Chapter 71

Chapter 71

TL/Editor: raei

Proofreader: Pickhead7

Schedule: 5/week

Illustrations: None.

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The blade still had the light of daylight swirling around it.

A magic sword emitting a pure white light.

Witnessing a brilliance that torches could never imitate, the mercenaries, without exception, made the sign of the cross.

"God almighty...!"

"God has protected us!"

Belenka followed the mercenaries and made the sign of the cross.

She wasn't as deeply moved as the mercenaries, but her reaction was similar to expressing exclamations of wonder.

It was like how Westerners frequently exclaim, "Oh my God!"

"You were incredible, Wizard!"

"Even the mightiest vampire is but a mere mosquito in front of you, Wizard!"

"Hurrah for Wizard Ian!"

Ian found the babbling mercenaries beside him incredibly annoying.

Praise was nice to hear at first, but it quickly became tiresomely repetitive.

Above all, Ian needed time to ponder the mysteries that lay dormant in Anor-lsil.

Therefore, Ian, without losing a wizard's dignity, politely requested the mercenaries.

"Quiet. Stop yapping beside me. If you have nothing to do, go call the Baron."

A request that was politeness itself.

Moved by Ian's gracious request, the mercenaries responded.

"Of course, Wizard!"

The mercenaries happily vanished, singing a song about 'Ian, who burned the mosquito to ashes,' and so on.

Ian still couldn't quite understand the mercenaries' tastes.

Do you guys really like it when I talk like a foul-mouthed grandma that much?

He remembered how they practically had a fit begging for forgiveness when he accidentally spoke to them politely.

Playing the role of a quirky wizard was a bit uncomfortable, but Ian obliged since it was what they expected.

In actuality, he was a man of manners.

Ian, true to his gentlemanly nature, extended his hand to Kira.

"Are you okay?"

"..."

Kira just stared blankly at Ian.

"Yes."

She took Ian's hand and slowly stood up.

As Kira got closer, the pungent smell of gunpowder hit their noses.

As expected, the cause of the explosion was gunpowder.

It was impossible for Ian not to recognize the smell of gunpowder.

These days, children play with cyber guns on smartphones, a luxury of the modern world.

But children in the past played with real guns loaded with real gunpowder(true).

It might seem absurd to think of kids playing with guns, but South Korea in the past was a country where romance was alive and well.

It was a common evening scene back then to see neighborhood kids tucking cap guns[1] into their jeans and roaming around.

The sound of a cap gun and the smell of gunpowder it emitted were the dreams of boys, so much so that the tougher kids would have all handled a cap gun at least once.

Though compared to cap guns, airsoft pellets, and even bean bullets were enough to mark you as armed.

Unfortunately, Ian's parents were conservative enough not to buy him a cap gun, but naturally, he came to recognize the smell of gunpowder from hanging out with his friends.

To clarify again, Ian was definitely not from Somalia; he was a citizen of South Korea.

Ian sniffed around.

The smell that lingered after a fireworks display or after a cap gun fight...

Ah, I want to do fireworks.

Should I ask Kira if she has any fireworks sets left?

Noticing Ian sniffing around, Kira defensively said,

"It smells a bit, doesn't it? But my magic is kind of..."

"Magic?"

Suddenly, what magic?

Ian thought for a moment.

Do people here call gunpowder magic powder?

In the East, gunpowder() simply means 'medicine that causes fire,' but the ignorant Western barbarians casually called it 'gunpowder.'

As in, powder for guns!

It's a powder used for shooting guns, so, gunpowder!

It wouldn't have been strange in the Holy Empire to call it 'magic powder.'

After all, gunpowder could indeed be considered a form of magic powder.

This is a fact proven by the meme of Harry Potter shooting with a Muggle's stick.

"It's not fire powder, then?"

"... What?"

"That powder. I thought it might be called something like 'fire powder.'"

Ian stuttered, translating modern language into the language of the Empire.

It was almost like doing a direct translation of a foreign language, so sometimes there were translation issues.

