Bermuda [bl]

Hugo stepped outside the tavern and quickly scanned the faces of the drunks leaning nearby as he descended the stairs. He then surveyed the dark town landscape, searching for the person wearing the black hooded cloak.

However, despite his immediate pursuit, the person had already disappeared, nowhere to be seen. He hastily checked the nearby alleys and took out his detector, but the device's light remained still.

The faint mana that had been lingering since earlier, possibly belonging to that person, had also abruptly vanished the moment they disappeared. It meant they had left the vicinity.

'Teleportation?'

The only explanation for their disappearance without a trace in such a short time was that they had used teleportation or traveled through a portal.

Although he regretted not confirming the person's identity as soon as he sensed something strange, the situation had not been favorable, so he decided to put that thought aside for now.

He had considered the possibility that Leonardo might have heard rumors about someone pursuing him and decided to spy on them, but there were many other people with mana besides him, so even if he discovered a mana user here, it wouldn't be particularly unusual. He couldn't suspect everyone of being that guy.

Moreover, the mana that had disappeared was significantly weaker and of a different nature than what he had expected from Leonardo.

'What I sensed was water. Definitely not fire.'

As his main attributes were ice and water, Hugo could sense water-related elements better than others. Additionally, he could detect fire, the opposite of his main attributes, just as sensitively and quickly. Based on his judgment, the attribute of the mana he had felt until just now was clearly water, not fire.

Since it didn't seem to be the person he had been desperately searching for, he didn't feel the need to track the vanished presence. However, the person's behavior, constantly observing his movements, was certainly suspicious.

It could have been that they were simply wary of the outsider's mana and lingered nearby, but Hugo didn't think so.

Firstly, his adjutant, Flynn, possessed considerable talent in mana control, so unless there was direct physical contact, it would be difficult to discern that he was a mage by sight and sense alone.

Moreover, since entering this town, Hugo had been consciously concealing his mana as he moved. In other words, the cloaked figure had been spying on them not because they sensed mana, but simply because they perceived them as ordinary people.

What reason could there be for that? Simply because they were outsiders?

As Hugo gazed at the nearby rooftops, he leaped up in a single bound and lightly landed on top. He then habitually surveyed his surroundings but soon decided to stop pursuing the traces of the person who had vanished without a trace.

He thought that someone who wanted to leave this place immediately wouldn't need to take the risk of spying on and confirming someone's identity. If that person had been lingering around him with a specific purpose, they would surely reveal themselves again soon.

"Commander?"

Flynn, who had hurriedly followed his superior outside, also climbed onto the roof and stood beside Hugo. As he looked around, he also realized that the cloaked figure had disappeared and asked Hugo,

"Shall we search for them?"

Hugo shook his head in response.

"No, it seems they've already left the area."

* * *

The two returned to the tavern on the first floor of the inn. They apologized for suddenly rushing out and exchanged a few more words with the men.

As a gesture of appreciation, Hugo paid for all the tables, including the men's, and they, thoroughly drunk, called him a cool brother and Flynn a loyal friend, forging a bond of drunken camaraderie. As the night grew late, they stumbled back to their respective homes.

Back in his room, Hugo opened his artifact and took out a communication magic tool from inside. He then contacted his other adjutant, Gabe Landon.

"Gabe."

-Commander? Did you catch him already? Shall I send reinforcements?

Gabe seemed surprised, as if he thought Hugo had already captured Leonardo and was contacting him.

"No, that's not it. I have something I need you to look into."

-What is it, sir?

"A fortnight ago, there was a report that about ten monster corpses were discovered in Frost territory. Is there any record of that?"

-Pardon? In Frost territory? Isn't that where you are now, Commander? That area isn't known for monster appearances, so there shouldn't be any reports, and if there were, both you and I would remember.

"I thought so too, but I just heard a story about monster corpses being found in this area."

-Hmm... Please wait a moment.

After a brief wait, the sound of rummaging through something was heard, and Gabe's voice came through again.

