Chapter 461: Inspection With An Agenda
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Benjamin hurried towards Gealorre Capital.
The location at which he had lost contact with the five of them was just north of Amber City, which was not far from Gealorre Capital. More importantly, he could contact the king and try to dig out information about the Church’s next move at Gealorre Capital.
Had the Church really captured the mages under his authority? What had the Church done to them? The king might not know the answers but Benjamin had to try anyway.
If there was a trap laid out for him, the least he could do was be properly prepared.
Time was of the essence and Benjamin’s heart was heavy with fear. He did not know how the situation was; one minute might the difference between him saving his and them being turned into a pile of ashes. Because of this, he travelled as fast as he could – there was not a moment to spare.
Benjamin reached Gealorre Capital just before sunset.
"What’s your name? Where are you from? What’s your identity? Why do you want to enter the city? Wait, let me check if you are in disguise... Don’t complain. This is an order from the bronze."
Just as he was nearing the city gates, he heard someone speaking from afar.
For a moment, Benjamin’s heart sank.
What had happened?
He hid in the shadows cast by the trees and secretly observed the soldiers that guarded the city gates. He soon discovered that the screening process to enter and exit the city had become ten times stricter!
Now, the soldiers interrogated every single traveller thoroughly; and to top it all off, they were even tugging at people’s noses, checking to see if the person’s faces were real or fake.
Benjamin was speechless.
Without a doubt, this new screening process was in response to him. This bishop must have examined his movements and realized that Benjamin was extremely adept at disguises, with is probably why he came up with such a stringent inspection process.
But... why did the Church want to seal off the city gates?
After a while, Benjamin arrived at the main road and found some passersby to make conversation with and ask about the situation. It was through them that he learnt that all the cities in Carretas had begun doing similar types of inspections.
As for the reason, the public announcement had stated that there was a band of abnormally fierce bandits who had committed all sorts of heinous crimes and were now wandering about inside Carretas. To protect the safety of the people, the palace had decided to temporarily hold inspections, until they were eventually caught.
Hearing this, Benjamin shook his head.
Bandits...
The use of such a term was very obviously used to imply Benjamin and his men were nothing but lowly thugs.
And, judging by the information he had managed to dig out, the Church had talked about the Holy Paladins and Bishop whom he had defeated, announcing that they were a bunch of ordinary soldiers who had encountered the bandit’s gang and was wiped out. They used this as an excuse to publish a warrant for the capture of Benjamin and his men.
But Benjamin could not be bothered about this petty distraction - the more important issue was how those five were doing right now.
Despite searching all along the way, Benjamin had not found any clues. There had been no traces of the five people outside the city even as he approached Amber City, it was as though they had disappeared into thin air.
Because of this, Benjamin became even more convinced that something must have happened to them.
What should he do?
He needed to enter the city and get into contact with the king, but the city gates... He was afraid he could not get past the security check.
But just as Benjamin was at his wits’ end...
"When you were a home tutor for those rich merchants, I had made a copy of their account books and recorded their itineraries." The System slowly chimed in, "If things go according to schedule, Mr Howl will be bringing his caravan through this route before entering Gealorre Capital for a half-day stop."
Benjamin was stunned at the sudden input.
Caravan...
"That’s right! Wow, you’re actually of some use now!" Very quickly, Benjamin came back to his sense and revealed an excited smile. He was quick to praise the System when he realized what he was getting at,
"...Oh." The System was slightly disgruntled at the ‘compliment’.
However, Benjamin did not pay him any attention. After confirming the caravan’s route, he left the city gates of Gealorre Capital and waited on the main road west of the capital. After about half an hour, the caravan finally arrived.
"Mr Howl, please stop."
Benjamin was all bundled up in his robes and stood in the middle of the road, obstructing the carriage that Howl was in.
"Who are you, why..." Howl peered out from the window and he spoke suspiciously. However, midway through his sentence, Benjamin pulled down his hoodie, revealing his wide grin. Howl’s words were stuck in his throat.
"It’s been a long time since we last met. I wonder how your children’s studies are now, sir." Benjamin said.
"... It’s you." Howl’s face was imposing; he looked around to make sure that no one else had noticed this, before continuing, "You are now a public enemy. It can’t be wise to appear so openly, right?"
Benjamin’s portrait and name were plastered on wanted posters all over the city, his crime being "Chief of the Bandits". Howl knew Benjamin was no bandit but was still reluctant to interact openly with him.
However, for the sake of their friendship, Howl did not shake his head and disregard him.
"Let’s cut to the chase, I have a favour to ask of you, sir..." Benjamin lowered his voice as he spoke.
Howl furrowed his brows, "What? Do you want to enter the city? I cannot help you with this. The inspections for every city is now exceptionally strict; even if you hide inside the goods, they will still find you."
But Benjamin merely shook his head and took out a letter before holding it out to him.
"Don’t worry, sir, I am not going in. I just want you to bring this letter into Gealorre Capital and pass it to a waiter at Restaurant Dolores. You will not be implicated in any crime, sir."
"This..." Howl was sceptical and did not take the letter.
Seeing this, Benjamin came closer and lowered his voice, "Mr Howl, after seeing the wanted poster, you should now also understand that the Church now has control over the crown. One day, they will arrive at your doorstep with the intention to capture every single mage they see. When that happens, what will become of your children? You need to think about this."
If one wished to gain the power of magic, one must also shoulder some of the responsibility. Benjamin became their home tutor for free so that he could one day ask for a favour such as this!
Howl squinted his eyes and stared at Benjamin; he probably felt like he was being threatened, so his expression was somewhat unfriendly.
"Don’t look at me like that, Mr Howl. We are on the same team," Benjamin smiled gently as he spoke.
"... I understand." After a moment of silence, Howl took the letter and kept it away, "I will help you this once. But in return, you must teach my son all the beginner level incantations."
"No problem." Benjamin quickly reached into his robe and took out a book entitled "The Complete Guide to a Beginner’s Incantations", before handing it to him.
Howl was stunned.
He probably did not expect Benjamin to have fulfilled his side of the bargain so quickly, all the more so to have done it in such a cheery manner.
Benjamin continued on, "Don’t treat this like it’s made of gold - it’s only beginner level magic. The power that a mage can wield is far greater than you can imagine."
After saying this, Benjamin turned around to leave. He watched Howl’s caravan continue to move forward before eventually entering Gealorre Capital. As time passed, the sky started to darken; despite this, he still stood quietly in a forest outside the city, patiently waiting for the person who had delivered the message to him.
A few hours later, he detected a familiar figure in his water elemental induction spell.