Chapter 102 : Slanzewi

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Chapter 0102 Slanzewi

Translator: Tseirp

Two days after the ambush from the monsters and five assailants.

The caravan proceeded on the old highway without incident and arrived at Slanzewi, the second-largest city in the East.

If Rho Bridge was fine, it would have taken two days from the City of Rune via the East Highway, but it took six days to detour around the old highway.

As it was the first big city they stopped by in a long time, they booked an inn where all the members could stay in.

It was also the regular inn for Gecko’s caravan in Slanzewi called 『Red Jewel Inn』.

“It’s been a long time since we stopped in an inn. Please take your time to rest. Oh, and feel free to eat what you like at the cafeteria on the first floor. My company will pay for the meals at this inn.”

Hearing Gecko’s words, Ryo and the members of 『Switchback』 involuntarily made a guts pose.

Basically, the trip was a non-stop journey to the Capital city of Aberdeen.

Of course, they would stay at an inn in the city, but they had no plans to trade or buy or sell in the city.

The highest priority was to deliver the items they already had to the Capital city as soon as possible.

Therefore, Gecko told them from the start that even if they stayed in a city, they would only stay for one night.

Most of the towns were new to Ryo, so he had a desire to go sightseeing, but he couldn’t help it since it was a request.

He professionally segregated his work and leisure and decided to stop by when they returned from Aberdeen to the City of Rune.

However, there was also a C-rank Swordsman who couldn’t do so.

Ra was dragged back after being found by Scout Sue when he was secretly trying to escape from the inn.

Where on earth was he going … Ryo had no way of knowing …

However, Ra will later be grateful that he was brought back at that time.

Suburbs of Slanzewi.

There was a group of about ten people in black.

“Shafi-sama, an urgent statement from the headquarters.”

One of the men in black reverently presented a letter.

“What? At this timing?”

The man called Shafi frowned as he received and read the piece of urgent statement.

And he groaned a little.

“Seriously. The idiots at the headquarters. Fine. The third goal will be changed. It will be the assassination of the merchant Gecko who is staying at『Red Jewel Inn』. Regardless of the method. The prior third goal of the destruction of the aristocrat town will be designated as the fourth goal. The fourth goal is to be done by the unit that finishes their first to third goal early.

“Understood.”

They had memorized the faces of all the pivotal humans of each country.

Gecko was the Inbury Duchy’s sanctioned merchant and the closest civilian to the Duke of Inbury.

Therefore, they already remembered his face.

2:30 am. Wee hours when even plants and trees were asleep.

Ryo jumped up to a sudden roaring sound.

“Earthquake?”

However, he remembered that he had never encountered an earthquake since coming to 『Phi』.

For now, he changed from the inn’s room clothes to his usual attire, slotted two knives on his belt, put on his robe, opened the window and looked out.

At the end of his line of sight, he saw a large burning building.

“Isn’t that the Lord’s mansion?”

There was an air of unrest.

Jumping out of the room, he ran up the stairs.

On the first floor, Gecko, his subordinates, Max and half of the escorts were staying.

When Ryo reached the upper floor, Max was out in the hallway giving instructions.

“Max-san!”

“Ryo. Please protect Gecko-san and his group.”

Ryo’s defense seemed to have gained Max’s absolute trust.

Gecko and his men were gathered in the largest room at the back.

Considering that they had already changed their clothes, it could be said that they acted fairly quickly.

“Oh, Ryo-san. It sounds like something serious is happening outside.”

“Yes. I saw the lord’s building burning from the window.”

“What …”

Gecko was surprised by Ryo’s report.

In Gecko’s room, safety was the highest priority, as it seemed that the shutters on the windows were closed and they had not seen the flames coming from the lord’s building.

In any city, the lord’s mansion was the most guarded building.

It was an unusual situation for the building to be on fire.

As they were talking, there was another roaring sound.

Moreover, it felt like it was bigger than the first one …

It was more like an explosion than a roaring sound.

“Pardon me.”

Ryo opened the shutters on the back window a little and looked out.

