Chapter 26: Growth (1) |
TL/ED – Miso
“…”
I stared blankly at the corridor where only bloodstains remained, then dropped my head onto the damp floor.
At the same time, as the tension released, something surged up from my stomach.
“Keuk, cough…”
What I spat out was thick blood. From what I remember, spitting blood means there’s damage to internal organs, and people don’t live long in that state.
I can only hope that information was wrong.
I tried to put strength into my right leg to get out of this fucked-up place, but the trembling was so severe I gave up.
Even just that slight movement drained the last of my energy. It’s better to wait for rescue than to move and end up wrecking my body.
I let out a sigh as I stared at the empty space where Parse had been.
What was it called, Crimson Circle?
From now on, I would have to avoid them no matter what, under any circumstances.
The reason was simple.
‘What the fuck even is “Three Evils”…?’
So, going over what Parse said.
From the perspective of those heretics who committed the unprecedented act of kidnapping all those noble children at once, I must’ve looked like a rare mob that would bloom their lives the moment they caught me.
*
“Dersia nim! Please, lend us your strength!”
“…”
Central Library of the Capital.
Dersia looked down at the knights who had slammed their heads on the floor and let out a shallow sigh. She thought it was another bothersome headache coming her way.
First, she brought one hand to her lips and closed one eye, signaling the knights to quiet down.
“It’s etiquette to be quiet in the library.”
“Ah, yes…”
Knights, by nature, do not easily lower their heads, even to nobles.
It’s because of their pride as knights. Though it’s a long-forgotten tale by now, knights were originally created to kill wizards.
But before Dersia,
Such pride meant nothing.
Like mice before a cat, the only thing permitted was to lower their heads and beg.
Slide- As Dersia placed the book she had been reading onto the table, it disappeared as if it had never existed.
It was ultra-high-level magic belonging to the realm of the incomprehensible. The knight, watching it, broke into a cold sweat.
‘…Is there even a single magic in the world that this ancient monster can’t use…?’
An Elf who studies magic. A destructive combination you’d only find in old fantasy novels.
Dersia, master of such omniscient magic, crossed her legs and muttered as she looked down at the knights.
“So, what is the matter?”
“Children of noble families have been kidnapped.”
“Whom, specifically, are you referring to?”
“…The number exceeds forty, so many that we cannot list them all!”
“Hmm.”
An event that would have shocked even the average noble, yet Dersia simply accepted it as fact and exhaled through her nose.
“I’ll hear what it is you wish of me.”
“We are currently conducting a search, but have run into a dead end. A perception-distorting magic has been deployed, making it impossible to determine their location…”
“I understand. Let’s go.”
Dersia rose from her seat without resistance and headed toward the main entrance.
Watching this, the knight blinked in surprise and asked again, slightly dazed.
“…Y-yes?”
“You don’t seem to be in that much of a hurry, seeing as you have time to repeat yourself.”
“Ah, no! That’s not it. Yes, truly, thank you very much!”
That was Dersia.
Even when the Black Magic Tower to which she belonged was under attack, she ignored it just because she was too lazy to leave her room. A truly insane magic fanatic…
No one expected such an ancient monster to grant her assistance so easily. The knights hurriedly rose before she could change her mind and prepared at once.
“We will be sure to repay you for your help!”
“Not necessary.”
Dersia half-ignored the knight’s words and thought to herself.
She didn’t give a damn what happened to the Elders of the Black Magic Tower, but the children were worth sparing time for.
Not out of goodwill in particular… but because she wanted to see for herself.
‘Just how different could he be?’
She thought of Jern.
She wanted to know how much difference there was between an average wizard child and Jern.
However, that wish would not come true.
“C-Commander!”
“What is it? I was just about to receive aid and…”
A messenger came running in a panic just outside the library, panting as he began to speak.
“All of the noble children have been rescued!”
“?”
“…Well, that’s good. It seems my job has disappeared, so I’ll be going now.”
“W-wait a moment, please. Is that true?”
“Yes! Out of the 29 who were kidnapped, we rescued 30!”
