Some people in the world could cow others with just a glance and the strength of their presence. Teshelan Lengman Kealunus seemed to be one of those people.
«Sir...!»
He was around 1.70 m tall, had the typical complexion of a magician and his skin was quite wrinkled due to his age. To be honest, if it weren't for that cane he carried at shoulder height, he would think he was just an ordinary old man walking down the street.
Step.
However, as he slowly descended the stairs, not even the warriors could make the slightest noise. The look in his eyes was sharp despite his age. However, that was not the real reason why the warriors were silent.
They could feel it instinctively too.
Although the areas of specialization of mages and warriors were very different, there was no doubt which of the two was stronger.
«Baron Bjorn Yandel.» When he finally reached the last step, he looked at me and said: «You really are just as my older brother described you. It's a pleasure to meet you».
His greeting caught me off guard. It was hard to believe that the lord of this tower would react to me, a barbarian, so politely, especially after breaking into his workplace with thousands of warriors. Anyone would think he's lost his mind.
Step.
When I took a big step forward, he took a step back. This confirmed a suspicion of mine.
It stays out of reach on purpose.
Right now, the lord of the Magic Tower was taking special care to stay out of the reach of Wrong Trust. However, I pretended not to have noticed and growled: «Well, I can't say I'm very happy to see you here. Right now I'm busy interrogating criminals».
Although my tone was clearly hostile, he responded with a smile. «How about we put our emotions aside and have a heart-to-heart conversation before all that?».
He sounded relaxed, like a man who knew he had the upper hand.
Sincere conversation, shit.
Didn't this old man know anything? How could he expect a barbarian to understand someone who refused to say what he really felt?
«I refuse! I told you, we're busy interrogating criminals right now!»
«But I'm sure you know they won't say a word now that I've arrived».
That was true. The three wizards we had tied up had a ray of hope in their eyes now that the old man was here.
If they weren't going to talk, he planned to use force. But since this old man is here, I suppose that option is ruled out...
«You can take your time deciding what to do. But at this rate, the royal army will arrive soon.»
I didn't need much time. «Okay. If there is something you want to say, then say it.»
«First, will you fire your people?»
«Only to warriors. Marco will stay here».
«Frame? Are you talking about that man over there?»
Marco, who was focused on filming everything, shuddered when the lord of the Magic Tower looked at him. It was natural for him to be scared when he saw such a powerful person looking towards him.
«The royal family has the right to know everything that happens here».
«Hm, ¿es así?»
«Are you denying that?»
«Of course not. As a subject of this city, I would not dare interfere in the affairs of the royal family. But...» He slowly interrupted himself and looked at Marco once more.
¡Crack!
«A-Ah!» The crystal ball Marco had in his hands broke and he fell backwards, startled.
«It looks like your glass has broken».
Is that how I wanted to play? «Huh. I also bought it here at the Magic Tower. I guess it was defective».
«Magic devices are meant to malfunction from time to time, no matter how well made they are. However, since you bought it from us, I apologize on behalf of the Magic Tower. If you tell me the exact school where you bought it, I will have them provide you with a new one».
This old man was a real comedian.
«Ainar, take everyone downstairs. Including Marco.»
«Will you be okay...?»
I nodded at him and he quickly escorted everyone down the stairs.
«As for you three, you should take a nap for now». The three wizards sitting on the ground suddenly fainted. The old man had applied a basic sleeping spell to them. With that, there are only the two of us left.
«Alright, you kicked everyone out, now tell me», I demanded, «what do you have to say?».
«I'll be brief since there isn't much time». Then he took three steps forward, entering the Lost Trust radius and looking directly at me as he said: «The Magic Tower will prohibit any investigation or use of barbarian hearts starting today. That means that anyone caught investigating them will be punished accordingly, just as if they studied forbidden magic.»
«¿Y?»
«As for those who went to the black market to buy them, they will also be punished».
«What is the punishment?»
