The Hero Party Couldn’t Kill Me

Chapter 5: To the Solus Empire (1)

“It’s been a while, Marion. Do you know why I contacted you?”

“… Edmund? Is that Edmund?”

In the crystal ball, a delicate girl who seemed to be blown away by a strong wind was reflected.

A petite body with pale skin. White hair that seemed to have lost its vitality.

And even dark circles around the eyes.

It wasn’t much different from the Marion I saw three years ago. No, she looked more tired than before.

“Yes, long time no see.”

“Ah… Edmund!! Why the hell did you contact me now? I… Do you know how hard it was for me?”

Marion bursts out of tears. Yes, she must have felt a lot of pressure because she became the master of the mage tower instead of the teacher who was called the best wizard in the empire.

I also heard that she was humiliated by the other Mage Tower wizards.

“I’m sorry. I was busy in my own way.”

“… I heard the news too. I heard the warrior party betrayed you? For Master’s betrayal, I will apologize on behalf of you. Sorry.”

“What do you have to apologize for? Just… I also feel sorry for Pesima. In that sense, I’m sorry too.”

“No, what do you have to apologize for? Master made a mistake, and he was just paid for it. It’s just, I hope you don’t get too vengeful toward our master.”

Still, did he feel a sense of responsibility after becoming the owner of the Magic Tower? Marion spoke much more calmly than I thought.

Of course, her doubts about her lingered, but for the time being she was seen as a positive sign of her.

“… So, I’m going back to the Empire now. Can you help me?”

“Huh? Ah… Are you trying to enter ‘the house’?”

“Right. That’s the only way to enter the Empire without being pursued.”

The ‘house’ that Marion refers to here is the secret hideout of the Blanc Magic Tower.

The official name is ‘Invisible Mobile Maison’

The reason for this name is that it is a strange house that is invisible from the outside and seems to constantly change its location.

I don’t know the exact principle of this house either. Except you can spawn and destroy entrances in random places.

The reason I know this is because the first place I was summoned was actually here, not the Blanc Magic Tower.

If there’s just one thing I’m worried about….

“Do you have the right to enter the house now?”

“Huh? Everything, of course but give me a little time I’m not used to it working yet.”

“How long do I have to wait?”

“A… Just wait a day or so.”

Marion said that even though she became the lord of the Mage Tower, she is not a very trustworthy mage.

Even when she was an apprentice, her skills were lacking, and even after Pesima joined the hero’s party, she had to go back and forth frequently to the mage tower to fix her accident.

It is said that the owner of the Blanc Magic Tower inherits the magic talent of the previous owner of the Magic Tower, but there are still question marks about her magic skills.

“… Can I trust you?”

“Of course not! Don’t worry.”

“Okay, then I’ll believe you.”

For now, things seem to be going smoothly. Marion doesn’t seem to have anything against me either.

‘It’s strange… ….’

That’s why I was even more suspicious.

It is not strange that Marion, who is kind by nature, accepted my request right away. The fact that Pesima’s contract was carried over to her also played a role.

But what I have my doubts about is her overly resolute attitude. Considering her weak mentality, I thought she would just argue with me while crying.

Of course, it could be rationally accepted over time, but well. I’m not sure yet.

But there is no change in my decision. Rather, because of that, I thought I had to go to ‘that house’.

What is she hiding? If you want to find out what Pesima is hiding, she has no choice but to get close anyway.

In short, to catch a tiger, you have to enter the tiger’s den.

It could be said that what I have to do now is to prepare a solid countermeasure to avoid being eaten by that tiger.

***

“Now, as promised, I will teach you the magic of the Blanc Magic Tower.”

After my conversation with Marion, I found Rachel in prison.

After she got her out of her jail cell, she took her to a place that was reasonably off-limits to her.

Anyway, she did her part well and was quietly locked up. So she should be compensated accordingly.

“Good! So, what kind of magic are you planning to teach me?”

“You seem to like transforming into a bird. Also deals with a lot of new summons. I will teach you the appropriate magic.”

I took out one of her magic circles that I had prepared in advance from her room and handed it to her.

“Do you know what kind of magic it is?”

“Wait a minute….”

Rachel carefully looked at the magic circle I handed over. I thought she would figure it out right away like Rafaela, but unexpectedly she took time to interpret the magic circle.

So I tried to activate the magic circle.

Food Deuk!!! Food good!!!

Then a flock of crows jumped out of the magic circle.

“Kyaaa!!!”

Startled, Rachel fell behind her. Dozens of crows summoned like that moved here and there according to my instructions.

“Wow… This… ….”

“Right. It’s a crow summoning circle. Maybe if you change this place, you can summon the bird you want.”

“Thank you! But what is the exact principle?”

“That… Analyze yourself. You are also a mage tower wizard.”

