Chapter: 18
“You’ve received word about the illegal warps created by the black mages of the Kingdom of Sebon, haven’t you?”
“H-huh?”
Baron Harwin rolled his eyes.
He had received word, but he had deliberately kept it from the people of his domain.
[We will open an illegal warp for you. In exchange, provide us with people and grain.]
In fact, even now, he was secretly inquiring about orphans—children whose disappearance would not raise suspicion.
The time when people would truly begin to starve was drawing near.
“H-how did you even find out about that…?”
“It’s already become a rumor in the capital. That black mages have developed illegal warps and are approaching various regions for human trafficking. The Mage Tower had been on high alert from the beginning.”
The capital was where all information converged.
Especially since the Mage Tower dispatched instructors to the Academy, it wasn’t strange that Brisa knew ahead of time.
“Since the Mage Tower can’t monitor things properly right now, it’s obvious they’d contact the Central Region first—where self-sufficiency is difficult. But I never received any contact. That’s probably because I’m of Liente blood.”
The Kingdom of Liente had fallen because of Sebon.
From Sebon’s perspective, there was no reason to contact Brisa.
“But we also need grain.”
Brisa explained calmly, then pointed at one of the knights.
She was a female knight with short red hair, her complexion paler than the others.
“This one insulted my family. Rather than simply expelling her, I’d like to sell her to those black mages and at least get some grain in return. The problem is, I don’t know how to contact them.”
“Hm.”
“How about selling these intruders as well? We’ll split the grain fifty–fifty.”
The intruders’ eyes widened in shock.
Before their furious protests could erupt, Brisa made her offer to Baron Harwin.
“Decide, my lord.”
She deliberately addressed him as ‘my lord’ rather than ‘uncle.’
It was her way of saying that the decision rested entirely with him.
“That’s absurd!”
Baron Harwin shouted, his eyes bulging.
He clenched his fists in genuine fury.
“Half and half? There are far more people in my domain! You’ve only got one! And we’re the ones opening the warp!”
He wasn’t refusing to sell his people.
The intruders stared at him in disbelief.
Is he… selling us to black mages?
Just because we followed orders?
They began to beg desperately.
“M-my daughter—Baron! I’m her only guardian!”
“There’s my elderly mother at home! She can’t even move without me!”
“I have seven children… If I’m gone, they’ll all starve!”
Baron Harwin ignored them completely and snapped at Brisa instead.
“Stick to the numbers! No concessions! You’re the ones who need this!”
That was when—
Amid the chaos, a knight approached Brisa and whispered something to her.
After giving the knight a small nod, she spoke coolly.
“Then negotiate just one thing for me.”
“What?”
“There’s an old man outside the door eavesdropping on us.”
Baron Forman—who had been listening outside—nearly fainted.
“If we leave him alone, rumors will spread through the domain. Let’s sell him too. But the grain from him goes to us.”
At the same time, the knights rushed out and dragged in the disguised Baron Forman.
He didn’t even have time to react.
Something felt strange.
Before entering the room, a knight stuck something onto Forman’s face.
“Change your voice. Say they’re burn scars.”
Before he could respond, Baron Forman was dragged inside.
As expected, Baron Harwin didn’t recognize him.
His shabby clothes, pulled-down hat, and bent posture hid his identity completely.
Panicking, unsure what to do—
“That illegal warp.”
Brisa spoke calmly.
“It connects to Milfen Harbor in the West, correct?”
…The West?
Baron Forman swallowed hard.
He knew Harwin had received a proposal for an illegal warp, but he had never imagined it led to a western port.
“No. It’s Delphoben Harbor.”
After answering Brisa, Baron Harwin turned to Forman.
“Who are you?”
Then if I take that warp… I can reach the West?
Baron Forman decided instantly.
“T-there’s no food at home, s-so I went to the s-storage, t-to steal some c-corn…”
The former intelligence agent put his entire soul into the act.
“A thief, huh.”
Years of experience paid off immediately.
“Pretty gutsy for an old man. Sell him too.”
Having reached his decision easily, Baron Harwin declared magnanimously to Brisa.
“You can take two shares. I won’t yield any further.”
“Very well.”
Brisa replied evenly.
“Then let’s sell them now. We can do it immediately, can’t we? How do we contact the black mages?”
“…Follow me.”
Baron Harwin led the way.
Brisa followed.
Behind them, the gagged intruders, a knight named Wendy, and Baron Forman were all dragged along in a line by the knights.
If I can just reach the West!
If I can just set foot on western land!
Baron Forman’s heart pounded.
I can send an emergency protection request!
Though only a baron, he was one of Grand Duke Nozen’s closest aides—and Leopold’s maternal grandfather.
He carried one of the few emergency tracking incense seals.
If he used it discreetly upon arriving in the West, nearby western troops would come immediately.
Delphoben? Black mages trafficking people there?
If Hilbury found out, he wouldn’t let it stand—but with the monster wave happening now…
Your Grace.
Baron Forman swallowed dryly.
I’m bringing back crucial information.
His stunned mind had frozen at the word “West,” and only began functioning again after they left the baron’s estate.
But…
Reality finally caught up to him.
Why did that knight hide my identity?
Ahead of him, platinum-blond hair shimmered beautifully under the starlight.
The girl glanced around, then pulled a robe over herself to conceal her appearance.
Watching her back, Baron Forman felt a chill run down his spine.
Just how far ahead is this young lady seeing?
* * *
A hill near Delphoben Harbor in the West.
The pitch-black night was split by flashes of light like the claws of a beast.
“GRAAAAAAH!”
“KRAAAAH! KIKIK!”
“SKREEEEEEEE!”
Green bodily fluids sprayed as monsters screamed.
A black-haired boy chased after the fleeing creatures.
“Lord Leopold, behind you—!”
Before the knight could finish shouting, another flash of light tore through the air.
It was 〈Air Severance〉, the special ability passed down through the direct bloodline of the House of Nozen.
〈Air Severance〉 sliced the air itself, striking enemies over a wide area.
Against a monster wave, it was more powerful than most knight platoons.
“KIAAAAAAAH!”
Every time golden eyes flashed, monster corpses hit the ground.
After wiping out the monsters around the hill in an instant, the boy finally let out a tired breath.
Perched on a rock, his features were striking—he had shown exceptional beauty since childhood.
His golden eyes swept over the corpses without emotion.
As always, the bodies and fluids soon vanished back into the other world.
The plants on the hill looked intact, but having been splashed with monster fluids, they wouldn’t be edible for about two weeks.
Even the smallest mushrooms would only be safe to harvest after that.
Still, it was fine.
The West was a fertile land—there were no starving people anywhere.
“It’s very strange,”
the adjutant said, catching up and shaking his head.
“I’ve never seen a monster wave last this long—let alone one of this scale.”
“…The warp is still down?”
“Yes. I heard from a nearby lord that the Mage Tower shut it down deliberately.”
With warps disabled, Leopold’s knight order had lost all outside contact.
They couldn’t even communicate with Grand Duke Nozen.
So Leopold and his knights were surviving on their own.
Fortunately, the West was self-sufficient. Food wasn’t a concern.
And once monsters were cleared, roads reopened, allowing travel—so every village they reached rejoiced, crying out that they had been saved.
The downside was that news traveled slowly as they pushed farther west.
Leopold asked calmly, his expression unchanged.
“Then it’s not just the West with malfunctioning warps?
The Central, Eastern, and Southern regions as well?”
