Chapter 14: A Place to Return To

Sharon recalled what she’d heard about the Margrave Halburgen Domain—how it was a place where exiled criminals and rough men lived—as she watched two men shouting angrily right in front of her.

 “Hey, you! What did you just say?”

“Hah? Are you trying to say I’m lying?”

The two burly men glared at each other, fists clenched, on the verge of a brawl.

Just then, another man stepped between them.

“That’s enough, you two.”

It was Zex, with a small bird perched on the index finger of his right hand.

‘Eek…!’

Forced to witness the close-up of their fists, Sharon let out a silent scream.

This was Srodia, a town within the Margrave Halburgen Domain.

The streets were lined with plain brown buildings, giving it a drab appearance, but the town was brimming with energy.

Most of that energy came in the form of shouting and cursing.

‘I shouldn’t have agreed to come…’

Just the other day, Zex had seen the little bird sneaking out of the room, and he seemed to change his mind about something.

“If you want to go outside so much, why don’t we go to the market together next time?”

Eager for any chance to leave the mansion, Sharon had happily agreed.

She’d completely forgotten how dangerous this place could be.

But the moment the men recognized Zex, the fists poised to strike fell back.

“Lord Margrave!”

“So? What’s all the commotion about?” Zex questioned the man—who was even larger than himself—in an indifferent tone.

“This guy’s saying that Lord Margrave recently got a pet! Like, there’s no way you’d ever keep a pet—animals don’t even go near you, Lord Margrave… right…?”

The man, as big as a bear and with several scars on his face, started off boldly but lost steam when he noticed the little bird perched daintily on Zex’s finger.

Sharon caught his stunned expression perfectly.

“See? I told you so,” said the other rough-looking man, smirking at the bear-like one.

“It’s true, I keep a small bird. Her name is Snow.” Zex introduced Sharon with confidence.

Even the onlookers who had gathered to watch the commotion looked at them in disbelief.

Every one of them gave off an intimidating aura, so Sharon trembled with fear.

She was certain she’d be eaten alive any moment—but then…

“She’s adorable!”

“Her feathers are a rare color, too.”

The rough men began admiring the little bird with surprisingly gentle smiles.

That alone was shocking, but what was even harder to believe was how casually these people spoke to Zex, the Margrave.

‘Huh? I thought they’d be scary, but… maybe not…?’

She’d always heard that this borderland was filled with rough men with troubled pasts, but everyone seemed to genuinely like Zex.

They say you can judge a lord by how he mingles with his people.

Zex must be an exemplary Margrave.

Rumors had it that those exiled from other countries suffered harsh labor and even died in places like this, but maybe that wasn’t true after all.

Zex simply didn’t seem like someone who’d do something so cruel.

“Come to think of it, there’s a shop selling pet goods at the market today.” The rough-looking man remembered suddenly and spoke up.

“Ah. That’s the shop I came to see today. Now that this matter’s settled, I’ll be off.”

With that, Zex turned his back to the men.

“You must have been startled, suddenly surrounded by those burly fellows. Sorry about that. But they’re not as bad as they look.” Zex added, as if to make amends.

‘It’s all right—I think I understand now.’

Sharon thought, Zex really didn’t need to apologize.

Even if she couldn’t speak, she wanted to tell him it was okay.

She tapped his hand gently with one wing as a sign.

“S-such a cute gesture… When did you learn to do that…?!”

Zex clutched his chest and squirmed.

Today was the day of Srodia’s monthly market.

Both sides of the main street were lined with stalls selling everything from food to clothing and sundries.

“It’s your first time at the market, isn’t it, Snow?” Zex asked, and Sharon nodded eagerly.

“Sometimes, merchants from the Royal Capital set up shop here. The stores change depending on the month.”

Sharon had never shopped at a market before.

The idea of seeing different goods each month filled her with excitement.

The market was lively, but most of the shoppers looked intimidating, with an air that suggested troubled pasts.

But as she watched more closely, she realized everyone was happily shopping.

‘Don’t judge by appearances…’

She recalled how she, too, had been viewed with prejudice and resolved to do better.

“Lately, there have been a lot of Magical Beasts appearing, so I worried we wouldn’t be able to hold the market. I’m glad we made it through.”

Zex exhaled in relief as he looked out over the bustling marketplace.

‘So that’s why… Lord Zex went out himself to fight the Magical Beasts…’

The market was only held once a month, probably to keep the traveling merchants safe.

Since the Margrave Halburgen Domain bordered the Forest of Evil, anything could happen at any time.

If judged too dangerous, the merchants wouldn’t come and the market would be canceled.

It was only thanks to Zex protecting the town from Magical Beasts that the market could be held.

Once again, Sharon realized just how heavy Zex’s responsibility as beast-hunter really was.

‘That’s why everyone cares about Lord Zex…’

And Zex, too, cared deeply for this town and its people.

She could feel it in the way he watched over them so warmly.

‘…Wait, are those Magic Stones?’

As they passed by, she spotted a shop selling Magic Stones.

Magic Stones were lumps of magical energy harvested from Magical Beasts. 

Once processed, they could be used in magical devices.

Some enhanced or supplemented a person’s own magic, while others allowed the use of different elemental spells.

‘I could never use magic even with magical devices…’

As soon as the Magic Appraisal revealed she had no magic, Sharon’s father had handed her a magic-enhancing device to try.

No matter how much a tool amplified magic, it couldn’t increase what wasn’t there.

The attempt had only made it clear just how empty her own magic was.

Still, there were some magical devices that could work with simple spells if certain conditions were met, even without magic.

Magical devices could keep food warm, preserve ingredients longer, adjust room temperature, dry laundry—they were useful in so many ways.

They could only be used as much as the power stored in the Magic Stone allowed, so they were basically consumables.

But magical devices that made life more convenient were popular even in the Foren Kingdom.

The problem was, they were expensive—mostly found only in noble houses.

‘Come to think of it, magical devices were imports from the Crusell Kingdom.’

Since Magic Stones came from Magical Beasts, and Foren Kingdom didn’t have many, they were hard to come by.

Because they fetched a high price, some people even traveled to the Crusell Kingdom to earn money hunting Magic Stones.

Not just in trade—people from the Foren Kingdom helped hunt Magical Beasts in Crusell, and Crusell would take in exiles from Foren; the two countries supported each other in various ways.

“Interested in the Magic Stones?” Zex followed Sharon’s gaze and asked.

“Magic Stones are the only specialty product of the Margrave Halburgen Domain. The more beasts you defeat, the more you get.” He gave a wry smile.

In other words, there were so many Magical Beasts in the Margrave Halburgen Domain, they could actually market Magic Stones as a specialty.

‘So all of these… came from Magical Beasts…’

Just at this shop alone, there were easily over fifty stones of various sizes.

Back at the Sdulc Family and the Academy, Sharon had never thought about the people who risked their lives to harvest magical devices.

But now that she’d encountered Magical Beasts herself and understood their terror, she finally realized.

Just how difficult and dangerous beast-hunting was.

And how amazing it was that Zex came back safely every day.

“Be sure to stay away from Magical Beasts from now on, Snow.”

At Zex’s words, Sharon nodded vigorously.

She’d only just recovered from her injury. 

She never wanted to experience that terror again.