“Why are you two so free today…?”

I asked, finally speaking up as I looked at the two men blocking my path.

Dylan burst out laughing.

“Are you trying to catch me?”

Jed spoke up from beside him, sounding vexed.

“I’ve been pleading with His Majesty to hear about you, but this is too much. You even turned down Lux’s request.”

I smiled awkwardly and looked inside the box.

“He told me to… And can I really accept this much? It feels like you’ve emptied half the royal treasury.”

“Probably. I might have to start eating plain oatmeal for breakfast soon.”

I laughed out loud at Jed’s exaggerated words.

“Are you going straight to the Ferrarium? It would be nice to hear from you when the investigation is over.”

“I’ll come by tomorrow or the day after once I’ve finished my work in the capital. I would like to, but I can’t leave the guild in the hands of my employees for too long. Thank you so much.”

“Think of it as a wedding gift. You’ll definitely come to Lily’s wedding later, right?”

I laughed again at his sly way of phrasing it, not as his wedding but as Lily’s, to make it harder for me to refuse.

“Of course.”

I said it with a smile, but even as I spoke, I knew I was talking to the crown prince.

There was no way I could refuse. I didn’t know what would happen when the time came, but for now, I sincerely intended to go. I would hear about the wedding date soon enough, and it seemed fine to just attend the ceremony and leave.

After saying goodbye to Jed, Dylan, and Lily, who had come to see me, I was finally able to leave the palace.

I stopped by the bank and deposited the jewelry box in my vault. I also went to the post office and left a message for Ginger, including Edmond’s story, along with a decoy letter. It was a method of sending messages through the postal portal that could only be used at the post office.

The fee was a bit high, but it was the most convenient method at the moment.

I didn’t want to use the communication device in the guild office because I didn’t want any lingering traces after I left.

I also thought it would be safer to have Ginger run an errand for me and confirm the message. I was also worried that someone might be watching if I tried to use the same method I had used to send the message to Dylan.

Ginger must have been waiting day and night for news from me.

I hurried back to the hotel and activated the communication device connected to the guild office. I had instructed Ginger to clean up the surrounding area and guard the office from time to time, and soon enough, I heard her familiar voice.

“Yes, this is Ginger Perian.”

“Ah, Ginger.”

“—Boss?”

Ginger’s voice brightened noticeably.

“Yes, I have a favor to ask. Can you go to the town post office today and check for any mail?”

“To the post office… Oh, yes, I understand! Should I contact you after checking?”

She seemed to understand right away, and I felt relieved.

“No. You don’t need to report back, just receive the mail and put it on my desk. I’ll go and check it myself. Make sure it’s addressed to me.”

“Yes, I understand, Boss.”

“Thank you.”

I said my piece and hung up without hesitation. Ginger and I weren’t close. We had only met during the interview and worked together for a short time, so I wasn’t the type to chat with her casually.

As I was finishing up the call, I saw Nigella.

“Annie and I will be having dinner together, so everyone else should rest.”

“You two seem to be getting along well.”

“Well… I won’t see her for a long time once I go back, so I want to see her as much as I can while I’m here.”

“I see. Then have a good time, Boss!”

* * *

I handed Annie a pouch filled with gold coins.

“Hmm?”

“Use it for the carriage fare and any additional personnel you need. I’ve put in as much as I could, but let me know if you need more. You’ll need quite a bit of money since you’ll have to move all at once.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that. My colleagues have also agreed to help out. I’ve prepared ten movement scrolls. Should I prepare more?”

The movement scrolls that Annie was referring to were magical scrolls inscribed with teleportation magic circles created by mages.

Depending on the distance, the price of a single movement scroll can be as expensive as a horse. We decided to take a roundabout way on purpose to make it difficult to trace our path. I figured ten would be enough to get us started.

“Thank you. That should be enough. Annie, you travel with me for now. Edmond and Ginger can meet up with us later. Give half of the movement scrolls to their carriage. We’ll travel as discreetly as possible since we don’t know when the pursuit might start.”

