Episode 4: Twilight (9)

“Huh? Why is this so slow?” YiLin, trying to heal my bandaged wrist using magic, realised something was off.

“Hey, stop that…” I’ve just reinfested myself with blight, so obviously it wouldn’t work.

“I was just trying to be nice! Can’t I be nice!” YiLin fummed, pouring in even more magic into her spell.

‘It’s useless… whatever. I hope she doesn’t find out.’

“Why are you cutting yourself again, Kairen?!” Lowe gasped.

“It was necessary, I swear.”

“You shouldn’t do these kinds of things, even if it’s for alchemy.” Lowe nagged.

“It’s necessary… really…”

“I know, I believe you.” Lowe muttered, her expression riddled with concern as she concentrated her efforts in healing the resisting wound. She seemed to have noticed that something was off but… was she not going to ask about it?

“...”

Healing wounds and removing blight were two different things.

Coming into contact with blight was like being infected with a virus. Even a small amount initially can spread across the entire body.

Under normal circumstances, early stage blight corruption would only create resistance against healing magic. While late stage blight renders it completely ineffective, quite literally a death sentence.

The concentration of blight in my body was a controlled, trace amount, so healing magic still worked to a certain extent.

‘Even so… is she keeping things to herself or does she actually not realise it?’

“Done.” Lowe whipped away the non-existent sweat on her forehead. “Do you really need that many of those potions?”

“These are the last batch I’m going to make…” I handed two vials to each person. “Here. Keep them on you everywhere you go.”

Corin looked at the potion, looking slightly bewildered. She then looked up at me with an expression pale and guilt-ridden.

It became obvious to me that she was hiding something. Still, I had a feeling that she was a victim in it all, so the potion was something she could use to protect herself.

YiLin, who saw me giving a sample to Corin, frowned a little.

“So what exactly is this potion’s effects?” Glenn lightly swirled the vial, mesmerised by the lava-lamp-like bubbles of blood bobbing around inside.

“Think of it as a general cure for poison. If you find yourself affected by any negative aliments, drink it.” I answer, vaguely.

“You can make recovery potions from your blood?” Soren exclaimed in shock.

“It’s not a recovery potion, it doesn’t heal wounds, but just think of it as something of the sorts.” I said.

“Where’s mine then?” YiLin gumbled.

“I thought you only came for the desserts?”

“Treating me like a pest…!”

“Kindly, thank you for this medicine. In turn, may I help you with today’s dessert–-”

“No.” Soren didn’t get the chance to complete his sentence. There’s no way I’m letting dogman ruin my happy solitude.

“What dessert are you going to be making today?” Glenn hummed.

“I’m thinking of using tea leaves to make a cake.”

“A tea cake! I’ve never heard of something like that before.” Lowe, now accustomed to the daily desserts no longer felt embarrassed to express her enthusiasm.

“Hopefully it tastes decent. I haven’t made it in a long time.”

I had to leave for the kitchen after that to get the desserts made. YiLin followed in tow.

“Hey. The reason you made that potion and passed it to everyone… do you know something?” The fairy poked me.

“It’s a precautionary measure.” I nodded.

“A precautionary measure? What kind?” YiLin’s eyes narrowed with a sharp glint.

“Just in case something happens soon.” I honestly didn’t have the details.

“You’re weird.” YiLin flew ahead of me. “Just how much do you know about this?”

“Barely anything. I just sense that there’s something wrong.”

“Hm… your instincts must be quite sharp.” YiLin nodded. “Since we’re both on this case, then I have a suggestion. Let’s work together.”

“Sure—”

We arrived at the kitchen when she was just about to add details to her proposition when… we saw a woman seated by the windowside.

Royal blonde hair pulled along in soft waves around her shoulders, half covered by the black wide hat which sat crooked atop her head. From the subtly obscured shadow, her verdant eyes peered from beneath.

There were tattooed markings which could be seen from the gaps of her robe, her nape and hands—swirling in patterns that represented some kind of flower.

Tattoos were representative of the tribe they originated from. Given my limited knowledge, I didn’t know which tribe that tattoo symbolised.

“Dear me, looks like my fairy has been up to no good hasn’t she?” The elf spoke with an endearing smile. Colour drained from YiLin’s face. “Why don’t you explain what you’re accompanying that young man for, my dear YiLin?

“M-Master! He knows about Eugene’s suspicious behaviour so I was just about to recruit him into our plans…!”

