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Mari was the first to react. She stood up, resting her hand on the hilt of her sword, and eyed the man warily.

“What’s going on?” she asked in a soft tone, with a smile on her face. The man flinched but soon took off his hat and bowed politely.

“Ah, hello. I’m James, a hunter and herbalist from this village.”

“And?”

“I’m here to report something!”

Mari squinted her eyes.

“A report? You must be mistaken. We’re not inspectors.”

“I know! But you’re the Red Spear Knights! Protectors of the East, aren’t you?”

“Well, that’s true.”

Mari glanced at Ian and, with a sigh, nodded her head.

“Alright, let’s hear it. Go on, tell us what this is about.”

“Thank you! It happened a few days ago, but—”

“Keep your voice down.”

“…I spotted a suspicious person in the hills not far from here.”

“In what sense?”

Frankly, in times like these, anyone you don’t recognize can seem suspicious.

This person that James saw could just turn out to be an ordinary individual.

However, after hearing his next words, Mari couldn’t dismiss his report.

“It was like a purple haze or mist wrapped around them, and they appeared out of nowhere in mid-air.”

“……!”

“If I’m not mistaken, doesn’t purple signify a dark mage?”

Mari nodded. In the distant past, purple symbolized nobility.

Fittingly, it was a color almost exclusively reserved for nobility and, in the case of clothing, was used only by royalty.

But after it was discovered that beings from the Outer Sea, who coveted this world, possessed a purple aura, the color came to signify ominousness instead of nobility.

In short, the suspicious person James saw was indeed a dark mage.

“The person had a severe wound that could be seen even from a distance. Blood was dripping from their side, as if there was a hole, and they staggered with every step, as if they might collapse at any moment.”

“…….”

“They looked like they were about to die, so I mustered up the courage to follow them.”

Ian, who had been quietly listening, let out a faint laugh.

He probably didn’t follow out of some noble sense of duty. Most likely, he was tempted by the prospect of looting whatever the dark mage had.

Even a single usable magic ring could be sold for a fortune, so it was obvious why he did it.

“Reckless. If you were unlucky and got caught, you could have died on the spot.”

Moreover, it’s typical for dark mages to travel in groups.

Alone? That would imply they are at least a Level 4 mage.

And he mentioned that they suddenly appeared, which suggests they used teleportation—if they can do that, they’re at least Level 5.

‘Could it possibly be a Grand Mage?’

A Level 6 dark mage. It’s not impossible.

“Did you report this?”

When Ian asked, James stammered.

“N-No, not yet.”

“Not yet? Why not?”

“It takes at least three days on horseback to reach the nearest city. And hiring mercenaries…,” he trailed off.

Even if there were mercenaries in the village, he probably worried that the reward for reporting a dark mage might be snatched away from him.

Seeing Ian’s expression harden, James hastily tried to explain.

“I was thinking of waiting for a few days! If the dark mage didn’t die and was still alive, I planned to rush to the city myself to report it!”

“But why are you telling us this now?”

“…When the outer gate opened earlier, I started worrying. I thought it might be the dark mage’s doing and couldn’t bear the anxiety. If I delayed any longer, it might be too late to fix things.”

Ian paused to think. Around this time, had there been reports of a Level 6 dark mage appearing? He wasn’t sure.

It wasn’t a period when he was active as a treasure hunter, and he was living a rather hedonistic life back then, so he hadn’t paid much attention to the news outside.

Still, he didn’t remember hearing about any major incidents. If something significant had happened, the entire East would have been buzzing.

“When exactly did you see the dark mage? And since you followed them, do you know where they’re staying?”

“Yes! I saw them two days ago, around noon. There’s a cave in the hills, and I saw them enter it. They’re probably still there, and even if they left, they couldn’t have gone far. Like I said, they were really badly injured.”

Ian glanced at Mari, who frowned at his look.

“No way.”

“What do you mean?”

“Mister Ian, a dark mage is on a completely different level from an outer gate. It’s not something you can deal with through luck, right? You know that? It could be really dangerous. No, it is dangerous. This isn’t something we can handle.”

“Hmm.”

To be honest, the idea that the dark mage was severely injured to the point of barely being able to move made Ian consider whether it might be worth a try.

However, as Mari said, with just three of them, all at Level 2, facing a Level 4 or 5 dark mage would be practically impossible.

They might win, sure. If the mage wasn’t a Level 6 Grand Mage, and if everything aligned perfectly. But there was no need to take unnecessary risks, so Ian decided to abandon the idea.

“Do I seem reckless enough to make such a foolish choice?”

Mari smiled sweetly and innocently.

“Well, that’s a relief. I was worried you might insist on trying to take them down ourselves.”

Ian gave a wry smile and turned to James, who looked confused.

“As you heard, we can’t deal with this immediately. But I’ll report it as soon as we return to our family estate.”

