Chapter 11. Silver-Haired Maid (1)
Kwaang!
The executive office of the Elsyde Fortress, which had been quiet until just now.
The huge door resounded loudly as it was smashed open.
Grantel, who had not taken his eyes off the documents, spoke to the presence approaching him, panting.
"Bartlec, it's been a while since I've seen you so flustered."
Bartlec, Grantel's faithful butler and right-hand man.
He was usually so serious and taciturn.
It had been a long time since he had seen him so agitated. Then, surely, something worth it must have happened.
As expected, Bartlec urgently shouted.
"Executive Officer! Young Master Enoch has returned!"
Pause.
The pen skimming over the documents stopped for a moment.
Grantel slowly rose from his seat and said.
"There's no need to be so excited. If he's already returned, I can already guess the result."
It was an obvious matter.
A young master who couldn't use magic and had only grown up delicately, what could he have done going there?
No doubt he had been blocked by one or two thugs in an alley and tasted bitterness before returning now.
"In the first place, a solo search and annihilation mission isn't that easy."
Solo search and annihilation mission.
It was one of the notoriously difficult, high-level missions.
Excellent combat magic ability is basic.
The skill to conduct local information investigations in parallel.
At the same time, even the interpersonal skills to hide one's identity.
It was a type of mission where success could only be expected if a talent who possessed all these capabilities alone was put in.
The difficulty was such that even most veteran mages belonging to the Elsyde family would shake their heads.
But what about Young Master Enoch?
Not to mention his magical skills, he was also immature in terms of human skills.
'Enoch of the 9th level was confined because he had no talent for magic.'
Of course, neither his talent nor his environment were very suitable for cultivating the ability to carry out the mission.
'Besides, according to what I heard from the driver, the place that particular person headed for was that notorious underworld.'
I don't know what he was thinking going there in the first place.
But even though it was somewhat small in scale, the underworld was by no means a place to take on as a first mission.
'But in the end, that was also something Young Master chose for himself. He must have known what kind of results awaited him.'
It was just that a boy born with misfortune wanted to try one last struggle.
It was nothing more or less than that mission.
Grantel sighed and asked the butler.
"Still, it seems he's returned alive, which is a relief. Was he badly injured by any chance?"
"No, that's…."
But Bartlec hesitated for a moment, gave up on explaining, and pointed to the window outside the executive office.
"It would be faster to see for yourself."
Grantel looked at him questioningly for a moment.
Enoch's failure should be a predetermined course.
It shouldn't be that surprising.
"That's strange. It's unlike you to be so flustered…."
Grantel rebuked him and slowly drew back the curtains of the executive office window as if to show him.
"……?"
But the next moment, a look of surprise flashed across his eyes.
A transport mechanical carriage was clearly visible outside the window. Grantel was speechless for a moment at the sight.
There was no mistake.
It was certainly the carriage that had been hijacked during transport a few months ago, although it was dented here and there as if someone had deliberately hammered it with a hammer.
"The cargo has also been confirmed. The carriage was a bit damaged, but the contents were intact without anything missing."
Bartlec, who had approached, reported in a whisper.
Grantel glanced down at the report on the desk and opened his mouth to mutter softly.
“…Hoo, I heard he beat up one of Dionyl Young Master’s Follower Families a while ago.”
Kwaang!
Then, the door of the executive office was smashed open again.
"Executive Officer!"
The driver of the mechanical carriage, who was in charge of transporting Enoch to and from the mission site.
"Young Master Enoch has returned after completing the mission!"
Even he, a veteran who had been with the Elsyde family for more than a few years, was quite excited, unlike usual.
The driver quickly finished the brief report and stepped aside.
Behind him, Enoch, as usual, was standing.
"I have returned from the mission now."
A moment of silence flowed in the room.
Grantel asked in a low voice.
"Young Master Enoch. Did you really succeed in the mission?"
"That's right."
A calm answer.
Grantel raised an eyebrow as if surprised.
