Chapter 206. Change (1)
The Marquis of Esperanza's pupils trembled violently.
The expression full of tension and confusion stiffened completely, as if he had realized something impossible… something that should not exist.
A reaction fiercer than ever before.
Even Edmon, his closest aide, could not hide his bewilderment.
"Y, Your Excellency? Why all of a sudden…?"
"No way… no, that's absurd…"
"Your Excellency?"
The Marquis muttered repeatedly.
It was as if he could hear none of the sounds around him. Edmon called him several times, but it was of no use.
In the end, unable to bear it any longer, Edmon released his magic power and shouted.
"Lord Ruben!"
...!
A blast of wind swept through the conference room.
It wasn't a fierce gale, but it was enough of a stimulus.
Kuung!
Two knights of the Red Conviction rushed in and scanned the chamber.
They had sensed Edmon's magic.
And among them, there was only one possible threat. Just as their sharp blade was about to aim at Linus, the Marquis of Esperanza lifted his head, regaining his senses.
The chaotic atmosphere came into view.
Edmon asked cautiously.
"Your Excellency, are you all right?"
"Ah…"
"Did I perhaps do something wrong…"
"No… no, it's nothing. I must have sunk too deep into thought without realizing it. I've shown you an unseemly sight. You may leave now."
"Yes, Your Excellency."
The knights gave their salute and closed the door.
As if nothing had happened, silence returned to the conference room.
The Marquis brushed his disheveled hair.
He pushed back his red hair and sat down once more. His eyes were filled with complicated emotions.
He leaned forward.
"It seems our conversation was interrupted for a moment. Let's continue."
"Ah, y, yes."
"About that blue crystal… do you know anything more about it? Even the smallest clue will do."
"The only thing I know is that Leonil is concentrating refined magic power into the blue crystal. Even if you brought a court mage here, the answer wouldn't differ much from mine."
He had once overheard the court mages talking.
They wondered for what purpose Leonil and the royal family were conducting the experiments, and said they looked forward to the day when the experiment ended and their curiosity was resolved. That was all.
"..."
The Scales' response showed the truth.
The Marquis faintly furrowed his brows.
He had figured out the experimental process in detail, yet the most important thing was hidden, leaving him frustrated enough that it showed on his face.
"I see. But if Leonil decided to dispose of the laboratory, doesn't that mean the experiment is fully complete?"
"That… I'm not certain."
"What do you mean?"
"Leonil used elves and humans as test subjects. Elves had their resistance to magic power destroyed with artifacts, and were then used to extract refined magic power using the concentrator."
That much he already knew.
For he had heard it from Verden, who had seen Karans's memories.
The Marquis's gaze grew sharper.
"Then does that mean humans were used differently?"
"I only know that they were humans possessing special traits. At the very least, they were never used in any of the magical items I crafted, Your Excellency."
"In other words, the experiments on elves and humans were conducted separately. Perhaps there is another purpose beyond the blue crystal."
The disposal of the laboratory.
That does not necessarily mean the end of the experiments.
There may be a next stage.
It is possible that the laboratory was discarded because it was no longer needed in that process. The reason being, to leave behind not even the smallest clue.
'In fact, Asher managed to grasp a lead and pursue it…'
Had they been a few hours late, Leonil would have had his way.
Thinking of it that way, such speculation was not too far-fetched.
"Then…"
...The Marquis continued with his questions.
The effect of the Scales of Truth was only to mete out punishment according to truth or falsehood.
It was possible that Linus himself did not realize some of his memories were information, so the Marquis had to drag out the details, focusing on more specific recollections.
'But nothing of significance is coming out.'
The interrogation had gone on for hours.
The Marquis deemed there was no more meaning to it.
"Hm, I cannot think of anything else to ask right now. So let us end it here. You must be quite exhausted as well."
"…I appreciate your consideration."
"If I have further questions later, I'll summon you again. A chamber will be assigned to you, so stay here for now."
The Marquis gave the dismissal.
As Linus bowed deeply and left, a servant was already waiting. Linus, dragging his tired body, followed after him.
The sound of footsteps faded.
