Chapter 157: Bella and Grace
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 157: Bella and Grace
Having escaped the city guard's encirclement, I ran down the darkened streets. Thanks to knocking them all out, there was no pursuit.
Most of the city was silent as the grave, but the lights of the main thoroughfare still burned brightly.
I sprinted through an alleyway and arrived at a certain building.
The sign on the building read: Elmar Merchant Guild.
Tinkle. A small bell greeted me as I opened the door. As expected, the inside of the building was dark and quiet.
It was long past closing time, so there shouldn't have been any employees left.
‘That is, if they were normal employees.’
This was a slave market. It was smaller than the auction house, but it had a prison in the basement and slaves to manage.
There had to be staff on hand to manage and guard them 24/7.
“A customer this late at night?”
Only after I deliberately made my presence known did a thuggish-looking man emerge from a corner of the shop.
I recognized him; he was the same man I’d encountered on my last visit.
“If it’s not urgent, you should just turn back… Huk?!”
“Bring me the guild master.”
The man’s face went pale the moment he saw me.
He must have been warned by the guild master to be careful.
The man fumbled for a moment before scrambling upstairs.
Clatter, clatter, clatter!
“Y-You’ve returned?”
Not long after, the guild master, Elmar, came down. Judging by his haggard appearance, it seemed he’d been waiting for me instead of going home.
Either that, or he’d heard about the commotion at the auction house.
I followed him up to the reception room on the second floor. It was more spacious than the one at the auction house, but the overall quality of the interior and furniture was a significant step down.
Then again, it made sense. If a mere merchant’s building were more lavish than the auction house run directly by the lord, it could be seen as a challenge to the lord’s authority. He was probably being cautious.
“Y-You’ve returned early. Did you… accomplish what you set out to…”
I casually flicked my finger at the bowing and scraping guild master.
Fwoosh. A large fireball bloomed above my fingertip.
The guild master’s eyes began to tremble, likely feeling the heat even from a distance.
“W-Why the sudden magic…?”
“Which do you prefer, being burned alive or fried by lightning?”
“…Pardon?”
For a moment, the guild master wore a dumbfounded expression, unable to grasp the meaning of my words.
But after another look at my face, realization seemed to dawn on him, and he began to sweat profusely.
Thud! The guild master slammed his head on the table.
“P-Please spare me! I won’t tell anyone about you, Mage!”
“Do you want to live?”
“Yes, yes!!”
At first, I had intended to kill him. Whether he had been helpful or not, I couldn’t let a slave trader who had intended to abduct Iris live.
But then I thought that if he still had some use, perhaps I could let him live a little longer.
“There’s a maid at the auction house named Laura. Send her back to her family.”
“What? What does that…”
“You can refuse if you want.”
Crackle. High-voltage sparks danced on my other palm.
The guild master swallowed hard, forcing a smile.
“Ha, haha, as if I would refuse! I am simply overjoyed at your generous mercy, Mage!”
“Good to hear.”
I studied the guild master closely. No matter how I looked at him, his face just screamed ‘rat.’ Entrusting someone like him with anything was absurd from the start.
Of course, I never for a second thought he would cooperate obediently with just a threat.
Violence may be more immediate than the law, but unfortunately, its reach is limited.
‘Good thing the shop reset.’
I opened my inventory and took out a small book.
It was a tome completely covered in black, emanating a sinister aura.
Ting—
[Information on the newly acquired item is being collected.]
[Lelia's Little Key
Grade: Epic
A grimoire containing all the knowledge of Lelia, the Witch of Curses.
Increases understanding of curses.
Increases the power of curses.
Increases resistance to curses.]
Lelia, the Witch of Curses.
It was a name I’d never heard before, but the contents of the book were the real deal.
It was well worth the 1,300 coins.
People who don’t know much about magic often mistake curses for black magic, but surprisingly, they aren’t.
While it’s true that black mages favor them, curses are a legitimate school of magic, even included in the Magic Tower’s official curriculum.
However, neither Iris nor I had much interest in curse magic, so we never bothered to learn it.
Besides, mages can already counter curses to some extent thanks to their mana circles, so there was no real need to study them.
But in a situation like this, where violence was my only tool, I had no choice but to use it.
It was a very short amount of time, but thanks to the app’s buff and the book’s comprehension effect, learning basic curses wasn’t too difficult.
“I’m going to place a curse on you now.”
“…Pardon?”
“Surely you didn’t think I’d let you live without some kind of insurance, did you?”
“…”
“Well, no need to worry too much. As long as you keep your promise, the curse will never activate.”
I would place two curses on him: the Curse of Growth and the Curse of Erosion.
The Curse of Growth, as its name implies, is a curse that grows.
