A Fairytale for Wizards

“Oh, goodness. I heard that was a very one-sided conquest…” the lady said, feeling sorry. The village where Azriel was born and raised was no different than Hell to her. In Solam, she did not even have a name and was considered a mere curse clinging to her brother. Azriel did not bear any affection for Solam. Nonetheless, it was her hometown—the land that fell, trampled by Talasin. The people who killed her brother were probably soldiers or knights of Talasin. She did not intend to find the murderers and take revenge. However, she could never like Talasin, either.

“My family was killed in a war that Talasin started. So, you won’t have to worry if I might be related to Talasin,” Azriel explained.

“…I see,” Lexina’s posture changed a little. She said in a calmer tone, “As His Majesty said, we don’t suspect that the Talasin emperor is behind it. There must be a direct imperial royal behind it.”

“Direct imperial royal… Is it related to the fight for the imperial throne?” Azriel asked.

Instead of answering, Lexina smiled bitterly.

Azriel commented, frowning, “What do people with unnamable mana have to do with the crown that they are doing such horrific things…?”

“We also want to know that the most. So, we are supporting research about unnamable mana, too. Oh, this is not done by the Topaz Guild. It’s being done by another family,” Lexina said.

“By any chance, is it being led by the duke of Rudimna’s family? Along with the treatment of Lady Rudimna?” Azriel asked.

“Oh, you know about it. Now that I see it, you must be the wizard who is treating Lady Rudimna.” Lexina looked at her as if she was surprised and added in an admiring tone, “You are truly an amazing person. It’s hard to believe that we are the same age. I’m a little jealous.”

“That’s an excessive compliment,” Azriel said.

“Hardly so. I am surprised that a wizard like you isn’t well known,” Lexina sincerely admired. She remembered the illusion magic which was still vivid even though she saw it when she was drunk. “The illusion magic you showed me was also shocking. The illusion magic I know makes a blurry flower at best. Is it a different type of magic somehow?”

“The principle is the same. Only the amount of mana is different,” Azriel explained.

“The difference in the amount of mana makes such different results? Can you show it to me again, if you please?” Lexina politely requested, thinking that she might have seen it wrong because she was drunk.

Azriel responded right away, “Of course. Esthera.”

The same illusion filled the room. As if enchanted, Lexina stared with fascinated eyes. Witnessing it with a sober mind, the result was even more astonishing. Even the scents were more vivid. “This… is truly amazing… to see it again. Thank you, Miss Esthera.”

“You’re welcome.” Azriel removed the illusion.

With a slightly excited face, Lexina asked, “Can you also use surveillance-related magic or warning-related magic by any chance?”

“It’s possible. What kind of magic do you need, precisely?” Azriel asked.

“As you guessed, we find people with unnamable mana and sponsor them as we watch them. It’s to catch and track the people who approach them if possible as well as to prevent them from approaching,” Lexina said.

“Do you need alarm magic on them?” Azriel asked again.

Lexina nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, since we can’t assign a wizard to all of the people. There’s a high chance of missing it if we assign non-wizards. We’re mobilizing swordsmen, but we’re still short-handed,” Lexina explained.

“Well, if it’s a group with an imperial royal behind it, they must have a wizard as well,” Azriel guessed.

“Yes. Most of the time, we discover it after people have gone missing, far from preventing it. Miss Esthera, you said you can use warning-related magic. You can probably take charge of multiple people, can’t you?” Lexina asked.

“Umm… Around how many are there?” Azriel asked.

“We have three hundred people in Modjankle. The number keeps increasing,” Lexina answered.

Azriel calculated in her head briefly and nodded. “I can cover all of them if it’s that much.”

“…What? Everything?” astonished, Lexina asked.

“It may be difficult to use defensive magic, but I can cover a lot more people if it’s just noticing someone approaching,” Azriel said.

“D-defense? I’ve never even thought about such… Th-th-then, if it’s just an alarm, how many people can you cover? How much is a lot more…” Lexina exclaimed.

“Umm, if it’s just an alarm, about a thousand people,” Azriel replied.

Lexina vacantly dropped her jaw. “You must be joking, aren’t you?”