Chapter 99. A Simple Request (2)
A close-quarters fight between a Mage and a warrior.
In such a case, without exception, the warrior always held the advantage, and if the Mage could not be overwhelmed, it was nothing short of disgrace for the warrior. That was common sense.
'What the hell...!'
And yet, even after clashing directly with Bajes's Mace, Verden was completely unharmed.
A shockwave of magic power had neutralized the force of the blow. Not only that, but it even pushed Bajes back.
Forced a few steps backward by the strength, Bajes could not hide his bewilderment. His face soon twisted with rage, veins bulging on his forehead.
"You Mage bastard!"
Bang!
Bajes swung his mace. With brutal strength, he struck indiscriminately around him. Each blow was fast, destructive, but because of that, straightforward.
For one with keen senses, Bajes was truly their natural enemy.
Dodging the mace by the width of a sheet of paper, Verden's magic flared.
Triple Casting.
Reinforced by the magic tome, spears of earth surged toward Bajes.
Bajes's muscles bulged. Twisting his waist and shoulder, he forcibly redirected the mace and shattered the magic in one strike, then brought it crashing down.
The ground trembled.
The mace came flying toward Verden, who had lost his balance.
"Take it and die!"
A translucent barrier distorted the mace's trajectory.
But that alone shattered the barrier of Telekinesis. Its sheer force truly could not be ignored.
However, battles are not fought with strength alone.
"Kuuhp!"
Oculus struck Bajes in an opening.
He grabbed at his throbbing rib, and in that moment Verden pulled back, widening the distance.
'Time to end this.'
The performance of Oculus had already been proven in real combat.
There was no reason to continue this disadvantageous close-quarters fight.
Next was the turn of the Center of the Three Primary Colors.
Verden dramatically unleashed his calculation ability, activating his mana circuits.
Flame and frost.
Two elemental magics, opposites in nature, were extracted into their unique properties and fused together. Soon, at the tip of his staff, a small blue lotus bloomed.
Magic power spread as the blue petals scattered instantly throughout the cavern.
As petals touched the ground, a chill swept across in an instant. The same befell Bajes.
"Shit! What the hell is this!?"
His skin froze where the petals touched.
It was frost imbued with the 'spreading' property of flame. No matter how Bajes brushed with his hands, he could not shake it off. Drawing out his aura was the only way to resist, even slightly, against the chill.
The subordinates behind him were already frozen solid.
A magic entirely unheard of.
Bajes's eyes filled with shock at that fact.
'Don't tell me... a Magus?'
One who had transcended the laws of magic.
Of course, Verden had yet to walk the path of the way of magic. He had not even reached the 5th tier.
This was nothing but a miracle born of an artifact. But without that knowledge, to others' eyes Verden looked like a true Magus.
Kwa-ji-ji-ji-jik!
"Gyaaaaaaaah!"
Ice exploded from within Bajes's body.
Wracked by excruciating pain that tore through his body, Bajes dropped to his knees. In front of him, a gray dagger shot forth.
Thuck.
His throat was pierced through. Bajes collapsed without even leaving a final word. The infamous mercenary who had rampaged in Asern was trampled by a Mage from a foreign land.
Retrieving his dagger, Verden replayed the battle in his mind.
'Perhaps because it was magic formed by an artifact, I barely consumed any magic power...'
The important matter lay beyond mana itself.
First, the calculation ability.
Disassembling and reassembling magic in an instant was no easy task. His head burned hot from just a single casting.
Second, the output of the mana circuits.
Just like the first reason, disassembling and reassembling magic consumed a significant portion of the circuits' capacity.
If he pushed the Center of the Three Primary Colors further to cause chaos, surely the circuits would overload.
At most, in one battle, he could only use the Center of the Three Primary Colors three times. If more attributes were combined, that number would shrink further.
"Well, I'll get used to it."
There was still a long road of growth ahead.
So Verden whispered to himself, then turned his gaze forward.
This was the hideout of a notorious mercenary band.
That meant there might be spoils to take.
'Hopefully something worthwhile.'
Verden's figure disappeared deeper into the cavern.
***
Perne sat absent-mindedly, having even skipped her meal.
At last, she thought a rope of hope had been thrown down to her, but upon grabbing it, it felt slick with grease.
Lost in thought, she was soon consumed by anxiety.
"...What if he fails?"
By Pale's standard, he was said to be second-rank. That would mean he was no ordinary man.
But Perne knew nothing of him besides the name Asher.
Too much time had passed to trust only Pale's words, and her own circumstances were far too dire.
If Asher died and Bajes came seeking revenge...
Perne might truly face the worst possible end.
"Please... please...!"
Perne prayed.
To whom, she did not know, but still. She desperately wished her life would not end here, that she would be granted just one chance.
And not long after, footsteps echoed from outside.
It seemed like only one person, but she could not tell if it was Asher or Bajes. Swallowing hard, she fixed her eyes on the entrance, and at last the door opened.
"Ah...!"
It was Verden.
With a sigh of relief, Perne slumped forward onto the desk. Finally able to catch her breath, she lifted her head. The Verden approaching her looked as neat as when he had left.
As if he had never even fought.
Ah!
Perne clapped her hands, realization dawning on her.
"Couldn't find Bajes, right? Well, no way he'd stay holed up only in the hideout. With the flight ban, finding him this quickly doesn't even make sense. Anyway, it's a relief. I really..."
"What are you talking about?"
"Eh?"
