The Most Suitable Soul Mage

Leo let out a breath of relief. The pirates had completely withdrawn. Far out at sea, a pirate ship flying a skull flag picked up the three small boats. Ever since the Narwhal Fleet of Blackport County had been destroyed, the coastline had been left undefended and had become a paradise for pirates.

Leo swept his gaze around the room, then looked at Lydia. "Beautiful Miss Ly... Miss, when we last met, I rather presumptuously tried to establish a relationship with you that went a step beyond being classmates. So many days have passed without another opportunity. I never expected to meet you again under circumstances like these."

Lydia was wearing a mask, and in the end Leo did not expose her identity by calling her name. He desperately wanted a Soul Mage who could help him and take a look at the current state of his soul. Even after Kozmo's Intimidation ritual had been completed, a small amount of black cloud still drifted through Leo's Soul Sea. Those dark clouds always left him uneasy.

The Lydia before him was clearly an excellent person to work with. She had secrets she could not reveal and seemed to be a member of some rebel organization. Leo had secrets he could not reveal as well. Trading secret for secret made her the most suitable Soul Mage Leo could find.

Lydia Murray had not even had time to react before someone else showed that he had no desire to see Leo and Lydia develop any "further relationship."

"Despicable West spy!"

Gaden Hank's wounds were still bleeding, yet he angrily roared at Leo anyway. Leo was completely baffled and had no idea what the young carpenter was talking about.

Field the bard glanced at the wheellock pistol in Leo's arms. "Young and handsome officer, whom do you serve?"

Leo looked at Brad in confusion, and Brad looked back at Leo with the same expression.

"Isn't that obvious?" Brad said. "We're officers of the Unicorn Legion. Who do you think we serve? We're investigating the criminals who committed atrocities during the night Blackport City burned. What about you? Why were you secretly meeting with pirates? What do you have to do with the night Blackport City burned?"

Field the bard pinched the bridge of his nose. Looking through the gap between his fingers, he stared at Leo and Brad. "The night Blackport City burned was a red disaster... An Acolyte of the Church of Radiant Prayer deceived us. His identity was a lie, and his words were lies as well. He was very good at exploiting the resentment in people's hearts. He used our hatred of the nobles.

"Before the night Blackport City burned, we provided him with certain conveniences. But after the fires started, we quickly joined the rescue effort. If you're investigating that night, you shouldn't be making us your target. Instead, I want to ask you something, officer standing by the window. Why do you possess a wheellock pistol that only nobles of the West Empire are supposed to have?"

Leo had no intention of explaining himself. "If you hate the nobles, then go take your revenge on the nobles properly. The gun is mine. It has nothing to do with you. You're worrying about far too much."

"Exactly!" Brad chimed in. "You're worrying about far too much. What does anything about us have to do with you? Mind your own business. If you want revenge, then go take revenge... Wait. No! We're officers of the Count. Why are you trying to take revenge on the Count?"

Brad shot Leo a confused look, unsure what sort of attitude he ought to take toward these people with questionable intentions.

Field the bard also looked somewhat surprised. He turned to Leo. "Young officer, your view of the nobles seems different from that of ordinary people."

Of course Leo had no notion of blindly and foolishly devoting himself to the nobles. As someone who had once been a flower raised beneath the red flag, the things he had been taught since childhood were different. That said, Leo was perfectly willing to lower his head when necessary to make a living. If serving a noble allowed him to live better, he did not mind putting his acting skills on display.

Overall, he currently had no particular personal opinion of the nobles. The Count paid his salary, and Leo worked for the Count. It was perfectly fair. The City Defense Battalion's quota of three criminals destined for the gallows had already been completed. Leo did not want to create more trouble, and both Field and Lydia were mages. There was no need to keep fighting to the death.

Leo had no desire to explain any of this. He merely said to Lydia Murray, "Beautiful lady, this chaotic night is clearly not suitable for an in-depth conversation. I have a few questions that I hope you can answer. If possible, I will pay you a formal visit."

Then Leo looked at Brad. "Brad, tie up these pirates. We can leave."

The four pirates on the ground all had multiple fractures. Their bodies twitched as they endured pain that bored straight into the bone. Their hands were tied together along a single rope, and Brad was ordering them to stand in a line.

At that moment, Lydia Murray, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke. "Mr. Leo East, where are you taking these pirates? If you're taking them to the City Defense Battalion or the Police Bureau, they will expose our organization. If the City Defense Battalion places me on a wanted list, Mr. Leo, I think you may lose your opportunity to have that 'in-depth conversation' with me."

Leo coughed once. "Beautiful lady, Brad and I have a mission. We must hand over three criminals connected to the night Blackport City burned. If your organization can be destroyed by the testimony of a few pirates, then I suggest you go home, chop firewood, watch the sea, concern yourselves with grain and vegetables, live a good life, and stop getting involved in dangerous things like this."

