MTM 110

“Does it… look strange?”

Zed felt Harto’s stare. He awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck and asked for his opinion.

“No! It’s great… really cool!!”

Harto jumped up like a coiled spring and shouted. Even the tiny elementals perched on his shoulders and head hopped around in delight.

Zed wasn’t wearing his usual light, tidy clothes. Instead, he wore the full, elaborate regalia of a mage. He had a lace shirt with rich folds along the collar, a dark navy vest that hugged his sturdy frame, and trousers that emphasized the straight lines of his legs. Jeweled brooches pinned to his chest, wrists, and waist sparkled. An olive-colored cloak, styled in the latest fashion, hung over his shoulders and gave him an air of elegance.

In Harto’s eyes, Zed looked just like a prince from a fairy tale.

“What do you think! I poured my very soul into making Zed the perfect mage!”

“You’re right! It really is perfect! Leon, you’re amazing…!”

“Ahem, naturally. I have quite a keen eye for fashion.”

Harto praised him with genuine admiration. Leon puffed out his chest and held his head high, enjoying the flattery.

“Hmm… I hate to rain on your parade… but I feel like something crucial is missing.”

Isadora crossed her arms and tilted her head. She scanned Zed from head to toe. Even with the high-quality fabric, the flashy accessories, and the cloak that radiated the dignity of a high-ranking mage, he still seemed incomplete.

“Hmm, maybe it’s because Zed is a bit too big for a mage?”

“Huh? Isn’t Mr. Robert big too?”

Harto pointed at Robert, who sat on the sofa. Harto was clearly enjoying Zed’s transformation. Robert was indeed tall and built well enough to rival Zed’s physique.

“That’s true. I’m quite large myself, but royal mages in the knighthood are usually tall. They’re sent into active combat more often than rear support, after all.”

According to Robert’s explanation, Zed’s muscular build wasn’t an obstacle to his disguise.

“Hmm… Then what on earth is it?”

“I know exactly what it is.”

Allen sat next to Robert and watched the scene with a bored expression. He suddenly chimed in the conversation.

“What is it?”

“It’s an earring. Those mage fellows always wear at least one earring for some odd reason. They’re so obsessed with their vanity…”

Allen pouted and grumbled with a dissatisfied face. He didn’t like that only Leon and Zed, the mages, were going on this infiltration mission while he was left out.

He had been excited to go at first. However, he found out his role was merely the ‘guide.’ His pride was hurt, so he declared he wouldn’t go. Besides, three men disguised as mages would be a combination that stood out too much.

“Well… wearing an earring on one side certainly marks you as a mage. I don’t usually wear them, so people sometimes mistake me for someone else.”

Robert heartily laughed and agreed with Allen. Zed nodded and turned back toward the room to find an earring.

Harto grabbed Zed’s collar and stopped him.

“Harto?”

“Zed, you’re taking me with you, right?”

“Of course…”

He wanted to hide Harto away in the safest fortress possible. But their enemy this time was the Crown Prince. He didn’t want to let Harto out of his sight for even a single second, no matter the reason.

“How were you planning to take me?”

“Well…”

Zed trailed off and looked at his pocket. Harto could transform into a monster, so Zed planned to tuck him away in there.

“Hmm…”

Harto realized what he meant and shook his head.

“Zed, I have a better idea!”

Harto shouted confidently with a playful and mischievous expression.

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

On the outskirts of the palace, where the chilly night air hung, a carriage came to a quiet stop near a deserted wall.

As the group disembarked one by one, a figure holding a lamp appeared from the darkness. It was the white-haired old man Isadora had bribed with great difficulty. He turned immediately after receiving a pouch of gold coins from Allen, who had ultimately decided to come along as a guide.

“This way. Hurry.”

At the old man’s urging, the group hurried behind him, their footsteps muffled.

There were only two paths to the palace dungeon. One route required strict inspection by the imperial guards and thorough magical detection, making passage impossible without the cooperation of those within.

The other was a secret passage, known as the “Path of Death.” It was used only to smuggle the bodies of prisoners who died within the prison out. The stench permeated the entrance, leaving only a pitiful guard, who squeezed himself into his post with his nose covered.

Thanks to the old man’s preemptive measures, not a single ant was in sight when the group arrived.

“Follow the passage until you find a wooden door. That door leads to the torture chamber… you must pass through it to reach the dungeon.”

Allen pulled another gold coin from his coat and tucked it into the old man’s side as he listened to the instructions.

“Give us a signal immediately if you sense anyone before we come out.”

“…I’ll keep that in mind.”

The old man bowed his head and retreated into the darkness. Zed cautiously pushed the rusted iron door.

Creeeeak.

A metallic creaking rang as the door opened. A sudden gust of wind blew from within. It brought a fishy, nauseating stench.

“Ugh…”

Leon had a weak stomach. He quickly covered his nose and mouth. On the other hand, Allen didn’t even bat an eye. He was used to environments like sewers and gutters. He led the way with a stoic expression.

Tap, tap…

As they began to walk through the damp, murky passage, Leon looked at Zed and spike in a low voice.

“…I think I put too much effort into this for nothing.”

As Leon said, the two men in high-quality mage robes didn’t suit this gloomy tunnel. This was especially true for Zed. He hadn’t just changed his hair and eyes to black; he had also covered half of his face with a thick, fake beard.

He had prepared thoroughly in case someone inside the palace remembered Ares Carseon’s face. Thanks to that, Zed looked like a completely different person. It was impossible to imagine his original appearance.

“…Harto.”

Zed called out in a voice so small it barely was audible.

Ding.

The earring hanging from Zed’s earlobe glowed with a blue light. It wasn’t a simple piece of jewelry. Harto had transformed himself into the earring that decorated Zed’s ear.

‘Zed, I have a great idea!’

Before they arrived, Harto had looked unusually confident and mischievous. Then, he shrunk his body in an instant to take the form of an earring. Shrinking and maintaining such a small size was exhausting work. However, he could manage it thanks to the spirit stone bracelet he wore.

“Are you dizzy? I feel like I’m swinging you around too much when I walk.”

Ding, ding.

The earring swayed and made a clear sound in response to Zed’s question. Zed knew the meaning even without words. It was a spirited answer that said, ‘I’m really okay!’ Since they were only with their companions, Harto could have spoken aloud, but he was determined to play the part of a perfect earring for the sake of the mission.

‘How cute…’

A small smile appeared on Zed’s face.

It was common sense that a monster like Harto shouldn’t be able to gain power through a spirit stone. The powers of monsters and spirits were opposites. But perhaps because it was Harto, the sight of this harmless, pure being borrowing the power of a spirit stone didn’t seem that strange.

‘I’ll have to ask Isadora seriously about Harto later.’

Zed had suspected from the start that Harto wasn’t an ordinary monster. The ability to handle fire, water, and earth elements at will was rare enough. However, absorbing the power within a spirit stone without rejection was a matter on a completely different level.

Suddenly, he remembered the words Walter had said back in Belnok. Even Walter, a half-demon, had said Harto was a creature that possessed no detectable demonic energy.

He began to doubt. Perhaps Harto wasn’t a monster.

“I think it’s this way.”

Allen, who was walking ahead, stopped just as those thoughts began to spiral. He found an old wooden door hidden in the darkness of the passage. He signaled the group and cautiously gripped the doorknob.