Darkness had settled even inside the cave where bright light had once poured in.
Kenis lay on a blanket spread beside a column, eyes closed, his breaths even. Perhaps the spot was too uncomfortable, for he occasionally tossed, turned, and scratched his neck. A short distance away, another thick blanket lay spread out, but that place was empty.
Originally, he had intended to rejoin the ranks the moment Leonardo regained consciousness and recovered. For a newcomer, being separated from the group by a sudden accident and remaining away from his seniors too long was a burdensome situation.
Yet the reason Kenis still lingered, even after packing their things, was Leonardo’s persuasion. Leonardo had said it would soon be dark and they should spend the night here, leaving when the day broke.
Kenis had already learned that in the wilderness of this peninsula, once darkness fell everything turned pitch-black and danger doubled. So he had agreed with Leonardo’s judgment and decided to endure one more night.
From where he lay, if one followed the railing of the structure and turned two corners, a small courtyard appeared, with several vine-covered statues beneath a carved roof hanging over low grass. There, a light flickered, casting two silhouettes. The owner of the empty blanket beside Kenis was there as well.
The scholar pulled the syringe needle from his arm, rubbed it with cotton, and muttered,
“Tsk, to make me overuse such a precious thing.”
Leonardo, leaning at an angle against a column with his mouth covered, had been watching him. He made the floating flames burn a little larger, then slowly examined the ingredients listed on the vial in his hand.
The so-called mana stabilizers sold on the market only imitated stabilizing effects. In truth, they merely slowed the heart rate and carried heavy side effects. That was why most organizations relied on cruder means—restraints or mana-sealing stones—rather than such drugs.
But the stabilizer this scholar claimed to have developed was different. At first, Leonardo had rejected it outright, wary as ever. Yet with time he felt his mana flow calm, his control grow more precise.
Still, it was suspicious. So Leonardo had demanded the scholar inject it into his own arm first. Then, thinking there might be something unusual, he studied the drug’s ingredients, but found only painkiller-like components, nothing particularly alarming.
After staring for a while, he handed the vial back without a word. The scholar received it with a smile.
“How is it, do you trust me a bit now?”
Leonardo’s expression remained cold.
“I still can’t say I trust you. What if abnormal symptoms appear later?”
“You’re so suspicious. Then why even talk about making a deal?”
“I said I’d hear you out.”
“Oho.”
The scholar chuckled lightly, tucked the vial and syringe back into the small backpack at his side, then pulled out a rolled map. He began to unfold it, hesitated, rolled the edge back, and held it tight.
“First of all, my condition is simple. You just need to take me to a location on this peninsula undetected and safe. Since the guard who was with me has disappeared, you can replace him. Simple enough, right?”
The way he refused to unfold the map made his intention clear—he wouldn’t reveal the destination until terms were set.
“I need to know what kind of place it is. And if it’s so simple, why strike a deal at all?”
“It’s nothing complicated, but there are plenty of monsters along the way. Still, it isn’t far. We could reach it within two days at most, perhaps longer if we avoid the Council’s eyes.”
“...”
“As for the return, I’ll handle it myself. Once you take me there, the contract is fulfilled.”
It wasn’t, on the surface, a harder request than he expected. If the place were easily accessible, the scholar wouldn’t have proposed this in the first place. Still, it wasn’t too time-consuming, and if managed well, it might yield valuable information.
“Now, what about you? What do you want from me?”
Leonardo, watching his expression, rubbed his lips with the hand that had covered his mouth and spoke.
“There are three things I want.”
“Three?”
“First, guide me to where you discovered ‘etaide.’ Second, explain everything about the eggs you studied, the outsider you said you traveled with, and this Elder Millie Peninsula. Third, you must not disclose our deal, our conversations, or anything you’ve learned to anyone else. Those are my terms. Simple enough?”
Etaide was the unofficial name of the blue mineral Leonardo sought.
At Leonardo’s words—listing demands and ending with “simple, right?” just as the scholar had—the scholar’s smile turned sour.
“Not difficult, but unfair, don’t you think? I gave one condition, and you demand a full confession while sealing my mouth. Looks like I’m getting the short end.”
“So you won’t do it?”
“It’s not that I won’t. But I’ll need something more in return. By the way, etaide seems popular these days. You’re after it too?”
His words hinted that someone besides them was also searching for etaide—and that he had deliberately dropped this bait to test Leonardo’s interest.
“Someone else is looking for etaide?”
Leonardo’s probing reply made the scholar’s lips curl.
“I can only answer that once we sign a deal.”
“...”
