(EP-287.1)

287 – Archmage

It was said that imps’ tails could serve as devices for transmitting and receiving magic.

Thus, they could send the magic they usually stored within their bodies to others, or complete spells and chants that required complex calculations on behalf of others.

Of course, since imps had a tricky, noisy, and mischievous nature, they wouldn’t do such things for just anyone.

「Is that what happened? Claiming to be the Demon King and abusing and tormenting my sisters! What a wicked guy!」

Marmar, who had just heard the story from me, was furious, as if it had happened to her personally. In response to her anger, the tail wand wrapped around my wrist buzzed with agitation.

I asked Marmar in my thoughts.

「Anyway, are you alright? Where are you now?」

「I’m almost at Sandora City! Gargar, Purpur, and Tartar are all fine, so don’t worry too much. Professor Balan is—.」

It seemed like Marmar was about to say something more, but her voice suddenly cut off.

「Marmar?」

「……….」

I called Marmar’s name a few more times just in case, but there was no response. The first thing that came to mind was that she was out of range or her battery had died.

‘I see.’

In any case, it seemed that Marmar had safely arrived in the city of witches. The last thing she was trying to say was probably something like how Professor Balan had escorted them well.

Balan was skilled in black magic. With her as their escort, there was no need to worry about them being attacked by a band of ragtag bandits.

Perhaps I could meet Marmar in Sandora. As I was thinking about this—exiting the bandit den—the white mage Tefer spoke to me.

“Marmar… isn’t that the name of an imp…? The one who came in third in the Queen Contest….”

“Ah.”

How did she know that? As I stumbled over my words, Tefer added a few things as if to explain.

“There’s a chance that others can eavesdrop on telepathic conversations. You should be careful when talking about highly confidential matters.”

“That’s a good tip…”

While it was convenient to communicate with someone far away, the downside was the potential security risk of someone eavesdropping on the conversation.

It seemed like some improvements were needed.

After all, I had a lot of secrets…

Anyway, with that, we managed to get out of the den. I remembered entering the pitch darkness of midnight, but now, dawn was breaking in the distance.

It was… picturesque.

A waterfall spanning tens of meters in width. The mist finely scattered by the sunlight and the resulting rainbow were so beautiful that it felt as though my fatigue went away.

━Finally, we’ve been freed from those wretched bandits…!

━We owe it all to Comrade Theo, the greatest of imps, so let us express our gratitude…!

Of course, such sentiments were soon shattered by the imps, who started making a commotion. The imps swarmed around me, lifting my body and tossing me high into the air in celebration.

━Long live Comrade Theo!

━Long live Comrade Theo, the liberator of imps!

“Hey, put me down!”

But being tossed into the air right next to a massive, thundering waterfall? I was scared for my life. If they dropped me, there wouldn’t even be a body left to recover…

It was then….

━Ah-! A bunch of candies are falling out of Comrade Theo’s pocket…!

━That candy is mine! I, Sirsir, was the first to spot it…!

Each time I was tossed into the air, coins and candies jingled out of my pockets, catching the imps’ attention. They started scrambling around on the ground.

Thanks to that, my body, which had been thrown into the air, went straight through the railing and plunged into the river below.

Splash.

━Ah-! We’ve dropped him-!

━He’s drifting away in the river-!

“Hieeek…!”

* * *

Despite everything that happened, I managed to survive…

Though I was soaked to the bone and felt the chills of a looming cold, at least I wasn’t dead.

When we arrived at the White Mage Tower, we safely handed over Tefer to them.

“Tefer-yang is a bit mentally shaken, but she doesn’t have any physical injuries. Also, there are still remnants of the bandits tied up in the cave behind the waterfall, so you should call the guards to capture them… Achoo!”

After various exchanges.

The members of the mage tower repeatedly bowed their heads in gratitude.

“Thanks to you, we were able to avoid a catastrophe. Sir Theo, while you stay in Big River, we’ll take care of all your needs, so please feel at ease.”

‘Sounds good.’

I didn’t act with the expectation of receiving gratitude, but there was no reason to refuse a reward for my actions.

“Then, could you arrange a place to sleep and some food for the imps we brought along?”

At my request, Tower Master Dolches nodded.

“I’ll see to it. If these imps are wandering without a place to go, we could employ them at our tower and have them run various errands.”

It seemed the imps had managed to find jobs too.

After that, we cleaned ourselves up from the dirt we had rolled in, changed into the white robes provided by members of the tower, and joined the banquet.

The party was held to celebrate the safe return of Tefer, the treasure of the tower. Though said main character was blushing furiously and fidgeting.

“You seem anxious.”

When I approached and asked, Tefer was startled.

“W-well, it’s because… it’s all my fault…”

‘I see.’

The whole commotion had started because Tefer had stolen the Crown of Dominion, which had been securely stored in the forbidden vault—causing a lot of damage.

So, she felt extremely ashamed and sorry to be treated as the protagonist of the party.

At least she has a conscience.

I said.

“I doubt the truth will ever come to light.”

Edited by: faker