74
Meanwhile, Apophis…
“Damn it, Merdin! Where did ‘Ji-ho’ disappear to?”
“I-I’m sorry! It was a teleport spell, not a blink, so I c-couldn’t follow…”
A faint smile appeared on Apophis’s lips, who had teleported Yeon Ji-ho with his own magic.
Originally, they had expected only a part of the imperial knights to come looking for them. That’s why Set had instructed Apophis to abandon Chain’s dogs and wolves and escape if the situation became unfavorable.
However, just as Set had left his most important piece, Apophis, by Yeon Ji-ho’s side, Hadad had also sent his most skilled magician. As if predicting Set’s choice.
So instead of using the short-range blink spell to escape with Yeon Ji-ho, Apophis had used a long-range teleport spell to send Yeon Ji-ho alone as far as possible. As a result, he had depleted almost all of his mana.
“You useless fool. His Majesty specifically ordered to bring ‘Ji-ho’, nothing else!”
“Hic. I’m sorry, truly sorry… Next time, I’ll definitely…”
Merdin, who had been floating in the air, staggered and fell as if crashing down. The golden-armored knight, Captain Relis, shook his head.
“Enough, bind these fellows first!”
Apophis had already predicted his defeat in this battle. He had no choice, having used most of his mana for the teleport spell earlier. So he offered no resistance and allowed himself to be tied up.
However, Nen’s situation was different. Nen was growling, baring his teeth at three or four knights much larger than himself. Whenever the knights moved even slightly, he quickly escaped to the ceiling like a cat.
Apophis, already tied up, frowned at Nen and blurted out:
“Hey, why don’t you stop that?”
If they were going to be captured anyway, wouldn’t it be better to be taken with as few injuries as possible?
With that thought, he casually spoke to Nen, but Nen glared at Apophis as soon as he saw him. As if reproaching him for sending Yeon Ji-ho away alone.
“Kyaak!”
Even Nen, who had been dodging between the knights, was finally caught. Unlike Apophis who had willingly accepted the ropes, Nen’s resistance was so fierce that the knights had to capture him with a net. Even inside the net, Nen was gnashing his teeth, trying to break through the mesh.
“Let’s go. His Majesty is waiting.”
“Ugh… I’m scared…”
With the end of Relis and Merdin’s conversation, the knights began to move.
Unlike Nen who had been roughly captured, Apophis was bound but had to walk on his own feet, allowing him to see the outside situation. The black market, which should have been dark, was in complete chaos.
Watching the scene, Apophis let out a deep sigh. He hadn’t expected Hadad to be this serious.
This black market had existed even before Hadad was born. Its origins were so complexly intertwined that even Hadad, who had become an emperor for the people, hesitated to touch it.
And now, this black market that had been tacitly allowed was completely overturned in a single day. Apophis’s heart raced anxiously at Hadad’s uncharacteristic actions.
Hadad might do anything to capture Yeon Ji-ho. The thought crossed his mind.
“Get in!”
Apophis and Nen were thrown simultaneously into a carriage used for transporting criminals. At least they seemed to be aware that these weren’t ordinary criminals, as only the two of them were inside.
As soon as he got into the carriage, Apophis tried to cast the most basic light spell. However, the magic didn’t work.
Instead, magic circles covering the carriage walls began to glow brightly. Apophis sighed through his teeth as he scanned the magic circles drawn on the walls with his eyes.
“They’ve really prepared thoroughly.”
All the magic circles drawn here were sealing magic circles. To be precise, they prevented any magic from being performed inside. They must have planned to put Yeon Ji-ho and himself in here when caught.
The more Apophis looked, the more he felt that Hadad had seriously prepared to capture Yeon Ji-ho. Then he noticed the fellow making a fuss next to him, covered in a net.
“Stay still. I’ll untie you.”
Apophis, for the first time in a while, used his hands directly instead of magic to untie the ropes. Although he was a magician, his unusual childhood made him more adept at using his body than ordinary magicians.
Apophis, with his skilled hands, first untied his own ropes and then removed the net covering Nen’s entire body. A disheveled Nen emerged.
“Haaa… How did I end up locked up with this guy.”
“…”
“Fine. You probably didn’t expect them to come so quickly either. They must have been following us since we entered the capital.”
It would have been impossible to catch up so quickly otherwise. Of course, Apophis and Set had thought Hadad would send someone somehow, but they hadn’t anticipated that it would be none other than Merdin and Relis.
That’s why Apophis had sent Yeon Ji-ho to the imperial palace as soon as he confirmed these two were on their tail. The presence of these two here meant that only Hadad was left in the imperial palace.
