In a luxurious room, a man with very elegant clothes was writing a report regarding the suspicious movements of one of the dukes' men during the last few months. However, his eyes never stopped resting on a crystal ball that he had on top of his desk. Suddenly, the ball began to glow and the man quickly grabbed it.
“Did you find him?” he asked the crystal ball. The ball continued to shine silently, however, the man's expression became sullen and he shouted violently towards the glowing sphere as if he was crazy.
“I don't care what you have to do, but you have to find him! This is a disgrace! His Majesty is furious and I won't be the only one who suffers from it!!!” Moments after he screamed, the ball stopped glowing, as if it was scared.
When the communications ended the nobleman stayed for a moment thinking about what to do. Then, he took the crystal ball and made it shine on his own.
"Is there any news?" the man asked. Even though his surroundings were completely silent, he could hear screams on the other end of the communication.
“What do you mean you don't know where he is?! At least tell me the names of the other two witnesses!"
[...]
"Memory disturbance?! You're a Tier 3 mage, what do you mean you can't do anything?!"
[...]
"That the alteration was months ago?! And what does it matter?! Get the information we need!” the man shouted loudly when suddenly the crystal ball stopped shining. Communications from the other side had been interrupted.
The prime minister briefly considered throwing the crystal ball to the ground, but he knew that would be a mistake. These magic items are expensive. Even someone of his status would have to pay for it if he were to break it on purpose.
With some resentment, the prime minister put the ball in its place and put his hands in his temples.
Sigh
A sigh left his mouth involuntarily. Things had not been going well for days.
At first, everything was going according to plan. The heroes' training in the capital was over and they were going to send them to the battlefield to learn a few things before sending them on more dangerous missions. His task guarding the heroes was supposed to be finished.
Who would have imagined what would happen next?
The moment the heroes reached the border, the Prime Minister received a call through magical emergency communications. Apparently one of the instructors was furious.
Initially, he thought it was a minor matter, something related to the attitude of his assigned student, but when he investigated further, Prime Minister Osla realized that it was something much more serious. One of the summoned people has a tier 1 class.
It may not seem important, but it is. The fact that someone with a Tier 1 class infiltrated the specifically selected group in front of all the kingdom's nobles and the king is an unforgivable offense. That would not only mean that they have made a mistake, but that His Majesty, the King, has also made a mistake.
The moment they learned this news, they placed the criminal under arrest and began to interrogate him about how it had happened.
Unfortunately for them, not only one person with a tier 1 class had infiltrated, but two.
Hearing this the prime minister was furious. This is probably the most serious mistake of his career. What is even worse is that, when he gave the order to arrest him, news arrived that Zack had already fled.
A mere tier 1 mage was able to escape from two tier 2 guards who were watching him 24 hours a day!! Just remembering it made an unbearable headache start to appear, and it didn't seem to have any intention of leaving.
The most terrible thing of all is that there was no one to blame for this incident. They haven't even gotten the names of the other two people who performed the ceremony.
Apparently, the reason why those two were able to infiltrate with the other summoned people was that most of the people had left for the king's banquet. The only witnesses left were the archmage, who performed the ceremony, and a pair of guards guarding the throne room. They were able to testify that the archmage performed the ceremony for four people.
When they interrogated the prisoner, the only thing they could discover was that he had an accomplice. They could not even discover the name of the other two people who had the ceremony with them.
When they tried to find out their names, Austin responded that there was no one but him and Zack. At first, the interrogator thought that he was trying to protect his friends, but soon he realized that Austin's memory had been altered, and he could do nothing to recover his original memories.
If it had been something important, like for example his name, or the name of his class, something important enough to him, then they could have retrieved information, but the fact that Austin would consider the presence of the other two students who were there as insignificant made the memory wipe go smoothly and his brain create alternative memories. He really thinks there was no one else. Those memories have taken hold in his subconscious, replacing real memories. There was no way to obtain the original ones.
When he heard this, the minister became hysterical. What kind of idiot considers the people who could cause his plan to go awry as insignificant?
Everything was getting out of control. The Prime Minister tried to find out the names of the other two by interrogating all the summoned heroes who had been sent to the frontier, but the moment they tried to obtain the information, they opposed in group! They said they weren't willing to allow any of them to be questioned about something that wasn't even their responsibility, and they threatened to leave and not continue their training.
If they had been normal soldiers, they would already be on the gallows, but each of them was tier 2 classes with the ability to accelerate growth and the possibility of promotion to tier 3. Worse, nobody knows why they are acting like this.
