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nLinga’s Quill Pen

nHikaru thought Selica might know something about the huge and complex magic circle that could be blocking the entrance to a dungeon. However, she was hundreds of leagues away.

n「Hmm, I got an idea. We could get in touch with her through the Adventurers Guild. They have a means of communication between guild branches. Although since it uses an expensive catalyst, it’ll cost a bit of money.」

n「But then the guild will find out about the magic circle.」Lavia said.

n「That’s a good point. The Adventurers Guild’s an independent organization, though. They won’t leak info to the Church… I hope. Not that it matters if the Church finds out I know about the magic circle. We’ll be fine as long as they don’t catch us.」

n「Okay. Wanna go there tomorrow?」

n「Yeah. I also wanted to ask Drake about some holy mana-related matters, but…」

nThe pure-white and fluffy white drakon was fast asleep on the bed, his stomach exposed.

n「I guess I can ask him tomorrow.」

nThe next day.

nOn his way to the Adventurers Guild, Hikaru asked Drake about the holy mana items he found yesterday.

n『I don’t think weapons that use holy mana are that rare.』the drakon said.

nIn the meantime, Conia Mercury of the Blue Knights was getting ready to leave the Tower.

n「Are the temple knights ready? Okay, then. Let us go.」

nShe was about to leave with the same number of knights as yesterday.

n「Lady Conia!」A guard came running towards her.

n「What’s wrong?」

n「A knight from Ponsonia is waiting by the gate. He’s requesting an audience with His Holiness, saying it’s an urgent matter.」

n「Hmm, a Ponsonian knight. Very well. I’ll go see him.」

n「Thank you.」

nThe guard clearly looked relieved after knowing a Blue Knight would deal with the issue. Conia eyed the temple knights who were hell-bent on bringing in the cocky adventurer from yesterday. The latest development, however, caused their expressions to turn stiff.

nAs Conia made it to the gate, she spotted a man being stopped by the guards.

n「I said I need an audience with His Holiness! I am East Lengz of Ponsonia’s Royal Order of the Knights’ sixth squad. I have my identification right here!」

nThe man’s clothes were dirty, frayed in places. He looked rather uncouth with his unshaven face.

n「What’s going on here?」

n「Lady Conia!」

nThe knights opened a path for her.

n「Lady Knight! I have here a letter for His Holiness from the princess of Ponsonia.」

n「I know…」

nEast carefully held the envelope containing the letter. Conia frowned, wondering how he ended up looking like such a mess.

n「I-I uhh… ran into some trouble on my way here.」

n「Trouble? With our men?」

n「No. Einbeast’s.」

nAh, yes. That makes sense, Conia thought. He must’ve taken the direct route that cuts through Einbeast, and they’re on the prince’s side.

n「They were buying time and won’t let me through the checkpoint. They even tried to restrain me. So I ditched my horse and gear and climbed the mountains to deliver this letter.」

n「I see.」

nConia couldn’t help but admire the man. He did everything he could just to carry out his mission. The temple knights, however, had a different opinion. They were whispering behind Conia.

n「He’s a complete mess.」

n「There’s no way he can enter the Tower looking like that.」

n「Sir East of Ponsonia.」Conia said.「I, Conia Mercury of the Blue Knights, have confirmed your arrival.」

n「Thank you. But the time limit is ten days and I’m already a day late. Will His Holiness still accept the letter?」

n「It’s fine.」

n「I see. In that case—」

n「No, that’s not what I meant. His Holiness has already received the Princess’s message.」

n「What?! There was a knight who arrived earlier than me?!」

n「No, it’s not a knight. A request was sent to the Adventurers Guild as well, no? His name is Hikaru and he is already here in Agiapole.」

nEast was overcome with surprise at first that someone could be faster than him.

n「That’s good, then. I should be glad this Hikaru arrived within the time limit.」East said.

n「Indeed.」

nEast nodded in agreement. To him, it didn’t matter who fulfilled the task—whether it was a knight or an adventurer—as long as the mission was completed. Conia thought he was a wonderful knight.

n「Lady Conia, we should go. Talking with a dirty knight will also put dirt on our reputation.」one temple knight said.

