Chapter 9: Chapter 9
Chapter 9 - Like a Deep Lake
Teshalos Wolcher died, and all the lords returned in their own carriages.
The only ones left in the Association Hall were Luri and Ferda.
"That was truly magnificent."
Looking up at Ferda, Luri applauded with her tiny hands.
"You made it abundantly clear who holds the upper hand today. Remarkable. Your political skills have gone beyond the level of art."
Then she raised both thumbs with a grin—a perfect double thumbs-up.
Ferda was suffering from a headache caused by mana exhaustion.
Lightly massaging his temples with his fingers, he replied,
"It was merely an unintended outcome."
"The outcome may have been unintended, but it happened nonetheless. So, what are you planning to do now?"
"What do you mean?"
Luri frowned as though asking whether that was even a real question.
"You just killed a noble. Even with Grand Duchess Valdrova’s authority behind you, this will undoubtedly become a major controversy."
"Will it?"
Ferda recalled the atmosphere around him and asked,
"It seemed rather quiet to me. Are you saying there’s actually a problem?"
"When someone’s performing a sword dance right in front of you, what fool would dare interrupt them?"
"Hmm... Is that so?"
Everything had gone so smoothly that Ferda hadn’t even realized he had committed a grave crime.
Now that she put it that way, he finally understood that perhaps he ought to feel troubled.
Watching his expression, Luri let out a small sigh and continued.
"On top of that, he was already one of the lords who had sworn loyalty to Valdrova. ’Quite troublesome’ would be putting it mildly."
"Was he incorruptible?"
"Moderately honest, moderately corrupt—a perfectly average man. In the Far East, someone that ordinary is considered the most loyal of subjects."
"So I personally killed the most loyal subject. I suppose that will interfere with the engagement as well?"
"Naturally."
So that’s why.
There was a reason Luri’s eyes had been sparkling.
Contrary to her expectations, however, Ferda merely scratched his cheek.
"The engagement will proceed as planned. If I can show why he deserved to die, won’t that settle the matter?"
"That’s true, but... how can you be so confident?"
As far as Luri knew, today was the first time Ferda had ever met Teshalos Wolcher.
Yet he spoke as though he understood the man better than she or any of the other lords who had known him for years.
Because...
I already know.
If Ferda’s memories were correct, Teshalos was committing a grave crime even now.
"Let’s head to Wolcher’s territory."
"You mean to dust off a few old secrets?"
"Don’t worry. There’s enough dust piled up there for anyone to understand."
"...Well, all right. Before that, though..."
Luri curled a finger toward Teshalos’s corpse.
At once, a thread-like distortion pierced through his neck.
With a clean slice, his head was severed.
Luri wrapped the severed head in a cloth.
"Why are you taking that?"
"We’ll need it. Whatever the reason for killing him, the fact remains that he was executed because he committed wrongdoing."
Ferda nodded in understanding.
"So you’ll display it publicly? Like you do with corrupt nobles?"
"Of course."
"I thought you said he was the most loyal subject."
"If you’d like to pretend this engagement ceremony never existed, then feel free. I certainly don’t mind."
Ferda fell silent.
Whatever the circumstances, Luri was still helping him.
***
Wolcher Territory.
It stood at the very front line of the Far East, the land most closely connected to the border army.
At the same time, it was also the closest territory to Valdrova Castle.
"So they say it’s darkest beneath the lamp. It was right here all along?"
Ferda muttered to himself.
In truth, the place where he had encountered Teshalos Wolcher had been the southern desert.
Until then, he had never imagined the man had been stationed on the Far Eastern front.
When they arrived before the inner fortress of Wolcher Territory, the butler hurried outside.
As befitted the butler of House Wolcher, he greeted them with composure.
"Welcome to this humble estate, honored guests. Regrettably, my lord is currently away—"
"Ah, there’s no need to worry about that. Your master is dead."
"...Pardon?"
The elderly butler stared blankly in disbelief.
"I said your master is dead. Now then, let’s go inside. Do you happen to know where Teshalos Wolcher’s laboratory is?"
"W-Well... no, but more importantly, what do you mean you killed my lord...?"
"That’s enough. Since it wasn’t exactly something honorable or praiseworthy, he must have hidden it away. I’ll simply find it myself."
Ending the conversation unilaterally, Ferda walked past the butler and entered.
The old butler watched him go with a face full of confusion.
Following behind, Luri handed the wrapped bundle to the butler and pointed toward the sky.
"Hang it somewhere everyone can see from the castle gate."
"...Pardon? What is this...?"
Luri walked past him and entered as well.
Moments later, the old butler’s scream echoed thunderously through the corridor.
***
Teshalos Wolcher.
A family of Mages that had been exiled to the frontier due to political struggles.
A family consumed by hatred and inferiority no less than Ferda himself.
Birds of a feather flock together.
The first companion Ferda had ever accepted was none other than Teshalos.
