TYND 72

TL: Motokare

“Please have a seat over here.”

Theon’s group sat down on the sofas arranged around a small table. Tsudeyfa gave his wand a light wave, and red magic energy wrapped around the teapot and cups. 

Drip, drip, drip, 

Tea with a pleasant aroma filled the cups, but nobody except Tsudeyfa drank any. He let out a snort while examining each member of Theon’s party before asking, 

“Where have you sent my fellow countryman? I was looking forward to meeting him since they say he’s the most accomplished of our homeland to date.”

Tsudeyfa was referring to Chungnip.

Chungnip was currently visiting various magic towers, libraries, and mage organisations to gather information regarding methods to develop Rothy’s physical body. 

“That’s none of your concern. How many mages can you provide for this operation?”

“Straight to the point, are you? No hesitation, just like a proper swordsman.”

“……”

“But first, could we discuss about how much of The Mandate’s assets you’ll allocate to us once everything’s completed?”

Zey answered on Theon’s behalf. 

“Guildmaster, we’ve already stated we won’t touch anything related to dark magic. If it’s tied to dark magic, whether magitools or books, take them all for yourself.”

“I need proper assurance. What if His Grace betrays us and hands over those valuable materials to another mage organisations coveting dark magic?”

“We can bind ourselves with a conditional oath spell.”

“Hmmph, even if you cast the strongest oath spell, your archmage over there would be able to break it instantly, wouldn’t he?”

Said archmage flinched as if stung and blinked his big emerald-green eyes at Theon while tugging at his sleeve. 

“Theon, may I speak?”

“Go ahead…”

Tsudeyfa narrowed his already narrow eyes further as he regarded Rothy with interest. Rothy, pressed against Theon, spoke clearly and calmly. 

“You wouldn’t believe me even if I said I wouldn’t undo the oath spell. And you can’t use an oath spell stronger than mine either. In the end, you’ve no choice but to trust me… You agreed to this meeting on the basis of trusting us. So this whole conversation is a waste of time… We should stop wasting time and move forward with the plan already.”

Tsudeyfa smiled, looking intrigued.

“Your Grace’s remarkably sharp. But I must say, it’s disappointing. Since you’ve never been in the position of the weaker side, you can’t quite understand why we have to consider the risk of betrayal.”

“That’s a weird thing to say. Assassins betray people all the time… You’re the betrayers…”

“Betrayers…”

“There are plenty of other assassin guilds besides yours. If we don’t like working with you, we can just go elsewhere. Right, Theon?”

“That’s right.”

Theon was proud of Rothy and raised his hand to stroke his cheek, but then, conscious of Tsudeyfa, he lowered it again. Rothy, too, had cocked his head slightly to be petted, then, aware of the situation, straightened himself again.

Ha-ha-ha!

A loud laughter filled the room. When Tsudeyfa clapped, his accessories made jingling sounds. All his rings, bracelets and ornaments were made from crafted magical stones.

“Your Grace, you’re indeed decisive. I like that. This is exactly how a mage should be!”

The content of the conversation wasn’t important. What mattered was who was speaking. One word from Rothy would’ve more impact than ten from Theon, Zey, or Xeon because the three of them were swordsmen and not a mage. Tsudeyfa wasn’t just sexually obsessed with mages, he also showed extreme favouritism towards them. 

There was a famous story about him.

While passing through a back alley, a group of thugs picked a fight with him. He killed four out of the five but gave all the gold he had to the last one and let him go. 

Simply because the fifth thug was a mage. 

“You’re right. I tried to start pointless mind games even though we’d decided to form an alliance and even had Your Graces coming all this way.”

“Chungnip said there was no way you’d pass up this chance.”

“Of course, someone from my homeland would know me well.”

Tsudeyfa had the strongest interest in black magic, above all else. The reason he set up an assassin guild when he settled in the Western Continent, instead of building a magic tower or joining a magic organisation, was to advance his dark magic. For him, the chance to acquire the dark magic knowledge from The Mandate was an opportunity he couldn’t afford to miss. 

“Well then, shall we get down to business? I’m going to summon my subordinates, please don’t be alarmed.”

Tsudeyfa smiled brightly and snapped his fingers. The door opened and Bluetri assassins who’d been waiting outside entered. There were five of them, including the Vice-Guildmaster. Once they took their seats, Tsudeyfa channelled magical energy into a flat-shaped magical device on the table, activating it and projecting a semi-transparent image above.

