Myra narrowed her eyes as she stared intently at Karami.
She sensed a malevolent aura emanating from him that she hadn't noticed the previous time. It was very similar to the demonic energy given off by monsters.
Her eyes darted around while her head remained still.
From the scattered monster corpses, she suspected he must have acquired some loot.
She had no intention of making a fuss about that. After all, selling monster byproducts was the main source of income for adventurers.
However.
"I need to check it."
That degree of demonic energy warranted an inspection.
But Karami wasn't quick to hand over the grimoire.
"Why should I? Is this revenge for last time?"
"I think you're misunderstanding something. This is a different matter from what happened at the tavern. Artifacts obtained in dungeons often contain demonic energy, so it's protocol for the Order to verify them. Since I'm here, I'm offering to do it."
This was a protocol Karami wasn't aware of.
After all, as someone who wasn't planning to make adventuring his livelihood, he couldn't be bothered to know all the regulations.
"Will you return it afterward?"
"If purification resolves the issue we will return it. But if not, we can't give it back. We can't let dangerous items be wielded freely. The Order will dispose of it as we see fit."
"What about compensation?"
"Since when is that a thing? You should be grateful we're protecting you from danger. If anything, shouldn't you be paying us for the inspection?"
These thieving bastards.
Karami almost blurted out a curse but managed to hold himself back. Artifacts were in a different league of value compared to ordinary byproducts.
While some were cheap, others were worth their weight in gold.
To take such an item away just because it had demonic energy, and not even offer compensation? It was like demanding excavation costs from a landowner after finding cultural artifacts during construction.
It would be fine if there were no issues, but this was something possessed by a goblin shaman. Moreover, this book contained magic that could manipulate souls.
It was hard to assert there was no danger. If something went wrong and the grimoire disappeared, Mirabelle's complete liberation would instantly go out the window.
"It's difficult to hand it over right now. Could you give us some time?"
Once Mirabelle learned the magic, it would be useless to him. Unlike in the game where learning was instantaneous, here it would take time.
He wasn't certain about the exact duration, but given Mirabelle's abilities, it shouldn't take too long. At most, it would be a matter of days.
But Myra, unwilling to allow even the smallest exception, shook her head firmly.
"Can't. The fact that you're asking for time makes it even more suspicious. You seem to know what you're holding, don't you?"
With bold steps, Myra strode forward.
Karami's mind raced.
Should I fight?
Mirabelle's help would be essential for that, but she wasn't in good condition. Victory wasn't guaranteed even if they fought.
In that case…
"Oh, there are still undealt with demonic beasts?"
Karami pointed behind the clergy. The moment their heads turned simultaneously.
He grabbed Mirabelle and placed his hand on the teleportation stone that had appeared after defeating the shaman. For a moment, they felt the same floating sensation they'd experienced when entering the dungeon. Then, with a whoosh, they vanished from the dungeon.
"Huh? That bastard?"
It happened so quickly there was no time to react. Waiting behind her, Julius asked.
"What shall we do?"
Myra irritably scratched the back of her head, as if tired.
She had been willing to be lenient, planning to accept his apology from earlier and overlook the item unless it was particularly strange. But running away changed things.
"Catch them and check it. But don't be too rough."
***
The teleportation brought them to the dungeon entrance where a lush green field greeted them.
"Ah! It's that mister who pushed me earlier!"
And the hot-blooded youth party Karami's group had met before. The boy who recognized Karami pointed at him.
I'm not a mister, you little shit.
He wanted to retort, but the situation was too urgent. Besides, seeing the boy's battered face made him feel a bit guilty.
Karami ran at full speed while carrying Mirabelle. Though his top speed wasn't much different from a neighborhood kid's, it was still something.
Where should we go?
Hiding somewhere else wouldn't make much difference. Eventually, they'd need to take a carriage to reach their final destination.
Other nearby cities should be considered within their jurisdiction. It would be troublesome if they wasted time and allowed them to issue a wanted notice and strengthen defenses.
With that in mind, Karami decided to return to Delphine before they could fortify their defenses.
As Karami approached Delphine's city gates.
"Halt! Where do you think you're going!"
But the guard at the gate suddenly blocked their way. He was the same soldier who had received gold coins from Karami earlier. Karami remembered his face too, which made the obstruction all the more baffling.
"What are you talking about? You certainly received gold coins from me last time."
"Y-You! How dare you spout such nonsense! Are you suggesting that I, who lives off the lord's salary, would take money from the likes of you?!"