Although the kingdom has more than a dozen people with tier 3 classes, that does not mean that they can afford to abandon more than fourteen potential tier 3 classes. And they also have to consider how Yamato and his companions would feel if they found out about the treatment his colleagues are receiving.
The Prime Minister's headache became more intense. The situation was becoming more complicated by the moment, and he still didn't know who he was going to blame for this.
One would be crazy to blame the kingdom's only archmage for this mistake. Not only was it not his obligation to perform this task, but after doing it, no one asked him about the results. Everyone knew that if there was someone notable among the remaining students, he would have said something, so no one cared about these four.
As for the guards, if the minister dares to lay his hand on them, the commander of his majesty's royal guard himself will intervene in the matter. That is the last thing Osla wants, the situation is already very complex, and he does not want to add more inconveniences.
None of them remember the names of the other people who were at the ceremony. It was a long time ago. He knows that, if he tries to use magic to force them to remember, the consequences would be too much for him to bear. Memory magic usually brings serious consequences to the victim.
For the first time in a long time, the prime minister felt like his hands were tied behind his back. There was nothing he could do to remedy the situation. In fact, he is aware that he bears some blame in the matter.
Ideally, he should have left someone to record the results of the remaining summoned people, and then report it, but he did not do so. So the blame falls on him.
Just thinking about the punishment he would have to suffer if the news came to light was enough to make him tremble with fear.
Sigh
The Prime Minister sighed and rested his head against his table. He didn't remember exactly how long he had gone without sleep. Since he received the news he has been in one disaster after another.
His only hope is that his men can find the fugitive, and bring him in for sentencing. So at least he can calm the king's anger.
…
In some place of the Parmece´s Kingdom, a river flowed, giving life to the vegetation around it, feeding and quenching the thirst of the nearby populations, and giving shelter to dozens of aquatic species.
Splash!
Suddenly, from among the deep waters of the river, a figure slowly ascended towards the river bank.
“Cough, cough”
His body was in a terrible state, and he barely had the strength to move enough to get away from the water. Even so, his eyes revealed an indescribable joy.
He looked at the sky, clear, without a cloud on the horizon, and smiled.
Zack had never felt so free.
---------------------------------------------- ----------------------- -------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------
If you want more chapters visit my patreon:
patreon.com/DaoistwgQxZL
If you want to know about updates and chat about the novel, here is my discord server: https://discord.gg/4NjPAQAR
In a luxurious room, a man with very elegant clothes was writing a report regarding the suspicious movements of one of the dukes' men during the last few months. However, his eyes never stopped resting on a crystal ball that he had on top of his desk. Suddenly, the ball began to glow and the man quickly grabbed it.
“Did you find him?” he asked the crystal ball. The ball continued to shine silently, however, the man's expression became sullen and he shouted violently towards the glowing sphere as if he was crazy.
“I don't care what you have to do, but you have to find him! This is a disgrace! His Majesty is furious and I won't be the only one who suffers from it!!!” Moments after he screamed, the ball stopped glowing, as if it was scared.
When the communications ended the nobleman stayed for a moment thinking about what to do. Then, he took the crystal ball and made it shine on his own.
"Is there any news?" the man asked. Even though his surroundings were completely silent, he could hear screams on the other end of the communication.
“What do you mean you don't know where he is?! At least tell me the names of the other two witnesses!"
[...]
"Memory disturbance?! You're a Tier 3 mage, what do you mean you can't do anything?!"
[...]
"That the alteration was months ago?! And what does it matter?! Get the information we need!” the man shouted loudly when suddenly the crystal ball stopped shining. Communications from the other side had been interrupted.
The prime minister briefly considered throwing the crystal ball to the ground, but he knew that would be a mistake. These magic items are expensive. Even someone of his status would have to pay for it if he were to break it on purpose.
With some resentment, the prime minister put the ball in its place and put his hands in his temples.
Sigh
A sigh left his mouth involuntarily. Things had not been going well for days.
At first, everything was going according to plan. The heroes' training in the capital was over and they were going to send them to the battlefield to learn a few things before sending them on more dangerous missions. His task guarding the heroes was supposed to be finished.
Who would have imagined what would happen next?
The moment the heroes reached the border, the Prime Minister received a call through magical emergency communications. Apparently one of the instructors was furious.
Initially, he thought it was a minor matter, something related to the attitude of his assigned student, but when he investigated further, Prime Minister Osla realized that it was something much more serious. One of the summoned people has a tier 1 class.
It may not seem important, but it is. The fact that someone with a Tier 1 class infiltrated the specifically selected group in front of all the kingdom's nobles and the king is an unforgivable offense. That would not only mean that they have made a mistake, but that His Majesty, the King, has also made a mistake.
