Chapter 57: Side Quest
In the shadows, more shadows stirred.
Alicia and Elidranthia were famous—far more than they realized. Almost every noble of baron rank or higher had heard their names. Mages above rank six numbered fewer than a hundred in the entire kingdom. Those of rank seven or higher could be counted on both hands.
But that wasn’t what concerned the shadows.
When Alicia entered the slums, they had thought little of it. They assumed she was merely playing—like a child wandering somewhere dangerous for an adventure. Perhaps she wanted to donate money to feel good about herself as an up-and-coming great mage.
However, everything changed when Alicia began asking about the Reapers. That was when heads turned.
“How? How did she know about the Reapers?”
Such questions echoed through the darkness.
“Check her background closely. Did she come into contact with any of ours?”
“The only time she had close contact with us was when we hired bandits to kidnap her,” the Reapers answered.
“Did those scum leak our existence?”
“That’s unlikely. We have contacts among the Shadowstep’ knights. They know nothing.”
“Then how? How did she know? She searched for us by name!”
“She met with the king. I can’t think of anywhere else she might have heard about us.”
“But we have spies among his retainers, and they reported nothing!”
“Alicia has some kind of special ability—something about prophetic dreams. That could explain it.”
“I think we’re focusing on the wrong issue,” another voice said. “We should focus not on how she learned about us, but why. Why was she trying to contact us? That’s the real problem.”
“Ah… you’re right. She could’ve heard about us anywhere—a passing merchant, an overheard conversation, even academy students. The source doesn’t matter. Her intention does.”
“Isn’t it revenge? We did try to kidnap her.”
“The bandit troupe is destroyed,” another replied. “And the blame should fall on Duke Luca, not us.”
“Should we contact her? If we could recruit her, her mana capacity and aptitude would be an enormous boon to our organization. If we could rope in her lady as well, we’d be hitting the jackpot! Together, they covered every aptitude.”
“Elidranthia—her lady—is known to be righteous. I don’t think she’d want to work with us. If she were hostile toward us, Alicia, who seems loyal to her, would likely be hostile as well.”
“Should we take countermeasures?”
“Assassinating them would enrage not only Althemer, but the theocracy as well. The entire country—and its allies—would turn against us.”
“Ignoring them is also risky. We don’t know what this maid has seen with her prophetic dreams. I just received word that one of her prophecies was confirmed.”
“Confirmed? You mean Claire exists?”
“Hm? Ah—you’re from a different branch, aren’t you? We always knew Claire existed. What we didn’t predict was her becoming close to Heracles, the exiled.”
“How did I not know about this?”
“Claire was a rather ordinary princess. Not worth much attention. We assumed she would retire from politics and perhaps open a beautician’s shop or something. She was the fifth princess, after all. Information about her was scarce, and she held little political power until recently.”
“I see. What changed?”
“Her older brothers and sisters fell into a feud and were killed. She’s now third in line to the throne.”
“Ah. Assassination is common in that country, huh.”
“Third? Not first?”
“Not yet. But because she was previously ‘neutral’—or rather, ignored—her position is now highly desirable. Various factions are trying to recruit her to tip the balance of power. As a result, she’s become more influential than her remaining sisters even though she was dead last in the throne.”
“But she sided with Heracles?”
“The fact that Heracles was exiled has been kept secret from the general populace. If he gains enough support in the western country, the crown may be forced to revoke his exile.”
“That maid predicted all of this? Even though she looks like an airhead?” one of the shadows who had seen Alicia with his own eyes muttered. Alicia didn’t look any smarter than a donkey—how could she possibly predict such events?
“She might be smarter than she appears. Be careful. Who knows? She might be manipulating Elidranthia behind the scenes.”
As the group continued debating, they ultimately chose to lie low.
All except one shadow.
He decided to take the risk and sent a Reaper to probe Alicia’s reaction.
Meanwhile, Alicia was happily snacking on cookies with Clarissa, Robert, and Elidranthia inside the shack. Robert had made great progress on his flying armor. It now had a large canvas-like parachute draped above it. With a wind arcane stone, Robert could make it fly.
At first, the professors dismissed the project. Just because something could fly didn’t make it useful. In war, it could be shot down by arrows. Moreover, it was slow. However, when a professor learned that Elidranthia and Alicia had helped with the project, his interest was piqued and Robert got a softer treatment.
Instead of armor, he suggested turning it into a basket. It would be far more efficient than a watchtower—and if Robert could guarantee its safety, it could even become a tourist attraction.
Robert agreed immediately.
And thus, the first hot-air balloon was born.
Well—since it didn’t use hot air but wind magic, Wind Balloon would be the more accurate term.
There was still a major issue with mana consumption, so Robert would need to redesign the project from the ground up. Even so, he had finally glimpsed hope. Overjoyed, he prepared a feast for his new friends.
