How to Tame That Gentle Hero - Chapter 8.1
“……Indeed. Well, Amarast is a country that doesn’t believe in gods, so if we rashly order knights to pursue Ain, there might just be many casualties.”
“The best option in this case would be to make him think there’s nothing more to be done in Amarast, so that Ain crosses over to the Empire. The Empire’s borders have facilities to detect black mages, and Sword Experts are stationed there, so it wouldn’t be difficult to eliminate him.”
Resena added.
“Of course, the very best strategy would be to expose Ain as a black mage and eliminate him on the spot. The other four black mages are probably just small fry, so even regular knights who have received blessings shouldn’t find it difficult to deal with them. So…”
“Hmm. I suppose the best thing is to make sure he doesn’t escape in the first place.”
“We’ve brought plenty of scrolls with the cooperation of the Magic Tower, so if necessary, I’ll tear a Bind scroll to temporarily bind Ain’s feet. No matter how much stronger black mana is than regular mana, it will make him hesitate for a moment. That’s as good as winning.”
Because neither Renard nor Alken would miss such an opening.
“But Lady Resena. How do you plan to identify the black mage?”
Resena smiled slyly.
“If we use the same method as at the border, he would obviously notice. So I’ve prepared a method he won’t recognize.”
“A method he… won’t recognize?”
Lorona and Ian looked at each other and then asked with puzzled expressions.
“Placing hands on a crystal ball wouldn’t work… and using jewels that react to black mana would be noticed immediately, so what method are you planning to use?”
At Lorona’s words, Resena took out a black flower from her spatial pouch. It was a magical device shaped like a bud that, although made of obsidian, would look like a pitch-black fresh flower when viewed from a distance.
“I’ll use this. I couldn’t tell you beforehand in case information leaked, but…”
“Sister!”
Just as she was about to explain to Lorona and Ian, a voice called from the front row. Resena put the flower back into her spatial pouch for now. Then she said to Lorona and Ian.
“It seems I need to go to the front. Let’s talk again before we arrive at the palace.”
“Yes. I understand, Resena.”
“Understood, Lady Resena.”
Resena struck the camel’s reins to hurry forward. As the camel began to run, the hot air brushed against her body, causing sweat to form.
“Sister. You’re here. I was just about to talk to you.”
“What is it? It seems we’ll arrive at the royal city in about 30 minutes… Is it about that?”
As she spoke while looking at the city walls that had drawn closer on the horizon, Renard shook his head.
“Not just that. I was going to mention it, but there’s something more important. Look at the top of the royal city walls.”
“…Huh?”
Looking up, she could see black clouds hovering above the royal city. Resena observed them, thinking they didn’t look like ordinary clouds, when Renard beside her, spoke in a serious tone.
“Those clouds. They form when black mages sacrifice victims. They don’t appear when small numbers like 10-50 people are sacrificed, but when more than 100 are offered, clouds like that appear above the high-ranking black mages’ heads and spread widely. Of course, the rainwater falling from them is filled with black mana, so anyone who isn’t blessed will be instantly subjugated if they’re caught in it.”
Resena’s gaze sharpened. She gripped the reins and bit her lip.
‘This wasn’t in the novel… Renard knows because he often goes on expeditions to eliminate black mages. I didn’t know…’
“Thanks for telling me. Then I need to change my assumption that only the palace was dominated. It seems the entire royal city is in the grip of black mages.”
“Yes. If we don’t immediately eliminate the high-ranking black mage and break the subjugation of black mana, we’ll be in danger. Even with Lord Alken and me, we can’t protect everyone… and even with Sword Experts helping us, we can’t stop all the subjugated people who would charge madly, willing to lose their lives.”
Resena’s brows furrowed. But soon she relaxed her expression, gazed at the clouds for a moment, and then searched her spatial pouch. She never thought the item she brought just in case would be used like this.
“What’s that, sister?”
“It’s a scroll from the Magic Tower that forcibly changes the weather to sunny. It basically dries up the rain clouds themselves.”
As Resena smiled slyly, Renard smiled back.
“Sister, you’re really amazing. I can’t believe you. You even brought something like this just in case.”
“Hehe. You never know how things will turn out, right? I brought this just in case.”
‘I’ve solved one problem… Now all that’s left is to catch the high-ranking black mage in one go.’
Of course, there are plans for after that, too. But the best thing would be to eliminate Ain immediately. Resena looked up at the approaching city walls and tucked the scroll inside her sleeve.
“If I use the scroll now to dry up the rain clouds, it will make Ain suspicious. So let’s use it at a critical moment. It doesn’t look like it’s going to rain right away anyway.”
“Right. Let’s do that. Judging by the shape of the clouds, it probably won’t rain for about three days.”
And it would probably take that long to enter the palace, too.
“Oh, and I need to tell you and Alken something. I was just talking with Lorona and Lord Ian and we made a plan…”
“Is it better than what we planned before?”
“It’s similar. But this plan was made assuming a worst-case scenario, so in that case, you should act accordingly.”
“Got it. Tell me.”
Resena explained in detail to Renard. When she suggested the possibility that Ain might not be the high-ranking black mage, Renard began to stroke his chin. With serious eyes, he listened attentively to Resena’s story and then spoke.
“I understand. Then I’ll relay it to Lord Alken.”
“Is that okay?”
“Yes. Besides, Lord Alken and I are both Sword Masters, so we’ll likely have similar concerns. We should discuss in advance how to handle those cases… I’ll tell you once we’ve decided.”
“Alright. I’ll wait then.”
“Yes. I’ll need to tell you before we enter the gates, so I’ll go now. There shouldn’t be any more magical beasts appearing since we’re near the royal city anyway.”
“Sure. Go ahead.”
Renard waved his hand and headed to the back. After watching him go to talk with Alken, Resena turned around. As she stared at the approaching city gates, she noticed a figure coming closer from that direction toward their group.
“What’s that? Lord Croken. Can you tell who that person is?”
The knight with the bushiest hair, who happened to have the best eyesight in the delegation, was right beside her. At Resena’s words, the shaggy-haired knight narrowed his eyes and respectfully replied.
“It appears to be the king’s messenger. He’s wearing quite fine clothes and holding a royal decree in one hand.”
“…If it’s the king’s messenger, he could have come inside to deliver it. Why now of all times…”
Resena felt a slightly ominous premonition.
But the king’s messenger stopped when he was close enough for his face to be clearly visible from the front row. There were knights behind the messenger, suggesting he hadn’t come for purely peaceful purposes.
“I would like to see Lady Resena Arnasus, the representative of the delegation.”
“What is the matter?”
The messenger answered in a resonant voice.
“The king has a message for Lady Resena Arnasus. It must be delivered before your party enters the royal city, so please receive this decree here.”
“…What kind of decree is it?”
“You will see when you read it. Here, please take it.”
“Yes…”
Resena unrolled the scroll. Seeing the neat handwriting where not a single point deviated from the straight line gave her a suffocating feeling.
The person who wrote this has no emotional fluctuation whatsoever. Reading through it, she could be certain that the king was completely in a puppet state. After finishing reading, Resena handed the scroll back to the messenger.
“I will do as the king says. I’ll leave all knights corresponding to the prince and Sword Experts outside the royal city, except for Lord Ian.”
