“What whale?”
“The Drunkard!”
They called Noance by the impressive nickname “Conductor.”
Faced with the absurd nickname “Drunkard,” I couldn’t answer right away, and Margon’s expression darkened further. He stepped in front of me and lowered his voice in a way that didn’t quite suit him.
“Why would someone called Drunkard be looking for Lord Ceryl? Lord Ceryl has never once touched alcohol.”
My conscience pricked, and I quietly looked away. I felt guilty for having poured an entire bottle into the pure body of Ceryl that Margon believed in so firmly.
The woman didn’t shrink in the slightest at Margon’s imposing build. If anything, she laughed as though amused.
“There’s not even enough alcohol for Drunkard to drink. He’s not looking for a drinking buddy.”
She led us to another tent. We didn’t have anything better to do, and I was curious about the person who’d asked for me, so I followed.
But I stopped in front of the tent when we arrived.
Kallen, quick to notice my reaction, looked up at me anxiously. I forced a smile at her.
“Kallen. Whatever’s inside, don’t be too shocked or angry. All right?”
“Huh? Is there something I should be shocked or angry about?”
“Yeah. There probably is. Just promise me you’ll stay calm.”
At my words, Kallen nodded with a resolute expression.
After taking one more deep breath, I pulled aside the flap and stepped into the tent. From the outside it looked like a simple four-person tent, but inside it was a vast warehouse.
The monsters that had been transported along with the entire black-market building were gathered in one place.
“...You damn humans!”
“Hey, hey. You promised to stay calm.”
As expected, Kallen couldn’t contain her anger at the sight of the monsters trapped in small metal cages. She clenched her fists tightly and ground her teeth.
Even Margon, who was usually indifferent toward monsters, looked overwhelmed. He stared in shock at the hundreds of monsters dying simultaneously before us.
“Lord Aylos, this way!”
The woman called to me from a narrow path running through the middle. I swallowed down the turmoil boiling inside me and walked forward, feigning composure.
After passing hundreds of cages, I was met with yet another astonishing sight.
At the very back of the tent, a magic circle about three meters in diameter had been drawn. In its center sat a thin, hunched man in a chair, with a single cage containing a monster resting on his lap.
Several empty liquor bottles lay scattered at his feet. Even from a distance, «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» the heavy stench of alcohol vibrating in the air made it easy to guess his nickname.
“Drunkard, I’ve brought Lord Aylos!”
The man, gripping the cage with both hands, turned his head with a creak.
The moment I saw his face, I flinched. Kallen clamped both hands over her mouth, barely suppressing a scream.
“Ohhh... so Aylos... has come...?”
A voice as rough as if his vocal cords had been scraped with sandpaper called my name.
With a groan, the man rose from his chair, set the cage down, and staggered toward me. True to his nickname, he swayed with every step, thoroughly drunk.
As he drew closer, I could see his face clearly. A thin white cloth was tied over his eyes. But the burn scars that weren’t covered extended from his forehead down across his cheeks.
Though he was clearly blind, he stopped directly in front of me. A bent back, white hair, age spots scattered across his skin.
Anyone would see only a pitiful old man.
“You... are Aylos... correct...?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Hoho, don’t be so stiff... ugh, khk, kh... ahem... just call me... Drunkard.”
Phlegm rattled in his throat, and every time he opened his mouth, a foul alcoholic stench wafted out. I had to grit my teeth to keep from frowning.
“Ah... but why did I... call you? Why did I... call you again...?”
“You asked him to look at the monsters. He’s the first person to tame them.”
“Ahh, right... was that it? Thank you, El.”
“Not El. Bell.”
The woman who’d guided us answered on his behalf.
Bell shook her glossy brown hair and sighed. Then she supported the old man and led him back to the chair at the center of the magic circle.
Seeing him smack his lips, she even fetched a new bottle from one corner of the warehouse, uncorked it, and pressed it into his hand.
“Please understand. Drunkard forgets things often. Without me, he can’t even manage daily life.”
“...It’s fine.”
I glanced between the two of them. They didn’t resemble each other in the slightest, yet Bell fussed over him like a devoted granddaughter.
I was curious about their relationship—and about Drunkard’s identity—but there was something else I wanted to ask first.
“Why did you send for me?”
“We were hoping to get your help. Two mages aren’t enough.”
At her words, I looked toward the magic circle and the cage at its center. The monster inside looked like a palm-sized kitten.
Except its tail was three times longer than its body. It was coiled around itself, lying as still as if dead.
The last thing I noticed was the iron chain tied around its hind leg. It had been moved somewhere safer, but it was still imprisoned behind bars.
If even Varen couldn’t do anything, I doubted I could help.
“I think you’re mistaken. I may be from House Aylos, but I don’t know how to use magic.”
Ordin had infused mana into my body and opened the blocked pathways. But that had only sharpened my senses; it hadn’t turned me into a mage overnight.
Drunkard, who had already finished half the bottle, wiped his mouth and spoke to me.
“Wake... the sleeping children... would you. Even if El and I join forces...”
“Not El. Bell! When will you get my name right?”
Bell cut him off, her face flushing red as she turned away in a huff.
Drunkard, apparently lacking the strength to continue, simply smacked his lips and took another swig.
When I looked at Bell with questioning eyes, she stepped closer to explain.
“The magic on the chain is simple but powerful. It absorbs the monster’s mana to reinforce the bars. To open it, you have to balance the mana between the monster and the cage.”
“That’s possible?”
“It’s extremely delicate, but yes. You have to infuse mana into the monster to restore the imbalance. If it’s even slightly insufficient, the cage won’t open. But if it’s even slightly excessive, the monster dies. Only Drunkard can do it.”
Blinking at her explanation, I looked back at Drunkard.
He appeared far removed from the image of a capable mage, just sitting there guzzling alcohol. But if what Bell said was true...
“Was it him? The one who relocated the entire black-market building?”
“Yes.”
“...And the one who cast concealment magic over this entire forest?”
“That’s right. All of it is Drunkard’s magic.”
Bell puffed out her shoulders proudly, as though she herself had been praised.
I barely managed to keep my jaw from dropping. I’d been pleased that the Rebels had a mage superior to a dragon—but honestly, I hadn’t imagined someone like this.
Blaming my own narrow preconceptions, I shook my head and cleared my thoughts.
“But what do you mean by waking the sleeping children?”
“Exactly what it sounds like. They’ve fallen into a near-death state from lack of mana, so Drunkard has to use even more of his own. And if they don’t have the will to live, it’s even harder to save them.”
After hearing her explanation, I turned my gaze back to the magic circle.
Drunkard, having finished the new bottle as well, lifted the cage and placed it on his lap again.
“Ah, please step back for a moment.”
Bell ushered us a few steps away. Then pale white light began to rise from the roughly drawn chalk magic circle. Amid the dazzling radiance, I caught glimpses of Drunkard.
His emaciated hands trembled as he gripped the bars as if to crush them. More precisely, he was infusing mana.
It was strangely mystical. It didn’t look like a mage wielding mana—it looked like a priest channeling divine power.
Several minutes passed. Gradually, the light faded and went still. At the center of the circle remained an utterly exhausted Drunkard—and a monster inside the cage, crying out.
Bell hurried forward and took the cage from him. White light similar to his burst from her palm, and the welded iron bars snapped like chalk.
She carefully reached inside and broke the iron chain binding the monster’s ankle.
I immediately stepped closer to check the monster’s condition.
“Kyah? Kyareung....”
I’d been worried, but the monster looked healthy. Just minutes ago it had lain as if dead, barely breathing. Now it was licking the ankle that had been bound.
