The Shepherd Alone on the Hill is a Genius Wizard-Chapter 89: I’ve Been Freed! (1)

Restraining a wizard, especially one of noble rank, is truly difficult.

Even if bound in iron chains, they can heat and melt them to escape, and if confined in a room with thick walls, they can create passages through them.

But now Solif was just leaning helplessly against the wall instead of escaping in such ways.

Judging by the magical power flow felt from the chains binding him, that seemed to be the problem.

’For it to be able to restrain a top-tier noble, it must be a treasure nearly equivalent to a holy relic...’

Of course, considering that the nobles gathered here were likely House Baraha’s elite sent to capture Solif, this wasn’t surprising.

What was more puzzling was that they were calmly staying at Deben Island, Cobinus’s last stronghold.

Should he flee now, or stay to learn more details?

After brief consideration, Turan chose the second option.

Unless the situation was urgent, having more information would allow creating more advantageous conditions.

And conveniently, there was someone here who could give him the most appropriate information.

Turan moved slightly away from the prison and implemented wind path, an application of wind magic.

Usually a technique used to silently shoot stones at high speed, but with slight modification it could be used for other purposes.

Namely, creating a path from his mouth to the target’s ear to secretly convey his voice.

[Hey.]

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Startled by the unexpected voice, Solif twisted his body, making chains clank.

The lounging young noble jumped in surprise and turned around, shouting.

"Ah shit, what? I told you you absolutely can’t remove that! Just scaring people..."

His attitude was so dismissive it was hard to believe he was dealing with a major house’s heir.

After silence returned, Turan addressed him again in the same way.

[Sit still there and don’t move your face. I’ll let you speak without making sound.]

After confirming Solif’s silhouette remained rigid and unmoving as if frozen, Turan created a second wind path.

This time a route starting from inside his ear and reaching Solif’s mouth.

[Done. Even whispers will be heard, so speak softly.]

[Who are you?]

[The person who drank with you on the beach recently.]

[...Ah, right, Turan. That was your name. How did you do this? A magical device?]

Having met only once a few days ago, Solif didn’t immediately remember Turan’s voice.

It was also partly because his voice was somewhat distorted through the wind path.

Instead of answering the other’s question, Turan asked in return.

[The nobles here, they’re Baraha’s elite, right?]

[Yes. They were determined to take me back. I fought pretty hard, but they brought loads of restraining magical devices and I couldn’t handle it. Surely you haven’t come to rescue me... probably not.]

[I went to Parayan Island and found this Cobinus fellow kidnapping people and using them as slaves, so I came to kill him, and found this situation.]

[...I just learned today that Cobinus is a disguise identity used by my- House Baraha people. They use a face-changing magical device. Probably the same one my childhood friend used.]

His changing of words from "my" to "House Baraha" felt quite meaningful.

Anyway, as expected, it seemed the Cobinus pirates were a group created by House Baraha to exert influence in the South Sea.

People like Bargos whom he’d killed hours ago were probably local underlings recruited using disguised identities.

[I told you to flee far from your house if possible.]

If Solif had seriously taken Turan’s advice and fled west toward the Siraf Wetlands, he wouldn’t be caught here after just a few days.

He clearly continued exploring various parts of the South Sea afterward.

[Haha, honestly, I didn’t expect them to come after me so quickly. And to mobilize forces of this scale...]

Solif muttered in a bitter tone that he’d expected at most his parents or three or four relatives to come try to persuade him.

After grasping the situation, Turan considered how best to act going forward.

Though he’d already plucked the enemy’s nose hairs by destroying two major Cobinus pirate strongholds, he could still end things moderately since he’d only killed local pirates so far.

But rescuing Solif would be like directly punching House Baraha in the face.

Alone, or even with Solif as an ally - two nobles were too few to face a major house, such an overwhelmingly powerful group.

In comparison, the option to quietly flee from here felt much sweeter.

He wasn’t close enough with Solif to take such risks in the first place, and he hadn’t mentioned information that might provoke the potentially divine beings backing Baraha-

’Ah.’

In the middle of his thoughts, Turan realized he was looking for excuses to back down out of fear.

The reason he’d attacked here was purely because the Cobinus pirates had kidnapped and abused ordinary people.

In that act, he’d recalled the evil noble who abused knights from his mother’s stories, and projected his childhood self who feared bad nobles onto the oppressed people.

Did something change just because the opponent was a major house, one of the most powerful military groups in this world?

Rather, such strong beings oppressing ordinary people was all the more despicable.

Acting wild when thinking the opponent was weak, then tucking tail like a dog upon finding a strong enemy was truly the height of cowardice.

[Solif.]

[What?]

[Want me to save you?]

[I’d obviously like that, but is it possible? From numbers to strength, they’re at a level that could crush a dozen or so decent wizard houses. Plus some have magical devices I was carrying. Though I know you’re skilled, it’ll be difficult.]

Come to think of it, Solif had originally carried several seemingly powerful magical devices befitting Baraha’s heir, but now he was completely unarmed except for the binding chains.

Of course, what reason would they have to let their captive keep such things?

[I have a way. First, if those chains are removed, can you fight again?]

[Though I look fine, I’m quite injured in various places and can’t fight without treatment.]

[Treatment should work then. But promise me two things.]

[What are they? Let’s hear them.]

[First, that besides us two, no noble on this island today will leave alive.]

After Turan’s words, the answer didn’t come immediately.

After a moment, Solif spoke with a somewhat trembling voice.

[...You mean kill them all?]

[Yes.]

[That’s a bit, they’re still my house members-]

Of course, having expected such a response, Turan began explaining in a low voice.

Everything from the Prea god-folk’s memorandum he’d discovered while traveling, to the conclusions he’d drawn from it.