Chapter 32
Chapter 32
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: Fissure (8)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Lian had occasionally seen demi-humans at the market too.
There were three main races that mingled deeply with human society.
The elves and dwarves, indispensable to any fantasy world.
And the beastkin who had come from far-off sand deserts.
But the old man before him didn't fit into any of those categories.
"I won't put on airs. Save my life, will you?"
He'd already pulled every trick in the book in that short time...
Lian stared up silently at the mage, who seemed to harbor far more secrets than expected.
So when exactly had this old man started serving as court mage to Madella?
"My main job is businessman. If you want my help, you'll have to pay the appropriate price."
"Didn't you come to me because you want something too? Speak up."
"First, I want to know what happened on the day of Lord Leon's succession ceremony."
He'd heard that Madella's native families deeply resented Leon.
But what Lian had seen in North Harbor contradicted those stories.
Leon was burdened with heavy duties, sure, but he clearly did whatever he wanted.
"I see, you bastard."
"Whoa! You startled me!"
Suddenly, the mage's lanky torso bent forward, his masked face thrusting right up close.
The hollow eyes beneath the mask rolled around, scrutinizing Lian closely before twisting into a scowl.
"Opened your eyes, have you."
This old mage apparently had his own way of telling mages apart.
"Just from a few words of advice? You cheeky brat! What enviable talent!"
"I hear that a lot."
"Tch! Don't get cocky over a speck of enlightenment, you greenhorn!"
Even as he said it, the long corners of his mouth curled up slightly beneath the mask.
What a tsundere old coot.
"You asked what the lord did. Did you see that old hag?"
"If you mean Delico Matron, yes. I met her in person."
"That makes this easier to explain."
The mage muttered as he stretched his arm toward the corner.
At that moment, Lian's eyes went wide.
His arm had definitely stretched longer.
But strangely, it wasn't magic.
He could hear spirit whispers, but they weren't coming from the mage.
"Here, this vial contains that tree wench's sap. I siphoned some off for personal research a while back."
"Didn't your arm just stretch?"
"A perceptive one like you should know this is no ordinary item."
He was casually ignored, clean and simple.
Lian took the vial from the mage with a dubious expression.
The same whispers he'd heard from Delico Matron came drifting out.
Ka-rurruk—
A creepy sound, like invisible spirits drunkenly cackling in madness.
"You mixed this into the wine at the succession ceremony and fed it to the nobles. Some kind of mass hypnosis?"
"If I had to compare... yeah. A love potion."
"Pardon...?"
"Handsome guys look good even with a dumb face. So damn annoying."
Lian peered intently at the pumpkin-colored liquid in the vial again.
He'd said "similar," so it wasn't a real love potion—more like one that boosted favorability.
"Precisely, I blended the lord's blood into wine. Now anyone who drank it feels inexplicably good around him. Manipulating emotions is far easier than thoughts."
"Honestly, I could use something like this myself."
"Tch! Forget it. It's not worth coveting."
The mage waved his hand dismissively but didn't take the vial back.
Lian agreed it wasn't some miracle substance either.
Every drug had side effects.
The question was whether Leon knew about them.
"Greenhorn, where do you think consciousness originates?"
"The brain."
"...Correct. You punk."
He'd probably hoped for a wrong answer, since Lian got cursed even though he was right.
And no wonder—this world's common belief was that human thoughts and emotions stemmed from the heart.
The brain? An organ for making snot, apparently.
"Contrary to popular belief, the brain is a crucial and troublesome organ. Once diseased, it's hard to cure. Don't think a magic drug that corrupts it would work flawlessly."
"What kind of problem?"
"How should I know? It's not my magic! Kekeke!"
Lian glared steadily at the mage.
Come to think of it, this old man loved trading cryptic riddles with his eccentric temperament.
"Whatever happened to the guy begging me to save him? Should I just leave now?"
"But ta-da! Of course I have my suspicions! Obviously!"
Even an utter weirdo couldn't help buckling under desperation.
"Remember those seeds that tree wench planted in the slave kids' bellies long ago? When did they activate?"
"...Right after death."
Lian clearly remembered, having personally ended that girl Sofi's life twice.
The moment he first severed her neck, tentacle-like stems had burst out, turning her into a monster.
"Why not while alive? Why right after death?"
"Dunno. That's just how the magic works?"
"Living bodies constantly circulate blood, purifying internal corruption on their own. That's why the seeds only took shallow root."
"After death, immunity stops, so the roots spread unchecked."
"Exactly. Immunity—that's a better term."
