Anagin Chronicles

Chapter 140

A teleportation scroll that could take them straight to the Temple of Delphi.Over the past few days, Anagin’s group had exchanged opinions about it several times.

Whether to use the scroll or not.

Normally, discussions like this would split opinions evenly, but this time, it didn’t.

If anything, most of them thought alike.

Being able to reach the Temple of Delphi in one go was certainly convenient and appealing, yet despite that, it still felt unsettling.

And for good reason—the timing of when the scroll appeared was far too coincidental to ignore.

On their way to the Temple of Delphi with the Coins of Greed, a scroll leading to the Temple of Delphi just happened to appear among the belongings of a mage who coveted those very coins.

It would’ve been stranger not to think it was a trap.

It was so blatant that it almost made them wonder if it wasn’t a trap—but even so, the general consensus was that it felt off.

The image practically drew itself in their minds.

What if the mages they captured were merely bait, and that scroll was the real play? A setup to lure Anagin’s group into a trap once they let their guard down… It was entirely plausible.

The mages were all unhinged, but when it came to malicious intent, they were quite cunning.

The fact that they couldn’t easily discard the scroll despite suspecting it was a trap was proof enough.

The four from Chiron Tower took their time discussing it.

The first to voice an opinion was Sanchonius, the one who first found the scroll.

True to his role as a retainer supporting practitioners, he leaned toward a conservative stance.

The three from the New Argonaut Expedition Team seemed to agree to an extent, but offered a slightly different view.

Rather than outright saying they should use the scroll, they suggested examining it from multiple angles.

Tramachus presented the possibility that it wasn’t a trap, based on his own assessment of mages.

It was a fairly convincing argument.

From what Anagin had seen, most mages were unstable in one way or another. It didn’t seem like they’d willingly sacrifice themselves.

Lynceus made a fair point.

While it was possible they were coerced, the idea that Magno had established itself near the Temple of Delphi was hard to believe.

However, Anagin didn’t quite see why that was convincing.

Anagin brought up Lynceus’s ability, something he had heard about in the Kingdom of Arcadia.

With the help of priests, Lynceus could extend his farsight to glimpse the future. To be precise, it was an approaching danger, but regardless.

Caught off guard, Lynceus hesitated for a moment, then quickly composed himself.

A reasonable argument.

But there were other possibilities.

What if Magno wasn’t considered a threat?  Then it could slip past the Oracle's foresight?

For example, what if it had no intention of causing harm and was simply there? In that case, wouldn’t it be possible for it to evade a prophecy that detects danger?

Lynceus asked Anagin.

At this moment, Anagin was effectively the leader.

Anagin didn’t offer an opinion.

The possibility he had considered was only a hypothesis. It wasn’t impossible to argue against either.

In other words, there was no point in saying it.

Rather than giving an opinion, Anagin chose to wait and see.

They had to wait anyway until people from Chiron Tower came to retrieve the Descendants of Giants and the treasure hunters.

He could think it over during that time, while practicing Energy (Γι) manipulation.

And so, time passed.

Eventually, people from Chiron Tower arrived.

“We’ve heard what happened. Impressive.”

* * *

Those who came from Chiron Tower were not disciples of Chiron, but guards.

Well, it made sense—this kind of work suited guards. Not that disciples couldn’t do it, but still.

They had all come on horseback, likely for speed, and had brought along a carriage to transport the prisoners.

“Just looking at it, that’s no ordinary carriage. Is it enchanted?”

Anagin asked as he looked at the transport carriage gleaming brightly, and Sphinx, still in the form of a cat, nodded.

“It’s not just ordinary magic. I can’t identify everything, but multiple enchantments are layered onto it. From spells that reinforce the carriage’s durability, to ones that increase its speed, and even ones that drain the strength of its passengers. Like those chains.”

Sphinx pointed at the Chiron Tower guards binding the prisoners in chains.

In particular, the two Gigants, the Descendants of Giants, were tightly bound in chains made of orichalcum.

Treasure hunters, without their magical tools, were relatively ordinary humans. But the Descendants of Giants were not, so it was only natural.

“Those chains are inscribed with magic specifically designed to restrain Gigants.”

“Only Gigants?”

“Yes, because they are magical tools created with Gigants as their target.”

Though he had asked Sphinx, the captain of the escort cut in and answered on his own.

Anagin didn’t feel particularly offended by the interruption, but he did find it a bit strange. Because…

“Why are you acting so friendly?”

“Ah… did that make you uncomfortable?”

“No, I’m not asking to embarrass you, I’m genuinely curious. You were treating me like a stranger not long ago.”

Anagin asked bluntly, like someone who had no sense of restraint.

While he was at Chiron Tower, the only one who properly explained anything was Sanchonius. The others showed no interest whatsoever, and even when asked questions, they never gave proper answers.

And now suddenly this? Of course, it was confusing.

The escort captain gave an awkward smile, seemingly embarrassed.

“Haha… truth is, I developed some respect for you, so I tried acting friendly.”

“…?”

When Anagin didn’t understand, the captain elaborated.

“At first, I thought you were someone trying to ride on Chiron Tower’s reputation.”

“I’m not.”

“Yes, I’ve realized that now. If you were that kind of person, you wouldn’t have fought so hard in the Kingdom of Arcadia.”

Anagin was about to correct this guy’s very serious misunderstanding, but unfortunately, the captain’s tongue moved faster.

“And now, not only did you accept the request involving the Coins of Greed, you even defeated those villains trying to seize them. And you did it with ease.”

