Chapter 45: Kallin? Karin?

[Collid went berserk, contrary to expectations?]

“I apologize. For the sin of failing to manage the slave properly…….”

[No, that’s enough. Wasn't he a defective product anyway?

To make a slave of someone just before they overcame the wall, the connection was unstable and his mind was incomplete…….]

“But…….”

It was because I made such a person a slave that it was easy to plant someone in Aslan.

……I couldn't voice that counterargument.

[That’s enough. Thanks to him, we now have a pretext for Aslan and Trian to fight each other, so he did well for a defective product. More importantly, has his ability been confirmed?]

Confirming the experiment’s ability is more important than losing a 5-Star Magic Knight?

The shadow, who bowed its head before the communication sphere, could not understand the meaning, but the answer came immediately.

“Yes, it is certain. We confirmed that he recognized the slave’s demonic energy.”

[So he really can see through the veil. Hoho……. How…….]

The shadow simply kept its head bowed until the laughter from within the communication sphere subsided.

Then, a moment later.

[This adds a clear motive for securing him. Therefore, the plan will be changed.]

“Pardon? What do you mean by changing the plan?”

[It’s only natural since the situation has changed. You will step forward yourself.]

“Me?!”

The shadow couldn't help but jerk its head up.

As red hair and a round face were revealed from under the hood of the robe, the moment its eyes met with the figure in the crystal sphere.

Seeing ‘His’ brow furrow, the shadow could only hastily bow its head again.

“I apologize, Master.”

[……You cannot become my successor with behind-the-scenes work alone, Karin. The operation in Aslan will no longer require your touch, will it?]

“I, I know.”

[That is why this is an opportunity I am giving you. It is a mission I can entrust to you because you can deploy a double veil. It will also serve to confirm whether he can see through a double veil as well.]

Just when I thought he might be throwing even me out to test the subject.

[Wouldn’t you be able to make use of even that? Am I wrong?]

At the master’s provocation, Karin could only nod her head.

“Of course.”

[Retrieve the experiment, and at the same time, escalate the conflict. But do not forget. The retrieval of the experiment comes first.]

“Yes.”

The mere experiment comes before my 5-Star slave, who is difficult to replace?

I couldn’t comprehend being given a mission that even changed the organization’s plans, but.

[However, in the worst-case scenario, you do not have to retrieve him alive.]

If that condition was attached, it was a different story.

“……I understand.”

A smile was certainly playing on the lips of the red-haired shadow with its head bowed.

* * *

“Isn't it difficult, Administrator Kallin?”

A gentle voice flowed in from outside the carriage window.

The pronunciation was similar to begin with, but it was a pseudonym that had now become more familiar than her real name, Karin.

At that, she smiled.

“Not at all, Commander. The family’s business takes precedence over relieving my fatigue.”

It was a reply made without even opening the window, but he wouldn't think it rude.

Because it was true that she was too tired to even have the energy to open the window.

‘This is the unavoidable fate of a magician.’

No matter that she had pioneered the realm of the 6th Circle, no matter that she had defied the principles of the world to maintain the appearance of someone in her 20s.

As long as a magician harbored demonic energy, physical decline was inevitable.

Unless, of course, one reached the realm of the Seven-Star, the 7th Circle, as some called it, and completely ‘transformed’ their body.

‘One day, I will surely…….’

As she was sighing inwardly, the carriage curtain was pulled back with a rustling sound.

“I thought your voice sounded serious for a reason.

It seems we’ve pushed ourselves too hard. We should rest here for today.”

“Ah, no Commander. It’s fine…….”

“I am not fine. If the financial administrator who needs to collect reparations from Trian loses her health, who will do the calculations?”

Who would believe that this middle-aged man with a stern impression, who only uttered such gentle words, was the famous Lightning Blade Sword?

And how could one explain that he was under orders to enter Trian as quickly as possible to restore the family’s honor?

‘Is the compensation money important?

We’re going to pick a fight anyway.’

In truth, the ‘administrator’s’ accompaniment was just for show; their real purpose was not something like compensation money.

The knights in the party could not have been unaware of that secret order.

But among the knights pouring their gazes at Karin through the opened curtain, not a single one showed a negative reaction to Evan Orgus’s words.

‘Men, I tell you.’

She smirked inwardly but nodded her head readily.

“In that case, I will be shameless and…….”

She wanted to go to Trian right away as much as anyone, but her body wouldn’t follow.