“You said you’d occupy it quietly without leaving any trace of the Empire’s involvement, didn’t you? It won’t be easy. Their base was designed after a labyrinth. This entire section here is all traps. There are no other entrances, you’ve to get through these traps directly to open the gate.”

Tsudeyfa leaned back into the chair. 

“From our side, we’ll deploy fifteen fourth-grade mages, ten fifth-grade mages, and one sixth-grade mage.”

“That sixth-grade mage would be—”

“Myself. I can’t possibly miss this historic moment of annihilating The Mandate. Besides, none of you can recognise dark magic artefacts, can you? Even something that looks like a pebble could be the only dark magic artefact in Araxys. I’d be more worried that someone with no knowledge of dark magic accidentally step on and destroy it.”

Tsudeyfa shrugged dramatically and sighed.

Zey and Theon exchanged meaningful glances before Theon gave a decisive nod. There was no reason to object to Tsudeyfa joining them, especially considering his status as a sixth-grade mage. With The Mandate’s guildmaster Avindior also being a sixth-grade mage, Tsudeyfa would be a crucial asset when facing him. 

The conversation continued as they shared information, combining what each side knew while building a new three-dimensional map in real-time. Both sides had planted spies in The Mandate, enabling them to recreate about ninety percent of the guild headquarters.

“Guildmaster, I’ll take over the map.”

Vice-Guildmaster Meden offered, channelling his magical energy into the device projecting the map, cutting off Tsudeyfa’s red magical energy. The projection flickered briefly, then re-established. With a tired expression, Tsudeyfa counted the rings on his fingers before suddenly flashing a calculated smile.

“I can maintain the map for three hours and Meden for two. The meeting seems like it will last longer, and it would be wonderful if our archmage could lend a hand.”

It was a roundabout way to test out how much magical power Rothy had. Rothy, who was absent-mindedly rubbing Chi-chi under his robe sleeve, quickly looked up.

“I understand, I’ll help…”

He raised his hand, and a green light wrapped around the magical device.

“Ohhh… So Your Grace’s magical energy is green. I’d hoped for white, but green’s lovely too.”

Rothy’s magical energy was actually colourless, but that was a secret. He deliberately added a colour in front of others.

“Rothy, you don’t have to push yourself too hard.”

“Mmmhm… don’t worry, Theon.”

Rothy could’ve maintained the map permanently if he wanted to, but that was also a secret. An hour later, the young archmage rolled his eyes dramatically and rubbed his forehead to Theon’s forearm.

“Ah… I’m tired. Using magic for an entire hour is… exhausting…”

“……”

“Yes… that’s right. I’m just a normal mage who gets tired after using magic for an hour…”

“……”

The young archmage was a terrible liar, but his clumsy act was both cute and endearing. The meeting continued, and they’d dinner together afterwards. They took a break once the meal was over and Tsudeyfa then gave Rothy a tour of his office, proudly explaining all the Eastern Continent items he had collected. 

“When people think of Eastern Continent specialities, the first thing that comes to mind is these finely crafted clocks. Did you know? Before Eastern clocks came, all the clocks on the Western Continent were made with magic stones.”

“Making them with magic stones would be really expensive.

“Yes, exactly. They were so expensive that commoners couldn’t afford them and had to rely on a single clock tower in their village. The reason everyone can now carry pocket watches, wear wristwatches, and have their own clocks is thanks to the Eastern Continent.”

Tsudeyfa smiled and pointed to Theon. 

“That watch on His Grace’s wrist looks like it’s from the Eastern Continent, isn’t it?”

Theon showed his wrist to Rothy and answered.

“I don’t know where it’s from. I was passing through a village during the war, and an old woman there gave it to me.”

“Hmmm, she must’ve been quite rich. Maybe you reminded her of her grandson.”

Rothy fiddled with Theon’s watch. He knew Theon always wore a watch, but this was his first time touching it up close.

“The watch… how long have you had it.”

“Five, maybe six years. Do you like it?”

The way Rothy was examining his watch with interest made it obvious he did. Theon began to unfasten his watch but was stopped by Rothy. 

“You should wear it. It won’t fit me anyway.”

“It can be adjusted.”

“No, this is already Theon’s. Only you can wear it.”

Puzzled by this firm attitude, Theon lowered his hand.