Chapter 540

Chapter 540

"W-Well, yes, but Diana didn’t recommend it," Lucia said, shaking her head frantically as she looked at Ian, who was approaching. "She said it’s fairy etiquette to offer a guest wine and cigarettes, but since you probably wouldn’t like it, she said she’d only give me wine. But I was the one who asked for—."

As Lucia rattled on without taking a breath, Ian stopped in front of her.

Lucia, looking up into his eyes, finally lowered her head slightly. "I’m sorry, Sir Ian. I knew you wouldn’t like it, but I was curious."

"It’s not something to apologize for. You’re an adult," said Ian.

He’d already decided not to selectively apply modern standards. In truth, it had been unfair to hold someone like Lucia, born and raised in this dark age, to them at all. And yet, instead of pointing that out, she was the one apologizing.

"It just caught my eye, that’s all. So technically, this is my problem, not yours," said Ian.

"No. I knew you wouldn’t like it and did it anyway, so it wasn’t right of me either," Lucia replied, shaking her head.

A faint smile spread across her lips. "Still, thank you for saying that. I should be sorry, but honestly, I’m a little happy."

"Right…" Ian replied softly, his gaze shifting back to the table.

Not that she’d probably care, though.

Ian reached out his right hand as if to shake off the thought. The cigarette at the edge of the table slid into his fingers.

Grasping it naturally, Ian said, "In any case, I’m glad you’ve returned safely. I made you wait too long."

"It’s alright. It wasn’t boring at all. In fact, it was the opposite. Diana let me use the family library as I pleased. She especially told me to look at the history books first," Lucia replied quickly, looking at the Scroll of Correspondence on the table.

She smiled faintly and tilted her head. "Besides that, there’s a huge pile of various other documents. More than half of them are in the common tongue."

"Sounds like you’ve been having a wonderful time," Ian said, putting the cigarette to his lips.

Lucia nodded as if it were obvious. "It might take more than a year to read them all. It’s a shame that I can’t."

"Pick out a few of the ones you want to read the most. I’ll ask the Head of House."

"Really? Ah, no. I can’t just take such precious books for free." Lucia’s eyes had widened, but she soon shook her head.

"Still, pick them out, just in case."

It’s not like the pointy-ears will be frequenting the library anyway.

As Ian turned toward the bed, Lucia said, "I’m relieved now, too. I heard about the situation from Diana, but I was worried because you were late."

"There was a problem, as always. Of course, it was resolved well."

"I see. It seems you met with Charlotte, too," said Lucia.

She likely had noticed the fang greatsword slung diagonally across Ian’s back.

He gripped its hilt, unhooking it as he added, "Let’s put this conversation on hold for a moment. The matter of the inner sea seems more important right now."

"Alright. I’ll give you my report first."

Meanwhile, Ian leaned the greatsword against the wall and turned his gaze to the door. "Don’t just stand there. Come and sit."

Mukapa was still standing like a statue in front of the closed door.

The orc bowed his head slightly. "I’ll step outside to guard the door. Please, speak freely."

"It’s not uncomfortable with you here," Ian murmured, exhaling smoke. He raised his hands and unfastened one of his pauldrons.

"Just come and sit, Mukapa. If I miss any parts, you can listen and add to it. You can trust Mukapa, Sir Ian. He’s trustworthy. Besides, he said it’s his principle not to divulge or record anything he sees or hears," said Lucia.

"And if he receives an order that goes against the rules, he’ll just terminate the contract, I suppose," Ian said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Finally crossing the room, Mukapa said, "This request cannot be terminated. Of course, I may not be able to follow your orders."

Of course.

If they were going to be traveling together, there would inevitably be sensitive conversations. Since they would be traveling together, he had no intention of enduring the discomfort the whole way. It was more comfortable to keep him by their side and watch him.

I don’t have any bad feelings toward him, but if I decide I can’t trust him…

Despite his thoughts, he calmly reached for his other pauldron and said, "Were there any problems with Moro?"

Lucia, perched on the edge of the table, shrugged. "There was a crisis, yes. And I couldn’t even consult Yog about it."

Ah, right. I was the medium for the spell.

Lucia added, "Instead, it sent me some kind of signal, opening its mouth wide in a cute way. It seemed to be asking for blood, so I let it. It understands me, after all."

"So, you gave it your blood?" Ian paused and looked at Lucia, one brow slightly raised.

Lucia, reaching out her left hand to pick up the wineglass on the table, answered nonchalantly, "Is there a problem? It’s Yog."

"Don’t trust that thing too much," Ian said with a click of his tongue.

It was surely thanks to Ian and the many events they had gone through together that Lucia, unlike most apostles, had an open mind. Besides, now that she had regained the grace of her stigmata, most tricks wouldn’t work on her. However, in any case, Yog’s essence was a fragment of an ancient god.

"I’m glad Yog’s asleep. It might have taken that to heart if it had heard. I think it used my blood as a medium to dissolve its chaos—and then fed it to Moro. Just a guess, of course, but look at it. It’s gone all rough," Lucia said, the corner of her mouth curling as she glanced down at her wineglass.

She held out her left hand, holding the glass, toward Ian. Yog, wrapped motionlessly around her middle finger, was visible.

"Yeah, it definitely lost its shine. In any case, it seems things went well with Duke Jihandar." Ian gave the barest glance before looking away again, moving his hands to another strap.

"Yes, meeting him wasn’t difficult, and neither was talking to him. It was thanks to your identification certificate, Sir Ian."