Just as Dersia was returning to the library, hiding a slight sense of disappointment, a strange statement reached her ears.
The Knight Commander also furrowed his brow and asked again.
“What are you talking about? You rescued 30 out of 29?”
“That-, He is still in the underground prison where the children were confined. He is the one who protected them. However, we haven’t been able to confirm which family he belong to.”
“Then could it be a different child, not one of the kidnapped?”
“No. The other children who were confined together testified that he is definitely a noble and saved them. His clothes were like that, and there were also stories that he used magic. Right now, at the earnest request of one of the children…”
“–May I ask a question?”
Dersia interrupted the messenger mid-sentence.
It was because her instinct as a wizard had detected a disturbing sense of certainty.
“By any chance, does the child have black hair and black eyes?”
“Yes! How did you know?”
“Hmm…”
Dersia smiled slightly.
…Faster. Much faster than she expected.
As the Knight Commander looked at her smile, he seemed to realize something and quickly shut his mouth.
“…Uses magic… granted help easily… Ah! I see now! Dersia nim!”
“?”
“I didn’t expect you to have a child!”
“…….”
“Ahaha, so Elves can breed with humans after all! I wasn’t aware due to my limited knowledge. Ah, I have a daughter too, you see…”
The other knights, realizing the Knight Commander had chosen a swift path to suicide, quietly backed away.
…Dersia spent the next thirty minutes suppressing the murderous intent boiling in her chest.
*
An unfamiliar ceiling.
Though someone I know was sitting on top of my stomach.
“Ah, young miss. That will slow the healing process.”
“It’s fine! I’m not putting weight on his belly.”
“…”
She was right.
Elysia, kneeling on both sides of my stomach, was examining my face closely, though there was nothing much to see.
I slowly opened my eyes and made eye contact with Elysia.
“Kyaaah…!”
Thump- Elysia fell backward in surprise and quickly hid behind the maid standing nearby.
The bed was soft. I raised my upper body and checked the bandages wrapped around me.
“It seems I passed out.”
“Y-yeah.”
Elysia poked her head out from behind the maid and answered.
“They wouldn’t let us see, but I heard the wounds were really bad. Still, they treated you really hard, so you should be okay now.”
I tried moving my arms and legs. There was still some pain left, but it didn’t seem like there would be any lasting damage.
“Thank you. I received your help.”
“D-don’t thank me!”
Elysia shouted and grabbed both my hands. They were soft.
“We’re the ones who should be thankful. My father said that if it weren’t for you, we would’ve been in serious trouble. It’s all thanks to you.”
“Saying ‘I didn’t do much’ would be too much false modesty, I suppose.”
Even humility has its limits. To be honest, I saved nearly all the noble kids by myself.
Elysia hugged me, her eyes glistening with tears.
“That’s right. Thank you so much. If we hadn’t asked you for help, who knows what might have happened…”
“…”
Not knowing what to do in a situation like this, I just held my hands up.
“Ahem!”
A cough came from the direction of the door.
A middle-aged man with a sharp impression stepped in and looked at Elysia hugging me, trying hard to draw attention.
“Ah, Family Head…”
“Dad!”
The maid bowed deeply, and Elysia ran to him with a bright expression.
I, too, regardless of the pain, bowed my head immediately.
If someone is called the family head, that’s the proper reaction. Even if you’re on the brink of death.
“Nice to meet you, Family Head. I’m Jern.”
“I’m Alletus. I’ve heard the details from my daughter. A commoner, a janitor, is that right?”
“Yes. And an orphan.”
“…”
I had nothing to bow my head for, so I met Alletus’s blue eyes directly.
I had no intention of hiding. I couldn’t even if I wanted to.
“…I truly thank you.”
But, Alletus, who approached, bowed his head deeply to me at a full 90-degree angle.
It was such an unexpected situation that I was taken aback. For the head of a noble family to bow to me, a commoner, a janitor, and an orphan.
“I understand your sentiment, but this is too much. Please, raise your head.”
