Chapter 25
Chapter 25
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: Peaceful Angmar #5
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[Chapter 24] Peaceful Angmar #5
“Callira Scol. That’s your name, right? You’re doing this kind of work to earn money for medicine for your younger sibling who’s suffering from a rare, incurable disease.”
“…….”
Callira was utterly flustered. So much so that she lost her usual composed expression and fell silent.
To think that someone had uncovered her identity as the Deathstalker, who had erased all traces of her past through the Thieves’ Guild and operated as a merchant of death in the underworld?
It was utterly impossible.
Unless they possessed some prophetic clairvoyance. Then, a nickname associated with the man before her flashed through Callira’s mind.
‘The Bewitching Monk…? I didn’t believe it, but…’
There was no way prophetic powers existed in this world.
If they truly did, there wouldn’t be so much chaos and corruption in the world, she had always thought.
That belief hadn’t changed even now.
This wasn’t some grand prophetic ability. It had to be a dirty trick. After all, wasn’t this man known as a swindler who toyed with queens?
The problem was that this person, surrounded by all sorts of unsavory rumors, knew her identity and about her sibling.
What did that imply?
The flustered look in Deathstalker-Callira’s eyes lasted only a moment. Soon, her brows furrowed like a ghost’s, and she revealed a hint of hostility.
“Everyone who knew that is dead. Do you want to die too?”
Callira had taken the lives of many who deserved death and many who didn’t.
She could do anything to protect her one remaining sibling and the honor of her fallen family.
Would killing this man resolve the current situation?
No, it didn’t seem likely that he had come here alone without any precautions. There was a high chance her sibling was being held hostage.
Just as she was stuck, unable to act, her throat parched like drought-stricken land, the guest Theo Gospel put on an innocently harmless expression.
“No, no. What I’m saying is that I could be on your side. It’d be better to call me a benefactor.”
“A benefactor?”
“That’s right. I’m saying this out of pure goodwill. It pains my heart to see the Scol Baron family, once called the jewel of the south, buried in the mud like this.”
A fallen baroness. Her sibling was ill, and she had no decent patron around.
Callira, who had never dressed herself her whole life, had plummeted into the abyss one day.
Thanks to that, she had crossed through all sorts of hells, and as a result, she had gained the insight to discern lies and sincerity to some extent.
Yet, it was hard to gauge the intentions of the man before her.
He wanted to be her benefactor? Out of pure goodwill? It seemed genuine.
No, that couldn’t be. Absolutely not. There was no way. Pure goodwill didn’t exist in this world.
If it truly did, she wouldn’t have fallen this far.
Regaining her cold composure, Callira asked,
“What do you want from me?”
“I told you earlier. I want the antidote. If you don’t want to work with me, just give me the antidote.”
The antidote.
Was it the cure for Palagas Ochre Powder?
Palagas Ochre Powder was a poison used long ago.
A powder made by mixing ochre powder, fatal to the human body, with a special ore unique to the Palagas region.
When combined that way, it didn’t harm the body much but created a substance with potent effects upon specific ingestion.
“Can you make it right now?”
“Of course. It’ll take some time, though. Research on Palagas Ochre Powder was completed half a century ago. It’s a poison that’s no longer used now that the antidote is widely known…”
Callira quickly prepared beakers stacked everywhere, various efficacious herbs, and carbonated water drawn from the bedrock beneath Monarch City.
As she mixed them to brew the potion, she kept an eye on the guest’s movements and tossed out casual questions.
“Do you know what Palagas Ochre Powder does?”
“No.”
“It fries all of a person’s mana circuits. It turns them into someone who can’t use magic. Who the hell fed you that poison?”
Callira busily worked her hands while subtly probing Theo Gospel. But the man simply fell silent, lost in thought.
After a long pause, he shook his head.
“Honestly, I have no idea. Do I need to know?”
“No, it doesn’t matter. Anyway, it’s done.”
“Already?”
The man looked surprised. Callira responded with her usual skillfulness.
“Didn’t you come here knowing about me? The Scol family specializes in all sorts of potion-making. For a poison whose antidote is already known, making it is easy.”
“Is that the antidote? The one glowing fluorescent…”
“But be careful. The sensation of your fried mana circuits coming back to life might not feel great.”
From what she’d heard, it felt like your whole body was smashed to pieces by a giant hammer and then reassembled.
