Magic Gems Gourmet

Chapter 262

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Chapter 262 – Retaliation

Designer of the Underground Railway for water trains and developer of sea routes.

Designer of the Leviathan, a sea dragon ship, and the Bahamut, a black dragon ship.

He had many aliases and left behind many words.

“When we reach the pinnacle of thought, we are no longer human, nor are we of a different race.

That must be a wonderful world.

Feel it with your body, see it with your eyes, and touch it with your hands.

It will surely be filled with what you are looking for.

However, be careful of the royal family, who tend to be free-spirited.

They may take your family away from you.

Don’t end up like me. I was so absorbed in my research that my wife ran away.

What happened after that? I wrote her a letter every day for a year, and after a year, she forgave me.”

That’s what Roland said.

The night I heard that, he passed away from old age.

He enjoyed a conversation with someone that night, someone as youthful as we elves. It was as if he had been rejuvenated.

His expression as he died was one of complete satisfaction, as if he had no regrets in life.

At that moment,

I felt jealous of that noble-blooded man for the first time.

——The Life of the Man I Loved, By: The Silver-Haired Elf

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

“There wasn’t actually a hideout, was there?”

“Yes, I only saw them.”

Lili looked disappointed, but that information was more than enough.

The three of them could take action before the others did anything.

“That’s enough,” he told her. The three of them ran toward the harbor district.

Even though the sun hadn’t risen yet, some residents were already starting their day.

Ain and the others hurried on, ignoring the suspicious looks they received, and followed Lili’s lead.

Ahead of them was the place where he had been attacked when he was with Krone before.

Ain wondered if there might be something in the vicinity.

However, since Lili and the others found no clues, it was nothing more than a place of uncertainty.

(Well, never mind. More importantly, we can’t let today turn out the same as before.)

He was wary of being killed by the dragon’s flames.

Ain had a secret plan to obtain information from them at all costs, even if only a little.

(…The fact that I feel guilty means I’m hesitating to use this method.)

He sneered inwardly.

(Using the power of my arch-enemy…what a nasty fate.)

He was disgusted by the power he was about to use.

However, he firmly reminded himself that it was the most useful means available and that he had a duty to fulfill.

After running and breathing deeply, the three of them eventually arrived at a certain area.

“This is the area where my subordinates reported seeing them.”

It was an alley in the port area.

Lined with warehouses, the area offered many places to hide or take cover.

There were streetlights, but they seemed less reliable than the back alleys Arche had walked through.

A sea breeze blew through, cooling the sweat on her cheeks.

Ain strained his eyes, but the men in robes were nowhere to be seen.

“Let’s split up and search,”

“No, we can’t leave Ain-sama alone…”

“…Dill-san. Let’s go.”

“But…”

Dill protested, sounding exasperated, and said something strange again. Lili nodded knowingly.

Then, she turned her eyes to him silently, and he finally agreed.

“If anything happens, shout for help.”

“I understand. You let me know if anything happens, too.”

With that, the three of them split up and began searching for the men in robes.

Watching Dill and Lili run off, Ain walked leisurely toward the seashore.

He passed several warehouses, crossed an alley, and avoided the main street on his way to the pier.

Still, no voices could be heard, and there was no sign of the men in robes.

He glanced around, but it seemed that not even the port workers had arrived yet.

“El, Al. Good morning.”

Eventually, he reached the spot where the twins would appear and spoke with them. They were already awake.

It was a private pier.

It was private in the sense that it was for the twins’ exclusive use and because the sea dragon ship Leviathan was moored beyond it.

Even though it was “beyond,” the Leviathan was so huge that the distance was considerable.

The twins noticed their father’s voice and poked their heads out from both sides of the pier.

“Gyaa… Gyaa!”

“Kyuu, kyuu!”

Compared to last year’s war in Heim, the twins had grown even bigger.

It was unclear just how strong they had become.

However, thanks to the magic stone education they received from Katima when they were young, their abnormal growth rate remained unchanged.

“I think El and Al’s colors have changed, too.”

Perhaps a pure white.

Their scales were still shiny, but he got the impression that the white was gradually becoming more intense.

“And those twins are showing signs of evolution. No, let’s talk about that another time.”

He remembered Marco saying that recently.

At the time, he didn’t think much of it, but now he wondered if it really was a sign. He felt a little happy.

“Here. I didn’t bring much, but you can have some.”

He tossed a few magic stones.

There were four of each, and they were high-quality stones purchased from Majolica.

It’s difficult to bring back large quantities of magic stones, so he’s been focusing on quality over quantity lately.

They seemed to be quite popular, though, and the twins were savoring them like candy.

Then, El suddenly dove into the sea, and…

“Kyuu, kyuu!”

She came back with something in her mouth.

It was a large sea crystal.

“Thank you, as always. Everyone is happy.”

Ain stroked her head in gratitude for her dedication, and she purred contentedly.

“Me too! Me too!” Since her younger brother, Al, had insisted, Ain gently stroked both of their heads—or rather, their noses.

“Well, then.”

After enjoying some exaggerated physical contact with the twins,

Ain parted ways with them and sat down on a wooden box in front of a nearby warehouse.

(It’s a port, so they probably caught something.)

Was their destination Ain or the twins?

He didn’t know, but he understood that it was one of the two.

He sensed several figures approaching from the shadows and muttered, “What are they doing?”

(I hate to say it myself, but that joke wasn’t very funny.)

The chill he felt was due to the sea breeze, which signaled the coming of winter.

With that thought in mind, he slowly stood up and drew his sword.

