Volume 4 Chapter 12 Reflection
Al rushed from the church bell tower to the village head's house. He needed to speak with Kane urgently. Al was confused about whom to trust and what to do next. Discussing Ruella with Kane seemed like his best option, even though Kane was very busy. Al still insisted on meeting him immediately.
"Hey... I'm busy right now. Baron Hawthorne is impatient, you know."
"Ms. Ruella's life and future are at stake!"
Al approached Kane, who was complaining, and whispered urgently in his ear.
Kane was confused, so Al took him aside and explained what he had seen. But Al didn't let on that he already knew about the wooden box; instead, he acted as if it had just appeared out of nowhere.
"No way... The Levy merchant guild's carriage is part of this caravan, right? They didn't say anything like that."
Kane was surprised. Once he understood that Al was honest, he glanced around. He murmured to himself, considering his next move.
"Al, the 'Conceal' spell needs to be recast every 3 hours, right? Can't we dispel it?"
Al shook his head at first but then remembered the existence of a dispel magic spell. There might be other spells that could also remove effects.
"Mr. Eric or Mr. Fitz might know the spell to dispel it. But it depends on their skill level whether they can do it or not."
Kane fell deep in thought again. He twisted his neck several times and then let out a big sigh.
"That's no good, I don't understand. I'm the Internal Affairs Minister, not a guard. For now, let's consult someone. I think Sir Jonas would be good. That guy is a weirdo, but as the guard leader, he has a lot of trust from His Excellency Viscount Lester. I believe he will properly protect Lady Ruella's honor."
When Kane spoke, Al paused. He wanted to argue but knew in his heart that the chest problem was already handled since it appeared. Why was he trying to do everything alone?
This was something he couldn't fix by himself. Kane was likely right. Feeling a bit embarrassed, Al nodded and agreed. Together, they went to the guard station in Roland village. Although Captain Jonas was busy talking to some guards, Kane interrupted him, saying they had an urgent issue.
"I see, I understand the situation. You were suspicious and kept an eye on them, and you probably noticed they were carrying a chest hidden by the 'Conceal' spell. And inside that chest, there was a woman packed in..."
Al and Kane explained everything to Captain Jonas. He quickly understood since he already knew that Al had been watching the two who might be survivors of the bloody bandit group.
"We need to be careful about that woman. We want to keep the number of people who know her identity to a minimum. If possible, just the 3 of us..."
At Kane's words, Captain Jonas looked troubled.
"I don't support anything illegal, but I understand if it's about a woman's honor. Still, just the three of us can't rescue her and capture those three. We need more help. Maybe we can inspect the chest once we have it, just the three of us."
Kane paused and looked at Al. They had three opponents, so capturing them alone seemed impossible. When Al nodded, Captain Jonas went on.
"By the way, that woman has been drugged in that box for 2 whole days. Are you sure we don't need to show her to a healer or something?"
Al and Kane exchanged glances.
"From the looks of it, the other side didn't think about that. I'll arrange for a discreet healer on my side, so you can trust me with that. If that trio has a magician with the 'Conceal' spell, we'll need Lord Eric's help. Kane, Assistant Minister of Internal Affairs, you handle that coordination. Make sure to do it in a way that Baron Hawthorne doesn't get involved."
Kane nodded. Next to him, Al felt overwhelmed by the things he didn't know and realized his own lack of strength, lowering his shoulders.
"Don't make that pathetic face. You are still young. It's normal not to be able to do everything. I've been doing this job as a guard for many years now."
Captain Jonas patted Al's head with his large, rough hands, typical of a warrior who handles weapons.
"Let's finish this fast. Kane, you have 30 minutes to make the adjustments and bring Mr. Eric here. We'll meet at the village square by the church. Al, watch those three until then and tell me immediately if something happens."
"Yes!"
Kane and Al replied cheerfully and ran off in different directions.
"Now, I have to make some arrangements here... But those 2 are pretty good, aren't they?"
Captain Jonas muttered to himself as he hurried toward the station.
* * *
"Is it true that you found a chest hidden by the 'Conceal' spell? How did you do it?"
As Al continued to keep watch, half-hidden next to the earth goddess's church, Eric arrived quickly, led by Kane.
"I'm not sure if it was the 'Conceal' spell or not..."
Al urged the 3 of them to hide behind the church and explained what happened when the chest appeared and when it disappeared.
"I see, the caster must have released it. There are spells like 'Invisible' and 'Conceal' that hide things, making them hard to detect even with Magic Sense. It takes a lot of skill to find them. 'Magic Sense' isn't perfect, but there is a way to counter it."
'Detect Invisible.'
Eric cast the spell. Then he looked around as if searching for something. Eventually, he stared intently at the other side of the tent set up by the 3.
"Indeed, there is something that has been made invisible."
"Do you understand?"
Al asked in surprise.
"In my case, the 'Detect Invisible' spell works up to 50 meters (about 164 feet). It helps me sense not just invisible spells like 'Conceal' but also monsters that can turn invisible. Once I detect them, I can use Dispel Magic. You know that dispelling depends on comparing our skill levels, right?"
Al nodded at Eric's explanation.
"If I try a few times, we should be able to dispel it. There are three enemies, including the caster, but it depends on Sir Jonas. Oh look, he's here now."
Across the street, Al saw Captain Jonas and Placida in neat armor──too polished for a village setting. Al wondered what kind of battle awaited them and hoped no one would get hurt.
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