A question mark floated inside Perne's head.
"You think I couldn't find Bajes?"
"If I hadn't found him, I wouldn't be here."
Verden reached into his spatial bag.
The weapons carried by the mercenary band Bajes had led. It was too much of a waste to bury them in the ground. The metal was of decent quality, so even sold secondhand, they'd fetch at least several million Elk.
Thud!
When Bajes's mace and the other weapons fell to the floor, Perne's face stiffened. Verden paid no mind and instead pulled out an old book, handing it to her.
"What is... this?"
"A ledger. It listed the names of those who had taken money from Bajes."
Perne skimmed through it.
There were nobles, merchant guild masters, and other famous names. In other words, this was an illegal fund ledger. Even in a kingdom steeped in corruption, if this were handed over to a rival noble or guild, it would become a tremendous weapon.
A justification that, depending on its use, could utterly destroy an opponent.
Next, Verden revealed the valuables Bajes had kept.
There wasn't much money, but there were a few jewels and ornaments. He laid them neatly on the desk one by one.
Finally, he pulled out Bajes's head.
Frozen solid, no blood dripped, and it wasn't damaged beyond recognition.
Perne blankly accepted the head.
"Is this enough?"
"..."
Perne and the dead Bajes met each other's eyes.
Thud.
Perne collapsed onto the floor.
***
News of Bajes's death struck Asern in the blink of an eye.
Because of his cruelty in displaying corpses in the streets, even ordinary citizens knew of his infamy. Every tavern in Asern buzzed with gossip.
"Bajes? That bastard died? To who?"
"No idea. Maybe someone hired a killer? Had to be a madman to take that job. Or maybe the nobles had him taken care of?"
"Don't care about that. Whoever it was, they say Bajes couldn't even fight back. Apparently none of his mercenary band survived? Did you see? Their weapons are already being sold off secondhand at the forge."
"Wow, that's terrifying. But surely there won't be another bastard like Bajes showing up, right?"
"Better hope not. Anyway! A toast to the mad dog's death!"
Bajes's death.
Some rejoiced with drink, some worried that another like him would rise. But that was only among the citizens.
Those active in Gray thought differently.
Bajes had been an irritating competitor. To openly clash risked too much, yet to coexist meant he stole jobs like a hyena.
Now that he was gone, greed surfaced to seize his vacant place. Soon enough, his name would be forgotten.
And some turned their curiosity not to Bajes, but to the one who had slain him.
Asern's moneylender, Bartol, stroked his chin.
"For the man hired by Perne to take Bajes's head... Is he from outside Asern, or perhaps from another country?"
Interesting.
Perne, who was on the verge of ruin, where had she found such a man?
"Shall we investigate?"
"Not yet. Killing someone like Bajes isn't reason enough. Still, an outsider appearing in these turbulent times..."
Would he blend into the kingdom, or become a disruptive element?
Whatever the case, he would not be ordinary. After all, this was someone Perne had brought in, just before she collapsed completely, once a woman who had dominated Gray.
"At this rate, she might even pay off all her debts."
"But the Association demanded you transfer the rights to Perne's debt..."
"They demanded I transfer the rights, not that I erase the debt outright, didn't they? Whether Perne climbs out of her pit or not isn't my concern. As long as she pays back properly, it's no matter to me."
Spit.
Bartol spat.
"And besides, I hate the Association bastards most of all. Those fuckers swaggering around with nobles at their back..."
"But the Association's influence is too strong. If we turn them into enemies, the losses will be great."
"That's why I'm just keeping to my business, Association or not. It's not the time to choose yet. My gut tells me so."
That now was not the time to bet, but to watch.
Bartol had always trusted this intuition, and because of it, had clawed his way up from the bottom. From the slums, through grit and cunning, to become one of Asern's powers.
That was Bartol, the moneylender.
"Something will definitely happen. I have no proof, but I feel it."
At Bartol's baseless certainty, his subordinate could only resign himself.
***
Perne truly clenched her teeth and moved quickly.
She sold the equipment Verden had brought at various forges, delivered Bajes's death to the client who had so desperately wanted it.
She sold off the jewels and ornaments through a fence for a fair price.
In the end, what she held in her hands amounted to a staggering 30 million Elk.
After setting aside Verden's payment, deducting the broker's fee for the request, and tallying Bajes's assets, this was the sum she had left.
A smile bloomed on Perne's weary face.
With this, she wouldn't have to worry about interest for a while.
She even managed to repay a portion of the principal! It felt like a suffocating blockage in her chest had finally been cleared.
"Sir Pale! Thank you so much!"
She thanked her departed former senior, sincerely.
After savoring fresh air for the first time in so long, she shifted her thoughts.
'By the way, just who exactly is Asher?'
He seemed to be a Mage.
But lately she had been too overwhelmed, and her information on the duchy had gone unupdated for too long. Once she restored her information network, she would have to look into him.
With that decision, Perne gathered up stacks of bills and stepped out of the room.
In her silent tavern, Verden sat alone, reading a newspaper. She carefully placed the money in front of him.
"A total of 138 million Elk. I checked properly, so there's no way the amount is short."
Verden folded the paper and took the payment.
Watching him quietly, Perne recalled Pale's letter of introduction.
[Second-rank. Treat with utmost respect.]
In other words, it implied not only request mediation but also the granting of desired information. If not, Pale would not have gone so far as to send such an introduction.
Perne asked in a low voice.
"So, what information do you want?"