Chapter 71

The blade still had the light of daylight swirling around it.

A magic sword emitting a pure white light.

Witnessing a brilliance that torches could never imitate, the mercenaries, without exception, made the sign of the cross.

"God almighty...!"

"God has protected us!"

Belenka followed the mercenaries and made the sign of the cross.

She wasn't as deeply moved as the mercenaries, but her reaction was similar to expressing exclamations of wonder.

It was like how Westerners frequently exclaim, "Oh my God!"

"You were incredible, Wizard!"

"Even the mightiest vampire is but a mere mosquito in front of you, Wizard!"

"Hurrah for Wizard Ian!"

Ian found the babbling mercenaries beside him incredibly annoying.

Praise was nice to hear at first, but it quickly became tiresomely repetitive.

Above all, Ian needed time to ponder the mysteries that lay dormant in Anor-lsil.

Therefore, Ian, without losing a wizard's dignity, politely requested the mercenaries.

"Quiet. Stop yapping beside me. If you have nothing to do, go call the Baron."

A request that was politeness itself.

Moved by Ian's gracious request, the mercenaries responded.

"Of course, Wizard!"

The mercenaries happily vanished, singing a song about 'Ian, who burned the mosquito to ashes,' and so on.

Ian still couldn't quite understand the mercenaries' tastes.

Do you guys really like it when I talk like a foul-mouthed grandma that much?

He remembered how they practically had a fit begging for forgiveness when he accidentally spoke to them politely.

Playing the role of a quirky wizard was a bit uncomfortable, but Ian obliged since it was what they expected.

In actuality, he was a man of manners.

Ian, true to his gentlemanly nature, extended his hand to Kira.

"Are you okay?"

"..."

Kira just stared blankly at Ian.

"Yes."

She took Ian's hand and slowly stood up.

As Kira got closer, the pungent smell of gunpowder hit their noses.

As expected, the cause of the explosion was gunpowder.

It was impossible for Ian not to recognize the smell of gunpowder.

These days, children play with cyber guns on smartphones, a luxury of the modern world.

But children in the past played with real guns loaded with real gunpowder(true).

It might seem absurd to think of kids playing with guns, but South Korea in the past was a country where romance was alive and well.

It was a common evening scene back then to see neighborhood kids tucking cap guns into their jeans and roaming around.

The sound of a cap gun and the smell of gunpowder it emitted were the dreams of boys, so much so that the tougher kids would have all handled a cap gun at least once.

Though compared to cap guns, airsoft pellets, and even bean bullets were enough to mark you as armed.

Unfortunately, Ian's parents were conservative enough not to buy him a cap gun, but naturally, he came to recognize the smell of gunpowder from hanging out with his friends.

To clarify again, Ian was definitely not from Somalia; he was a citizen of South Korea.

Ian sniffed around.

The smell that lingered after a fireworks display or after a cap gun fight...

Ah, I want to do fireworks.

Should I ask Kira if she has any fireworks sets left?

Noticing Ian sniffing around, Kira defensively said,

"It smells a bit, doesn't it? But my magic is kind of..."

"Magic?"

Suddenly, what magic?

Ian thought for a moment.

Do people here call gunpowder magic powder?

In the East, gunpowder(火藥) simply means 'medicine that causes fire,' but the ignorant Western barbarians casually called it 'gunpowder.'

As in, powder for guns!

It's a powder used for shooting guns, so, gunpowder!

It wouldn't have been strange in the Holy Empire to call it 'magic powder.'

After all, gunpowder could indeed be considered a form of magic powder.

This is a fact proven by the meme of Harry Potter shooting with a Muggle's stick.

"It's not fire powder, then?"

"... What?"

"That powder. I thought it might be called something like 'fire powder.'"

Ian stuttered, translating modern language into the language of the Empire.

It was almost like doing a direct translation of a foreign language, so sometimes there were translation issues.

However, Ian's translated 'fire powder' coincidentally matched exactly with the Empire's term for gunpowder.

More precisely, it was called 'flame powder.'

Kira was surprised to hear the word that came out of Ian's mouth.

'You know about flame powder?!'

Flame powder wasn't a product made in the Empire.

