“Nice! I finally found it!”
I lifted up the ball in my hand above the water of Laka Kara and shouted loudly. A few days of hard work finally paid off.
It was the ‘Jade Magic Ball of Great Sin’ which Evelyn left behind. Although I couldn’t use it because of the User-Protection Magic spelled on the ball, I could make a large sum of money if I sold it after breaking its melon-sized Essence into small pieces.
I put the ‘Jade Magic Ball of Great Sin’ in my Subspace Pocket carefully and started swimming back towards the shore of the lake.
‘Where is everybody?”
When I came back, there was nobody in the office. I briefly thought they probably went outside but soon I heard a noise from the upstairs.
So, I shouted towards the upstairs.
“Hey sis, I am back!”
Shortly after, Armida in a scarlet silk dress stomped down the stairs. Her long dress trailed on the floor and its width was voluminous. Her cleavage and shoulder line were laid bare.
She turned around 360 degrees to show off her dress.
“How do I look?”
“You look pretty. Why are you wearing that dress?”
Standing and humming in front of the full-length mirror in the office, she said.
“Oh, we’ve got an invitation letter from the Palace of Kara.”
“An invitation letter?”
“Yeah. The ambassadors from the Robros Kingdom will come to Kara before long. So, they are inviting high-ranking aristocrats and influential people in Kara to have discussions about important things and hold a banquet for the ambassadors.”
“Really?”
I scratched my head and picked up the invitation letter. I couldn’t understand why the hell they were preparing these kinds of events. The reason why the ambassadors from the Robros Kingdom were coming was to declare war against Kara. Thus, there was no reason for Kara to welcome them.
After reading the invitation letter, I looked at Armida with subtle eyes.
“Hey sis, I don’t see your name on this invitation letter.”
“It says each invitee can bring his or her partner.”
I narrowed my eyes.
“Are you trying to go there?”
“Of course, I will.”
“We’re not even from Kara. Why the hell do we go there?”
“It’s fine. We’ve got an invitation letter.”
I shook my head. I had no idea why she would want to go there. She’s probably thinking about some kind of a romantic dance party. But in fact, it would be full of a warlike atmosphere in the palace.
“The invitation and some stupid banquet are totally bullshit. Why do you want to go to a place where someone declares war against the other.”
“Declaring a war?”
“Yeah. The Kingdom of Robros has been preparing for war since several years ago. It’s trying to unify the whole Great Desert.”
“Really? Where did you get that information?”
“You know, I have built some networks recently. I heard it from someone in those networks.”
Armida started to make a fuss.
“Oh, really? Then I should report it as soon as possible.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I need to report this to Sky City, Kronos. It’s our job to report a major event like a war.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. You should stay in the office instead of me for a while. I will be back as soon as possible.”
While making a great fuss, she went upstairs.
“Where are you going? You should go to the Magic Communication Center when you report something to Kronos.”
“I have my own Communication Ball. It’s in my room.”
The ball looked very novel. Humans had to go to the Magic Communication Center where the large magic spell chart was located for long-distance communication. It’s unbelievable that her small Communication Ball could do the same job. Kronos, the Sky City, was surely on another level. All the items made in Kronos were of the best quality.
“Really? Let me take a look later. I wanna check it out.”
“Sure.”
As she went upstairs again, I laid down on the sofa and stared at the ceiling in silence. At last, Kara would be in a war again after a long peaceful time. I should start packing my stuff and call a moving company.
Ding dong~
Out of sudden, the doorbell rang and the office door slowly opened. I turned my eyes towards the door and saw a middle-aged man escorted by a group of warriors. He was very short and fat. He even tripped over his own feet when he walked over the doorsill.
Immediately, escorting warriors all at once gave their arms to him.
“Supreme Commander! Are you okay, sir?”
“I am okay. Why don’t you guys stay outside?”
“Yes, sir.”
The obese middle-aged man barely stood up and started staring at me. Then he walked closer to me with a bright smile.
“Master! It’s so great to see you.”
As he gave me a polite greeting, I got up from the sofa.
“Nice to meet you. By the way, who are you?”
While having difficulty in his steps, he came closer to me.
“My name is Razal Amuraba and I am the Supreme Commander of Kara’s army.”
The Supreme Commander was in charge of the entire Kara’s army. Of course, the Emir was his superior but he’s the one who actually commanded all the Kara’s army.
“Oh, I see. Have a seat.”
“Thank you.”
As he politely sat on the other sofa, his feet couldn’t even reach the ground. He’s a short guy with even shorter legs. After I cleaned the table halfheartedly, we started our conversation.