“...Is that so? Surely you haven’t just been enjoying the desserts he has been making without my consent have you? Hm?”

YiLin’s mouth was agape, but unable to respond. The guilty be damned.

The elf let out a sigh. Adjusting her hat, she stood up and walked over to me.

“Pardon my companion’s rudeness. This one is Primillia Est Corline, the Magic Tower’s algorithm specialist… or engineer, if that title rings any clearer. May I ask for your introduction?” She greeted.

“Kairen Copper, Oben Academy student, companion of the Saint and Glenn Twilight. Nice to meet you.” I lowered my head with due respect.

“A companion you say? Jest, I almost thought you were their personal patissier.” Primillia chuckled, tone sweet like a bell.

Elves were basically humans that never aged. Living for multiple centuries, every elf came packaged with their own unique quirks.

“If you come to use the kitchen next time, do prepare me a serving. Quite the delightful taste I expect these things to have. My dearest YiLin will be responsible for picking these up.” Put otherwise, the rental costs for the kitchen will now end up with their rightful owner instead of the middleman.

“I’ll only be staying for a few days more, but if that satisfies you then I don’t mind putting aside a serving just for you.” I was trying my best not to stare at her chest. Seriously… why are elves in this world depicted in this way?

“Wonderful. I look forward to indulging in your creation today.” She sat back down and opened her book. Pausing meaningfully, she looked up at me with those vibrant green eyes and added. “Make sure YiLin gets none of it today. Fairies that eat too many sweets gradually, in time become functionally impaired.”

I glanced at YiLin, she looked away, her entire body shaking in red.

Primillia’s eyes curled into an amused smile. She took a seat on a nearby chair, looking at me. “Go on. You may use any ingredients you like.”

‘...She’s not leaving. And it doesn’t seem like she has any intention to do so either.’

Was she here to ensure YiLin doesn’t snack behind her back?

‘Well. Looks like I’ll be making desserts in front of two people this time.’

Today’s pastry item, as mentioned earlier, was fragrant tea cake. It’ll be made using the tea leaves YiLin showed me yesterday.

I pulled up my sleeves and got to work.

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I never knew an elf’s eyes literally sparkled when they were surprised.

“Indeed I understand why someone as loyal as YiLin would keep this outside my notice. One couldn’t possibly resist such a taste without falling into addiction. I’ve had plenty of desserts across the continent, this one here is among the rare few wonders I have tasted.”

“Thank you.” That’s some excessive praise.

“Oh yes. Before we forget, it seems you and my dearest fairy were on the topic of forming an alliance?” Primillia gestured with her fork covered in cake.

“If it helps in any way to ensure the Saint’s safety.” I nodded.

“I’ll be mindful of that. Now, shall we speak of what we know—an exchange of information, to say.”

I was considered an outsider, someone who had no possible explanations on knowing Eugene’s hidden agenda. So besides recalling that there was a chimera in an underground laboratory somewhere, there wasn’t much about the scenario which I knew.

Not to mention Ms. Primillia’s involvement in this case. I didn't know who she was, Lowe never told me about her, so I didn’t know how she fit into the bigger picture.

Skipping the bits of information which could’ve aroused suspicion, Ms. Primillia and I entered a deep discussion.

“Last I recall, I saw organic body parts like claws of a drake and muscles torn from a minotaur.” She said.

Primilla didn’t have any concrete proof that Eugene was doing anything shady. It was merely a personal intuition and noticings of suspicious materials being used in his experiments.

“I believe it has some similarities to a case which occurred decades back.” Primillia shook her head lightly.

“Decades?”

“Did you know? Eugene had a fiance. She was a dear friend of mine.”

‘Huh? He had a fiance?’

The black history behind this conspiracy…

“Two decades ago, because of the church… she was sent to the guillotine.”

It made me seethe.

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“I… I can’t do it.” Corin bit her lips.

In the dark, sombre office, Eugene glanced up from his papers at the pitiful girl’s plea.

“I don’t want to do anything to harm her.” Corin fingers gripping her skirt tight. Her desperate eyes, hidden behind the reflection of her glasses, faced the eerie black gaze of her mentor.

“I see.” Eugene laid down his pen and stood up. “Finish your tea and leave.”

“Huh? O-Oh… okay…!” Corin got up, and turned to the door.

“I said, finish your tea.”

