Chapter 642

Chapter 642

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Chapter 642

"So, Nathan, what have you discovered?"

"I have found something over here. I will explain as you follow."

Nathan Zuckerman strode purposefully toward the direction he had been exploring.

"Unlike Baron Aile, I did not think to look for traces on the corpse, so I focused mainly on the walls and the ground of this cave. Even if no magical traces are felt, physical traces could still be present."

"That's right."

Kishiar agreed.

"So, I focused on the places where traces are more likely to be left and found this. Look here."Checkk new novel chapters at novelbin(.)com

Yuder stopped walking. Nathan Zuckerman's finger pointed to where the cave's dug-out wall met the ground. At first, it was too dark to see clearly, but when an extra light was summoned, something became visible.

'That is...'

Half-buried in the spot, no bigger than a small coin, was something difficult to identify due to the wear of time, peeking out from the long-decayed and earth-turned dust.

"It might be an object left by the First Duke Tain, or it might not be. But it certainly looks like it has been here for a very long time."

"Your keen eye is remarkable, Nathan. Well done. Shall we take a closer look?"

Praising his subordinate, Kishiar bent down to carefully lift the object. Yuder, ready to unleash his power or draw his sword at any moment, stayed alert.

In the tense atmosphere, Kishiar casually turned the metal fragment this way and that, examining it in the light, then uttered a thoughtful 'Hmm...?'

"Did you find something?"

"Yes. It's badly damaged, but I've seen something like this before. I think I know what it is."

"What is it?"

"A brooch used by mages."

Kishiar dusted off the metal fragment and held it up clearly on his palm.

"In times when mages were rare, ancient mages used to wear brooches to reveal their identity. Nowadays, there's no need for that, but thanks to that tradition, many mages still wear gemstone brooches."

Indeed, mages often wore brooches adorned with gemstones or jewels, supposedly to compensate for their lack of magic power. He hadn't realized there was also a symbolic meaning behind it.

'Thais Yulman did too... and so did many mages from the Western Mage Union. Even the gifts sent to me were in the form of brooches...'

"Then, could this be an object of the First Duke Tain?"

"Surprisingly, no."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Look closely at the pattern on the surface."

Kishiar tapped the brooch's surface with his fingernail tip. A bit of black ash fell away, revealing a faintly engraved pattern.

"Lemon flower pattern. A mage who used this pattern as his symbol existed a thousand years ago. A very famous one. Can you guess who?"

The mention of lemon flowers sparked a memory.

"Could it be, Luma?"

"Correct."

Yuder was right. Recalling the face of Enon, who particularly liked lemons, he exhaled softly.

"But the First Duke Tain was Luma's disciple. A disciple could well have had a brooch bearing his master's symbol."

"That wouldn't have been the case by the standards of that era. Ancient mages never passed such objects to others. However... there were exceptions."

Kishiar paused briefly, gazing at the brooch fragment in his palm.

"When mourning the dead."

As if leaving flowers at a tomb, it is said that ancient mages used to leave their brooches at the graves of their close mage friends.

The return journey was much faster than the way in. Once Yuder emerged onto the ground, he immediately closed the entrance to the cemetery, and Kishiar likewise disassembled the structure he had erected.

Now, no one would know what had transpired here.

"What? You're leaving at dawn tomorrow? Didn't you say there was more to see?"

Seeing the three mercenaries announcing their departure upon their return, the inn's elderly owner expressed deep disappointment. He had expected to earn a few more days of lodging fees, and his sadness at their sudden departure was evident.

"Yes, we are departing earlier than expected. However, your granddaughter was an excellent guide, which expedited our work. As a token of our gratitude, we would like to offer an additional fee for her guidance."

"Really? Ha-ha-ha. Anne will be so happy to hear that."

The old man's face lit up with a smile as he accepted a few more silver coins. He then prepared a lavish meal for the three, using the best ingredients he could find.

Naturally, more than half of that meal ended up in Yuder's stomach.

"I have carefully packaged the brooch and sent it by courier hawk. Now, the only thing left is to decipher these papers."

Kishiar unfolded the bundle of papers he had concealed and brought with him, sitting in a chair.

"I'll be translating it on the spot, so the meaning might not be exact... But if you're curious, would you like to listen?"

"Yes."

"I'm not that curious, so I will step outside for a bit. Earlier, I saw the little girl chopping wood in the backyard on behalf of her grandfather."

Nathan Zuckerman rose and silently left the room. Kishiar, watching his departure with a subtly amused smile, waited until the door closed before extending his hand.

"Hmm. When an opportunity presents itself, how can one refuse? Come over here and let's look at this together."

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