Only My Magic Levels Up - Chapter 80



Only Noblemtl

It was a six-day journey by carriage from Mejaia to Maduros.

It was impossible for Lilia to ride in the church carriage after taking off her robes, so Shane prepared a separate carriage for her instead.

The journey, which was designed to look like a trip for the children of wealthy families, was peaceful.

If I had to point out one thing that was disappointing, it would be that when I was riding the church carriage, I had a free pass wherever I went, but when I was riding the regular carriage, I had to wait a little bit?

Of course, since that side was originally normal, it was also a shame to hear that it was over.

“Thank you for your effort.”

“Yes. Take a look!”

After traveling leisurely for six days, Galen and Lilia arrived in Maduros and parted ways with their group.

Since they were the people Shane hired on his own in the first place, they will go back on their own.

Instead of looking for an inn, the two went to the address they had previously recorded.

An ordinary mansion located in an ordinary residential area. It was so ordinary that I wondered if I had come to the right place.

“welcome.”

But when I knocked on the door, it was Shane who came out.

Since this matter is of such great importance, I left the branch to the deputy branch manager for a while to properly support the two of them and came here by another means of transportation.

Although it is somewhat subtle to call it full-fledged espionage activity, the Kalia Group, which has some characteristics as an intelligence group, has several camouflaged mansions like this in each city.

“The black market opens on the night of the fourth day.”

Shane said as he led the two into the house.

“You can stay here until then. Make yourself at home.”

“Thank you for your consideration. Have you heard any new news in the meantime?”

“Nothing special.”

“Hmm.”

Galen scratched the ball.

“So, in the end, there’s no specific information about this black market?”

“Yes. It’s because our abilities are lacking… We’re ashamed.”

“Oh, I didn’t mean to scold you at all. This is sensitive information after all.”

The information network at the top of Kalia was unparalleled in terms of its breadth, as the top itself was spread all over the world.

But if you ask whether it is as deep as it is wide, it is somewhat questionable.

The information network was run by giving money to informants, as expected, because there were clearly some things in the world that money couldn’t buy.

Information about black market executives was originally shrouded in secrecy, so there was nothing to be gained even if you paid money.

“The timing is not good to force someone to open their mouth.”

“Yes. It would be like startling a snake by touching the grass for no reason.”

If their identity is somewhat known, you can deliberately knock them out to make them pop out.

But the black market executives weren’t even sure if they had arrived in the city yet.

Since they are originally guys who run black markets while going from city to city, they may just disappear if they feel danger.

‘It’s a bit tricky to ask the Steelwall family for cooperation, though.’

There are some parts of Galen that I find difficult, and the fact that the relationship between the family and the church has been strained due to the relics from the past.

The reason Galen came to Maduros was simply to obtain a ‘clue’ about the man who handed over the cavalry to the pirate leader through the black market.

There’s no guarantee that he’s here, and it’s not even confirmed that he really handed over the cavalry.

If you ask for cooperation and it turns out to be a waste of time, you’ll be in trouble.

Because it was obvious that Steelwall would cry, “You’re making a scene in our front yard, using the excuse of not even going to church!”

‘If a real soldier is found and we can’t find an answer among ourselves, should we make a request? Otherwise, it’s better to come quietly and leave quietly.’

Anyway, given the circumstances, it would be best to wait quietly until the day of the black market and then catch them.

Shane seemed to agree, he suggested cautiously.

“As we first discussed, directly participating in the black market seems to be the best chance of success at the moment.”

“I agree. Could you explain your specific plan again?”

“Yes. We have already secured tickets to the black market.”

Galen nodded as he asked, and Shane pulled out what looked like a piece of blackened wood.

“If you don’t know the secret number, you can’t live at all. But if you know the secret number, you can live with a hundred coins.”

“Isn’t the unit a gold coin?”

“That’s right, it’s gold.”

“Why is it so expensive?!”

