Wizard Stone - Chapter 725



Only Krnovel

725. The Road to the Empire

“… … Is it possible?”

“possible.”

Roy swallowed hard again.

Is this possible?

“But is it okay to use compensation like that?”

“… … So, what do you mean by that?”

“Isn’t it a waste?”

You think it’s a waste?

How could it be a waste to discover the true identity of the greatest wizard in the kingdom, or perhaps even the empire?

“Think carefully. There will never be another reward like this again.”

“That means… … .”

“It’s literal.”

Literally.

Are you saying that from now on you won’t be asking me to do things that are so difficult that I have to give you some kind of compensation?

Does Elihal think Zigzel will accept the offer? Or is there another alternative?

I don’t know.

“Do I need to choose a reward right now?”

“That’s not true.”

“Oh, that’s fortunate.”

I thought I had to hold on to it and bring up the topic of compensation, but it doesn’t seem to be the case.

Thanks to that, I feel a lot more at ease.

“Then I’ll tell you later.”

“Do that. Okay.”

“What is that?”

Instead of answering, Elihal shook his pocket as if to tell him to check for himself.

I took the pouch and opened it, and it was full of earrings of a familiar shape.

“This is… … .”

“Write one to Lily, and give the rest to the elves you meet as you travel around the empire. Those you think will need them.”

“Are there any elves who don’t need earrings?”

“There are some people in the Empire who have lived for quite some time without earrings. Those who have just left the forest will probably need them more than them. If you’re not sure, just give them out whenever you meet them.”

“Yes, I will do that.”

Of course, I don’t think I’ll be able to use them all.

There must be at least thirty of them, but it was hard to imagine that I would ever meet that many elves.

Unless they come to see you on purpose.

“I, Master.”

“Speak.”

“Can I use your name in the Empire? So, can I call you my disciple?”

“It doesn’t matter, but it probably won’t help much. Just say James’ name instead.”

“James?”

“James has a history of working in Harvey. It would be more appropriate to talk about Harvey rather than the Kingdom of Nizan. There are many people in the Empire who don’t know where the Kingdom of Nizan is located.”

Roy shook his head in disbelief. Even if everything else was the same, it was hard to believe that he wouldn’t even know where the Kingdom of Nizan was located.

Why did you come all this way when you don’t even know where you are?

“Aren’t there quite a few imperialists in the kingdom now?”

“They are literally a tiny minority. Either they have an adventurous spirit, or they are outcasts from the Empire, or they are eccentrics. One of the three. Otherwise, why would they come to this remote place?”

“It’s a bit… … .”

“It’s like a remote area in the Empire. In the past, the only way to get to the Kingdom of Nizan was through Harvey.”

“… … I see. But I think things will change little by little from now on. The teleportation magic circle has been broken through.”

For a moment, I almost said that it would get better without me knowing it.

Elihal is not very welcoming of the imperial people coming to the kingdom. You cannot use such expressions in front of Elihal.

Likewise, we decided not to bring up topics like graduation exam management or Lilar and Alcon’s business if possible.

… … Surely these two activities won’t have a negative effect on the elves?

If so, what should I do?

Should I give up one side? If so, which one?

I don’t know.

“Now call Lily.”

“yes.”

* * *

Even after piercing Lily’s ears and putting her on the Nop, her worries continued until the moment she emerged.

Even when I arrived in Arpen, my worries didn’t stop.

Of course, I didn’t think about the same thing the whole time I was moving. As time passed, the content of my worries naturally changed.

When I first set off, I thought about choices, when I was flying, I thought about rewards, and when I arrived, I thought about my colleagues.

Yeah, that’s exactly what’s wrong.

It was only when I arrived that I started to think about what I was going to say to my colleagues.

I should have thought of this first… … .

“Roy!”

“Are you here?”

“What is he?”

“No, it’s Lily. We’ll be spending time together from now on. Say hello.”

“hi.”

Luckily, Lily didn’t hide behind or anything.

Rather, it was my colleagues who were confused. Not all of them, but it seemed like some of them had already noticed.

Of course, this is somewhat expected, since most people know where they have gone.

If someone who went to the Elihal domain brought someone with them, it would be reasonable to assume that she was an elf too.

And employees are no exception.

“Susan, is that guy…?”

“Idiot, be quiet.”

The mouth of the employee who was about to say something was quickly covered by another employee.

Perhaps because they saw that sight, the mercenaries also kept a close eye on each other and their employees.

… … I think I might have to change my plans a bit.

I had already decided that in situations like this, it would be better to just tell everything and ask for help, but I changed my mind.

Somehow I have a feeling that the moment I say that, the situation will get worse.

I had a feeling that everyone was being cautious because I didn’t say anything.

There is no excuse prepared here yet.

Speaking of elves, I have to tell them about Ellie and that I have to go to the Empire, but I haven’t even thought about what to say yet.

Of course, it’s not like I have no plans at all.

I’ll tell you. After I check how long it takes to get to the Empire.

As I was walking back from talking to Florence, this thought suddenly occurred to me.

I was thinking that if it didn’t take too long to get to the Empire, I might be able to come back once in a while.

No, I have to come back.

Because I can’t afford to neglect my colleagues for a long time any longer.

That’s why I sent Nop beyond the forest the next day as soon as I woke up.

