STGB Episode 496

Quest 1

Marco Toweare.

Age thirty-two.

He started working in a kitchen as a teenager, which sparked his interest in cooking and led him to hone his talents. Two years ago, he opened a small restaurant under his own name on the main street of Rabigion.

He was married to a woman and father to two children.

Although he had a reckless youth, once he became a family man, he never caused any trouble.

He endured injustice and would turn away from potential conflict, returning home instead.

But then…

“Aaaaaah!”

When he came to his senses, he was screaming and climbing up the stairs.

Along with countless warriors.

“Today! We will conquer the Mage Tower…!!”

At those words, Marco Toweare’s mind snapped back to reality.

The barbarian warriors he never thought he’d be involved with in his lifetime. And the mages tirelessly casting spells to stop them.

Only then did he realize where he was.

‘The Mage Tower…….’

He had only ever seen it from afar, never once setting foot inside.

How did he end up here?

Pushed forward by those behind him, he climbed the stairs and wondered.

[Jandel! Bjorn Jandel is leading thousands of barbarian warriors to the Mage Tower!!]

Initially, it was curiosity.

When he heard that, he happened to be nearby and had some time to spare.

So, he went to watch.

[It’s war.]

Bjorn, son of Jandel the Giant.

The hero he had only heard about in rumors was truly an extraordinary man.

He was bold and unstoppable.

It seemed that no one could stop him from achieving his goals, such was the power that emanated from his presence.

And…….

[These mages! They are the ones who placed a bounty on the barbarian heart in the black market!]

His powerful words continued, and for the first time in a long while, Marco’s heart raced. Before he knew it, he was shouting along with the crowd, cursing the Mage Tower.

Yes, that’s how it felt at the time…

“It’s, it’s a barrier…!”

“What should we do?”

“What do you mean what do we do!”

How did he end up here?

How is being here helpful to him?

“We break it!!”

“Uoooh!”

He hoped his family doesn’t get hurt because of this…….

He hoped it wouldn’t cause any harm to his family…

Why was he still climbing the stairs with these people, even as he worried about that?

Boom—! Boom—! Boom—!

A wall of barrier magic blocked their way.

“Baron Jandel, stop! This is far enough!”

The mage arrogantly shouting from behind the translucent barrier.

And…….

Boom-!

The man relentlessly swinging his hammer.

Watching that man up close, Marco realized something.

“Chief! That’s not the way to break a spell—”

“Didn’t I tell you before?”

“If you can’t break it, it’s because you’re not strong enough!”

There was only one reason he was here.

“I! And we are strong……!!”

That man is strong.

Crack-!

Strong enough to shatter any barrier and move forward.

“Th-the barrier is breaking!!”

Even if Marco’s presence wouldn’t be much help as he walked that path—

Thump!

He just wanted to see it once… that was how he felt.

Boooom!

Bjorn, son of Jandel the Giant—

“Bethel—raaaaaaaa!!”

—was that kind of person.
***

The Mage Tower.

The fortress of the kingdom’s most vital mages, never once conquered by invaders through its long history.

…I don’t agree with that.

‘Impenetrable, my foot. It’s just that no one’s ever fought them.’

An organization entirely composed of mages, with a completely unbalanced offense-defense ratio. Sure, the various magic barriers are quite troublesome, but…….

It’s not worthy of being called impenetrable.

‘Besides, they don’t seem as united as you’d think.’

With justification and public opinion on my side.

Since the Tower is a collective of hundreds of different schools of magic, they don’t all rush to defend it, even if there is an invasion.

“Don’t try to stop us! We will take only the criminals we seek and leave!”

Some schools with no involvement have shut themselves inside their labs, waiting for the storm to pass.

Of course, the majority are mages who believe they cannot be trampled by barbarians and are actively contributing their strength.

But…….

‘Geez, casting spells all night is exhausting.’

Most of those staying in the Mage Tower during this period were research mages. Those who spend their days holed up in labs, crafting new spells and studying arcane arts.

Naturally, they couldn’t perform at the same level as combat mages.

And there was a significant penalty in play.

“……Master! L-let’s just burn them all! Before they break the barrier!”

“We can’t……. Don’t you see them?”

The civilians caught up in the war between the barbarians and the Mage Tower.

“Master! They’re not citizens, just a mob!”

“The military has issued an official order. No civilian casualties are allowed.”

“But… we can’t hold out like this for long! They’ve already broken through this far!”

“…Hold on. Until the military reinforcements arrive, we must hold on. Then, victory will be ours.”

Thanks to the mixed-in civilians, the mages could only focus on defensive spells, unable to use their greatest advantage: wide-area attack magic.

Thus…….

「The character has used [Swing].」

「The destructive power of blunt weapons has greatly increased in proportion to strength.」

Shattering the increasingly sturdy barriers, we climbed the stairs floor by floor.

“……Filthy barbarians! You will regret this!”

The mages we had captured along the way were bound tightly and taken as prisoners.

“Bjorn! You go ahead! We’ll thoroughly search this floor!”

We stationed warriors on the cleared floors and began the search.

“Aynar, as I said, leave the schools not on the list for last.”

“What? But the targets might be hiding in one of those places!”

“Even so, search them last.”

Unless we search the entire tower and fail to find any of the criminals on the list, there’s no need to make more enemies.

Well, even without that, the mages here will probably shudder at the sight of barbarians for the rest of their lives, but…….

There’s a difference between mortal enemies and just enemies.

If I cross the line here, all the schools in the Mage Tower will unite, which would become a significant problem for future plans.

“As I said, absolutely no killing. Capture them alive! Understood?”

