The towering pillar of fire lasted for over 20 seconds before slowly dissipating, and during this time, we had reached a point where we could see the kidnappers' convoy.

...

To be precise, it should be a convoy of mercenaries or a criminal gang using the name of a mercenary group, because at this point, we could already see their mercenary flag burning fiercely.

Yes, it wasn't just the flag, the entire convoy was on fire. Meanwhile, curses and shouts were coming from within the burning convoy.

"Didn't I tell you to keep an eye on that fire mage? What were you doing?"

"I already confiscated her staff, but I don't know why she can still use magic..."

"You fool! There's something called a magic insignia now! What's the use of confiscating just the staff?"

Hmm... it seems like Blue Moon's business is doing quite well...

I sighed bitterly and took a look around at the overall situation.

There were four people with green names inside a non-burning carriage, who appeared to be the kidnapped individuals.

Seven people with yellow names were hurriedly trying to put out the fire on the carriage. However, I didn't think it would make much difference since the horses that were originally pulling the carriage were nowhere to be seen, most likely scared away.

"Oh, Fir, Aliyah, and this unknown elf, long time no see."

Like a ghost, Fran appeared from the nearby woods, silently emerging from behind a tree.

Isn't this quite scary? Just look at Aliyah, who nearly drew her sword, not to mention Chilia who had already drawn her bow to full draw.

"Really, this is not cool at all. Your signal intensity is a bit too high, I don't think you needed to be 'caught' at all."

"Well, there's a free carriage, why not take it?"

No doubt, Fran's scattered thinking is quite strong. I looked at her with admiration.

"But what should we do now? Should we go up and rescue them?"

"Well, it depends on what you want to do, Fir~"

Fran said with a mischievous smile.

"After all, they are very famous people in the Witte Empire. If we rescue them, there will definitely be benefits~"

"Fran, you really understand me."

"Oh, not at all~"

"When will you two stop fooling around."

Finally unable to bear it any longer, Aliyah spoke up.

"If you don't hurry, the other carriages will catch fire too."

"Okay, okay, Chilia, you stay in the bushes. If you see anyone trying to escape, shoot them in the foot and don't let them get away. But don't kill them, understood? We are very civilized people."

"Yes!"

Chilia nodded, then leapt lightly onto a tree branch.

Wow, that jumping ability is really impressive. I'm so jealous, even though I can fly.

"Now it's our turn, Aliyah. I think you prefer beating people, right? Leave the mercenaries to you."

"Understood~"

Aliyah immediately agreed and transformed into a red blur as she rushed out.

"And Fran, you..."

"I'm lazy~ Please don't give me any tasks."

"Alright, you can just watch. I'm going in too~"

In an instant, I changed into a noble wizard's robe borrowed from a shop, then accelerated and rushed towards the burning convoy.

But by the time I arrived, all the mercenaries had already been beaten down by Aliyah, lying on the ground in agony.

That's perfect, so as not to dirty my clothes. Even though it was borrowed, it's mine now.

"Frozen soil is restraining!"

A simple ice magic enveloped the burning carriage, and soon the flames extinguished.

Although not as direct as water magic, this kind of natural flame cannot burn if it doesn't reach its ignition point because the magic flames that originally ignited them are now ineffective.

I strolled to the front of the carriage and elegantly froze the lock on the carriage with my wand, then gently tapped it to break the lock.

The door of the carriage slowly opened, revealing two young nobles dressed in glamorous clothing and an elderly noble couple.

While the attire of the elderly couple was not as extravagant as the young ones, it was obvious that their status was higher.

"It's a great honor to meet you. I believe this is our first meeting, Your Grace Duke Mordranns Field Marshall."

Yes, it wasn't until I saw their titles just now that I noticed how beneficial these four people were to our upcoming work.

The Field Marshall family, one of the four major families of the Witte Empire, is in charge of the empire's magical research institution and magic brigade.

But it's ridiculous that they have been kidnapped by some mercenaries who looked like they were at level 20 or 30, two of whom were just ordinary water mages. This would be quite embarrassing if it got out.

But it's understandable, considering the attire of those two water mages, it seems they were previously playing the role of guards within the Field Marshall family.

What a failure~

"You...who are you...?"

Duke Mordranns asked with some trepidation.

"Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. I am National Mage Fir Lin from the Ais Empire, just passing by on a trip."

"Oh... I see."

He looked at the situation outside and his complexion slightly recovered.

"Thank you very much for saving us. These bandits are too much. They sneakily assassinated our guards and then kidnapped us. If you hadn't passed by, our lives would have been in danger. By the way, there was another young lady mage who was also captured, and you..."

"She is also my companion."

I smiled and turned around, just in time to see Fran and the others walking towards us from a distance.

"You have already saved her. And this is Aliyah, my companion."

I introduced Aliyah, who had just finished tying up the bandits, to them.

"Oh."

But it seemed that they didn't show much interest in Aliyah. I thought about it and suddenly realized why.

Aliyah was still dressed as a mercenary, so their grandpa didn't warm up to her.

Really, these aristocrats just can't talk properly. Fortunately, I pretended to be someone impressive before coming, or else they would have looked down on me, too, right?

When the time comes, maybe I should just turn the tables and kidnap them instead. It's always satisfying to teach these narrow-minded people a lesson.

However, seeing our involved party Aliyah happily searching through the kidnappers' belongings, I decided to let it go.

"Your Grace Duke, what are your plans now?"

Although I asked this, I could already see the guards responsible for patrolling rushing towards us. I don't know which country they are from, but it shouldn't be a problem, right?

What I mean is, borrowing a horse-drawn carriage or something.