“I can find a way out somehow, but it’s too much to take you along.”
“…”
“So figure it out yourself?”
“…”
“At least pretend to nod!”
Nen, now free to move, acted as if he hadn’t heard Apophis’s words. Yes, this was the true nature of the ‘dogs and wolves’ that Apophis knew well. Those who don’t even treat people outside their group as human.
So Yeon Ji-ho, who had somehow managed to converse with them, was truly remarkable. Just as this thought crossed his mind, a voice suddenly came from beside him.
“…baby…”
“What? Did you just speak?”
“The baby…?”
Did I hear that wrong?
Apophis scratched his ear and looked at Nen again in the darkness. But this time, Nen properly opened his mouth and asked. He was asking what happened to the baby.
“…Are you asking if Mr. Ji-ho is okay?”
Nen, who had been blinking, nodded this time. Apophis’s mouth fell open.
How could he react like this after meeting Mr. Ji-ho for such a short time? It seems he received something called ‘chocolate’, but surely that food couldn’t have been enchanted?
As various thoughts crossed his mind, Apophis realized this wasn’t the first time such a thing had happened with Yeon Ji-ho.
Come to think of it, most people who met Yeon Ji-ho were like this. The born noble lady Gliese, Chain who considered most humans unclean, even ‘himself’ who first met him in another world…
Suddenly, a question flashed brightly in Apophis’s mind.
Wait, in this world, was there… anyone who disliked Mr. Ji-ho?
***
“Are they… gone?”
Yeon Ji-ho, peeking out from the bushes, looked around. Fortunately, there were no signs of people in the immediate vicinity.
Even after first falling into this place called the ‘Empress’s Garden’, Yeon Ji-ho had spotted patrolling guards several times. Each time, he had somehow managed to hide in the bushes.
Just now, he had been tense for a long time, watching two passing guards, and only now stood up. His legs were numb from crouching for so long.
“Ah, my stomach…”
Then Yeon Ji-ho, forgetting about his numb legs, touched his flat stomach. The thought that a child was growing there had crossed his mind.
He hadn’t thought about it at all before, but after seeing the result with his own eyes, everything, no matter how small, became a worry. He wondered if his anxiety was affecting the child.
“Set… How do I find Set here?”
It was overwhelming just to move around without getting caught, let alone finding Set in this vast place. While biting his nails in worry, Yeon Ji-ho came up with one idea.
Disguise.
Like when entering the capital, he would disguise himself. As a guard or a servant, whichever worked.
For that, he needed clothes… Yeon Ji-ho stared at a small tower a little distance from the garden. To get clothes, he needed to infiltrate somehow.
“Let’s go. Let’s try, yes.”
Muttering, Yeon Ji-ho lowered his body and slowly walked towards the castle. Perhaps thanks to his prayer not to encounter any guards, fortunately, he didn’t meet anyone else in the garden.
Upon reaching the tower, Yeon Ji-ho hesitated in front of the door. What if he met someone inside after entering?
“…said.”
“Ugh, it’s terrible. Terrible.”
At that moment, voices came from behind. In the end, Yeon Ji-ho had no time to think further and opened the door in front of him, entering.
As soon as he entered, he saw wooden stairs stretching downwards. It was too shabby for nobles to use, so thinking it might be a path for servants, he hurriedly descended the stairs.
And as he went down, he was engulfed by an endless darkness.
“…Huh?”
At some point, Yeon Ji-ho felt an inexplicable chill run down his spine. A feeling that this place might not be where he wanted to be. Even if it was a place for servants, it shouldn’t have such a damp and eerie atmosphere.
However, by the time this thought occurred to him, he had already reached the bottom. Just as fear struck him and Yeon Ji-ho took a step back.
A small stone caught Yeon Ji-ho’s heel and rolled away.
“Ah…”
A chilling sensation enveloped his entire body. Someone was watching him. From deep within that darkness… they were observing him.
“Grrrr…”
A sound like that of a beast reached his ears. At the same time, part of what he had thought was just darkness began to move. And at some point, something began to become visible in the faint light that had seeped in from somewhere unknown.
Creak, creak.
A massive form was unfolding itself. Now Yeon Ji-ho could see its appearance perfectly.
It was a being with its limbs firmly bound to an iron wall, even its mouth restrained. Yeon Ji-ho’s gaze slowly climbed from the feet upwards, and at some point, it stopped abruptly at its head.
Those were horns.
Horns that had been half-broken by someone.
