Volume 11 Chapter 1 Meeting Up
"First, I want you to meet someone. If it's safe, you two can stay here for a while."
Al and the other 2, having shaken off their pursuers, took a big detour to the east and continued to 'Fly.' After passing the outskirts of the border city Lester, they headed north and finally arrived at what seemed to be the ruins of an abandoned village.
"Where is this?"
"It's north of the border city Lester, about a day's journey from a town with a river crossing. This place was abandoned a long time ago after a failed settlement."
Patricia and Joanna looked puzzled at Al's answer.
"Who would be here in a place like this?"
Al slowly descended. In the center of the village stood a ruined church. Next to it were two golems: one dressed like a butler with a smooth, porcelain-like face, and another about 140cm (4'7") tall, standing on one leg.
"That's Mr. Malachi."
"Sir Malachi...? Was she perhaps the assistant of Sir Tempest?"
The two were surprised and exclaimed together. They had heard about him before, but they didn't expect to meet him in person. It had been about 3 weeks since Al left Tempest's body in this village. However, the two golems seemed unchanged.
After safely landing in front of the golems, Al canceled the 'Carrier' spell and made the chairs disappear. Patricia and Joanna hurriedly stepped forward in front of the Malachi golem and bowed politely. Malachi returned the bow respectfully.
"Hello, Mr. Malachi. It looks like you're okay?"
"Well, it's like this. Some bandits came by once. They seemed to be careless, so we managed to catch them off guard. I don't think they figured out who we really are, but we couldn't wipe them all out, and a couple of them got away."
Bandits came, huh? Al wonders if they were survivors. Someone might think there's something valuable here. He was about to ask about the bodies when he noticed the two people standing next to him were staring at him.
"Ah, sorry. Mr. Malachi, this is the princess of the Tempest Kingdom and her knight bodyguard, whom I mentioned before."
Al hurriedly introduced the two.
"It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Patricia, the daughter of Prince Richard from the Tempest Kingdom."
"I am Joanna Quenner, a knight of the Tempest Kingdom, and I serve as Lady Patricia's bodyguard."
After Al's introduction, the two bowed politely again. They looked quite nervous. Malachi, the golem, turned his face toward them.
"I am Malachi, Sir Tempest's assistant. Your features resemble those of Sir Tempest's spouse. Thank you for your kind greeting. I have heard about you from Al. I offer my condolences for the recent events."
Malachi returned the polite gesture. His bow was respectful but felt a bit off. Maybe it's just a difference in time.
"Thank you very much. I heard from Sir Al that there was a grave for Sir Tempest. Meeting Sir Al and being safe like this is all thanks to Sir Tempest's guidance, and I am truly grateful. I also heard that someone with the Tempest Kingdom's flag committed the unforgivable act of grave robbing, and I apologize for that as someone connected to the Tempest royal family."
Patricia said this and bowed deeply again. She carried herself with the dignity of a princess. Al admired her grace but also felt that he was unworthy of her attention because of their different statuses.
"Lady Patricia, you don't need to apologize. Al has told me about your position."
After exchanging words of comfort, Patricia was guided by Malachi to a modified chapel where they paid their respects to Tempest's remains and expressed their gratitude once more.
"When did those bandits attack?"
Once the conversation settled, Al asked to see what the bandits had brought when they came to this ruined village. It seemed they were a group of 5 men, and they had already buried the bodies. Their clothes were very tattered, and their weapons were poor quality, with nothing to show their status. Their total money was less than one gold coin.
"It was 3 days ago in the evening. Since then, I've been on guard, just in case something else comes, but so far, it's been okay."
"Do you know any names?"
Malachi looked thoughtful for a moment but then shook his head.
"Sorry. I didn't have much time either."
There were 5 of them. Even if he had a staff that could use 'Magic Missile,' it would still be risky to face them. If they weren't wearing any adventurer guild tags, they were likely bandits. And if two of them ran away, they might come back with more friends.
"I guess we have no choice but to move with Sir Tempest's body. Actually, I borrowed a magic bag. If we put the body and the golem inside, it should be easy to carry."
Guildmaster Levy might have given it to Al, but since it was such a valuable item, Al planned to return it once they got to a safe place.
"A magic bag, huh? That's really useful. My lord had a few of those. What type do you have?"
A type of magic bag? What did that mean? Al tilted his head in confusion.
"There are 2 types. One uses a storage spell, which has a limit on how many items you can store, and the other uses a transport spell, which creates a special space like a warehouse. Each has its advantages, but the transport spell type can hold more items and is easier to use, so it's more popular."
For the magic tool that uses the storage spell, you can usually store about 5 to 10 items. You have to lift them to store them, and if you want to put in small things, you need to pack them in a bag. For example, if you put coins in a bag, you can take them out as one item, but if you leave them as they are, each coin counts as a separate item.
"My magic bag sounds like a 'Transport' spell. It can hold the size of a whole big room, and weight doesn't matter. You can put living things inside, but if you leave them there too long, they might die."
"Just to be safe, can you use the 'Floating Eye' spell to check the warehouse where we're transporting it? Since you can use it, I think it should be fine, but we have to be careful since we're leaving Sir Tempest's body there. Of course, since it's a long distance, you probably won't be able to control it after the 'Transport', but don't panic."
Al understood Malachi's worries about storing items in the warehouse. Following Malachi's instructions, he used the 'Floating Eye' spell, and the eye went into his magic bag. The place he arrived at was pitch-black. He realized he hadn't used 'Sensory Boost.' Taking a small stone, he cast 'Light' on it and stored it in the magic bag, illuminating the area.
It was a stone room, approximately 10m (33 ft) square with a high ceiling. He could see barrels of water and food and some crab shells from the last few days. The eye was on the floor, limiting his view, but he didn't spot any doors.
"Can you show me too?"
Malachi asked. He took the assistant device from Malachi's golem and held it in his hand, allowing them to share senses.
'Hmm, I was worried about living things dying, but this seems okay. Got it. I'll store my lord's body and the golem here, and we'll head to the research tower together. I know the coordinates, so we shouldn't get lost.'
Al nodded. The distance was so far that it would take two full days of flying with the 'Fly' spell, and the tower floated high up in the sky. Flying non-stop for two days was an arduous task, so they decided to break their journey over several days. Al and the others chose to spend the night in the ruin and set off in the morning.
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