Chapter 10
“I have come to seek an audience with His Majesty, the King of Tiaan. Please grant me permission.”
It had already been ten days.
Duke Ruppelen had been persistently trying to meet the King of Tiaan.
The King rejected him every single time, which gnawed at his patience—but after coming this far, he couldn’t possibly abandon his quest for vengeance.
After handing a cooking pot to his attendant and waiting briefly in the audience chamber, the King of Tiaan finally appeared.
“How many days has it been already? The Grand Duke of Astria seems tireless.”
“For ten days now I have been honored to behold Your Majesty. Indeed, I am tired of it myself. Which is why I believe it is about time you granted my request.”
The Duke bent his knee respectfully before the King.
Melbern Tiaan.
Ruler of the Tiaan Kingdom, a man with a mane of white hair, a robust frame, and the bearing of a general. He cast an irritated glance at Duke Ruppelen before speaking.
“And how, pray tell, am I supposed to trust you?”
King Melbern slowly shook his head.
“I have heard that your parents, the late Grand Duke and Duchess, perished when the dragon’s tidal wave swept them away. At that time, Tiaan too suffered immense damage.”
“I am well aware of that. Though late, I offer you my condolences.”
“To restore what was lost back then required untold time and resources. Only now have we regained stability. And yet you want to stir up the dragon’s sea again?”
“I don’t intend to stir it. I intend to slay the dragon.”
“And if, by chance, you fail? If the enraged dragon unleashes another colossal tidal wave—who would compensate us then? Certainly not you. For if it came to that, you’d already be dead.”
Frustratingly enough, King Melbern’s argument was flawless.
Unable to find any point of rebuttal, Duke Ruppelen stood in silence. Melbern’s stern expression softened ever so slightly.
“However… if you were to grant me a favor, I might consider permitting your expedition.”
“What favor would that be?”
The Duke eagerly asked, and the King smiled faintly as he replied.
“My daughter seems quite fond of the dishes you’ve been bringing. She keeps asking who makes them and says she’d like to meet the cook at least once.”
“Do you mean…?”
The King met his eyes squarely, a meaningful smile on his lips.
“Well? Would you like to meet my daughter?”
‘I’ve never tried it on multiple people at once… but…’
I looked at Karun, who was yanking my arm roughly, while my mind raced.
The situation around me was growing more urgent by the second.
The three men who had been lurking in the shadows were starting to edge closer.
The priority was to immobilize them before they could act.
“Karun, wait. Let go of my arm first—we can talk.”
“I’m only doing this because I feel sorry for you, Jiana!”
“Fine, I’ll go with you. Just let go first!”
The moment I said I’d go, Karun eased his grip ever so slightly.
I seized the opening and secretly conjured several threads of magical light.
Their targets: the nostrils of the three men glaring at me from the alley.
“Ugh, why is my nose suddenly itchy?”
“Maybe it’s hay fever?”
“There aren’t any flowers around here—ah, ah, ah-choo!”
“Damn it, keep it down! Wh—wha—whachoo!”
“Pfffhh! Phhhfffhh! Phhhfffhhh!”
The three men burst into an absurd chorus of sneezes.
As their racket drew Karun’s attention, I unleashed one more strand of magic.
“What the hell is wrong with them? Did they eat something bad? Ah—ah—ahhhchoo!”
Even Karun himself succumbed, sneezing helplessly. Meanwhile, my darling little lights kept gleefully assaulting their nostrils.
The cacophony of sneezing was so loud that windows flew open, and people began to gather.
“What’s going on over there? Why all the noise?”
“I’ve never seen anyone sneeze like that before!”
“Mom, why are those men acting like that?”
The commotion forced Karun and his gang to retreat.
“Ji—Jiana. We’ll talk again later. Ahhhchoo! But first I need a… a healer, ahhh-choo!”
Face smeared with snot, Karun hurriedly excused himself and fled. Naturally, his three lackeys followed close behind.
“Serves you right, bastards.”
I recalled my weary threads of light.
“You poor things, working so hard to crawl up inside those nasty noses.”
After all the time spent on Duke Ruppelen’s ship, fighting seasickness while hauling in endless seafood, my magic had grown quite a bit.
The voyage wasn’t long, but it had honed my abilities.
Still, this was the first time I’d used magic offensively against people.
Though attacking their nostrils hardly seemed like a proper “offensive spell.”
“…But it works.”
I had just managed to strike four targets at once. With a little more practice, perhaps I could handle ten simultaneously. And not just to make them sneeze—this could become a truly useful weapon.
Smiling in satisfaction, I slipped away through the crowd and made my way toward the bustling district.
My destination: a guild reputed to be the finest in Tiaan Kingdom.
Naturally, I meant to uncover the true identity of Karun and his lackeys.
“Welcome! This is King Guild.”
At the counter, I handed the clerk a gold coin and described Karun’s appearance.
“I’d like to inquire about a man. He’s in his mid-twenties, pale complexion, a head taller than me. He entered the kingdom not long ago.”
“Oh, you must mean Karun.”
The clerk recognized him at once.
“You know him?”
“Of course. He’s a notorious broker around here. Skilled, yes—but he preys on the naive, binding them into cheap contracts and exploiting them. A real piece of work.”
“Goodness…”
“He’s infamous for targeting mages especially. You know about contract quills, don’t you? How difficult and expensive they are to make? He forces mages into sweatshop conditions, mass-producing them at rock-bottom pay. And once he’s got you, escape is impossible.”
“Because the mages themselves will have signed binding contracts using those very quills…”
“Exactly.”
Hearing this, Karun’s behavior made perfect sense.
Since I was an ignorant mage from the outer isles, he’d approached under the guise of helping me—planning to trap me with a contract.
‘Honestly, why is this world so riddled with shady contracts?’
Duke Ruppelen, Karun…
Though, to be fair, at least the Duke pays a fortune.
“I’d like to hire mercenaries through the guild.”
I slid another gold coin across the counter.
“My name is Jiana. While I’m in Tiaan, I want bodyguards to protect me.”
“In that case… hmm. Who should I assign…”
The clerk pondered for a moment. Just then, the guild door swung open.
Jingle.
“Welcome to King Guild!”
Greeting the newcomer politely, the clerk’s face suddenly lit up.
“Ah, Victor! You’ve returned.”
“It’s been a while. Nothing serious happened in Tiaan while I was gone, I hope?”
“Oh, don’t get me started. Without you around, petty troublemakers have been running amok—such a headache!”
Clearly well acquainted, the clerk and the man called Victor exchanged warm words.
“Actually, this is perfect. Mr. Victor, perhaps you could take on our client’s request?”
“A request?”
“Yes, this young lady just came in seeking a mercenary for protection from Karun and his men.”
“Karun? That bastard is back in Tiaan already?”
Victor’s expression darkened as he turned to me.
He was a large man with sun-darkened skin, a mass of thick, curly dark-brown hair down to his shoulders, and the formidable presence of a seasoned sailor.
‘What an overwhelming aura…’
I found myself staring, forgetting it was rude.
‘Strong features, heavy brows, large but not intimidating eyes. His body is all solid muscle, though he doesn’t seem like a sailor exactly. Still… why does his face look so familiar?’
“…Could it be… Jiana?”
Lost in thought, I nearly jumped when Victor suddenly spoke my name.
