Chapter 70
Chapter 70
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 70
Chapter Title: Speak Casually to Me Too
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“Speak casually with me too.”
The moment Rachel heard those words, a question mark popped up over her head.
‘Did I really just hear that?’
“I’ve noticed it before, but you seem to speak casually with people you’re close to. Like with Abyss, and now with the Lady Nerus you’ve befriended this time.”
“It’s not always like that! I’m super close with Enoch.”
This was an unprecedented situation that had never happened before. She’d thought that Enoch in this run was more emotionally expressive than before, but for him to actually request casual speech was a first.
“And with Abyss, it’s not that we’re close—he started it first, so I just matched him because I didn’t want to be the only one using formal speech.”
“But you do treat him casually, don’t you?”
She couldn’t deny it. She even referred to him inwardly as “that guy” or “that jerk,” which showed how comfortable she was.
“I’m not saying we’re close. I speak casually to the maids and servants too.”
“There’s a difference between speaking casually to those beneath you and to people you’re close with.”
“Th-then shouldn’t you start speaking casually to me first, Enoch? You’re older than me.”
“This is how I was taught at the temple. It’s become a habit for me, but not for you, Rachel.”
“That’s a lie. You spoke casually to the third prince before. So it is a habit. You can do it!”
Excited, Rachel cut her words short. Enoch stared straight at her face as if urging her to continue. Her excitement cooled as a result.
“Fine, sure. Speaking casually doesn’t mean I don’t respect you. You really want to hear my casual speech that badly?”
“Yes. You can act normal when others are around. But when it’s just us, I’d like you to treat me comfortably, Rachel.”
“Your tastes are a bit weird, Enoch. Alright, then I’ll really speak casually, okay?”
“Yes.”
“Really?”
Enoch nodded with a gentle face reminiscent of a golden retriever.
‘Why am I getting nervous over this?’
“Then I have a question. When exactly did you start wanting me to speak casually with you?”
“From the time you were chatting comfortably with Lady Nerus. You seemed so at ease with her that I got jealous.”
Rachel’s face flushed red as she listened.
Enoch was usually shy but occasionally acted so boldly like this.
‘Come to think of it, it’s been half a month since I started speaking casually with Lekeya?’
Enoch had more patience than most people. He didn’t like asking for help and tried to handle personal matters alone.
“Enoch.”
“Yes.”
“Listen well. You hold back too much, Enoch. Something like your request just now isn’t hard, so I can accommodate it anytime.”
“You acted like you wouldn’t earlier…”
“I’ll decide whether to do it after hearing you out, so just spit it out. I can’t read minds, so if you don’t say it, I won’t know.”
If you don’t say it, I won’t know. If you don’t communicate, things go awry. With anyone else, Rachel wouldn’t have said this much.
But she hated seeing Enoch suffer in silence alone. She didn’t want to drift apart from him.
“To me, you’re my first friend and more precious than anyone else, incomparable. So I wish you wouldn’t keep weird thoughts to yourself.”
Rachel spoke with sincerity. But Enoch’s expression looked strange after hearing her.
“Why?”
“I don’t know. I’m really happy, but…”
Even Enoch himself looked confused.
“They say too much joy can bring tears—maybe it’s something like that?”
“That could be.”
Their gazes met. And without knowing who started it, they both burst into laughter.
“Haha, to worry over something like this—we’re so weird.”
“Everything’s been weird since I met you, Rachel.”
“So you’re saying I’m weird?”
“No, it means you’re a miraculous presence in my life, Rachel. My first stroke of luck was meeting Priestess Peace, the second was sparring with Lady Evelyn, and the third was becoming friends with you.”
As Enoch had told her before, Priestess Peace was like a mother figure to his heart, and Evelyn was his idol.
Rachel was surprised to be compared to them.
‘Do I really have that kind of value?’
Her face heated up. Even as a first friend, wasn’t this evaluation too high?
‘No, in a way, I think of Enoch as the best too.’
The carriage raced on, carrying the sweet emotions and subtle air wrapped in the friendship of the girl and boy.
***
Henri Emporus—no, now Baron Iasis—stopped by the palace library after finishing his morning consultations.
Lately, the number of patients had surged. At first, there were many with digestive issues like vomiting and diarrhea, but gradually patients with breathing difficulties and convulsions appeared too.
He suspected an infectious disease and isolated the patients, but he couldn’t pinpoint what illness it was.
“Women in particular have been catching it a lot.”
The palace and Harpa Castle were close. Infectious diseases spread quickly, so he worried about his wife and daughter.
“It’s been a while.”
Someone who recognized him flipping through medical books greeted him. Henri looked up from his book.
A middle-aged man with a striking red mustache extended his hand. Henri shook it and returned the greeting.
“It’s been a while. Viscount Noema.”
Viscount Noema was a palace scholar who had been the crown prince’s tutor.
