"Please wait a moment."
Galey and Efain bowed before entering the room and talking to Efergan. Rose and Rocco sat quietly waiting. As expected, Rocco's face was very sharp and dignified while working. The long-sleeved clothes were the same as the ones he wore in the capital. Rose didn't know if he liked these clothes or if they were practical. But it made the scales on Rocco's arms invisible.
"What's wrong, Rose?"
"Nothing. Where are you staying tonight?"
"I'm staying in a hotel in town."
"What about the other members?"
"I'm traveling alone."
"Isn't it dangerous...?"
"This is also work."
"Hmm."
"It's okay. My life belongs to Rose, so I'll come back safely."
"Yeah."
"If you're free tonight, why don't we go for dinner somewhere?"
Rose shook her head.
"I can't make decisions on my own. Efergan is my master here, so I must obey him."
"Master?"
"Uh-huh. But Rocco, if you don't mind, why don't you come and have dinner with us? Rinka's cooking is delicious."
"Okay. Besides, I'd like to talk to Rinka, so I'll get the prince's permission and come over tonight."
"Yes, please do."
Rose smiled. Efain left the room and said Efergan was ready to meet with Rocco. He also told Rose that Efergan had given Rose permission to enter.
When Rose entered the room, she found it to be the lord's luxurious office. It was very different from her father's office in the village. The beautiful marble-like floor, the windows and metal parts decorated with gold and silver, and the glittering lights were so bright that it was dizzying.
But to be honest, it wasn't very tasteful. Or rather, it was in bad taste. It was luxurious, but not beautiful. However, perhaps this is Rose's opinion, and her aesthetic sense is quite different from that of the main person in this room.
Rocco bowed to Efergan and greeted him. Rose also greeted him. Efergan returned the greeting with a smile. However, he looked tired. Efergan instructed Rose to sit on a nearby sofa. Rocco sat in a chair before Efergan, while Haintz and Kerzek stood behind him. Galey and Efain stood near the window.
"Welcome to Suzukinoyama. Make yourself comfortable."
Efergan said, looking at Rocco.
"So, let me get straight to it and tell me what you need."
Efergan said, and Rocco nodded.
"I came here to search for the magician Jen."
"We are also looking for the same person. Rose saw that his summoning papers were identical to the one that fell on Mount Ecoria."
"Jen is the one who summoned wild beasts all over Alhatross, causing great damage. He is a serious criminal with over 500 deaths. I have also heard that Jen has connections with the Morg people."
"That's serious."
"Your Highness, is Jen's spell paper the same as this?"
Rocco took out a spell paper from his pocket. There was a red seal on it, which was probably a spell to prevent the spell from being activated. Efergan took it out of the box on the desk and compared it.
"Rose, come here. I want you to take a look at this."
"Yes."
Rose came in front of Efergan, but Efergan motioned for her to come closer to him. Then he laid out the two spells. They were identical. However, there were some differences in the writing here and there, but the characteristics showed that they were written by the same person.
"Rocco, where did you get this?"
"The Susuiru region."
"That's next to Ecoria, but when Moi was bitten by the snake, Mr. Darga said that it came from the direction of the capital, judging from the wind movement."
Rose said, and Rocco nodded.
"That's right. The thing that Miss Miraiya examined had fallen in Ecoria. But the one I picked up was only recently."
"Eh? So that means Jen was in Alhatros until recently?"
Rose tilted her head and asked Rocco.
"That's probably true, but when my team found his house, no one was there anymore. The whole village was gone. They were probably turned into magic stones."
"What the hell!"
That's terrible, Rose thought.
"So we searched the surrounding countries, but couldn't find him. Then we were informed that a suspicious magic item merchant had boarded a ship and gone to Dwipa. I went alone to Dwipa, but he never entered."
Rocco said clearly.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, thanks to the full cooperation of Miss Miraiya and Prince Jatayu, we found out where he was heading at an early stage. It was Suzukinoyama."
Rocco said, and Efergan nodded.
"So that's why you came here, Mr. Rocco?"
