Symphony for the Insect Princess

In addition, there are the Atlas Academy (in charge of alchemists), the Society of the Savior (in charge of physicians and some potion scholars), and the Freestone (in charge of magic craftsmen, etc.). Although they are all very influential, they are ultimately no match for the three giants.

As an alchemist - and basically self-taught - Aisia naturally belongs to the Atlas Academy camp. The Atlas Academy has a bad relationship with all other organizations, so the relationship between each alchemist and other forces is very delicate.

"Um, Ai... Aisha?"

Luna, the mature woman walking beside Asia, spoke softly. As a stepmother, she was more than a generation older than Asia, but she was always cautious when speaking to her.

"What's wrong, Mother?"

"Nothing, it's just..." Luna hesitated for a moment, then said softly, "Well... things have been very uneasy lately."

"There is no peace in Kasolu City."

"Uh...that's right. Anyway...be careful recently and don't go out."

"...Yes, okay, Mother."

Aisia gave a subtle smile and nodded in agreement.

At this time-

"Madam, Miss, hello."

A gentle voice suddenly sounded behind them. Asia was used to it, but Luna was startled. Turning, she saw a man dressed meticulously, his golden-gray hair neatly combed, his black butler's uniform unwrinkled. Although he was over sixty, his calm and elegant demeanor was enough to surpass many younger men.

"Ah, Pierce, where's father?"

"The master is now negotiating with three distinguished guests about the issue of the great treasure. The others have left first." The old butler replied. His voice was soft and steady, which always made people feel at ease.

"Oh……"

Aisia nodded. Needless to say, she knew the three distinguished guests were of the same rank as Saenris. The atmosphere in the room was probably tense, so it was best not to go over.

"What about the other three?"

"The three guests have been taken to the temporary guest rooms by other waiters. Miss, don't worry."

"Um……"

no need to worry?

She shouldn't be the one to worry about.

If there is anyone who is most enthusiastic about the great secret treasure that suddenly appeared in Kasol City, it must be the father who is the mayor of the city. But now the three giants have openly sent people to seize it in the name of investigation, which undoubtedly touched his bottom line.

(A great secret treasure...)

At the same time, in the room——

"So, Mr. Curtis, we desperately need your cooperation."

Saint Anthony, the old knight of the Pantheon, said this in a tone that sounded very earnest, but it was impossible for Saenris not to hear the hidden threat in it.

"I can agree with the Pantheon guys for now," said Sarco, a handsome middle-aged man from the Knights' Territory, playing with his hair. "The Great Secret Treasure belongs to all of humanity and must be properly protected. We in the Knights' Territory—"

"Knights? What can you Knights do with the great treasure? Turn it into a mediocre sword?"

Gloria, the old woman from the Tower of Babel, interrupted. Her voice was harsh and she made no effort to conceal her hostility.

Sarco stopped playing with his hair and gave her a look of disgust.

"The Tower of Babel has always prided itself on its cultivation and wisdom, but it seems Ms. Glory is an exception. What can you do with the great secret treasure? Study it? Or even create it? Don't be ridiculous. The 'Sage of Craftsman' never succeeded in his entire life. What can you do?"

"..."

Glory frowned, and a terrifying surge of magical power emanated from her entire body. Everyone in the City Lord's Mansion could sense the terrifying pressure. Sarko sneered, placed his hand on the hilt of his longsword, and unleashed a surge of magical power that rivaled Glory's.

"--enough!"

St. Anthony, unable to bear it any longer, roared angrily. The two men looked at him impatiently, then withdrew their strength at the same time.

Although Glory Visa is an elderly woman, she has always been known for her hot temper. Sarco is one of the youngest great war spirits. Although he usually speaks and behaves very gracefully, his temper will immediately reach a boiling point if provoked.

Neither of them is easy to talk to. In comparison, the oldest one, Saint Anthony, is the most restrained.

"Please stop talking nonsense. I think we should first confirm 'that thing'. I believe you all have it with you, right? That thing is like an investigation certificate for you." Saenris said coldly.

"""..."""

The three of them fell silent immediately, then (reluctantly) took out the three items.

Glory took out a small crystal, which was wrapped in a thin silver chain and contained a rainbow light; Saint Anthony took out a disc engraved with complex patterns, with a faint light flowing in the patterns; Sako took out a broken dagger, and the base of the handle of the dagger was sealed.

Although these three items are different, they all store the same "thing".

A sample of the magic mark of the ownerless great secret treasure.

Everything that exists leaves traces behind. Powerful magical artifacts leave behind "special magical traces" wherever they have been, like a fingerprint of a magical artifact—one-to-one and impossible to forge. This is also true of some extremely powerful magic, such as forbidden spells. Once cast in a certain place, they will inevitably leave a magical trace there.

