Eventually the summoner woke up to find himself slapped with anti-mana handcuffs in a cell next to Drew. The hero’s party made him talk after some pain and holy damn, they were ruthless. The tiredness in their eyes made it clear that fucking around with them could mean death. Overall, I learned quite a bit of new things, even confirming that the Graver guy did exist as a member of a hidden demonic faction within the Crimson Sect.
As for Drew, I didn’t care much for him learning my secret. No one would believe him if he told. But also, the hero’s party appeared to be the frontal assault of his concerns anyway. He even knew too much and there wasn’t any convenient mind-wiping potion or crystal in existence. An item like that would easily be trouble, even for the system or Wanda, who I confirmed existed through the system itself.
Thinking about it, having her attention on me directly felt a little troubling. I was just one insignificant human out of billions. That could only mean she really did bring me here for some unknown purpose. I wondered if she regretted it due to me simply not cooperating.
The entire story as a whole turned out to be Drew’s desire to join the hero’s party. He tracked them with his abilities and got extremely lucky stumbling upon their trail. Knowing things could be tricky, he hired Crimson Sect members to help make himself look powerful. They even agreed to fight with the hero’s party under Drew’s command as long as the money continued flowing. Drew promised them fame and fortune, of course. Among the hero’s party, they would be known as Hero Drew and the Shadows. Yes, that lame. It almost sounded like a bad band name.
Of course, attacking people, summoning a fucking wraith, and plotting against the hero’s party pretty much guaranteed them some dungeon time or even execution, depending on the court. Some people were injured, a few critically, in these commotions. A few buildings took minor damage. But worst of all, within the mayhem, was the attempted execution of the mayor. Graver was likely going to get executed in a few minutes. And no, I certainly did not believe it was my place to say anything here. Had I not intervened with the potion, the mayor would’ve died, but that was pretty much it. I was here to raise the rank of my shop, not play small town politics. I had no experience nor training in these matters.
In fact, the guards entered the building as if on cue and glared directly at Graver.
“Who do you work for, assassin?” one guard, who appeared to be the captain, barked. “And do not lie. I am not in the mood for games.”
I simply said nothing as the demonic sect member pulled Drew right along with him and honestly, he wasn’t wrong. Drew’s actions caused the barrage of events. I didn’t expect all of this to go down today, believing that the spoiled noble would only get let free because of his family. Yet the guard captain held no mercy within his gaze. In those eyes revealed wounded pride, helplessness against magicians, and even a tiredness. He clearly didn’t want to be here.
“I am the son of Duke Starrigon,” Drew snapped. “I am not responsible for any of this. I just wanted to be a hero. I wanted to be more than just some son of a duke who no one acknowledged. It was of his own doing, his own retaliation for whatever happened while I was stuck in here. Think, you imbecile. Why would I want the mayor dead? What would I gain from that? Don’t insult me! If I wanted to kill some random backwater mayor, I would’ve just done it myself or hired a proper assassin. I’ve never even heard of this town until stumbling into it.”
“It doesn’t matter,” the guard captain said. “You hired bandits to pillage the town and now that responsibility will naturally fall to you.”
“How much of the fine am I stuck with?” Drew snapped.
“Fine?” the guard said, eyes blazing. “No, not even a simple death would be good enough for you. So we sent the mayor’s war messenger bird to Duke Starrigon himself, telling him of all of your actions and how it brought shame upon the Starrigon family.” The guard grinned. “I personally sent out a few messenger birds to help spread the news all over the kingdom. The rogue son of Starrigon attacks an innocent town. Of course, only the duke will know of the town, but we told him to expect you.”
The look of horror in Drew’s eyes almost seemed like a fate worse than death. That look widened the guard captain’s smile. His British accent made me suspicious about the fiction version of fantasy back at home. A coincidence? I think not!
“You can’t do that! What about my rights? My side of the story? I only wanted to be a hero, not a zero!”
The guard laughed. “Tell that to the mayor who would’ve died if not for the potion maker. Tell that to the people who have to repair their homes or shops because of you. You’ve attacked the town multiple times, directly and indirectly, and now you will finally pay the price. Duke Starrigon’s ruthlessness is something you’ve earned, you rotten, spoiled brat!”
Drew looked at me. “You, tell him! Do something.”
“Have fun with the pops,” I said.
“Wingston elite guards that cannot be bribed are coming over to escort you home soon, in handcuffs,” the guard captain continued. He laughed. “Hey, you’re finally getting out of this cell and going home. It is a time to celebrate, not cry. Duke Starrigon’s waiting with open arms to hug his favorite son. It’s even better they have access to lightning horses.”
“You can’t do this to me!” Drew snarled. “You can’t! I only wanted to be—”
“Shut the fuck up!” I snapped, shooting him with enough killing intent to double him over. “Jesus fucking Christ, man, have a little dignity. It’s not the end of the world because Daddy’s about to beat that ass. Focus on you. How about instead of acting like a selfish fuckhead, you seriously think about your actions? Try to become a better person instead of an asshole clearly no one likes. Think about the fucked-up shit you’ve done and at least try to make amends for it.”