"Rocco would be fine. Yes, exactly. We had heard that he was on a remote island, but we didn't know which island it was, so I had no choice but to investigate every island."
Rocco said. Rose thought that was true.
"I think Jen is on this island. The other day, Rinka stole a magic stone and rescued a woman inside."
"Where?"
"We're not sure, but Rinka and Orefa are searching for it right now. We'll find out tonight."
Rose says, and Rocco looks at her.
"Um, Efergan..."
"Yes."
"Can Rocco come over to our house tonight? I invited him over for dinner, and we can talk about Rinka and Olefa and exchange information."
Efergan didn't answer but looked at Rose intently.
"No?"
Rose asked with a worried look on her face, and Efergan smiled.
"Tell Rinka that I'll have dinner with her tonight, too. And Kerzek and the others."
"Yes! Thank you."
A smile appeared on Rose's face.
"That's it, Rocco, we'll have dinner tonight and exchange information. By the way, Suzukinoyama's Black Ops will join us after they finish gathering information."
"Thank you."
Rocco nodded.
"Anyone who's a friend of Rose's is welcome. By the way, Rose, how did the investigation into the drug go?"
"I only knew the name of the merchant. I looked for the store where the villagers said, but I couldn't find it."
"I see, that was tough. I will hear the details from Galey later."
"Yeah."
Rose nodded.
"Also, Nira's mother was taken to the national military base. She's been poisoned by a harmful substance."
Efergan said, looking at several papers.
"Was it the effect of that drug, Galey?"
"Yes. We still need to investigate further, but the reality is that the number of victims is increasing. I think it would be best to immediately issue a ban on the use of that drug."
Galey reported this and nodded.
"It's not just adults who are victims. I witnessed the birth of a baby that was born today. Galey helped with the birth. The mother was a rabbit woman and the father was a birdman, but the baby was born in an incomplete form. It only had one wing. But fortunately, it cried cheerfully."
Rose said with a sad face.
"I see. You two have worked hard."
Efergan nodded.
"Kerzek, you and Galey should discuss this later. I'll order an additional investigation to discover children born with such abnormal features in various places. I think HQ will send investigators and support from the Black Ops. You can use them."
"Yes, Your Highness!"
Efergan gave orders. He then returned Rocco's magic formula paper.
"Rocco, a few days ago in the market, a man selling magic tools was selling this magic formula. Galey was watching him, but he entered an inn on the outskirts of town. However, his whereabouts are unknown."
"Can you tell me what kind of man he is?"
"Well, he was older than middle-aged, had an untrimmed beard, had pale skin, and his hair was a mix of white, black, and gray, and was relatively short but unkempt. He was wearing glasses. And his eye color..."
"Brown, close to red..."
Rocco answered.
"Huh? How do you know?"
Rose tilted her head and asked.
"That person is... Jen."
"What?!"
Everyone was surprised. Efergan quickly wrote something on a piece of paper.
"Kerzek, take this to the national military base. It's a wanted notice. Immediately designate all magical items and shops in all markets and on the outskirts of town as targets for investigation."
"Yes, Your Highness!"
Kerzek received the order and left the room.
"Haintz, as an emergency, arrange for all guards except the captain to gather here. Once they are gathered, go to the market first and capture all magical traders for identification. Also, capture anyone with a similar appearance and check their identities. And check all middle-aged men with brown eyes or almost red."
"Yes, Sir!"
Haintz nodded.
"Your Highness, if you do that won't they escape?"
"This is an island, so we'll confirm no one can leave."
When Rocco asked that, Efergan replied.
"That's a bit forceful."
"I told you, right Rocco?"
Rose said with a laugh.
"Yes, indeed."
Rocco nodded. He certainly is an odd person, Rocco thought.
"What are you talking about?"
"Rose said that His Highness is quite odd."
"I think Rose is the odd one."
"That's right."
Efergan looked at Rose and laughed.
"Hmm. I'm normal."
"How so?"
Efergan and Rocco said at the same time after hearing Rose's words. They were surprised for a moment, then they both laughed.