This was the only inconvenient point since entering the great world of magic.

‘If I complete the mission and become the successor, and receive the secret arts, I too will one day…….’

Recalling the command of her master and lord, Karin slowly descended from the carriage.

As soon as she did, gazes from all around.

“So beautiful…….”

“Even the Flower of the North cannot compare to her…….”

“Amazing…….”

“That’s why the Commander…….”

The whispering elites of Aslan.

There probably wasn't a single unmarried man among them, yet their gazes upon her were all overflowing with lewd thoughts.

‘Honestly, these males…….’

Hiding her renewed sense of disgust, she put on an act again, no, she showed that she was genuinely tired.

“Ah……. I feel like I can finally live.”

“Indeed. For a delicate woman like you, just being in a carriage must be an ordeal.”

The stern-faced middle-aged man who agreed with her words didn't even dismount from his horse.

I could understand.

The moment he dismounted, it would be obvious that he was about the same height as me.

‘What Lightning Blade Sword, just a shorty who's a bundle of complexes.’

A petite frame, barely 165cm tall.

He was a legendary figure who had become a 6-Star knight after striving to overcome that flaw.

But in the eyes of Karin, who stood on the path of great magic, he was just a pathetic middle-aged man.

A pathetic middle-aged man who, despite learning worthless Corporeal Arts and swordsmanship, was nearing fifty and had not even married.

The way he swung a greatsword as tall as himself didn't look cool at all, and the moniker of Lightning Blade Sword, which his fierce sword strikes were said to have earned him, was just laughable.

‘Has he ever seen real lightning, a great power created by magic?’

But she couldn’t let her inner thoughts show.

On the contrary.

“I appreciate your words, but I am worried that the schedule is being delayed because of me.”

“Oh. Don’t think such things, Kallin. If we are delayed, Trian will only become more anxious.”

It was funny how a knight with the grand title of Lightning Blade Sword misinterpreted even his lord’s command to flatter her, but she just nodded with an expression of acceptance.

On top of that.

“Will the others in the other carriages be alright?

I hope I haven’t inconvenienced them unnecessarily because of me…….”

She added a pretense of worrying about the other servants and administrators.

“Men and women are different, what can be done. Your heart is as beautiful as your appearance.”

Evan’s pleased face was becoming difficult to look at.

It was the noble culture of the capital that it was no flaw for a married man and woman to roll around naked in the secluded bushes of a party venue.

But what was this about men and women being different?

“Still, I feel apologetic.”

“Tsk. Don’t think such things.

You just think about taking care of your own body.

That will be more helpful to this expedition.”

‘Tsk’?

I've never even heard such a thing from that person, who is much older than you.

The more he opened his mouth, the more he seemed lacking when it came to women; that was the true face of the grandly named Lightning Blade Sword, Evan Orgus.

But the more he was like that, the easier he was to use.

It was common sense that mental magic didn't work well on high-level Corporeal Arts users, but for a fool like this, even that was unnecessary.

As long as I had this beauty.

“So, you should rest comfortably…….”

“Then, as you say, I will rest, Commander.”

“Ahem. Hmph. You should.”

A mere administrator openly cut off the knight commander’s words, yet the knight commander just coughed awkwardly in embarrassment.

Perhaps this was another kind of magic.

“Alright, then we will prepare to camp here!”

“The campfire for Lady Kallin, I will…….”

“Ahem. I will do it.”

“The firewood, I will…….”

The sight of knights, not even servants, vying to help with the camping preparations in front of her no longer elicited any particular emotion.

She just thought about her current target.

‘An experiment…….’

Honestly, if it was just him alone, capturing or killing him would be no trouble at all.

But.

‘Trian……. Especially that Bulwark of the North cannot be ignored.’

A real deal, incomparable to this party’s bundle-of-complexes shorty.

I have to deal with the experiment in a land protected by such an old monster.

But it didn't seem that difficult.

‘He sees through the veil?

Still, he’ll be no match for a double veil.

No, at first, there’s no need to even use a double veil. He’ll freak out if he recognizes my demonic energy, so it’s better to use that.’

I don't know how much of a say he has in Trian.

But if he accuses a mere administrator, a ‘beauty’ like me at that, of being a high-level magician, his standing will only narrow.

‘I’ll just squeeze out a few tears then, and take care of him at night when the time is right.’

