Volume 16 Chapter 1 Border City Lester
"I'm back!"
"Mr. Al!"
In the evening, Al, covered in travel dust, visited the (Red-Faced Sheep) inn in Border City Lester after a long time. Iris quickly ran over, responding to Al's voice.
"I'm glad to see you're doing well..."
The last time Al had talked to Iris was before his escape with Patricia, when he had left with Orson on a mission to Channing Village.
He had come to Border City Lester since then, but that time he only secretly visited the Levy merchant guild to get livestock and materials needed for the research tower.
It had only been about 2 months, but from Iris's expression, it seemed she had been quite worried.
"I'm sorry. Thank you."
"Did you know that on the morning of the Mushroom Festival, the princess of Tempest Kingdom went missing? There were rumors that she was with Mr. Al at that time, and some unknown guards came to check on it."
When he went out in disguise, someone had probably informed some of the guards they knew, and he was suspected.
The fact that the guards were active likely meant it was related to Baron Scully, the governor of this city and the brother of Viscountess Agnes, Sanjay's birth mother, or perhaps the captain of the guards, Baron Pankraft.
"Is that so? I was heading to Channing Village before that."
Al made a puzzled expression and played dumb. It felt a bit guilty to lie to Iris, but there was no other choice.
"Yes, Mr. Madoc and the guards you were close with talked about it, but there was nothing more. However, when I heard the princess of Tempest was missing in the border, I couldn't help but worry about you, Mr. Al."
"I see. Thank you for caring so much. I appreciate it."
At Al's words, Iris's cheeks turned slightly pink.
"Oh, Al. You're back."
Orson, who seemed to have just returned from work, spotted Al and called out to him.
"Yeah, I have to go back to Border City of Parker soon, but I stopped by for a bit."
"Is that so? But you're staying the night, right? I heard Sir Naresh is being knighted. You were probably there too. Tell me all about it."
"Yeah. I plan to stay the night."
Al had left the research tower the morning before yesterday. Although he took a short nap on a remote island, he had flown here without much rest.
There were only a few days left until the date he promised Kane, and he was probably anxious about whether he would return properly, but he planned to stay here for one night and then stop by Channing Village for another night tomorrow.
"By the way, what happened with your leg?"
"Ah, that's still a while away. After I got back here, I couldn't wait and went to ask the Levy merchant guild, but it seems the procedures at the church take quite a bit of time. They said it might be around March or April. But they told me not to worry because I got a proper response that they can handle it. Really, thank you."
Orson said this with a light smile.
"Alright, let's drink today. Let's go inside."
Al, Iris, and Orson all walked into the dining hall together.
* * *
"Hello, Ms. Lara."
The next place Al visited was Lara's magic tool shop.
"Welcome! It's been a while, hasn't it? How have you been?"
"Yeah, I've been okay. Do you have anything new in stock?"
At Al's quick question, Lara smiled and took a moment before grinning.
"I have the 'Paralysis' spell you wanted. Also, there's a sticky spell that can fix things in place, and... listen closely."
Could it be a forbidden spell? Al leaned in excitedly to hear what Lara had to say.
"I got my hands on a spell called 'Piercing Spear'."
'Piercing Spear' spell... wasn't that a spell that the Tempest Kingdom prohibited from leaking to other countries?
'Is that from a refugee from the Tempest Kingdom?'
Al couldn't help but activate 'Telepathy' to ask Lara. She was surprised at first but accepted the 'Telepathy' and nodded lightly.
'Wow, you've already learned the "Telepathy" spell. I'm surprised. Oh, about the "Piercing Spear" spell? It's rare, isn't it? This is my first time handling it. But I can't tell you where I got it.'
'It seems that the "Piercing Spear" spell is one that the Tempest Kingdom has banned from other countries. I got it through a different route, but it seems like we should be careful with it.'
Lara looked a bit surprised at Al's explanation, but her expression quickly returned to normal.