“Gecko-san, the stone three-story building on the left of the lord’s building when viewed from here …”

“I think that’s probably the Knights’ building or armory.”

Gecko replied as he soothed his anxious-faced subordinates.

To know such details even for a city in another country, it could be said that information was the lifeblood of a merchant.

“Somehow … it’s exploding rather than burning …”

(Michael (pseudonym) said that gunpowder wasn’t common yet … but that seems like an explosion …)

“Is it something like the Fire-Attribute Magic <Explosion>? Or perhaps from burning 『black powder』…”

“No way …”

Ryo was surprised to hear the term similar to 『gunpowder』.

“The powder, made only in the eastern part of the Kingdom and stored in  Slanzewi … Oops, that is confidential. I talked too much.”

Then Gecko grinned.

It was impossible to decipher his intent, but it seemed certain that he spoke intending to let Ryo hear it.

“Although information is the lifeblood of a merchant, that’s still …”

“Fufufu, a merchant is not much different from an intelligence officer. I am free to move around because the Kingdom and the Duchy are almost allies rather than just friends.”

Ryo felt he had a little glimpse into the complexity of the job of being a 『merchant』.

“Gecko-san, the fire has spread near the inn. It will be troublesome if the inn catches on fire. Let’s evacuate outside.”

Max jumped in and made a suggestion.

For the time being, everyone prepared to evacuate with only what was important.

“Finish preparing in 40 seconds.”

Gecko sent instructions to his subordinates.

As for him, he only picked up one shoulder bag and seemed to be ready.

It seemed that he gathered all his valuables in one bag.

(Prepared in 10 seconds … just like the leader of an anime somewhere …)

Ryo was honestly impressed.

“Ryo, I entrust Gecko’s safety to you as a top priority.”

Max approached Ryo and whispered.

“I know Gecko said that the safety of his subordinates is our top priority, but if something happens to Gecko, our country will not be able to persist. Please.”

With that said, Max left the room to instruct the others.

(A 『merchant』 is a complicated job after all … traveling from country to country like an intelligence officer … and to top things off, the fate of the country rests on the shoulder of one merchant …)

Ryo also took his bag and went down to the hall near the entrance on the first floor.

“Gecko-san, I will surround everyone with an Ice Wall. The wall will move with us, so please move in this grouping as much as possible.”

“Got it.”

Gecko nodded on behalf of the party.

“<Ice Wall 10-layer package>”

10-layer transparent ice walls covered all directions.

Ryo felt that most attacks would bounce off this 10-layer Ice Wall.

Of course, it won’t be able to do anything against firepower like that of the Akuma Leonor … but that was an exception. After all, it deflected the attack of the Explosive Blaze Magician, who was said to be amazing!

Although it wasn’t completely deflected!

The turmoil outside the inn was pretty terrible.

With such confusion, Ryo’s <Passive sonar> was no longer accurate … because there was too much movement of people and the air.

Therefore, <Ice wall> was necessary for absolute safety.

Prevention was better than a cure.

With Max at the forefront, the escort team led Gecko and group as they confirmed the safety of the surroundings.

There was a plaza in front of the inn, Red Jewel Inn, and not only the guests but also the people living around there evacuated to that spot.

When the Gecko and his group moved to the corner of that square and calmed down …

A throwing knife flew precisely toward Gecko’s throat.

Kakin

Even after calming down, the Ice Wall was not lifted.

Deflected by the ice wall, the knife fell to the ground.

Ryo looked in the direction the knife came from.

Somebody was in the shadow of the street between the buildings. And … there were three people.

“<Ice Coffin> <Ice Coffin> <Ice Coffin>”

The distance was about 20 meters. In that case, his magic will surely reach them.

The previous time, when he tried to capture the assailant with <Ice Bind>, he was murdered and even his corpse was about to be burned.

If they were the same opponent this time, they might attempt to do the same.

Thus he decided to encase them in an Ice Coffin from the beginning.

It was a crude judgment and action befitting Ryo.

At this point, Max and his three subordinates ran toward the shadow where the assailants were lurking.

