Chapter 262

Chapter 262

Philip’s eyes twitched as he accepted the grimoire.

Elia, sitting across from him, glanced between the grimoire and Ian as Philip added, "It might be Aynas. If they moved right after receiving the message Nasser sent, they would have had plenty of time to catch up."

"We’ll know soon enough. Stay inside for now. We might be able to resolve this without a fight."

"Not fight...? How?"

"We’ll use their own methods. For now, at least."

"...?"

Leaving the confused Philip and the curious Elia reaching for the grimoire behind, Ian closed the window. He then downed the rest of the liquor in one gulp, muttering as he released the reins he’d been holding with one hand.

"Just keep going as you are doing now."

... Not that they’ll understand, but...

Ian added inwardly as he swiftly climbed onto the roof of the carriage. Unless a chase ensued, there wouldn’t be any problem leaving the coachman’s seat unattended for a while. The white horse, whether Nila or Selim, knew to follow the path on its own without needing much guidance.

"...."

Standing on the roof, Ian watched the approaching group of fairies. It didn’t seem like a fight would break out immediately. If they intended to fight, they would have driven their horses harder and drawn their weapons by now. But they did neither of those things yet. Even though all five of them were heavily armed with scale armor and various weapons, they hadn’t made any aggressive moves.

Soon, the attention of the fairy warriors was focused on Ian, but he didn’t feel tense.

How do these trackers always manage to find my location so accurately? It’s not like I have a tracking device on me. Not to mention, we even split up this time...

Ian mused as he slowly drew a longsword from his waist.

Finally, he spoke. "If you come any closer, I’ll take it as a sign that you want to fight."

His voice, enhanced with a bit of magic, rang out clearly despite not being overly loud. He didn’t need to use magic since fairies had sharp hearing, but he wanted to ensure the message was conveyed unmistakably. The leading fairy, who had been receiving Ian’s gaze, frowned before raising one arm to the side. She was a female warrior with almost silver-gray hair down to her nape and the typical haughty, bitter expression of a fairy.

Clip-clop, clip-clop—

The other fairies, following her lead, slowed their pace in response to her gesture.

Ian took in their appearance carefully. They all had a similarly stiff demeanor and swamp-colored eyes, regardless of gender. The differences in hair color ranged from platinum blonde to silver.

Pointy ears really do all look the same...

Ian clicked his tongue inwardly. The only fairy he could easily distinguish was probably Thesaya. Not only because her features were more distinct but also because she possessed a playful charm and elegance that the others lacked.

"State your identity and purpose."

When the fairies settled at a reasonable distance behind the carriage, Ian finally spoke, keeping his gaze fixed on the leading fairy. He had no intention of showing courtesy first; Ian disliked fairies almost as much as spellcasters. There was only one exception to this—at least for now.

The leading fairy, who had furrowed her brow even more, finally spoke."We are the fairies of House Aynas. We’ve come to meet Sir Ian Hope. It seems he’s in that carriage."

As expected, Ian thought to himself, then spoke, shrugging nonchalantly.

"Perhaps."

"We haven’t come to fight, coachman. We just have a few questions for Sir Ian Hope and need to confirm some things. So stop the carriage for a moment."

Although she seemed more cold, as if offended, the fairy still maintained a minimum level of courtesy. But knowing exactly what those questions and confirmations were, Ian simply curled his lips into a faint smile.

"Let’s just talk like this. If you’re really not here to fight."

"... Then at least let us see Sir Ian Hope. I’m here to speak with him, not with you."

"You can do that right here. I’m Ian Hope."

"...!"

The fairy’s eyes widened in surprise, and the others behind her, who had been glaring at Ian, reacted similarly.

After blinking once in disbelief, the fairy fixed her gaze on Ian and continued. "If you are indeed Sir Ian Hope... why were you sitting in the coachman’s seat?"

"It gets stuffy staying inside all the time. Unlike fairies, humans don’t die just from sitting in the coachman’s seat."

Ian paused and let out a brief chuckle. "Anyway, this is entertaining. You show up out of nowhere demanding to see me, but when I appear, you doubt."