It was a rare item, with only tiny amounts imported by heretical traders from the southeast.

Therefore, in this part of the Empire, the northern regions, the likelihood of meeting someone who knew about flame powder was virtually zero.

But it approached zero without being zero.

There were indeed people like Ian who knew about flame powder.

Of course, Kira was just being fooled at the moment.

Who would have thought that a person who used to shoot cap guns and play with fireworks in a past life would be wandering around the northern part of the Holy Empire?

"Yeah, flame powder. You know it too?"

Kira was incredibly flustered, but like a pro scammer, she didn't show it outwardly.

Ian nodded.

Up to this point, Ian hadn't realized that Kira knew absolutely nothing about magic and was an empty can.

Showing off a fireworks fountain show with gunpowder isn't proof of being a fake wizard.

But...

It didn't take long for Ian to accidentally discover Kira's true identity.

On the road, Ian would often draw his magic sword out of boredom and swing it around.

The magic sword Anor-lsil, said to contain the power of both the sun and the moon.

However, it was all fancy talk; what exact power it held or what mysteries were enclosed, even Ian wasn't sure.

It was said to have been made by a fairy queen who included all sorts of bizarre ingredients.

What, like a woman's beard or the sound of a cat's pawsteps? Dwarves in Norse mythology made stuff with such ingredients.

The sword was ambiguous, but last night Ian managed to unleash some of its power.

He successfully made it shine with sunlight.

Congratulations! Your magic sword has evolved from a portable lighter to a flashlight lighter!

Functionally, it wasn't a major upgrade, but it was satisfying on a personal level.

This was a kind of magical achievement, after all.

By extracting sunlight, Ian realized one thing.

The power of the sun contained in Anor-lsil wasn't metaphorical; it literally borrowed from the real sun.

In the past, Ian and Inglan struggled to draw out the sword's power in the Baron's tomb.

Neither Ian's fire magic nor Inglan's photon magic worked, so they were about to use it as a mere lighter.

But thinking back, their approach was fundamentally flawed.

Can the sun's power be defined solely as fire or light?

No, it couldn't.

While sharing properties with both fire and light, it was a mystery that couldn't simply be called fire itself or light itself.

The sun is just the sun.

The moment Ian realized this, Anor-lsil showed him a part of its harbored power.

It was a pleasant situation for Ian.

Compared to medieval people, Ian found learning magic easier.

It wasn't about having or not having a status window, but a difference in mindset.

Modern people, especially students from South Korea, received a well-rounded education.

Science students learn literature, and humanities students learn calculus. Even art and music students study math, science, and language in South Korea.

Medieval people might think of the sun as just a bright spot in the sky.

But Ian could imagine celestial bodies in the universe and the stars of the solar system.

His thoughts were closer to the essence of what the sun actually was.

This was similar to how Ian analyzed the relationship between echo and air to control sound with magic.

Knowing the sun's essence more explicitly made it easier to imagine and approach it.

'...But what's up with Baron Talian?'

As he pondered mysteries, Ian's thoughts drifted to Baron Talian.

Let's assume the fairies used bizarre methods to infuse the sword with the power of the sun and the moon.

But did the first Baron Talian know how to wield it properly?

Did he, knowing nothing about magic, just swing it around dumbly thinking, "Wow! A sword made by the fairies!"?

If that was the case, then the only ones who ever properly used Anor-lsil were the fairies who wove fairy silk with it.

Anyways.

Ian roughly figured out how to access the power of the magic sword.

Just see things as they are.

Mystery is something infinitely close to the essence.

"Ian, do you have a moment?"

While lost in thought, Kira approached Ian and called him.

She looked around and then whispered.

"It's something important..."

"Important?"

Kira nodded vigorously.

"I want you to listen, on the honor of my master."

Oh.

Bringing up her master's honor meant it wasn't just talk.

Ian listened to Kira's story attentively.

Her story was serious, but on another level, it was also funny.

"The Baron won't let you go?"

"Yes! Isn't that crazy? I'm not some wizard slave! He won't let me leave!"

Indeed.

The tales of the two wizards hunting vampires reached Baron Damon's ears.

Even if the scene of Ian burning a vampire with the magic sword was one thing...