“Wew.”

They couldn’t resist letting out a small cry of surprise.

Even after seeing it once, anyone would be surprised to find three ice-encased objects at a street corner.

Following Max and the others, Ryo came over to the street.

“Ryo …”

“Yes, I tried to catch them before they were burned.”

Ryo nodded, saying so.

“But … what should we do? These three probably aren’t the only assailants invading the city …”

“Yeah …. If they fail, another companion will come attacking again … we can’t investigate them in such a place. If others can’t break them too, why don’t we leave them here? We can collect them after everything is over.”

Max also seemed to have roughly the same idea.

“Their companions might come to retrieve them. If they do, we can capture them too.”

There was quite a gap between their conversation and the smile on Ryo’s face.

“The fourth goal of destroying the aristocrat town … Well, this much should be sufficient. Did we kill about half? Hmm? Hey, what happened to the third unit?”

When he realized that the gathered subordinates were missing three, Sharfi asked the captain of the first unit beside him.

“They have not joined up yet.”

“Huh? What are they doing? It should be easy to assassinate a merchant …”

But after saying that, he noticed.

(It’s weird that all three haven’t returned. It’s impossible that all three would be killed … was there a ridiculously strong guy among the escort? Ah shit. This is what happens when a new goal is slotted in right before the operation! The idiots at the headquarters …)

Sharfi cursed in his heart.

However, he regained his calm.

“We’ll survey the area around Gecko for the time being.”

“What is that …”

Three ice square pillars stood in one of the passages leading to the square where Gecko and his party were.

Inside the pillar were Sharfi’s men.

(Is that humanly possible …? I heard that just as a Fire Magician can’t burn an opponent internally, a Water Magician can’t freeze an opponent either … Did they use a powerful artifact? The fact that there are people in it … the ice won’t break easily. We can’t leave them there either …)

Sharfi stared at a place slightly further away from his ice-encased subordinates.

He was observing the turmoil …

While Sharfi was scratching his head, a loud cheer was heard from the city gate.

“Is it the return of the vice captain?”

Muttering and laughing a little, Sharfi and the seven others left.

About 40 knights came to Gecko’s party waiting in the square.

One of the knights spoke to the party.

“This is His Excellency Baldwin, Vice-Captain of the Knights of Slanzewi. I believe you are Gecko, a merchant of the Inbury Duchy. There was a report that you captured suspicious individuals. Hand them over immediately.”

“Wha … don’t …”

Gecko stretched a hand out to restrain Max from shouting and,

“So it has come to this.”

Gecko muttered so softly that no one could hear it.

However, Ryo, who was next to him, could.

“Great work. I’m Gecko. We trapped them in that aisle, so let us show you. Max, Ryo, please follow me.”

Then Gecko started walking toward the aisle.

(<Ice Wall 10-layer release> <Ice Armor>)

Ryo placed an Ice Armor on Gecko to be safe.

It’s not as defensive as an ice wall, but it could prevent a throwing knife.

“Here.”

Then Gecko pointed to the three pillars of ice.

“What is this …”

Exclamations of surprise leaked from the knight and Vice-Captain Baldwin.

“One of my escorts captured them in ice coffins. Please take them away.”

“O-okay. That’s admirable. We will take note of your cooperation.”

Vice-Captain Baldwin nodded generously.

“Then, are you sure you want to release the ice coffin?”

Ryo asked nobody in particular.

“Yes.”

Baldwin nodded.

“<Release the captured limbs, Ice Coffin release.>”

Ryo chanted an appropriate chant and erased the three ice coffins.

The three fell to the ground.

“Are they alive?”

“Yes. They are alive, so I think it’s better to shackle them.”

Ryo answered Baldwin’s question properly and politely.

The three were shackled and placed on a convoy towed by the Knights.

“And when will Gecko leave the city?”

“I will leave tomorrow morning.”

Gecko answered Baldwin’s question clearly.

“I see. I’ll take responsibility for the investigation of these three people, so be careful along the way.”

“Thank you for your concern.”

