Volume 2 Chapter 34 Interlude： At Marquis Strauss's Territory
*Third-person perspective.
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At the same time Ryuuji faced defeat in the debate against Duke Hoffman, a striking building stood out on the high ground of Kleinburg, the capital of Marquis Strauss's territory.
A plump middle-aged man was pacing anxiously on the balcony, which offered a view of the entire town.
"...Still no word has come in!"
"Y-yes, nothing has come in..."
The young butler standing nearby bowed his head apologetically to Marquis Strauss, who had erupted in frustration.
This exchange had been happening every 5 minutes, and even the butler was thoroughly fed up.
"Honestly... To think I can't find even one Dark Mage! What a waste of the money I paid to hire you! That stampede was definitely that woman's doing!"
The Marquis's anger had peaked, and he was boiling to the point of being able to brew tea with his head.
The butler inwardly wished the Marquis would just collapse so he could escape this situation quickly.
"Oh my, are you looking for me?"
"Wha!? Y-you! Where did you come in from!"
Suddenly, the relaxed figure of Adiliana appeared in the room across the door, causing the Marquis to falter with a shuddering voice.
By the way, the butler couldn't see her and was suspicious of the Marquis's actions.
"W-well, that's fine, I want an answer from you, Dark Mage! That stampede was your doing, wasn't it!?"
"Oh my, to say such things without any evidence~. How sad~."
Adiliana deliberately covered her face with both hands, and Marquis was outraged beyond his limit.
Most of the residents have already fled, but unless they stop the rampaging Stampede, Marquis has no future.
"I have no intention of engaging in such nonsense! Answer me!"
"...Good grief, what a foolish man. I can't stand people who put on airs just because they have power like you. You should take a leaf out of Marquis Reichner's book."
Stopping her crocodile tears, Adiliana shot a contemptuous glare at Marquis Strauss, looking down on him from above, and with a sniff, she dismissed him with her nose.
"Well, I'll just let Stampede advance southward, and that'll be the end of Marquis Reichner's territory too."
"Ah, so it's my money after all! Grr...!"
"Oops"
Marquis drew the rapier he had at his waist and thrust it towards Adiliana's face, but the attack was caught by mysterious golden tentacles that appeared out of nowhere.
Finally, the spell of concealment Adiliana had cast was broken, and the butler let out a scream of realization.
"What... What is your purpose!"
Continuing the attack, Marquis interrogated her.
Despite being repeatedly blocked by the tentacles, he deserves praise for his relentless pursuit of Adiliana.
However, Adiliana's automatic defense with her tentacles was overwhelmingly superior to the clumsy swordsmanship of Marquis, and as he grew weary, his movements became sluggish, eventually causing him to drop his sword.
"M-Master!"
The butler, who had been standing in stunned silence, finally snapped out of his daze at the sight of his master's peril and rushed forward, taking up the sword in his stead.
However, despite his training with the sword, he was still a novice at best.
He was no match for Adiliana, who could lead the battle as a Dark Mage.
"Ah, how pathetic, Marquis Strauss. You've grown fat off the blood of your people's taxes, like a pig, yet you delude yourself into thinking you're invincible because of your noble blood?"
"Ugh... you're so annoying, you Dark Mage..."
"Who was it that handed over Cattle Village as a drug cultivation site to this Dark Mage, I wonder? Too bad, we'll be putting Sedum's Fruit to good use."
After delivering her one-sided indictment to the gasping Marquis, Adiliana raised her left hand towards the two of them.
Immediately afterward, white orbs of light began to emerge from their bodies, converging towards Adiliana.
"Gah, gaaaah...! You, what are you...!"
"You don't seem to have much life force, but you'll make a good addition to the magic crystal. Leading the stampede requires energy, after all."
"Stop, please stop! Have you forgotten the favor I did for you?"
"Favor? We were simply aligned by our interests~. Marquis Strauss, from the moment you handed over Cattle Village, no, from the moment we met, this was your destiny."
As she methodically turned the struggling pair into magic crystals, Adiliana curled her lips into a small smile.
"...Ah yes, that was my goal, wasn't it──"
Only after their figures had completely vanished, leaving just their clothes behind, did Adiliana finally decide to answer the Marquis's question.
"──To wipe out power players and heretics like you, to create a world where no one can bind me~ That's the plan."
That answer, however, fell on deaf ears.
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