But when Kira shone, the Baron couldn't hold back his admiration.

After all... Kira was... Baron Damon's wizard!

Wow! Our Kira is doing great!

Kira felt so frustrated about this part that she could die.

Baron Damon, being ignorant, didn't quite grasp the relationship between wizards and nobility.

In fact, Damon wasn't even a real Baron or noble.

Of course, Kira wasn't a real wizard either, but she had dealt with many nobles before and roughly knew their behavior.

Nobles do not oppress wizards.

Like nobles, wizards banded together due to their small numbers.

Who would dare to mistreat a wizard?

Not only the wizard's master but also the master's acquaintances, friends, friends of friends, and the Lord they serve would all swarm in for a collective lynching.

Moreover, the northern part of the Empire, where Dranheim Magic University is located, was strongly influenced by wizards.

Had Baron Damon been a regular noble, he would never have dared to hold Kira against her will with such madness.

But Baron Damon was... essentially just a bandit.

Saying it outright might trigger him, but that's the fact.

Even if he developed his domain and made feudal contracts with the residents, without serving a Lord, he was nothing more than a bandit leader.

Baron Damon considered Kira his subordinate.

And in his mind, subordinates naturally serve their boss.

It was gangster logic.

What if Kira leaves for somewhere else?

Kira, are you betraying the organization right now...?

Instantly, slash.

That was the situation Kira found herself in.

Ian, being a wizard himself, fully understood Kira's troubles.

There was no need to bring up grand oaths like the honor of a master.

Wizards help wizards.

It was natural.

Put in a similar position, if Ian were caught by bandits, he would naturally ask for help from any wizard he encountered.

"I'll sort it out as soon as we're off the road."

"Really?!"

Kira looked at Ian with sparkling eyes.

How are you going to solve it?!

Are you hiring mercenaries to rescue me, or using some incredible magic?!

"I'll spread the word that Wizard Kira is being held by a rude bandit!"

"Oh, no!"

That's not okay, you maniac!

Who spreads rumors about someone being a scammer throughout the neighborhood?!

Kira was still at a blooming age.

She didn't want to be captured and executed for fraud.

But Ian didn't understand Kira.

Why not?

Just spread the rumor, and Kira's acquaintances as a wizard will rush to rescue her.

It was common sense to Ian.

"Why not? Don't you have any friends or nobles you know?"

"... No!"

That was the response.

It's about indebting a wizard.

Even nobles who've never met you would rush to your aid, yet she reacted like this.

Is she planning to set the place on fire and run away on her own?

That was a plan Ian, even as an eccentric wizard, could not agree with.

There's reckless, and then there's insane.

That's not eccentricity; it's madness.

"There's something..."

Kira tried to squeeze out some kind of explanation, racking her brain.

Any explanation would sound like a poor excuse, but she had to try.

The chance to escape from the Baron, who already believed her to be a powerful wizard, was now or never.

Then it happened.

"Ahem."

"Hmm."

The Baron's men subtly moved closer to the two, intending to eavesdrop on the conversation of the wizards.

They hoped to dig out any valuable information...

But to the two planning their escape, these were just annoying watchdogs.

It would have been tricky for ordinary people, but Ian was a wizard.

Ian immediately switched to Maronius language.

Want to eavesdrop? Go ahead! Listen!

What are you going to do if we talk in Maronius?

"[So. What's the reason you can't escape?]"

Ian was a self-proclaimed master of Maronius language, having conversed almost exclusively in it with Eredith for nearly a year.

In fact, most wizards were like that.

For wizards, whose lives could depend on minor communication errors, learning Maronius language was very important.

Ian waited silently for Kira's response.

But...

"???"

No matter how long he waited, Kira didn't respond.

Why isn't she answering?

Could it be...

Ian glanced at the bandits.

Could it be that these bandits are super over-specced and can understand Maronius language!

It must be like South Korea, where severe job shortages have led to the emergence of bandits with Seoul National University degrees!!!

"..."

Sh*t. That's impossible!

"Hey. You... don't know Maronius, do you?"

"Ah, no? I know it?"

"[What do you know?]"

"..."

Ian stared blankly at Kira.

This girl... doesn't seem like a wizard?!