He did not look like a customer who had come for a meal. He strode toward Ian’s group.
Marie was the first to react. She rose from her seat and rested a hand on the hilt of her sword as she watched the man warily.
“What is it?”
She spoke in a gentle tone with a smile on her face. The man flinched, but he soon removed the hat from his head and bowed politely.
“G-Greetings. My name is James. I work as both a hunter and an herbalist in this village.”
“And?”
“I came because I have something to report!”
Marie narrowed her eyes.
“…Report? You seem to be mistaken about something. We are not inspectors.”
“I know! But you are a Red Spear Knight! A guardian of the East!”
“That is true.”
Marie glanced at Ian, then sighed and nodded.
“Fine. We will hear you out. Tell us what happened.”
“Thank you! It happened several days ago—!”
“Lower your voice.”
“…I discovered a suspicious person on a hill not far from here.”
“In what way was he suspicious?”
In a world like this, anyone whose face one did not recognize was bound to seem suspicious.
The person this man named James had seen might have been an ordinary traveler.
However, Marie was forced to abandon that possibility when she heard what he said next.
“He suddenly appeared in midair, surrounded by something purplish. It looked like a haze or perhaps a mist.”
“……!”
“Unless I am mistaken, does purple not symbolize Dark Mages?”
Marie nodded. In the distant past, purple had symbolized nobility.
True to that meaning, the color had been almost exclusively reserved for the aristocracy. When it came to clothing, only members of royalty had been permitted to wear it.
However, after it was discovered that the mana wielded by the beings of the Outer Sea was purple, the color came to signify ill fortune rather than nobility.
In other words, the suspicious person James had seen truly had been a Dark Mage.
“He was so badly injured that I could tell even from a distance. There seemed to be a hole in his side, and blood kept dripping from it. He staggered as though he might collapse with every step he took.”
“…….”
“He looked as though he would die at any moment, so I overcame my fear and followed him.”
Ian, who had been listening in silence, let out a derisive laugh.
James had certainly not acted out of some noble sense of duty. He had most likely coveted whatever valuables the Dark Mage carried.
Even a single ring containing a useful spell could be traded for gold coins. It was obvious that James had followed him in hopes of making a fortune overnight.
“That was reckless. If he had noticed you, you might have died on the spot.”
Furthermore, Dark Mages usually traveled in groups.
If one was traveling alone, that meant he was at least Level 4.
James had also said that the man had appeared suddenly, which suggested that he had used teleportation. Anyone capable of that was at least Level 5.
‘He might even be an Ascendant.’
A Level 6 Dark Mage.
Ian could not rule out the possibility.
“Did you report him?”
When Ian asked, James began to stammer.
“N-No. Not yet.”
“Not yet? Why?”
“It would take at least three days on horseback to reach the city. And if I hired mercenaries…”
Leaving aside whether any mercenaries were staying in the village, James had probably feared that they would take the reward for reporting the Dark Mage.
Perhaps noticing Ian’s expression harden, James hastily made an excuse.
“I intended to wait only a few days! If he was still alive after that, I planned to ride to the city myself and report him immediately!”
“Then why did you decide to tell us now?”
“…An Outer Gate opened earlier, did it not? I became unbearably anxious when I thought it might have been the Dark Mage’s doing. If I delayed any longer, it might become too late to stop him.”
Ian fell into thought.
Had a Level 6 Dark Mage appeared around this time?
He could not remember.
This had been before he began working as a treasure hunter, during the period when he had lived a life of debauchery. He had paid little attention to news from the outside world.
Still, he did not remember any major incident occurring.
If one had, the entire eastern region would have been in an uproar.
“When exactly did you see the Dark Mage? You said you followed him, so you must know where he is staying.”
“Yes! I saw him around noon two days ago. There is a cave in the hills, and I watched him enter it. He is probably still there. Even if he has left, he could not have gone far. As I said, he was very seriously injured.”
Ian glanced at Marie. She frowned at the look he gave her.
“No.”
“What?”
“Young Master, a Dark Mage is nothing like an Outer Gate. This is not something we can overcome through luck. You know that, do you not? It could be truly dangerous. No, it is dangerous. This is not something we can handle.”
“Hmm.”
To be honest, when Ian heard that the Dark Mage was so severely wounded that he could barely move, he had wondered whether they might stand a chance.
However, as Marie had said, it was realistically impossible for three people at Level 2 to defeat a Level 4 or Level 5 Dark Mage.
They might win, provided the Dark Mage was not a Level 6 Ascendant and several factors aligned in their favor.
There was no reason to take such an unnecessary risk, however, so Ian abandoned the idea.
“Do I look reckless enough to make such a foolish choice?”
Marie smiled brightly and sweetly.
“I am glad to hear that. I was worried you might insist that we capture him ourselves.”
Ian gave a bitter smile before turning to James, who looked bewildered.
“As you heard, we cannot deal with him immediately. However, I will report it as soon as we return to the family estate.”
“Then what about the reward…?”
“You will receive it, of course, provided that the man truly is a Dark Mage.”