Lilia’s eyes widened. It was not an amount that would surprise a customer who had just made a fortune, but gold coins were still an unfamiliar unit to her.

“As I said before, small items are sold elsewhere, and it is a high-class auction where only a few valuable items are sold. Since at least several hundred gold coins are traded, a hundred gold coins is nothing… something like that.”

“Still, that’s true.”

“Anyway, one ticket can get you in, so if you two go in together and grab the opportunity while the auction is in progress······.”

“Well, that’s an easy way to understand it.”

Lilia tilted her head after hearing Shane’s explanation.

“The black market isn’t all that bad, is it?”

“yes?”

“So, it’s not that I leave them because they’re pretty, but because they keep growing no matter how much I clean them up, and it’s annoying, so I leave them.”

“you’re right.”

“But wouldn’t you have prepared for the possibility that someone with a burning sense of justice might raid the black market and spend a hundred gold coins?”

“I don’t think they placed a lot of subordinates and made escape routes or anything. Other than that, I don’t know if there’s anything else······.”

“That alone is quite effective, which is a problem! If I were to waste even a little time, they would escape through the secret passage······.”

“···I guess that’s all we need to do to stop it.”

Galen, who had been thinking about something for a while while just listening to Lilia and Shane’s conversation, opened his mouth.

“yes?”

“Mr. Shane, is it true that tickets don’t have to be for two people?”

“Yes? Oh, yes. Two people at most. Usually they bring one escort, but sometimes they don’t.”

“So it’s okay to go alone?”

Galen nodded and took the ticket.

“I will let Mr. Shane know if I need help with anything else later.”

“Oh, I understand.”

“I need to discuss this with Lilia.”

From here on out, it was Shane’s domain that he had no right to know.

*

Four days later.

The time when the sun is just about to set above the horizon.

Lilia was walking along the darkening street with her hood pulled down low, walking briskly.

A place that can hardly be considered safe, a place that is the border between the streets where the common people live and the streets where the poor live.

The alleys were quite intricately laid out, but her pace was smooth, as she had become somewhat familiar with the surrounding geography over the past four days.

Soon she was standing in front of a fairly large building, the loud noise of which was emanating outside.

“······.”

Lilia checked the sign, opened the door, and went in.

Daughter-

As soon as I entered the room, noise began to bother my ears.

“Wahahahahaha!”

“Hey kid, let’s try this!”

“Drink less, Inma!”

People who live day to day by doing odd jobs are drinking cheap alcohol and talking noisily, while on the other side, people who appear to be mercenaries are already staggering around drunk.

“Hey, miss!”

“Are you alone? How about a drink together?”

I hadn’t even walked a few steps when I heard all sorts of glares coming from all directions. Someone was even whistling.

Even though she was wearing a billowy robe and a hood pulled down low to cover her face and body, she couldn’t hide her naturally revealed curves.

“······.”

It was a treatment she could never have imagined while wearing her robes, but Lilia endured it steadfastly.

The owner chuckled and spoke to her as she walked to the checkout counter.

“I shouldn’t be saying this myself, but isn’t my shop a place where a young lady would come alone? Is it because you don’t have money?”

“I have money.”

“I’ve deliberately lowered my voice,” said Lilia, as if trying to manipulate it in her own way.

“What are the local specialties? Oh, and those that are at least thirty years old.”

The master’s eyes, which had been blurry, briefly turned sharp.

When he opened his mouth a moment later, his speech and expression were once again hazy, as if nothing had happened.

“We don’t sell things that old. The older they are, the more expensive they are.”

“It can be expensive even if it doesn’t last long. If it’s a good drink from the start.”

“I told you they don’t sell that good liquor here. Not in a shabby place like this.”

“It’s a shame. I thought it might be a hidden gem.”

Lilia turned around without any hesitation.

“What, you’re leaving without even drinking?”

“Master! Don’t kick me out for not having money! I’ll pay for it!”

