Chapter 86

“Alright, let’s try reciting the ‘tear-jerker’ part of the poem.”

“……Fine, do whatever you want.”

I really need to be careful. If I ever write a poem, there’s no telling who might find it in the future and use it to mock me.

“O, my beloved Goddess, light born of darkness that illuminates this tiny frame of mine.

Wind yourself around me like a serpent and wring me tight.

At that dawning hour, something blended of serpent and man shall be born.

Let us create a spiral of night that never, ever ends—The end.“

As expected of a Dark Mage’s poem, the content was pretty intense.

“There are a lot of metaphors, but if written literally, he’s probably saying something awful.”

“What a lovely poem… I hope they find their reward at the ends of Hell…”

Cerulia was tearing up over by the kitchen.

“Wait, was there a part in there worth crying over?”

“I am currently cutting onions, Master…”

So that was why!

By the way, there is an island near Lightstone famous for its onions, so you can get high-quality ones around here.

However, immediately after that, something strange happened.

A black mist-like substance swirled around the old documents.

At the same time, my body began to glow, and I felt unnervingly hot.

“What is this?! What’s happening?”

“Huh? Franz, it looks like magic is being activated…? But I didn’t do anything!?”

Mary looked bewildered.

At the very least, Mary herself didn’t have the conscious sensation of having cast a spell. If so, what was this?

“Miss Mary, could it be that the poem itself functioned as an incantation?”

Cerulia made a sharp observation.

It’s true that some magic can be cast through chanting alone without drawing a magic circle. Furthermore, if a high-ranking demon like Mary recites it, there’s a chance it could trigger!

“And perhaps, using our Master—who carries the blood of his ancestor—as a medium, the effect took hold!”

“Hey now! Is this safe? He was a Dark Mage who intended to destroy countries, right? Am I going to be okay…?”

What if my body bursts or a fatal plague starts spreading?

However, the mist vanished after just a few seconds.

The glow and the heat in my body subsided at the same time.

“Master, do you feel anything strange…?”

“Thanks, Cerulia. No pain, and my senses feel normal.”

“It’s far removed from a standard dark magic chant, so I don’t think anyone’s going to die or be cursed. But I wonder what that was…”

For now, I hadn’t exploded, and my mom hadn’t collapsed; there didn’t seem to be any visible dangerous effects.

But if I showed her this, wouldn’t Mom start feeling disgust or fear toward dark magic?

“Was that dark magic just now? Oh, that was actually a little cool!”

While I’d be troubled if she were excessively terrified, isn’t she being a bit too relaxed?!

“In that case, do you want to try my ‘Life Drain’?”

“Stop right there, that’s life-threatening!”

Afterward, I had Mary carefully analyze the pronunciation of the chant. She concluded that there were absolutely no elements intended to cause clear harm to others.

To be extra safe, I took a walk around the neighborhood, but there was no panic. It was safe to assume nothing had happened. My own physical strength wasn’t draining away, either.

In the evening.

My old man came home from shopping.

That was fine, but the sheer amount of luggage was insane. Both his hands were occupied by bulging bags, and he even had a knapsack on his back.

“Man, I bought so much. Maybe a bit too much, actually.”

“Dear, I know you want to be a good host, but how many dozens of people are you planning to feed?”

Mom, who holds the family purse strings, looked annoyed. No matter how you looked at it, he was far over budget.

“I figured you’d say that, so I brought proof. Look at this receipt. You’ll be thanking me for buying in bulk.”

The look in Mom’s eyes changed as she took the receipt.

“It’s so cheap! The cabbage, the beans, the meat, the fish—everything is so cheap! It might even be five copper coins cheaper than the last time I stocked up!”

“I couldn’t believe it myself. But I figured I had to buy it, so I stood in line and grabbed everything I could.”

Mom asked if the prices were so low because the shop was having a closing-down sale.

“Given my position as an accountant, I hear rumors like that immediately, but there’s no such talk this time. Just a coincidence. They probably over-ordered or something.”

As a human being, my dad is rapidly becoming unreliable, but I trust him as an accountant. His word on this was likely solid.

Well, it’s the kind of thing that happens—lucking out and going shopping on a big sale day.

That day, we wolfed down a meal that was considerably more luxurious than originally planned.

“Franz, do you have any other Succubus friends besides Cerulia?”

“Dad, at least try to hide your ulterior motives.”

“Franz, they used to say a man speaks with his back. That was a lie. He speaks with his lower half.”

“Don’t vent that kind of stuff to your son!”

Incidentally, Mom was asking Mary, “Is there a spell that lets a wife use all of her husband’s strength?”

Please, just don’t have a marital spat while I’m home…

The next day, I took Cerulia and Mary to some tourist spots near Lightstone.

There are moderately high mountains in this area where various animals are put out to pasture.

Mary looked at the sheep and said, “They’d make perfect sacrifices,” making a characteristically demonic remark. The sheep stared at by Mary and Cerulia seemed terrified—I wonder if they can sense it? Call it wild instinct.

At the ranch, they were also selling ice cream made from cow’s milk.

“Oh! This is delicious!” “You’re right, it’s so rich.”

I was glad they both enjoyed it. My dad had told me that if you take girls here, your reputation usually goes up (or so the neighborhood delinquents used to say).

“By the way, how much was this? I feel bad if it’s all coming out of your pocket, Master.”

“No, it’s fine. It’s just one small copper coin each.”

The small copper is basically the smallest unit of currency in the Kingdom. Ten small coppers make one copper coin, and ten copper coins make one silver coin.

“Eh? Isn’t that too cheap? I thought things in places like this were usually marked up to ‘tourist prices’…”

Come to think of it, I did notice that was unusually cheap.