“Hazel, by the way, what do you think of this? Where would be better?”

Annie spread out the map she had prepared on the table.

“Let’s see it together.”

“Like Hazel said, I’ve secured lodgings for the west in Pyronthe, Castalt, and Tenagal. The border area around here seems to be the most lenient.”

“Yes, yes.”

“Here, Rapford, which is adjacent to Pyronthe in the southwest, is on somewhat friendly terms with our country. It should be easy to move around. This hasn’t been decided yet, so just assume for now.”

I nodded with a raised eyebrow. I still wanted to avoid leaving here entirely and moving to another country as a last resort.

“I’ve told Ginger to leave traces to confuse them once she arrives at the destination. So let’s split up, one group going to Pyronhe and the other to Tenegal.”

“Hmm, okay. We’ll see how things go after that while continuing to erase our traces. There are many foreign merchants in that area, so it’ll be easiest to change carriages there.”

“Then next.”

I drew a line on the map, connecting Pyronthe, Tenegal, and Castalt in the middle to form a triangle as I went on.

“I think we should meet up with Ginger and Edmond in Castalt Mabel and Village, which is in the middle.”

“Have you ever been there? You seem to know the regional characteristics very well.”

“Hmm. I’ve just picked up a few things here and there. Edmond and Ginger should go to Tenegal. I hear people from various regions live there. It’s probably less conservative than Pyronthe.”

“You’re being considerate because he’s a former slave.”

Annie spoke without any filter.

“…Just in case. Today, I told Ginger to leave town on time. I’ll send a carriage if she can make it to the entrance of the abandoned Melkinto Temple between two and three PM.”

The Melkinto Temple was a ruin in Melkinto, the entrance town to Ferrarium. It had two large pillars standing tall on either side and was empty inside, making it a symbolic landmark of Ferrarium. Thus, it was the easiest place to meet. It was also right on the border of Ferrarium.

“Then, it’s better to send them ahead. Should we adjust our schedule accordingly?”

“Yes, we need to block all possible methods of suspicion. If Ginger is away for too long, it might look strange, so we’ll adjust our schedule accordingly. Once Ginger arrives in Tenegal, she’ll move from inn to inn to leave traces.”

“Let’s do that, then.”

Annie reached out and grabbed her glass of wine. She emptied the glass in one gulp and cleared her throat, then reconfirmed the route we had discussed.

“I heard that the slave fighting arena is less guarded from morning until four PM. That’s when the slaves are sleeping. It’s the end of the month, so it will probably get busy earlier than usual, around two PM. We have to get him out when they’re not paying attention. I’ve told Edmond this as well.”

“To be honest, I’m a little worried about this. It’ll be a waste if we can’t get him out even after we bring the carriage there.”

“That’s why I thought I’d go myself.”

“No. Are you crazy?”

She cut me off, shouting.

Oops, I’m surprised.

Annie’s high bridge of her nose was intimidating, and I flinched involuntarily and muttered an excuse.

“No, when it comes to stuff like this… I’m good at illusion magic.”

“If we can’t get him out, that’s just our fate.”

“No. Ginger must remain by my side.”

She was a capable person who would not betray me easily. That was why I was sure that she would cleanly erase the traces left behind at my guild in the Ferrarium territory.

If I just gave her money, she would handle the job spectacularly.

“If you can’t get out of there, how can I be sure you won’t be caught somewhere else? Let him get out on his own.”

“…Fine. I was a little hasty.”

“Then meet me at the slave gladiator arena at two PM. We’ll leave the hotel then.”

I uttered in a calmer voice than before.

“I’ll have my secretary and maids use the gate to return to Ferrarium from the hotel that day, and then we can move right away. I requested that our arrival time be after four PM so we can move during that time.”

“That’s plenty of time, more than I thought.”

So, all of this had to be done in one go, without a single mistake. We continued talking about the remaining details as we ate dinner.

Three days now…

There really wasn’t much time left.

—