Chapter 32: Chapter 32
Chapter 32 - Let Me Make You an Offer
In an unnamed rural village, inside a lavish mansion that seemed completely out of place, a man smiled in satisfaction.
"By now, the Extermination Squad should have arrived."
Hellus was in an excellent mood.
He knew exactly what kind of people the Extermination Squad were.
Rather than trying to fight them off, it was far better to grease their palms with a little money and send them on their way. They were that kind of despicable bunch.
Having connections like that was a blessing.
"Once I get that girl back... it’d be better to throw my lot in with the Empire."
The only reason he had remained neutral was because exposing his identity carried too much risk.
If that girl were kidnapped again, it would be disastrous.
Though... does this Ferda Valdrova fellow actually know what that girl is?
There was no way anyone could uncover the girl’s true nature.
The rules imposed upon her were absolute.
She had been conditioned to obey no one’s words except those of Hellus Fovidas, making her little more than a simpleton incapable of understanding anyone else.
If she were returned safely, that would mean they still hadn’t discovered her true value.
Phew... it’ll work out.
He uncorked a bottle of whiskey and poured it into a crystal glass.
At that moment, a carriage came to a stop outside.
He pulled the curtain aside slightly and looked out.
It was someone he was delighted to see.
Sir Karl!
Hellus hurried outside barefoot to welcome him.
"Welcome! Sir Karl!"
"..."
"Ha ha, I never expected you to come so late at night. How did the mission go?"
"..."
"Why so silent? Well, since you’re here, have a drink first. So then, what happened to the girl?"
"Get in."
"Get in? Ah... yes, of course."
Hellus climbed into the carriage.
The luxurious carriage, lined with soft cushions, was empty.
Karl climbed in after him and shut the door.
"...Move out."
The carriage began to roll.
Hellus’ eyes widened.
"Sir Karl, where are we going?"
"..."
"Answer me! Y-You’re kidnapping me, aren’t you?!"
Hellus screamed hysterically.
But Karl simply sat there without saying a word.
"So that’s how you’re going to play it!? Fine! Do as you please! Just know that I’ll never have anything to do with the Empire again!"
"...Haa."
Karl, who had remained silent the entire time, let out a long sigh.
He raised his head.
At the same time, he raised his hand.
Smack!
His thick, calloused palm was no different from a club.
"Aagh!"
"Shut up, you fat bastard."
"W-What... what are you doing, Sir Karl?"
"What am I doing?"
Smack!
"Still don’t get what’s happening?"
"Isn’t this entire mess because of that little girl you told me to bring back?"
"The brat? Weren’t you the one who said she’d make a perfect excuse—"
"Who gives a damn?!"
Smack!
"I..."
Smack!
"...Ended up in this shit because of her, damn it!"
It was nothing more than violence born from frustration, but it was more than enough to make Hellus behave.
The inside of Hellus’ mouth was torn apart, and blood streamed freely from his nose.
"Anyway, thanks to the sketch you gave us of that brat, you can’t back out now either. So shut up and come quietly."
Karl let out another sigh toward the heavens.
Damn it... why the hell am I stuck doing this?
He swallowed his complaint and leaned back against the seat.
Meanwhile, Hellus sat as quietly as a lamb while being hauled away.
Questions continued piling up in his mind, but he chose not to dwell on them.
There was no way for him to escape this situation anyway.
After all, he wasn’t a Sage.
After wandering aimlessly for some time, the carriage finally came to a stop.
His body was lifted like a sack of luggage and carried somewhere.
The place he was brought to was the audience chamber of an ancient castle.
A crimson carpet stretched across the floor, while banners bearing the emblem of an Evil Red Dragon hung upon the walls.
Standing beneath one of those banners was a strikingly young man.
"Do you know who I am?"
It was Hellus’ first time seeing him.
Yet somehow, both the situation and the overwhelming aura radiating from the young man forced the answer from his lips.
"F-Ferda Valdrova..."
"That’s too informal."
"I... I greet... Lord Regent Valdrova."
Wasn’t he supposed to be an eighteen-year-old Regent?
But the reality before him was nothing like what he’d heard.
Standing before him felt like facing a giant.
Hellus had dared to argue with Karl, but before Ferda, he couldn’t even summon the courage to think of resisting.
Beside him stood a girl he had once seen before.
His precious young maid.
The very source of knowledge he had searched for so desperately.
Was she always this beautiful?
He had never realized it while she had been under the care of that overweight woman.
Now, with her hair neatly combed and dressed in elegant clothes, she looked every bit a noble young lady.
"You’re the Sage of Water, correct?"
"Sage of Water? Hardly... I’m nothing more than a Magic Walker—an old man who shut himself away in a tiny room."
"I thought you were merely a fool, but you’re smarter than I expected."
