Knight and Prodigal Son (3)
Watching the subtle exchange of glances between the two men, Mrs. Pand crooked her finger.
“One blood draw might not be enough. Here, take it all.”
“…Yes.”
Alberik located the vein in his arm with practiced ease and drew the blood. Afterward, Mrs. Pand blinked slowly before drifting off to sleep. Alberik slipped quietly out of the room and tossed the vial to Kriel.
“Here. Can you tell now?”
“Hm.”
Honestly, there was a faint presence of the abyss. But considering the wound that had aged Mrs. Pand was inflicted by the abyss itself, it was only natural for traces to linger in her flesh. No matter how closely he examined the faint abyss residue in the blood, it didn't carry the overt demonic taint he'd sensed in Tushkin's sample. It felt less like a corruption of the soul and more like a lingering disease tormenting the body. Even exaggerating the danger, it wouldn't qualify as monster level.
Revealing right here that he could detect abyss corruption at a glance probably wasn't the wisest move. Kriel tapped his horn dagger a couple times.
In the name of the unicorn, guardian of purity, the abyss shall not be forgiven!
Orishin's proclamation wasn't mere bluster this time. It was the unicorn's innate nature amplified by the abyss-purifying enchantment Morgina had bestowed on the horn dagger. Orishin cocked his translucent head at the vial and summed up the situation neatly.
“We'll need more tests, but I sense no real peculiarities. The Lir family's defenses seem solid.”
Alberik let out a sigh of relief. That was when Tuon whispered to Kriel.
Yeah?
“Gonna pop over to the prison real quick and punch the clock. Temporary release means I gotta report my whereabouts. What a pain.”
Back in his room, Kriel sorted through what he knew about Niam. The first Lir bloodkin he'd encountered. From her behavior with Oipe, she clearly knew Oipe as well.
Orishin grumbled. Sure, the Demon King War was over for now, but the abyss was always Tirnanog's greatest foe. Even with the Demon King slain, demons lingered, so vigilance was natural. Hard to argue with that logic.
Tuon veered off-topic to jab at Orishin.
Kriel scratched his head. Overreacting to the abyss, huh. He replayed his own arrival at the Lir estate. Niam's response was borderline overkill, but ambiguous. Hadn't he shoved an abyss byproduct right in her face to start the conversation? A true overreaction would've launched an attack first. And even that might not qualify as “over.” Self-incriminating as it was, anyone would've suspected “abyss spawn?” given the circumstances.
After some thought, Kriel shifted gears.
“Better just ask outright.”
“Yo! Coming in!”
“Here he comes.”
With a creak, Alberik entered carrying two earthenware bowls stacked vertically—dark and scorched-looking things utterly familiar to Kriel, if novel to others.
“You know nurungji? Saw you recognized rice in prison, so I brought some. Pour in some warm water, let it soak, and nothing's better for the gut. Family vibe here's too stuffy anyway.”
Clay crocks, through and through.
“Ahh, hits the spot!”
Perfect timing for a snack. No fancy flavors, but the hearty warmth settled his stomach nicely. An unexpected treat for Kriel. He'd been craving rice all along. Alberik's tastes felt so nostalgic. With every plant under the sun in the World Tree, surely kimchi jjigae was on the menu too... And if Earth-like dishes like that existed, players or heroes were probably involved. Kriel mentally added “investigate World Tree elf food culture origins” to his to-do list before speaking up.
“Got a question.”
“Yeah? Shoot. I'll tell you anything I can.”
“Probably reporting to Father. She's basically my watchdog—Father stuck her on me to keep me out of trouble—but we're tight, so she'll cover for me.”
“Tell me everything you know about this elf Niam.”
Alberik, mid-slurp of nurungji broth, choked and coughed.
“Koff—hack. Why Niam?”
“Circumstances feel off. She's gotta be low on the totem pole in the Lir household. She was the first to greet an outsider like me.”
“...Yeah, low rung. Mostly 'cause of me, though.”
“Because of you? Demoted for troublemaking together or something?”
“Nah, she's like my milk-brother from way back in the World Tree days. Milk-sister if we're technical. I'm a layabout, so she gets the same rep.”
Alberik launched into family history. Mrs. Pand, representing World Tree elves, had come to the empire's fairy nobility for aid. Nawiden the elder fell for her at first sight, volunteered for support forces, and they fell in love. Niam was one of the children between dispatched Lir kin and World Tree elves—like Alberik. But her parents were warriors who fell. Pand and Nawiden took her in.
“Romance smack in the middle of war. Wild contrast to their stuffy image now. Anyway, that's when Mother got knocked up with me. Lucky timing—the World Tree had repelled the abyss horde, war was in lull.”
Months after Alberik Lir's birth, the war stalemated. But abyss counterattack forced Nawiden and Pand back to the front. They sent toddler Alberik to the safer Lir homeland—and his milk-sibling Niam along too. Oipe was assigned as their escort by the Lirs.
Alberik nodded. That explained Oipe's “young master” teasing.
“Niam's Lir blood, but no parents—kinda outsider. Time dilation between realms muddies age, I'm no backup as a slacker. But Mother's close with her, so she brews meds and nurses.”
Alberik shrugged, as if to say that solve it?
“Hm. Back to square one, then. Family-like with you means she's like a mother to Mrs. Pand too.”
“What? You suspected Niam? I'd peg myself as more likely. Mother's her whole world.”
Alberik chattered on with trivia. Niam loved food—soup specifically, so gukbap was her jam.
“Her nursing Mrs. Pand raised flags. The Cup of Truth thief seems to grasp its mechanics perfectly.”
“What?”
“Think: Cup turns water, drinking or applying purifies. To corrupt it into an abyss baptismal font, you'd need to know that—and expect someone to drink the contents someday.”
Ancient heirloom, stored away. No average household member would know. Unless deliberately studied... or used repeatedly firsthand.
Alberik's face hardened, then relaxed.
“Nah, not her. Solid analysis, but flaw.”
“Flaw?”
“'Average members can't know 'cause it's antique.' True, except war relief use spread the word. Eight out of ten elves here have disinfected wounds with its water.”
Powerful artifact in the war. Explained why abyss targeted the Cup of Truth.
“Anyway, today's checks done. Pick up tomorrow. Meanwhile, show me that horn-dagger pal. Spiritist skills time.”
“Hey! Doubting Alberik Lir, golden blood of the Lirs?!”
Alberik summoned a horde: weak elemental blobs, up to fire salamanders and thunder eagles—diverse high spirits in clear forms across attributes.
Kriel sensed something off. Rare lightning and poison spirits answered Alberik's call. The four basics—earth, wind, fire, water—should too. But among them, no high water spirit.
Affinity's fine if he handles low water spirits...
...Already summoned?