Price of Management

The next morning.

I asked Earl Ricardo about leaving the inn.

“Where is Earl Ricardo going? ”

Earl Lika sighed and said.

“I'm on my way to see Kingdom of Leaden, but this... My horse is hurt and I need to stay here for a while. I wish I could get another horse, but it's hard in a small town like this. I had no choice but to tie my feet here. ”

“Huh? What a coincidence. I'm on my way to Lerdon. ”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, I told you. I have a royal opening. I was about to go to the royal palace after my trip. ”

“So if it doesn't become a lung, can you borrow a wagon? ”

“Oh, I didn't come in a wagon. ”

“Then…? ”

I laughed.

“Do you want me to show you?”

After I shared my senses with the gnome, I made a small earthhouse out of dirt.

Suddenly, an earthy house was formed, and Earl Liedo's eyes widened.

I went into a dirt house and sat on a chair I had built inside.

Soon, the earthhouse came to me with a sleeping air.

“Huff!”

“Ze, the house is in the sky! ”

Earl Rica, of course, was frightened of the Guardian and the Horseman. It was natural for the villagers to look this way as if they were going to faint.

I've landed the earthhouse again.

“I flew.”

“Huh, is that animisty? ”

“Yes, it would be very convenient, wouldn't it? ”

“I envy you. You have such talent.... ”

Earl Liedo looked closely at the earthhouse I had built.

I smiled and was jealous.

“If you don't mind, could you come with me? ”

“May I? ”

Earl Ricardo turned red.

“Yes, this will get us to Kingdom Leaden in two days. We can even burn the count's escort. ”

Earl Rica didn't think too long.

“Very well. I'll owe you one. ”

“You thought well. ”

Yes, of course. Uh-huh.

Count Liedo instructed the horse to follow me slowly when the horse is well.

“Here we go, then. Get ready and get out. ”

“I see.”

Earl Ricardo and his escorts soon left the inn with their luggage. Together we went to the house of dirt.

And I was just getting started.

Oh, yeah?

A strange prowess has been detected in the senses of gnome.

The man with the giant Mana is approaching. I'm guessing a wizard. I've never seen a wizard with this much Mana.

No, not at first.

I've seen one of the great wizards in the Orient Kingdom with this amount of Mana.

Earl Raymond!

I was able to get a sense of the situation quickly.

The Orient royal realizes I'm married. That's why Ricciano, who sent an alliance proposal, also sent Earl Raymond to bring him back.

How did you get here so fast?

It seems that Earl Raymond arrived here in a flash using magic.

What are we gonna do?

Earl Raymond, who knows how to use teleport or fly, can still catch up with you on the move.

Wait…….

I thought you said you were a man of great curiosity about magic.

I called the salamander in my heart.

Did you call for me?

“Huff!”

“Demon?! ”

Earl Ricardo, who was sitting in a dirt house, was very surprised at the appearance of Salamander.

“This is my spirit. I'm sorry to surprise you. ”

I calmed them down.

And I instructed the salamander in my mind.

- Chet, this is annoying!

He says so, but the Salamander swoops out to carry out his mission.

I told Earl Ricardo.

“Then I'll be on my way. ”

“Of course.”

I remembered the sky where the earthhouse was to rest.

Let's go, top speed!

* * *

Earlier in the morning, when he was homeless in the mountains and riding off again at dawn, Earl Raymond was only able to find a small village until morning.

“That's right. That's where Earl Ricardo would have stayed. ”

Earl Raymond speeds up the horse by speeding it up.

But it was then.

- Caaak! - Caaak!

“Ugh?”

I heard a strange sound from the sky.

Looking up at the sky, a shocking sight was unfolding before his eyes.

A burning bird was flying in the sky.

A giant bird with a full body of flames flew toward the north, flapping its wings forcefully.

“Hey, what's that?! ”

I can't feel Mana's energy. It looks like someone wasn't playing a prank with magic.

Firebird?! I never heard of it! There couldn't have been a creature made up of sparks in the first place. Well, then what is that thing you see in front of you?

As the firebird flies toward the northern sky, it starts to shrink.

“This is not the time. Fly!”

Earl Raymond jumps out of the horse with flying magic and into the sky.

And you chase the flaming bird that disappears away at a terrifying speed.

“I've never seen anything like it! Uh, maybe I'll be the first to discover! I will find out who he is. ”

Out of curiosity, Earl Ricciado was Earl Raymond.

Earl Lika had already caught up enough, so he thought there was no need to rush.

The distance from the firebird is imminent.

-Kaaaaaak- -Kaaaak-

Weird crying, no matter how much I hear it.

A smile spreads over the mouth of Earl Raymond.