"The tension has eased. Thank you, Rose."
"Eh?"
"The flow changes when Rose is here. I think I can do my best tonight."
Rocco looked at Rose and smiled.
"Rose, please give Kerzek additional notice. Don't let a single ant leave this island."
"Okay."
"Check the current situation with Olefa and tell him the details."
"Alright."
Rose linked with Kerzek and conveyed Efergan's instructions. She then conveyed them to Olefa.
"Olefa and Rinka are currently in the south of town. I asked if they would like to meet up."
"I heard what they are doing there."
Efergan conveyed his question to Olefa. He then received a reply.
"Apparently, Rinka found a store selling the pendant earlier."
"Wait there. Tell them we are heading there. Rose, ask for details about the location."
Efergan stood up and placed his weapon on his waist.
"Rocco, it seems you can finish the job quickly."
"Yes. That would be better."
"Then let's go."
When Rose tried to go with them, Rocco stopped her with his hand.
"Rose, stay here."
"What? No?"
"Rose, this is dangerous, so no."
"Hmm."
Rocco shook his head. He was worried about her.
"Rocco, may I ask why Rose cannot accompany us? I think she is strong..."
When Efergan asked, Rocco was looking at him.
"Well, I have no choice, so I'll tell you. Jen's real purpose is to capture Rose."
When Rocco answered, everyone was surprised.
"What?!"
"However, he still doesn't know what Rose looks like. It seems he only knew the glowing girl, and there was information that he was searching for her in various places. That information led him here."
Efergan's face instantly became grim upon hearing Rocco's words.
"Efain, don't let Rose take any step out of here. Rose stay here until we return. Galey will go with me. Hattie stay here with Rose, and don't let anyone from outside through this room. Have the investigators from the capital wait in another room. When Etule and the Black Ops squad team arrive tell them to meet up. Rose, maintain the link with me."
"Hmm."
Rose pouted.
"Rose, now is not the time to be sulky."
"But..."
"If what Rocco said is true, this is almost a trap. I don't know what the enemy will do to capture you. So let's observe the situation from here."
"I see."
Rose nodded.
"Okay, then can I borrow a mirror?"
"Have Hattie arrange it. I think there's a mirror in the room of the lady who used to be the lord's wife or family here."
"Okay."
"Thank you for understanding."
"Okay."
"I'll go then."
Efergan said, and nodded, looking at Rose who was left alone.
"Rose, I'm going too. See you later."
"Okay. I wish everyone good luck."
Efergan took Rose's hand and kissed it. But Rocco looked at him with a sharp gaze.
"Rocco, do your best. As the representative of the Black Ops of Alhatros, please capture Jen. If possible, keep him alive."
"That's a tough request, Rose."
"If he dies, all flow will be cut off."
"Aye."
Rose smiled and extended her hand to Rocco. Rocco took her hand, kissed it, and looked into her eyes. His eyes felt very powerful.
"Will you smile for me?"
"Yes, of course."
Rose smiled, and a smile appeared on Rocco's face.
"Okay! The goddess of victory has smiled upon us, so let's go on a quest, Prince Efergan!"
"Okay! Well, Rose, please take care of the link later."
These strong men left the room and set off. Rose asked Hattie to prepare a mirror and four lights. Efain stood silently beside her the whole time. He seemed interested in what Rose doing but he didn't say anything.
Efain is less talkative than Haintz, but he is very reliable. When asked, he was surprisingly knowledgeable, and Rose felt he had helped her many times.
After a while, Hattie and several servants came. He brought a large mirror and four lamps. Rose instructed them on the position of the lamps, and with Efain's help, they removed everything on the carpet. They placed the mirror on the floor. When they asked if there were more mirrors, the servant replied that there were more, so Rose asked for three more. Efain tilted his head and looked at Rose with a puzzled look.
The additional mirrors were brought in. Hattie arranged them neatly. Rose ordered the servants to go outside. Rose told Efain to close the door and lock it just in case. She asked Etule to knock on the door when he returned.
