Chapter 86

“Got you.”

“Ugh…”

Adele’s hand slammed the archer’s head into the ground. All the other vigilantes had already fled.

“…Kill me. What are you waiting for?” the archer spat out.

Adele looked back at the approaching guards.

“Hmm… in my heart, I want to kill you right this second. But if I did that, I think he would hate it.”

Adele leaned in and whispered into the archer’s ear.

“It seems he places a lot of importance on ‘talent.’ I think I’ll offer you to him as a trophy. Maybe then his grief over losing Mr. Izack will fade a little.”

“…”

“Are you ready to work for him?”

“Can you guarantee that what you’re saying is the truth?”

“Of course.”

“Enough to bet your life on it?”

“Enough to bet my life on it.”

“…”

Lucille fell back into thought. It made sense; this would be an unbelievable story for a mage. The idea that one could use a complex magical system simply by carving a magic circle onto the crystallized parts of the body and learning a few basic incantations was unheard of.

‘Even I wondered at first if such a ridiculous cheat technique could actually exist.’

“However, using magic this way comes with risks. The mana concentration remaining in the body increases.”

“Mana concentration,” she repeated.

I nodded. “Once the mana concentration rises above a certain level, the body crystallizes. Which part begins to crystallize is purely a matter of luck.”

“If it hits a vital area…”

“You could die. There is no guarantee that the crystallized body part will function properly.”

At this point, I wanted to bring up Vittorio’s case as an example. But did Lucille know about Vittorio’s infection? I decided to keep my mouth shut for now.

“Anyway, there are risks to using magic this way. That’s why Commander Vittorio sent you to me—to have you teach me the standard way to use magic.”

“I see.”

Having said that, Lucille suddenly began looking around the room.

“What are you looking for?” I asked.

“An awl.”

“Pardon?”

“Carve the magic circle onto my body. I want to test the method you mentioned.”

I was appalled. “Did you really understand what I just said?! I told you, you could die!”

“It’s fine.”

She looked up at me blankly, as if it were truly nothing. Was this just how things were in medieval fantasy? It felt like our perceptions of reality were a bit different. Why are there so many people here who aren’t afraid of death?

But I couldn’t simply ignore the possibility standing before me. If she helped, I might truly be able to save Izack. I swallowed hard.

“Are you really… okay with this?”

“Yes.”

I turned away from her and walked toward Beatrice’s desk. There, I picked up the ice pick stained with my own sweat.

“It’s going to hurt,” I warned her.

“Yes.”

She simply repeated the same answer. She was breathlessly blunt. She seemed truly determined not to hesitate. Without a word, she pulled back her hood and bared the back of her neck.

There, the marks of the plague I had become so familiar with appeared. Her crystallization symptoms spread from her left cheek down to her nape, and from her nape to her shoulder.

“Draw it.”

She sat with her back to me and gathered her hair, draping it over her shoulder.

“Because of the location… I can’t do it myself.”

I approached her holding the awl and the diagram of the magic circle. Even as I began carving into Lucille, I was still uncertain. Was it really okay to let her pay this price? Even the pain I was inflicting on her with this tool felt like a heavy burden on my soul.

Yet, she endured the agony in silence. She only let out an occasional sound of discomfort; she didn’t writhe or scream in pain as I had. If anything, it felt like I, the carver, was more tense than she, the one being carved.

“Wait, let’s… let’s take a break.”

“…Keep going.”

Though she said that, her voice betrayed her struggle.

‘You aren’t a superhuman either, I see.’

For some reason, I felt relieved.

“I’m the one struggling. My arm is losing strength, and it’ll be a disaster if I carve it wrong.”

It’s not like I could fill it back in if I made a mistake. Once I put it that way, Lucille didn’t insist. We sat side by side for a moment, catching our breath.

“But why are you trying to help me?”

When I asked, she turned her head slightly to glance at me.

“Why?”

“I’m just curious. This is dangerous. I can’t just accept your help without knowing the reason.”

After a period of silence, she spoke.

“The price.”

“The price?”

“The price for learning magic.”

“This can’t even be called proper magic. There’s no reason to offer your life…”

“There is,” she cut me off. “This magic is the achievement your mother spent her whole life building. It’s a realm no one else has reached. To receive such a thing, one must pay a value of equal weight. That is the rule among mages.”

“But… this isn’t even magic I created. I don’t want to be the kind of shameless person who uses my mother’s achievements to take the life of someone I don’t even know.”

Lucille stared at me as I said those words.

“You’re quite strange.”

“Strange…?”

“If someone offers help, you should just stay quiet and accept it. You talk too much.”

I’m aware of that flaw myself, so I couldn’t really argue.

“In any case, it’s not like I’m sacrificing myself for you. I’m learning this magic for Vittorio, and I’m simply cooperating with you to pay that price.”

“For Commander Vittorio?”

Lucille didn’t answer, simply baring the back of her neck to me again.

I decided not to pry any further. Izack’s life was still flickering out.

