Chapter 228
TL/Editor: raei
Status: 5/week mon-fri
Illustrations: none
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Baron Mud's execution could have happened at any time, but surprisingly, the date wasn't set immediately.
The reason, of course, lay with Father Berum.
"It's probably a power struggle," Belenka said matter-of-factly.
For some reason, Lord Fin had asked Father Berum for help instead of the domain's own priest.
Typically, nobles and priests have an equal relationship.
They each have their own exclusive domains, so they don't carelessly interfere with each other.But now it's different.
The noble asked the priest for help first, and the priest responded by coming!
Lord Fin probably wants to use Berum and get rid of him as soon as possible.
On the other hand, Berum will try to squeeze as much benefit as he can out of Lord Fin.
The result is this 'power struggle'.
Father Berum was deliberately dragging out Baron Mud's execution to show off his authority.
If Lord Fin bows and gives in, he'll probably smile with satisfaction and grant his wish.
But Fin wasn't a complete pushover, so he kept negotiating with Father Berum every day.
"I wish we could watch the execution and leave soon."
"Why don't you go play with the nobles?"
Belenka, a complete outsider, had quickly disappeared from the lord's attention.
For the master of such an impressive city, a visit from a wandering knight was just a trivial event.
"They won't see me."
"?"
Belenka was slightly surprised by Ian's answer.
Lord Fin is refusing to meet with Ian?
Is he really that busy?
"Are you serious?"
"I'm telling you, it's true."
Ian muttered as if he'd lost interest.
Having acted as a wizard in this medieval fantasy world, Ian was used to receiving lavish treatment from all sorts of nobles.
It's only natural for nobles to entertain wizards!
But right now, Ian was facing an unexpected situation.
The appearance of... a noble who wasn't interested in wizards.
Honestly, there's not much a wizard can do in this situation.
Wizards are popular because they're useful and can do incredible things.
If a noble rejects a wizard, what can the wizard do?
Just pack up and go meet another noble.
"He didn't even do the 'Calling a Wizard' thing."
"That is surprising."
Calling a Wizard was an exciting event for nobles.
It was a chance to see amazing magic and reenact the etiquette of the old Golden Empire!
But surprisingly, Lord Fin had skipped even that.
Even country lords who didn't know how to do it properly would still try to force a Calling a Wizard.
He's kicking away this super fun event by himself?
But considering that Calling a Wizard is the process of inviting a wizard to the palace, this was a natural result.
Lord Fin had no intention of meeting Ian in the first place.
"He said if I need anything, I should talk to the treasurer and take it."
"... This is no way to treat a guest."
Belenka muttered, genuinely angry.
Nobles don't share food and travel supplies with wizards because they're pushovers.
It's to build connections with wizards, hear about what's going on in the world, and sometimes borrow the wizard's wisdom.
But he won't meet and just tells him to take stuff?
There are people in this world who go from house to house, eating and sleeping for free.
We usually call such people [beggars].
Lord Fin's attitude was just like this.
'Ah~ I don't care about wizards or whatever~ If you're hungry, go get some bread from the kitchen and scram~'
He was treating Ian not as a wizard, but like some wandering jester.
Ian felt more curious than angry.
What on earth is he doing that he's ignoring a wizard's visit and only clinging to Father Berum?
"I'll go with you if you want to complain."
"Nah. There's nothing to complain about."
Even Ian, who was used to acting like a wizard, had some decency.
Wow! The other person is giving free food but won't meet me! Should we go beat him up? If you ask that, you're a pure psychopath.
Where else can you get free food?
Even if the other person is being a bit of a jerk, it's a level you can tolerate.
Why? Because you can just leave after getting supplies!
"Everyone seems busy, so let's just kill some time and leave."
"Oh ho. Then I'll go check out the market."
"The market?"
"The hand mirror I was using broke. You can find good stuff in cities like this."
Recently, Ian had put a handful of gold coins in Belenka's hand. It was gold from raiding the dragon's lair.
Now that she had money, she was off to enjoy some exciting shopping.
Ian thought about sightseeing in the city too... but decided to try meeting Lord Fin one last time.
It would be a tiny bit awkward to just eat and run without saying anything.
"Let's go."
Alone for the first time in a while, Ian leisurely strolled towards the lord's manor.
'It might have been fun to be born in a city.'
Ian, who had only seen desolate medieval wastelands until now, was almost moved by the city scenery he hadn't seen in a long time.
Of course, the ground was full of dirt and mud, dirty horses and carriages were running around freely.
Grimy children were scurrying around like rats, it was a medieval-city after all...
But still, a city is a city.
Just look at how densely packed people are living together.
This place reeking of human smell (stench) is exactly what a city is.
"Huh?"
On his way, Ian ran into a familiar face.
"You!"
"Looking good. Horse-lover?"
It was the thug knight Zenik.
He was marching proudly down the street with prostitutes hanging on both arms.
As soon as he saw Ian's face, Zenik's blood pressure shot up.
"Stop with the horse-lover crap!!!"
Zenik had tried to break Ian's magic? in his own way.
He had tried to show his uncle how well he got along with his mare!
He figured his horse, which he rode hard every day, wouldn't reject its owner.
... But the result was shocking.
Zenik's mare had taken a step back as soon as Zenik approached!
