At the moment of Andrea's new realization, Khan, along with the Crown Prince's private soldiers, was entering the entrance of a village he had never visited before.
"Are there villages so isolated from the world with no teleportation circles these days?"
A soldier behind Khan grumbled. Khan pretended not to hear but secretly agreed.
The village they had reached was a small rural village located on the outskirts of Tabenum, Unlike other places, there was no teleportation circle here, so they had to rely on traditional means of transportation like horses or carriages.
Despite riding without stopping, it took them six hours to finally arrive at this place.
Most of the quiet village consisted of fields, and the men in black armor amidst the peaceful scenery felt quite foreign.
"Find the house of the magician who lives in this village,"
Khan ordered, and the soldiers dispersed quickly. He sat on his horse, surveying the village. The picturesque landscape, distinct from the city, was beautiful like a painting, yet it failed to touch Khan's heart.
It had been nearly four months since he started searching for Del Narcissus. Leading the prince's guards, he had traveled the continent like a madman.
In the first month, He roamed aimlessly around the vicinity of the Tower.
Then, he received word that one of the knights who had accompanied the prince had disappeared. He was said to have previously served as a guard for Del Narcissus. The knight, named Devan Fiestio, was found lying in a hospital, with a reason for admission was absurd, he had attempted to commit suicide.
"I rode on the teleportation circle together with my master... sob... and I lost my master. Even when asking the station, the response was that if the teleportation circle malfunctioned, it was difficult to determine where he might have ended up. After days of frantically searching, I heard a rumor..."
The village spoke of a victim who, due to an error in the teleportation circle, had their body and legs separated and ended up in different places, causing the victim to die from fatal bleeding. Shocked by the rumor, the knight drank heavily and attempted suicide in a fit of despair.
"I couldn't bear the thought that I might have caused harm or death to my master... sob... I couldn't bear it.
He had stabbed himself in the stomach with his own sword in an alley behind a bar. However, the bar owner found him soon after, and he was rushed to the hospital. But the wounds were too deep, and for two months, He was in the care of the hospital.
He pleaded for Khan to find his master, who wanted to return to the tower. It was the most pathetic and dumbest story Khan had ever heard in his life. But it provided a clue that the last place he used the teleportation circle was the station in Deserent.
In the third month, Khan thoroughly searched all the stations connected to the teleportation circle in Deserent, totaling 178 stations. In the fourth month, just recently, he heard testimony about a beautiful man who had arrived at one of the stations in Tabenum by mistake due to a magic circle error.
According to the station personnel, the unfortunate beauty desperately asked about the fastest way to Kantate and claimed to possess a treasure from the Grand Duke's family, as well as a close connection with the Magic Tower Lord.
Four months, over 100 days, no it would've been much more considering the time Khan had spent searching for Del Narcissus. Finally, after this long period, the special prisoner Khan had been searching for had come close to his grasp.
"Your Excellency! We've brought the magician"
A soldier reported from behind. Khan descended from his horse with a satisfied smile.
Wait, Del Narcissus. Your escape is over now.
***
No, it wasn't over. It didn't end.
Khan clenched an old pocket watch he had retrieved from the magician, suppressing the rising curses. It seemed as if Del Narcissus was mocking him even from behind the scenes.
The soldiers in the background, preparing to use the large teleportation circle, murmured.
"Why does the teleportation circle look like this?"
"At this point, it feels like he intentionally went somewhere else just to give us a hard time."
"At first, I thought I'd like to see the Daffodil of the Empire's face, but now, I really, really want to see it, no matter what."
Khan turned his head back. The soldiers fell silent under his murderous gaze.
"Everyone shut up and use the teleportation circle."
The magician who drew the teleportation circle for Del Narcissus claimed that the design had been distorted due to his mistake. He, too, was a truly pathetic man. The magician was responsible for the Tabenum station's teleportation circle. If Khan had been in charge, he would have fired him on the spot.
The magician mentioned that if Del Narcissus had landed within the teleportation range somewhere, it might be near the desert.
Now, if it was Deserent, it would be boring, but in order to search in the desert, appropriate equipment was needed. Since horses would be useless in the desert, they needed to borrow camels. Suitable clothing and shoes for traversing the desert were also necessary. Securing water and food was important.
Exiting the teleportation circle station in Deserent, Khan mentally checked his plan. He needed to obtain a map, buy lighter weapons, and send another telegram to the north in case the search period was extended... That was when.
"Y-your Excellency! Isn't this Del Narcissus?"
A soldier pointed to a large bulletin board in front of the station.
"Where?"
"Here, it's the person drawn on this flyer!"
Among various advertisements, village news, and travel information, there was a wanted poster in the middle of the bulletin board. Khan immediately tore off the paper. Below the drawing, there was the following inscription:
Missing person.
Name: Del Narcissus
Age: Estimated to be in the early to mid-20s
Appearance: Dazzling golden hair (with bald spots), white skin, fresh green eyes that seem to melt the world tree in an oasis, lips as seductive as a red pomegranate that deceives people, thin and lustrous body.
Characteristics: Frequently faints, has a pitiable and sorrowful shadow under the eyes due to insomnia, dressed in black robes, and walks around with a black-robed scoundrel and Priest of Eura.
Please contact Matius at the Desert Fox Inn
"Is this supposed to find a person or are you writing an erotic novel, fuck."
Khan crumpled the paper, and veins on his forehead stood out.
"Get this bastard named Matius."
He needed to find out why this guy was looking for Del Narcissus, what led to this damned description of his appearance, and if these characteristics, especially the black-robed scoundrel and the Eura priest, were who he thought they were.
***
The soldiers moved quickly. With the investigation that seemed to be chasing smoke for months finally taking a clear shape, their pace was faster. They found Matius easily at the Desert Fox Inn.
Matius, a bald middle-aged man with tan skin wearing typical desert attire, was brought by the soldiers. Despite being dragged by the soldiers, he didn't show any signs of confusion or fear. On the contrary, he had a confident demeanor that could be mistaken for the leader of the soldiers.
Khan, intrigued by such personalities was able to show a lenient expression compared to before. He tossed a crumpled flyer with Matius's feet.
"Why are you looking for Del Narcissus?"
Matius chuckled at Khan's question
"You too are someone looking for the Angel."
"Angel?"
"Yes, Angel. He is the Angel of our Sablum tribe. A symbol of our luck sent by our god Mars."
Khan felt a momentary sense of confusion. The fleeting favor he had for Matius disappeared. Matius continued speaking confidently.
"The Angel was captured by a corrupted group of evil heretics. It is my mission to get him back. Our Sablum can only prosper if he is present..."
"Who is this corrupted group?"
"There's a strong guy in black clothes. He claims to be the Angel's bodyguard and is quite skilled in combat. There's also a priest of Eura, but lately, he doesn't wear his priestly robe."
"Where was the last place you saw them?"
"A magician took them from the Desert. We lost sight of him there."
The bodyguard in black was probably the "expert" sent by the Crown Prince. The priest might be Alan Bate, and the magician could be the Magic Tower Lord. These bastards found Del Narcissus first.
"If you cooperate in finding the Angel, I can discuss the matter of the Angel's future with you..."
Matius attempted to negotiate, but his boldness lasted only a few minutes. Khan, who had heard everything he needed to hear, cut off Matius's head.
Khan said, wiping the blood on the sword with a handkerchief.
"From now on, we change the target of our pursuit to the Magic Tower Lord."