Chapter 501
Forget about democratic conflict management like complaints, lawsuits, statements, and protests.
The warlords resolved their issues like real men, sharing reconciliation, friendship, and forgiveness through the ‘Mauritania Continent style problem-solving method.’
Which means they sent lovely gifts consisting of their adorable nephew’s severed arm!
Though the process resulted in the shock-induced death of the nephew, that’s fine. The leader of the Asen Tribe, Sheikh Bint Al Asen’s brother (the deceased nephew’s father) had three wives and eleven children!
Children can always be born again.
(Astonishingly, this is the kind of average ‘common sense’ shared among the locals of the Mauritania Continent. No joke. Children can always be born again – after all, in a place where magic and electricity don’t work properly, when the lights go out at night, all that’s left to do is to have some fun in bed.)
Anyway.
With the ceasefire established between the Asen and Sanya warlords, Frederick was grappling with whether he should return to the Duke when—
High Priestess Lucia, who didn’t want to go back to the human modification furnace, came up with a brilliant idea.
“Let’s go hunting for humans.”
Now that was a breathtakingly ridiculous suggestion.
—
Side Episode – The Master is Very Disappointed in You
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“…Um, Lucia?”
“Yes.”
“What do you mean by that? Hunting for humans?”
Camila’s expression looked as if she were staring at a horrific slave market. Francesca and Akande wore similar looks, as if they were looking at a pleasure killer.
Noticing the awkward reactions, Lucia belatedly realized her mistake.
“Ah.”
She had blurted out too carelessly. Even if she was in a hurry, she could have explained a bit more. (However, even in the murderer’s way of thinking, a word combination like ‘human hunting’ wouldn’t spring to mind.)
The flustered priestess hastily added an explanation.
“Not that….”
After a brief stumble, Lucia summarized her thoughts as follows.
1. We haven’t finished our training, and as Alexandra Petrovna Duke has assured, she will ‘definitely’ summon us ‘someday.’
2. Considering the Duke’s personality, abilities, power, and the gap between us and the Duke, she is like an ‘inevitable disaster.’
3. However, there is a ‘method.’ We need justification and a shield to delay the Duke’s summoning order. That is—
“To capture wizards and shamans who have committed crimes.”
“Are we supposed to catch exiles and necromancers?”
“Yes.”
The Saint of the Cult nodded vigorously. The alchemist from the Magic Tower, with narrow eyes, began to murmur.
“Hmm… Indeed, the old lady did set a grace period. To return when there’s nothing urgent.”
“The only condition the Duke has placed upon us and our only card we can use.”
For the record, the group had nothing urgent to do at the moment. They seemed to have captured every weapon dealer in the vicinity.
Instead of being caught by the Duke, wouldn’t it be a hundred times better to team up with a gang?
Yet, as a consequence of working too diligently, there were no criminals left to apprehend.
Having no criminals to catch was tantamount to having no work. That meant they couldn’t delay their ‘return’ promise to the Duke any longer.
That was the reason Camila, Lucia, Francesca, and Akande (who had only come to snack) were huddled together in the peacekeeping force’s lounge, racking their brains.
Akande, with a sulky expression, quivered his lips.
“Bad people. None left. Countries. Can’t go out. The silver-haired woman blocked it.”
Of course, the option of searching overseas for fresh criminals (not a crusade) remained, but unfortunately, it seemed the Duke took it as ‘foreign escape.’
Once they stepped even a foot out of the Jamria Federation, she would chase after them with clenched teeth and threats without mercy. (For reference, Frederick, being a diplomat, was an exception.)
Orders from the Grand Mage were more absolute than the laws, and this was a world where muscles spoke louder than laws.
But who were they? Reckless and prone to blunders!
The troublemakers were oblivious to their master’s (not really) profound intentions, and instead were concocting schemes to escape like cowards (three of whom were women).
And then, the rising saint of the cult (Lucky-Veronica) uttered:
“If we have no criminals, let’s create one….”
In other words!
“If there’s no work, let’s make it ourselves!”
It was truly a military-style mindset, where they couldn’t bear to see people slacking off and ended up creating needless administrative tasks.
If Frederick (who had been through two military drafts) had been present, he would have exploded with “Halt!” at such a fresh and beautiful approach to problem-solving.
Nodding at Camila’s inquiry, Lucia’s expression turned thoughtful.
“Hmm…”
The intellect recognized by the mage community quickly considered the figures. Were the saint’s ideas truly rational?
“Exiles and necromancers are violators of laws and regulations. Regulations are the essence of magic, and laws are the borders of society. Both were born alongside the founding of the Magic Tower… And the ones who created the laws and regulations were the great mages. I’ve been told the old lady was involved in some measure.”
To be precise, the regulations were made by herself along with her fellow great mages, whereas the criminal and civil laws were enacted with advice from the Empire’s judicial system.
(Which is why her blood pressure soared every time the apprentice was reported in the news as an arsonist.)
Listening intently, Camila chimed in.
“That makes for good justification. The professor took part in the drafting.”
Serving the law and regulations she created, the idea of going after the offenders certainly didn’t pose any moral dilemma.
Then it happened.
“I’m curious. Where can we find these criminal mages?”
Without any thought while snacking, Akande initiated a productive operation (questioning) by asking how they were to find the criminals.
For reference, Akande was solely inclined towards fighting. Even after the Duke told him, “I’ve taught you everything. Depart,” he used every excuse to stubbornly return.
All eyes turned to Lucia. Since she was the one presenting the topic, they wondered if she might have a plan.
Not surprisingly, the saint had already prepared a treasure map.
“Here it is.”
Camila quickly made calls after confirming the treasure map.
— “Who is it?”
“Frederick? Are you interested in a manhunt?”
— “What strange thing are you saying now?”
The moment an endless holiday and human hunting were about to unfold!
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Side Episode – The Master is Very Disappointed in You – END –