Mitchell and Grant waited for nightfall.
Thanks to resting as much as possible in the meantime, Mitchell had managed to avoid the worst.
“Ugh.”
Mitchell stretched his stiff body and looked at Grant as he entered the room carrying something.
“What’s that?”
“A stealth outfit.”
Mitchell caught what Grant tossed him and unfolded it to find black clothes and a mask.
Once they changed and looked at each other, they were unmistakably dressed like thieves.
“Oh, we really do look like thieves.”
In truth, what they were about to do was not much different. Their target was simply a person rather than an object.
The objective Grant had set was to bring Chief Steward Hail out.
“Couldn’t we just put these on after going outside?”
“There might still be another spy inside the family.”
Even if there was not, someone outside might be watching the family estate.
Knowing Rapel, Grant thought that was entirely possible.
So they moved cautiously from the moment they left the family estate, and only after quite some time did they reach the Rapel Family.
“This way.”
Grant headed toward an area where he had already determined the security was relatively weak.
Before long, they arrived at a tall wall.
“Looks hard to get over. There’s magic on it.”
Its height was not the only problem. Alarm magic had been placed on the wall.
Mitchell, who was well versed in magic, recognized it immediately and frowned.
Grant shook his head at the sight.
“How do you notice that at a glance?”
“I’m just that good.”
At least when it came to magical theory, Mitchell was confident that he knew more than most people.
He simply could not use magic.
But that no longer bothered him.
Mitchell now held a sword instead of a book.
“Yeah, you’re amazing. But I bet you didn’t expect this.”
Grant pulled something from inside his clothes.
“Ta-da. A Dispel Scroll.”
“Magic Scrolls shouldn’t be in circulation.”
“I brought it from the warehouse. It’s old, but it should still work.”
“Give it here. Let me check it.”
“Why? Will you even know what you’re looking at?”
“Just give it to me.”
Grant handed over the scroll with a dubious expression. Mitchell took it and examined its condition.
It certainly looked old.
Since all scrolls had been controlled by the Imperial Family after the war with the Holy Empire, it was probably from before the war.
Thinking there might be something wrong with such an old item, Mitchell examined the magic circle inscribed on the scroll. Fortunately, there was nothing wrong with it.
“It’s fine.”
“Are you a mage? No, that can’t be right. Mages can’t open Aura Holes.”
“I did study magic.”
“How do you study magic when you can’t use it?”
Magic was the act of studying the great forces of nature.
That was why people who were not mages did not learn magical theory.
No matter how deeply they studied it, if they could not use magic, they could not even verify their theories and would remain nothing more than half-baked scholars.
Mitchell had spent ten years doing exactly that.
And thanks to those ten years, he had been able to modify Soul Drain, the only spell he could use.
Mitchell gave a faint laugh as he recalled his difficult past and tossed the scroll back to Grant.
“Enough nonsense. Let’s get moving.”
“Urgh, I just can’t figure you out.”
Grant grumbled as he tore the scroll, dispelling the alarm magic placed on the wall.
TAP-TAP—
Grant climbed first.
He leaped lightly and kicked off the wall several times, rising several meters into the air.
‘As expected of a Grade 5 Aura User.’
Mitchell now understood how many principles were contained in that footwork.
Lightening the body, fixing the feet against the wall, and balancing the force so that even a powerful kick propelled the body upward.
Of course, the fundamental reason Grant could do it was because he had learned a lightness skill.
‘Should I try it too?’
While waiting for Grant to throw a rope over from the other side, Mitchell stepped back several paces.
Unlike Grant, he could not do it from a standstill.
But he thought it might be possible with a running start.
And so—
TAP-TAP-TAP-TAP—
He cleared the wall and landed on the other side.
Even though the mask exposed only Grant’s eyes, Mitchell could tell how astonished he was.
“How did you do that now……?”
“Skill.”
Grant sighed at the short answer and moved ahead.
They had no idea when a guard might come, so they needed to reach Hail as quickly as possible.
Grant moved from place to place while recalling the patrol routes he had memorized in advance, and before long, he stopped in front of an annex.
“He’s in here?”
“Definitely. Do you have any idea how much trouble I went through to find this place?”
Grant spoke confidently, immediately opened the back door, and entered. Mitchell followed behind him.
***
“Tch. Considering how much trouble I went through, this is nowhere near enough. They were the ones who failed, yet they cut my commission.”
Chief Steward Hail—no, Nox, the man wearing his face—sat at a desk counting gold coins.
A famous fixer in the northern underworld, Nox had received 100 gold after completing this mission.
That was more money than an ordinary commoner might see in an entire lifetime, but his payment had been cut in half because they had failed to capture Grant Runei, leaving him displeased.
‘Still, I got something even better.’
How shocked had he been when the Rapel Family first approached him?
They wanted him to infiltrate the Runei Family as a spy.
As it happened, Nox himself had been pursuing a famous legend of the north.
The legacy left behind by Calian Runei, the first Family Head of the Runei Family.
It was said that his essence had been infused into an object he left behind.
‘What could it possibly contain?’
The current Runei Family fell far short of what it had been when it once dominated the northern reaches of the Empire.
And that glory had been built upon martial arts created by Calian Runei, who had surpassed Aura Master and been called a Grand Master.
Yet they had not even thought of searching for such a relic.
‘Idiots.’
Nox thought of the members of the Runei Family.
He had infiltrated the family with great expectations after accepting the Rapel Family’s commission, but not a single person there knew about Calian’s relic.
They simply believed his legacy was the martial arts he had left behind.
But Nox knew differently.
He had happened across information about it in an old tome.
The document had even been officially authenticated by the Imperial Family, so there was little room for doubt.