The bard could not help nodding. Chopping firewood, watching the sea, caring about grain and vegetables. So simple, yet so poetic. Living one's life as a poem. Was that not exactly his dream...?

"As a Soul Mage, I have a solution that satisfies both sides," Lydia said.

Leo looked at her in confusion, wondering what she intended to do. Lydia walked over to the four pirates, drew a dagger hidden in her sleeve, and cut open one pirate's cuff. Pointing at a brand formed from an anchor and a skull, she said, "This is a pirate's brand. It's enough to prove that they deserve to be hanged.

"Next, I'll use Soul Spell to erase their memories of the past few days. That way, even if they enter an interrogation room at the City Defense Battalion, they'll only confess to the crimes they committed as pirates."

Leo was astonished. A Soul Mage could even erase memories. What a terrifying ability. Without one's memories, was one still oneself?

Lydia Murray extended a hand and pressed it against the pirate's filthy, greasy forehead. She closed her eyes. A few seconds later, a strange choking noise came from the pirate's throat.

Lydia withdrew her hand, pulled out a beautiful blue handkerchief, and wiped her palm with it. Clearly, touching the pirate had made her extremely uncomfortable.

Leo moved closer to Lydia and kindly reminded her in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Miss Lydia, you don't need physical contact to cast. There are no outsiders here. You can cast Soul Spell from a distance."

Lydia narrowed her eyes and stared at Leo without saying a word.

Leo shrugged. "I told you, we can have an in-depth conversation. There's no need to hide things from each other."

Gaden Hank anxiously spoke from the side. "Mr. Field! Miss Ly... is right. Our secrets may be exposed. We can't let these people leave!"

Field raised a hand to stop Gaden Hank. Then he went back to pinching the bridge of his nose, apparently deep in thought.

At that moment, one of the pirates beside Lydia suddenly lunged at her, choosing the person who appeared weakest. Lydia was still startled by Leo's words and reacted half a beat too slowly.

Just as the pirate's hand was about to clamp around Lydia's pale throat, a mace came crashing down from above and mercilessly smashed into the pirate's head.

"Leo!" Brad cried in misery. "I told you! Don't smash their heads! Don't smash their heads! It's disgusting!"

Leo looked a little embarrassed. "Sorry, Brad! I forgot you were standing so close. I know this causes you physical discomfort. I don't like it either. But a mace really is well suited to a Cipher Mage. If I want to kill someone in one blow with a hammer, I have to hit the head. Next time I'll warn you first so you can turn away."

With a pained expression, Brad controlled the rope and untied the dead pirate from it.

The blow did have one benefit. Field and Gaden Hank now understood very clearly which side was stronger and no longer entertained any other ideas.

Lydia sighed and continued reaching out to erase the other pirates' recent memories. She had no intention of displaying her ability to cast from a distance in front of everyone. At the very least, she did not want Brad Baker to know about it. Taking advantage of the chaos during a melee was very different from openly demonstrating an ability under everyone's eyes.

So-called memory erasure was nothing more than using Soul Spell to attack their brains and cause partial amnesia.

Leo looked at Gaden Hank, then at Field. "This noisy night should come to an end. We still need to return to the City Defense Battalion and report."

Gaden Hank was intimidated by Leo's methods for a moment, but immediately became anxious again. "Mr. Field, are we really just going to let them leave?"

Field lowered the hand that had been pinching the bridge of his nose. "That's all we can do. You're already injured. Even if we resort to force, we may not be a match for Mr. Leo and Mr. Brad."

Leo suddenly looked at Gaden Hank. "Gaden, you have a good father..."

Gaden immediately realized something and shouted angrily, "What are you saying? What did you do to my father?"

"Young man, don't be so hot-tempered," Leo said gently. "Your father is perfectly fine. He was the one who brought us here to find you. If Koliver Enwey hadn't once used a handcart made by your family to start fires, I would never have set my sights on Old Hank's carpentry shop.

"In fact, I believe you when you say you were deceived by Acolyte Koliver Enwey. He was insane, and he was clever. If I weren't even cleverer, I wouldn't have been able to kill him so easily."

Leo waited for the others to look at him with admiration, only to discover that he had been flattering himself. The room was so quiet that a dropped needle could have been heard. Left with no choice, he awkwardly continued.

"Old Hank kept his promise. He helped us complete our mission. I'll keep my promise too. I'll let you go, and I won't investigate the role Old Hank's carpentry shop played during the night Blackport City burned. So, you have a good father."

Gaden suddenly looked somewhat dejected. In his memories, his father had always been a cowardly man who knew nothing but carpentry. He never expected that tonight, his father would be the one to save him.

After Lydia finished dealing with the remaining pirates, Leo and Brad dragged them away. Lydia watched Leo's departing back for a long time without saying a word.