Chapter 38, Verify (2)

Translator: Hedge

Editor: Lizzz

 

When Kalian walked out, the man turned his gaze.

 

Kalian stared at the man for a moment before asking Yuran.

 

“Who does this person say he’s looking for?”

 

“He says he’s looking for a child who stole something and ran away.”

 

Kalian looked at Yuran with meaningful eyes and spoke again.

 

“There seem to be too many tails for someone who just came looking.”

 

Yuran’s gaze briefly scanned Kalian. He noticed what Kalian had verbalized. Pretending not to have noticed Yuran’s scrutinizing gaze, Kalian asked the man.

 

“What does the person you’re looking for look like?”

 

“A young Elf.”

 

Kalian nodded. Then, pointing toward his group, or more specifically toward Sia, he said.

 

“Verify.”

 

There was the sound of someone drawing in breath from within the robe.

 

When the path suddenly opened, the man looked at Kalian for a moment. Then, Kalian slightly turned his head to give Yuran a look. Yuran’s head moved ever so slightly up and down.

 

Kalian continued speaking with a small smile.

 

“Also, leave as if the one you were looking for wasn’t here. If you want to live.”

 

The man’s eyes turned somewhat fierce. Kalian ignored that gaze and once again focused on the aura around them.

 

From the moment the man took one step closer to the group, a faint killing intent could be felt. Though there were those who could and had hidden their killing intent, the exact number hidden in the bushes was still not know. Still, it was clear that several people were aiming arrows in this direction.

 

However, their target strange. The killing intent was directed at both the man and Sia. This meant they were waiting to kill the both of them the moment it was confirmed that what was inside the robe was indeed Sia.

 

Thus, Kalian could tell that the man had been abandoned by his companions from the start, and whatever item this Elf called Sia was said to have stolen was likely not linked to anything good.

 

Kalian opened his mouth again.

 

“Listen without looking away. Someone’s been aiming at you from the forest since earlier. At that child too. The moment you verify, arrows will come flying. So just go. Don’t get any friendlier with those people.”

 

Naturally, the man did not believe Kalian’s words. Because of this, he unconsciously looked toward the forest, and Kalian made a *tch*.

 

“I told you not to do that.”

 

Those words became the signal.

 

As Yuran and the Knights drew their swords, six arrows simultaneously flew.

 

Four of those were aimed at Sia.

 

Kyrie and the Knights who had been on edge deflected the arrows with their swords. Right after, arrows flew once again. This time Kalian moved too.

 

*Whoosh!*

 

Kalian grabbed the man and made him duck, then deflected the incoming arrows. The arrows that were shot again afterward bounced off a widely spread shield.

 

It was Arsene. Kalian unconsciously grinned as he looked at Arsene.

 

Soon, Yuran spoke to the Knights.

 

“Go check, but don’t chase too far.”

 

This command was given thinking there was no need to actually capture those who shot the arrows. Their attacks were not aimed at Kalian, and protecting Kalian was the top priority.

 

Five Knights rushed out like arrows at Yuran’s words.

 

Right after, arrows flew once more but similarly bounced off without causing harm.

 

After that, no more arrows came.

 

They must have chosen to flee.

 

The two Knights and Kyrie, who had been by Sia’s side, approached Kalian. It was to take custody of the man Kalian was holding.

 

However, the man’s hand secretly moved toward his sword handle. Seeing this, Kyrie exclaimed in shock.

 

“Prince!”

 

As if forgetting it was Kalian who had saved him, the man quickly drew his sword and swung it upward.

 

Fortunately, Kalian’s reaction was a bit faster than his.

 

The moment he realized that a sword was being drawn, Kalian released his hold on the man. Then, turning sideways, he used his knife to deflect the sword’s direction. Simultaneously, a low voice flowed from Kalian’s lips.

 

“Wind Arrow”

 

At the Chantless incantation, a wind arrow instantly manifested. It pierced through the shoulder of the man holding the sword before disappearing.

 

“Aagh!”

 

Kyrie’s sword shot out like it was flying and knocked away the man’s sword.

 

*Clang!*

 

The man’s sword fell helplessly.

