Chapter 32: I Shall Make You an Offer
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 32: I Shall Make You an Offer
A nameless country village.
Inside a mansion whose opulence stood in stark contrast to its rustic surroundings, a man smiled with deep satisfaction.
“The Purge Squad should have arrived by now.”
Helus was in a foully good mood.
He knew exactly what kind of men made up that squad. They were the sort of vicious scum whom it was better to pay off than to try and shake off. Having such connections was a blessing.
Once I get that girl back… it might be better to establish myself within the Empire.
He had maintained his neutrality only because there was a risk of his true identity being discovered. It would be a disaster if the girl were to be kidnapped again.
By the way, does that fellow Ferda Valdrova know what that child really is?
There was no way to uncover the girl’s true identity. To her, rules were absolute. Since he had commanded her to listen to no one’s words but Helus Fobidas’s, she was nothing more than a fool who couldn't even understand speech to anyone else.
If she were returned safely, it would mean Ferda didn't know her true purpose.
Phew, it’ll all work out.
He uncorked a bottle of whiskey and poured it into a crystal glass.
At that moment, a carriage came to a halt outside. He peeked through the curtains and looked out. It was a very welcome sight.
Sir Karl!
Helus rushed out to meet him with open arms.
“Welcome, Sir Karl!”
“…”
“Haha, I didn't expect you to visit so late at night. How did the mission go?”
“…”
“Why so silent, man? Hmm? Since you’re here, let’s have a drink. What happened to the girl?”
“Get in.”
“Get in? Oh, right, of course.”
Helus climbed into the carriage. No one else was inside the plush, high-end interior. Karl climbed in after him and slammed the door shut.
“…Proceed.”
The carriage began to move. Helus’s eyes widened.
“Sir Karl, where are we going?”
“…”
“Answer me! This—this is practically a kidnapping, isn't it?!”
Helus threw a fit, but Karl simply sat there in silence.
“So that’s how it’s going to be?! Fine, do as you wish! Just know that I will never set foot in the Empire again!”
“…Sigh.”
Karl, who had been sitting still, let out a deep, weary sigh. He looked up and, at the same time, raised his hand.
Slap!
His calloused palm hit with the force of a wooden club.
“Agh!”
“Shut up, you pig.”
“Wh-what is the meaning of this, Sir Karl?”
“What do you think it means?”
Slap!
“Can’t you read the room? We’re in this mess because of that girl you told us to bring!”
“The brat? I told you she’d be a good pretext for you to—”
“Who gives a damn!”
Slap!
“I!”
Slap!
“Am only here because of that, fuck!”
It was violence born of pure venting, but it was logical enough to make Helus behave. Helus’s mouth was cut, and blood streamed from his nose.
“Anyway, thanks to you giving us that brat’s description, you’re in too deep to back out now. So just sit tight and follow me.”
Karl exhaled a long sigh toward the ceiling. Fuck, why am I doing this? Karl swallowed his lament and leaned back against the seat.
Helus sat as meekly as possible as he was hauled away. Questions piled up in his mind, but he decided not to dwell on them. There was no way for him to escape this situation anyway.
He wasn't a real Sage, after all.
* * *
After traveling aimlessly, the carriage finally stopped. Helus was hoisted up like a sack of luggage and carried inside.
He was dragged into the audience chamber of an old castle. A red carpet lined the floor, and banners emblazoned with the seal of a red dragon hung from the walls.
Standing beneath those banners was a strikingly young man.
“Do you know who I am?”
Helus was seeing him for the first time. However, the situation and the aura the man radiated made his lips move of their own accord.
“Fe—Ferda Valdrova…”
“That’s a bit informal.”
“I… I greet the Regent of Valdrova.”
Hadn't they said he was an eighteen-year-old brat of a Regent? He was completely different from the rumors. Looking up at him in this moment felt like facing a giant.
Helus had been rebellious even toward Karl, but he didn't dare entertain such thoughts before Ferda.
Standing beside Ferda was a girl he had seen before. His precious young maid. The source of knowledge he had sought so desperately.
Was she always this beautiful?
He had never realized it when he left her with that fat woman. Now, with her hair neatly combed and dressed in fine clothes, she looked like nothing less than a noble lady.
“You are the Sage of Water, correct?”
“What Sage of Water… I am merely a Magic Walker, no different from an old man in a back room.”