Lian rolled his eyes in thought, then his expression hardened.
Following this line of reasoning, surely...
"Same here. Drinkers will be fine while alive. Just a bit dumber. No big deal, right?"
"But after death..."
"Then the brain falls fully under the tree wench's sap control. They won't truly die."
This wasn't a love potion or favorability booster.
It was a zombie potion.
And the real problem was elsewhere.
"Mage?"
"What? Why the stiff face?"
"These hallucinations from the sap... They came from Delico Matron's entire body after she became a tree...?"
"What?"
The magic's effects probably weren't limited to the sap.
From roots to leaves—everything.
Delico Matron's whole being was a hazardous substance that turned humans into zombies.
"At least it's not pine. If it released pollen..."
"It is pine."
"Pardon?"
"It's pine! I used pine saplings as the magic ingredient!"
No, why was this mad old man suddenly pulling a gender swap here?
"Why!?"
"To prevent fruit-based reproduction! Who knew it'd turn out like this!"
Lian's head throbbed.
And right now was peak spring, flowers blooming profusely.
The curse of the living dead was imminent.
* * *
"No way! Don't be a fool—pack your bags and flee this island now!"
The mage extended his spider-leg arms to the ceiling, sticking there flat.
If he wasn't getting off Madella Island, he wouldn't budge an inch from here.
"Come on, help me convince Leon. People will start dying in droves soon!"
"Hmph! What do I care what happens to the rest?"
True to form, the old man had zero sense of justice.
Of course, Lian wasn't stepping up out of some pointless heroism either.
If North Harbor fell, South Harbor wouldn't escape unscathed.
What he aimed to protect was his family, assets—his future.
"Isn't a merchant's life built on credit? I gave you the info you wanted—keep your promise!"
"I said 'first.' You haven't paid in full yet."
"What? You swindler!"
The mage thumped the ceiling in frustration.
But Lian had grown used to that hulking frame; it barely felt threatening now.
"From what you say, you were pretty deeply involved too, mage. Take responsibility for your actions!"
"Responsibility? You think I helped willingly?"
"No?"
"Curiosity got the better of me, sure. Think about it—a way for humans to step closer to spirits."
"So you were involved."
Lian glared at the masked face.
Truth be told, wasn't this cranky mage the root cause of everything?
"Cool your head, greenhorn. Leon takes after his father—stubborn as a mule. You think he'll listen?"
"Fair point..."
Besides, zombification was just a hypothesis.
No way a plea to eliminate Delico Matron based on that would sway him.
They'd already argued over it once just recently.
"If you wanna save the humans that badly, become Leon's trusted aide. Then ask him to chop the tree wench—he'll agree happily."
"No thanks. That's basically telling me to become a slave again."
"Me neither!"
Lian desperately wanted to avert a zombie outbreak.
The old mage just wanted to flee to safety.
The two stubborn men's differences ran parallel, unyielding.
But negotiation's essence was compromise.
Lian pondered to find that overlap.
"Leon doesn't matter, really. We just need to deal with Delico Matron somehow."
"Oh ho. Gonna take her out yourself?"
"I'd like to, but it's not easy. Sneaking into the lord's castle?"
Of course, using some hidden passage inside might change things.
And conveniently, an expert sat right before him.
"Just guide us like when we came in. I'll handle the rest."
"Why should I? If something happens to you, I'm stuck here forever."
"Then you'll just have to make extra sure I don't get caught."
"Hmm."
Unlike his earlier pigheadedness, the mage actually pondered now.
"How will you dispose of the tree wench? Burning might backfire."
"Chopping her down seems safest."
"With that toy knife? Hold on."
The mage stretched his arm to the corner again, fetching a vial.
It definitely wasn't an optical illusion from overly long arms.
"Your arm really stretched..."
"Take it. Poison to wither plants. Made it for emergencies."
"Ignoring me again, as usual."
Then don't show off like that.
At this point, Lian suspected the mage might be a talking magical beast.
Maybe that's why Leon tried to kill him instead of just firing him.
"You prepared all this and still planned to run without doing anything?"
"Kekeke. Preparation alone isn't risky."
Clunk—
The mage pulled a wall lever, revealing stairs to the secret passage.
"Greenhorn, remember this."
"What?"
"When I view the world through a bird's eyes, I see a completely different one than with these two. The same goes for what that tree-fused wench sees."
You might see things you couldn't before.
"Anyway, be careful."
The mage waved his long, bony hand, then huddled in the corner, curling into a ball.
He looked oddly like a baby bird tucked into its egg.