Chapter 101: A Familiar Scent
"A subjugation mission? Wait just a moment!"
The guard immediately rushed into the palace to report their arrival.
Dino hadn't bothered asking about the mission details during their journey to the capital, because in his opinion, all missions were pretty much the same.
Yesterday, he'd come to Crocus with Erza. He'd assumed it was a request issued by some noble. After all, S-Class missions didn't come with small rewards.
"Wait… this mission was issued by the King himself?"
Erza nodded. "That's right. It's an S-Class subjugation mission issued directly by the King of Fiore."
Dino raised an eyebrow. "The ruler of an entire kingdom doesn't have people to handle this himself? Why issue a request to a guild?"
"I'm not entirely sure, but it seems they've encountered trouble beyond their capabilities. Most powerful mages belong to guilds anyway," Erza explained. "The King and his ministers occasionally issue requests to guilds to minimize losses and maximize efficiency."
At that moment, the guard came running back. "His Majesty invites you both to enter! Please, follow me!"
Dino and Erza followed the guard toward the palace.
In the seven years since he'd arrived in this world, Dino had only visited Crocus a handful of times, and never the palace itself. He looked around with casual interest.
The palace was impressive—guards in chainmail armor stood at attention everywhere, weapons at the ready.
As Dino and Erza passed by, every guard's eyes locked onto them, ready to spring into action at the slightest suspicious movement.
After walking through several corridors, they arrived at the main throne room.
Looking up, Dino spotted a short, rotund man sitting on the throne. Beside him stood a young girl with striking emerald-green hair, watching them with obvious curiosity.
An elderly man who appeared to be a minister stood nearby, along with a middle-aged man in gleaming silver armor.
"Just tell us the location and target," Dino said bluntly. "We'll handle the rest."
"How dare you! You stand before His Majesty the King and Her Highness Princess Hisui without showing proper respect! Kneel at once!"
The silver-armored man—clearly some kind of captain—immediately barked at them, his face reddening with indignation.
Dino's eyes narrowed slightly. Nobody in this world was going to make him kneel.
"Hmph."
RUMBLE.
The entire palace trembled slightly, just enough to rattle the chandeliers overhead.
"W-What?! An earthquake?!"
The silver-armored man rushed to the King and Princess. "Protect His Majesty and Her Highness immediately!"
The guards sprang into formation, surrounding the royals and scanning the room for threats.
Dino smirked slightly at the reaction. The armored man's eyes widened with sudden realization, and he pointed an accusatory finger at them. "Seize these two! They must be assassins!"
"Stop this at once, Arcadios!" The King's voice cut through the chaos. "Not unless you want the entire capital reduced to rubble because of your foolishness."
"Y-Your Majesty?! What are you saying?" Arcadios stammered, clearly shocked.
The King ignored his captain, instead rising from his throne and taking his daughter's hand as he approached Dino and Erza. "I am Thomas E. Fiore, King of Fiore Kingdom, and this is my daughter, Hisui E. Fiore. Welcome to the royal palace."
"You know who we are?"
King Thomas smiled warmly. "Of course. Dino Maxim, one of the Ten Wizard Saints of Ishgar. Having multiple Wizard Saints residing in Fiore is both a pride and an honor for our kingdom."
"And Miss Erza Scarlet, the 'Titania' of Fairy Tail, is equally renowned throughout the land."
"I must say, I feel much more confident about this mission now that you've both accepted it."
"Save the flattery," Dino replied. "Just tell us about the mission so we can get it done and go home."
The King nodded at Dino's directness, then gestured toward the armored man. "This is Arcadios, Captain of the Holy Knights. He's been investigating this matter personally and knows the details. Arcadios, please brief them on the situation."
Arcadios clearly disliked both Dino and Erza—these guild mages were all far too arrogant for his taste, showing no proper respect to His Majesty. And this so-called "Wizard Saint" was just some kid! How powerful could he really be?
Still, orders were orders. He began his report.
"A month ago, a disturbing phenomenon occurred in the Kadir Mountains east of the capital. A strange black magical energy appeared and began corrupting a large section of forest."
"The areas affected by this magic became twisted and sinister. The creatures living there developed strange markings on their bodies and underwent severe mutations."
"They became extremely violent and hostile. We sent soldiers multiple times to investigate and clear the area, but every attempt failed. Worse, soldiers who spent too long in the corrupted forest began losing their minds."
"They could only be restored to normal after leaving the area and being purified with holy water."
"Initially, we considered simply abandoning that region, but recently we've discovered the corrupted magic is spreading outward. At this rate, it could reach the capital within a few months."
"When that happens, we'll either have to evacuate Crocus entirely, or watch as everyone in the capital descends into madness. That's why His Majesty issued the request to the guilds."
Erza frowned. "That sounds more like a purification or investigation mission. Why classify it as a subjugation request?"
"Originally, that was our intention. However, recently multiple witnesses reported seeing the shadow of an enormous creature lurking in the corrupted zone."
"We believe this monster is the source of the corruption. Therefore, we issued a subjugation request."
"Eliminating the creature should resolve the entire crisis."
Dino had gone quiet, his expression thoughtful. Erza noticed immediately. "Dino? Did you think of something?"
He nodded slowly. "Yeah. This whole thing… it's got a familiar scent to it."
King Thomas leaned forward eagerly. "Dino Maxim, if you can resolve this crisis, name your price. We'll pay whatever it takes."
"Though if my hunch is correct," Dino continued, his tone serious, "the reward you're offering probably won't be nearly enough."
"I've dealt with something similar before. That one was classified as a Ten-Year Quest. Though honestly, if I hadn't stopped it when I did, it could've easily escalated to a Hundred-Year Quest."