This fucking bastard.
A greedy pig that didn't know when to stop, spouting bullshit without a care in the world when time was of the essence.
Was one gold coin not enough?
That was why I tried to give more even if it meant taking a loss. Being stingy just backfired.
Karami hurriedly took out a gold coin from his pocket and handed it to the guard. He took the money but still didn't let them through.
He just stared blankly at the confused Karami.
At that moment when his thoughts froze, Karami quickly realized the reason for that look. He took out two more gold coins from his pocket and placed them in the guard's hand.
Only then did the guard nod with satisfaction.
"Ahem, indeed. Now I remember, you're that slave trader from before. I just recalled. Go on in."
Karami cursed him through his eyes, and just as he was about to speak.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
Far off in the field.
An earthquake shook the land. Weeds scattered in the air, and dust storms rose.
All of those forces converged behind a figure approaching rapidly, not caring that their pristine white robe was becoming disheveled.
With the force of a charging buffalo, the earth trembled.
Karami unconsciously gulped.
This is insane.
As if to prove this was indeed a fantasy world, her physical abilities had far surpassed superhuman levels.
It was clear things wouldn't end well if they were caught.
To survive, they had to run.
"I leave the rest to you. Make sure I get my money's worth."
"Wh-What?"
Karami dumped the aftermath on the guard and entered the city. At that moment, Mirabelle, who had been in his arms, moved. Her condition had improved as they got further from the clergy.
"M-Master?"
"Haha, did you sleep well Miss Mirabelle?"
"What's going on?"
"Those who claim to serve God are trying to steal our innocent possession. It was a gift I wanted to give you."
Mirabelle blinked blankly.
They're trying to take away a gift Master was going to give me?
How dare they?
"Please let me down. I'll teach them a lesson."
"Hahaha, I'd like that, but we're still not strong enough to fight the Church. For now, our best option is to escape this situation and plan for the future… Only."
We couldn't escape.
At this rate, we would be caught within ten seconds.
A choice had to be made.
"Are you able to walk?"
"Yes."
"Good. Then from this point onward, we'll split up."
Karami set Mirabelle down and handed her the grimoire.
"This is…?"
"It's the gift. I'll lure them away, so Miss Mirabelle, please stay somewhere safe."
A diversion tactic.
After all, what they were after was the grimoire.
If they were both caught and Mirabelle's identity as a witch was discovered, it would be disastrous. So he planned to entrust the grimoire to Mirabelle and have her escape.
He would be caught instead, but as long as he bought time for Mirabelle to learn the magic, that was fine. After that, they could hand over the grimoire.
"Now, hurry and go."
"B-But…."
"There's no need to worry. All you need to do is read this book and master the magic inside. When you've mastered it completely, come and find me with this. Understand?"
Mirabelle hesitated, unable to move. All the while, Myra was getting closer.
All their efforts up to now could be in vain if they delayed any longer. Realizing this, Karami decided he had no choice but to be forceful.
"This is an order from your master. Surely… you don't intend to disappoint me?"
"N-No I'm not!"
Mirabelle immediately denied it and steeled her resolve with a grim expression.
She mustn't disappoint him.
She mustn't lower her value.
If she did, liberation would be even farther away.
Clutching the staff and grimoire tightly, Mirabelle entered an alleyway. She glanced back briefly, but Karami had already disappeared in the opposite direction.
Gritting her teeth, Mirabelle hurried her steps.
***
"Hah, haah…."
With his breath caught in his throat, Karami could no longer run and staggered like an octopus. Even that became too much, and he finally collapsed on the ground, gasping for air.
His head spun as his brain was deprived of oxygen.
Ah, why didn't I buy an invisibility robe?
Come to think of it, that was an available option.
He had plenty of points, and unless he vanished right in front of them, there was no worry of being caught.
No, I would be caught eventually.
Karami shook his head, dismissing the pessimistic thought.
The invisibility robe only lasted thirty minutes.
With a twenty-four-hour cooldown, immediate reuse was impossible.
He couldn't exactly hire a carriage while invisible either. He'd be lucky not to be exorcised as a ghost.
Buying time for Mirabelle to learn magic was indeed the best option, Karami reassured himself.
"Wow, you're pretty good at running away. This isn't your first, huh?"
A shadow fell over the crouching Karami.
It was Myra, with a smile stretching from ear to ear. Despite running fast enough to create dust storms, she showed no signs of fatigue.
Man, what a harsh world for a slave trader to survive in.
Karami let out a sigh.