Detect Evil

"Why can't I keep these hands of mine under control?"

Rubbing the gold coin between his fingers, Amber Xiu sighed from the depths of his soul.

This little team preparing to venture into the sewers had generously paid him a "job interview fee" of one gold coin. Even if they didn't end up working together, Amber Xiu would still have earned a gold coin for nothing.

The mage profession was a respected one, so it was reasonable for adventurers to pay a little "interview fee" when inviting a mage to join their party. But a fee of one gold coin was downright extravagant. It was as over-the-top as tipping that Dwarf singer just to make him shut up.

Amber Xiu had been a little hesitant, but after receiving the coin, he found himself unable to refuse.

Now that he'd taken the money, though, his worries had grown even stronger.

Adventurers were often little better than vagrants, and few of them were purely good. Someone willing to spend this much was usually either very capable or facing a difficult task—or scheming to use their teammates.

After all, mages were wealthy in most cases. A few enchanted items looted from one might bring in thousands, or even tens of thousands, of gold coins.

But if that was the case, Amber Xiu would be even happier.

Who didn't know how to turn the tables on a would-be mugger?

If it was self-defense, Alchemy City wouldn't have an excuse to cause him trouble. Amber Xiu could strip the whole adventuring party of everything they had and make a tidy profit.

A counterfeit Legendary was still a Legendary. With the advantage of keeping his lich identity hidden, bullying a group of adventurers would be a piece of cake.

The real problem would be if the task was difficult. If the party wasn't trying to set up their teammates, they must have been willing to pay so much because they were facing an exceptionally troublesome situation.

He couldn't rob them, and he'd have to deal with a major problem. Suddenly, the job didn't seem so profitable.

Of course, if it came to it, he could still decline to work with them. Earning one gold coin for nothing was acceptable too.

Amber Xiu sat quietly in the corner of the tavern, waiting for the adventuring party to arrive. The Orc bartender had said they were coming from outside Alchemy City, so they probably wouldn't arrive until around midnight.

While he waited, Amber Xiu came up with several schemes to rob them, as well as a few ways to haggle.

But the moment the adventuring party appeared, he knew he'd wasted his time.

It was a party of three: a fully armed knight, his head hidden inside a full helmet; a War Priest in chain mail, with a hammer as big as a head hanging from his belt; and a young man dressed as a mage, who looked especially shabby beside the other two.

"Paladins and War Priests from the Lyne Empire?" Amber Xiu said in surprise.

There was no mistaking it. Two of them wore the Rose and Dragon emblem unique to the Lyne Empire, and these weren't ordinary members—they bore the insignia reserved for the Royal Paladin Legion.

In terms of rank, the two were at least viscounts with fiefs of their own.

No wonder they'd been so generous. Compared to ordinary adventurers, these two were powerful, wealthy, and influential.

But what were a Paladin and a Priest from the Lyne Empire doing in Alchemy City? The two sides weren't exactly on good terms. Alchemy City looked down equally on anyone who didn't understand alchemy or magic, while the Lyne Empire looked down equally on all nonhuman races. Like bad people who couldn't stand other bad people, the two nations despised each other over their different standards of discrimination.

The Lyne Empire thought Alchemy City was a heretical nation, with every race under the sun living there. Alchemy City thought the Lyne Empire's people, who were always shouting about Holy Light, evil, and glory as they charged forward to hack at people, were barely any better than barbarians.

They weren't openly hostile, but there had always been plenty of friction between them.

Their arrival was so strange that everyone in the tavern turned to stare as soon as they walked in. Everyone knew the Lyne Empire's ways. There were even a few Lizardfolk and drow elves drinking here. Who knew if the newcomers might suddenly shout, "Holy Light! There's evil ahead worth fighting!"

Amid the tense atmosphere, the shabby-looking Mage beside them stepped forward to smooth things over.

"Hahaha, it's just as lively as ever, even on my second visit. You two go ahead and sit down. I'll order a couple of mugs of fine ale."

Amber Xiu had no idea that the young Mage in front of him had a connection to him. He was Harvey, the Apprentice Mage who had accompanied the Porcupine Knight on a trip around Amber Xiu's territory.