“T-Tea? T-T-T…” Corin turned to look at the cup of tea her mentor had prepared for her today for some reason. She had taken a sip earlier out of courtesy, but now that she began thinking about it a little more… this tea was…

“That… why… ah!” Corin’s legs shook like a fawn. She wanted to escape, but she was suddenly overcome with a strong compulsion to obey his words.

Looking towards her mentor, her face suddenly paled. This time was very different. Her intuition which had been her guiding compass was telling her that there was no more mercy from the man named Eugene.

Panicked and frightened, she suddenly recalled the potion which Kairen had emphasised earlier.

She wanted to pull it out from her pocket when she felt her entire body stiffened. She couldn’t move.

Her heartbeat… the breaths that pulled from the contraction and expansion of her diaphragm… she didn’t know why she could feel it more clearly than ever. Blinking was possible, yet nothing else about her seemed to respond to herself.

It was as if she had become a puppet.

“A-Ahhh…hhhh..!” She couldn’t even speak properly. Tears flowed out the corner of her eyes.

“I’m sorry for forcing this upon you. Finish the drink.” Eugene lisped.

She sat back down and downed the cup in one breath.

“Get the deed done tonight.” Eugene snapped his fingers.

All of a sudden Corin dropped on the couch, unconscious, with her foggy eyes wide open but unresponsive.

A few minutes later, her dull eyes regained colour. She stretched her body like a doll, then with a few breaths her consciousness returned.

The sound of a pen’s scribble echoing in the silence, prompted her to raise her towards the desk. It was her mentor. She froze, suddenly unable to recall how or why she had fallen asleep.

“A-Ah! S-S-Sorrry! I-I don’t know w-what happened I’m…!”

“Then leave.”

“Y-Yes sir!”

She ran out of the office with cold sweat running down her back.

She made her way down the hall and found Kairen waiting while leaning against the wall, waiting for her.

“What did he say?” He asked.

“H-He said… huh?” Corin tried to recall what she did inside only to find the memory of it completely blank. She was supposed to tell Eugene she would not be doing it… so what exactly was his response? “I-I don’t know what he said. He just told me to get out as usual…”

Kairen narrowed his eyes. “Alright. Let me know if he threatens you or anything like that.”

“I-I will…!”

Then following him to join the rest for dinner, for some reason, Corin couldn’t think of ever betraying her ‘master’.

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⋉◆⌌ Astraea’s POV⌍▫◆⋊.

Corin's role was to drug Lowe, in turn it creates an opening for Eugene to take her away. From there, she would use Lowe to furnish his experiment.

However, depending which option you chose as Lowe in the game, the results would’ve been different.

If you choose to not befriend Corin, then it would lead to a bad end where Lowe becomes kidnapped by Eugene. The reasoning behind the bad end was that Lowe would be forced to help him with the success of his experiments, only to be saved and then accused of misusing her divine abilities to aid a black magician.

On the other hand, if you befriended Corin, and have her open up enough to confess the truth, it would then lead to a situation where Eugene is forced to take action on his own.

His attempts to kidnap Lowe fail, lending to the event where he releases a giant chimeraon the magic tower as his last resort.

In my experience, that chimerawas akin to a mid to late game boss. It wasn’t something a single individual can take down alone. To put things into perspective, had the Sage Khor not interfered, the entire Magic Tower would’ve been destroyed.

I had Elysia look into recent happenings at the Magic Tower, and she reported to me that Corin and Lowe were in contact with each other. It sounded like things were progressing as intended. As long as Lowe doesn’t get kidnapped, the rest should proceed smoothly.

Not to mention, unlike previously where Glenn was the only one close enough to protect Lowe, Kairen was also present so… I decided that there wasn’t a need to intervene. All I needed to do was sit back and relax.

Well… completely relaxing wasn’t exactly the right expression as I had other things to attend to.

For example, stroking Reene’s head as she sat with me on the bed.

She who had been pondering in silence finally asked. “Do you think I’ve done something wrong?”

“What wrong deed?” I asked.

She bit her lips, stumbling a little with her words. “My brother. What if he really did try to save me?”

“Hm…” I pondered.

Did Kairen genuinely care for his sister? The answer was probably so.

But that didn’t excuse the fact that he hadn’t done anything to save her when she was being auctioned off.

“Well… then we can only ask him about it when school begins.”

The next semester is still a few weeks from now. There was a lot of empty time to fill.

And on that note, since there was time, I had to figure out why Elysia had been relatively distant these days.

…

..

.

Kairen looked at the glass of water he had just taken. He looked at Corin.

“Corin? What did you put in this?”