As the pinnacle of all treasures in the world, the magic marks of the Great Secret Treasure are also extremely special and precious. The three major organizations have experienced a long history and naturally have obtained the ownerless Great Secret Treasure more than once, so each of them has retained the magic mark samples of the ownerless Great Secret Treasure.

By comparing it with the magic mark sample, the trace of the great secret treasure can be found to a certain extent, and it can also be used to verify the authenticity of the great secret treasure. Therefore, for countless years, the three giants have carefully preserved the samples.

When he saw the three samples, a strange light flashed in Saenris's eyes for a moment. The three of them all had their own thoughts, so they just showed the samples for a moment and then put them away immediately.

……

……

The unpleasant negotiation ended just like that. It was almost noon at this time. The four of them walked out of the room. Although the servants who had been waiting outside the door for a long time were mentally prepared, they still couldn't help trembling under the pressure of the four super powerful men.

"Then I will do my best to entertain you. Your rooms have been arranged, and servants will show you the way. I hope you will have a pleasant stay."

Although Saenris said this, there was no smile on his face or in his eyes, and the same was true for the other three. For them, who were at the highest level, "reading people's faces" was simply stupid and boring. They all knew each other's thoughts clearly, so none of them concealed their hostility.

As for the rooms Sarnris had arranged for them, it was undoubtedly under a variety of surveillance. Despite this, the three investigation teams had no plans to move out. After all, this was Sarnris's home turf, and there were likely fewer spies outside the City Lord's Mansion.

"Where are the others we brought with us?" asked St. Anthony.

"Most of them were taken to their residences by servants for a welcome, while some left the City Lord's Mansion. I guess they were 'seriously carrying out their investigation mission.'"

The three of them chose to ignore Saenris's words which were obviously provocative. There was something more important at the moment - the search for the great secret treasure.

They were certain the Great Treasure was still in the area under Kasolu's control, but their precise location would require time to discover. From now on, it was a race; whoever found the Great Treasure first would be the winner. Glory, Saint Anthony, and Sako were all influential figures in their respective organizations, and Saenris held considerable influence in northern Balbra. A conflict between them would undoubtedly have serious consequences, so they had to be vigilant against the others and recover the Great Treasure as soon as possible.

And it's not just the other three people who need to be paid attention to. The Kasol area is now more lively than ever. A large number of powerful mercenary groups from Balbra have gathered here, and there are countless adventurers. There are also many pure thugs and speculators who want to get a piece of the pie... There are too many competitors. Even if there are great magicians and great war spirits here, the probability of successfully getting the things is no more than 50%.

Because of this, when they first entered the Kasolu area, the three giants had already assigned a considerable number of people to stay outside the City Lord's Mansion to investigate everywhere, and at the same time to deter those who had ulterior motives.

"...?"

Sarco, who was walking towards the guest room under the guidance of servants, suddenly stopped. There was a sound from the earring on his ear. It was a magical tool used for emergency calls.

"what happened?"

"Mr. Sacco! We're in some trouble..."

"Aha?"

The person he was communicating with was also a member of the Knight Territory's investigation team. Before arriving at the City Lord's Mansion, he had ordered them to investigate in Kasol City. He had thought that the barbarians here would give the Knight Territory a wide berth upon seeing them, but unexpectedly...

"Clash with those small-time mercenaries? Why not just teach them a lesson and drive them away?"

"Actually, I didn't want to make a big deal out of this, but...but..."

"but?"

"Just now, Mr. Butcher suddenly showed up and started to attack without saying a word."

"..."

Sarko's mind flashed with the character of his burly and fat companion, and he couldn't help but frown.

The battle spirit "Spiral Butcher" Butcher is an absolute battle maniac, with all his brains being muscles. If he really gets angry, even a great battle spirit like him won't want to get close to him. As a pure combat force, he is a talent, but as a companion in investigating the great treasure... he is simply an idiot.

"...That's enough. Just let that guy have his fun. Let him go!"

Chapter 31 Mercenaries

At noon, in Kasolu City——

"Superior armor! Meticulously crafted!"

"The girls are all so beautiful! You can buy a chick for thirty silver coins!"

"Brother, do you want powder? You won't find it cheaper or purer than mine in the whole North!"

"A long-established pawnshop! We'll take anything! Weapons, armor, magical gear, banned drugs, slaves, anything!"

……

……

"I haven't been here for a while, but Kasolu is still so lively."

"Is there ever a time when it's not lively here?"

Near the edge of Kasolu City, a fully armed mercenary group followed the crowd into the city. This large mercenary group was temporarily formed by three small mercenary groups and some lone rangers. The strength of a single team was insufficient, so they won by quantity.

