Chapter 140-2
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Could it be him?”
”I can’t say for sure. But the fact that he was hiding inside you is already suspicious. We’ll have to ask him ourselves…”
”…”
The man stopped moving, but his face showed everything. He was angry. He didn’t plan to speak. He just stared at us in silence.
He probably thought I was the one holding him down with magic.
Then, the Viscount turned to him.
”Who are you?”
”…”
The man stayed quiet.
The Viscount looked at him for a moment, then glanced at me.
”Should we let the soldiers torture him?”
”…! ※※※※※…”
The man narrowed his eyes and suddenly started chanting a spell.
Magic should need a staff and something to focus power, but maybe he had both hidden somewhere on him.
I noticed it first. No one else seemed to catch it. The Viscount just stood there, listening to the man’s words like they were normal.
I yanked the cloth off his mouth, stuffed a clump of raw magic power in, and shut him up.
Zuk!
”Mogah!?”
The Viscount blinked in confusion.
”Huh? What’s going on?”
”He tried to cast a spell, so I shoved magic into his mouth.”
”!?”
”What!?”
Both the man and the Viscount shouted at the same time.
Why was *he* surprised though? The Viscount’s shock made sense.
But the answer came quickly.
”I don’t know if it’s true,” the Viscount said, “but he suddenly started talking about himself. I thought he was trying to make us feel bad… afraid of being tortured…”
So the man had been pretending his words were normal—but he was using fake, made-up phrases like a real spell.
Now I got why he looked shocked. I’d caught on.
”Still, how did you know?” he asked.
”I can’t use magic, but I work with magic power. I can feel it when it moves.”
Since I admitted I could sense magic, it wasn’t strange that I noticed.
I answered the Viscount plainly, then tried to change the subject.
”Is the chant always the same for each spell?”
”Most of the time, yes. The common spells have set chants. But if it’s special or different, the chant can change too.”
”I see.”
I don’t know how magic works myself, so even if I had heard that before, I wouldn’t have remembered it clearly.
Anyway, I needed to focus on the man now.
”For now, I’ve stopped his magic. But the power inside you might not be magic. If we keep him locked up, maybe he can’t use it. What do you want to do?”
”Hmmm…”
The Viscount thought for a second, then shook his head.
”There’s no other way. Kill him.”
”Are you sure?”
”That talisman is probably gone, right? And if he takes over someone else…”
Now that the man was out of his body, the Viscount had figured out that the paper talisman had been blocking magic.
He guessed it was meant for Alicia’s spell removal. Knowing how rare and useful it was, he probably didn’t want to risk missing this chance.
I nodded.
”You’re right.”
”In that case, we must stop him now. Even if we lock him up, something could happen. He might break free again.”
The Viscount didn’t want to take that risk. So he chose to deal with it now, once and for all.
But then—my legs gave out.
”Ugh!”
I fell to my knees, groaning.
At the same time, the magic holding the man broke.
”Gah!”
BANG! CLANG!
The man jumped up and crashed through the window.
”He’s escaping!”
”The window! From the Viscount’s room!?”
”Check on the Viscount!”
”Don’t let him get away! After him!”
The mansion erupted with shouting. Everyone ran around in panic.
”What happened?”
The Viscount asked, worried I’d failed.
I got up and brushed myself off like nothing had happened.
”Yes. I let him escape on purpose.”
That was all I needed to say. The Viscount understood right away.
”So… you have a plan?”
”Yes. I know where he’s going. I’ll follow him quietly and find his hideout—and anyone working with him.”
When I had tied him up earlier, I stuck a bit of fast-drying glue to the hair on the back of his neck. I’d shaped the glue with magic, so I could track him now wherever he went.
I couldn’t say much, but the Viscount seemed to get it.
”I see. If we questioned him here, he might’ve only told us his name or past. What about the soldiers?”
”They should act normal. Pretend they’re searching. If nothing happens, it’ll look suspicious.”
The Viscount nodded.
”Alright. Since he tried to use magic, unlike what happened with Alicia, this counts as attempted murder. If that’s the case, we can officially search for him. That will scare him into hiding. Then…”
”Then I’ll check his side of things.”
”Yes. But hurry. If he gets too far, his group might think he’s been exposed and get rid of him.”
That man had a strange power—he could hide inside people and use curses. If he worked for some group, they might throw him away to protect themselves.
”You’re right. I’ll catch him before they do.”
The Viscount added one last thing.
”Even if you find him, if it’s too risky, take him out. Don’t wait. We’ll report this to the upper nobles and the royal family. Even if we learn nothing, they won’t blame us for strengthening our forces. That part alone will help us later.”
Hmm. If we grow too strong, other nobles might see us as a threat. But if the head of the house nearly got killed, it makes sense to take action.
Even in this world, gaining power is a pain…
With that thought in mind, I set off to follow the mysterious man.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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