It was hard to think that it was a reaction to succeeding in his first mission, especially the difficult search and annihilation mission.
Perhaps because he had been confined to the family's fortress until the age of 17 before his coming-of-age ceremony, he had grown into a boy who couldn't even feel emotional changes well?
Grantel gave a bitter smile and bowed his head.
"Good. First, could you report the detailed contents of the mission?"
Enoch placed several bundles of documents on the desk.
They were documents with detailed content and proper seals.
"The carriage was found in the logistics warehouse of the northern underworld. The people who stole it were a force called 'Vendetta'. For some reason, they didn't seem to have touched the contents yet."
Grantel picked them up with a slightly surprised expression and said.
"Vendetta…. It's a word that's been heard little by little in various parts of the Empire recently."
"According to my investigation, the guys in the northern underworld seem to have just been storing the carriage after receiving a request. Check the documents for details."
Grantel scanned the documents and continued.
"But that's strange. According to the investigation conducted by the magicians belonging to the church, the carriage was clearly taken out of the fortress through the southern road."
"Send a letter of protest to the church. Tell them not to complicate things with their nonsense."
Grantel looked at Enoch for a moment.
Then, he turned his gaze back to the documents and said.
"If that's what you say, you must have had a lot of trouble. I knew early on that the church's magicians weren't trustworthy, but I didn't know it would be to this extent."
Enoch nodded vigorously in his heart.
It's not wrong.
I already knew through experience, so I stabbed the underworld warehouse right away, but if I had received the mission without knowing anything, I would have wasted time doing nothing.
"I have confirmed the success of Young Master's first mission. I sincerely congratulate you."
Grantel eventually put down the documents.
"As the mission was a secret mission, we cannot publicly announce the success to those around us…."
Then, he looked straight at Enoch and said.
"We will discuss future matters with the family members, along with fair compensation through subsequent procedures. I am truly sorry that we cannot celebrate your success in a grand manner right now."
"I understand. Then I'll be on my way."
Enoch only said that and closed the door. Grantel stared at his back for a moment.
'The young master who had to stay locked up in his room. I didn't know he would grow up so precociously.'
But apart from that, a big question remained.
Grantel slowly pondered his question.
'…But how on earth did he succeed in the mission?'
The biggest reason why he initially guessed that Enoch would not be able to succeed in the mission itself was none other than….
'Young Master Enoch, who should be a non-magician!'
A well-known incompetent non-magician.
Moreover, Enoch, who has no Follower Family to help him.
How on earth did he succeed in the mission?
The reason why the family had not entrusted Enoch with missions until now was due to the fact that he was a non-magician.
They judged that there was no possibility of survival if a fight broke out with a magician.
Even if he came back alive, he would only bear the disgrace of the Main House's direct line failing the mission.
There was no reason to put a non-magician Enoch into a mission with such a huge risk.
However, in this first mission that Enoch had won by putting his own self-destruction on the line, he accomplished a considerably difficult mission on his own.
'Of course, if I think about it a bit coldly, it's possible that Young Master hired a skilled magician separately or bribed a person from the underworld.'
But if that were the case, there would be something paid in return.
'But in this mission, the family did not provide Enoch with something of that much value.'
Of course, Enoch, who had been living a life of forced confinement, certainly had no Follower Family, let alone special financial support.
In the end, since he had no wealth or resources to bribe anyone, it meant that Enoch had undoubtedly carried out this mission alone.
Frankly, it was still an unbelievable achievement.
'Could it be…?'
At that moment, something came to Grantel's mind as if it fit together.
Why hadn't he thought of this possibility until now?
'A sudden mission application. Unexplained confidence. And even the achievements that have been revealed in practice.'
The most certain and clear possibility for Enoch to show such behavior was only one.
'Young Master Enoch, could it be that he can use magic…?'
But soon he bowed his head slightly.
'No, it's not good to jump to conclusions.'
In fact, it would be over if I called the person in question right now and asked.
But he was the Executive Officer of the Elsyde family.
He should never approach the direct line with personal feelings or actions.
