The three of them moved for the time being. The hotel they had stayed at the night before was already full again, so they found a small, clean inn where regular people stayed.
"This is giving me a headache."
Endymion rubbed his temples.
Although he brought the Royal Knights, he could not use them. The fact that King Semele and his wife were currently in Rumar of Shavel was a top secret.
It was known that he was enjoying a coming-of-age ceremony vacation at the royal villa of Semele, so If it was suddenly revealed that he was in a foreign country, it would cause a huge uproar.
"The magic stone, which is the core of the gate, must not be revealed to the public. If it is, everyone will search for it with fire in their eyes and steal it!"
"Ah. But since you put a background magic on the magic stone. it's not like that..."
Julia tried to calm Boris down, but he panicked and started crying.
"No. Out of the magic stones installed on the gate, 3 out of 10 are not affected by the background magic. I forgot about this one. Normally, you would use distraction magic to make it difficult to recognize them. However, if you already know what the magic stone looks like, the magic will have no effect."
Boris muttered, sweating profusely.
"What if the Magic Stone becomes the target, and the entire gate gets destroyed?!"
The magic stones used outside the magic tower were usually plain in appearance. On the other hand, the magic stones used in the magic gate were truly beautiful, as if they had been cut out of the sea.
So, once the Duke of Moffat lit the spark, it was only a matter of time before the rich, mistaking the magic stone for a jewel, would rush in with their mouths watering.
Boris broke into a cold sweat, saying. "It's still my imagination, but if that happens, my life is over."
"Besides, if you apply force to the magic stone without protection, it will become unstable. Maybe it has already been stimulated to its limit, and an explosion will occur the moment you place it in the statue."
"Oh my god. If that happens, it'll be a big problem."
Julia said worriedly. At that, Boris turned pale as a sheet and muttered.
"Well, if there's any problem on either side, the Lord of the Tower will definitely cut off my neck himself."
She guessed the Lord of the Tower is a really scary person.
Julia thought that no matter how big the accident was, there was no way that the Magic Tower Master would kill his subordinate wizard like that. However, seeing as Boris trembled whenever the Magic Tower Master was mentioned, it seemed like he was a pretty difficult person.
'I must face it with full preparation.'
Julia determined, knocked on the table and drew everyone's attention.
"Then there is only one way."
"Is there a way?!"
Boris, who had been pacing around the room, came running and shouted happily. Endymion also looked up from his thoughtful gaze.
"We have to get it before the magic stone gets embedded in the statue."
Boris looked dismayed when Julia told him the obvious.
"But hasn't it already fallen into the hands of the Duke of Moffat? Haa... It's simply impossible..."
Julia smiled brightly, sipping her warm tea.
"We have to steal it."
The two men doubted their ears at the refreshing voice.
"Huh, you want to steal? What about the King and Queen of a country? If you do that and get caught..."
Boris asked, bewildered. Julia's eyes widened as if asking what he was talking about.
"Yes? Of course, you have to fake your identity. How can you steal someone else's jewels in the name of Queen Semele? Since we have Boris, we can disguise ourselves with magic."
In the first place, it was illegal for a pawn shop to make a jewelry appraisal report, so the Duke would not be able to investigate publicly even if the jewelry was stolen.
'I don't have enough money for the jewelry... Well, if he feel wronged, he'll go to the pawn shop and complain.'
She had already given the owner more than enough money, so if the Duke complained, he could just give him back the money.
To sum up, if you just bring the magic stone, everything will return to the starting point.
Julia added calmly.
"Besides, it was originally the property of the Magic Tower. Bringing back something that was stolen isn't stealing."
"Huh? So that's how it is!"
Boris, who had been feeling dazed, clapped his hands in delight. Julia was delighted, but suddenly, Endymion muttered suspiciously.
"It seems like you're becoming more and more like me..."
It seemed that Boris wasn't the only one who felt bewildered. No wonder, because the words "steal" came from her mouth, which was always correct.
Julia felt embarrassed when she realized it later.
"T, it's a special situation. And since we're always together, we might become similar..."
Julia started to make excuses but quickly stopped when she saw Endymion's eyes sparkle.
He seems pretty satisfied with it, so she's worried that her plan to sharply change his personality will go awry.
Julia looked away, pretending to be calm.
"Ugh... I'm gnashing my teeth because it's so annoying, but we don't have much time, so we'll have to catch the damn culprit who stole the magic stone later. But first, what was the order of the ball today?"
Boris, who had found hope, looked through the documents passionately. It was a report that the Knights had investigated in detail earlier.
It contained not only the overall information of the Duke of Moffat's household but also the plans for today's ball and a rough outline of the Duke's castle security system. As expected of the King's personal bodyguard, they were indeed competent.
"Hmm, it's more thorough than I thought. There's no way to get in without an invitation... Ah."
Julia, who was reviewing the documents together, pointed to a certain spot. The two men's eyes immediately met.