Teshalos Wolcher hated the Empire.
He possessed the Red Circle, and because of it, the magical community branded him a heretic and drove him to the frontier.
Determined to kill every noble responsible for forcing him into the Far East, Teshalos devoted himself to developing a spell.
And what became of it?
He did succeed.
He succeeded, at least.
Though I never actually saw that spell.
Before Teshalos could cast it—
Before he could even officially give the spell a name—
He died at Ferda’s hands.
Just as suddenly and inexplicably as today.
Come to think of it... why did I kill him back then?
Even Ferda himself couldn’t remember.
It wasn’t particularly strange.
Back then, Ferda had desperately needed something to hate.
To reach the Six-Circle Opener faster than anyone else, he had been willing to do anything.
He had become a monster capable of killing even those who had once been his benefactors.
Well, it doesn’t matter.
There wasn’t the slightest trace of hesitation in Ferda’s heart.
It wasn’t because he deluded himself into believing he represented justice.
The only thing that mattered was that the current Teshalos was undoubtedly someone who would one day make his future spouse grieve.
Anyway, it has to be somewhere around here...
Ferda searched every corner of Teshalos’s room.
The man had devoted his entire life to research.
Even while pretending to be a loyal subject, he must have concealed sinister intentions.
Then, at last, Ferda found something.
"Here it is."
Beneath the bed.
The floor tiles beneath it weren’t laid evenly, and an unnatural current leaked through the gaps.
"So he built a hidden room beneath the bed."
"Shall we open it?"
"We have to. I’ll look for the switch. Just a moment—"
Crash!
Before Ferda could finish speaking, something shattered.
Turning around, he saw the bed split cleanly in half, the hidden hatch beneath it smashed open as well.
Brushing dust from her tiny fist, Luri said,
"Why bother looking for a switch?"
"..."
It was certainly a rather crude solution.
But there wasn’t really any reason not to do it.
Together, Luri and Ferda descended the staircase leading underground.
The deeper they went, the darker it became, while the faint metallic scent of blood drifted through the air.
"That’s the smell of monster blood."
"You can distinguish that? You’ve got quite the nose."
"Please don’t compare me to such an inferior creature."
"My apologies. Though I do think your loyalty resembles that of a dog."
"...Are you picking a fight?"
Luri glared at him, but Ferda paid her no attention.
At last, they reached the bottom of the stairs and stepped into a new chamber.
"This is..."
Instinctively, they frowned.
A Mage’s laboratory was always chaotic, filled with incomprehensible objects and bizarre sights.
Sometimes one even had to prepare oneself for a blood-soaked scene.
Yet Teshalos Wolcher’s laboratory surpassed all of that.
It was grotesque and horrifying beyond all reason.
Anyone with a weak stomach would have vomited immediately.
Neither Luri nor Ferda, however, was particularly shaken.
Though the smell still isn’t something I can get used to.
Covering his nose with a finger, Ferda waited for his sense of smell to adjust.
Luri looked toward one of the corpses and frowned.
"So this is what they mean when they say it’s darkest beneath the lamp."
The corpse of a dead soldier and the body of a monster lay side by side upon a table.
Their abdomens had been split open, and their purple and crimson entrails had been sewn together with thread.
"So the lord we believed to be the most loyal was actually a follower of the Demon Race."
A follower of the Demon Race.
The Demon Race had come into existence during the Dragon-Demon War, which began one hundred and fifty years earlier when the Black Dragon, Godwin, fell into corruption.
Those who pursued the remnants of the Demon Race and sought to wield their power became known as followers of the Demon Race.
"Didn’t you suspect it?"
"I knew Mages tended to be somewhat gloomy. The more withdrawn they are, the more talented they usually become, so we tolerate it to a certain extent. But..."
A profound mixture of disgust and betrayal filled her silver eyes.
"I never imagined someone would indulge in such depravity as stitching together the entrails of monsters and humans."
But they say betrayal hurts only as much as the trust that came before it.
"Humans are all like that, after all."
Luri, being a Dragon Spawn, had never placed much trust in humans.
So she erased the matter from her mind as easily as blinking an eye.
What truly mattered now was what Teshalos had hoped to gain through such grotesque practices.
Luri found a stack of scattered manuscripts in the writing area.
Her silver eyes swiftly skimmed through the pages.
What escaped her lips at the end was a scoff.
"So this bastard really was a complete psychopath."
"Why do you say that?"
"He was researching ways to strengthen Mana by utilizing the monster factors possessed by monsters."
"Was he?"
"Would you like to take a look?"
Ferda accepted the manuscript she handed him and opened to the first page.
He quietly read through the overview.
Only then did his memories return.
That’s right... He was trying to create Undead that closely resembled monsters.
Among practitioners of black magic, Necromancers generally fell into two extreme categories.
Some created a single overwhelmingly powerful monster.
