Volume 4 Chapter 5 Departure
The rain, which had briefly stopped, started to fall again softly. The caravan had a lot of people, including guards, but with 4 of them working together, it wasn't too overwhelming. Al carefully looked under the wagons and walked around for a while, but the only response he got from his Magic Sense was something in the belt pouch of a capable-looking guard. If it was a guard warrior, there shouldn't be any problems. There was a female guard named Barbara who had a light magic tool before. It was probably something similar.
Along the way, Al spotted Kane working, but he was walking quickly behind a middle-aged man dressed in expensive clothes, looking important, so there wasn't a good moment to say hello. When Al returned to the original wagon, Leda and the others were already back. Leda stood still, observing the surroundings. Marcus and Lucas were chatting and giggling together.
"Lady Leda, I'm back. Nothing special happened."
"Understood."
Leda's tone was still stiff. Her straight, silverish hair, cut short, was wet from the rain and stuck to her head. Al stood next to her and looked in the same direction she was watching. He could see a wagon with a crest that seemed to belong to the internal affairs department, and in front of it, the middle-aged man Kane had been with was chatting with Eric and Fitz. The middle-aged man might be the Baron Hawthorne Kane mentioned.
"Lady Leda, have you been an apprentice for a long time?"
"Let's stop the small talk."
Al asked a question, and Leda replied coldly. Al shrugged and gave up trying to talk to her. He decided to pass the time by practicing magic, which had almost become a habit for him, while looking around.
* * *
After a while, Eric and Fitz returned.
"There were no unusual issues with the caravan."
Leda reported. Eric nodded lightly. To Al, their interaction seemed normal, but it looked like they were on high alert. It was definitely different from the area near the capital. The borderlands must be that strict.
"It seems like there will be a lot of people following the caravan today, as usual. Leda, make sure to do the checks with Al, not me. This time, the guard team is the 6th squad, and the leader is Captain Jonas. You've met him before. Report the results directly to me without going through me. Marcus and Lucas can ride in the carriage."
When Leda heard Captain Jonas's name, her expression darkened a bit, but no one else seemed to notice. After giving some detailed instructions, Eric and Fitz turned their cloaks and got into the carriage. Marcus and Lucas did the same.
"Since those 2 got on, does that mean we can ride in the carriage too, like for a shift?"
Al asked Leda. He wondered if it was okay to be in the carriage while guarding the caravan.
"You can ride from the next rest stop. Unlike the other guards, we are magicians."
"Oh, I see."
Al said this in surprise, and Leda glared at him.
"Are you saying that even though you are a magician?"
Did he say something wrong? Al felt a bit flustered by her reaction.
"I'm a magician, but I've only worked as a scout until now. It was just unexpected."
Leda sighed lightly and nodded.
"I understand. However, please make sure to speak with pride from now on."
Pride? Al tilted his head slightly, but he decided not to ask more, as he felt Leda might glare at him again. After a while, the church's morning bell began to ring.
"It's almost time to leave. There are some bandits who follow the caravan without hiring guards. Al and I will check for them. Please be very careful."
At the mention of bandits, Al gave a slight wry smile. It was true that there could be bandits hiding to help with attacks, but walking on the town streets was free, and for someone traveling alone, following a large caravan felt safer. Al thought it wasn't necessary to dislike them so much.
After the Internal Affairs Bureau, Eric, and the merchant carts had left, a few more traveling merchants passed by with small, worn pack carts. Al and the others watched from the roadside, recalling when Lippi had transported the Big-Mouthed Lizard's corpse. The merchants wore shabby clothes, and their carts, pulled by one or two mules, looked old and stained. So far, everything seemed normal.
However, the last wagon triggered a reaction from Al's Magic Sense. A worn wooden chest, about a meter wide (≈ 3.3 feet wide) and 60 cm deep (≈ 23.6 inches deep), glowed pale blue. It sat on the wagon amidst some straw, indicating some kind of magic was placed on it. The man driving the cart, an older fellow with a friendly smile, appeared completely at ease.
"Lady Leda, about that last wagon..."
Al whispered softly to Leda. Leda also stared at the wagon, but she turned back to Al with a confused look, as if she didn't understand what was bothering her.
"Is something wrong? It's just an ordinary wagon. Sometimes guards can't haul monster corpses after a fight, so they bury them. People pay a bit to collect those corpses and earn by delivering them."
Nothing loaded? She couldn't see the chest at all. Al took a closer look and realized the chest was slightly transparent. When he turned off his Magic Sense, the chest vanished completely. It was hidden by a Conceal spell. Was the wagon owner a magician?
Al paused to think. During his hiring test, he'd sensed things that other magicians couldn’t, even with their Magic Sense spells. One theory was that his Magic Sense was unusually strong. But that seemed unlikely since magicians like Eric, his employer, were more skilled.
Another possibility was that his Sensory Boost spell had enhanced his senses, compensating for any lack of skill. Until now, this seemed like the best explanation.
But a new idea surfaced. Since he'd learned the Conceal spell, maybe he could now detect it when others used it. This chest, hidden by Conceal, reminded him of the magic tool he uncovered recently. He might have sensed it because of his familiarity with the spell.
However, Conceal was a forbidden spell. Al knew that revealing his ability could lead to trouble, much like the magician who lost job opportunities after admitting he could use Open Lock. Al needed to keep this ability hidden to avoid a similar fate.
It was also possible that the Conceal spell on the wooden box was weak, and Al's Magic Sense spell was strong enough to see through it. In fact, that possibility seemed more likely. However, now that he realized he could see through it because he had learned the Conceal spell himself, he hesitated to make a big deal out of it.
"I see. So there are businesses like that."
He nodded as if he understood Leda's explanation but chose not to mention the hidden wooden box. It was likely tied to some criminal activity, and while he couldn't ignore it, he felt it might be wiser to observe their plans a bit longer.
"There was nothing unusual. I need to report to Captain Jonas. He should be near the front of the caravan. Let's hurry and catch up."
"Understood, Lady Leda."
Al and Leda started running toward the front of the caravan.
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