Court Magic Group -> Court Magician Order
That day, a carriage bearing the emblem of the Adventurers’ Guild, with a sword and staff crossed in front of a shield, pulled up in front of Rune Adventurers’ Guild.
A man of about 180 centimeters in height and stocky build alighted from the carriage. His hair and beard were white and long, and he held in his hand a staff longer than his own height.
One could tell he was a magician at first glance.
But there was more to him than that. It was the feeling of intimidation he was exuding.
The moment the man opened the door and entered the guild, the atmosphere inside the guild changed.
Most of the adventurers and staff there had no idea who the man was.
Even so, they were made to feel the man’s unusual degree of intimidation, whether they wanted to or not.
The man did not pay any heed to the stares of the adventurers as he made his way to the front counter.
Behind the counter was Nina, the receptionist.
Nina stood up as soon as the man entered the guild. This was because she knew who the man was.
When the man arrived in front of her, Nina bowed deeply and said.
Those words, by no means loud, reached the ears of everyone present in the guild.
But even after the words reached their ears along with its meaning, they remained silent.
Silence filled the atmosphere, brewing some intense feeling of excitement underneath.
They wanted to scream in astonishment. They wanted to so badly but…no one dared to so much as sneeze.
Only one person opened his mouth. The same man who was called Grand Master.
“Please take me to Master McGrath.”
Nina answered and led Grand Master Finley Forsythe to the back.
It was not long after they had disappeared into the back that sound returned to the guild.
“Master McGrath, my apologies for the abruptness.”
“No, not at all, please, come in.”
Hugh gestured, somewhat awkwardly, towards the executive chair, and sat himself on the reception chair.
Finley was the higher-ranking person in terms of position.
As soon as they were seated, Grand Master Finley cut in.
Elsie’s back from Twilight Land. She seems to have had a lot of success and is holed up in her lab again…”
Elsie is the daughter of Grand Master Finley and the woman who was once proposed to marry Hugh.
“I didn’t realize Elsie was a member of the Court Magician Order. As I recall, she was transferred to the Magic University while maintaining her membership. She’s really brilliant.”
Hugh tried his best to keep his emotions out of the conversation while playing catch-up.
His back was dripping in cold sweat.
“She seems to be immersing herself in work to cover up the pain from her broken heart.”
Hugh was the one who turned down the marriage proposal with Elsie.
What’s more, Elsie, who was a famous beautiful girl in the capital, was crazy about Hugh, and her father, Finley, was also very excited about the marriage proposal.
However, Hugh turned her down and…Elsie became heartbroken. That was three years ago.
“It’s fine, I am not blaming you or anything. If Elsie finds someone she wants to marry in the future, she can consider marriage then. A woman marrying solely for the sake of fulfilling her obligations to her house…those times are steadily fading away. The Forsythe family name is not so great that it must be left to future generations at all costs.”
Grand Master Finley Forsythe is a noble with the rank of Count.
It was of course possible for his only daughter, Elsie, to succeed the family as a Countess, but this was not what Elsie herself wanted.
He didn’t know why. Finley did not particularly want to know.
It was no exaggeration to say that Finley, who lost his wife early in life, had raised Elsie by himself. As such, He wanted Elsie to be able to do as she pleased with her future, including her home.
“Anyway, I’m here because the City of Rune is the only place I can turn to.”
“And from the looks of it, it’s not something you could discuss via 『Transmission』?”
In the office of the Rune Adventurers’ Guild Master, there is an alchemical tool that can connect to the Royal Castle and the Adventurers’ Guild in the Royal Capital.
But it is severely lacking in terms of security.
“Yeah. As a matter of fact, the A-rank party ‘Five Dragons’ that operate in the Royal Capital have gone missing.”
The other day, Abel was promoted to A-rank, and ‘Crimson Sword’ became an A-rank party.
The rank of the highest-ranked member of a party is used as the party rank, so Warren, Rihya, and Rin are still B-rank adventurers, but only one person, Abel, has been promoted to A-rank, making ‘Crimson Sword’ an A-rank party.
However, in the other A-rank party in the Kingdom, ‘Five Dragons’, all five members are A-rank adventurers.
This is not only because all five are highly capable, but also because they have accumulated a long list of accomplishments.
Four of the five were in their early thirties, and only the priest must have been approaching the age of forty.
As adventurers, this party had reached their prime.
Yet, they’ve gone missing.
“Is this information accurate? I mean, I believe the leader of the Five Dragons has a reputation for being a loose cannon…”
Hugh pointed out, and Finley nodded with a frown.
“You’re right. Swordsman San…is certainly a bit irresponsible with time and other matters. But because Henning, the priest, is so dependable, the party had yet to run into any problems. So far. But this time, there was no contact.”
Finley sighed deeply once before continuing.
“It’s also linked with the matter of Elsie I mentioned earlier. Actually, it seems that Elsie made connections with influential people when she went to Twilight Land for research. So, as a result of negotiations with the top figures, they decided to accept foreign students from the Kingdom Magic University. In addition, they are going to send a delegation to Twilight Land to see if it is possible to establish an embassy there.”
“Twilight Land is the young country to the southwest of the Kingdom, right?”
Hugh said, contemplating the outline of the Kingdom and the countries it borders.
“Yes. However, it is very secluded, that even though it borders the Kingdom, talks of setting up an embassy have been put on the table and gone out the window repeatedly. Well, although it’s a closed country, merchants come and go, and adventurers come to the Kingdom quite often. Just that, there has not been much interaction between the governments.”
“Hmm? Wait a minute, was ‘Five Dragons’ supposed to be part of that delegation?”
“That’s what I’ve been trying to say. As long as Priest Henning is with them, it’s impossible for them to be late for a deadline involving the country…so it’s strange that they didn’t show up.”
With a bitter expression, Finley sipped the cold tea that had been offered to him that he had yet to touch.
“And it’s quite troubling that this happened on their way to Count Gothar’s territory who happened to be their client this time.”
“Count Gothar’s territory? The northern region…. the border…bordering the Empire.”
Having said that much, Hugh frowned, as did Finley.
“You think the Empire is somehow involved.”
“I can’t rule out the possibility.”
When it comes to A-rank adventurers, their combat prowess is extraordinary.
They can even go toe to toe with most monsters….
And it’s no exaggeration to say that they are the best of the human race when it comes to interpersonal combat.
“Yeah, but if say, the Explosive Blaze Magician…Oscar Ruska gets involved…”
“That would be tricky, indeed.”
It is said that he burned a thousand of the Kingdom’s troops to death with a single strike.
It is said that he disposed of a wyvern with a single strike.
It is said that he annihilated a city holed up by rebels with a single strike.
He was one such extraordinary Magician.
Even an A-rank party, a group of extraordinary people themselves, are not guaranteed to win with him as their opponent.
“Grand Master, so your trip here, could it be…”
“Yeah. The newly-promoted A-rank party in Rune, ‘Crimson Sword’, I want them to search for the ‘Five Dragons’ whom we have lost contact with.”
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