Chapter 66
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 66
Chapter Title: Butterfly Effect from Milk (3)
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"Don't move!"
Seeing Tristan about to do something, I shouted.
"If you so much as twitch a finger... then..."
I nearly added some pointless line in my immersion, but fortunately snapped back to my senses.
"...Anyway, just don't move!"
"...You bastard! You came here to kill Isolde anyway, didn't you!"
"No!"
"Don't lie!"
"I'm not!"
One says I'll devour her.
The other says I'll kill her.
I can't fathom why this father-daughter duo is so deep in paranoia.
"...."
"...."
No words would get through, so I just glared in silence for a moment until Tristan calmed down, his ragged breathing returning to normal.
Only then did I slowly speak.
"...Professor Tristan. My name is Eugene. You might not know, but I'm the third son of the Calliope family."
"...And what of it? Even if you're of Calliope blood, if you lay a hand on my daughter, I'll kill you."
"I didn't say that to imply anything like that. I only revealed my family to prove my identity. Professor, I only wanted to save Isolde when she suddenly collapsed. I had no intention of harming her."
"...You expect me to believe that?"
"Believe it or not, that's the truth."
After a moment of silence, Tristan asked again.
"Then why are you threatening Isolde right now?"
"With you hurling spells like that, this was the only way I could think of to stay alive. If I hadn't done this, wouldn't I already be dead from your magic?"
"..."
He shut his mouth, realizing it wasn't wrong even to himself.
"Professor. Let me say it once more: I have no intention of harming Isolde. If you swear not to attack anymore, even now, I'll back off quietly."
"...I swear. If you back off quietly, I won't attack."
"...I'll trust you on that."
To show I had no will to fight, I raised both hands and slowly retreated.
Once I'd backed off a fair distance, Tristan hobbled over on his injured leg and embraced Isolde.
"Isolde! Isolde! Are you okay?!"
Up close, Tristan's body was wrapped entirely in bandages.
After checking Isolde's condition, Tristan gave me a slight bow.
"...I'm sorry for attacking without hearing you out."
"It's not something an apology can just fix... but more importantly, we need to get Isolde treatment now. Your condition looks bad too, so let me take you both to the infirmary..."
"No."
Tristan cut me off.
"If you don't trust the infirmary, somewhere else..."
"...No, that's not it. Isolde can't be taken outside the barrier. ...I'll move her inside."
I didn't know the reason, but I nodded at Tristan's firm words.
Despite his injuries, Tristan personally carried Isolde to the bed and even tucked her in.
I offered to help, but he refused outright, leaving me no choice but to sit and wait.
As I sat in the chair waiting, Tristan brought me tea with a weary face.
"Sorry for the misunderstanding. Let me apologize again."
The words 'two misunderstandings and you'd have killed me' nearly escaped my throat, but I held them back with a sip of tea.
As I sipped, Tristan fixed me with a sharp gaze once more.
"...So, how did you end up here?"
"I got lost by accident..."
"Don't give me that 'got lost' nonsense. There's a barrier that instills disgust the closer you get, specifically to prevent that. You can't even enter without a clear purpose."
That spiderweb sensation when I entered was the barrier, huh...
He'd set up every kind imaginable.
"...."
As I hesitated on how to respond, Tristan instantly drew his staff and aimed it at me.
"...I'll ask one last time. Why are you here?"
He could cast without a staff, so pulling it out was to show he meant business.
Looking at his face, I knew lying wouldn't work.
With a short sigh, I came clean.
"...Actually, I saw you at the black market a while ago."
"...."
"To avoid misunderstanding, I bought meat there. But the ingredients you purchased—stream snails, thousand-year wood sap, moonlight bird feathers—seem like high-grade antidote materials at first glance, but tweak the recipe slightly and you can make addictive poisons."
"...You know that much about alchemy?"
"That's not important. More importantly, Professor. My turn to ask: what did you make with those?"
"If I said an antidote, would you believe me?"
"..."
Honestly, no.
Why go through all that when a single recovery-type unique ability user could fix it?
A moment later, Tristan lowered his staff, glanced at the sleeping Isolde, and stood.
"...Not here. Let's move to the workshop."
Tristan's workshop was filled with all sorts of magic books.
From barrier magic to alchemy, even forbidden curse types.
While most professors delved deep into one field, Tristan seemed to collect whatever he needed.
"...Do you know why Isolde can't be taken outside?"
I shook my head at his question.
This was hidden lore not in Academy's Tamer.
No way I'd know.
"Isolde's lifespan has ended."
"...?"
Lifespan ended?
I furrowed my brow at his words.
People aren't machines—what does 'lifespan ended' even mean if she's not dead?
Reading my expression, Tristan gave a bitter smile.
"I know it's hard to believe. But Isolde's lifespan ran out years ago. I forcibly held it back, and now I'm paying the price."
"...Price?"
"Yes. What if I said the entire world is trying to kill Isolde—would you understand?"
That didn't make sense either.
I shook my head, and Tristan slowly explained.
"It started with my wife. One day I came home to find her deranged, lunging at our young Isolde to kill her... In panic, I hit her with a spell."
"..."
"As she lay dying, she came to her senses and begged me to protect Isolde. From then on, I focused on barriers to keep anyone from harming her. But barriers only slow it down—they can't protect perfectly. Even inside, she got poisoned and cursed for unknown reasons. And no matter the barriers, people kept breaking through to kill her. That's why I overreacted to you."
It was unbelievable.
The world trying to kill a daughter whose lifespan was exceeded, and a father fighting it.
But Tristan's aura proved it wasn't a lie.
"But... today it finally came. The symptoms she's suffering now are beyond even me. It's not illness or poison. ...Just pure life force being gnawed away."
'...So that's it.'
Now it made sense.
Why Tristan obsessed over barriers.
Why he tried blocking the 'tentacles' alone.
I'd thought it was for the students, but I was wrong.
...The truth was far crueler and more selfish than I'd imagined.
"Professor... one question."
"...What?"
"What's that box behind you?"
The black box I pointed to exuded an ominous presence.
...If my instincts were right, that would turn Isolde into the two-phase boss 'Creeping Terror'.
"...You're too sharp. Like you already know everything."
Tristan stood and walked to the box, stroking it.
"...Each trial Isolde faces grows stronger. Poisons I could easily antidote before now require pushing my all to barely make one. If she gets poisoned next time, it's over."
"...So you're making her walk a non-human path?"
"Yes. If she's no longer human, a human lifespan means nothing."
"What's the point of living divorced from humanity? And you don't know for sure. Go to the Parthenon right now. The Saintess might be able to heal her."
"And if that Saintess feels killing intent toward Isolde? I'd be driving her into danger myself?"
"...."
No rebuttal came to his sharp question.
"Fine, say it goes smoothly this time—what about the next trial? An accident I can't handle? Poison? Curse? Damn it! This trial is my last chance!"
The voice of a father who'd guarded his daughter without rest carried emotions I couldn't fathom.
"...How long do you think Isolde can hold out?"
"...Three days at most."
Three days.
The day after break started.
The day the main event of Academy's Tamer began.
"...Sorry for yelling. Please leave now. This is the last courtesy I can offer."
As I stepped out at his dismissal, I turned and declared.
"...Three days. I'll find an answer by then."
Tristan gave a wry smile.
"...I'll wait without expectations."