章 163: Chapter 163
Ian calmly organized his thoughts.
What mattered now wasn't whether it was Baron Vincents or Count Gremlin.
The key point was that the baron's proxy had captured Professor Inglan.
"This won't be easy."
In truth, the situation had been sh*tty enough from the moment Inglan was captured.
A ruler of a domain had used violence against a wizard.
But it was still far better than if the baron himself had captured Inglan directly.
If the baron himself had acted, wouldn't that mean he was blind with rage, wizard or not?
It meant he was half-mad, or something had driven him to madness.
As the saying goes, a stick is the cure for a madman.
If the baron had gone mad and laid hands on Inglan... no joke, it would've sparked a war.
If wizards joined forces, mobilizing the surrounding lords would be child's play.
"True. It won't be easy. But it's not the worst-case scenario, is it?"
Herta said with a slight smile.
If surrounding lords got involved, this Vincents barony would be like a slab of meat before wolves.
All sorts of thugs(knights) would come rushing in to wreak havoc.
They'd smash other people's fences... butcher pigs to make sausages...
The baron would've caused the trouble, but the common folk would bear the brunt of it.
"Not the worst case?"
Anton the water wizard said sarcastically.
"It's already f*cked up enough! Having to deal with this sh*t because of some old geezer who can't even take care of himself!"
He tells it like it is! Wizard Anton!
Ian inwardly admired Anton for his no-fucks-given attitude.
I believe you, Anton. You're a true Imperial wizard.
Only an Imperial wizard could pull off such an ornery way of speaking.
"He'll probably be smearing his own sh*t on the walls, unable to control his bladder or bowels..."
"Anton! Stop saying such disgusting things!"
Poor Professor Inglan.
Anton seemed to already view Inglan as a senile old man.
Herta and Krysus looked serious, but Anton remained unfazed.
"So... who's the baron's proxy, and why did he capture Inglan?"
Sensing things might spiral out of control, Ian tried to get the situation back on track.
Herta collected herself and continued.
"The baron's proxy is Count Gremlin's son."
Anton chimed in indifferently.
"Obvious, isn't it? He's letting his son play lord to educate him."
It was a highly plausible guess.
As the count's son, he was bound to inherit the count's domain later.
Letting him play lord on someone else's land beforehand was entirely possible.
Meanwhile, he could use the title as bait to pit his vassals against each other.
"Then I'm even more confused. Why would the baron's proxy have any reason to capture Inglan?"
The simplest and dumbest answer would be... 'just because'.
A medieval lord wields power in his domain equivalent to a king.
Of course, he can ignore what others say!
If the baron's proxy saw Inglan's face and ordered, 'Ugh! What a disgusting old man! Lock him up!', it would be carried out immediately.
If we had to attach a crime... maybe 'offending his sensibilities'?
That's medieval lords for you - able to imprison people 'just because'.
Of course, such things only happen to commoners and slaves who can be stepped on without consequences (the horror being that it actually happens).
As a wizard, Inglan had no reason to receive such terrible treatment.
"That... we're not sure about either."
"What?"
Ian stared blankly at Herta.
Weren't these people supposed to have arrived first and gathered information?
Yet they don't even know why Inglan was captured?!
Herta spoke as if making an excuse.
"Information leaking from the castle is limited... To find out the details, we'd need to meet the baron's proxy directly."
The wizards hadn't gone to meet the baron's proxy yet.
The reason was simple and clear.
To avoid being picked off one by one.
What a joke it would be to storm into the castle to protest magnificently, only to end up captured themselves.
If Inglan shouted, 'You've come to rescue me!', they'd only be able to reply, 'No. I've been captured too.'
Whatever the baron's proxy was thinking when he captured Inglan.
If five wizards showed up en masse, he wouldn't be able to arrest them so easily.
"In that case..."
Ian fully understood Herta's words.
Herta nodded with a smile.
"Yes. From now on, we're going to protest to the baron's proxy."
Publicly, 'Baron Vincents' is known as a young nobleman.
This was because the baron's proxy, the count's son, was a young nobleman...
When a young man is sitting prominently in the lord's manor, people naturally assume this young baron is the lord of the land.
Unless you investigated thoroughly like Herta, you couldn't know whose name was on the land deed.
"Who dares intrude!"
"I am Wizard Herta. I have an identification badge issued by the university. Would you like to see it?"
The gatekeeper guarding the castle was startled by the unexpected visitors.
Especially since the visitor was a wizard!
"A-a wizard?!"
To Imperial citizens, wizards are objects of both reverence and fear.
And in most cases, fear comes before reverence.
The gatekeeper was no exception.
As soon as he heard the name "Wizard Herta", he was utterly cowed.
Her mysterious blonde hair and jade-like eyes.
Just that extraordinary beauty alone was enough to tell that Herta was no ordinary traveler.
"I've come to meet Baron Vincents' proxy."
"??? Who?"
"The baron's proxy. Count Gremlin's son."
"Th-there's no such person here..."
Ian tapped Herta's shoulder.
"Herta. You've greatly overestimated this person's level of education."
"... Is that so?"
What would a mere gatekeeper know?
As Ian whispered to Herta, the soldier eyed them suspiciously.
"And who are you to be with the wizard...?"
"I'm a wizard too."
"???"
"Eredith's disciple. Wizard Ian."
The soldier's jaw dropped.
Two wizards...!
No, two wizards visiting this tiny domain!
Has war broken out somewhere?!
At that moment, Anton, bristling with irritation, snapped harshly.
