A Crow for a Holy Sword
In the Third Medical Zone, wealth and people naturally converged. Trends forged by the finest artisans and merchant syndicates armed with capital. The district flourished beneath the benevolent blessings of the imperial family. The irony was that, in every era, the empire’s largest slum always took root in the capital itself. The same held true for the holy land where the saint resided. It was hardly unusual for sunless alleys to form in the shadow of the towering grand cathedral. A place where rats and the destitute tumbled together in the filth. A place where the reek of plague never grew familiar no matter how long you endured it. A place where every passing day dragged you closer to death…. And it was there, in that very place, that the headquarters of the black magic guild made its home. As if they had no intention of hiding, a massive sign adorned the enormous building.
“Please, please let us see the witch…!”
“Our grandson is burning with fever!”
An elderly couple in threadbare clothes held out a child wrapped in rags, begging desperately. They had carried the boy on their backs and walked an entire day just to reach her. Yet the guard at the entrance only shoved them back with cold indifference.
“The witch is busy right now. No one may enter.”
“Oh heavens, if you turn us away like this, what are we supposed to do about our grandson!”
“I already told you it’s impossible. Come back another time.”
“Where is this ‘another time’ for a child like him! Please… please at least let the boy breathe the air inside…!”
At that moment, a window on the upper floor opened and a clear, gentle voice floated down.
“Let them in.”
“Witch, but—”
“Didn’t I say it was fine? Bring them up.”
“Ahem. Understood. I will guide you both.”
The elderly couple followed the guard into the guild building. They were greeted by a nose-stinging stench and an ominous green fog. Even the grimy old man instinctively covered his nose and mouth.
“Th-this is…”
“Do not worry. Breathing it will not harm you.”
So there were things that could harm them. Swallowing his curiosity, the old man stopped before a door. Before the guard could even knock, the door to the witch’s workshop swung open. Beyond the threshold stood a silver-haired woman wearing a black robe. The same person who had called to them from the window. The witch. Aurelia.
“Aurelia… it has been a long time since anyone called me that.”
“I-I’m sorry! This ignorant old fool has been rude…!”
“It’s fine. You said the child has a fever?”
“Ah! Here is our grandson. The day before yesterday he seemed listless, then suddenly came down with this burning fever—”
“Let me see him.”
Aurelia took the child into her arms. The boy’s labored, wheezing breaths made his dire condition obvious at a glance. The witch stroked his cheek, tracing the flow of magic power inside his body. Soon her brows drew together.
“Does the child have parents?”
“They’re all dead. We’re the only ones left to look after this poor thing.”
“What assets do you possess?”
“Just a shack and a tiny potato patch. Witch, if it’s about the cost of medicine, I’ll sell my soul if I must—just please save the boy…!”
“The price will be paid by the child.”
Leaving the bewildered old couple behind, the witch let out a deep sigh.
“I can save his life, but he will live as a cripple forever.”
“What?! Oh no! What are we to do…!”
It was a serious illness, but not an incurable one. A well-trained imperial physician could cure it in two weeks. A skilled cleric could heal it with a wave of the hand. The cost would not even be crippling. But black magic was a different story. Black magic always demanded an unfair price. In Aurelia’s judgment, for the boy to regain his health he would have to pay with the future in which he would one day stand on his own two feet. It would almost be kinder to simply take a piece of his soul.
“Will that be acceptable?”
“A cripple… he’ll become a cripple? Um, witch, we… No, never mind—just please save him!”
“Raising a child who cannot walk will be very difficult. One less pair of helping hands, but one more mouth to feed.”
“We’ll… we’ll skip sleep if we have to. We’ll feed him and raise him somehow.”
“And when you die?”
“That is…”
They would probably end their days begging on the market streets. It was a suffocating situation. They had never been lucky enough to meet one of the traveling doctors who circled the empire. They lacked even the few coins needed to clutch a cleric’s soft collar, so they were forced to crawl like insects. If they had possessed even a pittance to give a quack, they would never have come to her. ─If not for the witch, they would not have had even this chance. Who could say? To the lowest of the low, how did she appear? A final straw to grasp, or a vicious moneylender charging unbearable interest? Clicking her tongue inwardly, the witch wrote down the materials required for the spell.
“Nebra.”
At the witch’s call, a single crow flew in.
“I called for Nebra, so why have you come?”
“Caw caw! That fellow is probably slacking off somewhere. He’s likely soaring through the skies of the Holy City right now.”
“Deliver this note and bring Nebra back with you at once.”
“Caw!”
The crow snatched the paper in its beak and left the room. The witch placed the child back in the old woman’s arms.
“Follow Philip. He will show you a place to rest. Philip, once the magic preparations are complete, please call for me.”
“Understood.”
Sending off the hesitant, bowing couple, Aurelia quietly rubbed her face. The bleak future hanging over the patient, the agony of calculating the price of black magic—after more than ten years she still could not grow used to any of it.
If only Nebra had been here, she would have lifted her mood. In the end, to soothe the rising stress, she had no choice but to open the gallery. Switching to a different persona, she wandered through several galleries before finally arriving at the Craftsman Gallery. It seemed the ritual dagger she had ordered was finished. The newbie blacksmith rambled on for a long time before opening the trade window.
