Chapter 6
“Hey, have you heard about Ursula, the former executive of the Magician Guild? Word on the street is that she’s hiding near Mt. Orlando around here…”
Belle munched on her brioche as I busied myself with breakfast preparations.
“Ursula? Wasn’t she the one who colluded with the Duke’s accountant to embezzle money?” I asked.
“That’s the one. My master punished her severely, and she’s apparently weakened. Can’t the old man catch her somehow? There’s a hefty bounty on her head, so you might not even have to sell those lousy medals…”
Belle remarked, a bit harshly but intriguing nonetheless. My heart skipped a beat at the possibility, but I quickly regained my composure.
“Mt. Orlando? It’ll take me three days to travel there and back. I can’t neglect my scavenging job.”
“Just skip them.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I can’t just abandon my responsibilities. Are you really a Bellezebub? You sound like an irresponsible youngster. Geez…”
“Ugh, so troublesome. Then why not use teleportation magic?”.
“Using magic is easy for you to say. Do you think I have magical powers?”
“It’s not the old man who will be using it.”
Belle said with a look of exasperation.
“Then who will?”
“Good morning, big brother,” Raldine appeared in the living room, looking as unkempt as ever. “It’s a lovely morning, isn’t it?”
❂❂❂
“Teleportation magic? Of course, I can do it. It’s a required subject… although I’m not very proficient at it,” Raldine replied.
“I see,” I murmured, a little surprised to learn that Raldine was capable of teleportation magic, despite being unaware of Belle’s existence.
Raldine had also used magic to freeze the stew a few days earlier. I had initially thought of her as a noble who had entered through the back door, but it turned out that she had taken all the necessary courses.
Despite this, I couldn’t let the Duke’s daughter, who was soon to be married, put herself in danger. I would teleport to a location a little distance away from Mt. Orlando and quickly clean up everything, while Raldine could enjoy her lunch in a safe place.
“La la la♪ Big brother, let’s go on a picnic to the mountains♪ We can enjoy the leftover brioche from this morning, along with some refreshing lemonade and delicious egg rolls♪”
I suggested to Raldine that we venture out to the outskirts for a change of scenery. With high spirits, she eagerly prepared for our excursion, humming a tune and donning an apron and triangular scarf reminiscent of a fairy tale heroine. Despite looking like my sister, her appearance was so charming that I couldn’t help but grin.
“Well, big brother, you look quite heroic!”
Her kind words and endearing demeanor only added to her already delightful appearance. Despite appearing as my younger sister on the outside, Raldine’s personality was quite distinct.
In a corner of the backyard, Raldine drew a magic circle, standing at its center with the lunch basket in hand while I stood behind her with Belle perched upon my shoulder.
“Alright, let’s go. We’ll be safe in the vicinity of Mt. Orlando…”
With a wave of her wand and a mystical chant, a bluish-white light radiated from the magic circle, and we disappeared into its enchanting aura.
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂
The mage organization, headquartered in the Holy City and pledging loyalty to Saint-sama, is an elite group of proud and honorable individuals. However, it’s not fair to assume that all top members share these qualities. While leaders such as the captain and vice-captain may exhibit some decency, high-ranking executives with no clear purpose are merely granted honorary positions for their useless nobility.
People like Ursula, who seemed cunning, may be good at scheming, but they may not be great mages in reality. Otherwise, even though Stella is a prodigy at the mage academy, she is still a fledgling mage who hasn’t even enrolled in university, so there’s no way she could easily corner her.
When facing fellow warriors, we hold great respect for each other’s swords and aspirations. Despite any disparities in strength, it is never acceptable to strip away not only the victory but also the pride of an opponent through cruel actions. Of course, if our adversary is a monster, a different approach may be necessary.
On the contrary, the conflicts between mages are far more savage compared to those of warriors. They seize each other’s magic power and push their opponents to the brink of no return. Typically, before this point is reached, the weaker combatant concedes, and the fight is called off. However, Ursula must have misjudged Stella and challenged her recklessly, resulting in a significant loss of her magic power.
After narrowly escaping, Ursula must have erected a barrier on Mt. Orlando using the little magic power she had left, with the aim of regaining her strength and re-emerging. She must have been attempting to garner support from numerous influential figures who would be in jeopardy if her wicked deeds were exposed.
