Chapter 26

After wrapping up the fruitful conversation, Ian walked out of the audience chamber in high spirits, only to be startled by the sudden appearance of a fresh-faced youth.

"Hey, wizard! Are you done now?"

"..."

The one showing unabashed familiarity was none other than Bernard.

The sight of his smug face had become familiar, which was frightening in its own right.

"Going back to the village? I'll walk you there!"

"Is that really necessary? I could just ask that knight from yesterday..."

"Ahh, Sir Hansen is on leave today. He went out for an outing with his wife for a change."

Tch.

Ian clicked his tongue briefly.

Sir Hansen, was it?

Ian had wanted to see that knight.

He was a hundred times more reliable than Bernard.

"Today, I'll personally introduce you to Riverville!"

Ian found Bernard's offer bothersome.

The reason for staying in Riverville was for rest, and following Bernard around would mean no rest at all.

What?

Roaming outside during rest?

That's not resting at all!

However, Ian couldn't rudely dismiss Bernard.

He had just received a gift from Baron Kaltz.

He had handed him a gift in an attempt to make a good impression, and showing disdain right after would surely not please the baron.

It was courteous to at least pretend to mingle.

Touring the village wasn't a difficult task after all.

"Alright. Let's go."

Ian followed Bernard back to the Mistwater Inn.

The two strolled leisurely through the streets.

It was already lunchtime, and the aroma of food wafted from house to house.

People were buying and selling goods with vigor, children were running around the streets joyfully, and parents were watching them with smiles...

"This is a nice place."

Ian spoke his mind as the thought came to him.

It was his honest impression.

Riverville was a good village.

Though still at a village level, as the population increased and the farmland expanded, it would reach the status of being called a city.

Riverville was a village with such potential.

"Of course, it's a nice place! Whose lordship do you think it is!"

Bernard's tone dripped with pride for his father.

Emerging nobility, especially contract lords who received land from a lord, didn't have much love for their domains.

They saw their villagers not as people but as moneybags.

To be shaken for money, and to be broken if in a hurry.

However, local nobles like Baron Kaltz, who built the community, felt differently about their domains than the emerging nobles.

It wasn't land received from someone else, but the right to govern a village they had always ruled, recognized by other nobles, hence a strong sense of ownership.

The villagers took off their hats and bowed their heads whenever they encountered Bernard.

There was no resident who showed mockery, contempt, or fear in the process.

They had already recognized Bernard deep in their hearts as the successor to Baron Kaltz.

"In that sense, if you settle down in Riverville, my cousin might..."

"I said I'm not getting married."

Amid their casual chat, the two arrived at the inn.

But as they approached, they heard quite a commotion.

"Ian!"

Lucy came running breathlessly.

Ian glanced at Lucy with an exasperated look.

"What's the matter? Did you cause another problem?"

"I, I didn't cause any trouble?! What do you take me for!"

Elder slinked over as well.

"Thought you'd be coming around now."

"Why? I could have had lunch at the castle, you know?"

To Ian's question, Elder brazenly replied.

"Aren't you a wizard? You wouldn't miss out on something like this."

"...?"

Something like this?

"Ian! We need your opinion!"

Lucy exclaimed with sparkling eyes.

"So, what's all the fuss about?"

Elder cut in before Lucy could answer.

"Hunters went for a stroll in the forest this morning and caught a bird. They asked the innkeeper to cook it, but guess what, this lady intervened and stopped it?"

"???"

Ian's expression became confused.

Even after hearing the explanation, he couldn't grasp the situation.

Lucy shouted out of frustration.

"You can't just call it a bird! It's a crow! A crow!"

"A crow or a bird. It's all the same."

Ian couldn't understand why Lucy interfered with the hunters' lunch.

What's wrong with wanting to eat some bird meat?

Why stop them?

Could it be...!

Is Lucy, that girl, a vegan?

"Cassie. Do you think eating meat is violence?"

"What...? What do you mean? I, I don't understand? Why would eating meat... be violence?"

"Ah. It was a joke."

Fortunately, Lucy wasn't a vegan.

And, in Ian's opinion, Lucy wasn't smart enough to grasp the concept of veganism.

"Eating meat is violence... Wizard, you come up with quite unique expressions."

"Elder, what did Ian say?"

"Well, to eat meat, you need livestock. To raise livestock, you need wide pastures. And pastures, aren't they acquired through war?"

"Ah..."

"So, eating meat symbolizes violence... That seems to be the idea."

Elder smirked and looked at Ian.

A smug expression that seemed to say, 'See? I'm pretty smart too.'

Ian, not wanting to bother with a response, just agreed and moved on.

"So, what about the crow?"

"Ah, yes. Lucy thinks this crow came to meet Ian here."

"... What?"

Ian looked at Lucy in disbelief.

Lucy faced Ian's gaze head-on with a confident expression.