“I thought you were just a fool, but you’re smarter than I expected.”
Hearing that answer, Ferda let out a sincere exclamation of admiration.
“Is your servant dead?”
“…Yes.”
“Indeed. No one can forgive those who take away what is precious to them. I suppose it’s hard for you to forgive me as well?”
“What is there to forgive? The sin was committed by this foolish man.”
“What sin?”
“…”
“To claim you have sinned without knowing what the sin is… that would be a lie, wouldn't it? I dislike empty words.”
Helus forced out the words he never wanted to say with his own mouth.
“My sin is that I used a child to boast as if I were a Sage.”
Helus bowed his head low.
“So… please, just spare my life.”
He surrendered, showing polite deference. However, what was reflected in Ferda’s eyes was indifference. It was a face that found no value in whether Helus lived or died.
“You’ve lived your life pretending to be a Sage, but you are clever nonetheless. So I trust you understand this well.”
Ferda leaned in and whispered into his ear.
“Do you think you can live after leaving here?”
“…”
“Those who have tasted power can never forget its flavor. That is why power struggles are the most vicious and filthy. How great was the power you tasted?”
“…”
“Respected in your village, and even the Empire desires you. Can you really cast that aside and go back?”
“I—I can forget—”
“No. If I let you go like this, you will move to regain that power. Not because you are stupid, but because you are human.”
Helus’s entire body trembled. Despite the cool weather, sweat poured off him like rain. Ah, I’m going to die here.
“Therefore, I shall make you an offer you cannot refuse.”
All his terror vanished as a single ray of light fell upon him. Helus lifted his head.
“Don't you want to live as a Sage?”
“What… do you mean?”
Ferda placed an object he had been carrying onto the floor. It was a crystal ball.
“It is a communication crystal ball. A high-grade crystal containing the essence of eternal ice from the deepest parts of the northern snowy mountains. Its materials are superior to those of the Empire. Neither commoners nor Imperial mages would dare to eavesdrop on or track it.”
He tapped the crystal ball as he continued.
“What is connected inside this is Mori’s mind.”
“Mori…?”
“The name of this young lady you had in your service.”
Ferda lightly patted Mori’s shoulder. The girl reacted to his voice. The name had truly become hers.
“You desire this child’s knowledge. So, live as a Sage as you wish. You may indulge in pleasure by night and dispense useless wisdom by day.”
The offer was for the life he had always led. It was exactly what he had wanted, but he didn't dare snap it up immediately. Sweet rewards always came with a fatal price.
“What must I give in return?”
“Your soul.”
Everything.
“Become my dog.”
Helus hated getting involved with people. It was because his lack of substance would surely be exposed. But there was something he hated even more: losing his money. Losing his reputation.
Everything was supported by power. To lose power was to lose everything.
It was just as Ferda said. He was already craving the power he had enjoyed. He was already a dog of power, and he would do anything for it. Even if it meant serving a devil.
And so, Helus bowed his head once more.
“I shall be your loyal dog.”
* * *
Ferda descended into the castle’s basement. Echidna’s laboratory was located at the very bottom of the fortress.
When he opened the door, the gloom of a witch drifted out like an eerie mist. The only difference was the lack of the typical witch’s herb-shop smell and bubbling cauldrons; instead, the air was thick with the scent of ink and stone dust.
“Welcome, Regent!”
Echidna greeted him with a goofy grin. She ran toward him like a large dog welcoming its master. The only difference was the gloomy aura she radiated, which made even Ferda flinch.
“How did the contract go?”
“Oh, it was settled perfectly, of course! I put the dog collar on him just as you asked, Regent! Hehe, at first I wondered what kind of dog was so big and wore silver armor, but I never imagined it would be a knight!”
Echidna giggled like an idiot. When Ferda had told her he needed a "collar to tie up a dog in armor," she had actually brought a real dog collar. From that point on, Ferda stopped using metaphors when speaking to her.
“Where is the contract?”
“He-here it is!”
Echidna pulled out the stored contract and showed it to Ferda. Ferda skimmed the contents before asking her, “Do you understand what’s written here?”
“Hehe, there’s so much written down, but I have absolutely nooo idea what any of it means.”
Echidna scratched her head sheepishly. If one were to name those best at handling vicious contract magic, it would be demons and witches.