“So, what brings you here? To figure out the price of my service, I need to know exactly what your request is.”
“Well…”
He was fidgeting and hesitant to open his mouth.
“Don’t worry. Everything we discuss here is totally confidential. Well, I have a sister who has good hearing and she’s pretty talkative. But fortunately, she’s upstairs right now so it’s okay.”
“Hey!”
Armida yelled from upstairs and Razal slightly glanced at the staircase.
“I think she’s listening…”
“Nah, that’s just a coincidence. She is suffering from some kind of disease which makes her yell suddenly without any reason.”
“Hey!”
She yelled again. It was much louder this time. So, I told Razal in a very quiet voice.
“It is a very serious disease. She’s yelling like that all the time.”
“Oh, I see…”
“So, what’s your request? What do you want me to do for you?”
With an embarrassed face, he started talking.
“Actually, the ambassadors from the Kingdom of Robros will come to Kara soon.”
“Yeah, I heard about it.”
“And there’s some problem.”
“What problem?”
“Marquis Fabius is also coming.”
I slightly frowned. Fabius, the Single Eye, was an old guy who became the highest level Master Swordsman as a knight. He’s such a self-made man. He’s a great hero and the best among the three strongest swordsmen in neutral states.
Besides, he and I could go way back. During the Era of Destruction, we fought together against the demons for years. But for him, I was like nobody.
“Why the hell is he coming with the ambassadors?”
“I also can’t understand why. Usually, either Baron or Viscount is appointed as a representative of the ambassadors. But this time, Marquis Fabius is coming instead. So, we’re in a very tough situation right now.”
The reason was obvious. It’s because of Zenbe.
The lifelong wish of Marquis Fabius was to become a Mind Master. In fact, all the Master of the highest rank wished to become a Mind Master. Yet, Marquis Fabius had a much greater obsession than others. He’s a highly competitive guy by nature and had an inferiority complex since he wasn’t included among the three strongest swordsmen in the whole continents even if he’s the best in neutral states.
He had been practicing his swordsmanship ceaselessly but it wasn’t easy. Unlike other states, the Kingdom of Robros was only specialized in magic and magical engineering. So, he had just a few rivals or colleagues with whom he could practice and discuss swordsmanship.
But luckily, he heard the news that Zenbe, one of the great Orc heroes and also a Master of the same level, was wandering around in Kara like a vagabond. It’s so obvious that Fabius, the Single Eye, would be eager to meet Zenbe.
“Fuc**** assholes. Why the hell do they keep bothering me?”
“What do you mean?”
“Never mind. Just continue what you’re saying.”
Razal held his breath shortly and then spoke in a very serious tone.
“Also, more than five thousand people are coming with the ambassadors.”
“Five thousand? It’s quite a lot.”
“I don’t think they’re sending that many people without any reason. They must have devised some kind of secret plan.”
“What secret plan?”
“They’re trying to disguise themselves as the ambassadors and once we open the castle gate, they will try to take over our city.”
I chuckled. He’s so imaginative.
Of course, the Kingdom of Robros could easily conquer Kara with that secret plan. But it was very unlikely for them to use that plan.
The Kingdom of Robros was the second strongest country in the Prosia continent and also a very wealthy state. It would be such a shame for them to disguise their troops as ambassadors to conquer Kara.
“No, you’re wrong. Most of them are from merchant guilds of the other continents.”
“Merchant guilds of the other continents?”
“Yeah. It’s difficult for them to cross the Devil’s Trade Route by themselves because of bandits in the Great Desert. So, they’re trying to come to Kara with the ambassadors after paying some money to the Kingdom of Robros.”
“Well, that could be the case but…”
“But what?”
“Not only one cavalry unit but also more than one thousand soldiers are coming to protect the ambassadors.”
The Kingdom of Robros was sending those troops in case of conflict after declaring war against Kara.
“They’re just coming to protect the ambassadors. You don’t need to worry about them.”
“But…”
As he kept being anxious, I sighed deeply. Obviously, our situations were very different. I was just a bystander but he’s the Supreme Commander of Kara’s army. So, he must be prepared for every possibility.
“Well, I understand that you guys should be prepared for every possibility. So, how can I help you?”
“I would like to request you to keep Marquis Fabious in check while he’s staying here.”
“By myself?”
With a subtle smile, Razal put his hands together politely.
“Well… it would be even better if Zenbe, the Holy Meteor, could come too.”
