I came to my senses and turned my head, still clad in a crimson wizard robe. The elderly mage who led me into the city was walking towards me, with the swordsman Mark closely following behind. They both appeared relaxed, almost as if they were truly here to visit a tavern.
However, I knew even if they weren't here specifically to find me, they certainly weren't here for drinks.
"Nice to see you again, Mr. Mage. I haven't properly thanked you for bringing me into the city last time," I said with a smile. I cursed myself for being so absent-minded these past few days. When I was a special agent, I was always vigilant. Could it be that a year of peaceful time on Dragon Island had worn down my sense of alertness?
The old mage smiled and said, "It was just a small gesture on my part, and besides, it was just a paltry silver coin for city gate tax. You needn't worry about it. Allow me to introduce myself again. I am Yorkse William, and this here is my protector, Mark William."
I nodded politely towards the swordsman, exchanging greetings. "I am Edmond Douglas. You are the head of the William family, the soon-to-be Duke surpassing the Archmage?"
Although I had only recently arrived in the small town, information about Duke Yorkse was readily available on the continent map I had purchased. He was the lord of this territory and the father of the town lord, a high-ranking mage approaching the level of an Archmage.
"I am indeed the head of the William family, but talk of surpassing the Archmage is just baseless rumor," Duke Yorkse chuckled. "I too aspire to become an Archmage, but I've yet to make a breakthrough. I've only scratched the surface so far. But you, achieving the rank of Grand Swordsman at such a young age, it seems becoming a Sword Saint is within your grasp."
"I never expected that a mere lesson to an ignorant youth would become so widely known," I shook my head ruefully. "But," I continued, "I prefer to avoid trouble. I intended to sell those materials to the shop anyway, and your price was fair, so I sold them willingly. It was a mutual agreement, nothing to thank me for."
Seeing my persistent aloofness, Duke Yorkse abandoned any indirect approaches and cut to the chase. "Since you've taken on the mercenary task of guarding the town, would you be willing to join the experts of the lord's mansion in facing that possible mythical beast?"
I understood this as a veiled invitation to join the William family. Shaking my head, I replied, "I prefer to go my own way. Even with your expertise as a mage and Mark as a swordsman, and considering the mansion has many experts, my presence or absence won't make much difference. If there is a real need, I can always join later."
Duke Yorkse expressed regret, "Since you're unwilling to join an old man like me, that's how it has to be. But since you are from Karang, would you be willing to serve the country?"
It seemed he was not willing to give up yet, and serving the country was indeed a legitimate reason. In my former world, such a statement would have been enough for me to agree. However, now I didn't belong to Karang or any country here.
I explained helplessly, "I filled in Karang because I am currently here. But I am not actually from Karang, so there's no need to mention serving the country."
Duke Yorkse was magnanimous, knowing not to force the issue, and temporarily abandoned the idea of recruiting me. He quickly shifted his interest to my nationality, curious, "Then which country are you from?"
I knew I would eventually have to face this question. Thinking about how smaller countries on the continent were often annexed by larger ones, I sighed and pretended to be sad, saying, "My homeland is no longer worth mentioning, as it was already engulfed in war."
Seeing my sad expression and knowing wars were frequent on the continent, Duke Yorkse didn't press further.
Relieved that I had finally brushed him off, I relaxed a bit. After all, he had done me a favor, and I couldn't bring myself to be cold towards him.
Coincidentally, I wanted to learn more about the unexpected magical beast that appeared nearby. As the lord, he should be the most knowledgeable person about it. I couldn't miss such a good opportunity and immediately asked him about the creature.
"This is a very strange beast. According to our scouts who observed it from the air, it may not be purely water-elemental. At the time, it even used a level nine light magic to kill several scouts. Luckily, one scout who was further back managed to escape. But they didn't get a clear look at the creature."
It seemed this beast might also have light attributes! A level nine light magic, even for a mid-level mythical beast, would be difficult to use unless it had light attributes. My heart raced with excitement. If I could obtain a light-attribute mythical beast core for Anna, she would be thrilled!
I made a decision secretly. But judging by the energy I felt, if it really was a mythical beast, even the entire city's people might not be enough to handle it.
