9. Akan (1)

Yuma stared at the clock hanging on the wall of the special room.

Half past ten in the evening.

A bizarrely early time considering his physical exhaustion.

Having moved past the sprawled corpse of Hecard and the charred body of some anonymous mage.

Yuma, sat in his place, felt the incoming rush of people.

“I need to rest a little. Don’t go ahead, there are corpses.”

Yuma slightly leaned the seat back and, staring at Cloné, he spoke. Cloné nodded abruptly.

“Yes, yes! Sleep!”

Yuma slowly closed his eyes.

“Wake me up after 3 hours…3 hours.”

Who knows what would happen if he slept any longer on this damned train.

Almost immediately after speaking, Yuma fell into sleep.

Cloné’s sparkling golden eyes were fixated on Yuma’s face.

‘Handsome. Handsome. Handsome.’

He admired every feature of Yuma’s face one by one.

‘Hmm… I will become the greatest magician on the continent!’

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Only then could he stay so close to him.

His golden eyes stared at Yuma for quite a while.

Then he took out the magic book, he always carried, and started studying it.

***

Peal of bells resounded.

Yuma slowly opened his eyes.

His head cleared up as the haze dispersed.

Cloné, dozing at the window seat, came into his view.

The clock hanging on the wall pointed at four in the morning.

“….”

Yuma gently patted Cloné’s shoulder.

“Cloné.”

Cloné lifted his head and opened his eyes wide.

“Y-Yuma!”

“Didn’t I tell you to wake me up after 3 hours.”

Cloné bowed his head.

“S-sorry. You looked so tired…”

About 3 hours left to reach the final destination, the route city, Akan.

“It’s your turn to sleep. For the remaining time.”

“Yes.”

Cloné leaned his seat back and obediently closed his eyes. Yuma picked up the magic book Cloné had been reading.

The way he smoothly turned the high pages seemed somewhat like a young professor at the academy.

‘I don’t understand a word.’

He could not make heads or tails of it. After skimming roughly three pages, Yuma closed the book. He gazed at the sleeping Cloné.

‘Did he say resonance?’

The black star with blue hair.

The being Princess Bridget, chosen by divine trust, had to meet to become sovereign was Cloné.

The transit city, Akan. It belonged to the southern part of the empire from here.

I had to find the guy mentioned in the trust with Clone.

If it had been a clear target…something like an object, it would have been easy to find.

Unfortunately, the target to find was a human.

A rough journey was expected at a glance.

Yuma turned his head towards the being that had been staring at him since just now.

What can I do for you?

That being was one of the people who Yuma had ignored fiercely a few hours ago. It was a guy with eye-catching blue hair.

Ah, hello! Yuma sir. I am Gelmore, mayor of Akan, the terminal city we will arrive at in a short while. If you have a schedule to digest in Akan, I really want to help you out. Sir Yuma is the benefactor of my life.

Gelmore, the mayor of Akan.

He was the manager of the very first destination.

Good. But first of all, I want to freely explore the city with my group. I’d appreciate it if you could recommend a good place to stay or a restaurant.

Gelmore bowed his head sharply.

Oh, of course. I will help you so that there is no inconvenience in using the city. And it would be an honor if we could meet again before you leave.

If that’s not a problem for you to come to me.

Of course. Sir Yuma.

In front of this man, Gelmore did not have to maintain his dignity as a mayor. The fact that he chased away the Dawn Revolutionary Squad, which had a truly oppressive reputation for numerous mastery-level powerhouses, alone.

And because he had witnessed that power directly.

The sword of the Princess.

The sword of Princess Bridget…!

The man with the gray hair in front of him looked more than capable enough to bear that title.

Kelmor thought that it might actually be the sword to strike down Grant Prince Schubert. Kelmor wrote down a list of inns and restaurants that didn’t need to worry about tricks or shallow deceit. On the back of that paper, he wrote his own name.

Gelmore handed the paper to Yuma with both hands.

If you show this, no one will try to trick Sir Yuma.

Surely this was quite substantial help.

Thank you. I’ll take my leave now.

…Yes, Sir!

But while he was grateful, it was also a nuisance.

Clang.

7 a.m.

The magic train arrived at its terminal, transit city Akan.

Yuma and Clone got off the train.