"Cut the stupid time-wasting. If you don't clear the way right now, I'll turn you into a frog."
"A-and you are...?"
"Wizard Anton."
"!!!"
Upon witnessing the third wizard, the soldier experienced severe wizard-reality shock.
Eh? Ehhhhh? Wizards? Why?!
When ordinary people encounter wizards, they suffer mental shock. This is a fact that appears in the scriptures of Heaven's Faith (not really).
Setting aside such nonsensical talk, the mental shock the soldier received was real.
Because three wizards had appeared in one place.
"G-go right in..."
Half-stupefied from the shock, the soldier weakly opened the gate.
Having witnessed three wizards, he had forgotten his very identity.
Yet he hadn't reached the true, terrible truth.
That those women lingering behind were all, every last one of them, wizards...
Sometimes, there are blessings that can only be enjoyed because one doesn't know the truth...
Having defeated the gatekeeper with mere self-introductions, the wizard party marched imposingly into the inner castle.
The presence of wizards roaming the inner castle put the servants on ultra-high alert.
"Gatekeeper Down! Ultra-emergency!"
"The baron! Bring the baron here! Hurry!"
Technically it was the 'baron's proxy', but no one called him that.
That's the sort of thing only high-ranking people care about.
To the servants, whoever sits in the lord's manor is the baron and the lord.
As the servants kicked up a fuss, the baron (or baron's proxy) couldn't just sit still.
He took his knights and went to greet the guests who had stormed the castle.
"Who dares!"
The baron's thundering voice was impressive.
Ian had met quite a few nobles before, but none had shown such presence as this young lordling.
'Is he the real deal?'
It might be prejudice, but the more capable someone was, the better their voice and articulation tended to be.
Though the baron's exact abilities were unclear, he certainly had the charisma to captivate people.
'Inglan... You didn't cause trouble again, did you?'
Upon meeting the baron directly, Ian immediately suspected Professor Inglan.
From the start, Inglan was a man caught grave robbing...
Could it be he'd been caught doing something weird in Baron Vincents' domain again?
If so, it would be truly infuriating.
"I am Wizard Herta."
"Wizard Anton."
"Wizard Krysus!"
"... Wizard Karl."
"Wizard Ian."
For a moment, the wind blew, making the wizards' robes flutter.
As the five wizards introduced themselves one after another, they looked like protagonists from an epic tale.
Maybe I should change my name to [Ian-Black] while I'm at it?
The baron muttered with a genuinely bewildered expression.
"Why are so many wizards...?"
'My thoughts exactly.'
Judging by his expression, the baron still hadn't realized what he'd done.
"Don't disrespect wizards", "Mind your manners with wizards" - these were sayings passed down like proverbs among Imperial nobles.
But few nobles actually knew what happened when you laid hands on a wizard.
Logically, there was absolutely no reason for a noble to be harsh to a wizard.
But now.
The wizards were about to demonstrate firsthand.
What happens to a noble who lays hands on a wizard...!
"Let's go inside first and..."
The baron tried calmly to persuade the wizards.
However, he had already broken [Calling a Wizard] once before.
That was when he captured Professor Inglan.
Inglan had visited the baron's land intending to fleece(...) Baron Vincents.
At that time, the baron broke the principle of [Calling a Wizard] and imprisoned Inglan.
"We refuse!"
"...?"
Since the baron had broken the rules first.
The wizards had absolutely no reason to be courteous.
"You've captured Professor Inglan, haven't you!"
"..."
"Just as you captured the professor, why don't you try capturing me too!"
Herta shouted with her eyes wide.
The content of Herta's threat was quite appropriate.
The only problem was that her voice and tone were so feminine that she came across as cute rather than scary.
But Herta was doing her best to raise hell(...).
'This should be enough to scare him, right?'
Herta was giving exactly that kind of look.
... If Herta had come alone, the baron might have ordered, 'Haha! Capture that wench too!'
Then Herta would have cried, 'Professor, I've been captured too~'
But here, there was a whole bunch of ornery wizards.
Especially Anton!
Just looking at those lips puckered with spite...
It's just so damn reassuring!
"Hey, you little sh*t. Bring Inglan here right now!"
"L-little sh*t?!"
"Yeah, I'm talking to you! You milk-breathed brat!"
Ian sincerely admired Anton's classy way of speaking.
Wow. That bastard. He's a crazy bastard.
As expected of an Imperial wizard, he's f*cking ornery!
With Anton charging in without hesitation, Ian didn't need to step up.
Ian immediately hid behind Anton's sturdy back and chimed in.
"The Baron Vincents is a little sh*t~"
"... What are you doing?"
"Senior, hurry up and say something too. This is f*cking fun."
"B-Baron Vincents is a promise-breaking jerk!"
Krysus felt a strange thrill as she smiled slyly.
Ian and Krysus snickered behind Anton's back.
'W-what is this...?'
Wizard is a time-honored DPS class.
This is a fact proven by countless fantasy novels. Baron Vincents felt like he was losing his mind from the prodigious (verbal) DPS the wizards were unleashing...
'W-what should I do?!'
Not only was it hard to keep his wits about him, but he couldn't even assess the situation properly.
Now, facing the wizards' fierce protests(?).
What on earth should he do?
Should he imprison all these wizards too?
But this hellish scene had unfolded precisely because he had imprisoned a wizard.
Draw his sword?
Then it was obvious that verbal DPS would turn into magical DPS.
Of course, the most fundamental solution would be to release Professor Inglan.
'But... I can't do that!'
Baron Vincents gritted his teeth.
He couldn't release Professor Inglan.
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