He squashed down the corner of his lips, suppressing the laugh that was bubbling out.
The air was become unbearably humid but it was simultaneously freezing, despite Ilrune's many layers. Between the stall vendor who was patiently staring at him, and the suspected-to-be Gisele, and the sea of people swarming behind him, it was like he had been unexpectedly dropped in a large vat of pickled eyeballs.
Ilrune weaved through the crowd and slunk into an alleyway. The sky-reaching city, which at first had been majestically ethereal, now loomed silently over his head, a half-broken lamp hanging by the entrance and casting a dark shadow over the side entrances. Fog rolled from the top, and the distant sounds of footsteps reverberated through the walls.
Pressing the heels of his palms against his eyes, Ilrune sighed.
No, seriously... What are the odds? I shouldn't be struck by my bad luck, yet. It hasn't been enough time since the last incident.
The laws of causality shouldn't be acting so fast. Haven't I already paid the price of my last misdemeanours?
Though the lamp above was made out of mana stones, it smelled vaguely of smoke and complete annihilation. The footsteps weren't rushed, but there was a certain urgency to their calling, which must've came from the dry forest right ahead, which was, by now, completely filled to the brim with burnt carcasses, which must've been where the ash smell came from-
Ilrune abruptly sat up.
Right, enough of that. Gisele or not, I need to get my materials.
However, when the disguised elf came out of the alleyway into the main street, he could not find any sign of lingering corruption amongst the sea of hoods, and thus, could not infer where Gisele would've gone.
I do remember the potion she had in hand, though.
Regular packaging, light red tint to an otherwise translucent liquid. Could be Sweetened Tall Grass, since it has a pink tint, or Batfish Blood. But Batfish is usually blessed... Holy Batfish? Either way, these are all placating ingredients, so...
Likely a pain relief potion?
Ilrune analyzed the informations he had subconsciously memorized as he strolled down the street, searching for a stall that would sell gold or jewelry.
She looked normal the few times that I've seen her, but in reality, she comes down here to buy pain relief potions?
...Once a corrupted human, always a corrupted human? Haha.
Does she have no money for a regular treatment? Or perhaps, she's already convinced everyone around her that she is fine, and that she doesn't need anything to suppress the latent corruption in her mana hearts...
It would be nice if she was just penniless. I would rather brew her potions than have her lose control during class and murder all of her students.
...I know that logically, the likelihood of her doing anything wrong is quite low but can I really trust a corrupted human to stay in line? Those things have never been harmless no matter how hard you try.
Oh! There!
Ilrune perked up as he saw a glint of gold further down to his left. He slipped past a loud group of people who seemed to be arguing, and ducked down in front of the stall.
The shabby table was set up with wooden crates which were individually filled with various gems and metals. Except for the stall keeper who was lounging and smoking, there was nobody else examining the goods.
He leaned forward, inspecting the metals.
These are quite the beautiful pieces for that price, but I don't know the purity of the gold...
Ilrune closed his eyes and sighed. Then, he approached the merchant.
"Is it possible to check for authenticity?"
"How much you want?" asked the stall vendor as he sniffed his pipe.
Ilrune thought for a moment then said, "Two pounds."
Market price for two is around twenty couronnes, but gold is not a rare commodity as it can be alchemically synthesized.
The man looked his customer up and down as if he wanted to discern the latter's truthfulness through sheer force of eyesight and put his pipe down.
"Appraisal certificate works?"
The vendor handed Ilrune a cream white envelope, in which was a legitimate document stamped with the Junite Empire's crest.
Crest isn't fabricated... the paper's the right texture... I'd wager it's legitimate.
"Not bad," Ilrune chuckled. "Alright. How much?"
"Seven couronnes and fifty dames."
Ah?
The disguised elf looked up, surprised.
That's quite cheap... Maybe he's got connections with an alchemist who can produce it for low costs.
"I only have seven couronnes," Ilrune said, faux-regretful.