Gecko bowed deeply.

Then, the Knights left for the burnt-down Knights’ building.

“Gecko-san, those guys …”

“Yes, nine out of ten, they’re probably connected to those who caused this turmoil.”

“Why then!”

Max was angry at Gecko’s composure.

“Max, don’t misunderstand the weight of things. Our top priority is the safety of the people in the company. Next is our business. Everything else falls after that. As long as Lord Baldwin has his eyes on us, he will be able to threaten my subordinates’ safety if we do not step cautiously. Leaving aside the situation yesterday, with the condition of the lord’s mansion, the Lord and the Knight Captain are probably not safe … Currently, the most powerful person in the city is Lord Baldwin. We must leave the city before we are physically harmed.”

Then Gecko turned to Ryo and bowed.

“Ryo, I apologize for handing over the witnesses that you took the trouble to capture without permission. But this is for the safety of my subordinates. Please understand.”

“Of course. Don’t worry about me. I think it is wonderful to put the safety of the people in the company first and foremost.”

Ryo agreed.

“Thank you.”

Gecko smiled and bowed again.

Next morning.

After having an early breakfast at the『Red Jewel Inn』, which was untouched by the fire, Gecko and his group left the city of Slanzewi before the sun rose.

“Three days later, Hullwill; and three days after that, we’ll arrive at the border town of Red Post.”

“If all goes well, right?”

Ra said as he recalled the map in his head, and Ryo answered.

“Ryo, don’t say such ominous things ...”

Ra frowned and replied.

Last night, Ra was stopped by Sue from sneaking out of the inn, which allowed him to move with Gecko’s group during the midnight turmoil so it didn’t become an issue.

If he hadn’t been caught by Sue at that time ... there was no knowing what could have happened.

Therefore, the Swordsman Ra was grateful and gave the dessert fruit from his breakfast to Scout Sue ... or that was the official record of 『Switchback』.

Actually, he gave it to Sue while crying tears of gratitude.

“The path from Slanzawi to the border town of Red Post is part of the East Highway. It’s one of the most important highways in the Kingdom, so I don’t think anything weird will happen ... Yeah, I’m sure. It won’t happen ... It shouldn’t happen ... I hope it doesn’t happen.”

Ra’s wishes became softer and softer towards the end.

The first day after leaving Slanzawi passed without incident.

And the morning of the second day.

Ryo suddenly sprung to action just as they were about to reach the planned location to take a lunch break.

“Ra-san, enemies are coming from the front. I will inform Max-san.”

Then, without waiting for Ra’s reaction, Ryo ran to the front of the wagon train.

The leading carriage had Gecko in the coachman’s seat with a young Water-Attribute Magician subordinate, and Max and four others walking around the carriage as guards.

“Max-san, from the front, a group with the three people we caught in Slanzawi is coming.”

“What!?”

“What do you mean, Ryo-san?”

Max was surprised while Gecko threw a question back at Ryo.

“When we released the three people, a transmitter ... um, I secretly planted water that I could detect when approaching in their navels. Now it is reacting and the signal is coming from the front. The speed is quite slow ... Yeah, it’s about the same speed as this caravan.”

“Gecko-san, they might be masquerading as a caravan or something like that. It’s a common thief’s trick.”

“Yes, that’s right. I see. Let’s pretend to take a break on the riverbank there because it’s easier to deal with them there than while we pass each other.”

When Gecko said so, the caravan went down to the riverbank under Max’s command.

Gecko’s men and carriages gathered in the center, and the escorts sat quietly around, pretending to be resting.

“<Ice Wall 10-layer package>”

Ryo sat around Gecko and his men and surrounded them with an ice wall first before anything happened.

By now, Gecko and his subordinates were accustomed to the experience of being surrounded by ice walls after so many times.

“Ten people are approaching, including the three.”

Ryo whispered to Max, who was in command nearby.

“Roger that.”

Max returned to where he would be at the forefront to give detailed instructions.

Twenty minutes after the Gecko’s party descended to the riverbank, a group of ten people passed by.

