LIGHT NOVEL Chapter 670
“Is there really a Black Mage?”
The massive training ground was packed with soldiers and servants.
The reason even the servants gathered was that the culprit could be among them.
After all, the castle’s servants were in positions where they could easily interact with many people.
Quickly, several ducks and a few hastily made wooden scales were prepared. As long as they could tell if the weights were similar, accuracy wasn’t necessary.
When Ghislaine hurriedly appeared, the crowd began to murmur.
“It’s the method that the mage proposed!”
“Really? You’re saying we can catch a Black Mage like that?”
“Wow, that’s amazing. The world of magic is truly fascinating!”
‘No way!’ Ghislaine shouted deep inside. It was really just something that Maurice jokingly mentioned that she took out for a laugh.
If they continued this seriously, she’d end up being considered a complete charlatan.
“Wait, hold on!”
She tried to speak up, but it was too late. Young and hot-blooded, Andrew acted quickly.
“Get on already! Since it’s what the mage said, there shouldn’t be a big problem!”
One by one, the soldiers stepped onto the scales. Naturally, their weights wouldn’t match a duck. Plus, each duck weighed differently.
Quack, quack, quack.
The sound of ducks could be heard all around. Still, the soldiers and servants orderly stood on the scales.
Though it was a ridiculous order, no one seemed to complain. After all, it was the mage’s method, and everyone was curious whether it was real or not.
Yulien, Deneb, and Kyle looked at Ghislaine with expectant eyes. Ghislaine felt incredibly pressured by that gaze.
Dark shook his head and clicked his tongue.
“This is embarrassing, just embarrassing. Now they’ll think I’m as ignorant as Maurice.”
Maurice, the former commander of Ruthania Kingdom’s army, received a lot of scorn from nobles for being superstitious.
Now it was Ghislaine’s turn to face similar scorn.
“Ugh…”
Even the great Ghislaine had no way to intervene when everyone was acting like fools. If she forcibly stopped them now, it would only raise more suspicion.
Eventually, all the soldiers and servants got onto the scales. Yet still, not a single person matched the weight of a duck.
This was only natural.
Quack, quack, quack.
The training ground was filled with the sounds of quacking. Everyone was staring at Ghislaine.
When no culprit appeared, an awkward silence filled the space.
Ghislaine took a deep breath, preparing to explain herself. But Andrew’s shout came out faster.
“Aren’t there still some servants who haven’t come out? Bring out the children too!”
“……”
Before Ghislaine could start explaining, things quickly moved forward. Even the children helping with minor tasks were pulled out.
“Huh?”
Ghislaine spotted one odd child among them.
This child was quite small like the others, but their face looked very aged.
“Uh, is that a kid?”
The child, looking far older, radiated a dirty and gloomy vibe. The strong stench made nearby people wrinkle their noses and subtly distance themselves.
Ghislaine looked around with an incredulous expression.
“What? Isn’t that strange? Anyone can see that kid is suspicious!”
If she had to pick the most suspicious person among those gathered, it was undeniably that child. Kyle was whispering to Dark.
“Is that really a kid? No matter how you look at it, it seems like they’re about the same age as my runaway dad?”
“The world is full of wonders, you know. In our territory, there’s a boy who looks like a girl.”
“Oh, really?”
“Exactly, so you shouldn’t judge people just by their appearance.”
“Hmm, I see.”
Dark surprisingly spoke wisely, causing Ghislaine, who was about to charge out, to pause awkwardly.
If she ran out now and shouted, ‘That kid is strange!’ she’d end up judging someone only by their looks, just as Dark warned.
One by one, the children stepped onto the scales.
No matter how young they were, they were old enough to do simple tasks. So of course, their weight wouldn’t match a duck’s. They were all heavier than the ducks.
Eventually, Ghislaine couldn’t hold back any longer and shouted. Even if people pointed fingers at her, she had something to say.
“No, wait! That kid is suspicious! Is that a kid?”
Andrew proclaimed solemnly.
“Our territory does not condemn anyone without solid evidence! And judging someone by their appearance is narrow-minded!”
‘This guy is annoyingly righteous and right!’
He’s a rare noble in this world. It seemed he was quite passionate since he had just become a lord.
But he was insisting on solid evidence while weighing ducks. Ghislaine felt like she was going to lose her mind from frustration.
Eventually, most of the children had weighed themselves. The aged-looking child, who had stayed distanced because of the smell, was the last.
Ghislaine cried out as if there was nothing more to see.
“Stop! Stop! I’ll investigate the suspicious individuals myself, so stop this foolishness! It’s just superstition…”
Suddenly…
Ghislaine’s eyes widened in shock. The surroundings fell into silence in an instant.
The scale that the duck and the aged-looking child stood on…
Was almost perfectly balanced.
Quack, quack, quack.
Only the sounds of quacking echoed. After a brief silence, the aged-looking child bit their lip and spoke.
“Ugh, I really didn’t expect this! Who came up with such a method? This is something we didn’t even know!”
‘It was real!’
Ghislaine’s mouth dropped open in disbelief. Dark wore a similar expression, his jaw dropped as well.
People erupted into chaos.
“Ahhhh! A Black Mage!”
“I can’t believe a real Black Mage was hiding among us!”
“Zico was the Black Mage!”
People screamed as they backed away from the child(?) named Zico.
Andrew drew his sword and shouted.
“You must be in league with the Black Mage! No wonder you looked so suspicious!”
The child(?) named Zico twisted the corners of their mouth in a smirk.
