Chapter 28
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: Rest (2)
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For the time being, I tried to sit up first. It just felt wrong to lie there comfortably in front of the dean of Iliad Academy, an 8th-circle mage.
"Feel free to stay lying down. It's not like I can demand proper etiquette from a patient. This old man never cared much for empty formalities anyway."
I'm the one who's uncomfortable here. Me.
Grunting with effort, I finally managed to sit up and leaned back against the bed, looking at him.
"Um... I'll start by explaining the Black Dragon's Mana."
"If you're thinking of lying or beating around the bush, you'd best abandon that idea right now. This old man can tell truth from lies pretty well."
Of course you can, you old coot!
Crepon's Sage's Gaze had all sorts of functions, one of which was lie detection.
There were limitations, so he didn't use it often, but it was more than enough for questions directed at me.
Even without that, the grand mage in front of me could spot my clumsy lies in an instant.
The wisdom of someone who'd lived over a century couldn't be underestimated.
"I wouldn't dare lie to the dean."
"That doesn't stop you from knowing a bit about my eyes, though, does it?"
His perceptiveness was off the charts. Had he spent the last century honing his wits instead of magic?
I quickly changed the subject.
I could already see him prying into the origins of my knowledge about the Sage's Gaze.
"I absorbed the Black Dragon's Mana automatically when I ingested her inner core fragment."
"Absorbed it by ingesting the inner core? That's common knowledge to this old man."
Of course it was.
Judging by the label on Arxius's inner core fragment, there had been others who'd consumed it like a wonder drug.
They must have sensed her mana too, just like me.
"What I'm really curious about is how exactly you tamed it."
"Tamed... it how?"
"There have been plenty of people who've ingested a dragon's inner core. More than a few, even."
There had been quite a few Dragon Slayers before me, and even more who'd consumed dragon inner cores.
"But no one has ever wielded a dragon's mana like you do."
What?
I tilted my head. If they'd ingested a dragon's mana, why couldn't they wield it?
Crepon saw my confusion and smiled in exasperation.
"Heh, did you actually think a dragon's mana would just obediently follow its owner?"
"...It doesn't?"
"Of course not!"
His genuine bewilderment left me dumbfounded.
Settings not mentioned in the original story. Dragon mana was one of them.
The protagonist never ingested a dragon's inner core, so there was no info on it.
"This is serious."
Crepon clutched his forehead. Yet the smile lingered on his lips.
"If you know how to handle mana, you know it takes on properties too."
"Of course. Mana develops traits based on its owner, right?"
"Good. Looks like you didn't waste your time at the academy."
I knew that from the original story.
I scratched my head. But what did that have to do with dragon mana?
"Mana's properties change with its owner. So, what kind of properties do you think the notoriously violent Black Dragon's Mana would have?"
[Who're you calling violent? I'll crush that old human bastard!]
Quiet down. You're older than him anyway.
I silenced Arxius and recalled Crepon's words.
Then I found my answer.
"Violent... I guess?"
"Add a bit more. The Black Dragon's Mana is violent, uncontrollable, and never obeys its owner."
"...?"
"It never obeys its owner—no dragon's inner core does. It's like their pride is infused into the mana itself."
"All dragons?"
"Yes. So the conclusion is, while you can absorb regular mana from a dragon's inner core, you can't claim the dragon's own mana."
Crepon's explanation piqued my genuine curiosity, and I pointed at myself.
"Then... how am I wielding it?"
"That's what I'm asking you."
No matter how you look at me, I really don't know.
How was I controlling mana that's violent, uncontrollable, and defiant...?
[Stop, stop! Don't repeat that old coot's words!]
'To reiterate, you're a dragon and older than the dean...'
[Shut it. I'm not explaining.]
'Understood.'
[Others have eaten my inner core too. I don't remember how many generations passed, but there were Dragon Slayers every century or so.]
'And?'
[What's the difference between them and you?]
'Hmm... talent?'
[Wow, shameless prick. You say it yourself.]
