Chapter 32
Chapter 32
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: Old Ties (4)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Snap!
A crisp snap of the fingers echoed through the air. A tiny spark flew. And that was it.
‘Did the spell fail?’
That was Belnoa’s first thought. Nothing seemed to be happening. Then, something caught the edge of her vision.
‘...Ash?’
Gray ash was drifting through the empty air, just like the color of her hair. Even without a breeze, it swirled and danced lazily.
And then.
The drifting ash had a direction.
-Grraaaah?
The undead had clustered into a solid wall.
The ash drifted toward them. Not fast, not slow—like flower petals swaying in the wind.
Tick.
The moment it touched the undead.
Tick, tick.
Tiny sparks flew.
Faint flames, barely more than embers.
“Close your eyes.”
“Pardon?”
“Just do it.”
Lania shut her eyes.
Belnoa tilted her head in confusion.
“It’ll hurt otherwise.”
Belnoa didn’t have long to wonder what that meant.
Whoosh!
A brilliant flash erupted.
A beat later, a blast of hot wind roared through.
“...Ugh!”
Belnoa threw up her arm to shield her face.
She squeezed her eyes shut just in time. Even then, the afterimage flickered behind her lids.
‘What...’
The heat didn’t last. Neither did the light. It flashed once and faded to silence.
They waited a moment.
Once the heat subsided, Belnoa slowly opened her eyes.
“Huh?”
She blinked.
‘...Gone?’
The undead that should have been there were nowhere to be seen. No trace of their massive bulk remained.
No, there was a trace.
Ash flowed along the water channel. It wasn’t hard to guess what it had once been.
“Cough, hack, ugh.”
Lania coughed dryly and waved her hand. She stepped over the scorched floor toward the channel.
“...”
Belnoa stood frozen in place.
‘What kind of spell was that?’
She couldn’t fathom the principle. It felt like a mix of spells, but she couldn’t even guess the structure.
‘...Just accept it.’
This wasn’t the first time.
From the mana spring to everything else, this professor was full of inexplicable wonders.
“What’re you waiting for? Come on.”
“...Coming now.”
Still so unfamiliar. So unique.
That’s all Belnoa decided to think.
* * *
The end of the channel approached.
No more undead swarmed them.
‘Something’s off.’
Lania frowned.
To her, the situation felt wrong. And the closer they got, the more her skin prickled.
The sensation wasn’t unfamiliar.
It was familiar. Too familiar.
“...”
Lania narrowed her eyes.
Her senses were still honed for the battlefield. She hadn’t adjusted to peaceful days yet.
It had all felt so strange.
The peaceful atmosphere, the capital free of demonic energy—everything about it was alien to her.
But now.
Lania felt familiarity.
A long-lost familiarity that carried an ominous edge.
‘Whatever’s at the end...’
It didn’t belong here. With that judgment, Lania quickened her pace.
Thud.
They reached the end of the channel.
“...Ugh.”
The moment they entered the vast space, Belnoa pinched her nose. A foul stench hung in the air.
‘What is that?’
Belnoa had no idea what it was at the end of the channel. Just that it was grotesque.
“Ha.”
But Lania knew.
“Of course.”
Her expression twisted into a scowl.
Belnoa instinctively stepped back.
Rustle.
The sound of fabric shifting.
She rolled up her sleeves. Then thrust both arms forward. Mana surged with the motion.
“...Professor?”
The aura was dangerous.
Belnoa asked cautiously, but.
“Step back.”
The reply was ice-cold.
“You’ve seen what’s at the end.”
“...Yes.”
Clap. She clapped her hands.
“Now I can bring it down.”
“Pardon?”
Belnoa didn’t have time to ask what that meant. Before she could speak, Lania moved.
And then.
Boom!
A massive shockwave engulfed the channel.
2.
“...I’m off, old timer.”
“Sure, Chloe said she’d wait at the fountain.”
“...”
“At the fountain, got it? No reply?”
“Ah, yeah.”
Creeak. Belnoa opened the door and left.
Her steps lacked their usual energy.
Thud.
A moment after she left, Kardi tapped the table. The old man’s form melted away, revealing a young man.
I shot Kardi a displeased glance.
“...Any reason for the disguise?”
“A kindly old elf feels more approachable than a young one.”
“Hm...”
He hadn’t seemed all that kindly.
‘Gruff and crabby, if anything.’
Far from kindly.
As I mulled that over, Kardi spoke up.
“Anyway, Raniel. What exactly did you show her?”
“Huh?”
“Belnoa’s completely out of it. What’d you show her to leave her like that?”
“Handled it a bit flashily.”
Erasing it normally would’ve been a hassle.
‘Best way’s Kyle scraping it with his holy sword, but...’
Anything that blade touched was done for. But Kyle wasn’t here. So I’d mimicked it as best I could...
‘Flashy, yeah.’
The holy sword was flashy by nature. What could I do?
“What was it?”
“This thing.”
I sketched it roughly and showed Kardi.
He groaned at the sight.
“...No wonder it crawled.”
“Good analogy.”
“Things’ll get noisy soon.”
“Probably.”
I muttered, chin in hand.
