Chapter 616: Strange Atmosphere

‘The last time I saw her was at that noble’s banquet.’

But he was too busy to go chat with her now, so he’d just have to wait until he was done walking with Albert.

A few moments later, the group passed through the final wall.

The area within this final wall was much smaller than the sections outside. It contained a gallery whose walls were covered with murals depicting the Northern Great Expansion Period.

In the center of the gallery stood a massive, deep well. Its platform was also carved with Magic Runes, which seemed to be for water purification.

“This is the High Castle,” Albert said as they walked. “The Gray Squad from Thousand Masts City should arrive in a few days. I can introduce you all then.”

“That would be great. We don’t know many members of the Gray Squad,” Colin nodded. “Anyone who can get into the Gray Squad must be a heavy hitter. It would be good for us to know them.”

“With your level of skill, it honestly wouldn’t be surprising if you joined the Gray Squad yourselves.”

As he spoke, Albert led them up a staircase and into the buildings surrounding the gallery. “This is the High Castle, where the Knights live,” he explained. “It also has several small shrines and a backup kitchen. If the outer walls are breached, this is the final line of defense.”

As they continued up the stairs, Colin glanced through a nearby arrow slit and saw a relief carved into the inner wall.

The relief depicted a Knight wearing a Bucket Helmet and Long Chain Armor—a style of Armor that was hundreds of years old.

The Knight on the relief was also surrounded by a very conspicuous Magic Radiance. Colin guessed it was probably a Stone Golem. ‘If an enemy breaks in,’ he thought, ‘it could probably just jump right out of the wall.’

The group followed the stairs all the way to the upper level.

Albert pushed open a wooden door at the far end of the hallway. “Here are your guest rooms. You can use the one next door as well. The accommodations might not be the best, though.”

“You’re showing us to our rooms personally?” Colin asked, a little surprised.

‘This is usually a servant’s job. It’s a bit beneath someone of Albert’s station to be doing this himself.’

“It’s no trouble,” Albert said with a smile and a wave of his hand. “I have other matters to attend to, so you don’t need to follow me any longer. Please, feel free to relax.”

“Alright then. Goodbye, Albert,” Colin said.

After Albert left, Colin went into the room, placed his luggage by the bed, and said to the others, “I’m going to go say hi to an acquaintance. You all can start unpacking.”

“An acquaintance? You know someone else here?”

Dorn added, “Oh, right. I almost forgot you’re a normal human. Go on, Colin, my friend.”

“Sounds like you’re insulting yourself and the rest of the squad with that comment, Dorn, my friend,” Colin said as he walked out of the room. Immediately, the sounds of Kase and Dorn’s bickering erupted from the small room behind him. The two of them were always taking jabs at each other for fun.

Just then, Ale, having put down her luggage, came out of the room she shared with Orelia. She walked up to Colin and stared at him. “Can I come?”

Colin froze for a moment at her words.

‘Ale met Sela last time, and it seemed fine then, so it should be fine now, right? But it would feel weird to refuse her, and Ale isn’t an unreasonable person…’

“Um, it’s not like I’m going to discuss anything strange,” Colin said, forcing himself to sound casual.

‘He wasn’t sure why he had to force it, but the whole situation just felt a little strange.’

Ale nodded silently.

Colin headed for the spot where he’d run into Sela. When he and Ale arrived, however, Sela was nowhere to be seen.

So, Colin found a few people who were also wearing the robes of Black Tower Mages and started asking around. In the middle of his questions, Sela suddenly appeared from around a corner.

She looked a little surprised to see Colin standing by the path, then she stood on her tiptoes and waved in his direction.

After thanking the Mages, the two of them walked over to Sela.

“What a coincidence, Colin.” Sela carefully sized up the two of them as they approached. “The person who led you here was the young Family Head of the Weston Clan, wasn’t it? I saw him at that banquet.”

The three of them started walking aimlessly as they talked.

Colin asked, “By the way, what are you doing here? Did the Black Tower send you as reinforcements?”

“Unlike you, I’m not skilled enough for the battlefield. I came with a few dozen other apprentices as a support team of Mage Apprentices. You could say they moved our practical training up a bit. On top of that, the Ashfire Tower Institute from Holy Tear City and the Magic Academies from other city-states have sent people. There are even some Magic Mercenaries from Rommon. Anyway, all of us Black Tower Apprentices have learned [Message]. It’s a Magic that can transmit information to other beings within a forty-meter radius, which helps speed up the delivery of military commands a bit. There are also some Mages capable of casting High-tier Magic who’ve come to lend their support. They occasionally need to use [Sending] to relay more urgent information.”

“I see,” Colin nodded.

During the battle against the Orcs on their way here, Albert had relied on mounted followers to relay his commands.

With Magic to help, the command system could indeed be optimized quite a bit.

“Are you all here to help end this war?” As she spoke, Sela stole a glance at Ale, who was standing beside them.

Walking beside her, Colin was perceptive enough to notice her glance, and he also sensed that Sela’s expression seemed a little odd.

Although Colin found it strange, he wasn’t about to ask her about it directly. That would be far too awkward.

“I have a feeling you all will really distinguish yourselves in this campaign,” Sela said with a smile, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. Then she quietly glanced at Ale again.

Colin pretended not to notice her repeated small gestures. “My squad and I are just here as bodyguards. We probably won’t be sent to the front lines.”

‘That’s what I said, but I have a feeling Albert has a “surprise” in store for me. This mission probably won’t be that simple.’

“I see.”

After Sela said this, an awkward silence fell over the group.

Although Ale’s expression didn’t change, Colin still felt an inexplicable sense of awkwardness.

‘He couldn’t say why, but it was just… awkward.’

Sela spoke again, “Sorry, I think we got a bit carried away. I’m planning to go outside the city to look for some useful herbs. Want to come?”

“The person in our squad who handles herbs is someone else,” Colin said. “The only ones I can recognize are the more valuable ones, and since they’re valuable, they probably aren’t very common.”