However, there were exceptions to every rule. The reason Echidna had never been able to get a boyfriend was precisely because she couldn't craft those subtle clauses or inescapable procedures of a contract.
To think she created an unprecedented learning-type Golem because she found that too difficult…
She was the type who took the hard road because the simple one was too challenging, only for that hard road to be the right answer. It was absurd even now that he thought about it.
Regardless, while Echidna had facilitated the contract itself, Mori had been responsible for writing the terms. Within the Library of All Things in her head, there were copies of contracts written by demons. Ferda had instructed her to create the clauses based on those, and Mori had succeeded in producing them over the course of three hours.
The true dog collars are complete.
With that, he had obtained two dogs. A dog to infiltrate the Empire, and a dog who was both smarter and stupider than expected. Ferda placed the contract on Echidna’s desk with a satisfied expression.
“How is the Golem production coming along?”
“Well… you could say it’s still a long way off…?”
Looking at the Golem assisting her, it was still only at the level of recognizing Echidna’s face and serving tea. If there was any visible progress, it was that the shape of its face was gradually changing from a crude drawing into something else.
Though it wasn't clear yet, it was undoubtedly beginning to resemble Jed Swallow. Ferda watched it quietly before asking pointedly, “You aren't just obsessed with carving the face, are you?”
“Wh-wh-wh-what?! No way! I only touch the appearance when I—when I can’t think of anything else to do?!”
Her flustered reaction was suspicious as hell, but Ferda didn't press her immediately.
The process of compressing sentences into Runes is a difficult task in itself, yet she is a witch capable of doing it.
Since it was a task where results were hard to produce quickly, Ferda had no intention of criticizing her for being lax.
“I’m counting on you.”
“Yes, I understand. But, Regent?”
As he turned to leave after finishing his business, she stopped him.
“What is it?”
“Um, you’ve reached the 3rd Circle, haven't you? The energy I can see around you is much stronger than before.”
“That’s right.”
“In that case, would you like to try an aptitude test?”
Echidna suggested, holding up a crystal stone from her desk.
An aptitude test. It had been a long time since he’d heard that term.
“By aptitude test, do you mean finding which attributes I possess?”
“Since you’ve reached the 3rd Circle, it’s a good time to find your magical path. All mages do it at least once, right?”
3rd Circle, Magic Walker. This was where "real" magic began to manifest, as mages started the process of substituting mana to command and transform elements. That was when one began to find their aptitude, and Ferda had measured his around that time as well.
Usually, an aptitude test was treated as little more than a curiosity. For those with a Blue Circle, it was just a way to lightly confirm that their affinity was slightly higher for one thing or another, as the nature of their mana was uniform.
However, it was different for a possessor of a Red Circle. For mana based on emotion, aptitude was almost everything.
“I’ll try it.”
“Oh, then I’ll get it ready!”
Echidna waved her fingers in the air and chanted an incantation. Mana flowing from her fingertips drew a magic circle in the air. The circle gradually shrank, glowing intensely before transforming into a specific shape.
A Rune had been created. Even for a simple one like this, it would normally take a month of work, yet this woman had produced it on the spot. Truly a Rune Maker. Echidna embedded the Rune into the crystal stone.
“Here it is!”
“Thank you.”
Ferda picked up the crystal stone. He knew how to use it. When Ferda’s mana reacted to the Rune, it would take on a color and form inside the crystal.
Back then, I was Darkness and Electricity, wasn't I?
Two attributes born from hatred. Darkness possessed high destructive power. Electricity was magic with high speed and penetration. No one could stop Ferda’s magic, which combined the strengths of both.
It will be different now.
His heart then and his heart now were different. For instance, wasn't his mana now capable of suppressing Valdrova? Surely his attributes would have changed as well, and thus his path would be different.
Ferda watched as his mana began to react. The mana responded to the Rune, causing a chemical reaction inside the crystal stone.
If one handled fire, flickering flames would appear. If one handled water, blue, sloshing droplets would form.
What appeared before Ferda’s eyes was none of those things.
The inside of the crystal was dyed pitch black. It was a color that seemed to swallow everything in existence. It was a sight all too familiar to Ferda.
Darkness…
And within that darkness, faint blue sparks flickered.
“Oh, you have electricity too?”
Nothing had changed. No, if something had changed…
Was it… always this dark?
The interior of the crystal stone was even darker than what he had seen back then.