Only two remained in the chamber. The light that had flickered on the statue of the Lady of the Scales had already gone out.
"Heh, who would have thought the Scales wouldn't react even once. I didn't expect him to speak only the truth."
"He was cooperative."
"If I had known this, I would've saved the Scales. But… hm."
Edmon's expression grew serious.
"The blue crystal. Do you have any guesses about its true nature?"
***
"..."
The Marquis remained silent.
His hands were clasped together.
After staring downward for a while, he spoke softly.
"I'm not certain, it's hard to say anything. So about that matter… it would be best to speak of it later. Once I have more concrete evidence, I'll tell you."
He was hiding something.
Edmon could see it clearly.
"Understood, Your Excellency."
But he did not press further.
Their relationship was built on loyalty and trust. He firmly believed that when the time came, the Marquis would tell him.
"What about the meeting with Asher? And the elf…"
The matter of compensation for the request.
And the treatment of the elf as well, these could not be left unattended for long.
The Marquis rubbed his eyes.
"I'll postpone it for the near future. I'm tired today, I wish to be alone."
"Yes, Your Excellency. Ah, but Asher did have one request. He said he wanted to have a private meeting with Linus."
A private meeting with the one-armed craftsman?
'Is he planning to request the crafting of a magic item, perhaps.'
There was no reason to refuse.
He was practically a guest of honor in the Marquisate. Even at the Marquis's main estate, he was entitled to a certain degree of freedom.
'And right now, I don't have the leeway to worry about such trivial matters.'
The Marquis immediately granted approval.
"Permit it."
"I'll inform Asher then. I'll take my leave now, please rest well."
Clack.
Edmon stepped outside.
The knights guarding the chamber also followed after him, respecting the Marquis's wish to be alone.
....
The surroundings grew silent.
The Marquis, who had kept his lips sealed, closed his eyes.
Heartbeat. Refined magic power. Blue.
He listed in his mind the traits of the blue crystal.
There was nothing his memory could grasp.
But if it was someone else's memory, that was different.
If it was information gleaned from 'her' memory, there was something he could guess. A dream Edmon could not enter.
'…It's still not certain.'
But he could not erase the unease.
The feeling that the worst assumption might manifest as reality. Though, in one corner of his heart, there remained the relief of, surely not…
'If it's that mad king, it's possible.'
The King of Estiria was insane.
An incompetent king, intoxicated with power, trying to stuff glory into a vessel unfit to hold it. That madness spared no one.
Not even the "family" he once loved.
'I have to tell her.'
Three days later, the time would come to meet her within the dream.
Within it, the Marquis must report all the information he had obtained. Even the truth of the blue crystal.
But.
'…I'm afraid.'
The blue crystal.
What reaction would she show upon hearing it… he could hardly even imagine. He had no confidence he could restrain her fury and hatred toward the royal family again.
'Not that I ever had the right in the first place.'
The Marquis mocked himself.
Hands trembling finely. The ticking of the clock's second hand sounded slow, giving the illusion that time itself had slowed.
Please, let this moment continue…
The Marquis prayed earnestly.
***
"Hoo, as expected of the Marquisate, the quality of food is different."
Linus lay on the bed, patting his stomach.
Fullness and comfort seeped through him. If he relaxed his consciousness even slightly, he was certain he'd pass out.
Except for the stiffness in his jaw.
"Damn it, hours of explanations, and my mouth still aches. This is why people should live saying less, but I got caught by those damned bastards…"
Linus rubbed his jaw joint with one hand.
By nature, he was a violent man.
Before losing his arm, his default was to run wild, no matter who stood before him.
The pride unique to a craftsman. He was a Platinum-rank adventurer too, so even nobles could not treat him carelessly.
His indifference to life also played a part.
'Not anymore, without my right arm.'
Now he feared death.
Because there was something he had to do before he died. Without accomplishing it, he could not close his eyes.
So he threw away his pride.
For the sake of survival, he willingly knelt. He even learned the honorifics he had never once used in his life, treating nobles with courtesy. That was how Linus survived.
"What a fucking miserable life."