However, Ian's translated 'fire powder' coincidentally matched exactly with the Empire's term for gunpowder.

More precisely, it was called 'flame powder.'

Kira was surprised to hear the word that came out of Ian's mouth.

'You know about flame powder?!'

Flame powder wasn't a product made in the Empire.

It was a rare item, with only tiny amounts imported by heretical traders from the southeast.

Therefore, in this part of the Empire, the northern regions, the likelihood of meeting someone who knew about flame powder was virtually zero.

But it approached zero without being zero.

There were indeed people like Ian who knew about flame powder.

Of course, Kira was just being fooled at the moment.

Who would have thought that a person who used to shoot cap guns and play with fireworks in a past life would be wandering around the northern part of the Holy Empire?

Even if he developed his domain and made feudal contracts with the residents, without serving a Lord, he was nothing more than a bandit leader.

Baron Damon considered Kira his subordinate.

And in his mind, subordinates naturally serve their boss.

It was gangster logic.

What if Kira leaves for somewhere else?

Kira, are you betraying the organization right now...?

Instantly, slash.

That was the situation Kira found herself in.

Ian, being a wizard himself, fully understood Kira's troubles.

There was no need to bring up grand oaths like the honor of a master.

Wizards help wizards.

It was natural.

Put in a similar position, if Ian were caught by bandits, he would naturally ask for help from any wizard he encountered.

"I'll sort it out as soon as we're off the road."

"Really?!"

Kira looked at Ian with sparkling eyes.

How are you going to solve it?!

Are you hiring mercenaries to rescue me, or using some incredible magic?!

"I'll spread the word that Wizard Kira is being held by a rude bandit!"

"Oh, no!"

That's not okay, you maniac!

Who spreads rumors about someone being a scammer throughout the neighborhood?!

Kira was still at a blooming age.

She didn't want to be captured and executed for fraud.

But Ian didn't understand Kira.

Why not?

Just spread the rumor, and Kira's acquaintances as a wizard will rush to rescue her.

It was common sense to Ian.

"Why not? Don't you have any friends or nobles you know?"

"... No!"

That was the response.

It's about indebting a wizard.

Even nobles who've never met you would rush to your aid, yet she reacted like this.

Is she planning to set the place on fire and run away on her own?

That was a plan Ian, even as an eccentric wizard, could not agree with.

There's reckless, and then there's insane.

That's not eccentricity; it's madness.

"There's something..."

Kira tried to squeeze out some kind of explanation, racking her brain.

Any explanation would sound like a poor excuse, but she had to try.

The chance to escape from the Baron, who already believed her to be a powerful wizard, was now or never.

Then it happened.

"Ahem."

"Hmm."

The Baron's men subtly moved closer to the two, intending to eavesdrop on the conversation of the wizards.

They hoped to dig out any valuable information...

But to the two planning their escape, these were just annoying watchdogs.

It would have been tricky for ordinary people, but Ian was a wizard.

Ian immediately switched to Maronius language.

Want to eavesdrop? Go ahead! Listen!

What are you going to do if we talk in Maronius?

"[So. What's the reason you can't escape?]"

Ian was a self-proclaimed master of Maronius language, having conversed almost exclusively in it with Eredith for nearly a year.

In fact, most wizards were like that.

For wizards, whose lives could depend on minor communication errors, learning Maronius language was very important.

Ian waited silently for Kira's response.

But...

"???"

No matter how long he waited, Kira didn't respond.

Why isn't she answering?

Could it be...

Ian glanced at the bandits.

Could it be that these bandits are super over-specced and can understand Maronius language!

It must be like South Korea, where severe job shortages have led to the emergence of bandits with Seoul National University degrees!!!

"..."

Sh*t. That's impossible!

"Hey. You... don't know Maronius, do you?"

"Ah, no? I know it?"

"[What do you know?]"

"..."

Ian stared blankly at Kira.

This girl... doesn't seem like a wizard?!

---

[1. raei: A cap gun, cap pistol, or cap rifle is a toy gun that creates a loud sound simulating a gunshot and smoke when a small percussion cap is ignited]

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