«They will no longer be affiliated with the Magic Tower». Simply put, they would be fired. «You may see it as a light punishment, but please understand our situation and know that we can no longer punish them for such a crime».
He talked like he was worried I wouldn't agree, but in reality he was more than happy with his offer. I may have made a fuss about executions and betrayals, but it would be impossible to prove that a crime of that level had actually taken place.
«Of course, if in the future someone tries to buy a barbarian heart on the black market, their punishment will be much worse», he explained. «It will be no different than trying to obtain a prohibited item».
Alright, he even made sure to add a preventive clause for the future as well.
«¿Y?»
«We will not file any formal complaints about your unauthorized intrusion into the Magic Tower today. You burst in to admonish us for our crimes, but after hearing your side of the story, we acknowledged our misdeeds, and in the end you forgave us. That is the story that will be made known to the public».
I was speechless. Although he knew he couldn't lie within the radius of Wrong Trust, he still didn't believe what he was saying. «...Are you serious?» This old man was willing to officially record that the Magic Tower had been defeated by a handful of barbarians.
«Lo dam in series.»
Instead of feeling pleased, all I felt was unease. Nothing in this world was free. «So what do you want in return?». I asked bluntly like the barbarian he was.
In turn, he responded with a name. «Tritten School Teacher, Lurendel Garlinbarret». The same magician who made my heart's request on the black market. «Please drop the charges you have filed against her».
I sighed. So this was all for her. I paused to organize my thoughts before asking her: «Is that woman really worth it?».
«She is an incredible magician. She was momentarily blinded by greed and ended up making a foolish decision, but I have no doubt that one day her research will greatly benefit this world.»
I didn't doubt him. Just from the way he talked about her, it was clear that this woman had something special.
Lurendel Garlinbarret... It seems that I have caught a bigger fish than expected...
Whatever the case, he would have to ask Amelia to investigate her later.
«What do you think of my offer? I hope to hear your response now».
«It seems good to me. I agree».
With that, the negotiations came to an end. It was a shame to drop the charges against the woman who had tried to kill me, but overall she had gotten more than she bargained for. There was no reason to be greedy.
For some reason, however, the old wizard still seemed uneasy. «Well then. I trust there are no hard feelings between us, right?».
He took the opportunity to question me softly, probably trying to take advantage of the fact that Wrong Trust was active to get an idea of what I was thinking.
«And you?» i replied. «Do you hold a grudge against me?».
When I dodged the question and threw it at him again, he unexpectedly responded with a smile. «Of course I don't hold a grudge against you, Your Honor. I didn't even have them from the beginning. You are the head of an entire race, so you only do what you must, right?».
This was a very entrepreneurial mindset. His willingness to respond made it difficult for me to refuse to answer him, as doing so would only make me look bad.
«So», he asked me, «can I know how you feel?».
My sincere feelings...
«I'd be lying if I said I didn't have any resentment. Thousands of my species died in the labyrinth because you magicians coveted their hearts. Of course I hate them. But...» I turned my wrist slightly so that the Wrong Trust compass was hidden while I responded. «Don't worry. I promise you that as long as you don't get close to us, we won't attack the Magic Tower again».
This was a trick that only worked when I was the one using Misplaced Trust and the other person couldn't see the needle.
«Besides, you ended up being a much better guy than I expected».
Because when I lied, it stopped working.
***
Things were pretty quiet after that, and finally, the royal army headed to the plant where we were waiting for them. They were surprised to see the wayward baron and the lord of the Magic Tower chatting calmly. The lord looked towards them when they arrived and immediately defended me, arguing that this whole mess was the magicians' fault and that we barbarians were not to blame.
«So... Lord Kealunus, have you asked Baron Yandel for forgiveness and he has accepted it?».
«That's right.»
The military commander looked at us in disbelief, but did not investigate further. They didn't care what kind of deal we ended up making. From the palace's point of view, the only thing that mattered was that the incident had not become an even bigger problem.
«What are you doing? To work!»
The commander then ordered that all detained barbarians and wizards be released while the lord of the Magic Tower summoned the thirty-six wizards suspected of using the black market and handed them over to Mozlan.
