He, the most talented one of everyone present, how much time had he taken to reach the stage his disciples were at? No, without even thinking about it, he was definitely older than those disciples of his. Someone who was taught and the pioneer who paved the way, that was how wide the difference was.
Why didn’t he have a master?
Fluder tried changing his way of thinking.
—That was fine too. Leaving his name in the history books as a pioneer. The magic casters who reached new heights after Fluder would need to thank Fluder for their achievements. His disciples were his treasures. If there was just one person who become greater than I am, it would be attributed to my power—
As he thought about that, Fluder remembered a disciple he once had. If it was that girl, how far could she go?
“—Arche Eeb Rile Furt.”
An excellent child. Learning 2nd tier magic at such a tender age and so close to 3rd tier. If she had continued, it was possible that she would eventually reach Fluder’s realm one day. But in the end, she gave up being a disciple…
Back then, he had only thought how foolish and disappointing it was.
“Such a pity.”
Maybe he allowed a big catch to get away.
Where is that child now? He thought about searching for her. If she could use 3rd tier spells, it was possible to guarantee a certain level of status for her.
That might be so, but he had a job to do right now.
Fluder uttered the code word and the heavy door opened.
After coming out, the disciples around him took deep breaths with the same frequency. The air where the aura of the Death Knight lingered was too heavy. If they did not do this, it would be unbearable.
“Master!”
A low, rough voice sounded out. That was one of his disciples, a renowned adventurer. Due to his experience, he had been appointed the deputy director of the security within the Magic Ministry.
“...What is the matter? Is something wrong?”
“No, nothing is wrong, just that some adamantite-ranked adventurers were requesting an audience with Master.”
Fluder looked at that man strangely.
They hadn’t made any appointments. As the finest magic caster in the Empire, Fluder had all sorts of duties on top of his research, and was a very busy man. If someone sought an audience out of the blue, he could only shake his head. Only the Emperor could see Fluder as he pleased.
That might be so, but it was too early to reject them. Adamantite level adventurers were heroes, not people that could simply be ignored. That was the same for Fluder. They were one of the few sources he could obtain rare artifacts from, so he couldn’t treat them lightly.
“Is it an honoured visit from the ‘Silver Canaries’? Or esteemed guests from ‘Eight Ripples’?”
He stated the name of the two adamantite ranked adventuring partiers within the Empire.
But the disciple shook his head.
“No, it is a two man team known as ‘Darkness’. They showed their adamantite plate as proof.”
“What!?”
The famous adventurers team ‘Darkness’ from the Kingdom. With just the two of them, they had accomplished numerous hero level tasks. They had even taken on Jaldabaoth during the Royal Capital’s crisis and defeated him.
Why were such figures visiting him? He had several questions, but the idea of discussing magic with the high-tier magic caster ‘Beautiful Princess’ made him threw his doubts away.
However, as a vassal of the Emperor, he still remembered the task assigned to him by his liege Jircniv.
He would ask about that after his meeting with them. As he thought about that, Fluder said to his disciple:
“Please show our guests in. I will be right there after tidying up.”
Part 3
“Ah, there really are ruins here, that surprised me. I didn’t think they were bluffing when they offered that kind of payment, but it’s still hard to believe there are ruins to be explored in the middle of the plains.”
His comrades watching the ruins agreed with Hekkeran’s monologue.
Although the ruins appeared to be a cemetery, the ground seemed be sinking slightly into the earth, as if the entire area was depressed inwards, giving the impression like that of a basin.
The reason it was unexplored was probably because of the grasslands all around it. There was nothing like the relics of an ancient city to draw the eyes of adventurers to it. Another thing was the existence of several knolls in the vicinity that appeared to be hiding the existence of the ruins, making it hard to notice. Although the roof of the building in the middle protruded just a little, it couldn’t be seen if you didn’t view it from this spot.
Some of the earth surrounding the ruins had fallen off, revealing part of the walls. That was why the ruins had been discovered. That was what the representatives of each team concluded.
“That seems about right. By the way, I’m getting a little excited. The possibility of uncovering amazing things by exploring the ruins are really high.”
“Who knows? Well, there are no problems with this place. At least there aren’t any dangerous monsters. Rather, what made me uneasy was the place the client marked out as the base camp.”
Setting up camp was the best choice for a place like the plains.
The site was enclosed by hills and couldn’t be seen from a distance. If they paid attention to the usage of lights, it would be difficult to notice their presence.
And that was why—it seemed scary.
“But really, why did our client know of a place like this?”
The best guess would be that this area was the most suitable spot for setting up camp, and the ruins were spotted by the client when they made camp. That made the most sense.
However, that gave rise to new questions. Why were they were setting up camp in such a far off place? Furthermore, it was a noble from the Empire camping within the territory of the Kingdom.
“—I heard there’s a large underground organization in the Kingdom. I think it’s called Eight Fingers. They seem to be a troublesome bunch.”
“They seem to have secret dealings with the Empire. They possess substantial power within the Kingdom, but it would be problematic to investigate further. I heard someone from my thieves’ contacts complain about it.”