Picked Up (5)
……Who is this?
The face revealed as the cocoon opened was one he had never seen in his life.
Doesn’t look like anyone from the assassin side either.
He reached out and checked the man’s scalp. If this were Black Dawn, there would be a tattoo carved into the skin. There was no trace of one—only a slightly sparse patch of hair.
Whew.
Evan let out a long, silent sigh of relief.
Not an assassin. Not a major character either.
Evan was a veteran of the game, but he hadn’t memorized every single character—only the important ones. Fortunately, this man seemed to be neither an assassin nor anyone of consequence.
Well, of course. That’s why Lapis caught him.
Lapis was only ten. Even if she was a future Sin, she was still a child. The odds that this man was anyone important dropped sharply.
Still, better safe than sorry……
Caution was only prudent. It was absolutely not because he was scared.
“Number Five. Hold him firmly. Careful not to crush his bones.”
Nod!
Golem Number Five, built like a hulk with a massively muscled frame, clamped the man in place with its thick arms.
“Number Four. Bring the potion from shelf twenty-nine.”
The long-armed Golem Number Four handed Evan the vial.
A refined toxin that evaporates mana and aura within the target’s body.
Effect:Neutralizes internal power without residual poison
Duration:Short-lived, amplified potency
San-gong Poison. A toxin that evaporated mana. Refined into a potion, it wouldn’t kill, and the effect didn’t last long—but he had amplified its power several times over and ensured no poison remained in the body afterward.
Good thing I made this in advance.
It had been genuinely hard to create. Roughly three months of work, relying solely on instinct and knowledge, without anyone’s help.
It’s not that I have no talent.
If he had been a genius, he would have finished in a month at most. Shortcomings? Those meant nothing. The talent to fill the gaps—that was what made a genius. Wasn’t that exactly how the player’s character worked?
I could really use a teacher.
Evan was a hack alchemist. No formal school, no inherited knowledge. The results were fine. The process was the problem. If something went wrong, he had no way to fix it. He needed a master who could pass down both knowledge and essence.
I’ll finish this first, then look for one.
If he offered enough money, maybe someone would come. Evan cut off the stray thoughts and handed the San-gong Poison potion to Golem Number Three.
“Number Three. Inject this potion.”
Nod.
Number Three took the vial. A straw-like appendage extended, drew the liquid into a syringe, then—tap, tap!—as if saying “just a little pinch,” it tapped the man’s arm and drove the needle home.
“……!!!”
The man thrashed as if he might wake at any second. Evan stepped back carefully. The living golems closed ranks around him, solid as a wall.
……Thud.
After a few more spasms, the man went limp. Evan exhaled in relief. Lapis, who had been quietly drawing out a thread, hastily hid her arm.
“Number Four. Inject a recovery potion.”
Number Four handed over a high-grade recovery potion. Number Three accepted it with a nod, filled the syringe the same way, and plunged it into the man’s arm.
Gulp, gulp.
“Ugh……”
Color began returning to the deathly pale face. The arm, however, did not heal. Regenerating a lost limb required at least a top-grade potion—something on the level of diluted elixir. A high-grade recovery potion was nowhere near enough.
Should I make him a prosthetic?
Golems had all sorts of applications. Fashioning one into an arm or leg was perfectly possible. If the man demanded compensation for the injury……
That much I can manage……
If he wasn’t an enemy, it was worth giving. If he became an enemy……
Then I’ll have no choice.
He would have to use force just to stay alive. Evan swallowed dryly, throat tight with nerves.
Once the potions were fully injected, roughly three minutes passed.
When he wakes up, I’ll pretend I have nothing to do with any of this.
Treat him with perfect courtesy. That was just basic human decency, wasn’t it?
Please don’t figure anything out.
“Ugh…… uh……”
The man stirred and opened his eyes. His unfocused gaze met Evan’s.
……Where am I?
Blurred focus. Hazy vision. Shadow regained consciousness and let out a breath of relief the moment he realized he was still alive.
……I got lucky.
To think he had survived that hell. Threads raining down like a natural disaster. He had been too busy staying alive. Escaping with his life had been a miracle. One arm was gone, but……
This is enough.