Even if his say is greater than I thought and Enoch Trian believes his words, nothing will change.

I am a magician who scoffs at the principles of the world and commands miracles, and among them, one of the highest-ranking magicians, excluding the Seven-Star class.

I have more than one or two prepared spells, so toying with a brat who just has good ‘eyes’ is no trouble at all.

And even if I didn’t use magic, there were many ways.

‘Provoking Evan to fight is simple.’

No matter how much of a fool he is, this shorty is also a 6-Star knight, so he should be able to hold off Enoch Trian to some extent.

‘And if I secretly lend a hand.’

I could kill Enoch Trian.

No, even if I use only the minimum amount of power, the members of the investigation team should be able to hold off the Trian Knightly Order’s fierce attack for a while.

‘And in that chaos, I disappear with the experiment.’

That method wouldn't be bad either.

And if that happens, the sparks of war will begin to spread in earnest between Aslan and Trian.

And the organization’s plan to bring chaos to the northern part of the continent will begin in Trian.

‘Perfect.’

It really was a perfect plan.

To the point that I felt lucky to be able to score points with that person with just a mission like this.

Of course.

‘I’ll have to study how on earth the experiment can see through His veil.

Perhaps that alone will give me my own secret art. And then, I will…….’

Tear him to pieces.

From the beginning, she had no intention of letting the experiment who had killed her slave live.

Since that person had said first that ‘it’s okay to kill him,’ I wouldn’t be disregarding any restrictions.

Administrator Kallin, no, 6-Circle magician Karin smiled and dreamed of a rosy future.

And until just after arriving in Trian, it seemed that expectation would be fulfilled.

However, when they entered the inner castle of Trian.

From then on, Karin, no, the entire investigation team, couldn't help but feel that something was going wrong.

Because the entire Trian Knightly Order, led by that Bulwark of the North, Enoch Trian, was waiting for them inside the inner castle.

“What is this…….”

The party couldn't help but be flustered.

A hundred knights lined up, dressed in formal armor emblazoned with the gray rose crest.

They were lined up on the left and right as if welcoming esteemed guests, and at the end of the line stood Count Enoch Trian, renowned throughout the country, dressed in full formal attire.

But the confusion was brief.

“Aren’t they bowing their heads to us?”

“Right. No matter how strong Trian is, they can't afford to be on bad terms with us, Aslan.”

“I didn’t expect them to come out this humbly though…….”

The conclusion was reached quickly.

‘This turned out to be simple.’

Evan Orgus forcibly suppressed the smile that was naturally forming.

If he laughed here, a matter that could be resolved easily might get complicated.

Even though he was a knight who had only trained, he had that much sense.

Therefore.

The moment the conclusion was reached, he dismounted and ran between the lined-up knights.

He usually avoided standing without a platform or a horse in front of other knights, but now he had no choice.

Tap tap tap.

“Ha……. How could Your Excellency personally come out to meet us like this…….”

The master of this grand event, which was essentially a declaration of surrender, was a far senior 6-Star knight to himself, and a person of much higher status.

Evan bowed his waist as low as he could and took a humble posture in front of the already large count.

His pride wasn't hurt in the slightest.

‘Still, I have the upper hand.’

This event itself conveyed the Count’s intentions.

That’s what he thought.

But, Enoch Trian’s expression, which seemed to be showing respect, was a little strange.

“How dare you, intentionally miss the arrival time?

Are you trying to deceive me?

Do I look that ridiculous to you!?”

“……Pardon?”

“To make me, this Enoch Trian, wait for half a day dressed in my full-dress uniform, what on earth does Aslan think of me.”

Half a day? What?

We only arrived two hours ago?

“What is the meaning of……?”

Just as I was about to voice a legitimate question in the bewildering situation.

“Or is this your intention?”

“……Pardon?”

I thought I saw the Count's palm rushing before my eyes, and then, with a ‘CRACK!’ sound, the world flashed white for an instant and my body flew into the air.

“Keok!?”

A shock that made me wonder if my neck was broken.

Boom!

“Keok!?”

“Commander!”

“Wh-what is this……!?”

I flew dozens of meters and collided with my subordinate knights, tumbling over, but I still couldn't understand the situation at all.

But.

“How dare you inflict this humiliation upon me.

I will teach you how light the empty fame of the Lightning Blade Sword is!

I challenge you to a duel!!”

A declaration, more bewildering than the pain, was echoing all around.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.