Chapter 38

Al hurriedly descended from the bell tower of the church where he had been hiding and headed towards the village chief's house. He needed to talk to Cane. Al was unsure about whom to trust and how to act among the caravan. Cane was the only one he thought could talk about Ruella. Despite looking quite busy, Al summoned him forcefully.

"Just a minute... I'm busy right now. Baron Hawthorne is impatient, you know."

"It's a matter of Ruella's life and future."

Seeing Cane's dissatisfaction, Al approached him anxiously and whispered in his ear.

Cane looked puzzled. Al led him to a secluded spot and told him what he had seen, but he did not mention that he had known about the wooden box beforehand, only that it had suddenly appeared.

"Really... The carriages of the Levi Company are part of this caravan? They didn't say anything about that."

Cane looked incredulous. However, as he understood that what Al had seen was likely true, he looked around and began to mutter, thinking about what to do.

"Al, the Concealment Spell needs to be recast every three hours. Can't it be undone?"

Al shook his head at first but then remembered the existence of a spell to remove magic. There might be other spells with similar effects.

"Lord Eric or Lord Fitz might know the spell to remove it. But whether they can remove it depends on their proficiency with the spell."

...Cane thought again, scratching his head and then sighing deeply.

"No good, I don't understand. I'm an internal affairs officer, not a guard. Let's consult someone. I think Lord Jonas is the best. He's a bit eccentric, but as the squad leader of the guard, he has the trust of Lord Viscount Lester. I think he will also protect Miss Ruella's honor."

At Cane's words, Al hesitated at first, trying to object, but then he realized something. The problem with the wooden box had been solved by witnessing it appear. Why had he tried to solve everything on his own?

This was a problem that he could not solve alone. Cane's judgment was correct. Al nodded firmly, feeling ashamed of himself. Then, the two of them headed to the guard station of Roland Village. Lord Jonas was talking to the stationed guards, but Cane called him out, saying it was an emergency.

"I see, so you discovered a wooden box hidden by the Concealment Spell while monitoring them. And there was a woman inside the box..."

Al and Cane told Lord Jonas everything that had happened. He already knew that Al had been monitoring the two survivors of the Blood-soaked Thief Gang, so he understood quickly.

"We need to be careful with the woman. We want to keep the number of people who know her identity to a minimum. Ideally, just the three of us..."

At Cane's words, Lord Jonas looked troubled.

"If it involves wrongdoing, I cannot condone it, but I understand about the woman's honor. However, it will be difficult for just the three of us to apprehend the three men and rescue the woman. We will need a few more people for the capture. How about only the three of us check the contents of the box after it has been seized?"

Cane thought for a moment and glanced at Al. Indeed, there were three of them. It would be difficult to capture them with just the three of them. Seeing Al nod, Lord Jonas continued.

"By the way, the woman has been in the box for two full days, drugged. Shouldn't she be seen by a healer or something?"

Al and Cane looked at each other.

"From the looks of it, you hadn't thought about that. I'll arrange for a discreet healer. Trust me to take care of her. Since the three of them have a mage with the Concealment Spell, we need Lord Eric's cooperation. Cane, you need to arrange that. Make sure Baron Hawthorne doesn't get involved."

Cane nodded. Standing next to him, Al felt his shoulders droop as he realized how much he didn't know and how inadequate his skills were.

"Don't look so pitiful. You two are still young. It's normal not to be able to do everything. I've been doing this job as a guard for many years."

Lord Jonas patted Al's head. It was a large, rough hand, typical of a warrior who handled weapons.

"Alright, let's get this over with. Cane, finish the arrangements within 30 minutes and bring Lord Eric. Meet at the edge of the village square, in front of the church. Al, keep an eye on the three men until then. Let us know if anything happens."

"Yes, sir!"

Cane and Al responded energetically and ran off in different directions.

"I have a lot to arrange too... But those two are quite capable."

Lord Jonas muttered to himself and hurried towards the guard station.

-----

"Is it true that you discovered a wooden box hidden by the Concealment Spell? How did you do it?"

While Al was keeping watch, half-hidden next to the church of the Earth Mother, Eric, led by Cane, hurriedly approached.

"I'm not entirely sure if it was the Concealment Spell..."

Al urged the three to hide behind the church and explained the situation when the wooden box appeared and when it disappeared.

"I see, it seems the caster must have removed the spell. There are several spells that can make something invisible or unperceivable, such as the Invisibility Spell or the Concealment Spell. It's difficult to detect them with the Magic Detection Spell, which requires a high level of proficiency. The Magic Detection Spell is not all-powerful. However, there is a countermeasure."

"Detect Invisibility"

Eric cast the spell and looked around as if searching for something. He then stared intently at the direction beyond the tent set up by the three men.

"There is indeed something that has been made invisible."

"You can tell?"

Al asked in surprise.

"In my case, the effect range of the Detect Invisibility spell is about 50 meters. This allows me to detect the presence of creatures that can turn invisible, in addition to the Invisibility Spell and the Concealment Spell. Once detected, they can be targeted for removal. The difficulty of removal depends on the proficiency of the caster, which you know, right?"

Al nodded at Eric's explanation.

"Given a few attempts, it should be possible to remove it. You said there are three of them, including the caster. That will depend on Lord Jonas. Ah, it seems they are here."

On the opposite side of the street, the figures of Lord Jonas and Placida were visible, dressed in armor that seemed out of place in the village. What kind of battle would this be? Could he do anything? Al sincerely hoped no one would get hurt.

Thank you for reading.

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* Radius 100 meters → Radius 50 meters. Sorry for the mistake.

July 7, 2023: I have changed the text referring to Jonas the knight to Lord Jonas. I have also changed the way Baron Hawthorne is referred to as "Baron Hawthorne."