Chapter 43

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Roger glanced at Daniel and shook his head.

“This guy is a sorcerer who doesn’t belong to an association and wanders around alone.”

“Are there any wizards who are not part of the Association?”

Vivian was surprised to find this out for the first time and asked. But it was Daniel, not Roger, who responded to her question.  He snorted.

“There is a small amount, but there is. I don’t like being tied down, so I don’t fit in with an association that has inexhaustible rules like the Imperial Code. There are quite a few wizards who don’t like being oppressed, just like me, so they don’t join an association.”

Daniel was glaring at Roger.

“Do you know some days I regret not joining an association? I still get bossed around! If you say you are not a mercenary now, how can you order people around like this? Above all else, how can you treat a precious wizard so recklessly?”

Vivian stared blankly at Daniel, who called himself precious.  His demeanor was so dignified, anyone who saw it would know that Roger made a mistake bringing him here.

Despite Daniel’s protests, Roger did not bat an eye and folded his arms.  As she looked between the small and large man, Vivian felt a sense of pressure that she could not express in words.

But maybe it was just Vivian, since Daniel looked up at him with resentful eyes. It was like a battle between a nervous rabbit who couldn’t decide whether to run or to hide, and a wild beast trying to eat him in one bite.

Vivian rolled her eyes.. It seemed like they were pretty close friends, but she didn’t know why they couldn’t stand each other so much.

“For a man who owes me his life, you sure talk a lot.”

Roger glanced at Daniel with distasteful eyes. Daniel’s sarcastic tone annoyed him.

“I must have already paid off that debt!  Do you know how many times you’ve harassed me without pay?”

Daniel’s squeaking was noisy, so Roger covered his mouth.  Even with his mouth covered, Daniel raised his eyebrows and mumbled.  His shoulders, shaking violently, reflected his anger.

“There is a room here that appears to be magically locked. Just find out if it’s sealed by magic, and, if it is magic, how to open it.”

At that moment, Vivian remembered the reason Daniel had been summoned here.  The room with the curtains drawn and the door locked.  The room that did not budge by force, as if it had been enchanted. She desperately needed the help of the wizard to find out about the room.

“Ahhh, here you go again. If you want me to do it, can you give me what you promised?  The subject that deceived me and made me come this far!”

“What do you mean?”

Vivian, who was quietly listening to Daniel’s words asked in amazement.  Daniel’s light brown eyes quickly snapped to Vivian.  While the color of his eyes were soft, his eyes looked sharp as daggers.

“Do you know how this person got me here? He said he found traces of the Underground World Tree, traces of the World Tree!  I don’t know if that’s a lie, but I’ve come all the way here like a dog.  But when I arrive, where is the world tree?  There is nothing but a vast wasteland!”

Daniel prattled on, ranting about how he left behind his studies and how he could make up for the time he used to come this far.  Roger looked at Daniel and sighed.

“If I didn’t mention the World Tree that you are crazy about these days, you would never have come.”

“Of course!  We’re nearing the end of our research right now.  How important is this achievement to a wizard who is not affiliated with the Association!”

Without a moment to catch their breath, their second round began.

“Stop it, both of you.”

At her suggestion, both of them stopped talking at the same time.  Roger listened to Vivian because she was talking, and Daniel listened to Vivian because she was a stranger.  But Daniel’s face was still full of anger.

“Anyway, I’m going to fail because I don’t have enough samples of spirit art.  I’m going to be made fun of, people!”

At Daniel’s exclamation, Vivian’s eyes widened.

“A sample of spirit art?  What is that?”

Daniel ruffled his brown hair nervously.

“It has to do with the research I’m doing right now.  As you know, the magic of spirits is more unknown than magic in this world. I thought it would be a good idea to combine it with magic, so I jumped in head first, but it has more difficult to meet an Elementalist than to capture a star in the sky. I have been looking for an underworld tree that resembles the nature of spiritism on behalf of the spiritist. The spiritist may move, but the world tree will remain there.  This vicious slave owner-like captain knew that and called me here using the World Tree as an excuse.  But when he arrived, the world tree was a lie and he asked for help with his work!  How can I help without getting angry?”

As Daniel’s explanation continued, Vivian’s expression became strange.  By the time Roger, who had not been aware of such deep circumstances, heard the explanation and began to smile, Vivian pointed to herself with a bewildered face.

“I…… I’m an Elementalist.”

Daniel, who had been talking without a break, shut his mouth for the first time.  Before long, Daniel opened his mouth, more dazed than Vivian.

“Ah…  Yes?”

“I am an Elementalist.”