"Yeah! You're Ian Eredith Raven! And that's a crow! And both of you ended up at the same inn? Do you think this is just a coincidence?"

Uh. I totally think it's a coincidence.

No matter how much he thought about it, it was normal.

Crows are a common bird found in forests. There was no issue with hunters catching one out of boredom.

But Lucy thought differently than Ian.

"Don't you feel some sort of magic to it? It's fate! This is!"

"Wow..."

"What do you think, Ian? It's magic, right? Right?"

Ian was amazed by Lucy's astonishing ability to jump to conclusions.

Just because 'Raven' was part of his name and a crow ended up at the same inn, it's magic?

If that's true, then Lucy is a space-time wizard.

"You should apologize to the hunters."

"What! Why!"

"Am I the wizard, or are you? What kind of nonsense are you spouting?"

Elder smiled wryly, and Lucy's face turned red.

Ian left them behind and entered the inn.

"So, you're Raven."

Two hunters welcomed Ian.

Poor people who couldn't have their lunch because of Lucy.

"That lady said, the crow we caught came to meet you..."

"It's nonsense, you can ignore it."

As Ian gave a firm answer, the hunters grinned.

"Then, for lunch..."

"Mr. Wizard, would you like to join us?"

The hunters, who were scared off by Lucy's threat, had been keeping the crow carefully aside, worried they might provoke trouble by mishandling it.

But now, there was no need for concern.

One hunter took the crow out of a makeshift cage made of twigs.

"Caw! Caw!"

As if sensing its fate, the crow cried sorrowfully.

Everyone heard the crow's cries, but.

It sounded a bit more clear to Ian.

[Please save me! Human!]

"...?"

Wait a minute.

Did that little f*cker just speak...?

"Hold on."

The hunter, about to wring the crow's neck, paused and looked puzzled as Ian intervened.

"Yes?"

Ian, just in case, spoke to the crow in the language of magic.

"[What are you?]"

"Caw!"

[Please save me!]

However, the crow didn't understand the language of Maronius.

It was due to a lack of mystery.

Creatures like Drake, who had a strong level of mystery, could communicate through level 3 summoning spells, but minor beings like crows couldn't understand Ian's words.

Though Ian could understand the crow's speech.

"...Mr. Wizard?"

Suddenly, as Ian uttered strange pronunciations, the hunters reacted cautiously, a bit scared.

Ian tried to calm the hunters with an explanation.

"Ah. It's nothing. The guy suddenly started talking to me."

"???"

The hunters were stupefied by Ian's response.

The crow... started talking?

'What, what's this? Is it some metaphor I don't understand? Or... did the crow really start talking?'

The hunter suspected Ian might be using a metaphor only a wizard could understand.

So, to verify, he asked again.

"The crow... talked to you, Mr. Wizard?"

Ian nodded his head.

"Yes. It's asking to be saved."

"..."

The hunters looked at each other's faces in disbelief, speechless.

I mean, the crow was just cawing, and he understood what that meant? Even for a wizard...

'... I guess it's possible. Damn.'

Absurdity aside.

The hunters reluctantly accepted Ian's explanation, swallowing their tears.

It wasn't something they were capable of understanding.

How could local hunters easily grasp the words of a wizard?

If the wizard says so. Well...

Maybe it's possible to communicate with a crow...

"[Hey. Crow]"

[Please save me! Please don't kill me!]

"[I'll save you, so just shut up for a moment]"

[Please save me!]

"Ah, for f*ck's sake! I said I'm saving you! Just shut up!"

Ian raised his voice in frustration when the crow didn't understand Maronius, getting pissed off.

I mean, aren't crows supposed to be smart?

But it doesn't know Maronius?

However, this was a prejudice born from Ian's experience of talking with powerful monsters like Drake.

Maronius is a language of mystery.

Only those well-versed in the mystery can understand it.

The crow didn't know Maronius, but it sensed that Ian was getting angry.

Unless it was an idiot, it wouldn't miss the fact that someone was raising their voice at it.

[...]

As the crow shut up, the onlookers murmured in admiration.

"Wow... That wizard is actually talking to a crow?"

"That's really amazing..."

The innkeeper cautiously approached and asked.

"Mr. Wizard... Are you going to spare that one?"

Ian stared intently at the large crow.

Black feathers.

Big, bright eyes.

And the cooperativeness to shut up when Ian said so.

He had no obligation to heed the request of an animal, but Ian decided to spare the crow.

Simply... because it was interesting.

"Yes. It doesn't feel right to eat it."

As Ian made his decision, the hunters smiled bitterly.

Lucy cheered from behind.

"See? I told you there was something unusual about that crow!"

"Hehe. Having a wizard as a brother, the lady knows how to recognize mystery, indeed."

"That, that's right! I may not have learned magic, but I think I have a talent for it!"

Lucy boasted, and the knights and Elder babbled something.

It was roughly in praise of Lucy.

Ian couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity.