Chapter 40. The Rain-Soaked Attacker
Crash!
The sound of thunder echoed through the campsite.
Immediately after, flashing lightning also illuminated the dark clouds and disappeared.
Swoosh.
A pitch-black night.
The campsite was so dark from the pouring rain that one couldn't see an inch ahead.
Armandy Stein, an elite secret agent of the Ability Management Bureau, lay in his tent and stared at the magic lamp hanging from the ceiling.
“It was a tough day.”
There wasn't a single place on his body that didn't ache from climbing mountains and weeding fields all day.
“So this is the Imperial Magic Academy……”
Armandy muttered blankly.
Not all magicians in the empire were from the academy. Armandy was one of them.
Armandy had become a magician after entering the Mage Tower in his childhood.
Unlike the academy, which required a letter of recommendation for admission, the Mage Tower gathered children with a talent for magic and taught them in an apprenticeship style.
Armandy had also entered the Mage Tower after catching the eye of a master who was a noble.
Although it was difficult to live away from his parents at a young age, growing into a magician by learning magic one by one under his master gave him a great sense of accomplishment.
Of course, life in the Mage Tower was also difficult.
But not like this.
"They didn't say I had to do this!"
Armandy couldn't hold back his anger and shouted into the air.
It had only been two days since he had entered the academy, but he felt like he had been scammed.
If he was going to infiltrate, he should have come in as a faculty member somehow.
To come in as a student and suffer like this!
To think there was a school that told freshmen who had just entered to catch a Swamp Serpent.
And they even made them farm?
“No wonder there was so little information.”
All the Ability Management Bureau agents who had infiltrated the academy so far were under a ban, so they couldn't talk about the academy.
Still, the Ability Management Bureau couldn't give up on infiltrating the academy because they had to grasp the situation of the royal family.
Armandy had also attempted to infiltrate, taking on the difficulties, but now he even felt like he should deliberately fail the evaluation in a month.
"Don't get weak. Don't get weak, Armandy."
Armandy repeated to himself, who had almost fallen into a weak thought.
He had almost lost his mind.
For a magician, mental management was very important.
Magic comes from mental strength. Armandy knew that well, so he tried to stay away from negative thoughts as much as possible.
But it was not easy.
Crash!
“Agh, you scared me.”
Armandy was startled by the sudden sound of thunder.
To have his heart shaken by a mere natural disaster!
At this rate, he couldn't control his mental strength.
Nevertheless, Armandy kept feeling a strange sensation. The feeling that there was something outside the tent.
Swoosh!
The rain was getting stronger.
There was no way someone would be standing in such a downpour.
There shouldn't be.
'A shadow?'
Armandy saw a flickering shadow inside the tent. At first, he thought it was the shadow of a swaying tree, but it kept looking like a person…….
"Who is it!"
Armandy picked up his wand and shouted towards the outside, but inwardly, he prayed that no one would answer.
'Was it a mistake.'
Just as he was thinking he had seen it wrong because of the wind and rain, he heard a sound.
"Knock knock."
It was a knocking sound.
But a sound made by a person's mouth.
Is he a madman?
Armandy felt a chill run down his spine.
* * *
Radel exchanged glances with Gusto, who was wearing a raincoat.
'Is this the place?'
'Yes.'
They had managed to get to the guy's tent.
But it was raining so hard that it was not easy to announce their visit. If he hit the tent to announce their presence, it would probably be drowned out by the sound of the rain and not be heard.
Radel was thinking for a moment when a sharp voice was heard from inside.
"Who is it!"
To have noticed someone was outside first.
It was a fortunate thing.
Radel, as a visitor, tried to knock politely, but unfortunately, the tent had no door.
It seemed meaningless to knock on the waterproof cloth.
Radel, who was hesitating, made a knocking sound with his mouth.
“Knock knock.”
He thought this was polite enough.
Radel looked back at Gusto and asked with his eyes.
'Was that okay?'
'Yes. It was perfect.'
Since the apprentice holy knight of the Supreme Deity Order had agreed, there could be no problem. The possibility that they might look like a two-person robbery gang had completely disappeared from Radel's mind.
Radel just wanted to quickly confirm that the guy's identity was Armandy.
Ziiiip.
The entrance of the tent opened cautiously.
The guy who had bumped into Radel's shoulder a day ago stuck his head out with his wand.
Radel was puzzled.
He wondered why he was even holding a wand.
Flash!
When the lightning flashed and Radel's face was revealed, the guy was so surprised that he gasped. It was an expression of complete surprise.
Radel didn't understand.
Is there a need to be so surprised?
We all know each other anyway.
Radel greeted him cheerfully first.
"Long time no see, Armandy. May I come in for a moment?"
The guy's face turned pale as if he had seen a ghost.
"Wh-what are you talking about?"
Radel was convinced as he saw the flustered reaction.
It was undoubtedly Armandy.
* * *
As soon as he confirmed it was Armandy, what Radel did was simple.
“Who are you……! Mmph!”
Radel quickly covered Armandy's mouth.
It was best to prevent him from using magic.
