Chapter 3: The Strongest Onmyoji Enters the Town (Part two)

The administrative offices of Lakana are located in the center of the city.

After passing through another gate in the city walls and walking for a while, I saw the city hall facing a large plaza.

It is indeed a magnificent building. It has a more imposing appearance than the local merchants’ houses and cathedrals.

As I was walking along, I suddenly noticed a small crowd of people in front of the town hall.

I could hear people arguing with each other.

It seemed to be a dispute.

“A fight in a place like this?　It’s a dangerous town.”

“That’s how it is with adventurers.”

As I tried to pass by to avoid getting involved, a human flew out of the —- crowd.

“Yikes.”

I panicked and jumped back.

The man who fell on his back to the ground seemed to be stretched out by it.

A voice can be heard through the broken crowd.

“You son of a bitch!　You did it!”

“So what? You want to get your ass kicked, too?”

The voice sounded all too familiar.

I froze for a moment, then moved closer and peered into the crowd.

There were three people.

The one with the twisted face was a lanky man who looked like an adventurer.

Facing him was a small gray-haired girl carrying a battle-axe on her back.

And behind her, lurking, is a girl with dull blonde hair.

Let’s see… …….

“Ma-…… Mabel?　And Ifa?　What are you guys doing here?”

Next to me, Amiyu shouted in surprise.

The two girls turned to us.

“Ah.”

“Amiyu-chan …… Seika-kun ……”

They rolled their eyes.

But …… eventually, Ifa ran up to us and hugged us.

“Hey”

“I-Ifa? You…”

“… pheeeeeeeee”

She put her arms around my neck and Amiyu’s neck and started to cry.

We both fell silent.

I stroked the back of her hair and Mabel walked up to me.

“Amiyu, Seika… I’m glad we found you.”

“Mabel… why are you here?”

“I’ve been chasing you”

“Yes?”

“Eh, um… how long have you been in Lakana?”

“Since yesterday”

“Yesterday!? Why are you faster than us… Oh, I see.”

In terms of location, Rodnea is closer to Lakana.

It took less than ten hours by boat. If Fiona had flown the pigeon that next morning, they would have known what was going on that day. They would have had a day to prepare, and they would have been well ahead of us when we left.

But……,

“Why is that…”

“Are you asking?”

Mabel said a little angrily.

“eh……”

“That’s right…”

Ifa releases our arms and rubs her red eyes.

“Amiyu was taken away, and Seika was gone,…… and I didn’t expect that she would be in such a mess,…… I can’t stay at the academy as it is,……”

“Um… Did you hear about the general circumstances? Um, about the Imperial Castle…”

“Yeah… from the principal…”

Ifa nods.

Yeah, well, you’re right. I didn’t think I could hide it from you. ……

Now Amiyu turns an apologetic face to Mabel.

“But… it has nothing to do with you guys. We can’t go back to school anymore. Even if you came this far…”

“It doesn’t matter… I knew about Amiyu from the beginning.”

“Eh, …….”

“It’s your fault that I was adopted by a noble and came to the academy. It’s the same reason you were kidnapped. So… now I can’t be indifferent.”

“……”

“I’ll stay with you until the end. Okay?”

Mabel spoke straight, and Amiyu was at a loss for words and lowered her face.

With a smile, I tell the girls.

“Sorry. I worried you both.”

“Wait a minute!”

When we turned our heads, we saw the haggard adventurer from earlier looking at us with an indignant expression on his face.

Oh, I remember this guy.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?　Hey, kid! How are you going to finish this?”

“…… Mabel, who is this guy?”

Mabel gives the man a quick glance and begins to explain to me without hesitation.

“I was about to go into City Hall when I was accosted by that guy over there and a couple of guys sleeping over there.”

“The one you were throwing away. What do you mean, they accosted you?”

“They said Ifa might be a slave.”

“What ……, uh, something like that.”

I had an idea.

These two men were probably trying to make some extra money by capturing fugitive slaves.

Lakana, by its very nature, attracts people from all over the world.

Naturally, not a few of them are former slaves who have run away from their masters.

Some of the fugitive slaves had high bounties placed on them, and their whereabouts were reported to various places through the merchant associations and adventurers’ guilds. It was not surprising that someone would take notice of them.

They are both women and children. It is certainly unnatural for them to drift into this town.

Aside from Mabel, who carries a battle-axe and has a certain air about her, Ifa doesn’t even look like an adventurer. With her good looks, it is not surprising that they would be suspicious of her.

“So what did you say?”

“Yes, but Ifa…”

“Yeah…why are you telling the truth?”

“Ugh, I’m sorry! I couldn’t help but…”

“So what happened?”

“I tried to explain that I wasn’t a fugitive slave, but he wouldn’t listen, and he almost forced me to go with him.”

Mabel points to a man who is stretched out.

“I blew one person away”

“……I see”

I figured out what was going on.

“I’m sorry, Mabel-chan.”

“It doesn’t matter. But I have to make sure Ifa doesn’t get picked on more. It’s dangerous. She’s been entangled four times since she left Rodnea.”

“Ugh……”

Ifa’s shoulders slump, but I can’t help but wonder if it’s not too much to ask.

She seems to have a gap, doesn’t she? It’s not that she’s weak.

Well, it doesn’t matter now. I turn to the adventurer.

“I’m sorry, but I’m this child’s master. Due to some circumstances, I’m acting separately. I didn’t have any plans, but this child seems to have planned to meet me here. Sorry for the confusion.”

“Huh?  are you a noble?”

The adventurer man yells at me, his expression distorted in disbelief.

“Hey, do you have any proof, proof!”

“Proof?”

