The gentle breeze of an Autumn evening washed over the town of Ironhill as Alex looked out his window and unto the scorched land. What met his eye was merely another part of the city in pristine shape.

He sighed exasperatedly as his eyes landed on the yellowed papers of the old report.

Battle of Ironhall, August 15th, 534th year of the New Calendar.

It was simply terrifying how one mage willing to offer his life could do. And that was one of the reasons why War King Az dedicated his life to establishing the famed Uzuza Academy, training mage hunters to not only fight, but defeat mages specifically.

A knock on the door halted Alex’s thought process as he answered as any honorable army official should.

“Come in.”

His eyebrows rose as he saw one of his commanders coming in. It was a woman roughly in her twenties, a rising talent.

“Report.” Alex said as he straightened up, fixing his appearance. It was never wrong to impress newcomers.

“Sir, the guards have spotted two teenagers leaving the area of the scorched district.” She said while raising her head from her kneeling position.

“And the problem is?” Alex’s eyebrows rose higher, a questioning expression on his face.

“We should subjugate them as per the rules, sir.” Sonia said.

“They might have stumbled into it accidentally.” Alex countered.

“We cannot push aside the possibility of them having sinister motives.” Sonia said, biting her lips.

“That is true, but mobilizing our forces in the middle of the city, in times of peace might cause some unnecessary… worries, if you will.” Alex said as he gazed at the girl with emotionless eyes, contrary to the smile on his face.

“Understood.” She nodded her head.

“You’re excused.” Alex said as he turned his chair to the wall and moved it to the windows. The best thing about being a general was the chair, after all.

He sighed.

“Damn brats.”

***

“I’m still wondering how your navigation skills were that bad.” Ryan said as he greedily devoured the steak in front of him.

“I don’t know even a tiny bit about this city.” Valerie said as she turned to glare at her companion.

“We wasted two days.” He pointed out.

“I only wasted one.” She said as she pointed her pork at Ryan. “You wasted another one.”

The rumbling of their stomachs ended the conversation, the pair finishing their breakfast in mere moments. A knock on the door disrupted the peaceful silence. Ryan lazily got up and shambled towards the door.

“Who is it?” He asked.

A male voice came from the others side. “You are under arrest for trespassing on private territory. Open the door at once or we will have to use force.”

Ryan’s mouth turned downwards into a frown as he opened it, met with armed guards numbering three, wearing a silver armor with a lion’s insignia. They were troops directly under the service of a general of the Ruo Empire.

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“I think you have mistaken me for someone else, good sir.” Ryan said with a smile.

“I ask that you let go of your weapon, or we will have to use force.” The officer said as he eyed the boy’s hand firmly placed on his sword handle, placing his hand on his own.

With a snort, he let go. Valerie had disappeared from sight as Ryan pointed towards the room.

“As you can see, I am travelling alone. And brown hairs can’t be said to be rare.” Ryan explained as he moved to the side, letting the officers enter.

The trio opened the door to the restroom, followed by looking below the beds and a bow of their heads.

“We apologize for disrupting your rest, sir.” One of them said as they promptly left the room.

He closed the door after them, pulling it to check. Ryan looked over his shoulder and gestured with his hand. A man dressed in an elegant robe appeared standing on the bed, along with Valerie.

Ryan turned towards the man, suspiciously eying him.

“Forgive me if I have delayed my introductions. I am called Joseph, serving directly under the command of General Alex, mayor of Ironhall.” He said with a bow.

“It is not that I doubt your identity, but the problem is why you have helped us. They seem to have been sent by your master.” Ryan said as he took a seat on his bed, releasing the breath he had held for a long time.

“If I may, they were not indeed sent by the orders from the general, but one of his commanders called Sonya. She sadly plays a little too much by the books. All I ask of you is to assist us in finding the hole you two initially walked through. Simple, isn’t it?” Joseph said with a reassuring smile on his face, descending to the ground soundlessly. “That is my Magnum Opus, if you will, and I will not let it have any flaws.”

“Magnum Opus?” Ryan tilted his head, the concept of the word nonexistent in his dictionary.

“It is a masterpiece.” Valerie clarified as Ryan nodded his head.

“So that means we are free of charge as we have accidentally stumbled into an illusion.” Ryan said, tapping his chin. “However, I don’t think your creation has any flaws.”

“Excuse me?” Joseph asked with a confused face.

“Simply said, I tracked it back by the path we took the day before. I don’t think, how do you say it… I don’t think the wall disappeared without anyone disrupting it.” Ryan explained as he chugged down his share of ale.

“That is indeed true. If the wall was still there earlier this day, then there surely must be some outside interference. I will be sure to look it up later. That aside, it is in your best interests to meet the general to explain the incident, lest you be dragged into a fool’s fight for justice.” Joseph said with a goodbye sign as his form faded into nothingness.

Ryan closed his eyes, perking his ears up. After a few moments, he opened it again, seeing the curtains move unnaturally for a second before it closed again. The might of a mage was truly terrifying, to even hide the sound of his footsteps.

He lit the candle with a match he had on himself and placed it on the table. The dull yellow light created disfigured shapes behind the boy, reminding him of the time he was scared of imaginary monsters. Ryan chuckled as he remembered when he thought there were actually monsters hiding under his bed.

The soft bed against his back was a nice change from the mat he always slept on, giving him a comfortable feeling. With a glance at the sleeping girl, he blew out the candle after covering her body with her blanket.

Turning towards the door, he thought to himself.

‘It’s gonna be a very long night.’

***

Sonya sat on her less than comfortable wooden chair as she went through the profiles of everyone that came into the city. Silver hair was rare if anything, and there was nearly no way to conceal one. There seem to be no mention of a strong adventurer or even a wealthy merchant, making her wonder the origin of the girl.

The boy was a fly on the wall. There was a mind boggling amount of brown haired teenagers, let alone adults. The gentle light of mana lit her table as she desperately tried to shape it. Useless.

She could always see it from a young age, but she could never quite manipulate them much like her entire family did. Shunned by them, she had chosen to become a knight so strong and make her brother eat his words. Soon she had realized there was a limit to what a human could do with just muscle alone and settled for a high enough position after graduation. She had never thought the place would be so corrupt as to let these children go.

With a frown, she looked it over again. There were no sightings of a silver haired girl except that which was asking for an inn. The Lively Beaver didn’t have her, and she let out a sigh. Messing with Dragon’s Tooth was always annoying. But she had to do it. To protect the justice and peace in the city.

She rung the bell while organizing the papers, preparing to give it back to the officials in charge of it. Soon after, a knock on the door came, disrupting her.

“Enter.” Sonya ordered as she put on her cloak and gloves. After a small thought, she decided to take her sword with her. ‘

What can go wrong will go wrong.’ Sonya thought to herself as she ordered the servant to deliver the papers to Captain Adams. She would much rather let her servants handle the melancholic old bastard than talk to him herself.

She would get her answer, even if it meant using force.