Chapter 54
Chapter 54
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: Encounter
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Mage heroine Prelia.
She spends far more time wandering the outside world than holed up in the mage tower conducting research—a far cry from your typical mage.
Yet despite that, her understanding of magic surpasses even the most dedicated scholars.
"Eh...? Pointy ears—an elf...?"
"Half right! I'm not pure-blooded; I'm a half-elf!"
The reason? She's a half-elf.
With elf blood in her veins—the race boasting greater mana reserves than ordinary humans and a natural affinity for spirits—she can wield magic adeptly even while roaming about.
Moreover, the very reason she wanders the world is to seek 'true love.'
She has a tendency to prioritize instinctual emotions born of love over the rational, intellectual pursuit of magic.
'If I just keep hanging around, I'll eventually find some connection with Ruin.'
He wasn't someone she could proudly show off just yet, but compared to their first meeting, he'd improved by about 3 percent.
...Maybe I should aim for the next guy?
As those thoughts crossed my mind, Prelia approached me with a bright smile.
"Is, right? We meet again so soon!"
"Yeah. Have you been well?"
"Yes! Thanks to you, I've been doing great here at the mage tower!"
Prelia flashed a V-sign with her fingers.
'Cute.'
She was dozens of years older than me by age, but her childlike cheerfulness made her utterly adorable.
As I watched her with a fond smile, Blind spoke up with a similar grin.
"Looks like you two are fated somehow. That's good. Sister Prelia has encountered the Black Knight before, so I was planning to have you all discuss it together."
"Oh, you came because of the Black Knight? I don't know a ton, but I'll tell you everything I do know! I wasn't alone—Gyudok saw it with me—so no bad info from me!"
And so the five of us sat down facing one another.
Blind, Belinda, and Prelia on the sofa opposite.
Ariana and I sat together.
-Swish...
"Saintess?"
For some reason, Ariana was pressing much closer to me than she had at the other mage towers.
I glanced at her, wondering what was up, but she just smiled.
"...Hmm?"
The moment I turned my head, I caught Prelia smirking with clear amusement.
I had no idea what was going on.
Fortunately, Belinda arrived with a stack of documents, and the odd tension between them evaporated.
"Here—the intel our Violet Mage Tower gathered while pursuing the Black Knight."
She handed materials to us and passed a sheet to Blind as well; it seemed to be printed in braille for his sightless eyes.
"The Black Knight has strong resistance to illusion magic..."
Ariana muttered gravely.
(For reference, the other towers had reported the same thing about their own spells.)
"Is, at this rate..."
"We'll have no choice but to crush him with overwhelming force."
With every type of magic proving largely ineffective, it was clear he was a cut above—worthy of having slain multiple mage tower masters.
Even Illuminati's boss wasn't just the Black Knight; judging by Ruin's current strength, I'd probably have to handle whoever was left.
"And this is the information Prelia gathered from her encounter with the Black Knight."
Prelia had been wandering as usual one day.
Chasing a beautiful butterfly, she stumbled upon a back alley where a knight in black armor was on the verge of killing a child.
She cast a spell right away. The Black Knight abandoned the child and fled; Prelia brought the kid back to the tower.
As if recalling the memory, Prelia grimaced.
"That guy... didn't fight me head-on, but he was a total monster. Pitch-black armor, glowing red eyes from inside the helmet—I thought, this guy's dangerous! and hit him with my strongest illusion spell. He just staggered for a second before bolting."
Prelia crossed her arms in frustration.
Gyudok sidled up beside her head and patted it.
[Guruk. Gurr...]
While Ariana grew even graver at her account, I nodded calmly.
'No variables so far.'
This matched the scene from the game perfectly.
Prelia's testimony aligned exactly with the game's version.
'As long as no black mages pop up out of nowhere like last time and wreck everything.'
This was the Black Knight's stage, after all. Any black mages who showed would come to regret it.
The Black Knight despised them to the death.
'Goddess, please keep the story on track...'
I prayed fervently to the goddess in my mind.
Just then, Blind smiled and spoke.
"But with the Saintess here—and word is the Hero's coming too—things are looking up. The Violet Mage Tower won't hold back on support, so please don't worry."
Right after those words, Blind's demeanor shifted in an instant.
"...Especially since he's the scum who messes with kids."
The sudden chill left everyone silent.