'Can't help it if it's true.'
Dragon Slayers surely had exceptional talent. Otherwise, they couldn't slay a being called the lord of their kind.
But there it was: the Genius trait staring back at me.
I could confirm it. Legends across centuries—Master Swordsman Lenoc, Grand Mage Iliad.
This talent would carry me to their level.
I'd half-convinced myself in Lenoc's dungeon.
[Anyway, talent aside, you sacrificed your lifespan. What kind of insane crap do you have to pull to offer your lifespan?]
'Oh... now that you mention it, yeah? I've done a lot of insane crap.'
[...Do you act like an idiot on purpose?]
'Busted.'
[Fuck.]
I brushed off Arxius's cursing and sorted the info.
A possessor in a unique position.
With a Terminally Ill trait that counted down lifespan, unlike the usual.
Starting from a completely different point, I'd been granted this unintended advantage: dragon mana.
That was the only explanation.
Crepon, who'd been staring at me, spoke again.
"This question's pointless, then."
"Pardon?"
"Asking how you wield dragon mana when you think it's natural. Like asking how you drink water."
Is that so?
"Moving on to the second question. You definitely died once. My 'eyes' saw you leave this world. Then you came back."
"That..."
That's how it looked to him.
Thinking about it now, it was a gamble.
Even with a one-year lifespan as the reward, handling Arxius's mana would bottom out my lifespan.
Could I refill an empty lifespan?
It had already hit zero.
Doubts like that crossed my mind, but there was no time for hesitation.
No other options.
Beyond that...
The one who put me here wouldn't kill me off so boringly.
Well, in hindsight, that was a stretch.
"To be honest, I don't know exactly."
"You don't know?"
"Yes. You know my body has a special condition that leaves me with little time left."
The dean nodded. He'd confirmed it with his Sage's Gaze.
"Neither the ducal house nor the academy could diagnose my illness."
Not even Arxius, or me, the possessor.
Gu paralysis, poison—everything suspected, every medicine tried.
But...
'None of it worked.'
No cure for my lifespan, elixirs only delaying the inevitable.
That's how I eked out my days, consuming wonder drugs.
Seeing something in me, the dean wore an inscrutable expression and patted my shoulder.
"Understood. This old man dragged this out too long."
With a snap of his fingers, the barrier around us dissolved.
"This stays between us. Seems most don't even know you're Terminally Ill."
"...Thank you."
"You've got good friends."
Friends?
I tilted my head, but the next moment, I understood.
"Can we come in now?"
"Of course, of course. This old man talked too much."
They entered cautiously: red-haired Erina.
"I kept the elf with me for a bit."
Disguised Adel, and beside her, Christina standing demurely.
"You're awake now."
Agnes and Lee Han entering, scattering their usual gazes.
"Mm... Young Master, you're up."
Petra rubbing her eyes as she rose.
All the original story's main and supporting characters were here. Even those not in the original. All visiting my bedside.
The dean smiled brightly and waved at me.
That's what he meant by friends.
"Deron! You feeling okay?"
"Erina, you can't just touch a patient like that."
"Fine... Agnes."
The bickering pair.
"Han, shouldn't you get treated too?"
"I'm fine. For now."
The chemistry I'd craved from the original.
"Come sit here."
"... "
Scenes absent from the novel.
All unfolding before my eyes.
A life possessed by an unlucky genius with a terminal fate.
But right now, couldn't I enjoy it a little?
Watching them bicker peacefully at my bedside brought that thought.
"Deron... smiled?"
"Haven't seen Young Master smile so brightly in ages."
Ugh, sentimental.
I tried to lower my lips and looked around.
"I told you not to touch it!"
"Ow, ow! Adel! Your hands are too rough!"
"Causing a ruckus in a sickroom is unacceptable. Please restrain yourselves."
My lips curved up again unbidden.
What a sight.
Demon King, massacre—whatever. For now, savor this scene.
With that thought...
Time flowed on like gentle waters.