-First of all, there is no mention of monster corpses in the most recent report from ten days ago. Just in case, I went through all the Frost territory reports from the past three months, but there was nothing related to monsters.

"I see... Any other unusual findings?"

-Well... if you're talking about unusual findings, there's the Delberg Merchant Group, right? They mainly operate in large cities, but there's a record of a representative visiting Frost territory recently. It's a place with a small population, so there doesn't seem to be much money to be made there.

"...If the story about the monster corpses is true, that could be the reason why Delberg approached. They were reportedly found in a box at the time of discovery, so doesn't it feel like they were being distributed as merchandise?"

-Oho, so it's smuggling? But even with about ten monsters, it wouldn't be worth much money.

Hearing Gabe's words, Hugo quietly stared out the window at the mountainous area, which was difficult to see due to the darkness. Then, as if thinking of something, he said to Gabe,

"There might not be just ten."

* * *

Gabe reported a few more things to Hugo. Due to the dry climate in Frost territory, natural forest fires occasionally occurred, so the lord had independently hired and kept water mages.

This naturally reminded Hugo of the water attribute mana he had sensed from the person in the black cloak earlier. Although there was no evidence that it was the same person, he somehow felt suspicious about their existence and purpose.

Initially, he had vaguely speculated that the frequent fires might be related to Leonardo, but as the connections slipped away just as he thought he had grasped them, he felt like he was straying further from his original objective.

In the end, Hugo decided to stop thinking for a moment and get some rest for the next day. As he drifted off to sleep, he planned to visit the lord's castle of Frost territory, the Servia County, first thing in the morning with the authority of the commander of the Central Council's army to inquire about the whereabouts of the monster corpses.

The incident occurred when he had just fallen into a deep slumber.

"Commander, we have a big problem! Wake up, there's a fire!"

Hugo was awakened by the sound of someone urgently knocking on the door. When he opened his eyes due to the commotion, he saw a fire raging on the mountainside visible through the window.

Hugo immediately put on his outer garment and went outside. There, Flynn was standing in front of the door with an anxious expression.

"Why did a fire suddenly break out?"

"I don't know either. When I woke up due to the noise, it was already in that state."

He also seemed quite flustered, having been abruptly awakened from sleep. Following the direction of Flynn's pointing finger, Hugo saw people rushing around near the fire, carrying water to extinguish it.

The location was close to the residential area, so if left unchecked, there was a risk of the flames growing and spreading to other houses. Flynn asked Hugo with an anxious face,

"Commander, what should we do?"

Hugo had tried his best to conceal the fact that he was a mage. However, his pride and sense of justice would not allow him to wait for the mage hired by Frost territory to extinguish the fire to arrive.

Glaring at the fiercely burning flames outside the window, he soon turned his head to Flynn and said,

"Our duty comes first."

"Yes, sir!"

Flynn answered vigorously, as if he had been waiting for this. Soon, the two of them flew straight to the site of the fire.

As they approached, the size of the wildly flickering flames appeared even more ferocious and enormous. It was not a fire that could be easily extinguished just because people were carrying buckets of water. Hugo stepped forward in front of the fire and spoke to the people who were struggling to carry water.

"Everyone, step back."

Startled by his sudden appearance, a townsperson widened their eyes and asked,

"W-Who are you?"

In the urgent situation, a cold and fierce-looking man suddenly appeared and told them to step back, causing the bewildered townsfolks to stare blankly at Hugo. Hugo then looked down at them with sharp eyes and spoke again in a solemn voice,

"Step back."

The overwhelming presence, as if telling them not to make him say the same thing twice, made the frightened people stop pouring water and take a few steps back, hesitating. Flynn then called out with an awkward smile,

"Alright, we'll put out the fire, so everyone, please step back!"

Hugo once again looked at the flames before him. The scale of the fire was not uncontrollable, but it was large enough to pose a significant threat, and despite the wind not being strong, the rate of spread was very fast.

