Chapter 64: Communication
Thanks to Pelgrun’s teleportation, they managed to reach Apos Village while the sun was still high.
After a brief but heartfelt farewell with the inn’s landlady, Jin and the others immediately departed from Apos Village.
Their destination wasn’t the city of Lienz, but Tron, the closest town from here.
The reason they were deliberately stopping by Tron was to use the magical communication device installed at the guild.
This device, which made long-distance calls possible by consuming magic stones, was essential for maintaining the Adventurer’s Guild—an organization that operated across national borders.
Its communication range wasn’t very long; at best, it allowed calls between adjacent towns. Even so, it could reduce a nearly one-week journey by carriage down to zero and allow information to be transmitted instantly.
By linking to the next town, then the next, and so on, these devices formed the major network that sustained the Adventurer’s Guild as a whole.
However, the device had problems beyond its limited range.
First, there were very few of them.
The core of the device—its heart—used technology that could no longer be reproduced today, a complete black box.
These cores could only be obtained from ruins, the remnants of ancient civilizations.
Most likely, this technology was a vestige of the civilization Pelgrun described as having been destroyed by the rampage of magical beasts.
But such ruins were rarely discovered.
Even when they were, almost all appeared in undeveloped regions, meaning their discovery usually fell to adventurers. Because of that, the Adventurer’s Guild owned one in most of its branches—but unfortunately, not enough existed to place them in villages.
Second, the magic stones required for operation had to be at least B-class, and even then, one stone would be completely consumed in about thirty minutes of use.
The fuel efficiency was terrible.
Because of that, the device couldn’t be used casually, and permission from the guildmaster of each town was required for its operation.
There were other issues, but these two were the most relevant for today.
Still, visiting Tron had been Aria’s idea. Since Aria herself was a guild employee, none of these issues were expected to become obstacles.
If they could use the communication device, they could skip the days it would take to reach Lienz and deliver the information immediately. Every one of them wanted to free the children from their suffering even a little sooner.
But there was another reason as well—for the worst-case scenario.
If learning basic magic didn’t cure the illness, they would have to turn back immediately and meet Pelgrun again to obtain another Madoren Petal.
They believed things would likely go well, but this was a matter of children’s lives. They couldn’t afford even the smallest chance of failure. Using the communication device was their insurance.
And so, Jin’s group aimed their carriage toward the town of Tron.
Pelgrun’s teleportation had saved time, but since they had departed late, they still had to camp overnight along the way. Their efforts to hurry paid off, though—by early afternoon the next day, they arrived in Tron.
“…That is all. I apologize for the trouble, but we ask that you grant us permission to use the magical communication device as soon as possible.”
At Tron’s Adventurer’s Guild, Aria was speaking with one of the staff to obtain permission.
What she presented was a letter of delegation Greg had entrusted to them before their journey—prepared in advance so they could contact him in case of emergency.
“Understood. Please wait a moment.”
Saying that, the middle-aged staff member disappeared into the back. There was nothing to do but wait.
Just then, Jin sensed a presence behind him. When he turned around, he found a man standing there—one hand raised as if he had been about to call out, frozen in surprise as their eyes met.
“Why the hell’d you turn around so suddenly? You scared the crap out of me.”
The man looked to be in his early twenties—a drunken beastman with alcohol-reeking breath. Whether it was his nature or the booze, the animal ears on his head drooped limply.
“Tch, whatever. Hey, you. Walking around with three beauties must be nice, huh? You call yourself an adventurer like that? Guys like you are the reason—”
The man rambled on. Despite being drunk, his speech was oddly smooth, though his body swayed constantly—he was clearly wasted.
Still, at least he targeted Jin, someone of the same sex, rather than bothering the women. That made the situation somewhat less troublesome.
Jin gently motioned for Erza and the others, who had started reacting, to stand down, and took it upon himself to deal with the man alone.
Why was a drunk even here? Because this guild building had a tavern inside.
Two-thirds of the building served as the Adventurer’s Guild, while the remaining space functioned as a dining hall and tavern.
In Lienz, the guild only handled administrative functions, but many guild branches, including Tron, had tavern facilities attached.
It had originally been introduced as part of adventurer welfare, but too many incidents arose, leading to fewer guilds maintaining the system over time.
Even here, to prevent trouble, the reception counters and quest boards, where people gathered, were placed away from the tavern tables.
However, Jin and the others happened to be standing away from the main reception area, meaning they were unfortunately close to a table where this man had been drinking.
At that table, two men and two women were seated. Judging from their bitter looks—as if to say, “There he goes again”—this wasn’t the first time.
Even so, they didn’t try to intervene, simply continued drinking at their seats.
“…Hey, are you even listening, huh?!”
The best way to handle a drunk was to ignore him and leave as quickly as possible. But they were waiting for a guild staff member to return, so walking away wasn’t an option.
“Yes. I’m listening.”
The second-best method was to cooperate just enough while waiting for a chance to disengage.
Most people who picked fights like this only wanted someone to complain to. Often, just listening to them would naturally settle things.