Originally, the buying and selling of spellbooks was done secretly to avoid the magician guild's eyes, so they probably wouldn't be open about it, but it would be wise to be cautious with whom they discussed trades.
'Is that so? Thanks for the info.'
"Then I'll take the 'Paralysis' spell and the 'Glue' spell. How much is it?"
"Fifteen gold coins."
Al handed Lara the gold coins. As she counted the coins she received, she looked puzzled.
"Hey, these are coins I haven't seen before, but they're really beautiful. Where are they from?"
The coin she was holding was one of the 300 gold coins Al found in the ancient ruins the other day.
After returning to the tower and talking with Malachi, they still didn't find out who owned the ancient ruins, but it seemed that based on the magical devices, it was definitely from the Tempest era.
That meant the gold coins were probably from that time as well.
Narrowing her eyes, Lara stared at Al's face. Al hesitated to answer and tried to smile, but she lightly shook her head.
"Even if you try to trick me, it won't work. Did you go to some faraway country? No, if that were the case, you wouldn't be back in about 2 months. Could it be... an ancient ruin?"
Both answers were correct, but Al couldn't mention the magic bag or the 'Transport' spell.
"Well, something like that?"
Reluctantly, he replied and smiled brightly.
"Hmm, well, I won't ask for details. But, I'd like you to avoid this if possible. Depending on where you bring it, it might have added value, but that also means it needs careful handling."
It seemed that this also required careful handling. Al reluctantly returned the gold coins he found in the ancient ruins to his pocket and handed the other coins to Lara. He thought he should consult with Guildmaster Levy about this.
Or would it be quicker to just melt them down?
"Thanks as always."
Lara handed him the second volume of the spellbook. Al couldn't help but smile as he accepted it.
His worries about what to do with the 3 hundred gold coins found in the ancient ruins were pushed aside in front of the two new spellbooks: 'Paralysis' and the 'Glue' spell.
* * *
Next, Al went to the shop next to the Levy merchant guild, where he found the 'Magic Resist' spell and 'Telekinesis' spell that had been recommended to him before. He obtained them and paid 45 gold coins.
He was careful not to use the gold coins found in the ancient ruins and paid with the coins he had from before.
He planned to stop by Channing Village afterward, so he decided to visit other shops and buy souvenirs for his father Nelson, mother Pamela, and his siblings.
The new year would arrive in just a few days. They would surely be happy with some old clothes. While packing the things he bought into his bag, Al couldn't help but smile.
Excluding the 300 coins from the ancient ruins, he had about 20 coins left, but he was still expecting a reward from Naresh, so it shouldn't be a problem.
The last place Al stopped by was Cody's workshop, a dismantler. He thought he would ask if he could sell or dismantle the White Long-Haired Bongo. It was a rare magic beast that Al had never seen before.
It might sell for a high price. Before reaching the workshop, he looked for a place away from prying eyes, took the corpse of the White Long-Haired Bongo out of the magic bag, and transferred it to the 'Carrier' spell disk.
He used the 'Thermos' spell to keep it cool, and with the 'Packing' and 'Retention' spells, it shouldn't have decayed much.
"Hmm, I've never seen this magic beast before. Where did you find it?"
Cody murmured as he examined the corpse of the White Long-Haired Bongo.
"Well, that's a bit..."
Al hesitated. He couldn't reveal that part.
"If there's a story behind it, it could sell for a high price even as a taxidermy. But if the source is a secret, it often doesn't fetch a good price at auctions. How about 22 gold coins for all 5? I'm giving you quite a deal here."
22 gold coins! That's a much better price than the large-mouthed lizard. It might be good to hunt them regularly from now on.
"It's rare, so that's why it has that price. If you bring another one, it might not sell for the same amount."
Was his thoughts showing on his face? Al scratched his head a little. Seeing this, Cody offered him the bag filled with gold coins with a slight smile.
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