The Living Flame
68. She should have been dead. Before the meal arrived, she sat quietly with her arms crossed and an indifferent expression. ‘Ahem.’ With her ears wide open, their conversation reached her clearly.
“Some might say it’s only been a year, but during that time I’ve endured in the Magic Tower more diligently than anyone, living as a commoner and a poor country bumpkin.”
She hadn’t seen a staff, so she’d been unsure, but he was a mage after all?
“But simply enduring isn’t enough anymore. If I want to grow as a mage and earn recognition, I need to stop wasting time in the Labyrinth, establish my theories, and prepare to advance my rank.”
“What about the three of us, then?” the robed mage, looking rather fastidious, asked with a slightly irritable tone.
“At our level, skipping the Labyrinth a few times won’t leave us out on the streets.”
He sighed deeply, sounding frustrated. “Why don’t you all use the funds you’ve saved to learn skills at a guild or training hall, or take this chance to visit the Grand Library and fill in your knowledge gaps?”
“I agree! Honestly, it’s been overwhelming lately. To reach the middle layers, I felt we needed more specialized instruction and knowledge.” The archer sided with the mage’s suggestion.
“Exactly! If we keep going like this, in two or three years we’ll still be stuck as low-layer adventurers.”
While listening to their conversation, the meal arrived.
“Enjoy your meal!”
“Thank you.”
Two thick, well-grilled sausages steaming hot, thinly sliced cheese, oat biscuits, and a glass of mead. She cut a large piece of sausage with her fork and knife and took a bite. Juices burst forth, filling her mouth. Adding the cheese and biscuit in one go brought a smile to her face at the savory richness.
‘Drinking in the middle of the day feels off… but one glass is nothing, and I can circulate my mana to sober up quickly, so it should be fine.’ She lightly downed the bright yellow mead that followed.
While she enjoyed a satisfying meal—though not quite up to Rotten’s standards—the adventurers’ conversation took a disastrous turn.
“It’s almost been a year. How long are you going to keep going into the Labyrinth, lazing around spending money, taking a few commissions, then heading back in?”
Hearing that, the warrior, veins bulging on his neck, shouted, “Lazing around? Hey, isn’t that too harsh? We’ve all got our own worries and we’re putting in effort! I’ve been holding back because it seemed like a lot had built up, but this is endless.”
“Everyone’s getting too emotional. Let’s calm down a bit, okay?” the priest, with drooping eyes that made him look gentle, tried to mediate.
“Calm down? What’s there to calm down about? Since we’re already talking, Oliver, can’t you stop visiting brothels so much? How much more are you going to throw money into the trash like a horny monkey—hup.”
“Say that again. Oliver visiting brothels, what?” The mage, who had been pouring out words in agitation, clamped his mouth shut upon seeing the priest’s suddenly venomous expression.
“N-no, that’s not it. I mean, um, relief, yeah, relief!”
Smack!!
“Edwin would never make up something like this! If it’s hard to handle, at least talk to me. You said we’d get married once you succeeded, but was I just something to toy with?”
The female priest, having slapped the warrior trying to make excuses, huffed angrily.
“Ha, so to you, Oliver, I was no different from a whore. You hid it well all this time! You trash.”
Tap-tap-tap. Bang!
“You damn bastard. Edwin, I’ll remember this.”
“Ugh. I’m coming with you!”
The warrior chased after the priest out of the inn, and the archer, glancing between them and outside, also left the table.
‘This is insane. What the hell is this…?’
Despite all eyes turning toward them, the mage silently covered his face and slumped into his chair.
“Haha. Sorry for the commotion!”
Only after she said that and met the gazes of the surrounding adventurers did the inn’s atmosphere return to normal.
“Haa.”
She let out a sigh without thinking and continued with her meal. Clink.
Around the time she was nearly finished, the mage spoke up.
“Because of us, your meal’s ruined… Sorry for showing such an ugly scene.”
