A Blade at the Throat

There was no more precise way to put it than Kkyu's words.

This man was insane.

Didn't he sit at the dinner table just a week ago, weeping over a dead disciple?

The apprentice had been caught in an explosion mid-experiment, half his body blown away. Frox had sobbed through the whole story over a meal, and at the time Messi had felt genuine pity for him.

Not anymore.

So that's why his disciples keep dying...

Anyone who learned by watching a master like this was bound to collect industrial accidents. There was an old saying: if you wanted to find a craftsman's teacher, look at his hands. A man who threw safety to the dogs always showed it in his fingers — and anyone who trained under him ended up the same.

"Isn't this... dangerous?"

"Hmm?"

Frox looked at Messi as if the question genuinely puzzled him.

"You're a healer, aren't you?"

"I am."

"When you run into a symptom you've never seen before, you don't treat it because you're certain of a full recovery, do you? Haha!"

It was a more logical rebuttal than Messi had expected. Leave it to a magician.

"Just as you've stacked patients' lives to advance your healing arts, magical research is the same. You never know until you try. Heh heh."

That's other people's lives on the line. This is mine.

He didn't dare say it out loud. It wasn't the sort of thing that should come from the mouth ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of a man they called a saint.

Agreed.

"Don't stand so far off. I've already laid down five layers of defensive magic around us, after all."

"...I doubt your disciple ended up that way because he couldn't use defensive magic."

"Haha! A fair point. But don't worry. Mana possesses the property of direct proportion."

"Direct proportion?"

"In a word, you get back immediately whatever you put in. I originally should have used drake's blood... but this house didn't have the right materials, so I used pig's blood. Even if a backlash occurs, it can't amount to much."

Put in one, get one back. The mana contained in pig's blood was negligible, which meant that even if something went wrong, it couldn't go very wrong. Only then did Messi feel a little easier.

The first time I've felt my life in danger since meeting my master.

"And we've already entered the material stabilization phase."

"Meaning?"

"It means the experiment succeeded."

"!"

Only thirty percent of the translation was even finished, and with just that he'd gotten the gist, improvised, and called it a success? And he'd even swapped out the foundational base material?

He's an absurd genius.

From the moment the materials on alchemy had been discovered, Messi had heard every word of them from Kkyu, and he had tried to gauge whether he could manage the work himself.

He couldn't. He had no foundational knowledge, so even with a translation he couldn't make sense of the contents. Naturally he couldn't understand them, and he couldn't see the larger picture or the result. If Messi had pursued the research alone, he might have spent his entire life chained to alchemy.

He had entrusted this ancient magic to House Ahental in part to build a power base there — but also because it was simply off the scale of what he could digest by himself.

And Frox had finished the whole thing in a mere week. Of course, that was only possible because of the mastery he had already spent a lifetime cultivating.

Messi looked at the blood-like red solution sloshing inside the jar.

"Is this... the result?"

"Mm."

A confirmation. To Messi's eyes it was just a red liquid. He looked at Frox with a face that asked for an explanation, and Frox opened his mouth.

"I don't suppose you can tell from looking how remarkable this is. How am I supposed to explain this at your level..."

Kkyu, apparently startled, poked her head out of the pocket and wriggled, trying to peer into the jar.

You're going to fall in like that.

"Haha, you little rascal. My masterpiece isn't caterpillar stew!"

Frox watched Kkyu's antics with evident delight.

"Is this the liquefaction of mana?"

"Oho... your eye is rather decent, isn't it? I didn't think you'd recognize it."

The unexpected turn of the conversation seemed only to please him further.

"As you know... the structural arrangement of mana is like a gas widely dispersed through the atmosphere — but when an enchantment or a magical effect is deployed, it changes into a fixed arrangement, like a solid."

"The problem is that in its gaseous structure, it's infinitely spread out, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠so the gaps are wide. Naturally, when mana particles collide, the impact is greater, and so is the magical effect. But we can't manipulate mana in that state."

Frox picked up a stick of charcoal and began to draw on a white slate.

"But in the solid structure we can actually handle, it's tightly bound and stable — which means the impact is correspondingly smaller. The magic we use, in truth, can be considered a rather weak mana reaction."

Then... what about the liquid structure in between?

"The liquid state in the middle is half and half. You take the advantages of both, you might say. If we used magic with this mana water I've just created, we'd see a far greater magical effect than we do now."

