Chapter 224

The black mages were more astounded than ever.

Good heavens, where in the world was there a priest who lied like that without even wetting his lips with saliva!

‘I, I wouldn’t even be able to lie like that?’

Roan was suddenly receiving deep recognition from the black mages.

Of course, since Roan was a fellow black mage, it wasn’t an evaluation he particularly cared about.

Tyrmi glared fiercely at the black mages.

The black mages could still clearly picture the hidden weapons she had thrown unpredictably and the knuckles that were a literal nightmare.

The black mage who had picked up Roan’s ring and dagger surrendered in fear.

—H-Here it is! B-But we really didn’t steal it…

Tyrmi looked closely at the items he brought out, not caring about his subsequent words.

Everyone had seen Jelsroin’s dagger together, and there was no way they wouldn’t recognize that holy power.

“Uh? This is really the ring Roan decided to purify!”

And Sion confirmed the ring, which was overflowing with an unusual dark mana even in Tyrmi’s eyes.

To steal something that a priest had resolved to purify because they had nothing else to steal!

Coincidentally, they were also items that black mages and smugglers would covet.

It was a moment where the charge of insolence was added further to the black mages.

“How dare they…”

Tyrmi’s anger was substituted with that short remark.

“We go to Acherandir.”

Roan immediately took those words and interpreted them.

“It means we are not going to the Gilsburg guard, but to Professor Kaina.”

“Gasp!”

“Hieek—!”

Yusina and Sion were startled at the same time.

Although they had kidnapped Roan, stolen his things, and even coveted Bell and Charlotte.

‘Still, sending them to Professor Kaina a bit too much?’

‘Ah, maybe not…’

For some reason, the two girls felt a bit sorry for the black mages.

The black mages felt the same way.

—Oh, what kind of crime did we commit!

—No, we’ve committed many crimes, but not to Demon Inquisitor Kaina!!

Several black mages fell flat on their faces and begged.

Among black mages, there was a saying that they would rather shoot dark magic at the Holy Emperor’s Palace than get dragged to Kaina.

—Boss, say something!

—They are saying they’ll take us to Kaina!

Some of them grabbed Oslo and said this.

But their leader, Oslo.

“At my age…”

Flop—

The moment the word Kaina was spoken, he passed out.

Watching this, Roan also felt a bit bad for him.

‘Well, they should have behaved a bit more properly.’

If they had just quietly given up the Balance of Light and Dark, they would have been fine continuing their peaceful lives, and Roan would have achieved his goal.

Because they attacked out of greed, they ended up in that state.

And judging by their familiar actions, they seemed to have ripped off many naive merchants or young nobles.

And that was near the campsite, one of the few remaining neutral zones in the empire!

Strictly speaking, it could be seen that they had now cleared their karma.

Whether terrified or flabbergasted, no black mage spoke any further.

In this world, this level was equivalent to a guilty verdict.

Tyrmi spoke as if there was nothing more to see.

“Bind them.”

“““Yes.”””

Roan, Yusina, and Sion, like good students, thoroughly carried out the professor’s instructions.

Since there were so many of them, the rope Tyrmi had was slightly insufficient.

Yusina tried to teach the control holy spell she had learned in class.

“Here, if you do it like this, it’s called ‘Inquisitor’s Handcuffs,’ and it can bind them for a short time.”

“Ah, I see!”

“Roan, did you see…”

Swoosh—!

—Aaah, young master! Please bind us gently!

“Be quiet.”

“Ah, you already use it well on your own…”

Yusina shook her head, thinking that she had worried about the wrong person as expected.

Sion, who was managing to use the holy spell she learned from Yusina, asked Roan.

“Roan, but couldn’t you just use the Bell of Eternity?”

“That would be impolite.”

“…?”

Sion’s expression became a sight to behold.

It seemed like the time to talk about manners with these black mages had long passed.

“No, I mean it would be impolite to the Paladin Merchant Group. Of course, I intend to use the bell when traveling to Acherandir.”

“Ah, indeed!”

It turned out the target of his politeness was someone else.

Sion could focus solely on the control holy spell with a refreshed mind.

* * *

The members of the Paladin Merchant Group, who were waiting for the group in the open space in front of Eddinger Campsite, were relieving their boredom with chatter.

—It seems about time for them to arrive, right?

—Indeed, since she said one hour.

—More importantly, did you hear that story?

—What story?

—Ah, come on! They say Uncle Gordon fought some heretics on the way here?

—What?

When working in a merchant group, getting attacked by various people was a common occurrence.

However, heretics were rarely seen, so they made for a rather interesting topic of conversation.

—Well… Jelsroin? They said it was guys like that.

—First time hearing of them.

—Anyway, they were terrifying guys. They agreed to play three rounds of duels and fulfill the winner’s demand, and apparently, the students’ skills were amazing.

—Oh, as expected of Acherandir!

—Namely, Sion of the Club! Witty Yusina!

—…Aren’t those the names of the Saintess candidate and the Saintess?

—You bastard!

The merchant member who spoke Yusina’s and Sion’s names carelessly was beaten soundly by his colleagues.

However, the colleagues also seemed curious about the story, so they stopped quickly and urged him.

—Right, what about the last person?

—Did they call him… Roan of Despair?

—…?

The colleagues tilted their heads.

No matter how much they thought about it, it didn’t seem like a nickname that would be given to a glorious Acherandir student.

