Chapter 47: A Confident Breakthrough
“How troublesome.”
With three armored humans blocking the entrance, there was no way to pass through the doorway. And with a mage waiting behind them, the situation was even more precarious. The tip of a drawn sword loomed just a meter in front of us, while the mage behind pointed his staff our way, clearly eager for a confrontation.
“I told you, they haven’t done anything!” Tobil protested, trying to step forward, but it seemed he couldn’t slip past the six humans in front of him.
“They must have done something. After all, they are suspected of attempted murder and theft in the Town of Zain.”
“…What did you say?”
Tobil stuttered at the knight’s response. Now that I think about it, I remember hearing something about that. They said it would take ten days to get from Zain to the Royal Capital, but it seems the news has already reached here. That was faster than I expected.
“Attempted murder…? We only retaliated against the adventurers who attacked us!”
I let out a deep sigh, asserting that we were in the right.
“And what about this theft accusation?”
“Hmph. No use pretending. You have the Royal Family Emblem Brooch, don’t you?”
So it was about this brooch after all.
“Huh? What are you talking about?! This was a gift directly from Lily Arclight, the Third Princess! How dare you call it stolen!?”
Lio shouted, her voice laced with indignation, as if questioning their intent to tarnish the reputation of her own princess.
“What are you saying? You must have stolen it from Lady Lily!”
The knight’s words left Lio momentarily speechless. Could they really be claiming it was stolen after she had given it to us? If that’s the case, they were clearly trying to frame us.
“If you hand it over quietly, I’ll make sure it gets returned to Her Highness. Now, hand it over!”
Their one-sided demands were starting to irritate me. I was fed up with people who wouldn’t listen to our side of the story.
“Sorry, but I must decline. I want to confront the princess directly.”
“You insolent fool! There’s no way Her Highness would meet with someone as lowly as you!”
The knight thrust his sword forward, its tip dangerously close to my face as he shouted.
“I’m not talking to you. Even if you don’t want to, I’ll make sure to return the favor directly.”
“W-Wait! Are you saying you came all the way to the castle for that purpose!?”
Tobil raised his voice in an attempt to calm the situation, but it seemed he was the only one willing to talk. The knights, however, had no intention of resolving this peacefully. They were truly infuriating. I had been waiting for them to make a move, but given their stubbornness, they would likely claim we attacked first. In that case, there was no reason to wait any longer.
“I’m just observing today. At this rate, it seems they won’t meet us through proper means…”
“Of course not!”
“Then let’s do this. I’ll come back in two days, so tell the princess to prepare.”
“Huh?”
The knights looked at me as if I had lost my mind, while the mages stood there, mouths agape. The knight division was not just the six blocking the exit; I could sense another twelve surrounding us outside.
“Lio, let’s try some Magnetism Magic. I’ll handle the mage behind us.”
Seeing the armored knight, I thought it was a perfect opportunity to experiment. With an opponent as irritating as this, I wouldn’t feel guilty if I miscalculated a bit.
“Hehe… understood.”
Lio whispered her agreement, and the smile on her face indicated that she was also fed up with the situation.
“Do you really think you can escape in this situation?”
Of course, they did. I didn’t know what their armor was made of, but it was rare to find metal armor that didn’t contain any iron.
“What are you planning to do?!”
As I sensed Lio’s magic power rising, the mage behind us seemed to notice as well and shouted. However, they underestimated the speed of our spellcasting. By the time they realized what was happening, it was already too late.
“Ugh!”
With a clang, the knight’s sword fell to the ground. Simultaneously, the metal armor was drawn toward the magnetized ground, causing the knight to collapse face-first.
“When did you start chanting?!”
It seemed the mages weren’t wearing metal gear, as none of them fell. Well, except for one man who was struggling to keep his left arm raised. Was that a bracelet?
“Wait!”
The mage began chanting, but at this distance, it was too late. I approached him leisurely, not bothering to interfere with his incantation. I was impressed by how he managed to keep chanting despite his panic, but it seemed he finally completed his spell. Sensing the impending magic, I gathered my own magic power in response.
“Dark Bind!“
As the command word for the dark attribute spell echoed, I sent my magic power into the starting point of the spell, stirring it up. It hadn’t worked well against ordinary people at the inn, but it seemed to succeed against these mages. The spell to seal their magic activation worked perfectly.
“Did you do something?”
“…Huh?”
The two mages stood dumbfounded as nothing happened, their spells failing to activate. I walked past the three knights sprawled on the ground and the two mages still in shock, making my way out of the room.
“See you later.”
“Make sure to prepare properly, okay?”
With Lio’s parting words echoing behind us, we left the room. No further attempts to stop us were heard, only the faint sound of groans lingering in the air.