The next morning, when Lin Yuan reached for the cup, he realized that his right arm was more sore than he had expected.
Erza's final few rounds of dual-sword attacks left no obvious injuries, but it felt like he had been repeatedly twisted from his shoulder to his wrist. Mira sat opposite him eating cake, watching him switch to holding his cup with his left hand, and the corners of her mouth slowly turned up.
"Laugh if you want to," Lin Yuan said.
"I just feel that the price of learning to wield a sword is quite high."
"At least it's better than someone Take Over full-body treatment the first time and then crashing through a wall."
Mira's smile vanished instantly.
Lin Yuan finished his milk before she could speak, then turned and headed for the stairs.
Where are you going?
"Second floor."
"They escaped really fast."
The second floor of the guild was much quieter than the main hall. Only a dozen or so quest sheets hung on the entire wall, each marked with a red border indicating its danger level. Compared to the quests on the first floor, such as finding pets, driving away monsters, and escorting caravans, there was less text here, but the accompanying maps and investigation records were much thicker.
Lin Yuan looked over one by one.
Slay the volcanic beast that has taken over the mine, one million J.
Escorting the kingdom's tax convoy, 900,000 J.
An investigation was conducted into three consecutive months of collective sleepwalking in a northern village, totaling 1.2 million J.
The location of the innermost task was not specified.
The commission form depicted a black castle with seven spires, with a reward of 2.8 million J. Below it were six eyewitness accounts, each located hundreds of miles apart.
Lin Yuan took the documents.
The castle first appeared in the wasteland, staying for only two days. The second time it appeared deep in the forest, seven members of a nearby logging team went missing. After that, it appeared on the lake, in the canyon, and in the abandoned mine, each time staying for a shorter period of time.
Most recently, it directly crushed half of an abandoned village.
Investigators estimate that the castle will likely reappear near the Belma Town, which has nearly 3,000 residents and is only four days away from its planned evacuation.
Which one have you chosen?
Makarov had somehow made his way up to the second floor, still holding an unfinished wine glass in his hand.
Lin Yuan raised the information about the castle. "This."
"Reason?"
"It's in mobile space."
"This is just speculation at the moment."
"So we need to confirm."
Makarov took the documents and pulled out the last sheet of paper.
"Two separate mage squads went in. Only one member of the first squad escaped, and he still can't tell which door is the real one. The second squad couldn't find the entrance at all; the castle vanished right before their eyes."
Where is the deceased?
"No deaths have been confirmed yet. Including the first missing lumberjack, there are a total of twenty-three people."
Lin Yuan rolled up the mission sheet. "Then there's still a chance to save them."
Makarov stared at him for a while, but did not stop him. He simply wrote Lin Yuan's name in the mission log.
"Finding the people is more important than destroying the castle. If the situation is beyond our control, retreat immediately."
"Knew."
"Also, the losses incurred during the mission--"
There are no riverbanks or medicinal herb fields nearby this time.
"I'm telling you not to blow up the castle just because there's nothing else around!"
When Lin Yuan came downstairs with the task sheet, Mira was still sitting in the same spot. She saw the red border around the edge and immediately put down her fork.
What mission?
"A moving castle."
Mira stretched out her hand. "Let me see."
She went through all six eyewitness accounts and then carefully read through the missing persons list again.
When do we depart?
"Now."
"Wait for me to get my luggage."
Lin Yuan pressed the task sheet. "The description of this request seems to indicate some danger."
"I can read."
"The doors and rooms inside may change location at any time."
"That's why we need two people. You're in charge of finding the way, and I'll be in charge of smashing away anything that's blocking the way."
She paused for a moment, then added, "And there are twenty-three people inside. Can you carry them all out by yourself while maintaining the road?"
Lin Yuan thought for a moment.
"It can be done in several sessions."
"By the time you finished distributing the goods, the castle was already gone."
Mira snatched the task sheet and turned to retrieve her luggage from behind the counter.
Makarov descended the stairs, glanced at the document, and said, "The companion's information is on the back of the mission. Lin Yuan, sign here."
Mira slammed the task sheet on the table triumphantly.
Did you hear me?
Lin Yuan picked up a pen and added Mira after his own name.
After three train journeys and half a day by horse-drawn carriage, the two arrived at the observation camp outside Belma Town on the evening of the second day.
The space mage sent by the Magic Council was in charge of monitoring the castle. He led the two of them to a wooden platform and pointed to a desolate valley more than ten miles away.
"The residual magical coordinates from last time are still there. Based on the rate of change, it should appear no later than the day after tomorrow."
Lin Yuan closed his eyes and extended his senses in that direction.
There were no buildings in the desolate valley, only the wind blowing through the exposed rocks. But beneath the normal space, a shadow loomed, sometimes near, sometimes far, like some enormous creature slowly moving through a thin veil.
The next instant, the entire desolate valley suddenly sank downwards.
Distances shifted, rocks overlapped, and seven dark spires burst forth from the air without warning. The castle existed for less than ten breaths before fading away again amidst a deafening roar.
Lin Yuan opened his eyes.
Mira had already unfurled half of her demonic wings and leaped down from the high platform.
"Wasn't it supposed to be the day after tomorrow?"
The Magic Council mages turned pale. "It's ahead of schedule!"
Lin Yuan strode across the distance between the high platform and the desolate valley, chasing after the disappearing black city gate.
This castle doesn't just move.
It's moving faster and faster.