There were four in the coachman’s seats and four escorts.

(That means there are two people in the carriage ...)

Ryo thought to himself as he tried to not lose sight of the ten people ... but refrained from looking directly at them.

Just as they were about to pass by ... the expression of the person sitting in the coachman’s seat of the leading carriage showed how they felt about the target descending to the riverbank and getting the drop on them.

Of course, that was probably partly Ryo’s imagination.

However, he certainly clicked his tongue.

And then,

“Oh well.”

Ryo did hear those words.

At the same time as those words were spoken, the four coachmen threw something between themselves and Gecko’s group by the river.

The thrown objects rolled on the ground and spewed out white smoke.

“Poison ... can’t be, they are there too. It’s a smokescreen!”

After Ryo determined that, he activated his usual magic in such cases.

“<Squall>”

An instant downpour hit the area and then left immediately.

The rain washed the smoke floating in the air down to the ground and flowed away.

Attacks in the cover of smoke were instantly invalidated.

But by that time, the assailants had already jumped out of the carriage and were running towards the riverbank.

“Wha .... the smoke was extinguished in an instant.”

The assailant leader, Sharfi, was surprised.

The smoke was a special item they made that creates a fairly thick smokescreen even outdoors, and was a kind of sure-fire attack method that they used frequently.

But it was invalidated by the sudden rain.

However, as long as they were running, they couldn’t pull back.

Meanwhile, the battle had begun.

“Gecko is ... over there!”

Sharfi looked around the crowd and saw Gecko’s face almost instantly.

Then, he held the spear in his right hand up and threw it with all his might.

Kakin

However, the spear he threw bounced off by something invisible before reaching Gecko.

“Barrier? Damn it.”

Then Sharfi ran towards Gecko.

Of course, no escort team would overlook that.

Swords were thrust at Sharfi from the side as he ran toward Gecko.

However, Sharfi did not stop running, and while dodging the swords, he slashed the outstretched arms.

In one corner of his field of vision, he could see his subordinates being knocked down one after another.

(What is the strength of this escort? It is completely different from the report!)

Gecko’s caravan was attacked several times by other units before reaching the City of Rune.

As a result, five escorts were killed.

The report at that time did not indicate that they were as strong as this.

It was the elite escorts led by Max and the 『Switchback』 led by Ra who were defeating Sharfi’s subordinates one after another.

Aside from Max, 『Switchback』 was from the City of Rune, so it was unavoidable that they weren’t mentioned in the report.

Finally, Sharfi reached a distance of less than 20 meters from Gecko.

There, he pulled out a volleyball-sized bag that was hung on his waist with his right hand and pressed the ignition that he held in his left hand against the cord extending from the bag.

“Eat this!”

Then he threw the bag at Gecko.

Even if there was a <Physical Barrier>, it would definitely be destroyed with that special 『Explosion bag』.

“This is specially made. You have to die. Don’t hate me for this.”

Sharfi abandoned running away, crossed his hands, took a position to protect his face from the explosion, and watched over the whereabouts of the 『Explosion bag』.

The 『Explosion bag』 did not stray from the target and drew a parabola toward Gecko … but before it hit the wall the spear struck, it was encased in ice and fell to the ground.

“……Ha?”

An exasperated sound leaked from Sharfi’s mouth.

The fire on the attached fuse of the ice-encased 『Explosion bag』 was extinguished and it rolled to the ground.

“Ice ...”

Sharfi kneeled and held his head.

However, he immediately raised his head and shouted loudly.

“Surrender! I surrender!”

Then, he threw the knife on his waist to the ground, threw away the ignition he had in his left hand, and raised both hands to show that he had no intention of resisting.

“What? Surrender?”

Scout Gun, who was approaching Sharfi from behind, asked.

“Yes, I surrender. I won’t resist. If it saves my life, I’ll also provide useful information for Gecko.”

As expected, Gun couldn’t decide what to do at that point.

By then, all assailants except Sharfi had died.

The attack failed and he begged for his life to cling to hope ... it was not impossible.