Daniel’s mouth widened at Vivian’s confirmation.  Then he approached Vivian with lightning speed and grabbed her forearm.

“Really?  Are you a real Elementalist?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“Unbelievable…….  Captain, where was your empire?  Did you say Mosbana?  As far as I know, there is only one Elementalist in Mosbana, right?”

“That’s me.”

Vivian frowned as Daniel’s grip on her forearm tightened, and began to hurt.  Recognizing this, Roger pulled Daniel away from Vivian with strong force.

“Leader! Is this why you called me?”

Daniel asked, with his eyes blazing with a new passion.  At the very quick change of posture, Roger burst out laughing as if it were ridiculous.  But Daniel didn’t mind him, and turned his twinkling eyes to Vivian.

“Hey, I’ll help, so can you please answer my questions?”

“What should I do?”

“It will not be difficult.  All you need to do is answer a few questions about spiritism and demonstrate your powers!”

Daniel answered with a bright smile.  All of a sudden, he couldn’t have any ill-will towards Roger.

Daniel’s magic was absolutely necessary to open the locked room. The study he was referring to was not a difficult request, so Vivian nodded her head without hesitation. Daniel jumped with excitement with a cheer.

At the sudden outburst, Roger slowly rubbed his temples.

“My Lady.  This guy is making unreasonable requests…”

Roger said with a rather apologetic expression if he felt responsible for what had happened.

“No. It’s not that difficult.  Above all, we need the power of a wizard to open the room now.”

Because what she said was true, Roger had no objection. Taking a deep breath, he whispered.

“If he asks you to do something reckless, pretend you didn’t hear it and ignore it.  Or just kick his knee.  Because this guy has the weakest knees.”

Vivian burst into laughter.

“What?”

The sound of her cheerful laughter echoed through the hallway.  Roger looked at Vivian’s smiling face for a moment, raising his lips and smiling.  Vivian stopped her laughter and tilted her head as she felt his blatant gaze.

“Why are you looking at me like that?  what did you ask…?”

Vivian covered her face in embarrassment.  Roger, who came to his senses, turned his head to say it was nothing.  His ears seemed to have turned red for some reason, but they couldn’t be seen clearly because of his darker complexion.

“Hey, Daniel!”

Roger grabbed Daniel’s scruffy neck again.

“Why do you keep grabbing me, Captain?”

Daniel grumbled, but responded to him with a lighter tone and a more relaxed face than before. Vivian brought up the subject.

“Daniel.  As we said before, there is one room where we suspect magic is working.”

“So, can you tell us if the room is enchanted or not?”

Vivian and Roger nodded at the same time.

After a short conversation, the three of them headed straight for the locked room.  Diligently moving his feet, Daniel frantically rummaged through the inside of his robe.  He didn’t even care about Roger’s glare, which didn’t like the action.

As soon as he arrived in front of the closed room, Daniel said, 

“He was here.”

He pulled something out of his robes.  It was almost the size of a staff, three spans the size of Vivian’s hand.  Unlike spirit magic, where you can borrow the power of a spirit with concentration, wizards are known to rely on a tool to perform magic.  Vivian looked at the magic wand, which she had never seen before, with curious eyes.

“Try it?”

Daniel opened his mouth as he looked up at the door.  As soon as Roger answered, ‘Okay,’ he grabbed the doorknob and turned it.  As before, it did not budge

After trying a few more times, Daniel took a step back and raised his slender staff.  Daniel closed his eyes, and a strange stillness flowed down the hallway.  Vivian and Roger leaned against the opposite wall and watched him.

Daniel’s lips parted and he began to mumble something. Then, a strange change occurred in the space where there was only silence.  A circle of magic was formed under Daniel’s feet.

The magic circle that radiated bright light like the sun spun round and round, and the letters drawn from the light rode up on Daniel’s robe and slowly wrapped around his body.  It was a bright day, and even though the sun was bright, the light was so blinding that they couldn’t keep their eyes open and watch.

During the process, Daniel kept reciting something.  Casting magic is usually possible only by reciting a magic formula like that.

The letters that went round and round like a vine wrapped over Daniel’s white hand and passed down the staff.  The dark auburn wand was quickly enveloped in luminous letters. It was a very mysterious scene. The atmosphere created by the merging of light and geometric patterns was unlike anything else.

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[TN/N: And with this cliffhanger, I will go to my break. Because I already told you guys I have a board exam ahead. So, please wait until I come back and imagine what could be in that room.(◠‿◕)  Don’t kill me for leaving you guys with cliffhanger. I will be back soon.]