—No, really, they say when he shot some holy spell, the most terrifying heretic ran away crying tears in one hit!

—Eh, really?

—They say even the Goddess Jelsroin cried and apologized?

—Even lies should have limits!

—If there really is such a student, he could easily beat up about twenty black mages!

—Khaha! There is definitely some exaggeration mixed in~

While the merchant members were chatting and enjoying themselves.

Someone pointed to a forest path to the side, rather than the campsite, and spoke.

—Uh? They are coming from over there!

As everyone turned their gazes, Roan, Yusina, and Sion were coming out one after another, led by the tall and noticeable Tyrmi.

—Ah, professor! Students, here…?

Thinking that their wait was over, and hoping to hear a bit about the duel with the heretics, the merchant members waved their hands welcomingly.

But the welcome was brief.

They couldn’t help but tilt their heads in spite of themselves.

—Didn’t they say four people?

—Yes?

Four people? Far from it, some fierce-looking men were being dragged in a line, bound by ropes and holy spells.

Since they were all former paladins, they quickly realized that the men were black mages.

—What, what on earth is this?!

The merchant members were startled, abandoning their carriages and rushing out in a crowd.

In most places, capturing so many black mages would certainly be a point of pride.

But at the campsite, it was a different story.

—Professor! You shouldn’t capture black mages at the campsite!

—Doing so could lead to big problems!

When the merchant members spoke hastily to Tyrmi, instead of explaining herself, Tyrmi glared at Oslo, who was at the very front of the black mages.

Oslo was startled and spoke falteringly.

“We… were caught because we coveted… student Roan Darc’s expensive items, gold coins, and holy beast.”

—????

The merchant members tilted their heads, not understanding what this meant at once.

Did they dare to try and rip him off?

“They kidnapped him too.”

—!!!!

However, as Tyrmi added a word, they nodded their heads violently as if the most important puzzle piece had fallen into place.

—These outrageously wicked bastards!

—To dare touch the students because they had no one else to target!

The black mages opened and closed their mouths as if they had a lot to say, but soon hung their heads low.

They weren’t people who would listen to them even if they spoke anyway.

The merchant members tried to drag the black mages away as if they would escort them themselves.

One of them suddenly appeared in front of Roan.

—Why aren’t you tied up! Follow us! You brat!

“…?”

“H-He is Roan! He’s a student!”

—Ah, oh, my apologies. I sometimes fail to see straight when I’m excited. You look so, well, so much like a student…

—Hey, speak naturally, naturally…!

…It was a minor misunderstanding.

In any case, Roan stopped the merchant members and spoke.

“I have the Bell of Eternity inherited from Saint Espard. I only dragged them here to confirm it to you, but I will use the bell to travel to the school.”

At that, the merchant members rejoiced greatly.

No matter how bound they were, loading that many black mages onto carriages was a significant burden.

—Oh! Indeed!

—Roan Darc of Despair!

‘What is that again…?’

Roan looked suspiciously at the merchant members who called him by a strange nickname.

He had heard the term Great Demon King several times, but that one was even more suspicious.

At any rate.

Ring—

Roan simply activated the Bell of Eternity to imprison the black mages.

‘At first, I really intended to use it peacefully only on myself…’

Roan lamented the harsh world that kept forcing him to use the Bell of Eternity on others.

Wasn’t Roan someone who wanted to live more quietly than anyone else!

—Oh, the young master feels sorry even after capturing black mages.

—Isn’t that the spirit of love and embrace of Lord Hiloa.

—Different from his looks… Ahem.

The merchant members mostly interpreted Roan’s lamentation in a positive light.

Of course, imprisoning the heretics and black mages in the Bell of Eternity was also helpful to Roan.

The Bell of Eternity, which had swallowed as many as twenty people, vibrated lightly.

Since it had been used quite a bit now, holy power had accumulated in its own way.

Since it was accumulated entirely through Roan’s deeds, there was no feeling of repulsion, unlike Jelsroin’s dagger.

‘With just a little more, I will even be able to use real holy magic.’

It would be unreasonable to use it in actual combat, but it would be useful in situations where deception was absolutely necessary.

Roan, who took out endless insurance even without anyone prompting him!

—Thank you very much for your hard work. Then, let’s depart for the school!

The leader of the merchant group on the return journey spoke in a cheerful voice.

Yusina and Sion boarded the carriage with bright smiles.

Though they had only been out for two days, Saturday and Sunday, the perceived time was extremely long.

‘Certainly, a lot of things did happen.’

The same went for Roan.

Utilizing space holy magic, the time to reach school was roughly a bit over half a day.

It seemed perfect to take a deep sleep during that time.

…Or so he thought.

Roan failed to achieve his plan.

“Roan, you aren’t really hurt anywhere, right?”

“I said I’m fine.”

“Well, didn’t the black mages spray poison or something?”

“They did spray it, but…”

“See!”

The moment they boarded the carriage, Sion, who sat opposite him, kept talking to him incessantly, claiming she was worried.

Even Yusina, who had passed out early due to space holy magic motion sickness.

“Mumble… Roan… are you okay…?”

Was at the point of occasionally murmuring like this in her sleep.

“Did you get hit by dark magic too?”

“Still fine.”

“Are you really fine?”

“I’m really fine.”

Roan was just nodding appropriately because Sion’s questions were annoying.

“…Demona said that she wondered if you were her stalker.”

“Yeah, fine.”

“You aren’t listening!”