“From experience, those things never come alone.”
“...Well, you handled it well. Belnoa might’ve struggled alone.”
Kardi pulled a box from under the shelf. Inside were about a dozen potions, neatly packed.
“One a month. A year’s supply.”
“Hmm.”
I picked up a vial.
“Can I try one now?”
“Why not? It’s yours.”
I uncorked it and downed the potion.
The effect hit immediately. The circuits raging to suppress the curse quieted down.
“Oh.”
Works like a charm.
“You’re amazing.”
“Dunno who’s more amazing.”
“Should I learn alchemy? If you master it, can you make stuff like this?”
Kardi gave a wry smile at my words.
“Wrong order, Raniel.”
“Huh?”
“Alchemy didn’t create this potion at its peak. I made it before I was an alchemist—when my kingdom still stood.”
He gazed at the vial with distant eyes.
“I became an alchemist to find the next step.”
“Next step?”
“A way to fully purge the curse. Still haven’t found it.”
With that, Kardi rose slowly and extended a hand to me.
“Thanks, Raniel.”
“...Suddenly? Cleaning the channel was the job.”
“Not that.”
I took his hand and stood.
I met his yellowish eyes. They always felt strange. Today, they seemed especially weary.
‘Young, but looks like an old man.’
It hit me anew how long he’d lived as an elf. We stared for a while before Kardi spoke first.
“You faced the Demon King and...”
He trailed off slowly.
“Still remained yourself.”
A faint smile crossed his face.
“That’s what I’m thankful for.”
“What’re you on about?”
I snorted a laugh.
Even after five years, he spouted the same cryptic nonsense.
“See you later, Kardi.”
“Yeah. Later.”
He murmured.
“Definitely.”
His voice sounded like it was meant for someone else.
3.
“Ah.”
Resti let out an involuntary sigh.
She shoved the pile of papers off her desk to one side. Then placed a single sheet in the center.
She infused it with mana.
A circuit floated into the air.
“Got it.”
Two circuits hovered before her.
Staring at them, Resti muttered.
‘...Solved.’
Aphria’s regular rest day.
She’d spent most of the three-day holiday wrestling with this puzzle.
-You can solve it, right?
That one line had looped in her mind, letting her focus on nothing else until it was done.
“Finally solved it.”
Her voice brimmed with excitement.
Resti felt her heart race. It had taken ages and been brutally tough, but...
‘I did it.’
She’d cracked it somehow.
Resti was purely thrilled by that fact.
“Haa!”
She stretched languidly, then organized her solution. She redrew the circuit on fresh paper.
The more she pondered it, the more fascinating it became.
Usually circuits were combined, but this fusion was unique. She’d never seen anything like it.
‘Not combination—friction.’
No connecting or overlaying lines.
Lines rubbed against each other. The resulting torsion powered the spell.
She didn’t know how to read the individual spells.
She’d only unraveled the circuit, not how to channel mana through it.
‘Wish rest day would end soon.’
So she could ask.
Resti smiled faintly, fiddling with her notebook. Memories of Lania drawing the circuit there flooded back.
‘Tuck it here.’
She carefully slipped the solved sheet into the notebook. Checking repeatedly to avoid creases.
Finished, Resti glanced at the clock.
3 PM. Aphria’s amenities were still open.
‘The cafe.’
It crossed her mind.
The cafe Professor Lania frequented.
‘Rest day, so probably not... but.’
On a whim, Resti grabbed her notebook and headed there. It was near the central hall—not far.
Jingle.
“Welcome.”
Resti nodded slightly at the owner. She scanned the shop quickly.
‘No surprise.’
Disappointing, but expected. She ordered a coffee anyway and took a window seat.
Gazing outside.
“Urp.”
A sound came from beside her.
“...?”
A boy sat there. His face looked familiar.
“...Rak?”
From the advanced Mana Trading class.
Even without that, Resti knew him. As next Mage Tower Lord, she’d greeted heirs of tower lords.
“Mm.”
Rak stuck out his tongue and turned to her. He nodded curtly.
“Resti. Good to see you.”
“...What’re you doing?”
“Drinking black water.”
...Black water?
“You mean coffee?”
“Seems that’s what they call it.”
“Why’s your tongue out like that?”
“Mm...”
Rak groaned briefly.
“Bitter.”
“...What?”
“Bitter. Hot. Tasteless.”
“...Then why drink it?”
“That lecture said intellectuals should try it...”
She couldn’t make sense of it.
“...If it’s bitter, add syrup.”
“Syrup?”
“Give it here.”
Resti added a few drops to Rak’s coffee. Pushed the cup back.
“There.”
“Mm.”
Rak eyed the cup like poison. Utterly distrustful.
“...Still bitter. Hot.”
“That’s why I added syrup.”
“Still black as pitch...”
“Coffee’s black. You want it white?”
“True...”
After hesitating forever, Rak lifted the cup gingerly. Parted his lips and tilted slowly.
“Oh!”
His eyes went wide.
“Less bitter!”
He shouted.
“Kinda sweet too!”
“Yeah, sure.”
‘Didn’t notice at first...’
He’s a bit slow.
Resti edged away slightly.