Jin knew that from experience, and normally, he wasn’t the type who disliked listening if he had the time. If he weren’t in the middle of a mission to save suffering children, he might have even humored the man more seriously.
But right now, he simply couldn’t spare the attention.
“Listen up, you—‘Zack-san!’ …Tch.”
Just as the man was about to raise his voice further, the returning guild staff member cut him off, calling his name.
The drunk man, Zack, shot Jin a glare, clicked his tongue, and stomped away.
“I’m terribly sorry. Zack-san is usually a reliable adventurer, but he becomes a different person when he drinks… He recently suffered something upsetting, so he’s especially volatile today.”
The middle-aged staff member apologized, looking guilty.
Jin wasn’t particularly bothered—the man hadn’t actually harmed them. He did feel something about the incident, but honestly, it didn’t matter right now.
“It’s fine. More importantly… is everything ready?”
What concerned Jin was the permission to use the magical communication device.
“Yes, of course. Everything is prepared. I’ll guide you now.”
““Thank you!””
Whatever had happened a moment ago was instantly forgotten. The time had finally come, and all of them brightened with anticipation.
Containing their impatience, they followed the staff member.
The room they were brought to was a cramped six-tatami-mat-sized chamber.
On the wall hung a single disc about 30cm in diameter—that was where they would speak into.
There were also various buttons and switch-like mechanisms.
In the adjacent room beyond the wall was the main body of the magical communication device. Because it was valuable, Jin and the others were not allowed to enter that side.
“Do you know how to use it?”
“Yes, I’ll be fine.”
Aria answered confidently; she had used a communication device several times at the Lienz guild.
First, she pressed a button on the wall, and a “Bzzzz” tone rang out.
A single long buzz like this meant they wished to speak with the guildmaster on the other end. There were special buzz patterns for urgent calls as well—the number and length of tones changed the meaning.
“We’ll wait like this until the other side finishes preparing. When they’re ready, they’ll send a buzzer signal. When you hear it, turn on the switch above and speak. When you’re done, say ‘End’ and switch it off. Then it’s their turn to talk. When they finish, they’ll also say ‘End,’ so turn the switch on again and continue speaking. Just repeat that process.”
The consumption of magic stones was overwhelmingly higher when sending a voice signal, while receiving required far less. To minimize consumption, calls were made in a walkie-talkie-style alternating format.
For this call, Jin was the one who would speak. Because a male staff member was present for security reasons, he couldn’t carelessly mention anything sensitive.
Even so, despite being a little tense, Jin’s expression was bright—the moment of expectation was right before him.
He waited eagerly for the buzzer to ring.
The long-yet-short moment passed, and finally, the buzzer rang—a signal that the other side was ready.
Jin took a deep breath, turned on the switch, and began speaking.
“This is Jin. The situation has changed, but we’ve discovered the fundamental treatment for Mana Fever. Please have the children acquire Basic Magic immediately. Doing so will allow their excess internal mana to be released, calming the mana irregularities within their bodies and stopping the fever. Additionally, letting them use other low-risk spells besides Fire may help mana leave their systems even more easily. However, since many of the children are still too young to properly learn magic, I believe they’ll need guidance on how to use magic safely and the proper mindset. Please also consider follow-up after the illness is cured. End.”
The word “Mana Fever” was included, but none of the prohibited words, like the previously planned treatment method or “Demonbane Elixir,” were mentioned, so there should be no issue.
Jin waited for the response.
“This is Greg. Understood. I’ll coordinate with High Priest Clark and arrange everything immediately.
No severe cases have appeared among the children. Good work. End.”
Hearing Greg’s reply, Jin almost burst into tears from relief.
They had achieved far better time than originally planned, so he had believed the children were probably still safe, but actually hearing the confirmation lifted an enormous weight from his heart.
The other three felt the same.
Erza held back her tears just like Jin, Rachel couldn’t hold back and let a few fall, and even Aria, who had gradually begun showing more emotion recently, seemed to have slightly wet eyes.
Jin held back his own tears and began speaking again.
“This is Jin. I’m glad to hear it. Just in case, we’ll be staying in the town of Tron until noon tomorrow. We’ll contact you again around 11:30 AM, so please tell us the children’s progress then. We’ll decide our next actions based on that. End.”
If the worst happened, they would need to return and obtain another “Madoren Petal.”
They didn’t expect it to come to that—but Jin’s group intended to confirm the children’s condition before heading back to Lienz.
“This is Greg. Understood. For now, get some good rest today. Good work. End.”
“This is Jin. Thank you. We’ll end the transmission here. End.”
Jin switched off the device and kept his eyes closed in that position. If he didn’t, he felt like he would cry.
Thus, they had accomplished their task. The final results weren’t in yet, but Jin and the others already felt a sense of achievement.
Whether the symptoms would improve immediately in the morning was uncertain—but at the very least, there would be some kind of change.
Filled with great hope and a sliver of anxiety, Jin and the others quietly savored their relief and joy.
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