Rose asked Efine to guard her. She asked Efain to do so because he was the only one they could rely on if something happened, and he replied in good faith.
Finally, Rose will fulfill her role as the Princess of the Dragon God. This is probably the first time Efine and the others have seen this, Rose thought. She sat in the middle of the carpet, calming herself. The light suddenly began to glow with magical power. Now the barrier is ready. She is used to it as she regularly prays at the Dragon God's temple.
Rose gathered her power in her forehead and concentrated. Her whole body suddenly began to glow. She linked with Efergan and Rocco. Each mirror showed what Efergan, Rocco, Olefa, and Kerzek saw. It was like a TV monitor. Efine and Hattie's eyes widened in surprise when they saw it. Rose thought they would probably be even more surprised if they saw Suzu's technique. Rose could only link with four or five people at most, but Suzu could easily communicate with dozens. This is a rare ability in a world of 'Gold ability'.
"Efergan, Kerzek has started to move. It seems that the sky and sea blockade has been prepared."
(I get it. Has Etule returned yet?)
"Not yet."
(Tell him to come immediately when he returns.)
"Okay. I'll tell Kerzek that too."
(Thank you.)
After some back and forth with Efergan, Rose nodded.
(Rose, I have just reunited with Rinka.)
A message came from Rocco.
"Rocco, tell Rinka not to be too reckless because she's injured."
(It's okay. She has a reliable boyfriend... Ouch! That hurts, Rinka, don't hit me!)
"Hey, you two, don't fight."
Rose couldn't help but chuckle bitterly.
"Olefa, what's the situation?"
(It's quiet around the store. Thanks to Haintz cleaning up the area, no ordinary people were around.)
"Who's inside?"
(I don't know. But they've been inside for a while. They might have noticed the commotion.)
"That's bad. There's a possibility that a trap will be set. Don't let your guard down."
(Understood)
Rose contacted Olefa.
"Efergan, please lend me your eyes."
(Eyes?)
"Yes, I want you to look around the store a bit. Your eyes are good, so you can see even the smallest details."
(Is it enough to just look?)
"Yes, I want you to look far away, and look up and down as well. There might be invisible magic circles on the ground."
(Got it)
Efergan looked as instructed. There were no stationary magic circles. However, suddenly several black shadows appeared in the sky from Kerzek's line of sight.
A flock of thunderbirds!
"Everyone evacuate! A large number of thunderbirds have been spotted in the sky!"
Rose gave orders and informed him of the thunderbirds.
"Rocco, a thunderbird has appeared in the sky, so be careful of lightning, and don't let Jen out of the shop."
(Aye!)
Rose gave instructions to Rocco. Rose looked in the next mirror and confirmed it.
"Efergan, please take on the thunderbirds. The damage will be great if it's just Kerzek and the others."
(I checked the number. A total of 50 thunderbirds, a huge class.)
"Seriously?"
Rose said without thinking.
"Efergan, be careful."
(I'll do my best.)
"Okay."
Rose concentrated her mind and sent support magic.
"Gold barrier for Kerzek! Speed increase enchantment! Attack increase enchantment!"
Next, Rose cast it on Olefa, Efergan, and Rocco.
"Olefa, please support Rinka and shoot down the thunderbirds with magic. With Rinka's power, you can handle about half of them."
(Understood)
Rose thought that Rinka was strong. She'd be able to handle them. Rose looked at the mirror again.
"Efergan and Kerzek are in charge of half of it."
(Understood!)
Both of them replied.
"Rocco cast a detection spell."
(Aye!)
Rocco suddenly started to move. He cast a detection spell with quick movements and arrived on the store's roof, blowing the roof off with one blow. The surrounding guards and Haintz were surprised and tried to move, but Efergan stopped them. Efergan also remained motionless, watching Rocco's brilliant movements. Rocco's movements were very efficient, showing amazing strength. Then the magician inside the store was blown outside by Rocco's attack. The magician cast a bundle of summoning spells on his hand.
Boom!
A large number of poisonous snakes appeared and attacked the surrounding guards. The scene became panicked. Efergan could see Rocco from the direction where the store was. Rose thought it was scary, to put it simply.