Thanks to that, he got smacked on the back of the head by Father Berum, who said, 'Don't come on too strong! You pervert!'
Zenik felt like he was going crazy!
"I! Like! Human! Women!!!"
When Zenik shouted at the top of his lungs, Ian covered his ears.
Ugh~ I don't want to hear this~
"You tell him! How much I love women!"
"Of course~ Our knight really loves women~"
"He hasn't let us rest for a single day~"
Ian let the prostitutes' testimony go in one ear and out the other.
What did he care about Zenik's preferences?
"So. Did you sneak out of the castle because you wanted to hold women?"
"Well... yeah."
"Why? There must be plenty of beauties in the castle too, right? Especially to entertain your uncle."
Birds of a feather flock together, and both Berum and Zenik were men who loved alcohol and women to an extreme degree.
Of course, Zenik goes crazy for alcohol and women.
But... this bastard was out here spending his own money to meet prostitutes.
Why?
Ian came to a simple conclusion.
It was a conclusion Ian had experienced once before.
"Well, that's..."
"Whatever. I get it. You got kicked out, didn't you?"
"!"
Zenik's face turned bright red.
He chased away all the prostitutes and whispered to Ian.
"No...! Why are you doing this to me!"
"Doing what?"
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry for hitting on your woman! So please, just leave me alone!"
Ian smirked.
He seems disappointed about not being able to join the important and grand banquet of Lord Fin and Father Berum...
Ian is in the same boat, having been turned away at the door.
"Tell me what your uncle is up to."
"The, the curse..."
"Curse?"
Ian tilted his head.
Did I put a curse on him?
"The curse that makes my mare avoid me!"
"Ah."
It wasn't difficult.
Ian said he understood and listened to Zenik's explanation.
After hearing it, it turned out Father Berum was cooperating in quite an interesting affair.
"Uncle is... forging Count Dufel's will right now."
"Haha. This is crazy."
His mouth was laughing, but his mind was a mess.
What? Forging a will?
Are they really insane?
"Originally, Count Dufel wrote in his will, 'I'll pass on the next count title to whoever finds our ancestor's lost treasure.'"
"And?"
"But Lord Fin, who was suspicious of his father, opened the will on his own."
"..."
"Lord Fin kicked out the priest and asked my uncle for help. He wants him to change the will to say 'The title is passed on to the most legitimate bloodline.'"
Ian was at a loss for words.
As soon as he heard 'changing the will', he sensed this wasn't just any messed up situation...
But this is too much!
How are they going to deal with the aftermath?
But Ian shook his head.
Heltingen is a medieval city.
Once you become the master of the city, you can pretty much ignore any outside pressure.
Do it first, then leave the consequences to your future self!
It's the ultimate 'I'll deal with it later'!
"Crazy bastard..."
Just the fact that he's willing to forge his dead father's will shows that Lord Fin isn't in his right mind.
Of course, it could mean his disappointment was so great that he lost his senses.
He probably firmly believed he'd be the next count without question...
Then out of nowhere, he gets a quest to 'find the lost treasure'?
He might have lost his reason in disappointment and acted rashly in anger.
But that's not important.
"What's this treasure the dead count wanted?"
"How, how should I know?"
"Tsk. You're useless."
"???"
Zenik made a face like he couldn't believe it.
I... I just shared extremely important information with you!
"I'll lift the curse. Though I'm not sure if it is a curse."
"Re-really?!"
"Yeah. I can hear the rest from Baron Mud."
"... What?"
Zenik was dumbfounded again.
Baron Mud should be locked up in the tower, awaiting execution, right?
No matter how much of a wizard Ian is, it's impossible for him to meet Baron Mud.
You think Lord Fin would let Ian meet Baron Mud just because he's gone crazy?
"... Give it up. Even if you're a great wizard, if you upset the lord now, you'll end up in jail too."
"?"
For a moment, Ian didn't understand what Zenik was saying.
This bastard...
Did he think Ian would naively run to Lord Fin and say 'Please open the door~'?
How empty is his head!
Ian honestly expressed his current feelings.
"Are you stupid?"
"What?!"
"Of course I'm going to meet him secretly."
"..."
Zenik was at a loss for words at Ian's wi-se answer.
Yeah, you're so damn smart.
You're the best...
But you know what.
How the hell are you going to 'secretly' enter a tower with only one entrance! You wizard!
"Well, go back to what you were doing. I'm leaving."
"W-Wait!"
Zenik hurriedly chased after Ian.
Ian headed towards the tower where Baron Mud was supposedly imprisoned.
Since there was only one entrance, there were only two guards.
Ian looked up at the sky casually.
A day with a strong tailwind blowing.
Perfect weather for using magic.
"[Oh wind!]"
Ian closed his eyes and concentrated.
He could hear the wind whispering.
Ian conveyed his will to as many wind mysteries as possible.
"[Rise up!]"
Ian's air magic level was 5.
A level 5 air wizard can use the power of wind to lift people into the air.
Zenik, who had hurriedly followed Ian, lost his mind at the overwhelming sight before his eyes.
"Huh...?"
A person... is floating.
A whirlwind was lifting a person into the air!
"Wow...! Wow!"
This time, Zenik lost his ability to speak.
Because he saw Ian flying into the sky!
Look at that!
It's a flying wizard!!!
---
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