"...Is this easy to make?"

"Haha. People misunderstand me from time to time. Because I make it look easy, they assume my research is easy. The only liquefied mana in this world is the blood of high-ranking monsters. Does that explain it?"

In other words... what Frox had created was the present civilization's first artificial monster blood — mana in liquefied form. Mana water.

Why did magicians hunt down monster blood for their research? Because the only liquid that contained a significant quantity of mana was their blood. Of course it was expensive.

And if it could be made by human hands?

This is genuinely enormous...

Frox had spoken of it so mildly that it hadn't landed. Now it did. Enough to raise goosebumps.

"Judging by your face, it seems you've understood properly."

Frox smiled, looking thoroughly pleased with himself.

"I don't know why, but the ancient alchemist seems to have needed dragon's blood. Even in that era, how were they supposed to kill a dragon? A dragon is a dragon, no matter how advanced the civilization. So they thought of creating dragon's blood artificially."

"Then this produces the effect of dragon's blood?"

"I made it with pig's blood — it'd be shameless to hope for that much. This is a paltry thing. At best, it's about on par with troll's blood."

Frox's greedy eyes settled on Kkyu.

"Though... something on the order of a Ten-Thousand-Year Ant's bodily fluid might yield a far more excellent result..."

He licked his lips.

"Don't most magicians use troll's blood for their experiments anyway?"

"Haha! Well, when you put it that bluntly, I'll admit it! Even at this level, the results are remarkable, hahaha!"

A madman — but a useful madman. Messi would give him that.

With this research alone, there really wouldn't be anything left to fear...

Messi was already turning over ways to use the artificial mana blood. Every picture that came to mind was extraordinary.

Turn pig's blood into the price of troll's blood. Even if they supplied it at half the cost of troll's blood, magicians from across the entire central region would flock to them. And that staggering profit margin?

Artificial mana blood would also revolutionize the use of magic itself. Things that until now had been dismissed as money-burning extravagance because of the cost would finally become possible.

This is a jackpot.

Until now he had felt as if he were advancing toward his goal one step at a time. This stride was considerably larger.

A knock came at the door.

"Hmm? Someone's here, it seems."

The door to Frox's laboratory opened, and a servant stepped in. He looked distinctly flustered at the thick haze filling the room.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"What's going on?"

At Messi's question, the servant bowed his head.

"His Lordship requests that both of you come."

"Roan? Has something happened?"

"Yes, Master Frox. An envoy has arrived from House Crombell."

The guest we've been waiting for.

Around the time Frox and Messi were still talking in the laboratory, a small party appeared about an hour's distance from the City of Ahental.

A banner announcing their identity snapped in the wind — none other than the Vertical Wave Tiger. It was a beast whose stripes ran opposite to those of an ordinary tiger, known as one of the most ferocious animals in the wild, and a creature that hunted orcs alone.

The house that beast represented was Count Crombell's. A tiger had come to visit the raven's domain.

The knight at the head of the party gave an order to one of the cavalrymen, and the rider set off ahead toward the City of Ahental. Several dozen minutes later, the city erupted as if into chaos, scrambling into every manner of defensive posture.

"Alanaster?"

"Th-that's correct!"

Viscount Ahental's face turned a deep, furious red.

"What in the world has the intelligence unit been doing?! Alanaster appears within striking distance of the city, and you failed to detect him!"

The viscount rounded on his retainers. The two sons standing to his left and right did not look kindly upon them either.

Baron Hugo, the vassal in charge of the intelligence unit, bowed his head low.

"I have no excuse... We knew House Crombell's envoy had departed, but at that time Alanaster was clearly not among them. He must have been following in secret, concealing his identity."

"So we fell for a deception."

Once the situation had roughly taken shape, Viscount Ahental made an effort to recover his composure.

"Ereb. Issue an emergency alert to the entire city watch at once and put the Ahental Knights on standby. There are to be no exceptions."

No exceptions meant that Bacillus, the Knight Commander, would be summoned as well. Ereb glanced at Ramang, who stood behind him, and Ramang received the order and left the room.

"Ayres. Put the Ahental cavalry on standby. I want them ready for immediate combat, just in case!"

Likewise, Adol, standing behind Ayres, vacated his post.

"Summon Frox. Ah — and Sir Messi will be with him, so call him as well."

"We're truly fortunate that Master Frox is here."