The merchant puffed out rings of smoke and rolled his eyes.
"Whatever."
Seven is already a great deal... I think I shouldn't go lower.
Ilrune dug into a pouch he had sewn into his cape and counted seven coins. Then, he handed them over to the merchant, who checked each of them for authenticity.
It was only after the stall keeper had individually analyzed the curvature of each coin with a strange instrument, that he roughly shovelled a pile of gold into a paper pouch and thrust it into Ilrune's face.
All you need when trading illegal goods is patience... Ilrune sighed as he accepted his goods.
"Lowest I'll go is 175."
"Do you seriously think-"
"There is no point-!"
"Two hundred is the most I'll do-"
I wonder if it's dames or couronnes they're arguing about... If these idiots are fighting over cavals, that'd be kind of funny.
As he listened to the brewing argument in a nearby stall, Ilrune stopped briefly by a side alley to store the paper bag into his leather case.
"You bloody bastard!-"
"Oh yeah? Lowest I'll go is 250!"
I hope none of them is a mage. Sword fights are easier to clean up than mana explosions. Actually, I hope the fight does not escalate. That would be best.
Ilrune squeezed past the crowd of onlookers, looking for a telltale sign of an exit portal.
Regular stalls were connected to the tall houses, permitting access to only the merchants, but houses with an exit portal or tunnel were accessed through the side alleys, and could be identified by a stony protrusion on the walls.
Once again, thank Perseis for the instructions... I believe there's an exit over there?
There was an obvious stony arch in an alley to his left, and Ilrune made a straight towards it.
"I'm not doing business with you anymore. Go away!"
"Come on, just give me that deal!"
Gods, please let me leave before they end up killing each other.
"..."
The argument fell silent, as if the two had gone their separate ways, but it was far from over.
"Urhk-"
"Bomb!"
Shit.
Ilrune threw himself to the ground, rolling against the rough stony materials.
Ignoring the brief throbbing pain that was crawling up his skull, he gritted his teeth and reached for his wand.
[Grant the destitute sanctuary!]
For a moment, there was an overwhelming cloud of white.
Cocooned under a teal blue shield, Ilrune coughed out ash.
Crack. Crrrrr.
With a deafening sound, the barrier seemed to fizzle out into small pieces, melting as if hit by an invisible heat wave.
[Grant the destitute sanctuary]
Crack.
...
A loud ringing drilling its way to his brain, debris littering the surroundings...
Squinting, Ilrune could see the faint reddish light of a distant fire, and he could smell some burnt wood and other various metals.
On the main street, various movement could be spotted. Hoods moving, debris floating, and specks of mana barriers.
Ba-dump. Ba-dump.
Ilrune could faintly feel his pulse.
Slowly, his hearing came back.
It came and went with the familiar throb of a headache.
Cough.
Someone was coughing, but the street was oddly silent. Only the silently falling ash and rolling of debris indicated human presence.
He staggered back up, leaning against what remained of the wall for support.
"Damn my bad luck..." Ilrune cursed as he began slowly walking back to the market.
He leaned against the corner as he examined the result of the explosion.
Surprisingly, the bomb was of short radius, meaning that it dug a small crater around the merchant's stall, but was otherwise more showy than threatening.
Still, Ilrune found it odd that the bomb could reach even a side-alley with its heat wave, especially with such intensity that it broke through one and a half mana barrier.
Nothing remained of the merchant who was arguing, but the same couldn't be said for the customer, as the entirety of the goods in the stall were gone. Ilrune craned his neck and saw small blood splatters on an untouched wall, a little further to the side.
"How did a regular guy get ahold of a mana bomb...?" he muttered to himself. "To kill for some measly things, my goodness."
Most of the crowd had evacuated once they had seen the bomb and the few that had been implicated in the explosion were still out cold.
There was one hooded person who, mana potions in hand, were pouring them over the unconscious victims.
Well. With that wave of mana, I doubt the exit portal still works. I'll have to find another one.