“No, it happens. I can’t really say much, but the man who left earlier seemed a bit…”
“Heh. Yeah. Back in the village he was a bit lighthearted, but he was reliable and sincere.”
The awkward atmosphere made finishing the meal uncomfortable. The mage—Edwin—attempted introductions.
“My name is Edwin. Though the circumstances aren’t great, since we’ve crossed paths like this, let’s at least exchange names.”
“I’m Aren. I’m sorry about what happened earlier.”
“It’s all my fault. I’ve been getting so much grief at the Magic Tower that my stress must have piled up to the extreme.”
After ruffling his hair once, Edwin suddenly began spilling a story she hadn’t asked for.
“Some woman who suddenly rolled in is the Tower Master’s daughter or some duke’s daughter, getting all sorts of special treatment.”
Edwin lowered his head with a gloomy expression.
“For someone like me with ordinary talent, no backing, and even poor, seeing that from afar just makes me feel deprived.”
Thud.
She had finished her meal and was about to give a vague reply and leave. That had been the plan—until his next words reached her ears.
“Her name was… Scarlet, I think?”
What?
“Right. The Tower Master’s name is Conrad Enis. His daughter is Scarlet Enis. Yeah, that was definitely it. Damn, even her name sounds high-class, unlike us commoners.”
Clatter!
‘Why is that name coming up here?’
She was dumbfounded.
“W-why are you suddenly like that! You look shocked, like you heard something you shouldn’t have?”
Coming to her senses, she realized she had unconsciously pushed her chair back and stood up in surprise.
[Chaos soothes you, telling you to calm down.]
Before more eyes turned their way, she sat back down and opened her mouth.
“Could you tell me more about that story in detail?”
“Huh… About the Tower Master? Or about the person named Scarlet Enis?”
“The latter, please.”
Edwin, scratching the back of his head with a flustered look, nodded in understanding.
“Shall I? Where should I start…”
“You said she suddenly rolled in. When did she enter the Magic Tower? Around what time did she join?”
“I don’t know the exact date, but at least several months have passed. After she arrived, the Labyrinth has opened three times.”
After she had taken Scarlet’s life and escaped the Labyrinth, two more entries had occurred. The last entry had lasted over a month, causing her to skip one, so overall, the timing of Scarlet appearing at the Magic Tower roughly matched the period after her death.
“Was there any sign of illness, or did she look unwell?”
Edwin laughed loudly, as if telling her not to joke.
“Haha! Unwell? She looked perfectly fine. Not just fine—she was burning people alive for no reason.”
She doubted her ears. Had she heard that correctly?
“Burning… people alive?”
“The story of her coldly burning a noble mage who tried to hold her hand while confessing in the Magic Tower lobby is pretty famous among mages.”
[Chaos shakes its head.]
“The Tower Master used his influence to cover it up by confining her to the top floor, but I saw it clearly, along with people from other schools. I even remember what she said at the time.”
“What… did she say?”
“I couldn’t hear exactly because of the distance, but something like, ‘No one but that person can whisper love to me. If anyone touches my body, I’ll burn them, no matter who they are.’ I think she said things like that.”
“…”
“No one knows who the person Scarlet mentioned is, but whew. Whoever it is, it’s a terrible situation.”
[Chaos furrows its brow, saying it feels ominous.]
Feeling a strange dizziness, she pressed her forehead once and continued questioning.
“You said she was confined. Has there been any news since?”
Edwin shrugged, speaking as if it were no big deal.
“It’s confinement in name only. It’s basically giving her an environment for secluded training where she can fully display her overflowing talent.”
“Secluded training?”
“I heard from a senior in the Fire School. The Tower Master and elders take turns teaching her every day, and they’re generously providing elixirs and items.”
Huh. So she’s growing while enjoying an elite course in luxury.
“That senior once participated in processing a natural elixir and nearly died of envy, knowing exactly whose mouth it would end up in.”
