Lucis and Olivia walked towards the Wizard King's room, their voices altered by the masks and voice changers they wore.
"What happened to Leopold? He seems more mature lately," Olivia asked curiously.
"He made a friend his age who is apparently very strong. Inspired by him, Leopold started taking everything seriously," Lucis explained.
Lucis knocked on the door and waited. A voice from inside confirmed their entry. Inside the room, the Wizard King handed Lucis a piece of paper with the mission details.
"I didn't expect Olivia to come with you too, Lucis-kun," said the Wizard King with a smile.
"Well, she needs experience too," Lucis replied as he donned the cloak laid out in front of him. Lucis secretly worked under the Wizard King in a private squad, along with Olivia. This secret was known only to five people: his two mothers, Rill, Leopold, and Olivia.
Lucis, the only son of the current king, was expected to take the throne in the future. Unlike his father, who was corrupt to the core, Lucis aspired to be a good king, one that people could look up to. To that end, he accepted the Wizard King's offer to work under him, in exchange for lessons in leadership and understanding the kingdom's situation. He often took small missions that allowed him to visit different parts of the country and understand its people.
Olivia Lawrence hailed from a high-ranking noble household and had been betrothed to Lucis at a young age due to her grandfather's good relations with the Kira house. Initially disturbed by the news, Olivia's perspective changed after meeting Lucis. Unlike any royal she had met before, Lucis was humble and gentle, with different views and goals from others.
For Lucis, Olivia was a ray of sunshine in his otherwise dull life. She was brave, had a charming personality, and was very supportive of his goals. Their mutual appreciation blossomed into love.
Lucis glanced over the mission details and passed the paper to Olivia. Their task was to escort a merchant to a town in the forsaken realm, protecting him from potential attacks by magic beasts or bandits.
After leaving the castle, they walked to a nearby restaurant. The Wizard King watched them leave.
"Envis," he called out.
A masked man appeared behind him. "I will leave their safety to you," said Julius.
"Yes, sir," Envis replied as his body turned invisible.
---
Inside the restaurant, Rebecca worked alongside her siblings.
"Rebecca, please give us our regular meal and pack rations for a few days," Olivia requested.
Lucis and Olivia discussed the mission details. The merchant carried a large number of goods, so flying was not an option. They would need to travel on foot for almost a week, moving from the common realm to the forsaken realm.
Food wouldn't be a problem since both were experienced in cooking in the wild during missions. However, it was better to carry some provisions with them.
Lucis inherited light magic from the Kira bloodline, while Olivia possessed sound magic from her family. Her magic allowed her to sense the area around her, heal, debuff enemies, or boost allies' magic. Both were experienced in working together, so they generally didn't face issues during missions.
---
Lucis and Olivia stood before an old man. Behind them was a line of ten caravans tied to five domesticated mana bulls, with around ten other people accompanying them.
Lucis revealed his identity, but except for the old man, everyone else gave them looks of disdain. Lucis and Olivia surmised that something must have happened to make them resent the magic knights.
The old man noticed the situation and reassured them, "Don't worry about them."
They continued their journey until nightfall and stopped in a forest for the night. The old merchant provided them with a tent, as it seemed unlikely that anyone else would.
"What the hell is wrong with them? If they hate us so much, why did they even bother to hire us?" Olivia grumbled, her mood sour.
"Let's just do our job for now. I'll ask the old man the whole story," Lucis said, planting small pillars of light around the camp. These served as both sources of light and defenses against magical beasts.
The night passed without incident. As they continued their journey through the forest, they were occasionally attacked by mana beasts, but Lucis easily dispatched them with arrows of light. One of the men seemed grateful but was quickly rebuked by the others. At one point, a horde of poisonous insects attacked, but Olivia used her magic to emit a peculiar sound that made the insects fall asleep instantly.
They crossed a river without issue since the water level was low. Lucis even caught some fish for dinner.
"Old man, why is everyone giving us such looks?" Olivia asked.
"A year ago, our village chief and his family went to the capital because his son wanted to attend the magic knights' examination. The boy defeated someone from a noble household and got selected. A few days later, news came that the boy and his family had disappeared. The next day, their dead bodies were found, all killed in the same manner. The squad he was selected for didn't investigate the case. Many people have had bad experiences with the magic knights, such as ignoring commissions from commoners or charging more money than agreed upon. That's why the villagers hold grudges against the magic knights. They didn't want to hire you, but I decided to hire you at my own expense. I hope you don't hold it against them."
This revelation didn't shock Olivia and Lucis, as they were aware of the reality. Nobles often prevented those of lower status from advancing. Even if they didn't take direct action, squad members would hinder the growth of commoners. That's why most high-ranking magic knights were nobles or royals.
They reached a village by the eighth day. Fortunately, they hadn't encountered any bandits or high-tier mana beasts on the way. The village was larger than usual, surrounded by walls made of wood and mud. The caravans entered the village, but Lucis and Olivia were forbidden from entering. After receiving their payment from the old merchant, they decided to camp in a nearby forest as it was nearly evening.
A large arrow of light created by Lucis carried them to the nearest forest in minutes. Darkness was not an issue with their magic. For food, Lucis had caught a large rabbit earlier that day.
---
A man mounted on a horse watched the caravans entering the village through a binocular-like device. After confirming the situation, he rode towards another direction.
After a while, he reached a camp where around fifty bandits rested. He approached a man with a strong aura.
"The goods are here, boss."
The boss laughed, picking up a sword. His laughter drew everyone's attention.
"Everyone gather! Today, we have two villages as targets. Take everything, burn the villages, capture the children, and do whatever you want with the women. I will go east with half of you while the rest go west. Go cause havoc!"
"YEAHHH!" the bandits roared as they grabbed their weapons.