The work was relatively smooth. Since I wasn’t carving into my own body, being able to use both hands made a world of difference. Immediately after connecting the final circle, I exhaled a shallow breath.

“Whew…”

Lucille let down her hair and pulled her hood tight once more.

“…Is it finished?”

“It’s done. Now, you should be able to use the [Mana Phase Transition] magic simply by reciting a basic incantation.”

She stood up.

“Then what are you waiting for? Go and treat your comrade.”

Izack’s condition had deteriorated visibly. The doctors were in the middle of preparing for surgery. Even at that moment, I was conflicted.

Was it better to leave the treatment to them?

“…When you perform the surgery, what is the probability that Mr. Izack survives? What do you think?”

In truth, it was a meaningless question. Even if I knew the probability, what would I do about it? I didn’t even know the success rate of the procedure Lucille and I were about to attempt.

However, the earnest doctors answered my foolish question.

“To be honest… it is less than 10%.”

It wasn’t a surprising number. Even in modern times, it would have been a difficult operation. In this world, in this era, the concept of blood transfusion didn’t even exist. There was no way to even know what a blood type was.

‘If at least Ronari, his family, were here, we could have tried a transfusion…’

It’s my responsibility. I should have foreseen this situation. Since I didn’t… I am the only one who can solve this.

I looked at Lucille.

“Let’s do it.”

Then, I made my request to the doctors.

“Lucille and I will handle the treatment. Please, just assist with the removal of the arrow.”

“But Young Master… how could you possibly…”

“Have you forgotten already? I am a mage.”

I flashed a grin at the doctors. I only hoped that, to them, that smile didn’t look pathetic. I tightly gripped the mana crystal I had brought from Beatrice’s room.

“Adele.”

“Did you miss me?”

“…”

Instead of answering, I looked past her at the woman she had brought along.

“And she is?”

“A trophy. I brought her back specifically for you.”

A trophy, brought back… was she a prisoner of war? Just then, Adele spoke as if she had read my mind.

“She is a prisoner. She’s the one who sniped at you. She also killed several members of the search party. I think it would be good to take some time together now to find out her true identity.”

“…”

‘That woman is the archer?’

“…First, take your foot off her. I don’t treat people like prisoners.”

“But she tried to kill you.”

And Izack truly almost died. I couldn’t exactly have warm feelings toward the sniper. But…

“I’m asking you nicely.”

“Well, if you’re asking nicely.”

Adele obediently stepped back. I asked the archer woman:

“What is your name?”

But the woman, kneeling, only looked up at me and said nothing.

‘I see she’s the taciturn type as well.’

I had no desire to treat her harshly for the sake of it. Izack’s treatment had ended successfully. Neither Lucille nor I, who performed the procedure, showed any abnormalities. In normal times, I would have simply locked this person up, celebrated our good fortune, and returned to my original duties…

I pressed the woman for an answer.

“I heard you are a fixer serving the influential figures of the lower district. Why do you follow them?”

“…”

“Because of you, many people were injured or died. Do you have any idea how grave a sin that is?”

“…”

I uttered the words as a matter of formality, even if my heart wasn’t in them, and as expected, only an icy silence returned.

Right. I’m not a judge, and I’m not the police. Is this really the time to be doing something this stupid?

“Adele.”

“Say the word. Shall I roast her? Or boil her?”

It was a gruesome way of speaking, but for once, I didn’t mind it. I had just come face-to-face with the violence of the lower district, and it was a very real threat that had taken lives. Perhaps it was time for me to use hardline measures as well.

‘But not yet.’

I spoke to the Gate Captain.

“Interrogate this person within limits that aren’t too cruel. We must extract information—whether it’s about the influential figures of the lower district or about Malik.”

I rose from the throne. As I passed them, I placed a hand on Adele’s shoulder.

“Thank you for coming back safely.”

And then I left them behind. Avenger followed me. We headed toward the main palace gates. It had been four full days since my return, and in that time, the castle had been flooded with petitions. Citizens who had come to appeal directly after hearing of my return stood in several rows.

“Young Master! It’s the youngest Young Master!”

“Oh! Young Master…!”

I bowed my head toward them. As I did, I steeled my resolve. It was obvious that there would be a deluge of requests to close the gates.

However, the situation was different from my expectations.

“Young Master! Please open the gates immediately! Our shop’s sales have been cut in half!”

“What are you talking about?! You want to let those scoundrels who started a riot back into the upper district!?”

“Young Master! My son has come down with some illness and he’s making a mess crying for you to open the gates!”

“Get a grip! Open what?! Do you want to turn the upper district into the same mess as the lower district?”

“I absolutely have to go to the lower district! The Young Master would want to open them too! Don’t you dare oppose it!”

The petitions, which I thought would be a unanimous cry for closure, were split almost exactly down the middle. Was this another stroke of luck following Izack’s successful treatment?

Clearly, it was something to be taken as good news. But for some reason, I couldn’t find my bearings. And a certain ominous feeling… seemed to be looming all around me.