House Berger and the other noble families based in the East worked with the military to defend the defensive line against the beings of the Outer Sea, but their efforts were not perfect.
It was realistically impossible to control and monitor such a vast territory.
Monsters and magical beasts left obvious traces behind, so they could be dealt with to some extent. Dark Mages, however, could disguise themselves as ordinary people or mercenaries, making them difficult to find.
It was also impossible to organize and maintain a large search party at all times. Aside from the enormous expense it would require, there were simply not enough people.
The solution devised by House Berger and the other eastern nobles was a transparent reward system.
Anyone who discovered and reported a Dark Mage would receive a sum large enough to become a turning point in their life, even if it was not enough to change their social standing entirely.
Naturally, there were false reports among them, but those responsible were punished separately, so they did not cause any serious problems.
Therefore, if the man truly was a Dark Mage, House Berger would gladly pay James the promised reward.
“What happens if he is not…?”
“Then you receive nothing.”
“I am only asking in case. Truly, just in case, but you will not punish me for making you go there for nothing… will you?”
Ian understood what James was worried about, but the concern was unnecessary.
As far as Ian knew, the Red Spear Knights had never punished an informant unless they had attempted to fraudulently obtain a reward or maliciously accused an innocent person.
Ian was about to reassure him when—
DING DING DING!
The loud tolling of a bell rang through the village.
“What is happening?”
“I-I do not know.”
Ian had not expected James to know the answer in the first place, so he rose from his seat and walked to the window himself.
Mael and Marie must have sensed that something was wrong, as they put on the helmets they had removed.
Ian leaned his head through the wide-open window and saw that the village was in an uproar.
People were hurrying toward the wooden palisade. A few carried spears, but most of them held farming tools such as pitchforks.
A man was also running desperately from the direction of the palisade.
‘Who is that?’
His left sleeve fluttered in the wind, suggesting that he was missing an arm.
“That is the village chief.”
CLANK CLANK.
Mael leaned out from behind Ian, his armor clattering as he spoke.
“The village chief?”
“Yes. He was apparently a highly skilled mercenary when he was younger, but he retired after losing an arm and settled here. Using his experience as a mercenary, he formed a village militia and took charge of maintaining order. While doing so, he became close to the former village chief’s daughter. They became lovers and eventually married, and he naturally succeeded his father-in-law as village chief.”
“…Is that so? It looks like he has business with us.”
Sure enough, the village chief rushed through the wide-open door. He had clearly run with all his strength and was gasping for breath.
He stared at Mael with a grave expression and shouted.
“S-Sir Knight! Something terrible has happened!”
“So it would seem. What happened?”
“The Hyullang corpses…! They have started moving again!”
Ian frowned.
“Ha. It really does seem to be a Dark Mage.”
Desecrating the dead was a practice exclusive to their kind.
Marie muttered under her breath, and Ian nodded.
“He was probably the one who opened the Outer Gate as well. When he failed to achieve the result he wanted, he decided to act personally.”
“Young Master, how could a Dark Mage open an Outer Gate? Do not say something so absurd.”
“…Hmm.”
That was true.
This was the knowledge commonly accepted in this era.
Dark Mages could not open Outer Gates.
Everyone believed that to be true.
Opening a gateway connected to another world required an enormous amount of mana. It was realistically impossible for a single person to bear that burden.
That was indeed true.
However, the Dark Mages had not spent their time idly while surviving in this harsh world.
Like the mages of the El Karda Empire, they researched a wide variety of subjects and continued to advance.
That was why the situation would change in several years.
Countless people would personally witness Outer Gates opening with Dark Mages at their center.
In truth, it was hopelessly naive to assume that Dark Mages who worshiped the deities of the Outer Sea could never open or induce an Outer Gate.
After all, the beings creating Outer Gates in this world were the deities of the Outer Sea themselves.
In any case, this was no time to remain here.
A Dark Mage of at least Level 4 had appeared, and Ian had to choose.
‘Flee or fight.’
There was no need to deliberate.
In truth, they had no choice other than to fight.
If the Dark Mage was Level 4, they had a reasonable chance of defeating him. It would be better to fight than to flee and allow the villagers to be slaughtered.
If he was Level 5, he would undoubtedly pursue them even if they fled, and he would eventually catch them.
Ian turned toward James.
“You said you were a hunter, correct?”
“What? Yes! Though I also work as an herbalist.”
“I need arrows. Do you have any?”
“I do. I will bring them immediately!”
James must have seen Ian shooting arrows at the Hyullang from atop the palisade. He rushed out without asking why they were needed.
Ian looked at Mael and Marie.
He could not see their expressions beneath their helmets, but he could tell from the atmosphere that they were both extremely tense.
“For now, let us go as well.”
“Yes.”
Mael answered immediately, but Marie hesitated for a moment.
However, she also knew there was no better option. She sighed and nodded without complaint.
Ian let out a sigh of his own. He first returned to the carriage to retrieve his bow and arrows, then accepted a spare dagger from Marie before heading toward the village entrance.
He could only hope they were not too late.