“Jesus fucking Christ?” Ronica asked. “Who’s that?”
“Not now, squirt,” I deadpanned.
“I do not appreciate your short jokes,” the woman said, hands on hips, glaring.
My words may or may not have had much effect on Drew, probably due to his fate, as he sat looking doomed in the corner.
“As for you, Graver,” the guard captain said, “let’s go. You will be responsible for getting yourself home.”
“You’re letting him go?” Drew snapped.
I turned, opening the door, starting outside, when I heard the rest of the guard’s words. “As a spirit!”
I stepped out, closing the door behind me and ignoring the sound of Graver screaming as he was being dragged out of his cell for a brutal execution. They’d take him far outside of town.
I first checked on the mayor, nodding to see him in higher spirits than ever. He invited me to have dinner with him and Harmony, but I declined. I did not want to be that third wheel in a family bonding moment. Also, it felt awkward. Like if Milia wasn’t my fiancée, he would’ve attempted to arrange a marriage between the brat and me. Look, I wasn’t about to make an Alabama joke here, they’re good people. Even if we weren’t actually related, she still felt like a little sister. Not that I’d ever tell her that.
Milia and the apprentices were waiting for me back at the shop. Even Howie was there, likely checking on the safety of his mistress. Knowing we were about to go on a dungeon run the next day, I decided to close down. Okay, so maybe I wanted Harmony to go spend some time with her old man. I expressed that as she protested.
“Like I said, rest up,” I said. “I’m changing my business plan today. You guys will make low grade potions and they’ll be at the forefront of the shop. My own potions are going to increase quite a bit in price.”
“I agree with this plan,” Howie said. “It was talk of the town and some even suggested to the mayor that you should be forced to hike up your prices due to the low supply.”
“My father’s not a fan of forcing anything on anyone,” Harmony said. “He would’ve suggested it at best.”
Howie nodded.
“I’m in for this plan,” Mandi said. “I’m really tired of everyone getting your amazing potions at unreasonably discounted prices. I say a simple twenty-five hundred percent price increase should do the trick.”
“Work out those numbers for me, lady mathematician,” I said somewhat sarcastically, though I already knew the answer. Turning to Milia, I asked, “Any ideas?”
“I’m on board with the price increases,” Milia told me. “The apprentices are already adept at creating all of the potions and we could start stockpiling as soon as tomorrow. After the dungeon run, of course.”
I smiled at them. “Good work, all of you.”
Mandi looked as if she wanted a head pat, but I didn’t give her that honor. That was a bit too touchy-feely and hilarious for me. She was being trained to be one of my elite badass apprentices, not a pet nor anime little sister.
“I think everyone’s earned some blueberry pie,” I said.
“Yes!” Milia cheered, causing the room to look at her. The dryad blushed, smiling shyly. “What? I’m celebrating our accomplishments.”
I want to say the rest of the day went by smoothly, but when the hero’s party, except for Ramon, knocked on the door, the concern in their expressions made me invite them in.
“What’s happening now?” I asked.
“In the midst of his begging and frothing at the mouth, Drew let something slip,” Iris said.
“What?”
They looked ashamed, even Ronica. Then she dove into me. “I don’t want to go!” she whined.
It was a struggle to peel the annoying girl off me, while doing my best not to be drowned in the ominous vibe Milia gave off. If she shot those vines, she may launch Ronica to the moon. Hell, I even considered suggesting it for just a moment, but seeing how the others looked, now clearly wasn’t the time to be playful.
“What’s going on already?” I asked.
“Drew left a mana trail heading in this direction,” Kelvin said. “If that was all, we wouldn’t have come here to potentially say goodbye. Before leaving the capital, he heard rumors of Princess Ling sending the Black Knight to retrieve Ramon.”
“Oh? Can’t you just tag team, beat him up and send him back to the capital with a message stating you’re busy hunting the Peace Spawner?” I suggested, then sipped on some tea Milia passed to me. She sat in the seat at my side.
“We’re talking about the Black Knight and his subordinates, the Black Cross,” Iris said. “You know, Ling’s elites.”
“And?” I challenged, a little confused.
“He’s from another land,” Milia said. “He isn’t aware of the Black Cross. Lucky him. Most people will probably go their entire lives without ever seeing one.”
“If we thought we could take on the Black Cross, we wouldn’t be having this conversation,” Maxus said as he tossed a copper coin into the air repeatedly. “We’re supposed to be the hero’s party, but the capital’s limitations have slowed our growth too much. We began to feel like captured pigeons instead of honored guests.”
The man genuinely looked uneasy.
“Are they really just after the hero? Or all of you?” I asked.
“Princess Ling’s only interested in Ramon, but the Black Knight’s no fool,” Iris said. “If he detects us, we’ll be captured too, taken back to the capital, potentially locked up and judged. We may be assigned Black Cross shadows.”
“Did you come here to get Nate involved?” Milia asked, her tone not aggressive, but it left a venomous edge.