 

The man could not even pay attention to that. He screamed as the sharply concentrated wind had pierced through his shoulder, and the pain drove into his head.

 

Everyone except for the man fell silent. The Knights’ eyes were fixed on Kalian.

 

Kalian was quietly putting his knife back into his sleeve. As if nothing had happened.

 

“I apologize. My oversight led to you being in danger.”

 

Yuran, who walked up Kalian, bowed his head and spoke.

 

He said this because while there were twenty Knights guarding him, Kalian had ended up fighting alone. Of course, since this happened because Kalian stepped forward, Kalian shook his head and answered.

 

“Take that man and verify his identity.”

 

“Yes, Prince.”

 

Soon following Yuran’s instructions, two Knights subdued the man and stopped his bleeding. They needed to interrogate him, so it would have been troublesome if the man died or fainted.

 

The Knights looking at the man’s wound glanced at each other. The same thing was floating in their minds right now. Kalian’s movements and magic just now kept flickering in their eyes.

 

[Didn’t the Young Master say that Allan Manasil had declared the Third Prince has no talent for magic, and that he had only learned a bit of self-defense with a sword!?]

 

[A flower-like Prince! In what way is he flower-like?]

 

The Knights who looked at Kalian with his ever-peaceful face, took the man far away from Kalian.

 

As Kalian was about to look at Sia again, his head stopped midway. This time, Ian was looking at Kalian. Since he obviously knew about how capable he was with magic, and had known about his sword training with Kyrie, Ian’s face showed more anger than surprise.

 

The only problem was that his eyes were somewhat lacking. More precisely, he simply failed to see through what Kalian was capable of, and that the Prince was not in any real danger.

 

“Prince, you almost got into trouble again!”

 

A storm of nagging began.

 

Things like: ‘What were you thinking? Going forward on your own when there are Knights’, or ‘What if you got hurt?’, or ‘You were just lucky…’

 

Such nagging continued on for a while. The man who had tried to swing his sword at Kalian, only to be carried away with his shoulder pierced, was clearly invisible to Ian’s eyes.

 

After taking in the nagging for a while, Kalian quietly turned his head. For some reason, Yuran avoided Kalian’s eyes. He was clearly trying to hold back laughter at how dense Ian was.

 

Just as the seemingly endless nagging was finally coming to an end, the five Knights, who had gone into the forest, returned. They appeared unharmed but their faces showed no results.

 

Since Yuran had not asked them to focus on capturing anyone, he did not reprimand them. Rather, he just asked.

 

“How many were there?”

 

One of the five Knights stepped forward and answered.

 

“Seven in total. They scattered immediately without leaving any particular traces.”

 

“I see. Understood.”

 

Kalian, who had only eaten a meal and had met an Elf, ended up involved in an unexpected incident and received a ton of nagging. After the jabs into his eardrums. he walked steadily toward Sia. He swiftly pulled off the robe that had been hiding this child’s ears.

 

Kalian’s eyes, which had been smiling at Sia until before the fight with the man, had turned quite sharp. Fear piled up in Sia’s eyes. Sia and Kalian’s words came out almost simultaneously.

 

“Luca did it. I don’t know.”

 

“What is it that you stole?”

 

When their words overlapped, Kalian looked at Sia. Sia spoke again.

 

“Yes. I didn’t know.”

 

“You don’t know?”

 

“It wasn’t me.”

 

“Those guys said you…”

 

Cutting off his words midway, Kalian grabbed his head. He finally understood what the problem was.

 

Without turning his head, Kalian called for the one most likely able to handle the situation the best.

 

“Lord Hertz.”

 

“Yes, Prince.”

 

Arsene, the Mage who was likely the smartest person here, came straight to Kalian. Kalian frowned as he pointed at Sia and asked.

 

“He answers before the questions.”

 

Having just realized what Kalian meant as he recalled Sia’s words, Arsene made a short *Ah* sound in surprise.

 

Kalian, who no longer wanted to use his brain dealing with an Elf with strange speech patterns, looked at Arsene and said.