Blind clapped his hands to break the ice.
"Come on, no need to get all gloomy. It's late—let's wrap up the discussion and hand over the documents separately. After that... well, you all seem fated, so why not catch up a bit?"
Blind's milky-white eyes turned toward Ariana.
"...Thanks for the thoughtfulness, Tower Master!"
"Think nothing of it. Belinda? Shall we step out for a moment?"
"Yes, Tower Master."
Before long, Blind and Belinda excused themselves to let us rest easy, leaving just Prelia, Ariana, and me.
The door had barely closed when she turned to me, as if remembering something.
"Oh yeah, how's that shadow kid doing?"
"Ah, you mean Ia."
"Ia?"
Conveniently, she was right there in my breastplate at the moment, so I lifted my visor.
"Ia, you can come out now."
-Shaak!
Ia, who'd been nestled against my chest, leaped straight for the helmet.
"Oh? You brought her!"
"Mage sis... long time no see..."
Ia, now in human form, waved at Prelia.
Prelia scooped her up in a tight hug.
"Eeee! Too cute!"
It was a squeeze that could've choked the breath out of anyone, but Ia, being a murky, just relaxed into it peacefully.
As I watched the scene, Gyudok suddenly yanked at Prelia's hair and let out a cry.
[Guruk! Gu!]
"Ow! Don't pull! That hurts!"
[Gurr! Gu gu!]
"Okay, okay, got it!"
Prelia released Ia, eyes watering.
Only then did Gyudok nod in approval.
'Gyudok really looks out for Ia.'
Wonder why?
I stared hard at Gyudok, trying to figure it out, and it awkwardly waved its foremost limb (presumably a hand) at me.
In that instant, the image of a massive centipede flashed through my mind.
Just to be sure, I asked Gyudok cautiously.
"By any chance... are you Gu Poison?"
[!!!]
Gyudok jolted visibly.
Bullseye.
"Gu Poison? What's that?"
Prelia whipped her head toward Gyudok.
For some reason, it looked like cold sweat was beading on Gyudok's body.
[Gu, gur...]
"What is it? Why the hesitation? Tell me too!"
[...Guk.]
Prelia kept pressing until Gyudok finally nodded and explained what Gu Poison was. (Or so it seemed.)
Once the brief rundown ended, Prelia turned to Gyudok.
"So... you're that Gu Poison? Some massive venomous centipede?"
[Guruk.]
"I see..."
In the end, Gyudok admitted it.
Which brought up one question.
"...But aren't you a spirit now?"
How had something akin to a curse like Gu Poison ended up rechristened Gyudok and turned into a spirit?
Gyudok explained patiently.
"...Learned about doing good deeds from a Holy Knight named Jeanne d'Arc, piled them up day after day, then took the blow from a drunken knight's sword meant for a kid... and became a spirit?"
[Guruk guruk.]
"Whoa..."
This was news to me too.
I was as stunned as Prelia.
Naturally, I turned to Ariana—and found her already in tears.
"Sniff... It's so... so moving and sad..."
Realizing that I had changed the entire trajectory of Gu Poison's existence, the four of us talked long into the night.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Meanwhile, Ruin was out on patrol.
"Wandering back alleys like this—they'll buy it as a patrol, right?"
Hands jammed in his pants pockets, he slouched through the shadows.
Slacking off under the pretense of duty.
'Black mages won't jump out like last time.'
He'd already gotten wrecked once pulling the same stunt, but he whistled anyway, convinced this time would be different.
"♩~ ♪~"
His tune echoed through the quiet alley.
"♩~ ♪~"
-Thud!
"♩~ ♪~"
-Thwack.
"...♩~ ♪~"
-Thud!
"...♪~"
-Bam!
"Fuck! Who's trying to murder someone?!"
Soon the ominous sounds punctuating his whistling had him drawing his sword and bolting toward the source.
The sight that greeted him:
-Thud!
"Guhk..."
-Bam!
"S-spare me..."
-Crunch!
"Kehk!"
A knight in black armor was methodically slaughtering humans draped in black robes.
At a glance, it might pass for a vigilante takedown.
"...Kids."
Clutched in his left hand was an arm far too small for an adult.
Horrified by the gruesome scene, Ruin bared his teeth and charged.
"You shouldn't have touched the kid, you bastard!!!!"