Next, we chatted endlessly. Although he had been subtly probing my background, as a former special agent, I naturally handled it with ease. Instead, we talked at length about fine wines.
Of course, I didn't know what good wines existed in this world, so I could only talk about various fine wines I had tasted on Earth. However, through this conversation, I learned about many fine wines in this world.
Such as the Elven clan's Sky Fruit Wine, the Orc imperial clan's Meat Flavor Wine, and the Dwarven Holy Wine brewed with earth spring water, among others. Of course, there were many fine wines among humans, but they were relatively rare.
We spent the entire afternoon chatting between us, although the bar was a bit noisy, it didn't bother us. Duke Yorkse simply cast a simple soundproofing spell to isolate the noise completely.
Mark had been quietly listening all along, faithfully performing his duties as a guard. It wasn't until dusk that he reminded Duke Yorkse, "Sir, it's getting late. You must return to the mansion."
Seeing Duke Yorkse's reluctant expression, although I knew he definitely knew my address these past two days, I still told him it was my newly purchased estate to ease his mind!
Knowing that I had already bought an estate in the city made Duke Yorkse very happy. With Mark urging him, he bid me farewell and left.
I quickly paid the bill and left. Throughout the afternoon, he hadn't stopped probing my background, so I had been cautious. After half a day, even with my innate qi, I felt a bit overwhelmed.
But considering that he was a duke who was so amiable and eager for talents, and that the residents of this small town were still living happily and peacefully, without any bullying happening, it made me appreciate him even more.
Otherwise, I wouldn't have the patience to linger with him all night. But fortunately, he didn't know that Roger had volunteered to be my servant, otherwise with two sword masters, I was afraid he would spend the night lingering with me again.
Back at the estate, I called out Roger, who was busy in the arena, and carefully inquired about the situation in Karang.
Recently, Karang has been provoked by the neighboring country of Karter, a small country with only three provinces that has been a vassal state of the Gochas Empire, while Karter has over a dozen provinces and is much stronger than Karang.
The two countries had been living in peace, but three years ago, the old king of Karter died, and the new king, ambitious, wanted to develop Karter into the sixth empire. He directed his spearhead directly at Karang.
Although due to the intervention of the Gus Empire, Katte dared not directly send troops to attack Kallenka, their covert actions have been ongoing. Recently, Duke Yorkser's territory has suffered multiple attacks from thieves disguised as Katte's army. Each time they are besieged, they flee when outnumbered, and even when they are fewer, they are not necessarily their match, resulting in several unsuccessful attempts.
Therefore, Duke Yorkser is eager to recruit skilled individuals to bolster the strength of his military within the territory.
Now, encountering this unexpected siege by magical beasts can only be described as adding insult to injury.
Aware of the old duke's predicament, I am inclined to go and stir up trouble for these 'thieves'. If their methods are too ruthless, I wouldn't mind annihilating them directly.
However, of course, after dealing with the siege of the magical beasts, it wouldn't be much trouble to take a look around the old duke's territory before leaving the city.
With my decision made, I naturally settled down for a night of meditation. Roger, on the other hand, has been almost obsessively practicing these past few days. Despite knowing there's a major battle tomorrow, he refuses to sleep, solely focused on mastering that set of footwork.
But mastering such intricate footwork is certainly not easy; he can barely manage to take four steps even now.
In the end, impatient with him, I knocked him out and tossed him onto the bed.
The next day, I rushed to the nearby sea port at the beach early in the morning to inspect it. They call it a sea port, but in reality, it can only accommodate a very limited number of ships. From my perspective, there aren't even ships capable of carrying a tonnage. At best, they can only ply the nearby waters, perhaps for fishing. Attempting to venture out to sea would be suicidal.
I circled the beach again, hoping to find a secluded spot to slay the magical beasts without attracting attention. However, I found nothing suitable to utilize. It seems almost impossible to kill those beasts near the coast without being seen. Naturally, I don't want to be observed. If people were to discover that I killed a sacred beast, there would be more than a few seeking me out, akin to figures like the old duke.
After a thorough search with no discoveries, I silently resolved to act opportunistically when the time comes. If necessary, I won't worry about the consequences. It appears obtaining a usable sacred beast magic core won't be an easy task after all.