 “Whether it’s in the form of a collar key or a branding iron, if you don’t have it, show me the deed!”

I made a troubled expression at the absurd request, but I was inwardly impatient.

It’s not good…… come to think of it, I left this girl’s certificate in her dorm room…….

I’m sure the headmaster will keep it for me.

For the time being, I’ll return the argument. 

“I don’t carry that kind of thing around with me every time I go out.”

“If that’s the case, then you can’t just say she’s yours. Shall I have you give her to me quietly?”

“why?”

“I’ll check to see if she’s someone on the guild’s wanted list. That makes sense, right? Of course, if she’s not, I’ll believe what you say and return her.  Well, of course… there’s no need to check today. Tomorrow. Until then, let me keep her for the night.”

The man’s clingy gaze on Ifa makes her shrink as if she were scared.

“If that’s a problem… you know what I mean? Even though I was just doing the right thing, there are even injured people! What will he do with the amount he was supposed to earn? Hey, noble boy.”

“…..”

I see. He said he would not leave for free. He is a very mean man.

Come to think of it, I don’t carry a weapon either, so I guess they must be taking advantage of me. I don’t think I look like an adventurer.

I looked around at the growing crowd and thought for a moment.

Then, I lifted the edge of my mouth and said, 

“I refuse”

“what?”

“I said no. I won’t pay you money, and I have no intention of giving you Ifa. I don’t have a reason to go along with your reasoning.”

“Then, when she passes…”

“Well. If you don’t pass, what will you do?”

“You…!”

“Hey, Seika!”

Amiyu tugs on my arm in front of the man who is about to draw his sword.

“Hmm?”

“What are you trying to provoke?

“Because it seemed like they were bullying us.”

“You could say that, because we’re newcomers,  but your one shot…”

“It’s okay,  don’t worry, I’ll moderate it.”

The man, who was watching our exchange, smiled somewhat comfortably.

“I’m not going to let a female servant tell me what to do.”

“I’ve had enough of this. Come on, you scrawny little bastard.”

“Don’t call me skinny!”

Suddenly raising his sword, the adventurer man approaches.

I made a sign with my hand.

《Earthwater Phase――――White Moon Tower Technique》

“Nuwaaaaaaaaa!!”

A thick plaster pillar suddenly rose up from under the man’s feet and lifted his body higher and higher.

“Hiiyaaaaaa!”

At the top of the pillar, the man goes berserk, screaming.

However, since his lower body is completely buried in the plaster, of course, there is nothing he can do about it.

I mean, don’t go too wild. This thing is so fragile that at worst it will shatter and fall off.

Amiyu says impatiently.

“Hey, what’s with this flashy magic! Why did you say it was moderate!?”

“I did. He’s unharmed.”

“But he’s out cold!”

“That’s true…”

When I looked up at the end of the pillar, which had grown to about six feet (*about 18 meters), I saw that the man seemed to have fainted.

“…… probably was someone who was afraid of heights. He was screaming earlier too.”

“Haa… that’s fine, but you really stood out.”

I could hear cheers from the crowd around me. Some were whistling.

It was like a spectacle.

Well, that’s what I was trying to do.

“You, remember we’re here on the run?”

“You’ll be taken advantage of if you’re too timid. You should be open to a certain extent. Besides.”

I’ve uttered this line for I don’t know how many times now.

“This is not a standout. Don’t you think?”

“Hmmm ……. Well, maybe. Compared to destroying the Imperial Castle.”

“You guys!　What the hell are you doing!　Disperse, disperse!”

At that moment, several guards came running from the government building.

I guessed they were the ones guarding this place.

The guards scattered the onlookers and looked up at the plaster tower with dismay, and then they approached me.

“You did this?”

“Yes.”

“Haa…… private fights are not allowed here. Of course, you knew that, didn’t you?”

“………… eh?”

Is that so?

I turned around impatiently to see Amiyu shaking her head from side to side in dismay. Mabel and Ifa also looked uncomfortable.

Not good. ……

I had never been aware of it in Rodnea, but it’s obvious when you think about it. 

I hurriedly made an excuse.

“No, but the other side first…”

“Private fights are prohibited. There are no exceptions. Are the women over there also your companions? Then, let’s all come to the office. You can’t say you’re penniless.”

“Wow, if you want a bribe, I have an idea…”

“No, it’s not. It’s a fine.”

It sucks. ……. A fine is too painful here.

I was making plans to escape somehow when —-.

“Oh, stop it, stop it!”

A loud voice echoed through the plaza.

All of us, including the guards, turned our heads toward the voice.

A large man was walking from the government building.

He had a rugged beard and dark skin. He was wearing a fine shirt and jacket, which he wore slovenly, and had a cigar in his mouth.

The big man turns to the guards, waves his hand in the air, and says, 

“Don’t touch them. They are guests of mine and I’ll deal with them here. Take care of whatever is going on there.”

“Ha… Ha!”

The guards immediately turn on their heels and carry off the man Mabel had first thrown away.

The big man stood in front of me, smiled, and said, 

“Oh, kid. You owe me for this. You know that.”

“……, well, okay. For the fine.”

“Well, then, let’s get it back to him.”

The big man looked up at the adventurer slumped at the end of the plaster tower and said.

“I’m sure he’s not very good with heights. Get him down as soon as you can. —- Seika Lamprog.”

*The Art of the White Moon Tower

The art of producing plaster columns. When water is added to half hydrated calcium sulfate (hemihydrate gypsum), it solidifies in a very short time into the white, hard, lumpy plaster known to the public. The total length of the crystals produced by the technique is close to 20 meters, but huge crystals over 10 meters in size have also been found in their natural state.

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