"A conclusion?" The grizzled Magus asked with a confused expression. Then he looked at him with suspicion. "What do you have in mind, Young Lord?"
Vacuse raised his fat hand and pointed with thick fingers. "You want to see my identity and I don’t want to show it. That’s the problem. But my conclusion is that I can reveal my identity...."
The grizzled Magus hid his scowl. "But?"
Vacuse laughed again. "But I would need permission from my father. My n are in Mountain City and can use a magical instrunt to get words to him as fast as lightning. What do you think?"
The grizzled Magus paused and frowned. He hesitated before he sighed. "If you’re sure it won’t take long."
Vacuse snorted. "It won’t."
The grizzled Magus nodded and bowed. "We’ll be here soon for the letter then. Please make it quick, Young Lord."
Vacuse sat there and kept smiling even after they were gone. He could feel the security around them tighten much more than before. "Co now, let’s write a letter!"
He took the pen and paper from Yukata and wrote so words down. Then he put it into an envelope and sealed it, but not before he dropped sothing into the envelope.
Then they waited.
And true to Vacuse’s disguise, he ate more snacks and waited until the Magus returned for the letter.
"I hope your people won’t tamper with my letter?" Vacuse asked with raised brows as the grizzled Magus took it from him. Of course, the envelope was enchanted and warded, but that was nothing for those who really wanted to read its contents.
The grizzled Magus lied without blinking. "Of course not, that won’t happen."
Vacuse nodded and waved them away. "Alright, alright! I want to get out of here as soon as possible!"
The grizzled Magus bowed again and was gone, leaving them alone in the tent once again.
Vacuse’s eyes glittered.
Of course, they would read the letter. It didn’t matter though, as long as it got to his target.
☆☆▪︎▪︎☆☆
"Be quick and slip past the enchantnt. Make sure not to trigger anything." Back in his own tent, the grizzled Magus waved his hand at those bending over the envelope.
The grizzled Magus didn’t know how things had turned out the way they just did. "And the letter is addressed to the Long Neck Duck! Is he trying to play a trick here?"
Long Neck Duck was one of the most powerful inns in Mountain City, with chains of taverns and other businesses. In a way, it wasn’t strange that a rchant would write to them, but at the sa ti, it felt suspicious in ways the grizzled Magus couldn’t put his hands on.
"We have the letter, Captain!"
"Good. Read it to !"
Of course, they couldn’t directly break the seal on the envelope, but they could bypass it and scan the contents inside of it.
"It reads—Tell Captain Amros or Kagerou that my identity is threatened and they should pass a ssage to my father. My seal is right there! Be quick!"
The grizzled Magus frowned. "That’s everything? I don’t understand anything. Those nas are not familiar to at all; they seem to be code nas of so sort."
"What are we to do, Captain?" one of them asked.
The grizzled Magus frowned even deeper. "What else is in the envelope?"
"A ring. A normal one, as I cannot feel any enchantnts on it. But the ring did resemble a dragon."
That got the grizzled Magus’s attention, and he straightened. "Are you sure there’s no enchantnt on the ring? No? It’s just an ordinary ring?
"Then this Red rchant might know about dragons. Or even about the one we are searching for. We can’t allow him to leave until we’re satisfied with his actions."
"Then what should we do with the letter?"
The grizzled Magus smiled, his teeth flashing. "Deliver it, but keep tight control on its whereabouts at all tis. Put tracking enchantnts on it. Then we should get ready for battle. And, in case this is just sothing to buy ti, I want you to increase the number of guards around the young lord rchant!"
☆☆▪︎▪︎☆☆
Of course, Vacuse did not know anyone in Long Neck Duck. He simply told Yukata to address the letter to the biggest business in the city.
Why?
Because everyone was keeping their eyes on what was happening in the two camps of hunters. Any strange movent would break patterns and drive curiosity.
In short, everyone would want to know what was in the letter and why. He was also betting on the fact that his attendants, if they were the ones, were not using their real nas.
And thus, the letter made its way out of the Eboncrypt Magus and into the city. And since the whole city wasn’t at war, they had no choice but to hand it over to the Ashveil gang mbers, who then took it to their leadership, where they studied the situation.
But nobody could still make sense of the letter and the ring, so they decided to hand it over to the Long Neck Duck to see what reaction it would provoke.
By this ti, almost all the big shots in Mountain City, all those who had been using the hunters’ battle for entertainnt from the three big gangs, were following the situation closely.
Everyone knew about the strange letter and attention. Powers in the city shifted toward the headquarters of the Long Neck Duck, where the owner was to receive the letter.
Different magical techniques for spying clashed through the air as attention focused on the owner’s room, even though it was enchanted against it.
The owner of Long Neck Duck was an old, dignified man who didn’t expect to find himself in the spotlight and didn’t hide his irritation at all as he accepted the letter after his Magus checked for traps.
He opened it and read it, his face turning even more irritated. "What nonsense is this? I don’t know anyone by these nas!
"But such a marvelous ring! Look at this beauty! Look at how the craftsmanship is so detailed and lifelike. Maybe I should use this to know the one who wrote this so I can...."
He didn’t get to finish because a strange developnt happened just then.
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