The Executive Officer in a position that must be absolutely neutral in the huge organization of the Main House.
It would be difficult for him, who was in such a serious position, to be seen as supporting a specific successor.
'But one thing has become clear.'
But on Grantel's face, who had turned his gaze back to the documents, an interesting look was fleeting.
'I need to keep a close eye on Young Master Enoch's future actions.'
***
As always, there were many people passing through the fortress corridor.
Walking mixed among them, Enoch hid the shirt stained with blood from the scars with a robe.
Swish.
They were the injuries sustained in the battle in the underworld.
It was only scratches at best, but the wounds ached anew as the mission ended.
But the items he obtained this time more than offset that pain.
'One of the major villain groups in the original work, and an opposing force that has a big impact even on the ending, 「Vendetta」.'
As such, the evil deeds and various incidents they committed in the game were well depicted.
However, it was not clearly revealed under what cause they were united as a group and why they were resisting the Empire and the families.
Originally, <Magic Empire Atlas> was not a game that was very kind to backstories or backgrounds.
The settings of the characters who can become companions.
Things like the relationship between people were quite detailed….
'But the in-depth information about the full-fledged world and opposing forces, etc., only spread fragmentary information.'
For some reason, he never clearly specified a proper explanation and spoon-fed it to the players.
'Regarding Vendetta, there were only a lot of rice cakes dropped, but nothing was properly recovered.'
And of course, this is the story that applies to Vendetta, one of the major opposing forces in the original work.
I'd say it's a typical storytelling abuse of dropping a lot of rice cakes and telling you to think for yourself.
Regarding this game's unkind style, I remember that discussions that divided pros and cons were often held in various communities.
That means the degree was severe.
'Anyway, if I read the information I got from the warehouse, I'll be able to grasp them to some extent.'
In the game, all I had to do was think about clearing it, regardless of such information.
But this is no longer the real world, not a game.
'Especially Vendetta is a group that is deeply related to Enoch's death in the original work.'
Therefore, it was necessary to thoroughly understand Vendetta, one of the main opposing forces.
Rustle.
Enoch checked the bundle of documents in his arms.
The most valuable harvest from this mission was to take out only the good parts of the documents submitted to the family for reporting to capture only the outline of Vendetta.
For now, I've secured the important information.
Now I can slowly rest and read it.
'Anyway, it's going to be a proper start from now on.'
Even with the success of the first mission, he wasn't excited for some reason.
Is it because he knows that this is just a trivial mission compared to the main story of the original work?
Enoch calmly recalled the events of the original work that would unfold in the future, and was suddenly surprised at himself.
'Was I usually like this?'
His mind was unusually calm.
'Or is it the calmness that the original Enoch had?'
It was another moment when he felt a sense of incongruity.
Enoch shook his head and shook off his thoughts.
He must simply be tired and his senses dulled.
Even if such calmness was really the personality of the previous Enoch, it wouldn't work badly for him, so it wouldn't matter at all.
Squeak.
When he walked a long way, opened his door and came in.
A familiar voice faintly rang in his ears.
"Have you returned, Young Master?"
A maid who was so emotionless that it felt cold.
Lien was bowing to him politely.
"I heard you succeeded in the mission. Congratulations."
Her emotionless eyes, which had taken Enoch's robe, narrowed for a moment as she saw his blood-stained shirt.
“…You were injured.”
“It’s not serious.”
"I will prepare clothes to change into immediately and treatment."
Saying that in a transparent tone, Lien slowly walked out the door.
Enoch was about to nod at her words without thinking, but suddenly stopped.
'Wait, succeeded in the mission?'
He felt something was wrong and quickly turned his head towards her.
The words Grantel had said just now echoed in his head.
-As the mission was a secret mission, we cannot publicly announce the success to those around us….
He certainly would have said that.
'How does Lien know that?'
Swish.
Lien, who was about to leave the room from behind Enoch.
Beyond her silver hair, cold cyan eyes were coldly watching him.