Rocco unleashed his snake aura toward the army of poisonous snakes. That Rocco is the king of snakes. His snake aura is visible to Efergan's eyes. It's shaped like a king cobra. With that huge king cobra aura, Rocco exerted tremendous pressure on the horde of snakes, demonstrating his power. It was an event that made the law of the jungle, a law of nature, easy to understand. The snakes started to run away when they saw Rocco, the giant snake king, but Rocco didn't let them escape.
Rocco took one step forward, killing the snakes with his aura. Just by touching his aura, the snakes died and disappeared. Rose gasped, gazing at the snakes. His aura alone was strong enough to cause death. With Olefa's eyes, Rose saw the magician shaking uncontrollably as he watched the snakes die without using his hands. It was a very frightening power. When Rocco reached in front of him, the magician fainted from fear. What an event that ended so quickly. Rocco submerged the poisonous snake's aura. He tied up the enemy using something nearby so he couldn't move. He stabbed the magician's arm with something.
"Rocco, what's that?"
(It's poison. I'll have him stay quiet for a while. It'd be a problem if he escaped.)
"He won't die, right?"
(It's fine.)
"Oh, Rocco, you're amazing."
(No, it's normal.)
"Hey, Rocco, teach me that technique next time. I want to defeat the enemy with it."
(Rose can't do that. You are not a snake person.)
"Oh. Too bad."
Looking into another mirror, Rinka and the others began their battle. As strong as ever, Rinka shot down the thunderbirds one after another. And Olefa delivered the finishing blow to the burning thunderbirds.
"Olefa"
(Yes, what is it?)
"I want to get the thunderbird stones from the head of those thunderbirds later, so don't damage the area around the eyes too much."
(Ah, yes. It's a time like this, but you often come up with ideas like that.)
"Uh-huh."
Rose looked in the mirror and gave a wry smile.
(Because it's Rose.)
"Hmm."
Efergan's laughter was heard. Next to Olefa, he was cutting off the heads of the falling thunderbirds one after another. He occasionally used magic to support Kerzek and the others. He seemed to be having a hard time.
Leaving the magician to Haintz who was nearby, Rocco climbed the tallest building and aimed with one hand pointing up with his index finger and thumb. He then shot something at the thunderbirds one after another. It was a long-range poison attack. The thunderbirds that were hit by Rocco's attack made loud cries in the air and made strange movements. Seeing the thunderbirds struggling and flying in the air, Kerzek and the soldiers seized the opportunity to finish them off, launching simultaneous attacks and taking down many giant thunderbirds one after another. Before the thunderbirds had time to fire lightning, only a few thunderbirds left.
Normally, if a town was attacked by this many thunderbirds, it would be wiped out. Even a country would be destroyed. But this time, with the strong Rinka, Rocco, and Efergan, it seemed like they were easily defeated. However, even one giant thunderbird was strong enough to wipe out the entire town of Quinouea. This time, Rocco's long-distance poisonous attack was very effective. Rose tried to imitate it next time, and in front of the mirror, she imitated Rocco's style. If she couldn't make poison, she could make fire or ice. He aimed thinly, sharply, and surely. As expected of Rocco, he was strong, Rose thought.
Efain and Hattie were silent as they watched the battle in the mirror. They seemed at a loss for words after seeing the astounding strength of Rocco and Rinka. They couldn't even see that Rocco and Rinka were fighting with all their might. Efain and Hattie were aware of that strength. Because the giant thunderbird was so strong that it could destroy a country.
After a while, the reality was coming to an end. With one swing of Efergan's sword, the last thunderbird's head was separated from its body. The thunderbird's corpses were scattered over a wide area throughout the city, creating a terrifying sight. Olefa handed a handkerchief to the tired Rinka out of concern for her. The embarrassed Rinka's face was impressive. Rose stared at Rinka's face, thinking that Rinka, who is always expressionless towards the opposite sex, had such a gentle face. Rose wondered if Olefa's kindness had reached Rinka's heart.