It seemed that Zenbe was the one whom they really needed. Apparently, there’s no one in Kara except Zenbe who could fight against Marquis Fabius.
“I don’t think he will come.”
“Why not?”
“It is about the pride between two men of the same species and also he will never do something he doesn’t want to. He’s got such a strong pride.”
“Oh, really…?”
I stared at Razal with a worried face.
“By the way, I can introduce you to someone who can keep Fabius in check.”
At that moment, Armida stomped down from the upstairs.
“Hey, little bro, when the Kingdom of Robros and Kara will go to war against each other? Please answer me quickly. I’m in a hurry.”
“Oh, around this winter. And before that, the Kingdom of Robros will go to war against Braham this fall.”
“What the hell? They will go to war against Braham too?”
“Yeah. Their goal is to conquer the entire Great Desert.”
“Then they will bring a huge army, won’t they?”
“Yeah. At least 150,000 troops.”
“Got it. Thank you.”
After she quickly went upstairs again, Razal rolled his eyes and opened his mouth.
“What was your sister talking about?”
“Oh, nothing. You don’t have to worry about it. Anyways, do you want to hire the other person or not?”
“Well…”
He tilted his head to the side. He seemed suspicious of what I said because it’s very difficult to find a Master Swordsman.
“If you don’t want to hire the other person, you can leave now.”
He tried to read my face.
“Is that person really strong?”
“She’s super strong.”
“Who is she?”
Actually, he just saw her. Yes. Armida was that person. Obviously, I didn’t have to ask her in advance because she was so happy to go to Kara’s Palace.
“You don’t know her but I can tell you she’s a really strong person for sure. You know what? There are a lot of Master Swordsmen including me and Zenbe who do not want to get involved in the matters happening in this world.”
“Is that true?”
“Yeah. We are more interested in our swordsmanship than wealth and fame. But I still have to make our living so I run this detective agency.”
He started nodding his head as if he could understand what I said.
“Hmm… I see…”
“So what do you want to do?”
“Sure. I will hire you and the other person.”
“Good. Just give me a minute. I need to calculate the bill for this job.”
A basic fee was 160 riffs of gold and the risk pay was 500 riffs of gold. On top of those, I had to charge another 42 riffs of gold for food and other stuff since the ambassadors would stay in Kara for about a week.
“The total is 1,302 riffs of gold.”
I added another 600 riffs of gold. It’s for my work at the Saint Euroa Temple. They probably never heard of my fight against Evelyn so they gave only Zenbe some money as gratitude.
Once he checked my bill, his eyes got wide open.
“Seriously? It’s very expensive.”
“Yeah, the risk of pay is very expensive.”
“But you’ve just said this job won’t be difficult, right?”
“Well, it won’t be difficult but still Marquis Fabius is a huge risk.”
“What do you mean?”
“He’s a mad dog and has an inferiority complex so he’s always trying to draw his sword if he gets angry. He’s the knight who reached the Master-level so he was ostracized in the aristocrat society of the Kingdom of Robros in the past. Although he doesn’t fight against someone without a reason, you always need to be careful when he’s around you.”
“I never heard about such a thing…”
I leaned back against the sofa.
“Of course, that’s an old story. Now, nobody would go against Marquis Fabius. What kind of a person in the Kingdom of Robros would dare to fight against the best swordsman in neutral states. Everyone must be behaving themselves in front of him.”
“Oh, I see.”
“So you need to be careful. If he gets pissed off, the whole palace of Kara would be covered with blood. And I am not joking. Many people will die for sure.”
Razal took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat on his forehead.
At that moment, Armida quickly came down again and asked.
“Hey little bro, do you know who the commanders are?”
“Commanders?”
“Yeah.”
“Duke Wastein is the commander of the Kingdom of Robros and this obese middle-aged man right in front of me is the commander of Kara.”
She gently glanced at him.
“You are so chubby and cute. What is your name?”
“My na… my name is Razal Amuraba.”
“Razal? I see. Thank you.”
After she went upstairs again, Razal blinked his eyes and stared at me as if he got a question.
“Master… why does your sister keep acting weird like that?”
“It’s not a big deal. She’s just speaking gibberish. You don’t have to worry about her.”
“But she’s getting on my nerves.”
“I’ve already told you that she’s got some medical condition.”
“What kind of disease is she suffering?”
“It’s a spinster hysteria which is incurable.”
“Hey!”
Armida yelled again from upstairs and it was even louder this time. I put the bill in Razal’s hand and said goodbye to him. The consultation was over anyway. Before he started asking me about Armida again, it’s better for me to make him leave now.
* * *