I emphasised this repeatedly whenever I had the chance.

If we just smash everything and climb the floors, we’ll be reduced to mere invaders with no justification.

‘By the way, we’re at the 30th floor now…….’

As we struggled to climb another floor, a new barrier greeted us.

“The Baron! The Baron is here……!”

The mages gathered behind the translucent barrier looked at me with tense expressions.

“Listen, Baron! Even now, reconsider. Do you know how many laws you’ve broken?”

As usual, the mages cursed and tried to persuade me, but my task remained unchanged.

Crack-!

I swung my hammer relentlessly.

After about ten [Swing]s, cracks began to form. But the higher we climbed, the stronger the barriers became.

And there was more bad news.

“Chief! The royal army! The royal army has arrived!!”

Reports came in that the forces had arrived.

Earlier than expected.

‘It seems like they were dispatched as soon as we entered the city…….’

Tch, this city is only fast when it comes to things like this.

“It’s over now! Put down your weapons and calm your warriors!”

The mages behind the barrier grew more confident after hearing the news.

That’s understandable.

My warriors can try to hold them off, but the royal army will arrive well before we’re done here.

‘Okay, this is far enough.’

Just then, the barrier separating the next floor and the stairs shattered.

The mages channeling magic into the barrier panicked and fled upstairs, with some being captured by the warriors.

“Chief! What now?”

“We need to go higher!”

The warriors were worried by the military’s intervention.

However, I stopped breaking through to the next floor and issued new orders while waiting on the current floor.

“Bring all the criminals we’ve found here!”

“Ah, understood! I’ll pass it on!”

The best we could do for now.

From here on out, it’s up to luck.

If even one of the criminals we’re looking for is on the floors we’ve occupied, the plan will go smoothly. Otherwise, things will get complicated.

“Sigh…….”

So, what will the outcome be?

“Bjornnnnnnn!!”

Soon, Aynar appeared.

Proudly holding three mages by the scruff of their necks.

From the Mylern School: Extellin Flacco.
From the Bebectalt School: Mohillo Ostquinn.
From the Elters School: Kuol Maemandolic.

These three mages, brought by Aynar, were not among the twenty-two names on my list.

Not that it was a problem.

After all, they weren’t the only ones.

If I had revealed everything, they would have been moved to safety first.

“Good job, Caron, Aynar.”

I gave them a bit of a praise and asked if there were any difficulties, but they reported none.

Had the three stayed hidden in their own schools instead of fleeing elsewhere?

‘It’s a bit disappointing not to find the one who wanted my heart, but this will have to do.’

I will find him eventually.

Everything I’m doing now is paving the way for that.

“M-misunderstanding! There’s some misunderstanding, Baron!”

“Whether it’s a misunderstanding or not, we’ll find out soon. Aynar, how’s the situation below?”

“The warriors are holding them off, but they won’t last long. By the time I left, they had already broken through to the 4th floor.”

“We need to start soon.”

I activated the recording crystal I had prepared and handed it to someone nearby after making eye contact.

The only civilian who had followed us up to the 31st floor.

“What’s your name?”

“Marco Toweare, Baron!”

“Marco Toweare. I’ll remember that. Here, I want to ask you a favour. Could you stand over there and hold this? Make sure our faces are visible.”

“I-it’s an honour! B-but… how can someone like me handle such an important task…”

He trembled, afraid he might make a mistake, but I chuckled and patted his shoulder.
“I trust you.”

Well, giving a sensitive device to those barbarians would be more unsettling than handing it to a stranger.

“Marco Toweare.”

I made sure to remember his face and name.

“……I-I’ll do my best!”

With the cameraman ready, I quickly moved on to the interrogation.

There were plenty of mages around, but there was no need to use verification magic.

I already had something prepared.

「The character has used [Misaligned Trust].」

Even with my recently improved finances, it was an item that had cost me quite a bit.

“Extellin Flacco, Mohillo Ostquinn, Kuol Maemandolic.”

I looked down at the three bound mages and asked.

“Now, tell me again. Do you still think I’m misunderstanding you?”

The mages, who had loudly protested their innocence since their capture, fell silent. After all, it was impossible to lie in the presence of this item.

“…….”

Their silence was proof of the truth.

However, for this to serve as evidence, I needed a clear statement, not just silence.

Therefore…

“You are currently under suspicion of treason.”

I tightened the figurative noose until they could scarcely breathe.

Their reaction came immediately.

“…Tr-treason! That’s absurd…!”

I tightened the noose around their necks until they could hardly breathe.

Because it was a highly sensitive accusation—one that could see one’s entire family executed—they couldn’t bring themselves to remain silent here.

“I-I have never plotted treason, nor have I ever dared to think of such a thing. Isn’t it obvious from the fact that this is even being mentioned? This is the truth!”

The mages even looked at the recorder as they defended themselves.

Yes, the accusation of treason is terrifying, isn’t it?

“Regardless of your intentions, the fact remains that you collaborated with the rebels, doesn’t it?”

“J-joining forces…! All I did was – I just made a request -”

That’s all.

It seemed like that’s what they were trying to say, but unfortunately, the words never fully came out.

Because someone interrupted.

“That’s enough, Baron Jandel.”

A deep, resonant voice echoed throughout the floor.

At the same time, a magic circle appeared on the ground, emitting a blue light.

Thud, thud.

Turning my head toward the sound, I saw an old man descending the stairs.

It was my first time seeing him, but I recognized him immediately.

The master of the Lengman School and the third brother of Duke Kealunus.

“Teshlun Lengman Kealunus.”

The lord of the Mage Tower.

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