Moreover, unlike natural forest fires that occur deep in the mountains, the location presumed to be the point of ignition was quite close to the town. In other words, there was a high possibility that it was an accident caused by the spread of embers used in a residential area or an act of arson.

Under Flynn's direction, the people retreated to a certain distance from the fire scene. When Hugo confirmed that a gap had been secured, a blue magic circle appeared in front of him. The magic circle, which had been gradually expanding in width, grew as large as the height of the fiercely burning flames.

Soon, countless streams of water began to gush from within the magic circle, and a powerful spray of water, like long and thick snakes opening their mouths wide and charging, struck the burning area. People thought that the sight resembled giant water snakes instantly devouring the flames.

At that moment, as the streams of water plunged into the ground, the embers of the raging flames scattered in all directions.

Flynn quickly cast a barrier in front of the townsfolks to prevent the embers from hitting them. The streams of water churned the ground like a plow, making it difficult for the flames to regain strength. Before long, the widely scattered embers were also unable to withstand the powerful baptism of water and were instantly suppressed.

People exclaimed in amazement as the mage quickly extinguished the large fire. Even as the poured water swirled up to their ankles, soaking their pant legs, and the acrid smoke spread thickly, causing them to cough, they did not stop cheering.

"Mage!"

"Oh my goodness, thank you!"

"He put out the fire in an instant!"

The confused people immediately flocked around Hugo as if they had seen their savior. However, when he turned around with a chilling aura, they all hesitated. Hugo scanned them carefully and asked the townsfolk at the front,

"Are there no guards here? Why are there no guards or anyone coming to put out the fire when there's a fire?"

At his question, the townsfolks glanced at each other. Then, one of them spoke up,

"Usually, when a forest fire occurs, the guards and mages from Frost territory come to extinguish it. However, most of the fires have only occurred deep in the mountains, and this is the first time it has happened so close to the town... Also, since it's dawn, they probably don't know about the fire yet."

Hugo furrowed his brows. It didn't add up.

If a fire broke out near a residential area rather than in the mountains, it should have been noticed more quickly. However, even though quite some time had passed since the fire first started and he had extinguished it, there was no sign of anyone from the lord's castle of Frost territory.

Flynn, glancing at the sighing commander, asked the townsfolk again to gather more clues,

"Does anyone know the cause of this fire? Was there a place where the fire could have spread from, or did anyone see someone starting the fire?"

Flynn asked the question, leaving open the possibility that Leonardo Blaine might be behind the cause of this fire. However, the people looked around and glanced at each other, answering as if they didn't know.

"I was sleeping and came out..."

"Me too..."

"Isn't it just a forest fire?"

No one seemed particularly interested in the cause of the fire.

Flynn thought that the townsfolks had become desensitized to fires due to the frequent occurrences of forest fires. Hugo looked at the townsfolks speaking nonchalantly and soon strode into the fire scene, where the embers had been extinguished, and the smoke was thick. Flynn hurriedly followed him.

"Commander, let's go together!"

Hugo entered the smoke without hesitation. As it was difficult to see ahead in the dark dawn, he created a glowing orb in his hand and floated it in the air. The surroundings brightened as if a street lamp had been turned on, and he immediately examined the muddy ground that had become sticky due to the magic used to extinguish the fire.

"Cough—. Ugh, it's spicy. Doesn't it bother you, Commander?"

Flynn approached him, shedding tears due to the acrid smoke. As Hugo carefully touched the wet soil on the ground, he soon spoke to Flynn, who had come close,

"Flynn, contact the nearest Council branch right now."

Flynn immediately answered but asked curiously,

"Pardon? Yes, understood! But why, sir?"

"It's arson."

Hugo spoke firmly, as if convinced. Flynn, who paused for a moment after hearing the answer, recalled what he had said before and gently continued,

"Arson? If you think the cause of the fire is Blaine... You said it would be more difficult to catch Blaine if there are many people. But is it okay to call the Council investigators?"

In response to Flynn's question, Hugo scooped up a handful of burnt soil and held it out in front of him.

"Don't you smell something?