Hearing Harvey say that, everyone finally relaxed a little. If it wasn't their first visit, they probably wouldn't start a fight, right? No one had heard of a bloody diplomatic incident in this tavern last time, so things should be fine.

That said, quite a few patrons still left after dropping their money on the table. Sitting in the same room as Paladins when you had a guilty conscience was pure torture.

The Paladin and the War Priest seemed used to being shunned. They sat down quite naturally in another corner of the tavern.

They were wearing full plate armor, and even chose to sit with their backs to the wall while drinking. No wonder they were well-trained Paladins. They knew exactly what sort of enemies they were dealing with.

Harvey rushed around, and before long, he was sweating profusely.

The Porcupine Knight had gone to considerable effort to win over these two powerful figures from the Lyne Empire. Though he still had no idea why they'd come to Alchemy City, he had at least managed to recommend Harvey as their guide.

When the two suddenly said they wanted to explore the sewers beneath Alchemy City, Harvey had no choice but to run errands for them. Just applying for permission to enter the city had nearly worn him out. Then there was the adventuring permit, and finding teammates.

A Paladin from the Lyne Empire might have had no trouble finding teammates elsewhere.

They were rigid in their ways and prejudiced against other races, but there was no denying their strength. They also wouldn't betray their oaths by harming their teammates, which made them extremely reliable companions.

But this was Alchemy City, where human adventurers made up only a small proportion of the population. On top of that, the two were looking for a Mage skilled in a particular type of magic, making the pool of candidates even smaller.

They'd already found a few Mages, but none of the talks had worked out, and some had ended on bad terms.

The interview fee had gradually risen to one gold coin. Today, they'd received a magical message saying they'd found another potential teammate, so they hurried over.

The Orc bartender enthusiastically introduced Amber Xiu to Harvey.

"Hello, I'm William Harvey, an Apprentice Mage."

Taking the opportunity to greet him, Harvey sized up the black-haired boy, who looked even younger than he was.

Harvey was surprised to find that Amber Xiu's hair, eyes, and facial features didn't match those of humans from any region he knew. He did have the ethereal, handsome look of an Elf, though Harvey couldn't tell what kind of Elf blood he had.

But good looks were useless. Mages relied on intelligence to cast spells. It wasn't like Sorcerers or Warlocks, who made their living off charisma.

"Hello, I'm Tiga Ultraman," Amber Xiu said, using his chat group username.

"Hello, Master Ultraman. I'm sure you know what we're looking for. We need a Mage skilled in Ice Magic..."

Before Harvey could finish, Amber Xiu raised his hand. A sphere of icy energy gathered in his palm.

From the spell's structure, Harvey recognized it as Freeze Ray, a low-level ice cantrip. Casting a cantrip wasn't difficult; even an Apprentice Mage could learn one with enough practice. Harvey was about to question him when the icy energy in Amber Xiu's palm split into two spheres.

"Dual casting? That's a Sorcerer's trick... No, this is pure magical control."

The moment a true expert showed his skill, the difference was clear. Harvey could only admire Amber Xiu. A moment ago, he'd called him Master Ultraman out of politeness. Now, he meant it.

Harvey glanced at the Paladin and nodded, signaling that he approved of Amber Xiu's abilities. Harvey was only responsible for confirming Amber Xiu's skill. Whether they could work together was up to the two people from the Lyne Empire.

"My lords, this is already the fifth candidate. It may be our last chance, so..."

Harvey's reminder was subtle: please don't let things get so bad that you nearly come to blows, like last time. If that happened, they really wouldn't find any teammates.

The Paladin showed no reaction to Harvey's words. In a voice almost devoid of emotion, he said to Amber Xiu, "Master Ultraman, my faith does not allow me to work with evil-doers. I would like to use Detect Evil on you. Do you consent?"

Amber Xiu: ...

There'll be another chapter tonight, which should fulfill my contract requirements. Updates should settle into a regular schedule, no later than ten every evening. I'll post two chapters a day before the book goes on sale, and add extra chapters afterward depending on how things go. Thank you all for your support. I humbly ask for your votes, and I'm deeply grateful.