[Billy Moffat. The eldest son of the Duke of Moffat. 28 years old. Womanizing. Often invites the women he meets into the castle.]
"This will do."
Julia underlined with her finger the phrase 'often calling women into the castle'.
"If you disguise yourself as a woman meeting the Duke's eldest son.. You will be able to enter easily without an invitation."
Since he had frequently called women in before, the guards figured that he would let them in as well. However, Endymion immediately objected.
"Absolutely not."
"It's okay. If I go with Boris, there won't be any danger. Right?"
Boris had to go to retrieve the already unstable magic stone. Julia asked for his consent.
Boris nodded, his eyes unusually sharp because he was so happy.
"Of course! I have a basic defense scroll for emergencies. I didn't get permission to use it, but when else would I need to use it?"
Boris happily rummaged through his scroll pouch. Endymion still objected, his face hard.
"It's too dangerous. You're not even feeling well yet, and you're telling me to let a wizard who doesn't know anything about the world in alone?"
Endymion spoke firmly and decisively.
"Come with me. No, I'll go alone, so you rest here."
Julia was troubled by his more stubborn attitude than she had expected, so she tried to calm him down.
"That's not true, Mion. Besides, Boris can disguise himself as a servant, but you're too big, so if we go together, you'll stand out too much. They'll be on guard, so you can't even call yourself a knight. It might be okay for a woman, but it's hard for a man..."
Julia, who had been speaking softly, suddenly stopped talking.
Endymion seemed to understand that she was offended by his strong tone. He belatedly straightened his stiff face and softened his voice.
"Don't worry. I'll handle it as quietly as possible."
That processing doesn't mean taking it by force, does it? Julia, who had reasonable doubts, quickly shook her head.
"No, that's not it."
Julia blinked and slowly called Boris.
"Is there a magic scroll that can change your appearance?"
"Hmm. I happen to have an illusion scroll. It's not an advanced scroll, so you can't actually change things, but it's a kind of visual disruption technique. It's quite useful for temporarily changing your appearance."
Boris muttered as he checked the emergency scroll he had brought.
"So the black wizard who helped that woman named Chiara Soare must have been a really dangerous person. How on earth did he create a magic potion that could change even bones and skin? That's a level of difficulty that even mid-level wizards would have difficulty with."
Boris was worried that the evil forces were stronger than he thought. He muttered that he should return to the tower quickly, but then he belatedly made a puzzled face.
"But why do you ask this?"
Julia took the colorful scroll. Endymion continued speaking with a stern look on his face.
"You can't change your face. All sorts of outsiders are flocking here, so what if something happens? And you're saying with your own mouth that you're the lover of another man."
Endymion swallowed his words with a cracking sound. It was clearly his true intention.
When she realized that, Julia's heart began to pound secretly. It was strange and ticklish how much Endymion cared about her.
'I had this kind of taste... Ah, this isn't it.'
Julia quickly opened her mouth before her cheeks turned red.
"No, let's go together."
Endymion blinked in surprise at the sudden change in attitude.
"Yes? But the message I gave you earlier said it was too conspicuous."
Boris, who was annoyed by Endymion, asked back. Julia shook the scroll gently.
"I'm going to use this."
"No, no matter how much you change your face, with that size and height..."
A bewildered Boris tried to persuade Julia for the first time as if he were talking to a naive child.
"It'll be hard just to get through the gate. The man is Billy Moffat's Iover, so there's no way to get around it..."
"You can just cross-dress."
Julia answered clearly. Endymion, who had been crossing his arms tightly and trying to unconditionally oppose Julia's opinion, asked with a face that seemed to doubt his ears.
"What are you doing?"
"Dress as a woman. Disguise yourself as a woman. Use a hallucination scroll to change your appearance to a woman, and say we're both here to meet Billy Moffat. He's a womanizer, so it'll work."
Julia began to frantically plan what to do to get a wig and dress right away. Boris awkwardly turned his head to look at Endymion.
"Hmm... That's it. You can make your height and size look smaller with an illusion scroll. If you just wear a nice dress, you can pretend to be a pretty woman."
Boris, whose occupational disease had set in, rubbed his chin and thought deeply. Then, he began to examine Endymion as if he were looking at a test subject and began to evaluate it.
"But the problem is the expression. Since hallucinations are also a type of mental magic, they will be immediately broken if the opponent catches on, so you have to be especially careful. After all, that expression is too murderous for a woman who has come to a ball. Eek!"
Boris belatedly noticed the eyes glaring at him and bit his tongue. Julia, who had been shuffling through her documents, raised her head.
"Hmm? Mion, do you not like it?"
"..."
Endymion was silent as if time had stopped. His stone-hard expression spoke for itself of the conflict raging inside him.
Julia, who saw that, foolishly cancelled the offer.
"Then you don't have to. Do you want to wait here alone? Just Boris and I can go..."
"No."
Endymion said in a very subdued voice.
"... I said I was going to cross-dress."
His tightly shut eyes looked solemn, like a general standing alone in front of an army of a million men.
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