Others overwhelmed their enemies with endless hordes of weaker ones.
Because they relied entirely on either quality or quantity, Necromancers were among the easiest Mages to counter and suppress.
He was trying to combine the durability of monsters with the overwhelming numbers of the Undead.
If perfected, it would become the ultimate spell capable of mass-producing elite soldiers for the Empire.
Though that wasn’t what interested me.
Ferda’s fascination with the spell had never been the spell itself.
It was the Mana cultivation method developed solely to cast it.
Monsters continuously generated Mana.
The problem was that it was defective Mana, unusable for anything else.
Monsters grew stronger by feeding upon that overwhelming supply of Mana.
But if that production process could be replicated to generate pure Mana...
Even those said to possess no talent whatsoever could reach the Fourth Circle, joining the ranks of a Mage, simply by mastering it.
Using the result of that research, Ferda had surpassed the Six-Circle Opener, advanced beyond an Arc Mage, and ultimately reached the Eighth Circle.
He lowered his gaze to the overview once again.
If I continue this research...
He would gather the means to reach the Eighth Circle even faster than before.
Breaking through each Circle would also become far easier.
There isn’t the slightest doubt.
It was possible.
Perhaps several times faster.
As Ferda silently stared at the manuscript, Luri quietly watched him in return.
He’s human. Of course he’d be tempted.
Luri reflected upon her deep-rooted disdain for humans.
Making someone grieve had probably been nothing more than an excuse.
Surely Ferda had intended to kill Teshalos simply to steal this research.
All humans lie.
They deceived themselves, rejoiced in those lies, and wept because of them.
Knowing humans lied by nature, there was no reason to feel betrayed.
But...
Why was this man different?
Unlike when she had dealt with Teshalos, her chest felt even heavier.
Am I... actually hoping to trust this man?
Luri bit down hard on her lip.
As a Dragon Spawn, her pride couldn’t tolerate such thoughts.
To drive them away, she asked him directly.
"So, what will you do?"
"What do you mean?"
"The research. You could continue it yourself. Isn’t that what every Mage says? It would be a waste to let it disappear."
Because it would be a waste.
That alone was enough justification.
Simple.
No lengthy excuses were necessary.
For Mages who pursued knowledge, it was the most natural thing in the world.
Yet Ferda’s answer differed from every other Mage.
"No."
He handed the manuscript back to Luri.
"Destroy every last page."
"Every... single one?"
For the first time, Luri’s expressionless face cracked.
She had never expected that answer.
At the very least, she thought he would hesitate.
Instead, Ferda’s response had been as decisive as a blade.
"Didn’t I tell you? I dislike anything that would make the Grand Duchess grieve."
"And because of that, you’re going to destroy research like this? It could become a world-changing breakthrough."
"A breakthrough is certainly a wonderful thing."
Ferda nodded.
"But if, in the end, it only leads to my fiancée’s sorrow, then what meaning would it have?"
Yet his eyes told an entirely different story.
Eyes no Mage should ever possess.
Within those blue eyes lay a tranquil stillness, like the surface of a deep lake.
A landscape utterly devoid of greed.
"..."
"Why are you staring at me like that?"
"I’m just wondering... whether it’s really all right to do this."
"It is."
Blue flames flickered upon Luri’s fingertips.
Pure fire, created by converting Mana directly into flame.
One throw would reduce every page to ashes in an instant.
As she stared into the flames, her eyes slowly rolled upward toward Ferda.
"...Don’t change your mind later."
"I won’t."
Just as Ferda wished, Luri burned every scrap of research.
The laboratory...
The grotesque corpses used in the experiments...
Everything was swallowed by blue flames until nothing remained but ash.
It burns well.
Ferda quietly watched the fire.
Given a few months, he could undoubtedly have completed that spell himself.
After all, he had once helped Teshalos develop it.
More importantly, he had already mastered it once before.
Yet the reason he abandoned it was simple.
Every spell carries the personality and emotions of its creator.
And, as the saying goes, one who stays near ink is stained black.
Eventually, those emotions become part of the caster’s very nature, leading inevitably to corruption.
That was why black magic was forbidden.
That was why forbidden spells existed.
And that spell was born from anger and hatred.
Teshalos had hated the Empire.
If Ferda learned that spell again, he would inevitably become consumed by hatred and rage that were never his own.
That’s why it must be discarded.
Rather than allowing himself to become enslaved by such petty things...
He chose to cherish the person he was now.
His twisted desires turned to ash and scattered into nothingness.
His heart, as clear and still as a mirror-like lake, brought a faint smile to Ferda’s face.
"It really... burns beautifully."
Luri silently watched him as he murmured those words.
Her assessment of Ferda was simple.
An utterly unpredictable psychopath.
Then she added one more conclusion.
And on top of that... a masochist.
What kind of absurd combination was that?
The unsettling feeling growing within her only deepened, and her expression gradually twisted with unease.
Comments