Yuma’s eyebrows furrowed slightly. Because someone had blocked him at the door.

The one blocking his view was wearing a familiar uniform. It looked like the clothes worn by the employees of the magic train, <Halo>.

He was a middle-aged man with a cool mustache.

The middle-aged man very naturally led the two who had stepped out of the special compartment to the reception room. It was no different from the reception room at the metropolitan station.

The middle-aged man bowed deeply.

Let me formally greet you. Mr. Yuma. I am William, the branch manager of the magic train Halo in Akan.

Just Yuma would do.

“It’s Clone!”

Clone raised her hand cheerfully.

William responded with a warm, wrinkled smile.

“Nice to meet you, Miss Clone.”

His gaze turned back to Yuma.

“Firstly, I am to deliver a message from the Venetian Count. He apologizes as the owner of the Halo for the incident last night. Further, sincerely thank you for safeguarding the train. As for the Revolution Group Yeomyeong, who attacked the magical train, I’ll personally use my power to conduct an independent investigation. That’s all on behalf of the Count’s message.”

It was a dull message, just as Yuma had expected.

William opened his almost closed eyes wide.

“And now, I have advice for you regarding this city, Akan.”

Just stepped into the city, and there’s advice? Yuma perked up a little.

“The Mayor of Akan, Gelmore, was on the train just now, did you meet him?”

“We spoke briefly before disembarking. He said to let him know if I needed help.”

William slowly nodded to Yuma’s response and continued.

“Gelmore has been mayor for 4 years now. He’s certainly an excellent merchant, but not suitable as the ruler of this city.”

“Does he not control the city thoroughly?”

“Correct. And there is a real owner of this city that even Mayor Gelmore isn’t fully aware of.”

“The real owner?”

“Underground King Bellack. He rules Akan’s underworld, leveraging drugs. His power has grown so large he has set his sights on the surface.”

This place was not just a stopover city but a city of drugs.

“Why is this happening?”

William shook his head.

“I’ve reported it, but only commands of auditing from within came down. However, about half of the city’s police are soaked in Bellack’s drugs.”

Yuma began to understand why the Revolutionaries made such a fuss last night. The country was in a terrible state.

“I have no intention of irresponsibly asking you, who has brought the will of the Princess, to solve it. I thought you should be aware.”

“Your judgment is right.”

It was necessary to know.

“Is it over now?”

“Yes, I’ve fulfilled my duty, Yuma.”

“Then, you may go.”

Yuma and Clone rose.

***

A corrupted city.

City of pleasure.

City of drugs.

Akan.

Yuma roamed the streets of Akan.

Even though it was only 3 in the afternoon, a break was needed, Clone was exhausted.

Perhaps because it was not yet night.

William’s warning about Akan didn’t quite sink in yet.

A middle-aged man with a beard was admiring and confirming items in a box.

“Wow, lately the fruits and the fish are in season!”

“Come on, enough with the admiring. Let’s hurry and make our order. Mr. Hans.”

Clorne watched the many trades taking place in the street.

“The trade activities are definitely lively!”

“Indeed.”

Yuma read a piece of paper given to him by Gelmore. He saw it mentioned a nearby inn.

It was an inn called ‘Uollo’.

Yuma entered the inn and headed straight to the counter.

“This is a symbol of friendship with Akan market. Summon the manager.”

The counterperson, looking at the mark on the paper, widened his eyes.

“Understood!”

Replied loudly, he then disappeared into the back room where the office might be.

Shortly after, a middle-aged man with white hair came out to the counter.

“Oh, oh! This is indeed the seal of Mr. Gelmore, the head of the market. I’ll guide you. Esteemed guest.”

Yuma stared into the middle-aged man’s eyes. Seeing that Yuma did not follow him up the stairs, the man tilted his head.

“Do you have other business?”

Clorne also looked back at Yuma.

“No.”

Yuma held Clorne’s cute little hand and went upstairs.

The reason Yuma briefly glared at the manager of Uollo Inn was simple.

‘His eyes.’

He felt a murky feeling in the man’s eyes. A sickeningly ominous feeling.

Perhaps it was the misdirected ominous feeling coming from the awareness that Gelmore had already lost control of this city.

But it did not hurt to be cautious.

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