13
A strong sense of rejection welled up from within Lecan.
He'd rather not go to the capital where Yacklubend is.
(Cool it.)
(Gotta calm myself.)
Lecan sipped the strong liquor and slowly washed it down his throat.
He yielded himself to the throat burning sensation.
Then he sighed out loud.
(Eda is practically their hostage now.)
(Abandoning her is never an option.)
(Yet taking her back by force from the capital should prove difficult.)
(Even if I could, we would lose our place in this country.)
(And Norma and Manfrey would be condemned.)
(I got to steel myself here.)
(Alright.)
(Come what may, to the capital I go.)
(That said, I'd better think up ways to reduce the risk.)
Lecan raised his face after a while.
Every single person in the room looked at Lecan, waiting for his reply.
"Okay. I'll go."
The room's atmosphere instantly softened.
Knight Rigan wiped his sweat. He wouldn't be able to look at his master in the face had Lecan refused here.
"Norma. Make our stay at the capital as short as possible."
"Yup. I understand. Lecan will be staying at Wazrof Mansion, he will only get into the palace in the day of the royal audience, after that he's to leave the capital right away, I'll make the arrangement for all that."
"Do so. Also, can you make my coming to the royal palace confidential?"
"Lecan. That's a tall order. Or rather, it's impossible. We have no way to control how much the royal palace side intends to publicize this event. We have no idea how vast the information network Lord Tomato has under them either. On the contrary, we should go at it openly."
"Hm?"
"I think you should be treated as a member of Wazrof surrounded by Wazrof guards as you go into the palace and as you go back to Mashajain. I'm sure not even lord Tomato can meddle in if we do that. Just make it so Lecan, me and Eda always be around our guards. Then we brazenly make our way to the audience chamber."
"Brazenly huh. I see. If you think that's for the best, Norma."
"Lecan-dono. I will be heading back to Mashajain to deliver this news to my master as well as prepare for Lecan-dono's coming."
"You do that."
"Norma-sama. Is there anything you would like to entrust me with."
"Please tell Manfrey-sama to prepare guards who have as high standings as possible."
"Acknowledged. If you would excuse me."
Knight Rigan stood up, bowed and left the room.
(He's departing this late at night?)
Lecan enjoyed his meal afterward.
He went back to the annex near the pond once it was late. Along with Norma.
Jericho was there as he opened the door.
"Hey, Jericho. I'm back."
"Uhohou."
"Got a gift for you."
"Hoo!"
"Here. Take it."
Lecan produced a red round fruit and handed it over to Jericho. It's a rare fruit he found out from his consultation with Manfrey. He could only get one since it was sudden.
"What do you think. This is a fruit called Morgon from the south, said Longarm Apes would cry with tears of joy for one of these. That one's a bit small but should be enough for you... Ah."
Lecan noticed Yurika standing behind Jericho. He completely forgot about her.
"Uhou."
Yurika greeted him quietly.
"Y-yea. I'm back."
Yurika sorrowfully looked at the Morgon on Jericho's hand.
Jericho hugged Yurika shoulder to comfort her and pushed the Morgon at Yurika.
Yurika pushed it back at Jericho. Jericho pushed it right back to Yurika. Yurika looked at Jericho with eyes full of gratitude. Still hugging Yurika's shoulder, Jericho turned around and led her back to their room.
<TLN: Catch the latest updates and edits at Sousetsuka .com >
"Ah."
Lecan tried to say something with his right hand half raised. But he couldn't find the right word.
Jericho stopped walking and looked back over his shoulder, smiling gently at Lecan.
"Hohou."
While Lecan pondering if that was a thanks or him saying good night, Norma spoke from behind Lecan.
"Good night, Jericho, Yurika."
"Hou."
Yurika also turned around and said good night.
Norma's palm warmed Lecan's back as he stood there dumbfounded.
The two went upstairs and Lecan went in his room.
As he laid sideways on his bed, unable to sleep, he felt like something was calling him.
He raised his upper body on the bed and probed the surroundings with <Life Detection> to discover a gigantic red dot. Located around Rikonen District.
(Is Shira calling for me?)
Lecan put on his clothes and cast <Concealment> on himself, then he danced in the night sky.
"Hey there, sorry about this. Calling you so late."
"You need something from me?"
"About the replacement for <Diadem of Divine Rotwood>, what do you think about this?"
Shira presented a small box.
Lecan took and opened it, a small red and blue jewels were placed inside.
"What's this?"
"Go ahead and appraise them."
Lecan took his thin wand, carefully spun preliminary casting and cast <Appraisal>.
"What? Can't read it."
"I see, so not even the you now can. Those jewels have been inserted with an Appraisal Void spell formula."
"What the heck are these anyway?"
"They're called <Magic Mirror of Ryin>. By mounting them on a metal shield or metal armor and reciting a spell, they allow its user to reflect their opponent's magic for a period of ten heart beats. You'll have to wait three days once used but they're capable of reflecting even ceremonial magic."
"What? Are these Grace Gear?"
"No that's not it. Those were made by Guide Ryin Estir, one of my masters."
"A master of Shira huh. So magic tools like this exist here."
It's similar to <Grant> in Lecan's original world. Its ability is outstanding.
"You don't see stuff like these around nowadays. I am unable to create anything like them either. So, what's the verdict? If you're taking, get a metal shield or armor out."
"Can these be mounted on Grace Gear?"
"Yes it can. But there is a slight probability of the process failing. In which case, both the Grace Gear and this Magic Mirror will be lost."
"Then put them on this."
Lecan took <Shield of Wolkan>.
"Figured you'd choose that. Leave that shield on the table now."
Lecan did as told, then Shira put the red jewel on top of the shield and recited a spell. Mana poured out of Shira's outstretched hands, then the red jewel shined bright before melting inside the shield.
"Oh dear, that went well. Now you only need to grab onto that blue jewel and recite <Waldona>. Which means <Reflect>, see. Oh and, make sure this shield is hitting the attack it's reflecting."
"Got something real good. Much obliged."
Lecan has <Necklace of Intuador> on him. But against foes on the level of Argent Flame Wolf, its protective barrier gets instantly shredded. This will be his last resort then.
He's finally forced to go to the capital.
He's absolutely no plan to go see Yacklubend. The thing is probably a monster on Shira's level who sees Lecan as the ideal lab rat. Nothing good would come from meeting them.
But he's got a bad feeling about all this.
And bad feelings are usually proven true.
[Episode 48 Rebirth] End/Next [Episode 49 Duel Before Monarch]
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