“Yeah… I’m their disciple. But impressive, you figured it out. I thought I could remain hidden in this little territory without a wizard…”
Zico glared at Ghislaine.
He was in charge of cleaning the castle’s waste and trash. Because of that, he could stay apart from the others. He didn’t even approach the knights.
The smell of decay leaking from him could be concealed by the stench. He had used simple magic to hinder perception and avoid suspicion from the nearby servants.
But who would have thought he’d be discovered by such an unheard-of method?
“Did you come up with this method? Truly, the laws of the world are mysterious. Who would have thought you could find a Black Mage with just a duck? Thanks to you, I’ve gained new knowledge.”
“……”
Ghislaine couldn’t respond. She herself didn’t understand why this method worked.
Of course, the crowd’s reaction was ecstatic.
“The mage is amazing!”
“To find it so quickly and easily!”
“We should spread this method!”
People looked at Ghislaine as if she were a savior. Even Andrew, the lord, looked at her with a supportive expression.
The three companions felt the same way.
“That’s just Ghislaine.”
“Ghislaine truly knows everything.”
“What kind of experiences has she been through?”
All three were sending looks filled with admiration and envy.
“……”
Ghislaine temporarily looked up at the sky. She felt too lazy to think.
At that moment, Andrew pointed his sword at Zico again and shouted.
“Seize that guy immediately! We need to hear what kind of mischief he’s been up to!”
The knights and soldiers moved into action. But Zico just gave a scoff and backed away.
“Did they say I’m a 5th Circle mage? Against a 5th Circle mage, there’s no way I can contend. I’ll take my leave, consider yourself lucky.”
As expected, Zico was actually a 4th Circle Black Mage. If he faced the knights directly, he was strong enough to deal considerable damage to the territory.
However, in a situation where a 5th Circle mage was present, the knights wouldn’t stand a chance.
He unleashed all his magic power, filling the surroundings with darkness. He was making a swift escape.
Ghislaine remained dazed, pulling back her staff. Then she hurled it forward.
“Magic Missile!”
Bam!
The staff flew off at an incredible speed. She could truly use the Magic Missile now, but she didn’t want to.
For now, everything in her mind was a jumbled mess.
“Ugh!”
Zico was taken aback and deployed his shield as he saw the approaching projectile. It was a desperately conjured dark shield.
Bang!
Despite the full strength of it, the shield shattered without resistance. Zico was impaled by the staff, collapsing.
“Ugh! How can a mage have such power!”
Surprisingly, Zico didn’t die. Black energy surged from his pierced abdomen, yet he stood up just fine.
Feeling the gravity of the opposing mage’s strength, Zico tried to make a run for it. But Ghislaine was already in motion.
“Haste.”
Bang!
Ghislaine’s body felt light as she sped up. At the same time, she snapped her fingers.
“Fireball!”
Whoosh!
In an instant, ten fireballs surrounded Zico.
Zico’s eyes widened in terror.
“W-What? Multiple Spellcasting?”
Multiple Spellcasting was a technique only the brightest geniuses could perform. Casting ten spells simultaneously required extraordinary computation and senses.
In reality, Ghislaine did not perform multiple spellcasting. She didn’t even know how to do that.
Instead, she had forcibly extracted her magic and rearranged it. It was a technique only Ghislaine could execute.
In an instant, she reached Zico and grabbed his neck.
“Ugh!”
Zico’s body lifted effortlessly. Only then did Ghislaine comprehend why this absurd situation had occurred.
“You… were a Chimera.”
Chimeras are beings created by forcibly combining the bodies of various animals or humans.
Chimera experiments were the most common experiments conducted by Black Mages. It was the easiest way to handle and manage corpses.
Sometimes they even transformed parts of their own bodies into Chimeras to strengthen themselves.
Helgenik, who fought against Ghislaine, had also created his body in such a way.
Zico was already half a corpse. Some organs and bones were either missing or replaced with others.
With such a small frame, it was only natural that he could match the weight of a duck.
Zico struggled, gasping, “Who… who are you?”
He could not comprehend why such a powerful individual had come to this little barony. Rather, he doubted why he was working as a mercenary.
Such a genius mage should be well taken care of in a Mage Tower.
Yet, Ghislaine had no ears for such questions. She shut her eyes tightly.
‘This is bad.’
In the era she lived in, the duck superstition was widely known. Among intellectuals, it was undoubtedly seen as ignorant nonsense.
But the people of this age were completely unaware of such superstitions. It was a very old superstition—why did no one know of it now?
Ghislaine inadvertently realized the unsettling truth.
Dark interjected sharply, “That superstition… seems to have spread because of your lordship?”
Ghislaine swallowed hard. Just as Dark said, it seemed the origin of that superstition lay with her.
Coincidence upon coincidence had led to this absurd situation. She wanted to correct it, but the atmosphere made it seem impossible now.
“Waaaaaah!”
“The mage is the best!”
“She subdued the Black Mage in one go!”
Everyone was in an excited frenzy. They were all cheering wildly.
“…It can’t be helped.”
Resolving something in her mind, Ghislaine tightened her grip.
Bang!
Ghislaine slammed Zico’s neck into the ground while still holding it.
“Gurk!”
Zico vomited black blood from the intense impact on his neck and head.
Looking down at Zico, Ghislaine spoke with a grave expression.
“How dare you lurk in this territory and perform wicked deeds? Did you think I wouldn’t find you? It only took one duck to track a scoundrel like you.”
“Waaaaaaaah!”
The crowd’s cheers grew even louder.
Since things had reached this point, she’d just push through with her face all in.