Ferda let out a sincere note of admiration.
"Did your servant die?"
"...Yes."
"I see. No one can forgive someone who takes away what they treasure most. Even I would find that difficult."
"What is there to forgive? The sin belongs entirely to this foolish man."
"What sin?"
"..."
"You claim you’ve sinned, yet you cannot name your own crime. That sounds like a lie to me."
"I dislike empty words."
Forced to say the very thing he never wanted to admit aloud,
Hellus spoke.
"My crime... was using a child to deceive others into believing that I was a Sage."
He lowered his head.
"So... please spare my life."
He bowed respectfully, offering complete submission.
Yet reflected in Ferda’s eyes was nothing but indifference.
Whether Hellus lived or died held absolutely no value to him.
"You’ve lived your life pretending to be a Sage, but you’re still an intelligent man."
"So I believe you’ll understand this as well."
Ferda leaned close and whispered into his ear.
"Do you really think you can survive after leaving here?"
"..."
"Those who have tasted power can never forget its flavor."
"That’s why struggles for power are the filthiest and cruelest of all."
"How great was the power you’ve enjoyed?"
"..."
"In your village, you’re respected."
"Even the Empire desires you."
"Can you truly abandon all of that and simply walk away?"
"I-I can forget it—"
"No."
"If I let you go, you’ll chase after power once again."
"Not because you’re stupid..."
"...But because you’re human."
His entire body trembled.
Despite the cool weather, sweat poured down him like rain.
Ah... so this is where I die.
"Which is why..."
"Allow me to make you an offer you cannot refuse."
All of his fear vanished, and a single ray of hope descended before him.
Hellus slowly raised his head.
"Would you like to live as a Sage?"
"W-What... do you mean?"
Ferda took something from inside his robe and placed it on the floor.
It was a crystal sphere.
"A Communication Crystal."
"A high-grade crystal containing the essence of ten-thousand-year ice from the deepest reaches of the Northern Tundra."
"The materials surpass anything the Empire possesses."
"Petty tricks won’t work on it."
"Not even Imperial Mages could ever eavesdrop on or trace it."
He lightly tapped the crystal as he continued.
"The mind connected to this crystal belongs to Mori."
"Mori...?"
"The name of the young lady you used to keep."
Ferda gently patted Mori on the shoulder.
The girl reacted to the sound of her name.
It had truly become her name now.
"You desire this child’s knowledge, don’t you?"
"Then live as a Sage, just as you’ve always wished."
"Spend your nights drowning in pleasure."
"Spend your days sharing wisdom you don’t actually possess."
The offer was nothing more than the life he had always lived.
It was exactly what he had always desired.
Yet he couldn’t bring himself to accept it so readily.
Sweet rewards always came with a fatal price.
"What... must I offer in return?"
"Your soul."
Everything.
"Become my dog."
Hellus had always hated becoming involved with other people.
It was only a matter of time before they discovered how little he truly knew.
But there was something he hated even more.
Losing his money.
Losing his fame.
The thing that had supported all of it...was power.
To lose power was to lose everything.
Ferda had been right.
He was already craving the power he had once possessed.
He had already become a dog chasing after power.
And for its sake, he would do anything.
Even make a bargain with the devil.
And so, Hellus lowered his head once more.
"I shall become your loyal dog."
***
Ferda descended into the castle’s basement.
Echidna’s laboratory was located beneath the castle.
As soon as he opened the door, the sinister atmosphere of a Witch flowed out like a gloomy mist.
The only difference was that there was none of the herbal scent or bubbling cauldrons typical of a Witch’s workshop. Instead, the room was filled solely with the smell of ink and stone dust.
"Welcome, Lord Regent!"
Echidna greeted him with a beaming smile.
She ran toward him like a large dog greeting its owner.
The only difference was that she radiated such an eerie aura that even Ferda instinctively flinched.
"How did the contract go?"
"Ah, of course! It went perfectly! I put the collar on the dog just like you told me to! Hehe! At first, when you said it was a dog wearing silver armor, I wondered what you meant... I never imagined it would actually be a Knight!"
Echidna giggled foolishly.
In fact, when Ferda had asked her for "a collar to leash a dog wearing armor," she had literally brought him a dog collar.
From that day on, Ferda stopped using metaphors whenever he spoke to Echidna.
"Where’s the contract?"
"R-Right here!"
Echidna pulled the stored contract from her Spatial Storage Magic and handed it to Ferda.
As he skimmed through its contents, he asked her,
"Do you understand everything written here?"
"Hehe... There’s sooo much written in it, but I don’t understand a si~ngle thing."
Echidna scratched the back of her head awkwardly.
When it came to masters of malicious Contract Magic, Demons and Witches naturally topped the list.
