Chapter 53
Chapter 53
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: Is This a Mana Stone Too?
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Is this a mana stone too?
It was such a pretty shape, rare even if you called it just a pebble, so Juliet liked its look.
She dumped all the mana stones from her pocket in a clatter and carefully tucked in only that black pebble.
"Now that I think about it, there was that story. They say that when the king of magical beasts, a dragon, settles in a place, habitats for low-grade magical beasts naturally form around it."
It was a hypothesis she'd never heard before.
"And since dragons are now extinct, no new habitats are being created anymore."
"That makes sense."
"Right? Then it also explains why these habitats are so concentrated in the eastern part of the continent compared to other regions."
Juliet and Esselrid were sitting side by side on the ground, exchanging such idle talk.
They were too hungry to move, and it was the only thing to do. Honestly, if they didn't do that...
"Theo Levatan... I'm going to kill him."
Esselrid burst out laughing in disbelief.
"Don't laugh."
Juliet grumbled.
"If Theo hadn't messed with the tracker in the first place, we would've gotten out of here ages ago."
The smile vanished from Esselrid's face. Thinking about it, she was absolutely right.
"See? I'm right."
"Juliet."
"Yes, what?"
"...Right under the ribcage, that's called the solar plexus."
"....And?"
Unthinkingly, Juliet touched her own solar plexus following Esselrid's lead.
Esselrid said with a resolute expression.
"Aim for the solar plexus."
* * *
"But this is going to be tough to break."
After carefully examining the cliff face, they concluded that escaping this place on their own would be impossible.
Juliet quietly muttered.
"Are we going to die here, then?"
Esselrid looked extremely intrigued.
Juliet rested her chin in her hand, lost in thought.
'As expected.'
It seemed innate fate couldn't be changed. In her previous life, Juliet had died at twenty-five. Was she going to die like this in this life too?
'But Dahlia hasn't even appeared yet, and I haven't met Carlyle again. It's too unfair.'
'If I'd known it would be like this, I would've just...'
Juliet bit her lip as she thought, then startled herself with her own idea.
But when she actually imagined dying, the bitterness was unavoidable. Would that man even find out she died here? No, if he did, would he grieve?
"We really needed Theo for balance."
Esselrid muttered cryptically as she examined the wall.
"A swordsman, a mage, and..."
Her voice trailed off as she looked straight at Juliet.
"A spiritist."
Right?
Juliet blinked.
She didn't bother with the clichéd "How did you know?"
"Hueong..."
At that moment, one of the sniffling children burst into tears.
On the third night since they'd fallen, the kids started sobbing.
No food, and the darkness was scary.
For children, holding out this long was already impressive.
"Don't cry, kids."
Juliet murmured in a flat tone. Esselrid chuckled.
'Comfort or threat?'
Waaah!
As expected of kids, one started wailing and they all followed in a chain.
"Shh, good girl, Deina."
Magda tried to soothe the child, but it wasn't enough.
The crying echoed in the already cramped cliff crevice. Then, one of the guild members lying against the opposite wall shot up and yelled.
"Hey! Shut those brats up!"
Who was this all because of?
Juliet glared at them before getting up and heading to the children.
"Good kids? Sister will show you something amazing."
Something amazing?
Not just the kids, but even the guild members on the other side perked up and looked over.
Juliet had the sniffling child open her hand, pressed her palm against it for a moment, then pulled away.
The next instant, a tiny light like a firefly floated up from the darkness. Esselrid's eyes widened as he watched.
"Wow..."
The fingernail-sized little butterfly flitted about.
The kids forgot their tears and chased the fluttering, dodging butterfly in a frenzy.
When she returned to her spot, Esselrid was looking at her with surprised eyes.
"You're kinder than I thought."
"If the kids cry, the magical beasts will find us faster. Then we'll die sooner, right?"
"Ah."
Juliet whispered nonchalantly, low enough that the kids and Magda couldn't hear.
That figures. Esselrid shook his head with an expression like he was holding back a laugh.
But Juliet looked somewhat forlorn. Honestly, until now, she'd had some hope.
As long as she was just lost or surviving after a kidnapping, someone would come looking. It must've stung his pride that someone dared to touch what was his.
'But not anymore...'
Lennox wasn't coming.
'That's the choice you made.'
Juliet judged coldly.
"Esselrid."
"Yes, Juliet."
Juliet asked, a bit tense.
"Are you going to tell my aunt?"
"Pardon?"
Esselrid looked blank for a moment, then burst out laughing.
"Why would I?"
"Because you're a mage."
Juliet said only that, but Esselrid understood.
"Eek."
He dramatically leaned his head back. A couple of butterflies that had silently appeared were circling him threateningly.
"Get rid of them, please."
Esselrid said, raising his hands slightly like a razor was at his throat.
"They're more dangerous to me, actually."
It was theoretically correct.
"Then swear the Oath of Ikaros. That you won't tell my aunt or uncle anything until I say it's okay."
A glint passed through Esselrid's eyes.
"The Oath of Ikaros? Where'd you even hear about that?"
"Will you swear or not?"
"Alright. I swear."
Esselrid nodded with a fairly serious expression.
"Ahem."
She looked up at the sound, and the Black Mane Guild members were approaching with awkward expressions.
"We'd like to talk."
Juliet was sleepy, hungry, and drained, so she just stayed sitting there.
"I'm Absilon, guild master of the Black Mane Guild."
"I'm Esselrid, mage of the Marigold Merchant Company."
Esselrid spoke for Juliet. The other guild members behind Absilon glanced warily at him.
"Ah, okay."
Absilon peeked at Juliet over Esselrid's shoulder.
"Uh... We didn't meet under the best circumstances, but since things are like this, we should know each other's abilities. You know—"
"It might help with escaping, right?"
Another guild member chimed in.
Esselrid looked exasperated but shrugged.
"Fine."
Then the guild members introduced themselves one by one.
Magda and the kids, who had returned to their spots, gave their names too. After going full circle, the only one left was Juliet, sitting to the side with sleepy eyes.
"Ahem!"
Absilon cleared his throat and asked.
"What skills does the lady over there have?"
Juliet had been watching with arms crossed, then felt all eyes on her.
Now she got it. They'd started this to pry info out of her from the beginning.
'I didn't want to reveal the butterflies in front of everyone, but...'
Well, she'd already shown them.
Juliet, leaning casually, opened her palm. A bluish light haze seemed to rise from it, then gathered fluffy and took clear form.
The light, now fully a butterfly, flapped its wings and rose upward.
Pzzt.
It energetically ascended but ultimately hit the silver barrier and couldn't get out.
Sighs rose from the people around her.
"Ooh..."
Only Esselrid kept his cool.
He watched what she did with a somewhat darkened expression.
"It's a spirit I summoned."
Juliet answered expressionlessly.
"They're..."
Juliet didn't forget Lionel's advice.
"You don't have to show everything."
"They sparkle."
"....What?"
"Is... that your answer?"
"Yeah, super useful in the dark."
Juliet replied with a big smile.
Sparkle sparkle!
As if they understood, the butterflies fluttered about, shining even brighter than before.