How to Tame That Gentle Male Lead - Chapter 4.14
Renard chuckled at those words. However, Resena had only seen the name of this representative of the Arnasus territory in documents, so she was a bit worried about how to respond if he spoke to her. But Adelman made such worries meaningless by simply asking with a smiling face, “Have you been well all this time, Young Lady?”
“Yes. It’s been a long time, Adelman. I’m really glad to see you after so long.”
“Haha. Thank you for your words, Young Lady.”
Resena smiled brightly. However, when he saw her expression, he stiffened slightly, which made her feel inwardly perplexed, but Adelman took out a handkerchief and wiped away the cold sweat that had formed.
‘Even though it must have been quite a long time since this person saw Resena… Her personality must have been really bad for a smile to be so surprising.’
But she can’t just not say anything.
“By the way, Adelman. We’re hungry right now. We’re planning to leave our luggage and visit a restaurant first.”
“Ah. Of course. We’ll take care of the luggage. Is there anything else you need or any inconveniences?”
Resena shook her head.
“No. I have a few things to ask, but I’ll hear about them tomorrow morning.”
“Understood.”
As Resena boarded the carriage prepared by Adelman, she looked around at the vast plains stretching out before her. Imagining that all the grass in this plain was wheat-producing flour, she could guess how wealthy Arnasus was.
The Arnasus merchant guild also boasted an enormous scale, but the number of wheat and flowers cultivated here was just as immense as its scale. Yet some areas smaller than this plain had been burned, and several places were damaged.
‘The beginning might be trivial, but if what the farmer saw was really a dark mage, the damage would spread like wildfire. Before that happens, we need to resolve this quickly, which is why the representative must have reported as fast as possible.’
Letting her body sway with the carriage’s movement, Resena continued her thoughts. Even if it was treated as a simple crime, if the culprit wasn’t identified quickly or if the cause wasn’t determined and another incident occurred, it could damage even the wheat in the plains. Feeling that she shouldn’t take this incident lightly, Resena asked the coachman.
“Do you know of any farmlands where there have been recent arsons or where individuals suspected to be dark mages have appeared?”
“Ah. You must be referring to Anton’s and Sera’s farmlands. Those lands are close by, would you like to visit them?”
Hmm. Resena thought for a moment before replying.
“I’d like to stop by on our way back after dinner. By the way, do you know what time the dark mage was spotted at the farmland where they reportedly appeared?”
The coachman cracked the reins and continued.
“I believe it was around 11 PM. They were seen secretly harvesting wheat at Sera’s farmland before fleeing… Fortunately, no one was harmed. However, when they were chased, they used magic, and Sera’s father witnessed the wheat withering right before his eyes. He got scared and couldn’t chase them, so he contacted the representative, I heard.”
I see…
If that’s the case, if we stake out near these farmlands at 11 PM and observe what this so-called dark mage is up to, couldn’t we determine whether they’re really a dark mage or just an ordinary mage expelled from the magic tower causing this commotion?
‘…We can’t conclude they’re a dark mage just because the wheat withered. Dark mages gain power by offering unblessed, yet living beings, so… They would mostly try to gain power by offering humans and animals rather than plants growing from the earth blessed by Aota, the god of earth.’
Resena stroked her chin and spoke again.
“Hmm… I see. Is there anything else unusual?”
“Anything unusual… Ah! There was one thing.”
“What is it?”
To Resena’s question, the coachman replied, mixing in the nasal sound characteristic of the local dialect.
“In both the burned area and where the dark mage stole wheat, strangely, one patch of wheat wasn’t burned and grew to an enormous length. The grains were also large, so both Anton and Sera are debating whether to harvest it or consider it as dark magic and have it blessed by the temple before burning it.”
“Plants growing enormously.”
Isn’t that something only a priest who can invoke the blessing of Aota, the earth god, would do?
‘Then could it be that a priest has turned to dark magic?’
Suddenly, Resena felt a shock as if she’d been hit on the head.
Come to think of it, in her previous life, she had run around trying to uncover Zergard’s true identity but never could. She wondered if this was why. She had limited her search to magic tower mages who wielded magical power, overlooking those who might be hiding in temples and secretly wielding dark magic.
‘Moreover, I couldn’t find anyone among the magic tower mages, so I looked for self-taught individuals. But magic is incredibly difficult to self-learn. Considering that most people who apply to the magic department at the academy receive an education, maybe one or two people in a few hundred years might emerge. And all of them were proven not to be dark mages…!’
“Thank you.”
“Pardon?”
“It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”
However, Resena was thinking of rewarding the coachman with gold coins for suggesting the possibility of dark mages who had defected from the priesthood. Seeing Resena’s spontaneous smile, Renard asked curiously.
“What are you thinking about that makes you smile like that? Did you think of something fun?”
“Mmm. Actually, I think I know where some of the dark mages might be hiding.”
Renard’s eyes widened. Knowing that eliminating even one dark mage, whom the empire considered hostile, would accumulate fame and wealth, and that it would be good for ordinary citizens vulnerable to magical power, Renard’s interest was piqued by Resena’s words.
“I’m curious too. Wasn’t it usually magic tower mages who dabbled in forbidden books that became dark mages?”
Resena shook her head. As she waved her hand dismissively, Renard, who was on the edge of his seat, immediately asked.
“It’s not? Then who on earth becomes a dark mage?”
“Priests.”
“Priests?!”
Looking at Renard’s wide-eyed expression, Resena shared her conjecture.
“The coachman mentioned earlier that they stole wheat, right? And they also burned wheat fields. But there, one bunch of wheat had grown to an enormous size, which was also noted as a common point.”
“Yes… But that’s the kind of blessing only an earth god’s priest would do, ah…!”