It’s a living curse that strengthens itself by gradually siphoning the target’s magic. The description might make it sound grand, but in reality, the Curse of Growth is as basic as it gets.
In its early stages, it’s so weak it can be removed with even a faint amount of divine power, and it takes a long time before it can actually harm the target.
Would you believe it takes nearly half a year to kill a normal person who can’t even handle magic?
That’s where the Curse of Erosion comes in.
It’s a smokescreen to buy time for the Curse of Growth to mature.
“The curse I’m placing on you is called the Curse of Erosion. The mere thought of acting against my will shall bring you excruciating pain, and eventually, it will claim your life.”
In Japan, there’s something called jujutsu. It’s a system of spells separate from magic, but surprisingly, curses and jujutsu share a few things in common.
One of them is declaration. The more clearly the curse’s effects are explained to the target, the more powerful the curse becomes.
“Remember this. Keep your promise. Do not harm Laura or those around her. Do not deal in elven slaves. And finally, do not make any move to have the curse dispelled.”
“…I will keep that in mind.”
Placing activation conditions on the curse was tricky, but thanks to the book, I managed to succeed somehow.
While its performance as an artifact was excellent, the true value of ‘Lelia’s Little Key’ lay in its worth as a grimoire.
If the contents of this book were published in the magical world, every textbook on curses would have to be rewritten. There was no need to waste my breath explaining further.
Of course, it wasn't my place as a novice to make such claims, but there was no doubt it was a book so outstanding in every aspect that it was beyond excellent—it was chillingly brilliant.
In any case, I placed the Curse of Erosion on the guild master’s forearm and the Curse of Growth next to his shoulder blade, where it would only be visible upon close inspection.
“I-Is it over…?”
“Do I need to activate it once for you to believe me?”
“N-No, sir!!”
“By the way, I attended the auction with an invitation issued to the Elmar Merchant Guild and turned the place upside down. Will that be a problem?”
I wasn’t asking out of concern for the guild master.
It was just a precaution. There’s nothing more foolish than signing a contract for a car without knowing it’s a lemon.
“Y-You need not worry about that. There have been a few instances in the past where attackers disguised as guests have raided the auction house. Fortunately, each time, the lord has graciously overlooked the matter after we made a ‘donation’ to cover the restoration costs.”
“You can cover the price of three elves and the lives of the guards with just that?”
“…”
The guild master remained silent, a bitter expression on his face. It seemed he had some kind of bargaining chip to use with the lord.
Well, now that I’d confirmed I wasn’t buying a lemon, it was no longer my problem.
Slurp. I took a sip of the black tea the guild master had served.
Crash!
Without a word, I threw the teacup.
“M-Mage?!”
“Guild Master.”
A murderous aura filled the reception room, and the guild master’s face, and even his lips, turned blue.
“This tea is terrible.”
“…Ah.”
The guild master stared blankly at the shattered teacup and the stained floor.
“For your information, my magic has penetrated deep into your body. Even if you succeed in dispelling the curse, finding your location would be a simple matter. Keep that in mind.”
“…I will.”
“And tell Laura her tea was delicious. After tasting this astringent garbage you brought, I find myself missing it even more.”
“…”
With that, I left the guild building.
*
Helping Laura was nothing more than a whim, nothing more and nothing less.
In this world, slavery was a deeply rooted culture.
As the saying goes, ‘When in Rome, do as the Romans do.’ I had no intention of starting some grand slave liberation front.
I just didn't want to stand by and watch a woman I’d taken a liking to live as a slave.
But buying her as a slave was even less appealing.
‘She’ll be fine on her own. I told him to provide financial support so she can live with her family.’
With that, I erased all thoughts of Laura from my mind and headed north to rendezvous with Iris.
It was late, so the city gates were naturally shut tight. Of course, they weren’t impossible to scale.
Using the nearby buildings, I vaulted over the city wall in a single leap, left the city, and immediately followed the traces of Iris’s magic.
The residual magic led to the Great Forest.
It was a distance that had taken hours to walk during the day, but at a full sprint, it would only take a few minutes.
As I reached the entrance of the Great Forest, I sensed a familiar presence.
“Hyun-woo!”
Iris must have sensed my presence too, as she came out to meet me.
Sylvia and the elf mother and daughters were with her.
It seemed they had been resting by a fire they’d made in a suitable spot.
As expected, Sylvia glared at me with displeasure, but the others did not.
The elf mother and daughters, who had been warming themselves by the campfire, cautiously rose from their seats and approached me.
“Th-Thank you…”
“Thank you…”
The two of them bowed their heads carefully. The more mature-looking one was probably the mother, and the one with a fresher feel was the daughter.
