Chapter 120
“Sis… you know, lately the Knight sir gave delicious food every day, and there were lots of tasty snacks too, it was really good.”
The young 7-year-old child held a sweet bread in both hands, his eyes reddening.
The child choked up, his voice on the verge of tears, as if something was deeply saddening him.
“No matter how delicious the food I eat, or how warm the house I sleep in, I think I liked it better when I was hungry with you, sis.”
“I wish you were here, sis.”
The young boy choked back tears in front of the young girl who didn't speak and whose eyes lacked focus.
For the sister, who seemed like she would return soon, not regaining her full senses for over a month was too much for the young boy.
“Sis… I wish you would call me Tony.”
Just as the child choked up, tightly gripping the bread beside the girl, someone watched them from afar.
“Hic… Isn’t it just too sad…”
“Any healer capable of treating Sandra?”
“We’ve inquired around, but it seems difficult with a healer.”
“They said it seems like a magical issue.”
“What about a shaman or a mage?”
“They would be even harder to find.”
“Try to find one somehow anyway, Sandra needs to regain her senses for us to find clues.”
“I will inquire in every possible way.”
“Assign some skilled knights near the child.”
“My gut feeling isn’t good.”
“Yes.”
It was too suspicious that while the other missing children couldn't be found, this child uniquely appeared suddenly at the slave market auction.
Almost as if intentionally left to be found.
“What about the Holy Knight Order side?”
“They still seem cautious.”
“It seems they don’t know yet that Sir Karl is here.”
“But who knows.”
“We can't assert that there were definitely no eyes watching when Sir Karl met with Sir Godfrey.”
“Meaning they might know by now.”
“Yes, after all, isn’t this their territory?”
“True, it’s already been two months.”
“It would be strange if they didn’t know.”
Since he hadn't moved with the intention of hiding much in the first place.
By now, it had to be assumed that everyone in the Holy Knight Order knew Karl had come here.
“Sir Karl, you have a visitor.”
The mansion where Karl stayed was a temporary residence prepared by Anne's intelligence organization.
The safe house and branch office were set up separately, and they had purchased a mansion for outsiders to use.
Since no one knew this location except for Anne and Godfrey, it had to be assumed someone knew the location and came.
“Did they say who they are or where they’re from?”
“I only heard they came from the Holy Knight Order.”
“I’ve shown them to the drawing room for now.”
Karl nodded slightly and walked slowly towards the drawing room.
Entering the drawing room, he saw a welcome face he had shared hardships with on the battlefields of the East Continent.
“Time flies indeed, several years have already passed since I saw you that day.”
“Sir Karim.”
The two greeted each other with a warm embrace despite meeting after a long time.
“What brings you here?”
“Rumors that you came to Bairot are circulating everywhere, how could I not come to see you! Hahahaha!”
Karim, laughing heartily while stroking his rough brown beard with his hand, was one of the few people Karl could call a comrade-in-arms.
“I heard from Godfrey.”
“They say there’s a worm gnawing away at our knight order.”
“Has the rumor spread?”
“Don’t worry, Godfrey told only me in a safe place.”
It meant Godfrey trusted Karim as well.
“Do you think they suspect why I came here?”
“What fool wouldn’t? Especially since you’ve been staying here for two months.”
“Did you find anything?”
“Actually, thanks to the ruckus you caused here, that fellow Massimo made a mistake.”
“He must have been quite desperate.”
Before his words even finished, a light flashed in Karl's eyes.
“It’s been a while since I saw that look in your eyes, makes my knees weak, I tell you.”
“Hahahaha.”
“That foolish bastard who crossed you is truly a pitiful fellow.”
“What mistake did he make?”
“He did, just recently he went somewhere alone, you see.”
“Although he tried to move as if following official procedures as much as possible, he skillfully slipped away sideways and stopped by a village.”
“So, I investigated that village thoroughly.”
“There was something strange.”
As Karim continued speaking, his eyes gleamed, and his lips twisted subtly.
“The village population has increased sharply.”
“The reason is unknown, but the number of houses has also increased quite a bit.”
“It wasn't easy to discover because they made it increase as naturally as possible over a long period.”
“But it's not easy for a rural village that farms and herds goats to grow like that.”
“Watch for the time being, they are magic users.”
“Sorcery, was it called?”
“Anyway, it wasn't a pleasant technique.”
“They used dirty methods like raising undead and making human corpses explode.”
“Just like elves, indeed.”
“Have you seen elves before?”
“I clashed with one unofficially once before.”
“Back then, I sent a team leader I respected to Essus' side.”
The Holy Knight Order carried out many unofficial operations that weren't revealed, for the sake of maintaining world order.
Although it couldn't be said they always did the right thing, their operations were generally beneficial to the world.
“I’ll wait until you give the signal.”
“In the past, your intuition was always right.”
“Anyway, it’s been a long time, is this how you treat a comrade-in-arms?”
