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Noire was the largest of the three islands near Volperand. Unlike the other two islands, where most of the area was made up of mountains and rocks, it had a lot of flat land, making it relatively suitable for human habitation. Naturally, it had the largest number of residents, but even so, it was just a collection of small villages.
“Did it really work?”
Elaine said as she got off at Noire’s dock.
“What do you mean?”
“The superstition.”
During their travels across the sea, they never encountered the Kraken. To be honest, they’d been somewhat prepared for one, but the sea had been calm, despite its reputation.
Did the prayers work, as the captain said?
However, Ash responded indifferently.
“I guess we were lucky.”
Realistically, sailing during this period did not necessarily guarantee they would encounter a Kraken. Although there were many cases where people lost their lives due to the Kraken, there have certainly been cases where they did not encounter it as well. It wasn’t common, but it wasn’t extremely rare either.
So, the captain took a gamble by setting sail.
“I didn’t even pray anyway.”
“Neither did I.”
Elaine nodded lightly. Whatever it was, they were able to arrive without delay.
Elaine and Ash began following the compass again. As they moved, they reviewed Talos Asgar’s personal information again.
“It says he was in his mid-40s 10 years ago, so he must be in his 50s now. He had dark green hair and green eyes.”
“He was said to be around 170 cm tall.”
These were the characteristics of the wizard they were able to obtain by asking an informant and Jody. Of course, he could have dyed his hair or covered up his appearance, but since they had the compass anyway, it wasn’t a problem.
As they left the dock, they saw houses and buildings lined up facing the coastline. Buildings, whose exterior walls had long since been discolored from the sea breeze, were clustered together, while houses were also seen standing sparsely where the ground had risen.
To block the strong sea breeze, stone walls surrounded each house and continued along the village roads.
Ash stared at the compass.
Even as they approached Noire, the compass pointed directly to this island, which meant that the wizard was most likely here.
Noire was a place cut off from the outside world for half the year because of the Kraken. Unsurprisingly, few outsiders came and went.
Maltaigne, where Talos resided 10 years ago, was similar.
The northernmost tip of the continent. A place rarely visited by outsiders.
No matter how you looked at it, it seemed like he was living in hiding.
But whatever the wizard’s circumstances were, it didn’t matter to Ash. He just wanted answers to his questions.
Suddenly, Elaine asked.
“Do you think he’ll talk easily?”
What happened between Walter and him 10 years ago? If he’d harmed Walter, he might not reveal the truth in fear of retaliation.
“We’ll get him to open up, don’t worry. I’m good at interrogation.”
Ash had directly interrogating numerous assassins. He knew how to get people to open their mouths.
His lips curled grimly. They were words that would’ve sent a chill down the wizard’s spine if he’d heard them.
Then…
After walking along the bumpy village road for a while, the compass arrow suddenly flashed with a bright light.
“…!”
It was the signal that appeared when the target was within a certain distance. In other words, it meant that he was nearby.
Elaine and Ash moved quickly. They went around a house and crossed an alley with a fence. As they exited the alley, a large square spread out in front of them.
A loud sound filled the area.
Stalls lined with fruits and vegetables commonly found in hot regions, people buying goods, and vendors loudly soliciting customers were seen all around.
A large market was in the midst of operation. The square was so crowded with people that it was difficult to even tell where they’d all come from.
The compass arrow was pointing towards the bustling crowd.
Was the wizard among the many people?
However, because there were so many people, it was difficult to know who exactly the arrow was pointing to. After looking around carefully for some time, the two soon discovered something that caught their eye.
“Hey, over there…”
She gestured to one side of the square.
At the location where the arrow pointed, there was a general store that displayed and sold various items. What Elaine pointed to were the three people standing in front of the store.
Several people passed by the general store, but those three people stayed in place and didn’t move.
If the wizard was among the people passing by, the arrow would move along with the crowd. However, the arrow only pointed in the direction where the three people stood. That meant-
“Is one of them Talos Asgar?”
