Chapter 150 – It’s Nice to Be Back. (2)


    The Fenris Estate, near the lord’s castle, was bustling with construction. Theborers were busy carrying materials and building the foundation of the structures.


    However, there was one section of the construction site that was oddly deserted.


    “Hey, hey, isn’t life getting a bit easiertely?”


    Alfoi, who was lounging around on the ground in a ragged robe, muttered this casually.


    The other mages, who were sprawled nearby, all nodded in agreement. They were also dressed in simrly worn-out robes.


    To anyone passing by, they would look less like the proud mages of a magic tower and more likeborers on a construction site.


    Alfoi, chewing on a piece of grass as hey there, looked like the epitome of a cker.


    “I wish the lord wouldn’te back.”


    Alfoi grumbled, and the other mages nodded once more in agreement.


    “That would indeed be nice.”


    With the lord absent, things felt rxed and peaceful.


    They had be quite skilled at the construction work, but that didn’t make it any less tedious.


    The mages chuckled among themselves, hoping this small sense of happiness wouldst a while longer.


    “He might have gotten into some trouble in the capital.”


    “Yeah, knowing his temper, he’s probably shed with some high-ranking noble.”


    “He might have already lost his head, for all we know.”


    “Wow, just hearing that makes me feel happy.”


    The mages even discussed how they would escape if it turned out the lord had died.


    They didn’t genuinely believe it, though; it was more of a hopeful fantasy.


    In the barren estate where there wasn’t much to do for fun, they could only pass the time by having conversations like this.


    “Since we’re bored, how about we y a game?”


    “Sounds good.”


    At Alfoi’s suggestion, the mages’ faces lit up, and they quickly sat up.


    These innocent mages, who previously knew nothing about gambling, had started ying bets every day after losing a wager and getting involved with ude.


    One of the more level-headed mages cautiously brought up a concern.


    “Well, the Chief Overseer’s deputy wasining that the construction has been running a bitte… Shouldn’t we get back to work today?”


    “What does he think he is, telling us what to do when he’s only just gotten here? I’ll handle it. What’s there to be scared of?”


    Alfoi said confidently.


    Although Lowell had been given the authority to oversee the estate’s overall management, he couldn’t treat Alfoi recklessly.


    After all, Alfoi was the sessor of the magic tower and the head of its branch in the Fenris Estate.


    No one other than the lord could easily meddle with him.


    “So, what game should we y today? Odd or even?”


    “Sure, let’s keep it simple with odd or even.”


    “Alright, I’ll go first.”


    Once everyone agreed, Alfoi pulled out four coins. He put the coins in his hands, shook them, then clenched his fists and extended one hand.


    “Call it. Odd or even?”


    A mage hesitated for a moment before speaking.


    “Even.”


    “Even?”


    “Yes, even.”


    Alfoi smirked.


    “Hey, when you start with four coins, most people choose odd. It makes sense. But you’re deliberately going with even?”


    “Yes, yes. So, can we just check how many there are…?”


    “Ah, hold on a second. I’m talking right now. So, you’re not going to change your choice?”


    “Yeah, yeah, I’ll stick with even.”


    “I’m giving you a chance to change your mind, you idiot!”


    The mage looked troubled as Alfoi shouted at him.


    ‘Damn it… He’s starting up again. This guy goes off the rails like this every now and then.’


    The money he had was saved bit by bit, helping out the local residents from time to time.


    Since he was practically a ve with no pay, he didn’t have much money, and losing it this way would be a problem.


    ‘If I lose this, I won’t even have money to drink! I absolutely can’t lose!’


    As Alfoi and the mage red at each other, trying to find an opening, a mage who had been keeping watch just in case ran over in a hurry and shouted.


    “The lord is back!”


    The mages stared nkly for a moment, then quickly lowered their heads in dejection.


    Even their small moment of happiness was over. The time to work themselves to the bone hade again.


    With a grim expression, Alfoi got to his feet.


    “Let’s get to work. Move it, quick!”


    While the mages scrambled to stand up, he discreetly slipped the coins into his robe.


    It was then.


    Boom!


    “Mother! What the—?!”


    A loud explosion suddenly erupted, and mes shot up from the direction of the lord’s castle.


    Startled, Alfoi squinted, trying to pinpoint the location.


    “What? That’s… Vanessa’sb, isn’t it?”


    ck smoke and mes slowly began to consume the surroundings.


    * * *


    The cheering residents of the estate were also shocked by the sudden explosion and turned to look toward the lord’s castle.


    On such a joyful day, what kind of ident was this?


    Ghiin gauged the location of the explosion, and his face went pale.


    “Vanessa!”


    The explosion had definitely urred at the magicb next to the lord’s castle, set up for Vanessa’s training.


    “They even moved the Runestones there!”


    To assist Vanessa, whocked mana, Ghiin had relocated Runestones around theb.


    He had done this so she could use the Runestones if she found it difficult to cast spells.


    “Damn it, faster!”


    Ghiin spurred his horse and began to race toward the lord’s castle.


    The intensity of the mana he felt from the explosion was no joke. It clearly meant that the Runestones’ power had been used.


    If all that mana from the Runestones exploded at once, the area around the lord’s castle would be in ruins.


    Others, bewildered by the sudden situation, began running after Ghiin.


    By the time I arrived at the scene where the mes were roaring, the area was already in chaos.


    Vanessa’sboratory was designed with various auxiliary buildings attached around the main central structure.


    The fire, which had initially started in the central building, seemed to die down momentarily but then spread to the auxiliary structures, growing in size again.


    People were running around, desperately trying to put out the fire.


    “An axe! Bring an axe! Break it down first!”


    “Everyone else, bring water and sand!”


    However, the fire wasn’t easy to extinguish; instead, it continued to spread even more fiercely.