Remembering the past, pain shot through the arm that was no longer there. Phantom pain.
"Damn it, pain when it's here, pain when it's gone."
Linus grimaced.
As his rough hand rubbed his right shoulder, the pain subsided. Perhaps because of that, drowsiness suddenly washed over him, and his eyelids drooped shut.
At that moment.
Knock, knock, knock.
The sound of knocking reached his ears.
'Ah, fuck, who is it now.'
He wiped his drool and rose to his feet.
Surely they weren't going to ask him again about the experiments… he thought as he walked to the door.
"Who's there?"
He yanked the door open roughly.
He raised his weary face.
'Hm?'
But before him stood an unexpected figure.
Verden.
With an expressionless face, he spoke.
"I'd like to have a word."
"A word? I'm feeling sleepy right now…"
"It won't take long."
Won't take long, huh.
Linus scratched his head.
"I'd rather hear the point first."
"I came to request a commission."
***
Linus and Verden sat across from each other.
The one-armed craftsman, having gulped down cold water, leaned back against his chair.
"Hah, a commission, huh. It's been a long time since I've heard that. The name was… Asher, right?"
"Yes."
Linus stared at Verden's face.
"Hm, he doesn't look even thirty, yet they say he's a monster who killed a court mage. I'm a Genius in my own field, but seeing the so-called Genius Mage in person, even his face is different. I like him already."
Verden was his savior.
A mage who had crushed a court mage and even prevented spatial teleportation. And now, a client besides.
Linus's goodwill was overflowing.
"So, what do you want made?"
"A staff."
"A staff… of all things, a staff…"
Linus's brow twitched.
'What's this?'
Was there a problem?
His reaction wasn't good. It felt deeply negative.
Verden tilted his head inwardly and asked.
"Why is that?"
"Ah, just a bad memory came back. Truth is, it was while making a staff that I lost this right arm."
"…An accident?"
"Accident, I wish. That damned mage bastard went berserk trying to silence me… ah, that's not a story I should be telling. Ahem."
Linus cleared his throat.
"Have you ever heard of a prophet?"
A prophet?
He had met someone who claimed to be one. An old man in the principality, met twice, who read fortunes with his innocent little granddaughter and cards.
"Long ago, I met an old man who called himself a prophet. He drew some cards and told me if I tangled with mages, I'd live a wretched life. Back then I told him to shove it, and chased him off."
But.
"Damn, maybe it was a curse, but whenever I got tangled with mages, it always ended in shit. Lost this right arm… and recently got caught by a court mage and lived like an animal. How could I not hate mages?"
Linus shuddered sincerely.
Every time he spoke of mages, anger and irritation seeped into his voice.
'So he'll reject the commission?'
Verden tapped the desk lightly.
Honestly, he had considered the possibility of refusal. He even had persuasion methods prepared.
'But this pure hatred of mages…'
That, he had not expected.
To turn that heart, a different persuasion was needed.
Verden quickly searched for countermeasures in his head.
Then, Linus laughed.
"Hey, Asher. Do you know what I hate even more than mages?"
"…?"
"It's when someone tries to meddle in my life. I didn't even listen to my master, so why would I listen to some prophet I don't even know? And besides, this damned life of mine, how much worse could it get? My creed is to repay grudges tenfold, and favors as they are."
"Then…"
"That's right."
Linus extended his hand.
"I'll take the commission. I won't even charge labor, since it's repayment for my life. Of course, all the materials needed for the crafting will have to be prepared by the client. How about it?"
There was no reason to refuse.
"My thanks."
They shook hands.
An approval better than any.
"So then, what kind of staff do you want? If you've got a blueprint or materials, I'd like to take a look."
He always carried the materials with him.
Verden opened his spatial bag.
He rummaged inside for a moment, and soon a brilliant radiance filled the room.
A stone holding rainbow flames, the Breath of Element.
And a mana crystal that radiated an overwhelming blue glow.
The last of the materials taken from the treasure vault of the Magic Tower.
Linus gasped.
His eyes were drenched in awe and shock.
"Holy shit, my god…"