They had run into each other a few times while working in the same palace. He was renowned for his knowledge and prestige, and from what Henri had seen, the rumors were true.
Henri recalled the papyrus card he’d received before. Viscount Noema had once invited him to his gathering, but Henri hadn’t been able to attend.
The invitation was probably somewhere in his messy room, but it had likely vanished when Rachel cleaned a few months ago.
“I’d been hoping you’d join the gathering someday, so I was disappointed when you didn’t.”
“I’m sorry. I’ve been so busy that I forgot.”
“It can’t be helped when you’re tending to patients. I’ve heard the rumors—you’ve become a baron?”
“Yes. Now I’m Baron Iasis.”
But Henri’s expression wasn’t bright as he said it. He wasn’t purely happy about becoming a baron.
His family had contracted with demons for generations, and his trusted older brother had targeted his daughter. He’d even schemed to prevent Henri from gaining a title.
When that came to light, he’d been shocked. Even his second brother had been involved.
In the end, the family was gone, and his two brothers and nephews were dead. He couldn’t rejoice when only he had survived unscathed.
Even after his innocence was proven, suspicious glances lingered, questioning if he was involved with demons.
Those glares might not fade and could extend to his children.
“You look unwell. Is work tough these days?”
“It’s because the patients are increasing. But what brings you here?”
“Is it strange for a scholar to be near books?”
Henri realized his mistake at that response. His student, the crown prince, had passed away, but he was still a scholar. It wasn’t odd for him to visit the palace library full of rare books.
“I’m sorry.”
“No need. It’s I who’s abnormal for seeking knowledge even after His Highness the Crown Prince’s death. But listen—I’ve glimpsed a part of the truth.”
“The truth?”
Henri recalled the name of the gathering Viscount Noema had invited him to before. A group of intellectuals seeking truth. The truth was akin to the whispers of demons, so the group was called Daimon.
“Yes. It was a possibility. Are you not interested? You deal with patients, so you must be fascinated by the boundary between life and death.”
“If we reach the truth, can we glimpse it?”
“More than glimpse it! We can achieve even greater things. Won’t you visit once?”
“If you invite me again, I’ll attend.”
Henri didn’t fully believe Viscount Noema. But he hoped he might get clues about the spreading epidemic at a gathering of many intellectuals.
“I’ll call for you soon.”
A few days later, Henri attended the gathering Viscount Noema had invited him to.
***
“The weather’s insane.”
Rachel muttered as she looked out the window. Lightning struck, thunder booming loudly. The rainy season had arrived with summer.
She’d adapted to work now and shared office space with the staff. She was alone in her office. Perhaps because of that, the sound of rain outside was especially clear.
“The dikes are complete, and we’ve stockpiled plenty of food.”
She’d given advance notice to the temple and Carion too.
“In this run, the food shortage won’t get that extreme!”
The royal family had bought up food en masse, slightly raising prices, but it was minor compared to previous runs.
After summer and fall passed, winter would make food impossible to find. People stripped bark and roots from trees in mountains and forests, exposing the white fibers. Wild animals were extinct.
Livestock wasn’t spared. Animals that consumed food were the first turned into food by people.
Yet nobles ignored it, caught up in faction fights.
Rachel hadn’t seen it herself, but in villages hit hard by famine, they said parents swapped children to boil and eat.
‘That kind of tragedy must be prevented.’
Rachel didn’t think she could eliminate all misfortune. It was hard enough just protecting herself—how could she manage more?
Ruling the territory was her job anyway, so she’d just do her best within her reach.
“I wonder when I’ll be able to use magic.”
Black mana drew a star shape above Rachel’s hand. After constant practice, moving mana had become easy.
But she couldn’t do things like making grass and trees lush and growing them, like Lekeya.
“Is it because of the color?”
The mana Lekeya harbored was a clear green, like her eyes.
In contrast, Rachel’s mana was black.
The aura of black magic had a black tint—perfect for being mistaken for a black sorcerer.
“Good thing ordinary people can’t see mana. This must be related to attributes, right?”
Her attribute was darkness. In a world blessed by the god of light, what did a darkness attribute mean? She had no idea.
“Darkness attribute magic. What can it do?”
Her imagination was lacking.
Common game attributes were the five elements like fire, wood, water, metal, earth, or the four elements: water, fire, wind, earth.
Light and darkness were opposites—a common setting—but she had no idea what magic it enabled.
“At least Blind?”
Rachel thought of a spell that blocked vision. Nothing else came to mind except black magic. Of course, that black magic was called “black magic” in this world.
‘Wait, am I really a witch who uses black magic?’
Wouldn’t she become insanely strong the moment she touched black magic? Rachel shook her head vigorously at the thought.
No black magic. It required sacrifices, and she’d die by Evelyn’s hand. Plus, Enoch would grieve.
“Right thought, right thought. Blinding the enemy’s eyes isn’t bad, is it?”