n「………」

nThe temple knights, on the other hand, held a different impression, judging East from his appearance. Conia wanted to heave a sigh, but controlled herself.

n「Sir East. We have work to do, so I’ll be taking my leave.」she said.

n「O-Of course! Thank you for giving me the peace of mind.」

n「Make sure to take the letter anyway.」Conia ordered a knight.

n「May I ask something?」East said.「What kind of person is this Hikaru?」

n「A boy with black hair and eyes.」

n「What?」

n「To be honest, he doesn’t feel like a skilled adventurer at all. Anyway, if you’ll excuse us.」

n「O-Okay…」

nConia left. East stood there blankly.

n「A boy with black hair…」East muttered as he watched Conia’s back.「The boy who beat me badly had black hair too. I couldn’t tell what color his eyes were since he was wearing a mask back then… Nah, it’s probably just a coincidence.」

nThe receptionist insisted that only adventurers ranked C and above could use Linga’s Quill, but after handing her a gold coin, she led them to the back.

nThe world indeed runs on money.

nLinga’s Quill Pen was a combination of a huge stone slab and a quill pen. After erasing the words written there before, the receptionist turned to Hikaru.

n「You may fill the whole slab with your message. It’s 10,000 gilans per transmission. We will charge you for the erasure of the guild’s confidential information as well.」

n「No problem. Is there a word limit per transmission?」

n「Twelve syllables.」

n「Okay. Can I send figures?」

n「That would cost at least a hundred thousand.」

n「It’s fine.」

n「I-I see. I’ll compute the fee, then.」

nThe receptionist stood in a corner of the room. It seemed they were already connected with Pond’s Adventurers Guild. Gently, the pen started floating above the stone slab. White powder lay scattered on it. The powder changed color where the pen ran.

n→『This is Hikaru, sending a message from Agiapole’s Adventurers’ Guild.』

nThen, the pen started squirming, prompting Hikaru to let it go. It started writing words on its own.

n←『Hikaru?! What are you doing?!』

nHikaru facepalmed. The receptionist approached him to see what was happening.

n「It must be Jill.」she said.

nWait, she’s famous? And isn’t each transmission expensive?

n「M-Moving on…」Hikaru said.

n「Please do state your message as succinctly as possible. Otherwise, they’ll be using up a lot of catalyst as well.」

nHikaru felt a bit sorry for the receptionist.

n→『Please call Selica of the Four Stars of the East.』

n→『If she’s not around, please set up a schedule and I’ll contact you back.』

nFor a while, no reply came. Maybe Selica’s already in the guild and Jill went to fetch her.

n←『The Four Stars of the East left Ponsonia for Einbeast to answer the king’s summons.』

nAll in all, Hikaru paid 80,000 gilans.

n「I apologize.」the receptionist said.「I knew the Four Stars of the East were heading for Einbeast, but I didn’t expect that your message was related to that.」

nThe king of Einbeast, Gerhardt Vatex Anchor, had invited the Four Stars of the East as guests. A circular was already distributed among the guild branches about it. The king gave his word that no harm would come to the rank B party and promised that while they were in Einbeast, his army wouldn’t move.

n「I see. Thanks a lot.」Hikaru said.「I might have requests later. I hope I can count on your help, then.」

n「If there’s anything I can do, just tell me.」the receptionist replied, smiling brightly.

nHikaru and the girls quickly left the guild. He knew Conia and the knights were coming. He had no intention of meeting them here.

n「What now?」Lavia asked.

n「I’ll go gather some more information.」Hikaru said.「Come here, Drake.」

n『Oh, come on. I want to go on an eating tour!』

n「Do some work first. This might have something to do with drakons.」

nDrake wouldn’t leave Lavia’s neck, so Hikaru had to tickle him, and then wrapped the drakon around his own neck. Lavia shivered a bit, feeling chilly.

n「Here. You can use my scarf.」

n「Thank you. Hehe. I can feel your warmth on it.」Lavia smiled happily.

n「This place should be way warmer than Ponsonia, but why does it feel like the temperature dropped all of a sudden?!」Paula said.

n「Haha. Sorry, Paula. Stay low, okay?」

n「Okay. See ya, Hikaru.」

n「Later, Hikaru-sama.」

nThe three parted ways.

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