The youngest-looking girl was very shy, hiding behind the elf who appeared to be her mother, peeking out with just her head.
Fortunately, all three seemed to have recovered from the effects of the drug.
“I’m glad you all seem to be safe.”
I took out blankets and some simple food from my inventory.
The mother and daughters were hungry and ate the food I’d prepared with relish. It was a bit strange seeing an elf eat meat.
Iris watched the scene with a pleased expression while sipping green tea.
“Aren’t you going to eat?”
“…I am fine.”
I tried speaking to Sylvia, who was sitting right next to Iris, but all I got was a cold reply.
“Formal speech? Weren’t you speaking informally earlier?”
“…How could I possibly speak informally to the one Lady Iris has acknowledged as her partner, the future Royal Consort of Peledeia?”
Her words were polite, but her expression and aura were utterly murderous.
The way she reined in her anger without even glancing at me was quite impressive.
Well, there would be plenty of time in the future. No need to provoke her now.
We ate our late dinner to the soundtrack of chirping insects.
When it was time to go to bed…
“Um, Hyun-woo.”
“Hm?”
“I’d like to catch up on things we haven’t been able to talk about. Would it be alright if Sylvia and I stepped away for a moment?”
Iris, having dispelled her disguise magic, approached me. Behind her, Sylvia stood like a puppy waiting for its master’s touch.
“Of course, go ahead. Should I wait up?”
I could only vaguely guess at their exact relationship; I knew nothing for certain.
They were probably a queen and her royal guard.
Of course, in reality, they might have been even closer.
It wouldn’t be strange for them to want to have their reunion as soon as possible.
“You can go to sleep first. I think this might take a while.”
I gave Iris a light hug to see her off.
The two of them, already itching to talk, headed into the forest, chatting about this and that.
‘…If they go too far, I should probably follow.’
During the hug, I had placed a trace of my magic on Iris’s body.
If she hadn’t been wearing the sealing device, she would have noticed, but as it was, she seemed oblivious.
It was insurance, just in case something happened.
Iris seemed to trust Sylvia, but I had only just met the woman.
‘…There’s no way I can trust her completely.’
Of course, that didn’t mean I was completely suspicious of her.
It was just that the memory of Cheon Yeo-hwa’s attack made me overreact without thinking.
‘Three tents should be enough.’
One for Iris and me, one for Sylvia, and one for the elf mother and daughters.
The tents were large enough, so they wouldn’t be uncomfortably cramped.
Before long, the tents were all set up.
“The three of you can sleep here. If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to ask.”
“Not only did you save us, but you’ve done so much for us… Thank you so much…!”
“Thank you!”
As I listened to their thanks and was about to enter my tent first…
Tug, tug. I felt a hand pulling on my coat.
I turned my head to see the little girl standing there. It was Mia, the youngest daughter of the elf family.
She had only stared at me during the meal and hadn’t said a single word.
“What is it?”
“Th-Tha…!”
“Hm?”
I couldn’t quite hear what she was saying, so I bent down slightly. In that instant, something lunged at me.
Peck!
“Th-Thank you for saving me, Oppa!”
The little elf girl planted a kiss on my cheek and immediately fled into her tent.
It had been a day that had drained my stamina, magic, and mental energy, but strangely, I felt a surge of strength.
‘…Elly would be angry if she found out, wouldn’t she?’
Of course, this absolutely did not mean I was a lolicon.
Her mother and sister, not having expected the youngest’s actions, apologized to me profusely, but since no wrong was done, I told them it was fine and entered my tent.
The kiss had given me a boost of energy, but I couldn’t help the heaviness in my body.
However, I couldn’t fall into a deep sleep, as I needed to keep an eye on Iris. I closed my eyes, using my magic to keep a part of my brain awake.
How much time had passed?
Rustle. I sensed a presence nearby.
Fortunately, it wasn’t an enemy attack.
“Is something the matter?”
“Ah…”
“Oh…”
As I slowly sat up, Bella, the mother of the two elf sisters, and Grace, the eldest daughter, looked flustered to have been caught sneaking into my tent.
“If the sleeping arrangements are uncomfortable…”
“N-No, it’s not that…”
“Then…?”
Grace couldn’t say a word, her face just turning red, while Bella took a quiet, deep breath and removed the robe she was wearing.
Swish. Pale skin, unbelievable for a woman who had borne two children, was revealed.
Of course, she wasn’t naked. She was wearing the thin garment she’d had on in the underground prison.
If I had to pick a similar piece of clothing from the modern world, thigh-length lingerie would probably be the closest match.
“…I know this is rude, but would you please grant us the opportunity to repay you for saving us?”