Lilia left the store, turning a deaf ear to the drunkards’ chatter.

As I was waiting outside the door for a moment, a man followed me out.

The man who glanced at Lilia headed towards the backyard of the store as if he were going to the bathroom. Lilia also quietly followed him.

“How many times?”

“It’s eleven times.”

When the man walking ahead asked in passing, Lilia answered.

Without looking back, the man reached behind him. Lilia took out a black piece of wood and handed it over.

He nodded after checking the ticket.

“Alone?”

“yes.”

“You seem confident.”

“A little bit?”

Lilia spoke arrogantly on purpose. The man who snorted went into the storeroom.

Behind the haphazardly stacked boxes was a cleverly hidden staircase. The man lit a nearby oil lamp.

The two walked for several minutes through the winding underground passages. They had twists and turns and forks in the path, so they would have been lost without a guide.

When we came back outside, it was again a warehouse-like place.

The difference from before is that instead of things being piled up, there is a small carriage pulled by a horse waiting.

“Get in. There are masks inside, so choose the one you want and wear it.”

“yes.”

“For security, the windows are barred. If they show any signs of tampering, it won’t be fun.”

“Keep that in mind.”

Lilia nodded and got into the carriage without hesitation.

As the carriage door closed, she was enveloped in complete darkness. It was so tightly wrapped that it felt like a prison without any light.

The carriage soon departed.

“Whoa.”

Lilia let out a deep sigh.

Maybe it was because I had always ridden in nice carriages, but the ride was so bad that my butt hurt.

Still, things were going well.

Because it was just like what I heard from Shane.

I don’t know about this black market, but I do know about the black markets that have existed in the past. I even heard about the experiences of people who have recently participated in them.

If you go to the place where you purchased your ticket by the appointed time, you will be guided through an underground passage to an unknown relay point, and from there you will board a windowless carriage and travel to the black market.

Since we don’t know exactly where we start, even if we remember the carriage’s speed and the direction it turns, we can’t guess exactly where we will arrive.

Even if you try to track it from outside, you can’t chase it because you don’t know where it’s coming from.

Unless you force the guy who guided you through the underground passage or the guy driving the carriage to tell you.

Of course, if you do that and the black market executive senses something suspicious and runs away, it will be a waste of time.

In that case, it would be better to go quietly to the black market and cause trouble there.

But that wasn’t the method Galen came up with.

“Huh.”

Lilia hummed softly and stroked her wrist.

On her left wrist was a bracelet made of water.

*

Even though the spirits are invisible to Galen, there is some sort of channel connected to them.

It means that you can know where someone is and what they are doing even if they are far away. Although there is a limit to how far away you can be.

The spirit wrapped around Lilia’s wrist, which had been continuously detecting her location, suddenly began to move away at an increased speed.

You must have been walking until now, or maybe you took a carriage.

“It comes from a strange place. How on earth did they dig that tunnel?”

Galen grumbled as he rode his horse.

It might have been because the sun had set, but the carriage couldn’t go fast because it was circling around this alley and that alley for no reason, so the chase was a piece of cake.

Galen, who had been moving leisurely with an oil lamp in one hand, slowed down after about thirty minutes.

The spirit’s speed slowed down and soon it almost stopped moving, so it seemed to have reached its destination.

Eventually Galen stopped in an alley.

He looked at the mansion located a little distance away.

‘Is that it?’

It looked like a very ordinary mansion. It didn’t look particularly guarded. It was no different from the other houses around it.

But my sense of spirit creation told me that Lilia was inside that house.

Galen got off his horse, pulled the reins gently, and slowly strolled until he stopped in the rear.

Don’t go too close to the fence, but keep a reasonable distance so that it doesn’t seem suspicious.

Sssssss!

The magical power of the territorial advance secretly spread into the ground.

Galen, who had been concentrating with his eyes half-open, finally smiled.

“Found it.”

End