The smug smile was grating. Though the scholar had made the first proposal, somehow {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} Leonardo felt at the disadvantage. Yet, even apart from etaide, he had to keep drawing this man out. At least pretend the deal was alive.
“So? Will you take the deal or not?”
“I’m saying let’s make it fair. Neatest way is for me to add conditions of my own, balance things out, right?”
He pondered for a moment, then grinned as if struck by inspiration.
“I’ve developed a few new drugs lately, and I need plenty of test subjects.”
“...”
“S-grade mages are rare. If you take just a few doses, it won’t harm your body—”
“I think you misunderstand.”
Those smiling eyes suggested he thought himself in control. Displeased, Leonardo frowned.
“There are no conditions you can add. I was about to threaten you.”
“Hmm?”
The scholar tilted his head, still smiling shamelessly. Leonardo, annoyed, relaxed his face and mirrored the smile.
“That story about your bag being stolen. A lie, isn’t it?”
At once, the smile vanished from the scholar’s eyes, though his lips still curved.
What was this? His mouth traced a sharp arc, watching Leonardo closely.
One thing Leonardo had learned while threatening the outsider was that there might be other collaborators here who knew of etaide and the unidentified egg.
That outsider, fearful of a beating, had insisted he didn’t even know the egg was inside and that he “only transported” the bag.
At the time, Leonardo had doubted his words. But probing the scholar now made it clear—they were lies, and the pieces fell into place.
When he first awoke here, Leonardo had scanned the scholar’s backpack and noticed something attached. He hadn’t touched it rashly. Later, when the scholar returned with Kenis, the same small pack bore another such device.
It was a kind of magical lock, meant to keep others out. Those with much to hide always secured their belongings in layers—just as he himself had done with his artifacts.
But the outsider’s bag had no such protection, nor signs it had been torn away. No matter how thoroughly he searched, nothing. Clearly, no lock had ever been attached.
So why would a man who sealed every bag neglect that one? From what Leonardo had seen, he didn’t seem the type to let an outsider simply steal from him.
Speculating, Leonardo reached a conclusion.
“You either left that bag to be stolen or handed it to him yourself, told him to transport it. Am I right?”
The scholar said nothing—no denial, no confirmation.
“I’m convinced it’s the latter. How do I know? The outsider said he was only told to transport it, knew nothing else.”
The scholar’s expression tightened faintly.
“But then, another question. If something is vital, wouldn’t you carry it yourself? Does it make sense to entrust precious research material to a stranger you barely traveled with? What if he simply ran off?”
“...”
“I don’t know what bound the two of you, but judging from how you treat me, it was likely another deal. Money, perhaps, or compensation in the form of minerals inside the bag.”
Leonardo laid out his reasoning without hesitation.
“So you had little attachment to the contents. You told him to transport it, treating it as discardable. Then I wondered—what did you hope to gain by sending him off with that bag?”
The scholar smiled lazily.
“Interesting. And what did you conclude?”
There was no way he didn’t know about the egg. It was only a guess, but the egg carried a power that lured Dermocas. If he truly had no idea, he wouldn’t still be alive.
Besides, he had claimed the outsider was his bodyguard, yet here he was, moving freely with Kenis. Meaning he could manage on this peninsula even without that man.
So what use did the outsider have? Leonardo recalled what the scholar himself had said earlier.
“You enjoy experiments. So I thought you tested on him.”
Leonardo smiled coolly.
“The egg in the bag. Hardly the sort of thing a clueless scholar would just stumble upon.”
“...”
“So your claim of ignorance is also a lie. It’s an egg that draws Dermocas—just carrying it—”
“I knew it was like that.”
Leonardo’s brows furrowed at the interruption.
“That’s right. Just as I thought.”
The scholar wore a look of satisfaction, as though he’d heard the answer he wanted. Seeing that genuine delight, Leonardo faltered.
What the hell is wrong with this bastard?
The scholar savored his thoughts, then suddenly grinned like a madman and confessed one by one.
“Yes, I experimented. I wanted to see if monsters reacted to those eggs. I only knew Dermocas gathered in that direction, but lacked certainty. Thanks to you confirming it, my experiment is complete.”
Leonardo, frowning, was briefly at a loss, then forced words out.
“Complete? Isn’t that attempted murder? That man could be dead.”
“Attempted murder, you say. If you knew what that outsider had done outside, you wouldn’t care either. He’s a vicious criminal, infamous in the slums of Barmot. If he dies here after serving as my subject, isn’t that better for the world?”
At his confident reply, Leonardo’s face twisted in disbelief, then he let out a dry laugh.
So this man had lured a criminal, made him carry the bag, and sent him into the peninsula—just to test if monsters would follow the egg.