«But I'm afraid I don't see the magician who was aiming for your heart among these thirty-six, Baron Yandel...».
Using the black market was nothing more than a misdemeanor, while the attempted murder of a nobleman was a crime punishable by execution. However, it was quite easy to drop the charges against her.
»She»? I thought about it a little more, and I don't know if I remembered his name correctly. There were so many names to remember that I got confused. I'll tell you later if I ever remember who he was».
«...Ya veo.»
Maestro de la Escuela Tritten, Lurendel Garlinbarret...
The commander seemed to realize that she was part of the deal we had made, but he just left it at that. After all, none of that mattered to them.
«Fortunately, everything ended peacefully. Oh, but since you caused riots in the city without royal permission with more than a thousand warriors, unfortunately you are going to have to pay a fine. I hope you're willing to be understanding of that», he begged me, begging me to pay the small fine and not cause any more trouble.
The commander and his men then began escorting the arrested wizards out of the Magic Tower, which signaled to me that it was time for me to head home too. «Don't worry, Your Honor», he said before leaving. «If we find evidence of a crime, we will make sure they receive appropriate punishment».
«Alright, then I'm leaving. I'm hungry».
With that, I started walking back home. However, I only took a few steps before Ainar appeared from where she had been waiting for me, and began to drag me herself back to the sacred land.
¡Bum! ¡Boom! ¡Boom!
When we arrived, a festival was already taking place to commemorate our victory against the Magic Tower. Although we had not planned the celebration, the warriors were happy dancing, singing and drinking alcohol as if it were water. The magnitude of the festival was greater than that of any festival that had seen the barbarians organize. Even the barbarians scattered throughout the city returned to the holy land to celebrate.
«¡Bjorn!»
«Chieftain, you mean.»
«Cacique! Say something! Everyone has been waiting for you!»
As the festivities were reaching their climax, Ainar pushed me to give a celebratory speech. Of course, like a good barbarian, I was brief.
«We...»
«¡Wahoo!»
«¡woooooon!»
«¡Become-aaaaaa!»
My one-sentence speech was enough to cause an even greater frenzy in the already excited crowd.
I can't pass up this opportunity to advertise.
I ordered Kharon to have our moles talk about real estate to the other barbarians. They deployed and brilliantly executed their tasks, becoming perfect salespeople.
«Did you know? We can't stop with just one victory! There is something else we must do!»
«Now we barbarians will prosper even more. And house prices will rise even more!»
«Anyone who doesn't buy land now is a fool!»
«That? Are you going to spend your mana stones on a new weapon? What year are we in? Why would you use them to buy a new weapon when you can buy land?!»
That will definitely help our real estate plan.
After enjoying the festival for a while longer, I slipped away from the sacred land to return home. When I entered, Amelia was waiting for me on the sofa in the dark living room.
«Yandel».
«…¿Eh?»
«Do you have any type of illness? One that makes it impossible for you to have a single quiet day?».
Amelia seemed irritated for some reason. Maybe it was because I didn't tell him my exact plan when I entered the black market. Thinking that was the most likely explanation for his bad mood, I was quick to apologize. «I'm sorry. I didn't even talk to you beforehand and went to do my things».
Amelia's expression softened, telling me that she had given the correct answer. «...So you know».
«Hey? You just smiled, right?».
«What are you talking about?»
«You smiled! I'm sure I've seen it».
«...Don't insult me.»
What the hell did he mean by insult? When I fell on the couch with a smile, Amelia cleared her throat and asked, «So, are you feeling better?».
This woman always knows how to read me like a book.
It was a strange feeling, but I gave him my honest answer. «Yeah. Much better».
Amelia nodded her head. «That's good».
After a moment of silence, we changed gears and caught up with each other. A while later, Erwen came downstairs too, rubbing sleep from her eyes as she joined us to chat.
The next morning...
«It's me... Bjorn...»
The visitor he had been waiting for arrived.