Chapter 180: Inspection (2)

I…I was so worried…! Wha…What should we do!? Eich came up with a solution while I was immersed in my thoughts.

「Okay, I’ll use my Earth Magic to reshape our faces as planned…」

「That won’t work against Raven! He can sense even the faintest hint of Earth Magic! 」

「Seriously? I can’t even do that? 」

Eich was surprised by John Dae’s words. Seiya said as he slowly drove his motorcycle forward.

「He’s right. We shouldn’t disguise ourselves or become invisible against an enemy with abilities that specialize in disguise. 」

「But Seiya! Are you going to the checkpoint without doing anything? 」

Seiya approached Colt’s car without answering my question.

「Colt. You said that you and Eich were wanted people, but have they seen your faces? 」

「I don’t think there are any photos of our faces out there yet…Though I’m not sure. 」

Colt answered with a wry smile. However, Bunos was scouting all of us from the sky. There was a chance that those inspectors already knew our faces. Seiya took a deep breath.

「There’s no other way. I have no choice but to use the time-limited magic right away. 」

「What?! Are you going to use the time-limited magic here?! 」

Seiya said it was like a time bomb. I see, what he got from the training with Polun was the ability to “delay the activation of skills”, though I didn’t know its purpose for this specific situation. Seiya pointed to the checkpoint.

「John Dae chose this checkpoint, which is not a bad thing in itself. Look. They’re simplifying the inspection so that many people can pass through. 」

A white line was drawn just before the checkpoint, dividing the road into two. Two young officers were inspecting the white line at the end of each road. Raven was in the middle, watching over them as if to observe their moves.

「They’re inspecting two places at the same time. So, while they’re inspecting, I’ll use the time-limited magic to ignite the luggage of the person being inspected next to us. Raven’s attention will be drawn to that chaos. 」

Eich slapped her knee at Seiya’s words.

「If that happens, our inspection will be overlooked! We can just sneak through the checkpoint while they’re dealing with that! 」

「Yeah. It’s not a bad plan. 」

Colt agreed with Seiya’s plan…

「What…! I feel sorry for the person who will suffer for our sake…! 」

It would be tragic to set the luggage of another person on fire. It might be even treated like a criminal because of it. However, Eich scolded me.

「What are you talking about? We’re not going to hurt someone! We’re just going to make their belongings a little dirty! 」

「Yo…You’re right. It can’t be helped in this situation. 」

John Dae ignored my hesitation and told Seiya.

「That’s not the problem…Hey, hero. You said it was a time-limited magic, but can we really trust it? What if Raven could even sense its activation? 」

「The time-limited magic can eliminate 99% of the signs of magical power activation. It’s nearly impossible to sense it. 」

Seiya answered John Dae’s question confidently. John Dae was also getting to know Seiya’s personality. When the cautious Seiya declared that it was “nearly impossible to sense it”, John Dae seemed convinced.

「Okay. Let’s bet on that. 」

The plan was decided. After telling me to push the motorcycle forward, Seiya approached the car in front of us with a natural gesture, as if he was checking the traffic jam. Seiya lightly tapped his right hand on the surface of the light truck-like car. Then, he returned back.

「It’s been set. The surface of that car will burst into flames in five minutes. 」

「Wow, that’s amazing. So it’s already been set… 」

It all happened in an instant. Anyone who didn’t already know that Seiya was about to activate the time-limited magic would never have noticed.

Moreover, Seiya’s prediction that it would be in five minutes was accurate. Our group and the light truck in front of us were moving in the right and left lanes at almost the same time. Seiya had been watching the checkpoint the whole time, and he might’ve been estimating the approximate time it would take for each car.

Seiya and John Dae’s motorcycles stood at the front at a slow pace followed by Colt’s car.

…Ugh…I was so nervous…!

「Uhhhh. 」

I heard a voice and suddenly looked at Celseus on the other side of the motorcycle. I thought Celseus was also panicking, but he was talking in his sleep, “Lady Adenela. The multi-attack sword is no good after all.” This guy was in such a critical situation…!

「Seiya. Should I wake him up? 」

「Leave him alone. Stand Alone won’t be a problem even if he’s asleep. 」

Seiya’s words felt like Celseus had only value as a shield. I left Celseus alone.

And finally, Seiya’s motorcycle stopped at the checkpoint…And that’s when it happened.

「Wait! 」

Raven, who had been quietly watching the checkpoint, suddenly raised his voice and glared at Seiya! John Dae hurriedly went forward.

「I am John Dae, a Tarmine diplomat. These people are my attendants. 」

And so John Dae showed his diplomatic pass. Raven took the pass instead of the young officer. My heart was pounding. Could it be that he saw through Seiya’s time-limited magic?! Did he sense the faintest trace of magic!?

Seiya whispered in my ear with a serious look on his face.

「He has incredible perception. I’ll cancel the activation of time-limited magic. We will enter combat if necessary. 」

I swallowed my saliva and nodded. My body was trembling.

…I couldn’t believe that Raven was able to see through the time-limited magic that Seiya was so confident about!

Raven handed the pass back to John Dae.

「The pass is real. You are definitely a special envoy of Tarmine. The issue is…」

Then, Raven glared at Seiya once more.

「Hey, you! 」

Raven approached Seiya’s motorcycle as soon as he said that!

Seiya got off his motorcycle and faced Raven. I also got off from the sidecar and prepared for battle. John Dae, Colt and the others were looking at Seiya and Raven with tense expressions on their faces.

Raven shouted out loud.

「I was watching you!! You…made a hand signal to stop!! 」

…!! What!?

My mouth dropped open. Raven asked Seiya.

「Do you always use hand signals to stop your vehicle? 」

「Of course. I also use hand signals when I change directions. 」

Seiya answered immediately. Raven grinned.

「Ahahah…I can’t believe someone uses hand signals in Exfolia, where the traffic laws are so chaotic! What great traffic manners you have! 」

A young officer spoke to Raven timidly, holding a straw paper in his hand.

「Superior Raven. Sorry to bother you, but here is the latest list of suspicious people sent to me by the Principality of Galvano…」

But Raven waved his hand away.

「No need for that! A driver who follows road manners like this can’t be a bad guy! 」

「Ah, yes. Well…he’s accompanying a Tarmine diplomat after all…」

Inspector Raven called out to us with a grin on his face.

「You may pass through! 」

…Thanks to Seiya’s road manners, we were able to pass through the checkpoint without any incidents.

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Seiya is, well…Seiya, ahahah 😀

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