The leader was a young man under thirty years old. He wore a shortened wizard robe with many bottles and jars hanging on his body. The brooch on the chest of his robe indicated his status among magicians - the great magician.

The title of Grand Mage wasn't a separate rank, but rather a title bestowed upon certain high-level mages. It specifically referred to those who had accumulated vast amounts of knowledge and experience, surpassing even high-level mages in strength, yet still failing to reach the level of Wizard. To some extent, this was considered a humiliation. However, this young man clearly didn't mind. Furthermore, having reached the Grand Mage level before the age of thirty proved to be a remarkable talent.

Walking next to him was a dwarf with a big beard and an axe on his back. As a branch of aliens, dwarves are the tribe that interacts most closely with ordinary humans. A considerable number of dwarves live together with ordinary humans, and everyone is used to it.

"How long are you two going to chat? Pay attention to your surroundings!"

Behind them, a sturdy woman who looked a little neurotic was looking around. She was carrying a short staff and a big knife on her back. She was a rare practitioner of both magic and martial arts.

"Ah...ah? Can you please stop being so nervous?"

"Our target is the great secret treasure! Everyone else is an enemy, okay?"

"We are mainly here to try our luck... It would be great if we are lucky enough to get a great treasure, but it doesn't matter if we can't, right?" The young man who is a great magician rubbed his brow helplessly.

"Ah, yes, the main purpose of our trio is..."

"Shh! Don't be so loud!"

The young man, Osam, immediately waved his staff, and a simple soundproof barrier enveloped the three of them, and the surrounding sounds immediately disappeared.

(I say, keep your voices down... "People hired by the Tower of Babel to disrupt the Pantheon and the Knights"—that kind of thing would be terrible if it got out.)

(So ​​what?! The Tower of Babel mercenaries were trying to trip up those two families, but didn’t they do the same thing? And we weren’t the only ones hired, so everyone knows what’s going on!)

(I have to give my employer some face... Otherwise, I'll be criticized by those stupid adventurers again...)

(If those idiots dare to talk nonsense, I will chop them down one by one!)

The conflict between adventurers and mercenaries has existed since ancient times.

The reason why mercenaries are called mercenaries is that they accept commissions from others and do things for them, ranging from participating in wars between countries to collecting herbs in the woods.

Adventurers were originally a group of passionate people eager to explore. They embarked on adventures for reasons such as finding treasures, gaining knowledge, and seeking excitement. However, in order to maintain basic financial needs, they would also "by the way" accept commissions to do tasks.

Today, the two have essentially become indistinguishable. Clients post quests through the Mercenary Guild or Adventurer's Guild, and mercenaries and adventurers accept them. Upon completion, they receive payment through the guild. The only difference is that the work of the Mercenary Guild is slightly more "dirty," and they generally don't mind being hired to participate in interpersonal conflicts, while the Adventurer's Guild is more averse to such commissions, so their missions primarily focus on resource gathering and monster subjugation.

So the two sides disliked each other. Adventurers thought that mercenaries were mediocre people who would sell everything for money, while mercenaries thought that adventurers were pretentious and self-righteous sissies. They were always in conflict with each other.

(I hope I don't get involved in unnecessary conflicts here—)

As Osam prayed silently in his heart,

"Huh? What the hell did you say!?"

boom! ! ! ! !

Suddenly, an angry curse was heard from behind, followed by a small explosion. Just as Osam turned around, feeling something was wrong—

——Whoosh!!!!

A heavy object flew past with a thud, brushing past Osam's side. His automatically triggered magic shield bounced, changing its trajectory, and crashed heavily into the adjacent blacksmith shop! A burst of wailing and screaming followed from the blacksmith shop. It must have been the dwarf who had been thrown and fallen on the scorching iron felt... Three seconds of silence.

Before Osam could say anything, the furious dwarf leader Li Jin next to him roared, "What the hell are you doing—Wooah!!!"

Before he could finish his roar, a cold axe flew past his cheek. If he had not been a high-level magic warrior and his magic armor was not thick enough, he would probably have lost his ears.

And just at the back of the team, a woman and a dwarf mercenary had a conflict.

"So I hate dwarves. A shorty like you're asking me to have sex with you? If you're measuring your size, is your thing ten centimeters when it's erect?"

"What the hell are you talking about, bitch—Ugh!"

"What did I say? I said you dwarves are all skinny, soft, and short. Do you understand? Huh? If you don't agree, then take off your pants and let me see. Hahahahaha!"

"You... gurgle... woooooo..."

The dwarf with the big beard who was grabbed and lifted up couldn't speak clearly and could only utter vague curses, while the woman who lifted him up laughed and lifted him higher and higher. The woman was very tall, much taller than the dwarf who was only 1.4 meters tall, which was considered tall.