"Indeed. To face Alanaster, you'd need at least a Great Magician for it to even be a matching of ranks, wouldn't you?"

The retainers let out breaths of relief the moment Frox's name was spoken. The reason they set a Great Magician against the name Alanaster was simple.

He was House Crombell's only Sword Master.

Alanaster von Crombell. Younger brother of the current head of House Crombell, a man of extraordinary talent with the sword who had reached the realm of Sword Master — the pride of House Crombell, and its true strength.

Watching his retainers clamor, Viscount Ahental turned the matter over in his mind.

If they'd intended to strike our house, they would have kept his identity hidden all the way into the city. And the fact that they sent a rider ahead to announce his presence...

It meant they had no intention of fighting.

But concealing himself until he was this close, then suddenly revealing his identity — the intent was perfectly clear.

They mean to make us feel the threat.

Their plan had succeeded. Viscount Ahental had felt the crisis in full. It was as if a razor-sharp blade had suddenly appeared beneath his chin. As if to say: this is the reality of picking a fight with House Crombell.

"I don't believe they genuinely intend to draw their swords."

"Agreed. If they'd meant to fight, they wouldn't have announced themselves."

Ayres and Ereb, his two sons, had reached the same judgment he had. That, at least, was a relief. The two sons who would lead the house seemed to have grown rather well.

The door clicked open. In the interval, the summoned Frox and Messi entered, and the sight of them seemed to ease some of the worry.

Frox possesses formidable magic, and Sir Messi is a man of deep thought. Those two will be of great help.

"Good of you to come, Frox. Have you heard the situation?"

"Alanaster came in person, I hear?"

"Yes... that dissolute Sword Master has come right up to our throats."

Once everyone who needed to be there had arrived, the viscount had Alanaster's messenger brought into the office.

The Crombell knight who entered swept the room with arrogant eyes, then walked forward as if he owned it.

"A pleasure, Viscount Ahental. I am Tachi, a knight of House Crombell."

"Do I look pleased to see you?"

"I imagine not. Regardless, I shall deliver Sir Alanaster's message."

Insolently, it wasn't even a personally written letter, but an oral notification — a summons in all but name.

"A message, is it... And here I thought you'd come to apologize."

By that point the viscount leaned back in his chair and gestured as if to say, go on, talk.

"Sir Alanaster wishes to meet with Your Lordship one-on-one, to discuss compensation for this affair and the future of both houses."

"What?"

"What kind of nonsense is that?!"

At Tachi's words the retainers erupted in protest. Ereb's face twisted into something murderous enough to kill Tachi on the spot.

"I'm to appear alone before the infamous Alanaster? Haha!"

"House Crombell, in our remorse, has even sent an envoy of the blood. House Ahental ought to show a matching sincerity and courtesy."

"And that matching courtesy is a private meeting between myself and a Sword Master? Isn't that rather forced?"

"Forced? It is merely a private audience with Sir Alanaster, an envoy of the blood."

This was a man who, if he wished, could kill the viscount with a gesture. Sending someone of that caliber as an envoy was itself the problem. Dispatching a man who might turn assassin at any moment and calling him a diplomat was something no one with any sense of propriety would do. The only reason it passed on the surface was that Alanaster was the house head's own brother — which gave them the justification, at least in name.

"I see. Then what Your Lordship is saying is that the head of House Ahental is so frightened of our envoy that he cannot even hold a discussion, let alone show courtesy."

"How can you be so insolent?!"

"Does House Crombell have no sense of common decency?!"

The retainers flew into a rage, but Tachi only lifted his chin higher, as if to ask where these dogs were barking from.

"Very well, then... Sir Alanaster was concerned that he might be perceived as a threat. He has given full consideration to Your Lordship's position."

Tachi smirked and went on.

What use were three knights or four in front of a Sword Master?

The only thing that could stand against a Sword Master head-on was another Sword Master.

House Crombell was saying it plainly. You don't even have a Sword Master — so what gall did you have, thinking you could make an enemy of our house?

Watching the scene unfold, Messi recalled something Ereb had once told him.

This was not a fight among herbivores calculating safety and survival. This was a fight among carnivores, who measured everything by justification.

The viscount, the retainers, and both sons — all of them had read the intent, and their faces darkened.

If the viscount tucked his tail in this confrontation, House Ahental's prestige would suffer catastrophic damage.

That was not what Messi wanted.

I can't let that happen.

It was time for him to step forward.