Then, a loud, powerful sound of metal clashing against metal echoed throughout the area.

“Hey, I’ve been waiting for you.”

As he said that, the sword of the man in the robe who had swung his sword down was cut in two.

The man looked surprised and clicked his tongue. Just as he had when he arrived,

“…You’re quick on your feet.”

With a quick movement, he ran up the wall and escaped to the roof of the warehouse.

However, the attack did not end there. One by one, they attacked Ain.

The heavy sound of metal colliding echoed repeatedly.

The sound of footsteps on the cobblestones and the men’s gasps reached his ears.

A strong sea breeze blew through.

Occasionally, the wind threatened to blow their hoods off, but they held them in place skillfully with their robes.

“You let your guard down!”

A man in a robe whispered in Ain’s ear.

The short sword held in reverse was thrust toward Ain’s neck with a quick movement.

Then, the men relaxed their mouths at the same time.

The battle was over.

Naturally, Ain also relaxed his mouth.

“You should say that to the mirror.”

Illusionary Hand.

It was the technique Ain had mastered before anything else, the main technique of the Dullahan.

It was nothing special, but Ain thrust it into his back anyway.

The magical power contained within, however, was beyond what a normal human could possess.

“What… Th-This is…!”

“Take a nap. I’ll hear the rest of the story later.”

The tentacles’ tips branched out and tightly wrapped around the man in a robe.

Would he be knocked unconscious like this? Just as the man began to panic, Ain lazily extended his tentacles.

“You probably thought you were attacking me, but it’s actually the other way around. I didn’t think it would be this easy to catch you.”

As he said this, his tentacles gained momentum and struck the warehouse wall.

The wall collapsed, the roof caved in, and the building was reduced to rubble in an instant.

“I did this on my own, so I won’t charge you for the repairs. Well, it belonged to the August Trading Company, and they were planning to rebuild it anyway, so don’t worry about it.”

The man’s body shook as if his thick veins were pulsing. He lost consciousness and was caught in the illusory hand.

Sensing this, Ain returned the illusory hand to his body.

“Attack all at once for the sake of our comrades!”

“For the sake of our comrades!”

“For our comrades!”

Not out of fear, but with renewed determination, the men shouted even louder.

“It’s noisy…” Ain smiled wryly as the men attacked him from all directions.

They attacked him from the front, back, left, right, diagonally, and above. His swordsmanship easily outmaneuvered them.

One by one, they lost their weapons. Some retreated, while others were knocked unconscious.

But then, at the decisive moment—! The man in the robe launched a simultaneous attack on Ain with perfect timing.

“Now we’ll take that sword for ourselves!”

(Sword? Was it my sword?)

Never mind. I’ll ask them about it later.

He struck the enemy in front of him with his sword and dealt with the one behind him with his illusory hands without any difficulty.

“Ugh…”

“A-ah… Holy Flames!”

“I know what you’re trying to do. I won’t let you!”

Ain kicked the fallen man in the stomach, knocking him unconscious. He was relieved that he had prevented the man from attacking.

Then, at that moment…

The men in robes who had retreated reappeared with several more companions.

(…Seven, I think.)

Three men were knocked unconscious.

There were more than he had expected, and he couldn’t help but smile a little.

That was when they tried to launch another simultaneous attack.

The men circled around behind Ain and drew their swords, lunging forward all at once.

Their movements were so swift that even Warren’s stealthy men struggled to keep up.

“…Phew.”

Ain sighed and sheathed his sword, realizing they had never given him a chance to win.

What was he planning to do? The men were slightly wary but continued to advance toward Ain with the same momentum.

“You thought you had me from behind, didn’t you?”

Ain walked toward the first man he had knocked unconscious and began to speak as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“I’m sorry, but the lion of the royal family is faster than the wind… He’ll tear you to pieces.”

In that instant, a golden wind blew through the desolate harbor.

It descended like the roar of a lion, and the two drawn swords turned into fangs with a speed too fast to see.

Just as one fell, three more collapsed, and in the next instant, all seven were lying on the ground, covered in blood.

The lion’s powerful claws dug into the stone pavement, revealing the ferocity of his movements.

“I’m not very perceptive. I wish you had told me beforehand…”

“I know it’s bad, but I only thought of it just now.”

“I see… I understand. Lili has already secured the unconscious man.”

It wasn’t just a parting—it was a small act.

It’s unclear if he saw it, but the men in robes were ultimately captured, so he wasn’t concerned about the details.

Dill, who had sheathed his sword, checked the fallen men just to be sure.

“It seemed like we had enough of them, so I took care of them before they could act.”

“Thanks. I think that was the right thing to do.”

Looking at Dill’s back as he carefully checked the fallen men, it was only natural to feel a sense of strength.

Cait Sith.

They are cat-like beings who are treated as a different race in Ishtalika and are not naturally suited for combat.

Their fur varied from individual to individual, but some say there was a secret behind it.

For a long time, it was considered an old superstition. However, recent research had proven it to be true.

The more monochromatic their fur and the more majestic their mane, the greater the effect on their physical strength.

Dill, a knight who underwent a mutation that changed his species, may be an exception to this research.

His movements, however, with his golden fur and majestic mane, are like a golden wind that is too fast to see.

“In actual combat, Dill’s movements are completely different from before.”

“Haha… It’s flattering, but with my current movements, Marco-dono would probably handle me without even glancing at me.”

“…Well, it’s Marco, after all.”

That said, Ain could handle him, too, but his case was different.

In any case, the battle in the port area ended in a decisive victory.

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