However, Alletus didn’t lift his head for quite a while.
“No matter how many times I thank you, it won’t be enough. You saved my only remaining daughter…”
“…Um. I’d like to ask about the aftermath. Is everyone else safe?”
“Yes. Thanks to your sacrifice, they are.”
I quickly changed the subject. If this continued, I felt like my stomach would burst open.
“When we found you, you were in tatters in the underground prison. What happened?”
“The one who kidnapped me and the noble children was a group called Crimson Circle, and among them, someone named Parse. Though rather than being a part of Crimson Circle, he seemed more like a hired hand…”
I paused for a moment, choosing my words.
“When I told him I had let everyone escape, he vented his anger on me and ran away. He seemed quite angry that the plan had failed.”
Even if I said I beat that monster one-on-one, they’d probably think I was bluffing or be suspicious.
This was the right way to handle it. Alletus’s face crumpled even more.
“I see… You really did something incredible. I’m just glad you survived.”
“Have you been able to learn anything else about them?”
“…Yes. Since you’re involved, you have the right to know.”
Alletus adopted a much more serious expression and began to explain.
“They’re a group of lunatics.”
“That much I know for sure.”
“Did you know they’ve been around for thousands of years?”
“…No.”
“It sounds like something out of a fairy tale now… But back when all wizards were purely natural, they pushed some absurd logic, claiming that in order to reach the Celestial Realm, one must first fall. They tortured and murdered every wizard they could find, repeating the process to increase their numbers. Naturally, they were wiped out and forgotten…”
Alletus sighed in disbelief.
“But recently, they’ve suddenly resurfaced in the underworld, then committed something like this. Whether they’re the same group or just another bunch of lunatics borrowing the name, I don’t know…”
“But they do have power.”
“Exactly.”
Those mummies, and Parse himself, too.
They were strong. If it hadn’t been for an irregular like me, most of the children really would’ve been tortured.
And they were actively searching for unfortunate people like me. If I’m discovered, it won’t just end with an “Oh, so that’s how it is~.”
It’s hard enough surviving in the Deep Sea, but this… I couldn’t help but sigh.
Well, at least there’s something I can rely on.
“You’re not going to let them go, are you?”
“Of course not.”
Alletus ground his teeth and declared.
“Every noble is devoting their full power to track them down. No matter where they’re hiding in the world, within a month, we’ll find their leader and execute them in the most unimaginably painful way possible…!”
That’s the power of angry nobles.
I don’t know exactly what kind of group Crimson Circle is, but kidnapping a large number of noble children won’t be something that gets brushed off.
In my opinion, it won’t even take a month. I just have to make sure I don’t get caught before then.
After burning with anger for a moment, Alletus’s gaze softened warmly again as he knelt down to meet my eye level.
“So- Jern, I must give you a proper reward.”
“A reward?”
“That’s right. For saving my daughter, and the other children as well… If I end it with just words, the whole world would mock us. I can give you a carriage full of gold, or find you parents who will adopt and raise you. Ah, I heard you eavesdrop on magic classes.”
“…”
I glared at Elysia. So you told him that, too?
“Ha ha, don’t worry too much. If you wish, I can even let you take as many Academy classes as you like. No, if you want, I can give you all of this. The other nobles don’t know your identity yet, so if you hide it well-”
I stared at Alletus, who looked like he was truly willing to give me anything, and fell into thought.
First, the free access to Academy lectures.
That’s a bit tempting. But if I become Dersia’s disciple, that won’t be much of an advantage.
Money, also not very appealing. Being able to buy all the magic books I want is nice, but again, that would come naturally as Dersia’s disciple.
Parents. Better off without.
“Hmm…”
After pondering for a bit, I finally realized what, among all that Alletus could offer, would be of the most value to me.
“There is something I want… Would it be alright if I spoke honestly?”
“Is that so? Speak. I shall give you whatever it is.”
In front of the smiling Alletus, I raised my finger and pointed in one direction.
There stood Elysia, wearing a dazed expression.
“Then, please give me your daughter.”
“?”
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