I never even thought about something like a teleportation magic circle in the first place. I had already decided to go to the empire by riding a Nop.

That’s why I didn’t ask Elihal if I could use the magic circle.

It seemed like it would be a bit of a hassle, and I thought that it would be better in many ways to have my own method that people didn’t know about.

Once I confirmed that I could go to Nop, I was sure that I would be able to use it in some way later.

No, you can definitely go.

The only question is how long it will take.

And fortunately, the wait wasn’t that long.

To cut to the chase, it took a total of ten days for Nop to return.

It took five days just to get there.

It was indeed worthy of being called a forest. It was much wider than I had thought.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that it was more than five times the size of the kingdom, since it took Nop less than a day to travel from one end of the kingdom to the other.

but…….

It’s not a distance that’s too burdensome to go back and forth.

If the Great Forest is this big, you can return to the center of the empire in two weeks, if the empire is twenty times the size of the kingdom.

No, maybe it won’t even take that long.

Because as the days go by, Nop is also getting faster and faster. Even though he seems to have almost grown in size, he continues to get faster.

It’s like this now, but what would happen if a situation came where movement became important?

Could it possibly get faster?

It’s still just a guess and a wish, but it’s not entirely impossible.

Of course, it’s okay if it doesn’t get any faster here.

I think I can easily handle it if it’s about two weeks. At this rate, I think I can stop by at least once a year… no, once every six months.

Yeah. My colleagues will understand after about half a year.

Except for one person.

And that one person is, of course, Luna.

“phew.”

It’s been only two months and a week since I brought him here, promising not to neglect him any longer.

In this situation, I couldn’t tell Luna where I was going.

It’s possible that it would be okay, but I had a feeling that this wouldn’t be okay.

If it’s not okay, there’s no greater disaster than this.

The moment you ask, it becomes irreversible.

So then what on earth should we do?

“Roy?”

“huh.”

“Are you okay? You don’t look too well.”

“I’m okay. Look.”

Roy held out his fire sword as if nothing had happened. However, Luna still did not move even after receiving the fire sword.

“Is it because of Lily?”

“No. Lily is doing well.”

“Yes. Except for the occasional glare as if he’s going to eat Tello.”

“There’s nothing I can do about it. I’m an elf.”

“That elf… … .”

“Just swing it. Time goes by.”

“all right.”

Luna started swinging her fire sword as she was told.

As I look at that sight, I suddenly feel like my mind is being organized a little.

Now I see that it wasn’t that there was no way. Rather, there was a very simple way.

“Luna.”

“yes.”

“Do you still want to go to the Empire?”

“… …Why are you suddenly bringing that up?”

“Just. I was wondering if you still want to become a knight. Don’t you want to see the Sword of Purification or something?”

“Hmm. I’d like to see that.”

“Really? Then do you want to go see it?”

“yes?”

“Let’s go to the empire together.”

As I watched him swing the sword, I suddenly thought that it was okay.

I thought it would be okay for Luna to go together.

“Are you serious?”

“Yeah. I have to go to the Empire this time. Let’s go together.”

Roy only told Elihal that he had been given a mission and that he had to go find an elf.

“Where is that elf?”

“I don’t know about that either.”

“Um. When are you leaving? When are you leaving?”

“Well, maybe a month later? Or maybe even earlier.”

To be exact, I plan to leave as soon as I finish installing the fire mine in Daesurim.

If we could just finish it that way, I think Florence would understand and move on.

“Do you want to go together?”

“Hmm. Give me some time to think about it.”

“Time to think?”

I thought you were going to say you were going to go right away… … .

Are you thinking of refusing?

I don’t want that to happen, but if it does, it would be a shame to have spent so much time worrying about it.

Well, I don’t think that will happen though.

In fact, Luna accepted the offer that evening, making her suggestion that she would think about it seem meaningless.

Thanks to that, I feel a lot more at ease.

Of course, it wasn’t time to completely relax. There were still many companions besides Luna.

Irina, Mila, Dread, Marie, Vivian, etc.

This needs to be explained especially to Vivian, because unlike other people, we don’t talk to each other face to face.

I thought about going there myself, but… … .

I thought it would be hard to break up with you after seeing your face, so I wrote you a letter. I asked for your advice and told you that I had to go to the Empire for a while.

And in the meantime, he talked with his disciples.

Marie was told to prepare for the 4th class exam with Shugel, and Dread was advised to work as a mercenary.

Before I go, I plan to teach you some strength magic as well.

Of course, the theory was Schugel’s.

When I first got back from Harvey, I even thought about kicking him out… … .

Surely that was a wrong idea. Now it helps me a lot in various ways.

I’m getting along well with Beek too.

No, I’m more worried about Beek right now. I don’t know about Mila, but I think Lily might be a bit of a nuisance.

“So please take a good look at it.”

Yeah. Don’t worry and have a nice trip.

“Not yet. And this time it won’t take long. It will be here in at least half a year. So… … .”

Instead of telling her to wait, Roy hugged Irina tightly.

I felt sorry, and I thought this would be better than saying anything.

Fortunately, there was still plenty of time.

Because the nights are long in winter.

A night sweeter than honey. A night when it snowed a lot. A night when not a single word was spoken. A night when it was warm even without a fireball. A night when the moon was unusually close.

Another night sweeter than honey.

A month passed like that.

* * *