 

“Lord Rauchel will probably interrogate that man later, so for now Lord Hertz should organize what this Elf is saying. What this is all about. And you’re in charge of talking with the boy until we drop him off.”

 

It was the moment Arsene’s path of thorns began.

 

…

 

“That’s right.”

 

“So. What you’re saying is, you don’t know anything and…”

 

“Don’t know.”

 

“Moreover, in your case, about what the item is…”

 

“No.”

 

“Furthermore, you…”

 

At the sound of the non-conversation coming from beside them, all the Knights were hanging their heads. Their shoulders trembled. Since they could not laugh freely, they felt like crying instead.

 

Only Kalian, who was the only one who could act freely here, was letting out small chuckles.

 

‘Poor. Mage.’

 

Kyrie smiled slightly seeing Hina’s hand signs.

 

After a while, Arsene, who had written down Sia’s words in a notebook, made eye contact with Ian. He was asking if it was alright to relay the whole story to Kalian.

 

Ian, who sought Kalian’s permission, went toward Kyrie while slowing his pace. Soon Arsene came to Kalian’s side and relayed the contents.

 

“His name means crouching horse spirit. The Mother Tree gave him this name.’”

 

“The child’s name is Siarus Tian Yureha, an Elf, age 12.”

 

At Arsene’s words, Sia, who was riding together, briefly ‘interrupted.’ Arsene, who was silent for a moment. The boy awkwardly added.

 

“…what he says.”

 

“Continue.”

 

Kalian answered briefly. Arsene opened his mouth again.

 

“About answering the questions, even he himself…”

 

“Lord Hertz.”

 

Kalian, who stopped him, briefly turned his eyes to look at Arsene. Arsene bowed his head and answered.

 

“Yes, Prince.”

 

Kalian raised his finger to point at Sia and said.

 

“In order.”

 

Arsene paused briefly in tension.

 

He thought about what it meant to do it in order and realized it meant to report in the order that he was told to find out about Sia. Trying to shake off the feeling that somehow Kalian was being extremely strict only with him, Arsene answered.

 

“I apologize. First, it seems he doesn’t know what item was stolen. The child says he was going around selling wooden carvings with an Elf named Luca. The Elf called Luca followed those who attacked earlier. Luca said they had something unusual, and seems to have… taken that item.”

 

It meant that an Elf called Luca had stolen something, and even Sia did not know what it was. While it was surprising that an Elf would actually steal, Kalian just nodded.

 

“Then, they were chased. He got separated from the Elf called Luca midway. After that, he seems to have met you, Prince.”

 

Kalian’s head moved up and down once more.

 

“And about answering the aforementioned questions, he says even he doesn’t know the details. He says his mouth opens on its own. Unfortunately, accurate understanding is difficult with how this child explains. I apologize.”

 

After hearing all of what Arsene had said, Kalian looked at Sia. As Kalian’s mouth opened, Sia answered.

 

“Not quite that much.”

 

Kalian, who had meant to ask if he had the ability of foresight, nodded one more time.

 

Kalian briefly looked at the man who was placed on a horse tied between Yuran and another Knight. Since the man had ended up unconscious, and had not woken up, they still had not questioned him.

 

“Anything else to report?”

 

“No.”

 

In the end, there was nothing they could know for certain. Arsene, who bowed to Kalian again, went back and Ian, who returned to his position, asked.

 

“Do you plan to investigate yourself?”

 

They had a long way to go. Because of this, Kalian shook his head.

 

“There is no need to get entangled with this and have our feet tied here. Let’s leave the detailed investigation to the Lord of Latran.”

 

“Yes, Prince. Then what will you do with that little one? I heard he lives in the Hirisca Forest.”

 

Kalian made a somewhat troubled expression.

 

The Hirisca Forest was a bit too far for soldiers to escort him there with protection. However, it happened to be near the direction toward the Siegfried Territory.

 

[What to do?]

 

That was when his clothes were grabbed.

 

“We can at least take him near the forest entrance, if not all the way. I’ll tell him he can rest assured; that he is no longer in danger.”

 

[Well, even if the journey is urgent, I guess we can take along one small Elf.] Kalian silently nodded.