The fairy blinked again in surprise before finally bowing her head slightly. "Please forgive my rudeness, Sir Ian... I simply didn’t expect to meet you so quickly."

"Are you the one in charge here?"

"Yes. I am Alice Aynas, a member of House Aynas and the leader of this search party."

"As I said, I’m Ian Hope. A mercenary."

"... So, the rumors of you being a former mercenary are true."

Ah, I see. They’ve done some background research on me, Ian thought with a faint smile, beginning to understand why these haughty and ruthless liars were being so cautious. Of course, his reputation alone couldn’t be the entire reason.

"If you want to talk, answer my question first."

"... Findrel? You know Findrel?"

"Quite well. I cleaned him out of his entire fortune in a gambling game." Ian flashed a sly smile, the kind a mercenary might wear.

Alice’s expression turned blank with shock.

She blinked, then finally stammered out her words. "Gambling...? Are you saying you won the house’s seal in a bet?"

"He claimed that having this seal was akin to being a member of House Aynas and that it entitled me to certain privileges. He said it was worth about... a hundred gold coins."

Alice’s jaw dropped slightly, and the other fairies appeared equally stunned. Eventually, Alice’s face flushed red with anger.

"That fool... he really did that?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

"And... he just handed it over to you?"

"Not quite. He tried to kill me immediately afterward. But after I beat him up, he quieted down."

"And where did this happen?" Alice asked, her brow furrowed as tightly as possible, her voice tinged with exasperation.

Ian answered promptly. "In the frontier."

"Could you be more specific?"

"Even if you go there, you won’t find him. He fled with his men at dawn. Probably went deeper into the frontier, planning to profit from the ongoing war."

"That... damn... bastard..." Alice muttered through gritted teeth.

She seemed to have forgotten her earlier urge to flee as her horse moved closer to the carriage once again. After taking a deep breath, her face returned to its usual cold expression, though her pointed ears were still flushed.

"That man is my relative, a disgrace who was expelled from our house. He’s a stain on our name. I can imagine what kind of disrespect he showed you, but..."

She paused, her voice strained with suppressed anger as she looked up at Ian. "Everything he told you about the house’s seal is a lie. Therefore, I would be grateful if you could return it. It’s not something that should be traded as gambling collateral."

"I’m afraid I can’t do that. This is my rightful possession now," Ian responded firmly.

In truth, he could have given it away if he wanted to, but he chose not to, just in case.

Who knows if there might be a spell that could read the memories imbued in the object?

As Alice’s expression hardened again, Ian added, looking down at her. "But I won’t be using it for personal gain anymore. If I get the chance, I’ll melt it down and turn it into money."

"Melt it down..." Alice stammered, biting her lower lip in frustration before continuing. "Then... could you at least swear it? In the name of the Radiant Goddess?"

"That’s not difficult. I swear."

"And that everything you’ve told me is the truth?"

"..."

So this was the main point, Ian thought as he stared down at Alice for a moment, then smirked slightly and replied.

"I swear that as well."

"... Very well. Damn it... that filthy, lying bastard..." Alice turned her gaze away, muttering under her breath, her eyes reflecting shame and anger. She felt her house had been disgraced in front of her subordinates.

"Is that all you wanted to ask?" Ian asked, watching her for a moment.

Alice nodded slightly. "Yes. Thank you for your cooperation."

Her tone had turned sharp, showing she was indeed done with this encounter.

She probably thinks she’ll never see me again, Ian thought with a low chuckle before adding. "But I still have one more thing."

"...?" Alice frowned and looked up at him.

The fear in her eyes was still there, but now it was mixed with undisguised irritation. She was likely thinking that she could just run away now that her business was done.

Ian extended his hand. "Findrel still owes me a debt."

"A debt...?"

"Around twenty cigarettes."

"Cig..."

"He said they could be made in a day, but it turns out that was just an excuse to buy time to escape."

As the conversation continued, Alice’s expression grew more twisted.

Ian moved his finger up and down as he added, "Since I doubt I’ll see that bastard again, you, as a fellow member of House Aynas, can pay me instead."

"...."