He had survived. That was all that mattered. An arm could be reattached or regenerated later.
……More importantly, where is this?
Shadow spread his senses as far as they would go. His sight had not fully returned; his other senses were more reliable. Yet perhaps because his mana was completely drained—
I can’t feel a thing.
He tried to twist his body. It did not budge.
……Something has me locked down tight.
Whatever else was true, that much was certain. He had been captured and brought somewhere.
Thud!
……!
Something stabbed into his arm. Liquid flowed into his body through the puncture. An anesthetic? Tension flooded him. He clenched his jaw, ready to bite through his tongue if necessary. He might not die, but at least he would be unable to speak.
……I’m healing?
The pain began to recede. He could feel the wounds across his body closing. A recovery potion? High-grade at minimum. No poison, no impurities. Shadow was immune to a thousand toxins; he could identify any potion that entered his system.
They’re using something this expensive on me?
If it had been laced with poison, he could have understood. But pure treatment?
Who the hell is this?
Shadow forced his eyes open. Full recovery was still a long way off, but he had no choice. He needed to know whether this person was friend or foe.
Slowly……
A silhouette swam into his blurred vision. After a few blinks, the image sharpened.
“……!”
Shadow swallowed a gasp of shock.
A gaunt frame. Golems wrapped around the body like armor. Hair grown long and unkempt. And yet a luminous beauty that nothing could hide.
Evan Alcarte……?!
The very person Arthur Modriter had ordered him to protect was standing right in front of him.
So Evan Alcarte really is the one who captured me?
Shadow’s expression hardened. The chance of a coincidence? Zero. Evan Alcarte rarely even left his residence. The place Shadow had been attacked was deep in the forest—so remote that without a prior marker, finding it again would have been nearly impossible. To stumble across him by accident and bring him back? Impossible.
If Evan Alcarte is the culprit…… everything makes sense.
Rumors had begun circulating through the territory not long ago: that Evan Alcarte had created a chimera. If that were true, discovering Shadow—and subduing him—would be nothing strange. A chimera was a life-form born solely for combat, combining only the strengths of every creature used to make it. Of course it would be strong. The supreme difficulty of creating one was irrelevant. Evan Alcarte was the alchemist who could brew a potion capable of repairing even an Aura Hole.
My failure. To have failed to grasp this fact properly……
Shadow bit his lip. Why had Evan so rarely gone outside? To finish the chimera in secret, of course. And to cut off information at the same time.
Evan stepped closer. So this was how he would die. Even if he lived, he would become a test subject—perhaps turned into a chimera and treated like a puppet.
O God. Forgive my incompetence.
Shadow squeezed his eyes shut.
“Are you all right?”
“……?”
Evan did not rip out his heart. In a dry, expressionless voice, he continued examining Shadow as he spoke.
“You appear to be in considerable pain. Please bear with it a little longer.”
“……?”
“I found you abandoned in the forest in a cocooned state and brought you back for emergency treatment, but it was only first aid. The pain will still be severe.”
He’s…… not killing me?
“I intended to take you to the temple, but there was no way to confirm your identity. So I brought you to my room. Please try not to be too tense.”
“……”
“Do you have any means of proving who you are? As soon as it is verified, I will have you transferred to the temple.”
Evan was not killing him or turning him into an experiment. He was showing kindness. A faint thread of respect ran through his speech. Shadow’s mind reeled.
……He’s pretending not to be the culprit? Why?
When everything was already exposed? Shadow’s thoughts raced. Assassins were often dismissed as unintelligent. That was pure prejudice. An assassin needed a sharp mind—choosing the right position, finding an enemy’s weakness, gathering intelligence. There was no shortage of work for the brain. Shadow was a disciple of the King of Assassins, outstanding in both skill and professional discipline. Uncovering an enemy’s true purpose was one of his specialties among specialties.
He’s deliberately hiding that he’s the culprit. Does that mean he doesn’t want this incident brought to light?
