Are MZ Shamans In Trouble In Romance Novels? - Chapter 64

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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64.

He narrowed his eyes and pulled Calisia toward him. The image of Talaph baring his teeth at her earlier came to mind.

“And Valus, haven’t I told you countless times? Distance control is essential when fighting someone. No matter how emaciated he is, your opponent is a man who’s been wielding a hammer his entire life.”

Ian, who had pulled Calisia from his embrace, began lecturing her.

“He’s tied up.”

“Your opponent currently possesses abnormal strength. You should know this better than I do.”

“I get it, so just tone it down. Just tone it down.”

Calisia tilted her head back and made a groaning sound.

“If you don’t want to hear nagging, then act properly. Don’t you think it’s also a problem that you were just caught in my hands like that? In dangerous situations like this, you need to be alert in all directions…”

“Ian Lakies. Do you perhaps not know the meaning of ‘tone it down’? I’m asking if you need to study language again.”

Unable to listen anymore, Calisia mimicked Ian’s tone and spoke sarcastically. It was a protest that she didn’t want to hear any more.

“How childish.”

Exasperated, Ian clicked his tongue against the inside of his cheek.

***

“…Sigh.”

Ian and Calisia held their heads while looking at the documents on the desk. It was the records of the Batar blacksmiths that they had investigated through the security force.

“It really is just like Pail said. There’s basically no movement pattern. Either the lodging, the forge, or the tavern. And even that’s only once every two months.”

“Their grudge relationships are also clean. These are people who devoted their entire lives only to forge work.”

“And look at this. This is Batar’s Flame’s average monthly weapon production. Since direct orders are received separately here… Murder? They’d be lucky to get two hours of sleep a day.”

Calisia and Ian clicked their tongues at the Batar blacksmiths’ work intensity. If the blacksmiths had committed murder, it would probably have been due to complaints about excessive workload.

“Are they being paid properly?”

Ian, who had finally closed the blacksmiths’ files, stared intently at Calisia.

“What? What’s with that look full of regional prejudice?”

“I asked if they’re being paid properly.”

Ian, possessed by a labor union leader, seriously criticized the blacksmiths’ work intensity.

“How would I know? Ask Duke Valus if you run into him.”

“Why don’t you know? You’re also a Valus and a great noble responsible for the Western Region.”

“…Great noble, my foot. If we’re being precise, we’re more like fallen nobility.”

Calisia pouted and muttered quietly. Just a few months ago, she had been trapped in the middle of a desert. Eating insects, though whether that was true or not was unclear. Moreover, it wasn’t like she had a mother or reliable maternal relatives. When she could barely take care of her own life, being responsible for the Western Region was nonsense.

“Yeah. Our family follows a winner-takes-all succession system. Go tell Cain.”

“Just because he’ll become the next Duke doesn’t change the fact that you’re a noble. As someone born with noble blood, you should…”

“Ahhhhhhh! I can’t hear you-.”

Calisia, who had been talking about the murderous ghosts, blocked her ears, asking why the topic had shifted in this direction.

“You can hear me.”

Ian personally grabbed both her hands and pulled them down.

“Ah, seriously, why are you being so childish?”

Calisia, overpowered by the difference in strength, let out a hollow laugh.

“You seem to have forgotten who was just going ‘ahhhhh-‘ a moment ago.”

“Hey, does the North pay a lot then?”

“We pay fair compensation for labor.”

Ian drew a line, saying the North was different from the West, which ground people down.

“Seeing how long-winded you’re being, you don’t pay much.”

“We pay a lot.”

The two continued their war of words, growling at each other.

“Huh?”

Pail, who had come to the Northern Castle due to a sudden summons, couldn’t hide his confusion. It was because of the two nobles who were bombarding him with questions.

“How much do you get paid? Gold coins? Silver coins? You get paid well, right?”

“Are you receiving unfair wages compared to your hours? Or are you being forced to work certain hours?”

Pail’s vision spun. This was his first time facing nobles so closely and receiving so many questions.

“Uh, um… I thought you called me about my father and the blacksmiths’ matter.”

“Ah…”

At Pail’s words, Calisia and Ian, who had finally come to their senses, calmed their excitement. The two, feeling embarrassed, exchanged glances.

“Right. Well… what is it. We thought there might be something we’re missing.”

“Could you tell us about the incident from the beginning?”