The moment they learned this news, they placed the criminal under arrest and began to interrogate him about how it had happened.
Unfortunately for them, not only one person with a tier 1 class had infiltrated, but two.
Hearing this the prime minister was furious. This is probably the most serious mistake of his career. What is even worse is that, when he gave the order to arrest him, news arrived that Zack had already fled.
A mere tier 1 mage was able to escape from two tier 2 guards who were watching him 24 hours a day!! Just remembering it made an unbearable headache start to appear, and it didn't seem to have any intention of leaving.
The most terrible thing of all is that there was no one to blame for this incident. They haven't even gotten the names of the other two people who performed the ceremony.
Apparently, the reason why those two were able to infiltrate with the other summoned people was that most of the people had left for the king's banquet. The only witnesses left were the archmage, who performed the ceremony, and a pair of guards guarding the throne room. They were able to testify that the archmage performed the ceremony for four people.
When they interrogated the prisoner, the only thing they could discover was that he had an accomplice. They could not even discover the name of the other two people who had the ceremony with them.
When they tried to find out their names, Austin responded that there was no one but him and Zack. At first, the interrogator thought that he was trying to protect his friends, but soon he realized that Austin's memory had been altered, and he could do nothing to recover his original memories.
If it had been something important, like for example his name, or the name of his class, something important enough to him, then they could have retrieved information, but the fact that Austin would consider the presence of the other two students who were there as insignificant made the memory wipe go smoothly and his brain create alternative memories. He really thinks there was no one else. Those memories have taken hold in his subconscious, replacing real memories. There was no way to obtain the original ones.
When he heard this, the minister became hysterical. What kind of idiot considers the people who could cause his plan to go awry as insignificant?
Everything was getting out of control. The Prime Minister tried to find out the names of the other two by interrogating all the summoned heroes who had been sent to the frontier, but the moment they tried to obtain the information, they opposed in group! They said they weren't willing to allow any of them to be questioned about something that wasn't even their responsibility, and they threatened to leave and not continue their training.
If they had been normal soldiers, they would already be on the gallows, but each of them was tier 2 classes with the ability to accelerate growth and the possibility of promotion to tier 3. Worse, nobody knows why they are acting like this.
Although the kingdom has more than a dozen people with tier 3 classes, that does not mean that they can afford to abandon more than fourteen potential tier 3 classes. And they also have to consider how Yamato and his companions would feel if they found out about the treatment his colleagues are receiving.
The Prime Minister's headache became more intense. The situation was becoming more complicated by the moment, and he still didn't know who he was going to blame for this.
One would be crazy to blame the kingdom's only archmage for this mistake. Not only was it not his obligation to perform this task, but after doing it, no one asked him about the results. Everyone knew that if there was someone notable among the remaining students, he would have said something, so no one cared about these four.
As for the guards, if the minister dares to lay his hand on them, the commander of his majesty's royal guard himself will intervene in the matter. That is the last thing Osla wants, the situation is already very complex, and he does not want to add more inconveniences.
None of them remember the names of the other people who were at the ceremony. It was a long time ago. He knows that, if he tries to use magic to force them to remember, the consequences would be too much for him to bear. Memory magic usually brings serious consequences to the victim.
For the first time in a long time, the prime minister felt like his hands were tied behind his back. There was nothing he could do to remedy the situation. In fact, he is aware that he bears some blame in the matter.
Ideally, he should have left someone to record the results of the remaining summoned people, and then report it, but he did not do so. So the blame falls on him.
Just thinking about the punishment he would have to suffer if the news came to light was enough to make him tremble with fear.
Sigh
The Prime Minister sighed and rested his head against his table. He didn't remember exactly how long he had gone without sleep. Since he received the news he has been in one disaster after another.
His only hope is that his men can find the fugitive, and bring him in for sentencing. So at least he can calm the king's anger.
…
In some place of the Parmece´s Kingdom, a river flowed, giving life to the vegetation around it, feeding and quenching the thirst of the nearby populations, and giving shelter to dozens of aquatic species.
Splash!
Suddenly, from among the deep waters of the river, a figure slowly ascended towards the river bank.
“Cough, cough”
His body was in a terrible state, and he barely had the strength to move enough to get away from the water. Even so, his eyes revealed an indescribable joy.
He looked at the sky, clear, without a cloud on the horizon, and smiled.
Zack had never felt so free.
---------------------------------------------- ----------------------- -------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------
If you want more chapters visit my patreon:
patreon.com/DaoistwgQxZL
If you want to know about updates and chat about the novel, here is my discord server: https://discord.gg/4NjPAQAR