“Still, Scarlet herself can’t go anywhere, so it must be tough. She doesn’t even know when she’ll be released.”
“W-well… yeah. But it’s her own fault, right? For someone like me with almost no support, it’s just enviable.”
Was it because she’d heard a story she couldn’t have imagined? Her mind was in complete turmoil.
“You probably weren’t in a good mood after what happened earlier, so thank you for your time. As thanks, I’ll pay for the meal, so take your time.”
At his words asking if she was leaving already, she only nodded slightly before paying at the counter and leaving.
‘For now… let’s head back. I’m not in the mood to wander around anymore.’
She took a carriage toward the inn.
***
She had no idea what she’d been thinking on the way back to the inn.
“Hup. Ha!”
Upon returning, she swung her sword in the backyard, sweating.
“Your sword is covered in distracting thoughts. I thought it was odd you came back early. Did something happen outside?”
“Ah, Rotten.”
At the voice, she turned to see Rotten standing with his hands behind his back, looking at her.
After a brief pause under his silent gaze, she began to speak.
“What if… hypothetically. What if the person I killed, even the target of my first murder, was somehow resurrected and living well? What should I do?”
“Heh heh. I roughly get the picture. Well, it wouldn’t be royalty. Probably the child of a high-ranking noble with a good reputation, or royalty from another country, or someone with equivalent honor or strength.”
Rotten stroked his chin and continued.
“Resurrection-related items are extremely rare. Unless a high-ranking adventurer gets their hands on one separately, they’re passed down through generations or strictly managed… So even among the people I just listed, only a handful would possess one.”
‘Rotten is trustworthy. Let’s keep the conversation going a bit more.’
“…Enis. What if it’s the Enis family?”
Rotten’s eyebrows twitched.
“Whoa, you mean Duke Enis’s family, with Conrad as the head? All I know is how strong he is, but since it’s a family that inherits the Phantom Beast lineage, they must have had some hidden methods.”
“As expected.”
“That’s not the important part. So, do you think the resurrected person or their family will harm you or threaten your life?”
No. That wasn’t it. Nothing had happened so far, so the head of the family probably didn’t know who had killed her. As for Scarlet, recalling her final moments, she couldn’t be certain, but she probably wouldn’t try to kill her again.
She shook her head, saying no.
“Then, you mentioned it was your first murder earlier. Are you still reluctant to kill people?”
“Not at all. If someone needs to die, they should die. It’s just that the circumstances are a bit complicated. Hearing she’s alive makes me recall her final moments, and it feels strange.”
The sensation of her blade digging into flesh and piercing the heart, the voice that had whispered as death approached—both vividly resurfaced when she closed her eyes.
“Her, you say? Ahem. Anyway, try to forget about it for now until the person involved contacts you in some way.”
Rotten said that, then added a warning.
“And no matter how things unfold, I hope you won’t make Lumia cry.”
[Chaos says this old man is quite the meddler too.]
“Then the answer is decided. If anyone tries to harm you or the people around you, I’ll step in too, so don’t worry.”
“Thank you. Talking to you, Rotten, has helped me sort things out a bit.”
He chuckled heartily.
“Ahem. And your master is someone even more formidable than me, isn’t she? With such strong backing, don’t get worked up over nothing. And don’t overwork your body without purpose.”
“Yes. I’ll do some meditation before going in. Don’t worry.”
“Right. When you’re done, show your face to Lumia. She’s already missing you after you’ve only been gone a short while.”
A hearty laugh crossed with an awkward one. Soon, as his presence faded, she slumped down.
‘Yeah. She said she can’t come out anyway. I should forget about it and do what I need to do.’
Since the topic of mages and Scarlet had come up, she should head to the Magic Tower tomorrow when it’s light—both to complete Heinz’s golem core delivery request and to check things out.
Let’s go. To the Magic Tower.