“Where’s the alcohol?”
“The warm meal?”
Karl smiled, looking at Karim who spoke with a good-natured laugh.
“You’ve changed quite a bit, haven’t you?”
“Do you know how to smile now?”
“Looks very good.”
“Just don’t tell me you quit drinking.”
“Hahahahahahaha.”
Karim, laughing heartily, truly tilted glasses with Karl until the sun rose the next day.
***
“Master, why did you leave the warm south behind and come up to this cold north?”
“You call yourself a mage, yet you still can’t even read the movement of the stars, what are you going to do?”
“No, Master, isn’t it enough for a mage to be good at casting magic?”
“Why do I have to look at the stars?”
Thwack!
“Aaaack! Master! I’m over twenty now too! Yet you hit my head with a staff like a child…!”
Thwack!
“Aaaack! Master!”
Thwaaaaack!
“Alright! Alright! I’ll look at those stars, okay!”
“The disciple I gained in my final years is such a fool, alas, heavens are indifferent.”
The old man walking with a staff had a sturdy build, held a stick that looked like a rod in his hand, and wore a dark gray robe.
Looking only at the old man's body, excluding his white beard and white hair, no one would have seen him as an old man.
“Master, your disciple has something he is curious about.”
“Speak.”
“Why does our school place such importance on physical training?”
“No, in storybooks, a mage is generally a symbol of wisdom and knowledge, with a slender body and sharp jawline…”
Thwack!
“Why did you hit me! What did I do wrong!”
“You brat, talking about slender bodies! How can you wander this harsh continent with a slender body?”
“Besides, are the things we carry ordinary items?”
“Do you intend to only benefit thieves!”
“No, I mean, shouldn’t we subdue such guys using magic!”
Thwack!
“How many times have you subdued enemies with magic so far?”
“That’s because! You don’t let me use it, Master!?”
“Are you going to live like that, burning every creature you see! Is that a mage! Or a murderer!”
“…No, can’t I just use magic a bit weaker!”
“Is our school one capable of that?”
“…”
The two looked at each other and fell into silence.
The old mage was quite a renowned figure in the narrow world of mages.
However, their school was the number one target of avoidance among mages.
There were various reasons, but the biggest problem was the inability to control power.
The magic of their school was excessively powerful, unusable in ordinary situations.
Countless masters of theirs, and their masters' masters, had tried to control this aspect, but all failed.
Magic was mystery itself.
Just as a knight's aura was the power of Qi, conviction, and will, a mage's magic was also an expression of their senses, Qi utilization, and will.
Of course, there existed paths to move the energies of the world and within the body when using magic.
By moving energy along predetermined paths and drawing in the world's energy, magic gained power.
Such series of procedures were inherited, improved, and developed over many generations.
Mage Emilio Gavira was the head of the Jordi Enhancement Magic School, and his disciple Oliger Pedro was the next head of the school.
Though the school consisted of only two people.
On the continent, the Jordi School was recognized as one of the top three magic schools on the continent.
Of course, this was only known within their world; outsiders were largely unaware of this field.
In the first place, it had only been a few years since mages began to actively move and operate on this continent.
“Why did we mages live in seclusion for the past hundreds of years?”
“Because the world did not call us out.”
“But the flow of such a world has changed.”
“The movement of the stars is revealing its cause.”
“Why are you talking in such a roundabout way about going to Bairot?”
Thwack!
“Stop hitting me!”
Once again, the sound of the staff striking a head was heard, and Emilio had already strode forward, walking ahead at a fast pace.
“Let’s go together, Master! You don’t wear iron weights on your arms and legs, do you, Master!”
“These are heavy enough to kill me! Please go a bit slower! If you move so strenuously at your age, your knees will give out!”
Thwack!
Emilio, who had been ahead, somehow returned and struck his disciple's head once more.
***
While Karl was quietly regulating his breath and continuing his training in the mansion, Godfrey arrived with a note containing a short phrase.
[Ready to flip the board. Come to the Holy Knight Order headquarters first. -Karim-]
“Is help needed?”
“There might be an armed conflict if things go wrong.”
“Your help might be needed, Sir.”
“It’s not a difficult task.”
It was a bit unfortunate that the Knight of the Lighthouse, called in to prepare for potential situations, hadn't arrived yet, but it seemed necessary to resolve the Holy Knight Order matter first.
Doing so would likely reveal the tails of those creatures.
“The Knight of the Lighthouse will arrive within a few days, so if anything happens, move with them to the County of Collo.”
“What could possibly happen?”
“My gut feeling isn’t good.”
“You must watch Sandra carefully.”
“I will keep that in mind.”
“Don’t worry and go.”
Despite Karl's unconvinced expression, Sancho saw Karl off with a slick smile to the end.
Thus, two cavalry horses quickly left Bairot and moved at high speed towards Amberg.