It was just before Dzeco was going to return from the University of Romarikku that he received an urgent report of a fire breaking out in the guest house. A mounted express messenger came along when he was about to board his carriage at the student plaza, and told him that a fire had broken out in the guest house and that it was spreading.
「…!」
Dzeco’s dandy moustache quivered, and he clenched his fists so tightly that they turned pure white.
「What… what a good thing you did!!」
「I, I’m sorry!」
Perhaps he had interpreted Dzeco’s words as reprimanding him and the others who were taking charge during his absence, the guard who had brought the news prostrated himself on the spot.
「How’s the fire fighting going!?」
「T, that’s… I wasn’t able to get in touch with Jelena-sama and Puyol-kyou, so I tried to get Commander Pancev to take command as a last resort, but apparently there was a suspicious fire at the army’s barracks too; the commander is fighting the fire there—」
「Nu…!」
「F, for the time being, it has been decided that the available hands will be fighting the fire, but because the chain of command is in disorder as expected, it isn’t very effective… at present, we’re sending people to call the commander back」
「Lend me your horse!」
Dzeco snatched the reins of the horse that the express messenger had been riding from him, then put his foot onto the stirrup and mounted the horse nimbly.
「—You go to the magic academy like this and tell every person who can use ice magic to come to the town hall! Tell them that it’s my order!」
「A, acknowledged!」
Leaving the express messenger behind on the spot, Dzeco snapped the reins and rode the horse.
「You bastard… you really did it now, Fatih!」
Suspicious fires occurred almost simultaneously at the guest house and barracks, both of which should have been heavily guarded. Dzeco wasn’t so happy-go-lucky to think it was a mere unfortunate coincidence. It was obviously Fatih acting rashly. Galarina wouldn’t do such a useless thing.
However, even Galarina couldn’t be praised in the sense that she wasn’t able to stop Fatih; by the same token, Dzeco was angry at himself for taking Fatih’s way of thinking too lightly.
「You intend to drive Romarriku into a corner, huh—I won’t allow you to do as you like!」
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Luminstia 