“Eh? Wait a minute. There are a lot of spells that I don’t even know about! How am I going to figure this out on my own?”

“Are you the wizard of the Mage Tower? Rafaela quickly mastered this in a matter of hours.”

Rachel’s expression changed when she said Rafael Lara.

“Okay. I’ll risk my honor and release it. Thank you.”

“Oh, and one more. Now that the battle is over, let’s cancel the contract.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, isn’t that better for you too?”

I activated the contract cancellation magic. The seals that had been imprinted on my and Rachel’s palms reappeared.

When Rachel and I chanted the spell at the same time, the seal looked like it was on fire, then disappeared completely.

“Sure, you know? The fact that you made a deal with me must be kept secret.”

“Of course! Rather, what I say is a loss.”

“Yes, and don’t forget to remain a prisoner of Speth until the Empire negotiates.”

“Eh? That’s kinda….”

“Still, the people of Speth won’t be mean to you. At least it doesn’t look like Calia, right?”

Since she also saw Calia’s face being sent back to prison today, she immediately shut up.

Still, he looked happy when he saw the magic circle I gave him.

“With this… I can greatly increase my position in the Blue Magic Tower! If I put in a little more effort, I might be able to aim for the position of the next owner of the Mage Tower.”

When sent back to her prison, Rachel muttered to herself.

At that moment, I suddenly realized that I had killed her mage master.

How will Rachel react if she finds out that I killed Isabel? Will she avenge herself for the lord of the Mage Tower, or will she act according to her interests?

Either way, I decided not to tell her. It would be nice if we don’t have to meet each other after this deal.

“… Did you really teach me magic?”

When she returned her to her prison and came out, Rafaela was looking at me with a little disapproval of her face.

“Because a promise is a promise.”

“… He’s a human who will one day become Edmund’s enemy. Are you okay though?”

“What can I do? That’s my karma.”

I said calmly. Raphaella looked at me for a moment, then she shook her head.

“Shall we take a short walk?”

And when people around me appeared one by one, Rafaela led me to a secluded place. The place she chose was always the lakeside.

“So, what is Edmund going to do now?”

“I have to go back to the Empire and get my remaining revenge.”

“Is there a way? Because of this battle, Sir Edmund must have been branded as a traitor to the Empire.”

I glanced at Rafaela’s expression.

She was the one who looked at me with a genuinely sorry expression, rather than her hostility towards me.

Seeing that, I made up my mind.

“Speaking of which… ….”

As I was about to make her offer to her, I suddenly felt something strange.

“Rafaela, behind you… !”

I hurriedly shouted at Raphaella. When she looked behind her, a familiar face appeared.

Down!!!

Raphaella instinctively tries to defend herself by releasing magic from her hands. Mina created a shadow summoner in front of her to block her electric magic.

“Ah, no need to be so surprised. I won’t hurt you.”

Mina said with her dazzling smile. Still, Raphaella did not let her guard down.

“What are you doing here again?”

I intervened between the two and asked.

“Her Highness is anxiously waiting for a reply. So I came to check it out. I didn’t expect you to be dating like this.”

“Dah, it’s a date! What is that… !”

Raphaella blushed immediately, but I said calmly.

“I will reply soon. You don’t have to look.”

Then Mina smiled meaningfully.

“Actually, that was just an excuse, I came for something else.”

“What happened?”

“Hey, let me borrow you for a moment.”

Mina said her unexpected words and in an instant she moved behind Rafaela’s back.

And then she and Rafaela disappeared.

***

“What is this!”

Raphaella, who was transported somewhere in the White Forest by her teleportation, ripped off her Mina’s arm.

Mina still looked at Raphaella with a smile on her face.

“Yeah, it was really true. I thought you would be in Speth.”

“… Do you know me?”

“Why did you think you wouldn’t know? You were quite famous Raphaella. She is from a commoner in 100 years and is a talent who graduated from the top of the academy. And, wasn’t he the author of the paper ‘On Dream Walking and Dream Construction’?”

“How do you do that… ….”

“You submitted that when you applied for the Noir Mage Tower, right? I also read that thesis at the time. Interesting? Even though our old master tower lord discarded it for lack of wickedness.”

“That… ….”

Rafaela was still uncomfortable with Mina. It was the first time that her mage was playing with her one-sidedly like this.

And because of that distinctive smile, it was even more difficult to understand her intentions.

On the contrary, Mina said with her unique expression full of composure.

“Take care. I didn’t come here to eat you. Rather, I came to make you a good offer.”

“… What is your suggestion?”

“You wanted to enter the Noir Tower, right? Still will But you can’t come in because you were falsely accused and exiled.”

“That’s right… ….”

“So, I will let you enter the Noir Tower. If necessary, change your identity and that’s it. Get in my line instead.”