But there were always exceptions.
The reason Echidna had never been able to find a boyfriend in the first place was because she lacked the ability to write cunning contractual clauses or devise loophole-proof procedures like these.
So because something this simple was too difficult for her... she ended up creating an unprecedented learning-type Golem...
She had chosen the harder path simply because the easy one was beyond her.
Yet somehow, that difficult path had turned out to be the correct answer.
Even now, the thought left him speechless.
In any case, although Echidna had carried out the contract itself, the person who had actually written its contents was Mori.
Inside her mind existed the Library of All Things.
Within it were even copies of contracts written by Demons.
Based on those, Ferda instructed her to draft the clauses, and after three hours of work, Mori succeeded.
The perfect dog collar has been completed.
And just like that, he had obtained two dogs.
One dog that had infiltrated the Empire, and another dog that was smarter—and dumber—than expected.
With a satisfied expression, Ferda placed the contract on Echidna’s desk.
"How is the Golem coming along?"
"Well... I guess you could say it’s still got a long way to go..."
Looking at the Golem assisting her, it was still only capable of recognizing Echidna’s face and serving her tea.
If there was one visible improvement, it was that its face had gradually evolved from a crude sketch into something more refined.
It was still too incomplete to tell, but it was undoubtedly beginning to resemble Zed Swallow.
Quietly watching it, Ferda casually asked,
"You haven’t become so absorbed in carving the face that you’ve neglected everything else, have you?"
"W-Wh-Wh-What?! O-Of course not! I only work on its appearance whenever I suddenly think, ’Hmm... something looks off!’ "
The way she fumbled through her explanation made her look incredibly suspicious, but Ferda chose not to press the matter.
Compressing entire sentences into Runes is already an incredibly difficult process.
And yet she’s capable of accomplishing it.
It wasn’t the sort of work that could produce immediate results, so Ferda had no intention of accusing her of slacking off.
"I’ll be counting on you from here on as well."
"Yes! Leave it to me! But... Lord Regent?"
She stopped him just as he was about to leave.
"What is it?"
"Um... you’ve reached the Third Circle now, haven’t you? Just from the aura I can sense, you’re much stronger than before."
"That’s right."
"In that case... would you like to test your affinity?"
Echidna suggested as she held up a crystal.
An affinity test.
It had been a long time since he’d heard those words.
"By affinity test, you mean identifying the elemental attributes I possess?"
"Now that you’ve reached the Third Circle, it’s about time to decide what path of magic you’ll pursue. Every Mage does it at least once, right?"
The Third Circle.
The realm of a Magic Walker.
This was where magic truly began to resemble real magic.
Mages learned to convert Mana into elemental forces, manipulating and transforming them at will.
That was also when they began discovering their magical affinities.
Ferda had undergone the same test around that time as well.
Affinity testing was generally treated as little more than a curiosity.
For those who possessed a Blue Circle, it merely served as a rough indication of which element they had a slight talent for, since Mana itself possessed a uniform nature.
But for those with a Red Circle, things were completely different.
Mana born from emotions made elemental affinity nearly everything.
"I’ll do it."
"Ah! Then I’ll prepare everything!"
Echidna waved her finger through the air as she chanted a spell.
Mana flowed from her fingertips, drawing a Magic Circle in midair.
The Magic Circle gradually shrank, its glow intensifying until it transformed into a fixed shape.
A Rune had been created.
Even something this simple normally required an entire month of work.
Yet this woman created it on the spot.
A true Rune Maker.
Echidna embedded the Rune into the crystal.
"Here you go!"
"Thank you."
Ferda picked up the crystal.
He already knew how it worked.
Once his Mana resonated with the Rune, colors and shapes would manifest within the crystal.
Back then... my affinities were Darkness and Lightning.
Two attributes born from hatred.
Darkness possessed overwhelming destructive power.
Lightning excelled in speed and piercing force.
By combining the strengths of both.
Ferda had wielded magic that no one could stop.
This time... it should be different.
His heart now was not the same as it had been back then.
As proof, his Mana was now capable of suppressing Valdrova.
Without question, his elemental affinities should also have changed, and with them, the path he would walk.
Ferda watched as his Mana reacted.
The Rune responded, triggering a reaction inside the crystal.
Those who wielded fire would see blazing flames.
Those with water affinity would see rippling blue water.
But what appeared before Ferda was nothing of the sort.
The inside of the crystal turned pitch black.
A darkness that seemed capable of swallowing everything into itself.
It was something all too familiar to Ferda.
Darkness...
And within that darkness, tiny blue sparks crackled faintly.
"Oh my, you have Lightning as well?"
Nothing had changed.
No...
If anything had changed...
...Was it always this dark?
The darkness inside the crystal was even deeper than the one he remembered.
Comments