The ceremonial dagger you ordered has been completed.
‘This is awkward.’
A trade had to be fair. If you received something, you had to offer a return gift of matching value. She simply had not expected the dagger to be finished so quickly and had not prepared anything to give in exchange. The gift she had in mind would require Nebra’s arrival.
Flap!
Just then a crow flew in through the window. The one she had been waiting for. Aurelia’s dark expression brightened at once. The witch greeted the crow with the affectionate tone appropriate for her age.
“Caw caw—! You called for this girl?!”
“Where have you been, Nebra? I needed you.”
“Hearing that you need me always feels wonderful no matter how many times I hear it! Caw caw caw!”
“I missed you, and the timing felt right. Bring me your egg.”
“Caw caw caw—! To soften my heart with praise first and then immediately snatch my child away—as expected of a black mage in the making!”
“You know that’s not what I meant.”
At Aurelia’s pout the crow clacked its beak in delight.
“I’m sorry, but I cannot give you my egg!”
“What? Why?”
“Caw! Because that would not be a fair trade! This crow’s intuition tells me a far more valuable return gift will be required!”
Flap! Nebra flapped her wings vigorously and circled the cluster of light.
“Crows are far smarter than you imagine! I had already foreseen today’s farewell!”
“Nebra! You don’t mean—!”
“I wish to explore the vast world!”
“No, Nebra! Without you I—”
“By now you no longer need me! Aurelia! Farewell!”
With those words Nebra threw herself into the cluster of light. In the spot where she had stood, only a single sword with a blade that curved left and right remained.
A blade that curves like a wave
Reacts violently to black magic
Carries the lingering scent of long-lost divine power
“Nebra…!”
Aurelia felt a surge of irritation at the sight of the sword. To think her most precious friend had been traded for a mere blade. She immediately considered demanding an exchange from the blacksmith. The instant she irritably picked it up, a stinging sensation flared in her palm.
“Oh?”
Startled, she set the sword down. A vivid red mark burned brightly on her palm. Poison? That was her first thought.
Yet even Aurelia, an expert in toxins, did not recognize this energy. A sensation that felt welcoming yet alien beyond the poison. Something she had not felt in a very long time—like the scent of a summer day from years ago.
Dong— Dong— Dong—
In the distance the grand cathedral bells rang.
“Ah…”
She finally understood Nebra’s words. That she would no longer need her. Divine power. Did it mean she would regain the strength she had lost as a child? The witch tore a strip from the hem of her black robe and wrapped it around her hand. The clash between holy power and black magic eased slightly.
“All preparations are complete. Shall we go down?”
“Philip, it really is time.”
“Pardon? More importantly, where did that sword come from…”
“I’m sorry. All the materials you prepared so carefully have gone to waste.”
“What do you mean…”
Aurelia gazed out the window at the rear of the grand cathedral. The day of her return was not far off.
Even after I threw the kris into the cluster of light, the trade still hadn’t gone through. Did they eat the offering and run? I was trying to hide my growing panic when Suyeon asked,
“Wow, what is this? Am I learning this too?”
“No, this is… it’s like an awakening skill only I can use. You offer an item to obtain something else in return.”
“The dagger was really cool, but this feels a little disappointing.”
“A craftsman’s job is to make things and send them off. You’ll get used to it.”
I had asked her indirectly several times, but it was clear Ji Suyeon had no idea the Craftsman Gallery even existed. There were probably other awakened craftsmen besides the two of us. Maybe they hadn’t awakened the gallery either. It would have been nice if there were a gallery where every awakened blacksmith gathered, I thought with a twinge of regret.
“Whoa! Something’s coming out!”
Suyeon shouted toward the cluster of light. Sure enough, something was forcing its way through the flashing beams. Something very black, flapping around without the slightest dignity…
“A crow?”
“Wow, a crow! It’s so cute.”
“Caw! The concentration of mana here is completely different!”
“Wow, it can talk! So cute!”
“Caw caw caw caw! Are you the one? The one who summoned me!”
Me?
“I flew around all day and now I’m starving! I wish someone would offer a tribute! I happen to like nuts very much, caw caw caw!”
While I stood there stunned, Suyeon pulled out an energy bar and offered it.
“Hey, that’s my snack…”
“Mr. Crow, this is grain, not exactly a tribute.”
“It’s very aromatic and sweet! Caw—!”
Fortunately the crow didn’t refuse it just because it had chocolate. It pecked at the bar with its beak until the whole thing disappeared in moments. Once the sugar hit, the bird perked up, flapping its wings and clacking its beak happily.
“What should we name it? If it doesn’t have one, let’s give it a name!”
“How about Blackie?”
“Cawwwwwww—!”
“Looks like it hates that. What about Kkami?”
“Caw caw! My name is Nebra. I am the most cherished familiar of my master, Lady Aurelia!”
“Who’s Aurelia?”
“I have no idea. Why not just call it Blackie?”
“A one-sided relationship… how interesting! Yet we already know you quite well!”
The crow flapped its wings and rose into the air.
“I ate very well! I should give a return gift as well, shouldn’t I?”
“A return gift?”
“Caw caw! I’ll be right back! I will grant what you desire!”
Grant what I desire? Without even asking what I wanted?