the sea's rough, it's not like that year-round."
Giant ice chunks floated in the northern sea.
But their size wasn't constant.
Small some days, large others. Long ago there were even days with no ice visible at all.
'Getting colder.'
The North grew colder and more barren day by day.
Soon it would become uninhabitable.
He'd heard such words from Elaine in his past life.
The reason Grand Duke Aratus had taken Harad hostage.
'In my past life, I was obviously an idiot at first glance, so he gave up.'
And now after regression?
Grand Duke Aratus worked Harad relentlessly.
'Because I proved capable? But that was true in my past life too.'
Past-life Harad had regained his senses after five years.
And grew strong quickly.
Yet Grand Duke Aratus then had never asked or wanted anything from Harad.
'Equally suspicious.'
Both Grand Duke Aratus and the Moon.
Both hid much.
The type who didn't easily reveal their cards.
The North pursued straightforwardness, but its master Grand Duke Aratus did not.
'Cunning.'
Benus had called Harad that, but in his opinion, the Grand Duke was more cunning.
* * *
They slept inside Jis's shadow, which Harad felt was unfair to Jis.
"I like watching sleeping faces."
But sleep-deprived Jis enjoyed having friends sleeping beside him.
"Aren't you lonely?"
Ellen seemed bothered that only Jis stayed awake every night and would click her tongue.
"Why be lonely when we're together?"
"Tell me if you're bored. I don't need sleep."
"Ellen's kind, unlike how she looks."
"...?"
Ten days of shadow-sleep was sufficient.
"But why did Mom call you before we left?"
Ellen grew curious about that after ten days.
Probably remembered once she'd run out of other things to say.
"She showed me a list of Mages. Precisely, suspected Mages."
"Why?"
"Probably the Liberation Tower. Since we were involved."
Harad was at odds with the Liberation Tower Rebellion Faction.
Things were quiet now, but they might attack again anytime.
"They probably won't give up. More vicious than you'd think."
Personally, he hoped they wouldn't give up.
The Rebellion Faction needed rooting out eventually.
"It was a gift. I thought you'd be scolded."
"Be good to her next time we meet."
"I will. Can't hurt to score points."
Score points?
Though a quiet outskirt, the gate stood tall and thick.
A northern characteristic. Magical Beasts had swarmed in the past, beasts appeared constantly now, and Magical Beasts still showed up occasionally.
Such thick fencing was essential.
At that fence, before the gate, a Mage waited for inspection.
"...?"
"What?"
"A Mage?"
Harad blinked.
"27-year-old Godif, residing in the Empire's western Gishu region."
Distinguished by mouse-like whiskers and a thin, long chin.
Harad stared intently at the man standing before the gate.
Whiskers resembling a mouse, chin thin and long enough to grasp.
"You know him?"
"He was on the list the Intelligence Bureau Director gave me."
"Then isn't he just suspected of being a Mage, not actually one?"
"In Gishu maybe, but meeting him here changes things."
This was Roichte, not far from the sea route for asylum.
The probability of Godif being a Mage had increased.
"If we'd met him further south, it would've been more certain."
"Why?"
"The smuggling dock is further south. In Eptain."
"Then shouldn't we have gone there?"
Ellen pointed out.
Harad's goal was the fire Mages called Dreamers. He planned to find them before they entered the Barrier via sea route.
If so, going to Eptain's dock where the asylum route began would've been right. But Harad shrugged.
"Why bother? That's not the North. Not our concern yet."
The asylum route started in Eptain.
But was also being pioneered in Roichte.
'Wonder if it existed around this time.'
He'd brought Jis in case it didn't yet.
The timing was right.
Harad smiled while watching the back of Godif's head.
* * *
Past-life Elaine had known about the Digger's existence.
She'd belatedly realized there was a tunnel connected to the Otherworld. If she'd known, she would've acted.
But Elaine thought the North's tunnels were only used for asylum.
Why she hadn't touched the tunnels.
Elaine sympathized with Continental Mages.
Harad knew well this sympathy had arisen because of him.
While secretly keeping Harad, killing Continental Mages seeking asylum outside wartime would be shameless.
So past-life Elaine had been overly conscious of Continental Mages.
More than Harad himself was conscious of them.
Roichte's asylum route was also born of Elaine's sympathy.
And she hadn't connected it to the Otherworld either.
'My fault?'
Perhaps Harad had blinded that Grand Duke's eyes.
Without him, Elaine wouldn't have sympathized with Continental Mages, and the tunnels wouldn't have remained.
Regret, if it was regret.
Asylum aside, the Otherworld should've been blocked.
Roichte was also part of the North Elaine loved.
"Know the way?"
"No."
He'd never set foot in Roichte in his past life.
First time visiting Roichte after regression.
"I don't know it well either."
Ellen was also unfamiliar with Roichte's streets.
Why they were tailing Godif.
27-year-old Godif with mouse-like features and long chin made an excellent guide.
Surely his first time in Roichte, yet he didn't waver.
Advanced steadily as if he knew the way.
"But are you going to keep doing that?"
Ellen was also skilled at ventriloquism.
Clear pronunciation without moving her lips.
"Because I'm bad at tailing."
Harad's voice seeped into Ellen's ear alone.
Because Harad was hiding in shadow.
Jis sitting beside them grinned.
Chirp! Fireball rubbed its cheek against Harad's face.
"Tailing only with shadows means we can't act when it matters."
Ellen was the only one who could step forward.
Only her, two Mages, and one Magical Beast remained.
"...You're telling me to walk around alone the whole time."
Ellen walking through Roichte alone muttered quietly.
Even in the shadow, it was chilly, befitting the North.
"Not the whole time."
"..."
"I'll come out right away if you want."
"Never mind."
Didn't seem fine though.
"Oh. Looks like he's hungry."
Godif entered a restaurant.
Decent-looking exterior—Godif seemed well-funded.
"Dear me. To tail naturally, you'll need to eat too."
"..."
"Eat as much as you want."
"Then Godif will notice me."
"So what? Not like we're tailing face-to-face."
Coming this far, Ellen hadn't been caught by Godif once.
Same would hold after the meal.
Ellen headed to the restaurant wordlessly.
Pretending otherwise, but her mouth corners twitched.
'Easy.'
The restaurant handled seafood.
Shrimp and whale meat seemed popular.
"Oh."
Ellen's eyes lit up looking down at the served food.
"Don't eat."
Harad said quietly from the shadow.
"Magic on it."
The food was enchanted.
"Fuck."
Ellen cursed while tensing her entire body.
The Flower District's innards seemed to come to mind.
"...What kind of magic?"
"Would have to eat it to know. But doesn't seem like they tampered with ingredients or taste."
At least the food looked fresh.
Appetizing too.
"Seems focused on identifying Mages."
The restaurant seemed more conscientious than the Flower District's innards.
"Still, just in case, just pretend to eat..."
"No. We need to know what magic it is. You're curious too."
Not really curious.
What mattered wasn't the magic on the food but Godif's next action after eating.
"I'll find out."
Ellen, putting a whole grilled shrimp in her mouth, eyes gleaming.
"Oh."
"..."
Pig.