However, without mentioning that, Callira handed the antidote to the man before her.
“Here—the antidote. But if you don’t trust it, you don’t have to drink it. Not sure if you’re prepared to deliver a message with your own hands?”
Callira ended up half-sarcastically despite herself. The Scol family had originally been famous for brewing beneficial potions.
But now, all she could make were poisons that killed people.
When people hesitated to accept the tea or potions she offered, it stirred up self-loathing for tarnishing the family name.
This man earlier hadn’t even sipped his tea.
So, would he refuse this too?
As she watched him subtly, the man lightly took the glass beaker with the antidote from her hand.
“I’ll partake gratefully.”
Then he started gulping it down.
His bold action, uncharacteristic of his docile appearance, made Callira’s hair stand on end.
* * *
The first sensation was excruciating pain, like being battered by a heavy blunt weapon all over my body. If a massive hammer struck from fingertips to toes mercilessly, it’d feel exactly like this, right?
Thanks to that, my body naturally pitched forward.
Saliva drooled from my mouth, tears and snot mixed in a mess, but I had no time to care about that.
Fuck, it hurts like hell!
But I couldn’t even scream. The air had long since left my lungs.
“Huh…. Hngh….”
The only sounds I could make were grotesque gasps, like carp thrown onto dry land.
I desperately tried to grasp the situation.
Poison?
Did Deathstalker Callira Scol poison me? To kill me?
No, why go through the hassle?
If Callira really wanted me dead, snapping my neck right there would’ve been far more reliable and simple.
Did she have some aesthetic for poisoning people?
No, she despised the act of killing with the baron family’s secret recipes, didn’t she?
“━─. ━━─!”
Callira was saying something, but it buzzed in my ears—no words discernible.
Crack, grind.
Instead, the twisting of my bones and joints rang out vividly. At the same time, massive pain shook my head, leaving no room for other thoughts.
What came to mind was the thing I’d tucked into my pocket.
With trembling hands like a frightened imp’s tail, I reached into my pants pocket and pulled out one of the candies I’d stashed there.
Not Bashkir honey candy, but a simple one made from honey and sugar. I had one in my pocket.
I popped it in my mouth and crunched it.
Suddenly, my body felt light as if floating, and all the pain vanished.
Sluuump.
My body slumped to the floor like a rubber band drained of tension.
The taut tension throughout my body faded, leaving only the bliss of sweetness invading me. Like lying on clouds.
It was ridiculous to think this now,
But nymphs probably had far more developed taste buds for sweetness than other races. Otherwise, this wouldn’t be possible.
Anyway, thanks to carrying that candy, I survived.
“Are you okay?”
Only then did the assassin’s voice reach my ears. Struggling to lift my eyelids, I saw the woman’s red eyes looking down at my face.
I barely opened my mouth.
“Do I look okay to you?”
“You seem fine. What did you eat?”
“…Candy.”
“Candy?”
Callira made an incredulous face. I felt the same, so I didn’t add any explanation.
You always eat candy after bitter medicine.
“If you have no strength, try drinking this.”
Then Callira held out another beaker toward me.
“What’s that…?”
Still on high alert from the recent agony, I asked fearfully, and she chuckled leisurely.
“It’s a tonic. It’ll give you some energy. Proper body care is important from now on.”
“Oh.”
I took the tonic and gulped it down too. It tasted sour and fizzy, reminiscent of a vitamin drink.
“Oh.”
But more amazing was the effect, not the taste. Tingling started from my fingertips and toes, spreading itchiness through my veins everywhere.
“Itchy, right? That’s your mana circuits healing. Looks like you’re compatible with potions.”
Healing?
Did that mean I’d finally achieved the purpose of coming here?
Uncharacteristically excited, like a kid unwrapping Christmas presents, I shouted again.
“Status window.”
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Name: Theo Gospel Angmar lv. 15
Job: Half-Fairy lv. 2
Lothario lv. 3
Actor lv. 7
Tamer lv. 2
Mage lv. 1
Talents: 《Ten-Mile Vision》 《Calm Thinking》
Disposition: Chaotic-Neutral
You are the sole survivor of a fallen family.
Evade the enemies who desire your family’s destruction and restore it to glory.
Fortunately, you overflow with the will to rebuild your house.
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“This isn’t just a plot twist level anymore.”
「Calm situational judgment!
Gain experience via Talent 《Calm Thinking》.
All job experience +5」