“Cheers to the success of my project!”
“Your project hasn’t been approved yet, Robert,” Clarissa reminded him. He hadn’t won—one professor had merely shown interest.
“I can finally see the light,” Robert said. “Our hard work has finally paid off.”
“It’s simple. If I prepare a fire arcane stone along with a wind arcane stone, we could cut the mana expenditure by more than half. Lady Elidranthia showed me how a hot-air balloon works. I didn’t like the idea at first because of how large the balloon would need to be—it would be far too big a target during war. But if the professor wants a scout tower, we could make it in a jiffy,” Robert said.
A hot-air balloon would need balloons roughly the size of two truck containers to lift a single person. Meanwhile, the parachute Robert had devised only needed to be about the size of a small car.
But if that was what the client wanted, that was what Robert would build. He had already achieved flight—and secured a patron. Once he had firm footing, he could bide his time and work toward his true dream: a man flying freely through the sky. A real angel.
Then, someone knocked on the shack’s door.
“Excuse me. A premium cheesecake delivery for Lady Elidranthia and her friends,” the man said.
“Cake!” Alicia bolted for the door.
“Cake?” Eli frowned. She turned toward Robert and Clarissa for clarification. “Did you order a cake, Clarissa? You shouldn’t indulge Alicia too much. It’ll be bad for her health.”
Alicia had already opened the neatly wrapped box and taken out plates and a knife. Despite having eaten several cookies earlier, she apparently still had room for cake.
“Eh? I didn’t order a cheesecake, Lady Elidranthia,” Clarissa said. “I only brought these cookies—nothing else. I never requested any deliveries. Besides, we can buy most things from the cafeteria.”
Eli stiffened. Her danger instincts—honed in her previous life—rang alarm bells for the first time in a while. She reached for a weapon, then forced herself to calm down.
Wait. Don’t overreact. This is probably just some student or noble trying to curry favor with us. Alicia and I are high-ranking mages, after all.
“May I know the sender is?” Eli asked the delivery guy whose cake was robbed by Alicia. He still needed Elidranthia to sign the receipt.
“Ah, we’re from L’cour Patisserie—the most famous cake shop in the capital. After the town hall, turn once off the main street. That’s where our shop is,” the man replied. “Ah, could you sign here? Don’t worry, the cake had been paid.”
“No,” Eli said with a sigh. “I mean—who asked you to send this cake to us?”
“Ah. This cake was sent by a man named Riper 23,” the delivery boy said.
Eli tilted her head. She had never heard of a noble by that name. Alicia, already engrossed in her cake, missed the name entirely.
“Riper?”
“He probably didn’t want his real name known. That’s why he used an alias,” the man said. he the bowed before leaving, showing some rudimentary noble greetings. “Please enjoy the cake, miladies.”
Yawn.
Alicia yawned. Her body relaxed as she sprawled onto Robert’s sofa, falling asleep defenselessly. Unbeknownst to them all, a Reaper was already in the room.
“Then, excuse me,” the delivery boy said, taking his leave.
“You’re quite popular, Lady Elidranthia. Alicia too,” Robert said. “I feel fortunate to be in your good graces without even bribing you with cake.”
“Please don’t. I hate this kind of obvious bribery—it’s insincere,” Eli replied.
“Well, I’m tired. If you don’t mind, Lady Elidranthia, may I have a slice?”
“Go ahead. I’m not eating it, though. Could I have your cookies instead?” Eli sighed. She wanted that cake, but she refused to accept bribery. Corruptor must die! She refused to be one of them!
“Of course.” Clarissa bowed and offered her cookies to Elidranthia.
“This is a premium cheesecake. It must’ve cost at least a gold coin in the capital. Are you sure you don’t want any?” Clarissa asked, eyeing the cake.
“No,” Eli said.
“Then, I will help myself a slice.”
It wasn’t that she disliked cake. This was a political choice. If the sender made a claim later, she could dismiss it without burdening her conscience.
Soon after, Robert and Clarissa began to yawn as well. Eli didn’t think much of it—until she noticed, from the corner of her eye, that all three of them had fallen asleep at the table.
Her heart skipped a beat. Alarm bells rang loudly in her head. She rushed to them, checking their pulses in a panic.
“Alicia! Robert! Clarissa!” she shouted.
“Munya…” Alicia murmured, her mouth moving as if devouring another cake in her dreams.
Eli snapped her gaze toward the window. A shadow moved beneath it. Her hand flew to the knife beside the cake as she dashed out of the shack.
“Who’s there?!” she shouted.
The wind brushed gently against her face. The shack stood in complete silence at the forest’s edge, not a soul in sight. Eli strained her eyes, heart racing, expecting an ambush.
Nothing.
She returned inside, shut the door, dragged a crate against it, and waited. With both hands clenched tightly around a cake knife, she stood guard.