“Yes, yes. Of course.”

Pail, recalling his memories, began recounting the incident again. The epidemic that started with Talaph had no particular warning symptoms or patterns. It just somehow manifested at some point.

“Isn’t there any common factor among the infected?”

“Other than being from Batar…”

Pail trailed off and chewed his lips nervously.

“Ah! There is one thing. They’re all Color Blacksmiths.”

Pail complained that this had greatly damaged Batar’s production and quality.

“Color Blacksmiths?”

“Ah, Color Blacksmiths refers to executive-level blacksmiths.”

Pail said that Batar had particularly many executive-level blacksmiths compared to other forges. That was also why they could earn the title of the premier forge.

“But only those Color Blacksmiths specifically got sick? Something’s strange about this.”

“We can’t rule out the possibility of political maneuvering.”

The atmosphere between Calisia and Ian became quite serious. They had an intuition that the scale of the incident might be larger than expected.

“Pail. If Batar falls, which place would become the premier forge?”

“You’re not suspecting other forges, are you?”

Pail waved his hands dismissively, saying it was ridiculous. The Flame Blacksmiths might belong to different organizations, but their roots were the same. There might be envy and jealousy, but they wouldn’t harm each other.

“Where is there an epidemic that only targets key personnel? Moreover, the people who would benefit are clear.”

Calisia scolded Pail not to be naive.

“It won’t hurt to be certain. I’ll have the knights place eyes on the four major forges.”

“We should also attach surveillance to the Batar Forge and lodging.”

The two, having forgotten Pail’s presence, began planning their criminal investigation operation.

***

A brown-haired maid was cleaning the rooms of the Batar blacksmiths. The others had fled in terror because of the epidemic.

“Epidemic, my foot.”

The maid snorted while mopping. People chattered about catching the disease if they went to Batar, but it was all nonsense. Moreover, Batar even had decent pocket money opportunities. Specifically, collecting the blacksmiths’ hair.

“Perverted bastards.”

The maid climbing the stairs cursed as if getting goosebumps. Well, it wasn’t her concern anyway. They gave silver coins for just a few strands of hair. Eager at the thought of money, the maid hurried her steps. Today it was the third room on the second floor.

Creak-

The maid carefully opened the door and looked around unnecessarily. Her conscience was pricking her.

Tap- Tap-

The maid pretended to arrange the bedding while examining every corner of the bedroom.

“Found it!”

Her constantly moving eyes stopped at the pillow. The delighted maid quickly stuffed the hair into her pouch.

“Are you a stalker? Why are you collecting other people’s hair?”

“Eeek!”

At the voice right next to her ear, the maid nearly fainted. A silver-purple haired girl was gripping the back of her neck with a menacing expression.

“Or are you a pervert?”

“It’s, it’s a misunderstanding! Please, please believe me!”

The maid who recognized Calisia’s red eyes prostrated herself flat on the floor.

“What’s the misunderstanding? Stalking? Being a pervert? Or collecting hair?”

“I, I was just cleaning…”

“Hey. I don’t have much time, so would you rather get beaten and then talk, or just talk? Fair warning, it hurts.”

Crack-!

Calisia, who had kindly given a warning, spread out her right hand wide. Then a goblin club wrapped in blue flames revealed itself.

-Since they wore a long cloak, I couldn’t, couldn’t see their face either. Really. Besides, except for the first transaction, we only communicated through letters.

The maid, faced with the blue flames she had only heard about in rumors, confessed everything. The place where they conducted their transactions was the storage room wall located behind the forge.

“They say it’s darkest under the lamp, and the spy was really right under our noses.”

Calisia, who had been striding up the hill path with Ian, looked back. It was because of Pail, whose steps kept slowing down.

“Pail, are you okay?”

Pail’s already pale face had turned even whiter. The fact that the diligent maid was involved in the plague incident seemed to be quite a shock.

“Yes? Yes.”

Pail replied weakly and hung his head. Calisia also didn’t add any more words. Everyone needed time alone sometimes.

“Fifth row from the bottom, thirty-third from the right.”

Calisia, who had reached the front of the storage room, felt around the outer wall. Among the rough bricks, she felt a strangely smooth sensation.

Click-

After fumbling for a moment, she firmly pulled on a groove caught under her fingernail. Then a red box that looked like a brick revealed itself.

Click-

Calisia carefully opened the box.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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