At the same time, Gusto also struck Armandy's wrist and took his wand. Taking the wand first was a basic common sense when dealing with a magician.
However, even Gusto had not expected Radel, who should have almost no combat experience with magicians, to move so quickly.
He had thought it before, but Radel showed a surprisingly accurate action appropriate for the situation.
'There's no other way to explain it than that he was born with it.'
Gusto, admiring Radel, tied up Armandy.
Armandy had lost all his weapons and was subdued in an instant.
“Mmph! Mmph mph!”
How could this be!
Why is the sky so cruel to me! This cruel and ruthless bastard!
The sound of him struggling and resisting filled the tent for a while.
It didn't matter to Radel.
Thanks to the pouring rain outside, there was no chance of the sound leaking out.
Gusto, who had tied up Armandy perfectly, asked Radel.
"Your Highness, what should we do with this impertinent fellow?"
Radel crossed his arms at Gusto's words.
He had already thought of something, but he closed his eyes and pretended to think for a moment.
“What should we do. Not only did he dare to bump into a royal's shoulder, but he also secretly cast a scan magic.”
“Mmph?”
Armandy looked at Radel in surprise.
How did that guy find that out?
“And he hid his identity and spied on me.”
“Did you know him before?”
“Yeah. That’s why it’s more infuriating.”
Radel nodded and made a sad face.
“Armandy, it would have been nice if you had told me in advance. I thought we had that kind of relationship. Why did you deceive me?”
“Mmph mph? Mmph! Mmph mph mph! (Relationship? What relationship! Don’t make me laugh!)”
"I know, you had your reasons. But you should have tried to trust me a little."
How can I trust you!
If you were me, would you trust you?
Armandy was furious.
He was indeed no ordinary guy.
Armandy, who had been fuming for a while, collected himself again. It might not be that he was completely exposed yet.
If it were the vicious 8th Prince, he might be trying to induce Armandy to reveal his identity.
Armandy, since it had come to this, decided to play dumb until the end.
If he did, the 8th Prince would eventually get tired.
“It’s inconvenient that we can’t communicate. If you promise not to use magic, I’ll untie your mouth. How about it?”
“Mmph!”
Armandy nodded his head vigorously.
“Still, I’m anxious. What if I’m forced to use violence on Armandy?”
"Don't worry, Your Highness. I can heal everything."
A madman has attached himself to a crazy prince.
This apprentice holy knight was not in his right mind either.
It was the moment Armandy, who had been looking for a chance to use magic, gave up.
Radel untied the cloth that was covering Armandy's mouth.
“There must be, there must be some misunderstanding. I apologize for secretly using scan magic. I was blinded by money and ended up……! Sob!”
When Armandy started his prepared act, Radel smiled and nodded.
"Ah, so this is the setting. I get it."
“I have no idea what Your Highness is talking about……”
Radel took out Armandy's notebook from his pocket and opened it to the last page.
“Appear!”
When he shouted the activation word, a green dot representing Armandy appeared on the back page.
When the secret map that only the Ability Management Bureau agents could recognize appeared, Armandy was almost shaken for a moment.
'How did he know that?'
But he couldn't stop here.
“What is this? I have no idea what’s what.”
As Armandy continued to act as if he knew nothing, Radel nodded again.
“Ah, this won’t work. I get it.”
Radel flipped the notebook to the front.
And he began to read without a care.
“October 30th. When the 9th Prince used Freezing Magic, the October lake froze over, and a northern wind that was out of season seemed to blow from afar. It was truly a mysterious harmony that defied even the seasons and the pinnacle of dazzling beauty.”
Armandy's eyes trembled violently.
That crazy bastard!
To use someone else's diary as a weapon without a care! A devil in human skin!
"The Dragon's Blessing. How beautiful it is! It is undoubtedly a great and holy proof that will forever shine on the Cretian Empire. As a citizen of the empire who is living in the same era as the 9th Prince, I feel an unparalleled and complete joy, and I consider myself a man of rare fortune."
But Armandy bit his tongue and held it in.
"I don't really know what that's about……."
"This won't work either? You've gotten much stronger, Armandy."
Radel admired him as if it were unexpected.
However, Radel still had a trump card up his sleeve.
"Then try saying, 'Leon Silvert Cretian is a son of a bitch'."
Armandy was at a loss for words.
In his mind, he was sure that if he said that, he could be cleared of suspicion, but his mouth just wouldn't open.
"If you just say this, I'll pretend none of this ever happened."
At Radel's whisper, Armandy opened his mouth.
“Leon……. Ugh!”
He struggled to utter the word and then ended up closing his eyes tightly.
“……What do you want from me.”
It was Armandy's defeat.
Radel smiled at Armandy, who had held out for longer than he had thought.
“Now we can talk.”
Armandy dropped his head limply. Maybe he had known it would turn out like this from the moment Radel had come to his tent.
No, maybe it was from the moment he was to be infiltrated into the academy.
Radel brought out the proposal he had thought of before coming here.
“I happen to need a friend who’s good at magic. Why don’t we go catch the Swamp Serpent together?”
And so, Armandy, a friend who was good at magic, joined Radel's Cryptozoology group project.