A Returner’s Magic Should Be Special - Chapter 216

As Siegfried took off his knight’s helmet, with which dragon wings were engraved, his neck-length, navy blue hair fluttered in the breeze .

The crowd was abuzz after seeing his appearance .

“What brought the leader of the Flying Dragon Division here… ?”

The leader of the Flying Dragon Division was one of the most powerful people in Divide . It was understandable that people were surprised by the appearance of someone like him .

Hephaestus stepped in .

“What’s the matter, general?”

“It’s an inspection . We ask for your cooperation and apologize for the inconvenience . ”

Everyone widened their eyes . They knew that Divide was thoroughly inspecting people as they were warned, but they did not expect that the Flying Dragon Division would be inspecting them directly .

With Zod’s nod of acknowledgement, everyone submitted themselves to be inspected without relaxing their vigilance .

The Flying Dragon Division exhaustively inspected the personnel from the Magic Tower . Not to mention their identity as well as their belongings .

‘This inspection is unnecessarily thorough . ’

Desir thought it was too much, looking at their inspection . Their behavior could be considered as a discourtesy to inspect people who came for the Great Council .

However, they did not care about such things and inspected even the Magic Tower Master, Zod .

“Nice to meet you, Magic Tower Master . It’s been years . ”

“Somehow I haven’t had the chance to see you . By the way, is it really necessary to inspect me?”

Siegfried looked at the Starling Party and grinned .

“It was an order from His Majesty, Clora Baldershu . He specifically told us to thoroughly inspect anyone from the Empire . We have reason to believe that someone in the Hebrion Empire is trying to spy on the royal family . ”

“If that’s the case, is it safe to say that Divide thinks the Magic Tower Master is assisting the Empire in finding such information? This is what your actions imply . ”

As Zod spoke with a serious face, Siegfried waved his hands .

“Of course not . This is just a formality . The only guests for the Great Council from the Empire are the Tower Master’s escorts . ”

He was just doing this job, so Zod knew it would be pointless berating him further . Zod was now silent and didn’t make further comment while being inspected .

Next, the inspection for the Starling Party began . Their participation was strictly legal, and there was nothing suspicious to be found, so it went smoothly .

The only individual who would concern them would be Swan Katarina, who had accompanied them at Desir’s request .

She had faked her identity to conceal her status as Royal Guard, and used an artifact to change her face .

If she was caught, it would very likely cause a significant commotion .

“… ”

But the members of the Flying Dragon Division found nothing suspicious about her .

She easily passed Divide’s inspection .

“… Good to go . ”

Siegfried lowered his head one more time after receiving the report from a member of his team .

“Welcome to Divide . ”

* * *

Romantica complained as she left the inspection . She wasn’t happy about them ransacking her baggage .

“Seriously, did you see how arrogant they were? They went through all my bags . It feels like I was treated like a criminal!”

It was natural for them to be thorough in such matters after a history-defining event, the war on the Outsiders . Even still, they certainly gave the impression that they were investigating criminals while inspecting Desir’s party in particular . It was also doubtful whether they had the necessary skill and resources to foil any actual attacks via this display of security theatre .

It certainly wasn’t normal to besiege guests like this and subject them to mandatory inspections .

It wasn’t just the Starling Party that was left unhappy about the process . Hephaestus and the other Magic Tower personnel seemed to be quite offended too .

‘It’s obvious how Divide thinks of the Empire . ’

Anyway, entering Divide was successful . That was a start .

Once they came out of the building, they were greeted with the scenery of Pittsburgh, the capital of Divide .

“It’s well-organized . ”

If Dresden of the Empire looked colorful and beautiful yet complex, Pittsburgh of Divide was simple but very well organized . It was easy for people to walk on the well-maintained streets, and in fact, there were many people currently doing so .

Oddly enough, the street wasn’t lively though . The people present were all very quiet and kept to themselves .

The Starling Party members felt a chilly breeze while walking along the street .

“Let’s unpack first at the Magic Tower . ”

The Magic Tower had different branches all across the continent, and it was safe to assume there would be one, no matter which big city you were in .

Of course, the capital of Divide, as part of the Western Kingdom Union, had their own branch of the Magic Tower .

It was a big advantage . Having a base that wasn’t under Divide’s surveillance was a great convenience for Desir further his plan .