Placing the removed pauldrons on the floor, Ian looked at the bed. His cloak, which Lucia had worn more often than he had, was neatly folded there. The identification was likely still with Lucia.

Meanwhile, Lucia took a sip of wine and continued, "He’s ordered all southern ports closed. By now, the commands should have been sent everywhere."

"I thought it would be difficult to convince him. That’s a relief."

"Once he heard the situation, he agreed right away. He barely hesitated. Said even if the sea routes were blocked, the South wouldn’t really lose anything."

Ian nodded, unfastening the clasps on his breastplate. "At least here, isolation doesn’t mean starving."

"Yes. He seemed more concerned about discord among the different races. He said that if they find out the South is isolated, conflicts might arise."

"He’s not in that position for nothing," Ian said with a low chuckle. If he hadn’t gone to Maro Tel, that would have become a reality.

"He asked Mukapa for a letter. He wanted to ask the orc tribes of the wasteland to mediate any potential disputes."

"He knows how to get things done without getting his hands dirty, too." The smile on Ian’s lips deepened.

Skillfully separating his breastplate and backplate, he asked, "So, did you write him the letter?"

"Yes. It is the duty of the desert warriors to help maintain order and safety in the South." Mukapa, who had been sitting silently like a scarecrow, nodded.

Right.

Among the south’s other races, only the orcs were suited for that role. Their relations weren’t particularly warm, but neither were they on bad terms with the fairies or the beastfolk. If Nehat were still chieftain, they would probably have ended up as enemies.

I suppose, in a way, I’ve kept orc blood from being spilled too.

Thinking, Ian placed the separated armor on the floor. Charlotte would surely cooperate without causing any particular problems. At most, they might roughhouse a little for fun, and the orcs didn’t seem like the type to mind that. In fact, it might even end up bringing them closer.

Straightening up again, Ian flicked the ash from his cigarette and added, "Then all we need to do now is find a way to cross the inland sea."

"About that, His Excellency helped us," Lucia immediately answered.

Ian turned his head. "Help?"

"Yes. He said that if we travel straight west along the coastline, there’s a port city called Rune Catis."

"A city where the blockade doesn’t work properly, I see."

"That’s exactly what he said. Technically, Rune Catis is part of the South, but it’s more under the archipelago’s influence. Mukapa probably knows more about it than I do."

"That vicinity is no different from a lawless area of the South," Mukapa, at Lucia’s glance, said calmly.

A faint contempt flickered in his usual calm and polite yellow eyes as he continued, "It’s full of sailors from the archipelago and criminals hiding their identities. Plenty of smugglers run ships between the mainland and the borderlands. They’re under the archipelago’s protection, so they’re not easy to root out."

"As expected," Ian murmured as if it were no surprise. That was the reason he was trying to find a captain from the archipelago in the first place.

"His Excellency said that even with the sea monsters swarming, they’d have a hard time taking that area. The archipelago’s ships pass through those waters often, and the smugglers will keep crossing, trusting them," said Lucia.

She then reached into her coat with her right hand and continued, "It seems there’s a captain of a smuggling ship who owes His Excellency a great debt. He wrote us a letter of introduction in return for the valuable information we brought him. Apparently, this captain runs a good ship and is very capable."

She pulled out a well-dried piece of parchment sealed with a wax seal from her coat. The seal was stamped with a crest that was impossible to tell if it was ivory or a fang. It was likely Duke Jihandar’s crest.

"You just have to find a man named Sanford Plum and give him this."

"Thanks to this, I can get things done without lifting a finger," muttered Ian, smiling.

A quest window had appeared before his eyes.

[Smuggling Expert.]

As he checked the contents of the quest, Lucia carefully added, "Though I suppose we’ll have to go and see to be sure. His Excellency said it would be better not to be too late. If people realize the blockade might last longer than they expect, all those who want to return to the mainland will flock to Rune Catis."

Closing the window, Ian finally put down his gauntlets and muttered, "So he’s telling us to get there before someone else snatches our ride."

One corner of his mouth curled up. It was because he thought that Duke Jihandar was quite a sly old fox himself. He could have just given Sanford a heads-up beforehand to solve the problem, but he deliberately hadn’t.

He might have been secretly hoping that the group wouldn’t be able to meet the man. The fact that he had written a letter of introduction would remain unchanged, and the debt the man owed the Duke would also remain.

"Well, even if we’re late, it probably won’t matter. It’s not like there won’t be any smuggling ships left," Lucia added suggestively. It was likely a consideration in case Ian blamed himself for being late. Of course, Ian wasn’t blaming himself at all.

"We’re not late yet," muttered Ian.

He then took off his greaves and sat down on the bed.

He bent down to unfasten his shin guards and added, "Everyone knows it’s a lawless area. It won’t be easy to make a quick decision. Especially for those who have a lot to lose. Besides, if he’s a man who operates a good ship, he won’t sail for pocket change."

He’d be watching the situation, waiting for the moment that would bring the biggest profit. For the captains of smuggling ships, this was what they called a peak season.

Of course, the real reason for Ian’s confidence was the quest. If they’d already been too late, it wouldn’t have appeared at all. Of course, there was a possibility that it could end in failure while they were on their way, but then, as Lucia said, they could just find an alternative plan.

"Yes, I think so too," Lucia replied with a small smile, bringing the wineglass to her lips.

Ian, loosening the clasps on his steel boots, looked up. "Well, did you hear anything else?"

"What do you mean?" Lucia tilted her head.

Taking his feet out of the steel boots one by one, Ian said, "Like an ominous rumor circulating in the capital."