    “Lowell!”


    Ghiin shouted as he jumped off his horse.


    “My Lord!”


    Lowell, who had been anxiously directing people, brightened up when he saw him.


    “What on earth happened?”


    “I don’t know. There was a sudden explosion in Vanessa’sb.”


    “And Vanessa?”


    “I… I think she’s still inside.”


    “No one was hurt?”


    “I don’t think so. We made sure no one but Lady Vanessa could get close to this area.”


    At least there was some relief in that news, and Ghiin let out a sigh of relief.


    “Where are the mages?”


    “Th-they should be at the construction site right now.”


    “Get them all here immediately! Hurry!”


    The estate still didn’t have proper fire-fighting facilities. The fire had grown toorge to be managed by manpower alone. Using magic to control the mes was the best option for now.


    Crack!


    Vanessa’sb, reduced to just its framework, began to copse while spitting out mes.


    “I’ll go in and get Vanessa out.”


    Ghiin took off his cumbersome coat, preparing to enter the copsing building.


    Just then, a frantic woman’s voice echoed loudly from inside the building.


    “Wi-Wind st!”


    Whoosh!


    The falling debris was suddenly blown away in all directions by a powerful gust of wind.


    “Aaaah! Get down!”


    “What the hell is this!”


    “Why is it flying over here!”


    The people who had gathered around panicked, ducking and crouching down.


    Ghiin and his subordinates deflected the flying debris, protecting the people.


    After the rain of debris subsided, another loud shout came from inside the building.


    “Water Strike!”


    Whooosh!


    This time, columns of water began to shoot up from various ces.


    Ssshhhh! Boom! Bang!


    Given the fire, dousing it with water was good. But the force wasn’t controlled, and the water columns were too massive.


    The enormous water jets pierced through and shattered debris, scattering them around once more.


    Ghiin shouted urgently.


    “Stop it!”


    The estate residents backed away to a safer distance, and the mercenaries who hade with Ghiin worked hard to fend off the debris.


    “Aaaah! What do I do!”


    It seemed the person casting the magic inside had realized the situation and screamed.


    “Di-Dispel!”


    Ssssssshhhh.


    With another shout, the water columns gradually dispersed and disappeared.


    The mes that had engulfed multiple buildings were nowpletely extinguished, leaving only the soaked remnants of the copsed structures.


    Ssss…


    Pools of water rippled like waves. The asional hissing sound came from lingering embers being snuffed out as they were swept away by the overflowing water.


    “……”


    Ghiin and hispanions, drenched from head to toe, looked at each other.


    They all looked like drowned rats, and no one could find the words to speak.


    At that moment, a woman crawled out from the debris of the copsed building.


    “Oh, oh, I’m sorry. Imitted a grave sin. I deserve to die.”


    The woman, sobbing with snot and tears running down her face, was a mess.


    Her hair was wet and hung down like seaweed, and her face was smudged with ck soot.


    The remnants of her tattered clothing were adorned with fragments of Runestones, which clinked together faintly.


    Ghiin stared at the unrecognizable figure for a while before speaking in a perplexed tone.


    “…Vanessa?”


    “I’m s-s-so sorry, I’m so sorry. I made a mistake and caused trouble for everyone… Uhuhuhu.”


    Even as Ghiin questioned her, the woman just kept her head down, crying her eyes out.


    Ghiin, at a loss, asked again.


    “Are you really Vanessa?”


    “Yes, I’m Vanessa. Uuhuhu. I’m that wretched woman. Uuuh.”


    “…Are you alright?”


    “Uhuhuhu, I’m fine. I’m fine. I’m truly sorry. Uhuhuhu.”


    Vanessa, genuinely remorseful, continued to sob as shey there. She seemed unaware of who was even speaking to her.


    Well, considering how timid she was, it made sense she’d be out of sorts after causing such a major incident.


    “Calm down and tell me what happened. What’s all this about?”


    “Uhuhuhu, I made a mistake because I couldn’t control my mana properly. I’m so sorry. Boohoo.”


    “You couldn’t control it properly?”


    Ghiin tilted his head slightly.


    Although Vanessa had limited mana, she was unmatched when it came to magical theory.


    Hadn’t she even sessfully executed a massive trap spell that only an Archmage would dare attempt?


    It was hard to believe that someone like her could make such a huge mistake.


    “No, how did you even make a mistake like that? Stop crying and exin it to me slowly.”


    After a few more sniffles, Vanessa steadied her voice and began to exin seriously.


    “Since this was my first time attempting this magic, I wanted to make sure it was perfect, so I used a bit too many Runestones. Iyered the spell, modted the mana waves, then altered the structural dynamics to transform the spatial form and coordinates… mutter mutter… and that’s how I finally managed to seed with a 6th-circle spell…”


    “……”


    As expected of a mage, she was exining her reasons, but none of it made any sense to him.


    Still, one word stood out and caught his attention.


    “6th-circle?!”


    Ghiin eximed in shock.


    Reaching the 6th circle so quickly—it was an astonishing level of talent that sent chills down his spine.


    “Hahaha! 6th-circle! She reached the 6th circle!”


    The whole incident of the buildings blowing apart vanished from Ghiin’s mind. He couldn’t stopughing, not caring at all about the people around him.


    Vanessa, who had been sniffling with her head down, finally sensed something was off.


    She had been too flustered to realize it, but… the voice she was responding to wasn’t that of Lowell, the acting Chief Overseer.


    ‘Wait, who am I talking to right now?’


    Slowly, she lifted her head. She rubbed her eyes to clear her blurry vision and looked up again to see a familiar face.


    “My Lord!”


    Ghiin was standing there, soaked, grinning from ear to ear.


    With a face as if he had conquered the world.