“<Ice Wall 10-layer package>”

Along with that voice, a clear ice wall was created around Sharfi.

“I’ll create a wall for the time being, so even if he self-destructs, the damage will not reach us. Don’t worry.”

Of course, it was Ryo.

He announced to the people around him with a loud voice that could be heard by Sharfi.

“Haha .... Ice Magician, that’s quite nasty.”

“I don’t want to be told that by an assassin.”

Ryo returned the poisonous words to Sharfi.

Max and Ra gathered around them.

“Our bad, all your subordinates were already killed by the time you surrendered.”

“Oh ... they were useful, but it can’t be helped. Thanks to their sacrifice, I was able to get closer to throw the 『Explosion bag』. Well, I couldn’t even do any damage though.”

When Ra told him ruthlessly, Sharfi shook his head and replied.

While they were talking, Ryo was looking at the ice-encased 『Explosion bag』 that was lying on the ground.

(This is ... he called it an Explosion bag, so I guess it explodes ... I extinguished the fire on the fuse-like thing that was attached to it but ... there’s no knowing what can happen so let’s leave it as it is.)

With that in mind, he handed it to Ra while it was still frozen.

“Eh? Ryo?”

“It’s encased in ice, so it’s okay. It won’t explode.”

Ra was asking why Ryo was handing it to him while Ryo replied without answering the question at all.

They were not on the same wavelengths.

“Yup, it’s okay. Believe me.”

“But then, why are you stepping back, Ryo ...”

Meanwhile, Max was glaring at Sharfi without saying anything.

After a while, Gecko came to them.

“Ah, thank you all for your hard work. Those who were injured are being treated now. Fortunately, nobody died or suffered serious injuries, and we can treat the rest with just potions alone.”

Then Gecko saw Sharfi in the ice wall.

“So you are the leader of the assailants who surrendered?”

“Yeah, Sharfi.”

Gecko looked down at Sharfi without changing his expression, and Sharfi, who was kneeling on the ground, replied by looking closely at Gecko’s face.

“You came at us with the intent of dying, but you’re surrendering in the end? I can’t believe that.”

Gecko questioned him indifferently with the same expression.

“Well ... you can say that ... But it’s impossible to kill you no matter what? Moreover, all my subordinates were killed so after failing this attack, I have no future other than dying. I can accept dying for a mission, but I’d rather not die a dog’s death.”

“Hm……”

Gecko muttered just one word, as if he was thinking about something.

And one minute later.

“Well, that’s fine. I can’t trust you entirely, but I’ll accept that explanation for the time being ...”

Gecko paused once there and then continued.

“However, even if a bandit surrenders, he would be killed on the spot anyway?”

“I know, but I’m an assassin, not a bandit. I have the information you want. I’m ready to provide that information if you can help me.”

“For example, what kind of information?”

“If you can help me, I will give it to you.”

Gecko continued after tilting his head a little.

“But I won’t be able to tell if the information you have would help me ... Ryo-san, I can’t trust this Sharfi-san after all, so please encase him in ice.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Ryo then started chanting.

“Heaven’s consent, Earth’s consent, Creator of all things that fills the heaven and the earth, Sparkling Queen of Ice, for the fool who goes against you ...”

“Wa-wait, wait a minute!”

“Lay down your coffin, grant them permanent sleep ...”

“I said wait! I’ll tell you why we performed sabotage in Slanzewi!”

When Sharfi shouted, Gecko finally put out one hand in front of Ryo and stopped his chanting.

“Please speak within 30 seconds.”

“Yes, okay. The destruction in Slanzawi was due to a request to make the eastern part of the Knightley Kingdom dysfunctional.”

Everyone, including Ryo, gulped.

It was part of a larger sabotage than they had imagined.

“The simple answer scores you high points. Does that mean that you guys caused the collapse of the Rho Bridge and the purpose was to damage the eastern part of the kingdom?”

“Yes, but that’s just the beginning, and it’s really just the first of a few years of planned works. I wasn’t informed of the bigger picture, so that’s all I can say about the request.”