“And what about the reward…?”

“Of course, you’ll get it. If it’s confirmed that the person is indeed a dark mage.”

Although the Berger family, like many other noble families in the East, worked with the military to protect their lands from beings from the Outer Sea, it wasn’t a perfect system.

It was practically impossible to control and monitor such vast territories.

Monsters and beasts left visible traces and could be dealt with to some extent, but dark mages could disguise themselves as ordinary people or mercenaries, making them hard to find.

Moreover, organizing large-scale search parties to operate continuously was not feasible due to the immense cost and lack of manpower.

Hence, noble families like the Berger family devised a transparent reward system.

If someone reported a dark mage, they were given a substantial sum of money—enough to change their lives, even if it didn’t mean a total reversal of fortune.

Naturally, there were false reports, but those were dealt with separately, so it wasn’t a big issue.

If the person in question truly was a dark mage, the Berger family would gladly pay this man a reward.

“And if it turns out they’re not…?”

“Then you get nothing.”

“Just to be clear, really clear—I’m asking just in case—there won’t be any punishment for a false lead… right?”

Ian could understand his concern, but it was an unnecessary worry.

At least as far as Ian knew, there had never been an instance where the Red Spear Knights punished someone who reported a dark mage—unless it was for fraudulently pocketing the reward or maliciously making a false report.

Just as he was about to reassure James that there was nothing to worry about—

Ding, ding, ding!

A loud ringing began to echo.

“What’s happening?”

“I-I don’t know.”

Ian hadn’t really expected an answer, so he stood up and walked over to the window.

Mael and Mari, sensing something was wrong, quickly put on the helmets they had taken off earlier.

Looking out the wide-open window, he saw the village in an uproar.

People were rushing toward the palisade. Some were carrying spears, but most were holding farming tools like pitchforks.

There was also a man running frantically from the direction of the palisade.

“Who’s that?”

His left sleeve was fluttering in the wind, as if his arm was missing.

“It’s the village chief.”

The sound of clinking armor could be heard as Mael, peeking over from behind, said.

“The village chief?”

“Yes. He used to be a skilled mercenary in his youth, but he retired after losing an arm and settled here. Later, using his experience as a mercenary, he organized a vigilante group to maintain order, got close to the daughter of the former village chief, fell in love, got married, and naturally took over the position.”

“…I see. It looks like he has business with us.”

Sure enough, the village chief burst through the open door. He was panting heavily, having run as fast as he could.

With a grim expression, he shouted at Mael.

“Sir Knight! There’s big trouble!”

“So it seems. What’s the matter?”

“Hu-Hyolang’s corpse…! It has started moving again!”

Ian frowned.

“Ha, it must really be a dark mage.”

Defiling the dead is their specialty.

Mari muttered, and Ian nodded.

“And opening the outer gate was probably also their doing. Not seeing the results they wanted, they decided to act directly.”

“Young Master, how could a dark mage open an outer gate? That’s nonsense.”

“…Hmm.”

Yeah, that’s right. This is what people generally know in this era.

Dark mages can’t open outer gates. Everyone believes this.

Opening a gate connected to another world requires a vast amount of magic power, which would be impossible for an individual to handle.

And that’s true, in a way. But dark mages haven’t just been sitting idle in this harsh world.

They’ve also been researching various topics and making progress, just like the mages of the El Carda Empire. So, in a few years, things will be different.

Many will witness gates opening centered around dark mages.

The very idea that a dark mage who follows the deities of the Outer Sea could never open or induce a gate is hopelessly naive.

After all, the beings creating gates in this world are none other than the deities of the Outer Sea themselves.

In any case, this isn’t the time to dwell on such things. With a dark mage of at least Level 4 appearing, we have to make a choice.

“Run or fight.”

There’s no need to hesitate. The truth is, there’s no other choice but to fight.

If the dark mage is at Level 4, it’s a fight they can manage. Running away would only lead to the massacre of the villagers.

If the dark mage is Level 5, running away won’t help; they would definitely be caught eventually. Ian turned to James.

“You said you’re a hunter?”

“Yes? Yes! I also work as an herbalist.”

“I need arrows. Do you have any?”

“Yes, I do. I’ll bring them right away!”

Without asking any questions, James immediately ran off, perhaps having seen the need for arrows against Hyolang from the palisade.

Ian looked at Mael and Mari. Although their expressions were hidden by their helmets, their tense demeanor was clear from their body language.

“Let’s go, then.”

“Yes.”

Mael responded immediately, but Mari hesitated for a moment. However, knowing there was no better option, she sighed and nodded without further complaint.

Ian sighed as he headed to the carriage to collect his bow and arrows, and received an extra dagger from Mari before making his way to the village entrance.

He hoped it wasn’t too late.

———