I found something strange that I had never seen before. His fervent curiosity shook his heart, no matter how old he got.

Earl Raymond catches up with you, and the bird stops flapping its wings and stops in place. He looks back at the Marquis of Raymond.

Marquis Raymond has also ceased.

Then I carefully said to the firebird,

“I'm not the enemy. I'm not trying to attack you. Don't be afraid. ”

-Kaaaaaak- -Kaaaak-

“What have you been up to? I've never seen anything like you before. ”

I couldn't understand him, but Earl Raymond is excited to keep talking.

But it was then.

- I've lived a thousand years avoiding humans. Caw-!

“Phoenix? The mythical Phoenix? ”

- Yes, crow!

“Psi, it was real?! I thought, of course, it was folklore and verbal. ”

- Then why are you half-assed? Caw--?

“Huh?”

Earl Raymond, whose eyes were wide open, claimed Phoenix.

- I've lived for over a thousand years. Don't talk back, crow! Do you think humans, of course, outrank all other creatures? Arrogant human! I'm angry, crow!

“I'm sorry. No, I'm sorry. I got so excited that I stopped. ”

- You've finally come to your senses. Conceptual human being, cack-cack-cach!

“More importantly, tell me about yourself. ”

- I said, I'm Phoenix, crow!

“No, I know that, but tell me where you live, why you don't show yourself to humans, and so on. ”

Phoenix glanced at Earl Raymond and said,

- Wherever there's hot heat, I'm everywhere!

“Then why have you been avoiding humans? ”

- That's …….

Phoenix considers for a moment whether he is speechless, and says:

- Because I want to burn it all when I see a human!

“Rrrrgh!”

Earl Raymond couldn't help but wonder.

He looks surprised and excited, and Phoenix speaks excitedly.

- I'm not supposed to show myself to anyone! But I like that you're a little conceptual. It's supposed to burn like hell, but I'll spare your life, crow!

“Well, like that……. ”

Even the Archmage of the Seven Circles insists on a quick burn, and Earl Raymond sweats cold. I didn't think it was nonsense at all.

Phoenix spoke excitedly.

- I will appear before you on the day of the end! Caaak! When the time comes when humans are all corrupt and cannot reconcile, I will burn you all and bring the world to an end, Caaak!

Earl Raymond gives you the creeps.

“W-wait a little longer! Humans, we still have hope! ”

- I'll keep an eye on you for a while, then.

“Oh, thank you! I won't let you down! ”

- I'll be going, then. And shave your beard, crow!

And Phoenix vanished into thin air.

Earl Raymond is stunned for a while.

* * *

- Did I do well?

“Yes. Don't click now, because you did well. ”

- That was fun. Khehe!

When I saw the excited salamander, my mind became complicated.

Well, I managed to lose track of Earl Raymond. We've fallen this far, so I won't be able to catch up with us at this rate.

Moreover, given the delay in the mental state of Earl Raymond, neither Rica nor the Earl's problems will concern him.

The Salamander did a good job, but he gave one a very serious problem. I'm confused now whether it's the devil or the spirit.

Today I realized two things.

First, the maximum distance a spirit can reach is 10 kilometers.

And second, the fact that the Archmage will kill me if he finds out I cheated.

* * *

The palace of the Orient Kingdom.

“Earl Raymond, take Earl Ricardo back safely.... ”

The Orient King could not finish his sentence.

I have no words for the appearance of Earl Raymond, who has suddenly shaved off his beard.

Earl Raymond says with a gloomy face.

“Count Lika has missed. Caroc Kunt told the horseman that Rica flew away with the Earl one step ahead. ”

“Grrrgh!"

The Orient King was angry and clenched his fist.

“That's Caroc Kunt! How fast can you tell? ”

You thought this guy would send an envoy, and now you're here?! It meant he saw the inside completely through here.

I was unable to make such a person into my own, so I was grieved no matter how much I thought about it.

“Your Majesty.”

“Huh? Ha, go home and rest. That's a lot of work.”

“That's not it…… If the time comes to kill Caroc Kunt, please leave it to me. ”

After Phoenix's disappearance, Earl Raymond lingers in his memory for a while before quickly wiping out his hot beard.

After that, Rica went to town to find the Earl.

But when Ricca also heard from the horse man that Caroc had taken him, she realized that the Phoenix was also his joke.

Somehow, for a mythical Phoenix, it was a little weird.

“I will crush you with the hand of God. ”

‘I can't believe I made a fool of myself. I hate that fat bastard! ’

King Orion clammed his mouth as he watched Marquis Raymond shake his fists in anger. I didn't even bother to ask why I shaved my beard.