A Street Performance (3)

“Liam, did you see what direction he jumped!?”

“Of course not! Why would I know how to track teleportation magic?!?”

“You’re a mage aren’t you?!?”

“Not all mages know spatial magic!!! How the hell can he use teleportation so easily, anyway?!?”

Um… because I didn’t use teleportation.

Two of the guards – one which I assumed was the leader, and the other apparently a mage – yelled at each other. The remaining two scouted the alley, as if searching for some physical tracks. Meanwhile, I just stood there, hidden by my illusion spell. Of course, I made sure to step out of the way if they came close.

For some reason, these four seemed to be targeting me. Based on what I heard, they were working under the usurper duke at the palace – the one calling himself ‘His Majesty’. I had a few theories as to why, but I didn’t have enough information to back any of them up. It could be as simple as a coincidence, or maybe he realized the ritual succeeded.

Well, that’s why I’m sticking around: to figure that part out.

The searching two, likely subordinates of the leader, came back, standing at attention. “Captain, we couldn’t find anything. There were no physical traces left behind.”

“Tch. Teleportation is such an annoying spell,” he gruffed, clicking his tongue.

Very true. Ana likes to surprise me all the time with it.

“Well, at least he can’t teleport out of the city,” Liam, the mage, responded.

Hmm? And why is that? Sounds like another thing to investigate.

“Um… Captain?”

“Yes, soldier?”

“Are you sure we should go after him? There are plenty of others that are much easier to capture.”

The captain sighed. “Are you an idiot? Why do you think we’re still looking? You think one of them succeeded? Of course not! And there’s no way they’re gonna let it go until it’s over and done with.” He muttered the last part, but I heard him loud and clear. They were probably kidnapping people with some level of strength. It made sense, since although only one of these people actually used magic, I could tell they were rather fit and experienced, though a bit emptyheaded.

The captain stared up at the sky, likely thinking over his next steps, before coming to a conclusion. “Liam. Ask the mage corps to lend us some spatial mages, preferably ones that can interfere with teleportation.”

Wow, they’re going to be surprised. Although my magic mimicked teleportation, it was still an illusion, so that would do absolutely nothing. But even if it did do something…

“Um… that’s impossible at the moment…” Liam shrunk back, tapping his fingers together.

“What do you mean ‘impossible’?” the captain glowered.

“Well, all the spatial mages are still working on the… hero summoning ritual.”

“What? That blasted thing?!” the captain yelled, breaking out into a rage. “We already have a damn hero, so why do we need more?! It’s already failed five times! It’s only eating up our limited supply of spellstones!. You think those damned demis are going to sell us more at this rate?!?”

“But His Majesty–”

“Yeah, yeah. I don’t know what he’s thinking, but whatever, I’ll figure it out, just ask the mage corps.”

“But–”

“I! Said! Just! Ask! If they can’t provide any, get some regular ones as backup. Four aren’t gonna be enough to catch this slippery clown.”

“...fine,” Liam reluctantly agreed. He then quietly muttered something, causing a circle to appear near his feet. Based on the flow of mana, it seemed like the physical manifestation of a spell, another difference from my world. The usurper duke’s fireball might’ve had one too, though I couldn’t remember. I was too busy trying to escape his command tantrum.

The mana continued to flow down until his body began to hover slightly above the ground. It was a little at first, but it kept increasing until he was just above the buildings. Then, he flew off towards the castle.

Meanwhile, the captain gave orders to his subordinates. “You two, head back to the barracks and take up your normal posts. Make sure you aren’t followed.”

““Yes Captain!”” The two ran down the alleyway–

“Walk, you numb skulls!”

“Sorry, Captain!” “Sorry sir!”

“Ugh, these kids. Bit too young, but they’re plenty strong,” he bemoaned as he watched them almost trip over their feet. “I’ll have to petition His Majesty about this, but who knows how long it’ll take. There isn’t much time left.” With his hands buried in his pockets, he stumbled out as well, looking like a casual daydrinker.

I stuck around for a few more minutes, seeing if they would come back, but the alley remained empty. On my way out, I felt that same nag at the back of my head, but once I was back on the street, it immediately vanished. It seemed like they were keeping an eye out in case they missed something. Lucky I didn’t dispel the illusion yet.

With all that, I had a pretty good idea of what’s going on, though I wasn’t completely sure.

“That’s a lie. You already know what that fake king is trying to do. You’re just avoiding it.” A familiar voice whispered, saddling herself onto my back.

And why shouldn’t I? It’s not like I can do anything about it.

“So then why are you heading to the pawn shop?”

… I could hear the teasing grin in her voice. Reluctantly, I let out a deep sigh.

“Exactly.”