Whilst devising her plans, Ursula was suddenly startled by a pale blue light that emerged from the ground, revealing a girl, an old man, and a toilet fly.
“What on earth are you lot?!” Ursula exclaimed.
“Oh, our apologies. I made a mistake with the coordinates…” replied Raldine calmly.
It appears that we have been transported inside Ursula’s barrier. The fact that such an occurrence is possible, even if it was accidental, is astounding.
“She made a really flashy mistake…” I exclaimed.
“That’s because noble magic is flashy!”
Belle quipped from her usual spot, perched cross-legged on my shoulder.
“Is that what this is about?”
I asked, feeling a growing apprehension towards Raldine’s seemingly boundless power.
“You!”
Ursula yelled, creating a wall with the erected barrier.
“Let’s end this swiftly,” I said, pulling Raldine, who was bewildered by the situation, towards me and placing my hand on my sword’s hilt before stepping forward.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t lend you my power. A familiar can’t obey orders from anyone but their master…”
“Is that so? I am going through great lengths for your master’s sake. Oh well…”
I unsheathed my rusty longsword, which I thankfully did not sell when I was in dire financial straits.
“W-what?! You cannot be serious…!”
Belle gasped upon seeing the drawn sword. If she recognizes this sword, then it appears she is not just an ordinary toilet fly after all.
The blade glowed with a brilliant gold light, which transformed into flickering flames that coalesced into the form of a majestic golden dragon.
The dragon smashed through the magical barrier and lunged towards Ursula, attacking her with fiery breath.
“Aahhh!!”
Ursula let out a piercing scream as she fell to the ground. I had no intention of killing her, but the dragon had robbed her of her magic power, causing her to lose consciousness. I needed to bring her back to the Holy City and investigate her crimes.
“Don’t take it personally,” I said as I secured Ursula’s restraints.
After my assault, Ursula was reduced to a feeble old woman with only a trace of her former magical abilities. It was regrettable, but I had no choice. If Raldine were injured in the attack, it could jeopardize my chances of finding employment.
“Well, is this the bad mage friend of Mr. Ease? What a coincidence…”
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂
In a small farming village at the foot of Mt. Orlando, there existed a branch office of the Adventurer’s Guild, where I handed Ursula over to receive the bounty. When I saw the amount of the reward, it exceeded my expectations, and I felt a wave of relief knowing it would cover Stella’s university preparation fees.
“Congratulations, oldman…”
Belle congratulated me on my success, but I gave credit to Stella for her invaluable contribution.
“Even if that girl disguised as Raldine had taken down Ursula, the money wouldn’t have come to me anyway,” I explained.
“I see, I knew that…”
“Anyway, it’s a relief. I wanted to save the reward money from the medal for my parents’ retirement…”
“By the way, Oldman, there was a rumor that you made a dragon kneel on the border, I guess it was true,” she said, admiring the long sword on my waist.
I smiled wryly. “Some of the guys were getting too excited, so I just politely asked them to quiet down. Looking back, I regret going a bit too far, but I was young then.”
In the past, I once faced a dragon in the borderlands, but lacking any magical powers, I was unable to withstand its fiery attack and lost all my hair. I pondered over the value of magical power versus hair, which was the better option?
I lightly tapped the hilt of my long sword.
“I was told to call for his aid in times of trouble, but I wonder if it was just a polite gesture. Do you think he’ll come if I call him? I don’t want to bother him by pretending to be friends.”
“Well, of course he would come. After all, he entrusted you with the dragon sword as a sign of submission…”
Belle’s expression twitched slightly.
That was reassuring to hear. While scavengers had no use for dragons, having their favor may come in handy for future job opportunities.
“Big brother! Please help me, big brother!”
As I exited the guild office, I saw Raldine, who had been waiting outside, being surrounded by sheep, leaving her unable to move. She had a basket on her head to keep her lunch safe.
“No, no, shoo! Please go away. This is my big brother’s and my lunch, so we won’t give it to you. Ahh, it tickles. Stop it, please, no, ahh, kyaaah…”
“Oh, she fell…”
Raldine vanished into the flock of fluffy sheep.
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