“No, just to say goodbye,” Kelvin quickly said. “Nate’s a master magician, but the Black Knight has strongheaded peace and stability in the kingdom for a reason. This is also a warning. They will stop in the town. Harmony’s father will be fine, having nothing to do with the hero’s decisions. Thankfully, Ling didn’t send the inquisition with them, or he’ll be forced to confess likely in the most humiliating way possible. And pain is their favorite game.”
“What kind of a fucked-up kingdom is this?” I asked, still surprised at the treatment of the hero’s party. If it was just Ramon, I’d agree with it. That guy was an asshole. But the others weren’t so bad.
That was when a chilling thought crept upon me. Was this entire thing a coincidence or was ‘fate’ trying to force me to lead the hero’s party? Hell, they didn’t know and still considered Ramon as their leader, but should he get captured or bite the bullet, they would surely come to me.
If I didn’t send the Black Cross on the wrong trail, keeping the worthless hero alive until he had a powerup, I’d never get rid of the party.
Sure, they were leaving now, but it’d only be a matter of time before my projects got severely interrupted.
Was there any way to solve things peacefully? Demonic factions attacking without warning was one thing, forcing everyone to defend the town, but we now knew this Black Cross approached and had plenty of time to prepare.
No, these were government hounds. If the kingdom politicians shamelessly kept the hero’s party in the capital like prisoners, then there was no way the Black Cross would defy their orders. If they were strong, that meant the Lord Ruler or even this princess had to be significantly stronger, or probably controlled them in some fucked up way.
Besides, if a soldier came at you with a gun with orders to kill or capture, do you think they’d stop for even a second to chat?
“You came here to say goodbye, but your faces are asking me to find a solution,” I said. They turned to me. “You really do want help.”
Kelvin bonked Ronica before she could confirm my suspicions. This girl was on another level of shameless, no fucks to give. If they came to me, then the Black Knight would be at least beatable. Nuwa seemed slightly fidgety, likely wanting to confess everything as well.
As much as they got on my nerves, the party did somewhat make me feel friendly toward them. Ronica had to be kept in check, but the hero didn’t bother me, and the other men even helped out with building.
Sure, there could be selfish goals, not that I was free from guilt. They were free hubs of information, reliable help for town security so that Milia, I, and the pets didn’t burn ourselves out trying to keep things peaceful, and skilled laborers like myself. The hero’s party not being nobles made them slightly likeable. Except Ramon. Unfortunately, in order to not get sucked into kingdom politics, I needed to keep the idiot hidden. At least for now.
“Do you think they’ve reached Wingston?” I asked.
“I don’t think so,” Iris said. “They can fly, but the western section of the kingdom is extremely far off. But they’re likely only a few days away from Wingston, if that.”
“Why do you ask?” Nuwa asked.
“I’d like to talk to the Red Star, set up a diversion,” I said. “It may not work, but there should be no reason why high-ranking government super soldiers should come to a town like this, right? But… how will they know to come this way? Do they have some kind of tracking ability?”
“They do,” Ronica said. “I know it too. Honestly, we were in such a hurry to get as far away from the capital as possible that we made some mistakes. Our lightning horses left traces of mana likely pointing in this direction. Normally, that wouldn’t mean anything, but that dumb-dumb Drew followed us with his sect goons, leaving his own mana traces.”
“Then wouldn’t he just rat you guys out when he gets home?” I asked.
“He… won’t be given a chance to talk,” Iris said softly. “He conspired with a demonic faction, almost got civilians killed. Normally they wouldn’t care, but it was done while flaunting the Starrigon name. In the duchy of Starrigon, shaming their family is punishable by chaotic imprisonment.”
I decided not to ask what that was since we had more pressing matters.
“Do you have any way to clean up your trail?” I asked, hopeful.
“That would be incredibly convenient, but we’re not aware of any spell like that,” Kelvin said. “If we had such a thing, we wouldn’t have been found for them to invite us to the capital, luring us into a trap.”
“Well, fuck,” I said. “If we can’t turn them around at Wingston, your best bet is to ride the lightning horses as far away as possible, then travel by foot or a normal horse somewhere else. You’d be best not to return here for a good while. If even one of you are caught, you’ll be forced to help them find Ramon. Refusal could get you on a wanted list.”
“All of this is soooo complicated,” Ronica said, annoyed. “Why can’t they just leave us alone!”
“Because we’re the hero’s party,” Iris deadpanned.
“Come on, let’s get on Beakwing,” I said. “It’s risky to go there, but you’ll have to confront this either way. Who knows, maybe we’ll find out it’s just a rumor and the Black Cross aren’t actually mobilized. Of course, this will not be for free.”
They looked at me.
“I’ll pay with my body!” Ronica cheered, gaining herself a bonk from Milia, Iris, and Kelvin. “Ow! I was only joking, humorless meanies. What do you want anyway?”
“In addition to paying a… small sack of gold, you’ll have to help me deal with the market manipulation,” I said, grinning.
“Deal,” Iris said.
“Thank you,” Kelvin said, bowing. He tossed me the gold. “I’ll pay it up front.”
End of Phase 2…