Ash muttered quietly, having thought the same thing as her.
They encounter him earlier than expected. It saved them the trouble of searching for a long time.
Ash’s eyes became cold.
“… What do you think we should do?”
“Let’s just watch for now.”
Elaine and Ash were quite a distance away from the general store.
If they got closer, they’d clearly be able to tell which of the three the compass was pointing to, but if they did that, there was also a risk that the other person would notice them.
Plus, there were a lot of people around. If they tried to catch him too quickly, he could use magic to escape. If that happened, innocent people could get hurt.
They stood at the edge of the plaza, out of sight, observing the three.
The first thing that caught her eye was a man selecting items from a stand in the general store, because his shaggy hair, which reached down to his shoulders, was dark green.
The same hair color as Talos Asgar. As soon as she saw it, she thought it had to be him, however, because he was turned around, his face was not visible so she couldn’t be sure.
To his left, a few steps away from him, stood a man wearing a pitch-black hood, but from his height and the breadth of his shoulders, she could guess he was a man.
He had his back turned to the general store, as if he wasn’t there to buy anything. He looked anxious as he kept glancing around, like he was waiting for someone or looking for something.
The last one was a man with neatly cut black hair squatting with his knees bent.
A child with a scratched knee was crying in front of him. The man was wiping the dirt off the child’s pants and talking soothingly to him.
She couldn’t see the man’s face clearly because he was lowering his head to inspect the child’s wounds.
‘Which one of them is he?’
Elaine narrowed her eyes.
A man with dark green hair, was it really a coincidence that the wizard has the same hair color as this man?
The man wearing the hood was suspicious as well, just because he was hiding his appearance.
And although the man comforting the child had different hair color, he couldn’t be dismissed.
It was then.
“Goodbye, sir!”
The man with dark green hair finished paying and turned around. The long bangs that covered his face swayed in the breeze.
The man walked away, a somber air surrounding him.
“It’s not him.”
The arrow did not follow the man. There were only two suspects left.
Elaine and Ash turned to look again.
Then, the man comforting the child stood up. The child, who’d stopped crying, smiled brightly and waved his hand and ran off somewhere.
The man watched for a moment and then walked away. At the same time, the hooded man moved as well.
The two men walked in the same direction, the arrow moving along with them.
‘Let’s go.’
Ash gestured to Elaine.
They followed the two men, keeping their distance.
As they crossed the square, passing several stalls, two paths appeared. One was wide enough for a carriage to pass, the other a narrow path.
The two men, who had been walking in the same direction until then, went their separate ways.
‘…That’s him.’
She and Ash followed. The man with his entire body covered in a pitch-black robe entered the main street.
On the street, there were many people carrying bags in both hands, perhaps returning from grocery shopping. The two kept their wits and continued to follow the man.
Then, he suddenly stopped walking.
Ash and Elaine stopped as well.
They wondered if they’d made a mistake and been discovered, but the man didn’t look at them. He bent down and adjusted the crumpled heels of his shoes, stood up again and started walking, before darting into an alley off to the side of the road.
“…!”
Thump, thump, thump!
The sound of shoes hitting pavement sounded as he ran.
Did he notice? They quickly ran and chased the man into the alley where he’d disappeared. They could see the back of the wizard running in front of them.
Paaa-!
The next moment, a blinding light flashed and the wizard’s figure disappeared in an instant.
‘Teleportation…!’
She quickly looked at Ash.
“He got away!”
“He’s over there.”
Ash, checking the compass, darted forward first.
Considering that the casting time was very short, it was unlikely that he’d traveled far. Probably somewhere else on the island. It would take much longer than that to teleport off the island.
It would have been a disaster if, even just by chance, he escaped from the island. Once he recognized he was being tracked, they won’t be able to catch him easily, even if they had the compass.
They had to find him before he got off the island.
They ran quickly through the narrow alley.