“With ease,” huh… Well, to some extent, that was fair.

The fight had ended before he even got to use the ‘fake Coins of Greed’ he had prepared as bait.

At the same time, though, it also felt like luck had played a part.

The magical tools he got from Grumbal were simply too good.

He swept away the fodder with Pairon, blocked the mages’ attacks with Beast Devourer, and easily subdued the Gigants with the Giant’s Cutting Board.

Whether it was luck or not, he had the advantage in every matchup.

Well, that wasn’t the point…

Growing dumbfounded as he listened, Anagin glanced at Sanchonius, silently asking if he had reported things properly.

Sanchonius, looking wronged, and, for once, gestured that it wasn’t his fault.

Seemed like the truth.

Well, it wasn’t that strange for people to misunderstand.

Could you not tell just by the incident where people treated Anagin like a thief of fame based only on the newspaper article written by Ponytail? People liked to think whatever they wanted. This was likely a similar case.

So Anagin responded in kind.

“No, no. It’s not like that. Stop talking nonsense. It feels disgusting.”

Anagin took on the Coins of Greed delivery job to cover the cost of Pairon running wild, and he dealt with those targeting the coins simply because it seemed more convenient

Yet being misunderstood like this—rather than feeling pleased, it annoyed him.

Anyway, he tried to clear up the misunderstanding as best he could, but the escort captain and his subordinates didn’t seem like the type to listen to others, and they refused to believe him.

“Yes, I see. I believe you.”

“…Ah, should I just hit him?”

“No, don’t. Brother.”

Things nearly escalated into a minor incident, but Sphinx stopped him, and in the meantime, the preparations for departure were completed.

Under the captain’s supervision, the prisoners bound in chains were loaded into the carriage.

Just before they left, Anagin looked toward the compartment carrying the Gigant fighter and the female swordswoman.

Because he had lost the bet, the Gigant fighter had failed to help his companion escape.

It would’ve been hard to claim he hadn’t taught properly—Anagin had learned Energy (Γι) manipulation far too well.

A truly remarkable talent.

However, Anagin wasn’t just talented—he had a decent character as well, so he didn’t forget to say goodbye to the Gigant fighter who had taught him.

“If we meet again, I’ll give you a chance for revenge.”

If he wanted to avenge the dead brute, Anagin was willing to fight him.

The Gigant fighter stared at Anagin for a moment before speaking.

“See you next time.”

As if he intended to escape.

Yet the escort captain and his men paid no attention, treating it like empty nonsense.

“Then we’ll be on our way. We wish you a safe journey to the Temple of Delphi.”

“Thanks.”

Tramachus accepted the farewell on behalf of the group.

“Anagin.”

“What?”

“I’ll be waiting for the day we can work together.”

“Do what?”

The escort captain kept spouting incomprehensible things to the very end. His tone, which seemed to suggest Anagin would know what he meant, was even more irritating.

“Is he picking a fight?”

Anagin genuinely asked the four from Chiron Tower, but they said they didn’t know either. They seemed to have some guesses… but didn’t press further. Talking more would probably just be annoying.

And there was something he needed to decide soon.

“So… the scroll. Are we using it or not?”

Now it was really time to decide.

Many opinions had been exchanged, yet no conclusion had been reached.

Because Anagin, the final decision-maker, hadn’t voiced any opinion.

But now, he had to.

Anagin opened his mouth.

“Let’s use it.”

* * *

There were several reasons why Anagin decided to use the scroll.

First, it was fast and convenient.

No matter how he thought about it, walking for a month to a month and a half wasn’t an option.

Second, he judged that the likelihood of it being a trap was low.

Compared to Lynceus’ suspicion that it might be a trap, Tramachus’ opinion that it wasn’t felt more convincing.

If the Oracle could see the future and eliminate danger, then setting up a trap near the Temple of Delphi made even less sense.

A hideout was merely for concealing oneself, but a trap was a space with clear malicious intent.

If it had been a city or village near the Temple of Delphi, he might have been more suspicious, but since it was the area around the temple itself, it actually felt safer.

And the third reason was that even if it was a trap, he believed they could just break through it head-on.

“Break through it?”

“I think that’s what a practitioner should do. Rather than taking a safe detour, you endure hardship and overcome danger. At least, that’s how I see it.”

“……”

Perhaps his words were too moving—even the four from Chiron Tower, and even Sphinx, could only stare with their mouths slightly open, unable to respond.

“If you’re on my level, you can say cool things like that too, so no need to be so touched.”

“I’m not touched. I’m just surprised that someone who can’t even cook for himself is saying things like endurance and overcoming.”

“I can cook. If Sphinx cooks, then that’s basically me cooking too. So I can cook.”

“Brother, have you lost your mind?”

There was a bit of trivial bickering, but in the end, everyone decided to follow Anagin’s choice.

Partly because they had agreed to follow his lead, but also because his reasoning made sense.

Right. If you’re a practitioner, you shouldn’t avoid danger—you should face it head-on.

‘Well, if we fail, we die.’

With that, Anagin reaffirmed the direction of the karma he would build and prepared to tear the scroll.

Tearing it was the activation condition for the teleportation magic inscribed on it.

As long as his companions stood nearby, they would naturally be pulled along with him.

Riiip—!

As Anagin tore the scroll, a crisp sound rang out, and for a brief instant, his vision flashed.

Then, a completely unfamiliar scene, nothing like the forest, appeared before them.

Stale air, the sweat of people, the distinct scent of beasts, tents serving as walls and ceilings, flashy masks and clothing…

It was a traveling troupe.