Arriving at the Pittsburgh Magic Tower Branch, the Starting Party and Swan were assigned to their own rooms .

They had a look at their assigned rooms, and were left impressed by the size of them .

There was nobody left unhappy to see a room that had better facilities than most hotels .

After unpacking in their respective rooms, Zod gathered the group in the lobby .

“I got an invitation from Divide’s royal family for the banquet, sent to all those who participate in the Great Council . Of course, you all are welcome to join me . ”

Desir seemed impassive, having known about it already, but Romantica and Pram looked hyped up .

“Really?”

“I didn’t bring any party outfits!”

Zod took something out of his bosom with a smile .

“I was going to prepare them myself, but it’d be better for you to choose what you want to wear personally . ”

Romantica realized what it was that he pulled out and got excited; pop-eyed even .

“A credit card!?”

Zod handed Romantica the credit card .

“You can buy anything you want . ”

“T-Thank you!”

Romantica and Pram left in a hurry, while cheering .

Adjest was about to follow them with a bitter smile, when she suddenly turned back to see Desir .

“Desir, are you not going?”

“I have something to do . I’ll catch up with you later . Go shopping first . Swan, please look after everyone . ”

“Don’t worry about it . ”

Desir went back to his room, after sending off his party members .

In his room, Desir settled down to business . The first thing he did was contact the Side Guards that were hiding in Divide .

After Divide had intensified their immigration inspections, it was impossible for Desir to plant additional secret agents, but the ones he was contacting now had been stationed since long ago . Trying to contact them from outside Divide had proven to be challenging, and had been rendered them useless until now .

Desir got their contact information from Alfred prior to entering Divide, and he could now put this information to use . He passed on a brief outline of what he needed and gave them their orders .

“Pass on any information you can dig up, no matter how insignificant . If you find anything related to alchemy, that takes utmost priority . ”

[-Okay . ]

They had been living in Divide for a long time with fake identities . As a result they could wander freely anytime, anywhere . It was very useful for Desir’s purposes .

‘If this operation gets caught, the blowback will be huge . ’

Desir had summoned all of the Side Guard members, previously scattered across all of Divide, in Pittsburgh . With how much control the Outsiders had over Divide’s politics, he was certain that there was something to be found within the capital .

Their scope was narrowed from a whole country to a single city, so they had a far greater chance at finding useful information .

However, once they were caught, it would be impossible to gather any more information within Divide .

The number of such embedded informants played a large part in measuring the influence of a national power . Losing any of them would cause huge damage, and require years of diplomatic efforts to mend .

‘But I have no choice but to take this risk . ’

Desir’s ultimate goal was to clear the Shadow Labyrinth and save humankind .

Getting rid of the Outsiders had become an integral part of this process .

If refusing to take action to save the public face of the Empire resulted in the end of humanity, it would have all been for naught . If he hadn’t taken risks every step of the way, it would be impossible for him to achieve anything significant .

Desir solidified his determination one more time .

* * *

The day before the Great Council, there was a banquet for the guests held in Divide’s royal palace .

Divide was far from glamorous, and thus the banquet wasn’t anything spectacular to behold, but the prepared feast was impressive enough to satisfy the nobles visiting from other countries .

The banquet hall was soon filled with numerous people . The few people that stood out amongst them were the heads of the Western Kingdom Union .

“This way, Your Majesty . ”

They enjoyed the banquet from their designated seats, separately arranged by Divide .

The uproarious banquet hall became quiet all of a sudden with someone’s appearance .

It was the Magic Tower’s Master Zod Exarion, Desir Arman of the Royal Guard, and the members of the Starling Party .

They received the undivided attention of almost everyone present . The popularity of the only Seventh-Circle magician in the continent, and the war hero Desir, was a league above the Western Kingdom Union .

“That’s the Starling Party . ”

“The Magic Tower Master and the war hero… ”

“Is that young boy really Desir Arman?”

A lot of people talked in hushed whispers .

The Starling Party gained some popularity and had been invited to various parties .

But they hadn’t experienced a party this big, so Romantica and Pram couldn’t hide their tension .

“Behave with dignity . ”

They tried their best to act normal at his words .

As Zod sat down in his assigned seat, his escorts sat down shortly after .