<Calian requested the aid of an imperial mage so that he might leave behind his essence. Accordingly, the Imperial Family dispatched a mage to…….>
The record was two hundred years old, so it did not say exactly what Calian had left behind, but Nox had even learned its approximate location from the old tome.
Thus, while carrying out the Rapel Family’s commission, he had tirelessly searched for Calian’s relic.
Eventually, he found it inside a hidden space in the main building.
It was unfortunate that the relic had been left untouched for so long that cracks had formed all over it, but that was a problem he could solve by finding a restoration expert.
Besides, the relic had nothing to do with the Rapel Family’s commission.
That meant it belonged to him.
Just thinking about the relic made the corners of Nox’s mouth stretch into a broad grin.
Then an itch flared up, making him frown.
“Ugh, this itching is killing me.”
Every time he smiled, an itch bordering on pain surged through him.
It was a side effect of killing Chief Steward Hail and replacing his own face with Hail’s facial skin.
‘The more I think about it, the more convinced I am that bastard was a quack.’
Since he had undergone the procedure at the hands of an underground black mage, there was nowhere he could complain.
But this would soon be over too.
The date for the surgery to restore his original face had already been set.
“Heh heh. Once I restore the relic…….”
“You’re going to restore a relic?”
Gasp!
Nox sucked in a startled breath.
He had sensed no presence at all, yet two men were suddenly standing behind him.
‘Damn it! What the hell are those Rapel bastards doing for security?!’
Nox was famous not for his martial prowess, but for his ability to infiltrate places without ever being discovered.
In fact, he had deliberately avoided learning Aura so that disguising himself and infiltrating places would be easier.
From the beginning, he had always been extraordinarily cautious, going so far as to perfectly imitate the mannerisms and speech of whoever he disguised himself as to avoid suspicion.
But now he had already been discovered.
A fight could no longer be avoided.
Nox pulled a dagger from inside his clothes and held it out.
“Who are you?!”
At his words, the intruders removed their black masks.
One was someone he had never seen before.
But the other was someone he knew far too well.
Grant Runei.
The eldest son of the Runei Family and the man Nox himself had sent to his death.
Realizing that he had no chance of defeating a Grade 5 Aura User, Nox immediately dropped to his knees.
“S-Spare me.”
“Shouldn’t you explain why you betrayed the family before asking for that?”
“…….”
Nox desperately racked his brain.
Since Grant had not immediately put a sword to his throat, he did not seem intent on killing him.
Furthermore, the Hail whose identity Nox had assumed was a loyal retainer of the Runei Family.
If he could convincingly claim that he had been threatened, he might be able to survive the immediate crisis…….
“Grant, look at the desk over there.”
“What’s that?”
“Human facial skin. If you keep it in a container enchanted with preservation magic like that, you can use it again later.”
“That means…….”
“That man is wearing Chief Steward Hail’s facial skin. Look closely. His neck and face are different colors. He isn’t wearing makeup right now, so the difference is obvious.”
GRIND—
The sound of Grant grinding his teeth filled the room.
Chief Steward Hail had been an important person to Grant as well.
That was why, when the crisis had first occurred, Grant had tried not to jump to the conclusion that Hail was a spy.
It had only become certain after Grant returned to the family.
The thought that the bastard who had killed someone so important to him was now right before his eyes made rage surge within him.
SHING—
Grant drew his sword and was about to swing it immediately when Mitchell stopped him.
“Wait.”
“Why? If that isn’t the real Chief Steward Hail, there’s no reason to take him alive.”
“No. There’s something I want to confirm first. Hey, what’s your name?”
“…….”
“Don’t even think about lying. Tell me properly. I might have a job for you later.”
At those words, Nox’s dark expression eased slightly.
If he played this well, he might even be able to act as a double agent.
“My name is Nox. I’m a fairly well-known fixer in the north.”
“All right, Nox. Then what were you talking about a moment ago? The part about restoring a relic.”
“Th-That was…….”
He could never reveal that.
Nox was still trying to think of an excuse when Mitchell had already begun moving somewhere.
‘I’ve felt it since the moment we entered the villa.’
A strange sensation had been tugging at his senses.
The sensation had grown stronger as they approached this room, leaving Mitchell wondering what it was.
Then Nox’s words gave him a clue.
‘I’m pretty sure it’s the relic he was talking about.’
Mitchell slowly walked toward the place that seemed to be radiating its presence as though asking him to find it.
When he reached the desk, Nox’s face turned deathly pale.
Mitchell thoroughly searched the desk but found nothing suspicious.
However, after seeing Nox’s expression, he was certain the relic was hidden somewhere in the desk.
‘Underneath?’
Mitchell bent down and felt beneath the drawers.
His fingers found something tucked into a recessed space.
What Mitchell pulled out was a small box about the size of his palm.
When he opened it, there was only a single old magic stone inside, cracked in several places.
“So this must be the relic. Nox, mind explaining what this is?”
Mitchell could feel a familiar energy coming from the relic.
He approached Nox and picked up the magic stone.
At that moment, the stone suddenly shattered, releasing pale smoke.
“W-What the hell?!”
Grant hurried toward Mitchell in alarm, but there was nothing he could do.
In the meantime, the pale substance enveloped Mitchell.
Its overwhelming presence dealt a tremendous shock to Mitchell’s mind.
“Mitchell! Snap out of it!”
“Ugh…… him first……!”
Still on his knees and gritting his teeth, Mitchell pointed toward one spot.
Nox was trying to escape amid the commotion.
If he got away, it would only be a matter of time before they were discovered.
Grant hurriedly drew a dagger from inside his clothes and threw it.
It buried itself squarely in the back of Nox’s head.
“Huh? M-Mitchell…….”
Meanwhile, the pale smoke that had emerged from the magic stone was flowing into Mitchell’s body.