Ilrune sighed, but made way to the stranger.
"Hand me a few."
The stranger wordlessly gave him three vials of reddish liquid. Upon uncorking, they were revealed to have the distinct fishy smell of batfish.
Healing and pain relief? Could he have taken these from that stall earlier? Ilrune thought to himself in amusement as he stepped around debris and made quick work of healing the victims.
...Alright, that's everyone.
Ilrune went to pick up his leather case, but he found a familiar stranger standing in his way.
"Thanks."
There's no need to thank me... Rather, you, who stepped up, seems to be the better hero.
"I did what I had to," Ilrune replied dryly.
His eye twitched when his second attempt at grabbing his case was also blocked.
Does this guy want a rematch? Wanna see my mana bombs, bastard?
"I'd like to show you my sincerity. I can make you a portal to anywhere in Vilste if you'd like?"
Mm... That's not bad, actually. Would he try to trap me? After saving all of these people?
Ilrune eyed the suspicious stranger, before asking,
"Is it possible to see the other side?"
"Of course."
Then there's not much danger. I'll just have my wand at ready.
"Go ahead. Just the Vilste outdoors is fine."
The stranger pulled out a nondescript, dark ebony wand and traced elaborate sigils in the air. It looked like a child's scribble was turned into something academic and no matter how hard Ilrune tried deciphering the symbols, all he came up with was the sigil of travel.
Spatial magic mages aren't exactly common... I don't know how taxing it is to summon a portal, but I highly doubt he's doing this just to thank me.
[Through the looking glass]
The stranger chanted a short incantation while infusing mana through the scribbles which aligned into the shape of a door knob. The man turned and pulled the knob, revealing the familiar shade of chestnut and birch.
"Here we go. I can step through first?"
"That works."
The stranger walked through the doorway, rippling as if he had simply fallen into a still river. From the other side of the portal, Ilrune could vaguely see a black silhouette waving, as if from an impressionist painting.
I still can't understand why he'd let me use something so mana consuming. Surely he must want something. There wouldn't be a trap on the portal, right?
After verifying that there didn't seem to be anything wrong with the mana intent, he hesitantly walked through.
Space seemed to simultaneously fold into itself and expand infinitely, and Ilrune had the funny sensation that his head was separating from the rest of his body.
"If it's your first time, it's best you close your eyes."
A strangely familiar voice seemed distant in the field of memories.
***
"Ilrune."
...
"Little brother."
...
"Wake up."
"... Brother."
"Have you been misbehaving again, as of late? Why are the royal guards looking for you?"
"..."
"Ysden's stability depends on us, little rune. You cannot slack off."
"..."
"A good prince wouldn't slack off. Now, you need to get back to work."
"Where's mother?"
"Mother and father are busy, so you musn't bother them."
"..."
"I know you don't particularly enjoy doing this, and neither do I. Seeing our poor struggling subjects breaks my heart... But what other options do we have but to push onwards? It's for the best of the kingdom."
Clank. The door closed with a dull thud.
Click.
As always, it was locked on the other side.
***
Ilrune stumbled as he landed in the targeted location but soon caught himself.
"Are you alright?"
...
Why that memory?
...
Never mind. Let's focus on the matter at hand. I'll think about that later.
"Yes. I'm fine. Do I have to pay you anything?"
Please tell me he's just looking for money...
"No, not at all. After all, our job pays quite well."
Click. An off switch activated somewhere in their vicinity.
A mana artifact turning off.
Ilrune gripped his wand, a looming cold creeping into his bones.
"I thought I was the only one."
A dry tone, sharp like a cooking blade's heel.
As the stranger advanced upon him, Ilrune could faintly discern one crucial detail from under the latter's hood.
Though the thick cotton fabric shadowed part of the stranger's face, the crimson-eyed glare unmistakably belonged to a single person.
"It seems once again that we are quite like minded, professor Monet," said Liu Xieping.