Volume 13 Chapter 11 Neighboring Village
Under the bright sunlight, Al, with its fly magic, Naresh, and three horse riders, hurried down a rough road to the neighboring village. This village was quiet, unlike the northern village they had just left.
As Al and Naresh approached on horseback, some local self-defense village members came over. They were initially distracted by Al floating in the air, but when they saw Naresh on horseback, they gave a light salute.
"Thank you for your hard work. Is there anything unusual happening?"
"Not really. Sir Naresh, is there something going on today?"
The self-defense members showed a lot of respect towards Naresh and the others.
"I'm sorry for the sudden request, but I want to meet the village head. Can you call him for me?"
Naresh got off his horse and said this. One self-defense member responded loudly with a "Yes!" and ran towards the village. The other three also got off their horses, so Al landed on the ground too.
The remaining self-defense members politely guided Al and Naresh to the village square. A group of about ten villagers, including some children, watched from a distance. After a while, two men, one in his fifties and the other in his twenties, hurried over to Naresh.
"Sir Naresh, you called for us..."
The older man in his fifties knelt down in front of Naresh. He was probably the village head. There was no sign that he was being forced to do this, and it didn't feel strange at all. Al used 'Magic Sense' to check from behind Naresh, but there didn't seem to be any spells affecting him.
"Sorry to bother you when you're busy. Actually, last night, there was an incident where someone threw a dead sheep into the well in the northernmost village. What's more, the person who did it looked just like the village head."
Naresh explained the incident happening in the northernmost village.
"Really!?"
"My dad would never do something like that... He was here the whole night. There's no way he went to the northernmost village..."
Both men immediately denied that such a thing could happen. The people around them were restless but watched closely. Naresh seemed to expect this reaction and nodded lightly.
"Of course, I understand. Someone must be disguising themselves as you to stir up conflict among the refugees. They are probably wary of His Excellency the Viscount Powell's movements."
Viscount Powell... who could that be? Al tilted his head in confusion.
"He's a survivor from the Tempest Kingdom's knights who lost to the Marquis Prentis's knights. About five hundred fled to our country, seeking help near the border. In this village, many appear as refugees but secretly support Viscount Powell..."
Desmond whispered this to Al. I see, so there are such forces at play. He didn't fully understand the Tempest side's spy's intentions, but it made sense. Naresh was likely trying to convince the northern village that their leader was not that kind of person.
"To disguise as you, that person must know your face. Recently, hasn't someone been visiting this village? Do you have any idea who it might be?"
"You probably know that peddlers come by sometimes. They think they can buy things cheap from us. Since Sir Naresh arrived, the Levy merchant guild has been more helpful, so extreme cases are rare, but there are still smooth talkers. You could say all of them are a bit suspicious..."
The village head answered Naresh after thinking for a moment. It seems Naresh suspects someone is in disguise. If the chief isn't being controlled, then someone is likely pretending to be someone else.
Of course, there could be a traitor. Naresh must be considering that too, but it seems they will investigate step by step.
"Hey, Dad, remember that traveling barber came by the other day? He was different, right? He said he would cut your hair for free."
A young man in his twenties, who looked like the village head's son, suddenly remembered and said this. Barbers not only cut hair but also sell ointments for skin diseases and even perform simple surgeries.
In small villages, people usually cut each other's hair, and healers handle treatments. In big cities, there are trends in hairstyles, and some people call themselves barbers as a profession.
It seems rare to have a traveling barber, but if there's a civil war in the country, maybe that's possible.
"Is that so? Maybe he just offered free service to people and planned to make money off others?"
"Well, even so, they only stayed in the village for one night and then moved on..."
"That's true, but..."
While the two were discussing, Naresh asked them to make the decision, saying that if anyone had an idea, they should speak up.
According to his son, the barber was in his late thirties and had come to the village about a week ago with two people who seemed to be his apprentices. They arrived in a black carriage.
After cutting the village head's long hair for free, they stayed in the village, but no one else asked for a haircut or ointment. It seemed they left the next day.
"A black carriage...?"
Al, who was listening to the story, leaned forward and asked a question. The village head quickly lowered his head and looked around suspiciously at Al.
Since Naresh and the others didn’t say anything, he looked up and began to answer while looking at Al.
"Yes, it didn't have any special features, but it's rare for a 4-person carriage to come around here, so it left an impression."
"Was it like this carriage?"
Al remembered the carriage that had stopped near Baron Zora's mansion and used the 'Illusion' spell to create a small carriage. The people around them gasped in surprise.
It seemed to be the first time they had seen the 'Illusion' spell.
""Oh, yes, it was like this carriage.""
The village head and his son, surprised by the spell, nodded in unison after a moment of shock.
"Al, you're really fixated on that carriage. Why is that?"
Naresh asked curiously. Since there were others present, he called Al by his name instead of using a title like usual.
"This is the carriage that was watching Baron Zora. And the carriage that was watching the Levy merchant guild in the border city of Lester... they are all the same type of black 4-seater carriage."
He couldn't say it out loud because people were around. When he thought back to the three carriages that chased him while escaping the border city of Lester, they were the same type.
Could it be that the magicians from Tempest are using the same kind of carriage?
"I see, so if we look for this type of black carriage, it might give us some clues?"
Naresh asked, and Al nodded. It's a shape he knows well enough to create with an illusion spell. With this, he can search for it using magic.
'Locate Object'──black carriage
The spell's response came back quickly. About 7km (4.3 miles) to the north-northwest... the elevation hasn't changed much.
Al has known this spell for a long time, and his skill level should be high enough, but still, the effective range is only about 10km (6.2 miles).
'I found the location!'
Thanks to Glee, I won't have to use the spell multiple times to pinpoint the exact place.
He thought he might have to search while using 'Fly,' but he was lucky to find it on the first try. Considering the possibility of a traitor in the village, he looked around.
He approached Naresh and Desmond, reporting in a low voice.
"There's a similar carriage about 7km (4.3 miles) to the north-northwest. Should I go scout it out?"
Traveling 7 km (4.3 miles) on horseback through the wasteland might take about 30 minutes. However, if he goes alone, he can use 'Fly' and get there in less than ten minutes.
He can definitely make a round trip and report back while checking the village head's story.
"Got it, go ahead. We'll follow later. Just let us know the situation when you arrive."
From the way he spoke, it seemed like he didn't plan to wait here and wanted to chase after Al. Maybe he decided that questioning the village head here was enough, or perhaps he really trusted Al's opinion that much.
"Well then, village head, I'm sorry for the disturbance. We'll continue our investigation, so if anything comes up, please let us know."
Naresh got back on his horse. Desmond and the two attendants also mounted their horses.
"Excuse me, but who is this person?"
The village head glanced at Al and asked Naresh.
"This is Al. He's my irreplaceable friend from middle school and a genius at magic."
In Naresh's eyes, Al didn't seem like a strange magician. Al smiled and gently floated up, starting to 'Fly' towards the northwest.
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