Gecko, listening to Sharfi, sighed.

“Well, let Master McGrath know and sell a favor to him.”

Gecko said in a whispering voice.

“So what else?”

“Wait a minute. Guarantee my life first. Then I can give you a lot of other information. Anyway, I have nothing but my life left.”

“Fine. I guarantee your life with my name. Of course, if you do anything strange, that guarantee disappears in that instant. Understood?”

“Yes, thank you.”

Sharfi was relieved and nodded to Gecko’s words.

“This ... is very hard to say, but I have one thing I wish to request.”

Sharfi had trouble speaking as he diverted his gaze from Gecko.

“Hey, you’re not in a position to negotiate!”

Max, who had been silent until then, screamed at Sharfi.

“No, I know! I know but ... I have to stay alive for me to have any use to you, right? I will die at this rate.”

“What!?”

Only Max spoke out, but it surprised everyone there.

“『Cult』 ... we call the organization I belonged to that, but we’re cursed so that we don’t betray that 『Cult』. The curse would kill us if we betray the organization.”

“So, if we want information, we have to break your curse.”

“That’s how it is.”

Sharfi nodded to Max.

“Even if you say that, just saying it’s a 『Curse』 isn’t helpful. Explain in detail.”

“I don’t know how it activates either. I don’t even know if it’s a curse or magic. They said that the 『Cult』guys were involved in alchemy.”

“Alchemy!?”

The word alchemy appeared in Sharfi’s explanation, and Ryo unintentionally exclaimed softly.

Recently, alchemy had rapidly established itself as a hobby in Ryo!

It may be natural that he reacted that way to the word 『Alchemy』.

“We have a tattooed emblem on our chest. A stone spear emanates from that emblem, pierces the chest, or rather the heart, and we die. I’ve encountered the scene twice, so I don’t think I’m wrong.”

After Sharfi’s explanation was over, no one spoke for a while.

It was Max who got the ball rolling.

“Either we erase the tattoo or peel off the whole skin?”

“Wa-wait! If you want to peel off my skin, get a high-ranking priest to treat me right away.”

“Did you surrender for that?”

“Oh ... I won’t deny it.”

A fairly high-ranking priest would be needed to heal a large amount of peeled skin and muscle tissue to allow them to function normally.

There might only be one or two people at that level in a big city or a national capital ... ordinary people won’t have the connections to ask for healing from them, and a considerable amount of donation would have to be given.

Even a low-ranked aristocrat would have difficulties requesting it.

“Of course, there won’t be any such priest in Hullwill, and if it’s the border town of Red Post ...”

“Bishop Jariga of the Red Post has returned to the royal capital, so it’s impossible.”

Gecko replied to the words that leaked from Max’s mouth.

“Seriously ...”

Upon hearing that, Sharfi seemed depressed as expected.

Naturally. If he didn’t remove it quickly, his life was at stake.

Even though he had no choice but to surrender, he would still end up dying from the tattoo all the same.

Gecko turned to Ryo, who had been thinking silently for the entire time, except for muttering ‘Alchemy!?’

“Ryo-san, is there a Water Magic that is just right for this case?”

It seemed that he did not expect such a convenient answer.

“Sure, there’s no magic that fits this situation ... but there might be a way to do it. If there’s no other option, I can give it a try ...”

“There is!?”

The moment Ryo said that, the tone of Gecko’s voice went up by one note.

That alone made it clear to Ryo that Gecko wanted to save the assassin’s life, if possible.

He would try to use even a former assassin as a human resource ... Ryo was impressed with the spirit of the merchant.

“Simply put, I can encase the heart itself with an ice film to prevent the spear from reaching it. The other method is to cover the tattoo itself with an ice film to prevent the spear from reaching the heart ...”

“I see!”

Gecko accepted Ryo’s explanation and then nodded while diving into deep thought.

“Eh ... uh ... what is an ice film ... won’t it be cold? Won’t my heart stop?”

Only one person, the test subject Sharfi, could not understand.

No, maybe he just didn’t want to understand ...