Or was this a test? Even now, a test. Goosebumps rose on his remaining arm. He was afraid. How much could Evan see? How far ahead had he planned? Evan almost certainly knew that Shadow’s master was Arthur. It was fairly well-known—the story of the King of Assassins’ disciple repenting and becoming Arthur’s servant. A man of Evan’s caliber could not possibly be unaware.
In other words—
……This is a warning, isn’t it?
I’ll let it slide this time. But if you try another cheap trick, I won’t be so lenient—something like that. His mouth went dry.
……I nearly crossed a line I shouldn’t have.
What would have happened if he had? He couldn’t say for certain. The only information he had was that Evan could make golems and potions. That couldn’t be everything. There was surely power hidden in reserve.
……I have to find out.
At the very least, he had to learn the man’s purpose—even if it killed him. Everything was for Arthur’s sake.
“……I apologize. I was attacked by beasts and lost my belongings.”
“……I see.”
“This much kindness is already more than enough. First…… would you release me? I wish to repay the debt.”
Shadow looked down at the threads, and at the arm wrapped around them. The golem’s limb was so thick he doubted even a sword stroke would break it. Evan did not answer at once. He simply stared with emotionless eyes. Cold sweat beaded on Shadow’s forehead before Evan finally nodded.
“……There is no need for repayment. I did not do this expecting a price. I will have you moved outside as you are. I am rather timid, you see.”
Cautious.
Timid? A dog walking by would laugh at that claim.
No sense of humor, either.
One more piece of information filed away. While Shadow stored it, Evan gave an order to the golem.
“Number Four. Carry him out through the window.”
Whoosh—
Shadow’s body lifted into the air. The long-armed golem simply hoisted him up. For all its spindly thickness, its strength was considerable.
So I’m being told to get lost.
Just before he was thrown out the window, Shadow urgently asked Evan:
“Why did you…… save me?”
“……?”
Evan’s eyes asked what he meant.
“I have neither goods nor money. Why did you heal me with an expensive recovery potion? Please tell me. My mother always said that kindness must be repaid without fail.”
Dragging his parents into it. It shouldn’t look too forced. If it did, there was nothing he could do about it—
“Hmm.”
Evan did not answer immediately. He stared as if trying to read Shadow’s true purpose. Those dry eyes revealed nothing—as though something were screening them. At last Evan spoke.
“I do not enjoy making ‘enemies.’ Ignoring an injured person only earns hatred, so I decided it was better to treat them.”
Shadow nearly barked out a laugh. The reason for the treatment was that absurd. He didn’t like making enemies? So cutting off the arm had been a warning, and the healing meant “let’s not become enemies”?
He’s a madman.
Still, he was not an enemy. That was enough.
“Is that answer sufficient?”
“……Yes. It is sufficient.”
Shadow nodded. He had obtained the information far too easily. Exactly as Evan must have intended.
I have to report this to Lord Arthur.
That Evan already knew everything. That they must never make an enemy of him.
“I will take my leave now…… Later, I will return to repay this kindness.”
“Yes.”
Evan smiled—a stiff, awkward smile.
“Go carefully.”
Whoosh—
Number Four set Shadow down outside the window. With a sharp rip, Shadow tore through the threads with his recovered body and vanished into the shadows.
The moment the threat was gone, the living golems dissolved with a soft rustle. Evan clutched his chest.
Hah, hahk!
S-shit. My heart.
How can a person’s eyes be that terrifying?!
He had almost thought the man was an assassin. The helplessness and the fact that he hadn’t recognized San-gong Poison made that unlikely. Still, it had been a little scary.
But this should settle things, right?
……Just in case, he would strengthen the security. Even so, he felt proud. He had safely weathered another crisis today! One more step closer to becoming a real man.
Evan smiled contentedly to himself.
Knock, knock.
Dolf rapped on the door.
“Young Master. It’s finished.”
“Come in.”
“Sniff. I’m here……”
“Come here, Lapis.”
At least he hadn’t earned any grudges or misunderstandings. Evan patted Lapis’s back as she nestled into his arms and allowed himself to relax.
“Evan!”
“Yes, Lapis. What is it?”
“A letter came!”
“What?”
The next day, a single letter arrived…… impaled on a dagger.