Chapter 34
Chapter 34
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: The Awakened Ones
-----------------------------------------------------------------
In the meantime, the Patron had stuck a needle into Jess's forearm and quickly injected the contents.
"Ugh...."
"Now that I think about it, this dimension heals the body not just with holy magic but also with elixirs. However, it seems difficult to change one's innate constitution with elixirs."
"If that were... possible, I would've been healthy long ago."
"But the medicine I brought is different. The effects will appear in an instant, so you can look forward to it. There, all done."
The Patron pulled out the needle and took a step back.
Then, astonishingly, the headache vanished.
Even his body, which had always felt limp and weak, was filled with strength. Jess clenched and unclenched his fist, his face full of awe.
"It really worked. Truly."
"How is it? Are you satisfied with your wish?"
"Satisfied? More than! No matter how much I drank those so-called great elixirs, or called in priests no matter how skilled, there was never any effect...."
"I'm glad you like it. Then, shall we hear your second wish?"
"My second wish...."
With his body restored, the inferiority complex and hatred he had kept hidden surged up like an explosion. Jess bolted upright from the bed and grabbed the Patron's hand.
"Kill my brother! And my father too! Not just any death—make it as long and painful as possible! At least half of the pain I've felt!"
"Your brother would be the Crown Prince, and your father the Emperor of the Empire.... My, the level of your wish has suddenly skyrocketed."
The Patron spoke as if surprised, but he didn't seem particularly flustered.
He pulled out yet another syringe attached to a tube from beneath his bandages. Jess eyed the needle tensely and asked.
"You're going to kill those two with that?"
"It's impossible for me to kill those two directly."
"Then?"
"Instead, I'll make it possible for Your Highness the Prince to do it with your own body. Granting multiple wishes in one day goes against the rules.... But you're a special case, so it should be fine."
And with that, he injected a new drug into Jess's body.
Once the injection was complete, Jess suddenly felt the world spin and collapsed onto the bed.
"What is this? Did you inject me with poison?"
"If it's poison, then yes, it's poison. Of course, it won't harm Your Highness's body at all. It will simply turn your blood into poison."
"My blood into poison?"
"That's right. If there's someone you want to kill—and you want them to suffer a long, agonizing death—just have them ingest your blood."
"Ah...."
"The higher the concentration of blood, the stronger the effect. If mixed normally, their immunity will collapse, leaving them tormented by all sorts of diseases. If mixed thickly, they'll collapse in an instant and become useless. And if they drink the pure blood...."
"If they drink it?"
"They'll turn into a monster and die in agony."
"What? A monster?"
"So, avoid using the pure blood if possible. If someone suddenly turns into a monster, it'll look too suspicious to those around you, right?"
A smile spread beneath the bandages covering his face. Jess wiped the blood oozing from the puncture site with his hand and slowly nodded.
"Yeah.... I see. So in the end, fulfilling the wish.... is up to me?"
"That's correct. Whether you mix it in alcohol or tea, there are many methods. I pray you succeed without getting caught. Ah, by the way, what is Your Highness's third wish?"
"I don't need a third wish."
Jess shook his head, clenching both fists.
"My head is so full of things I need to do right now it's about to burst. I don't need anything else."
"You must be overflowing with motivation. Very well. We'll save the third wish for later, then."
"Later?"
"When I have time, I'll visit Your Highness occasionally. Even if it's later, just tell me your third wish, and I'll grant it then. After all, I am Your Highness's faithful Patron."
The Patron bowed elegantly. Jess suddenly remembered something and asked one last question.
"Wait. What if they drink it diluted very thinly?"
"If diluted very thinly and drunk.... they'll slowly go mad."
"Go mad?"
"But it won't happen from just once. If drunk frequently, they'll struggle to control their madness, become unable to defy their instincts, and their body will gradually fall apart. If a young person drinks it, their physical growth will stop entirely."
"Oh...."
"So, adjust the dosage as needed. It could also be useful to draw out small amounts in advance and store them. Your Highness's blood will never spoil from now on. Well, then...."
The Patron turned misty like smoke and vanished. And starting the very next day, Jess began working to fulfill his second wish.
How much time passed like that?
The Emperor drank a glass of wine laced heavily with Jess's blood at a banquet and collapsed, becoming a vegetable.
For the Crown Prince, he prepared fragrant black tea mixed with a light dilution of his own blood, inviting him to his detached palace for tea parties whenever there was time.
Thanks to this, the Crown Prince's body became a breeding ground for all sorts of diseases, and he ended up secluded in his mansion, waiting only for death.
Perhaps because it was a poison from another dimension, neither this dimension's holy magic nor elixirs had any effect.
Even though the two most important people in the Empire collapsed one after another, Jess was never suspected. He had perfectly acted the part of a son who reveres his parents and a brother who cherishes his siblings.
Having achieved his wish, Jess prepared the longest and most miserable end for the youngest prince, who had been showered with the Emperor's love.
But this time, the results weren't as desired.
Just a few months ago, everything had gone according to plan.
Yet Claude had somehow overcome his madness, and now he had gained enough popularity that key ministers in the Empire were submitting petitions.
"Just where did it.... go wrong?"
Returning to reality, Jess quietly surveyed his room, which had no windows and was sealed on all sides.
Was the blood diluted too thinly after all?
If he'd known, he should've increased the concentration when he had the chance. Then the Crown Prince would be rotting away in bed right now, waiting for death.
He had wanted to keep him alive thinly and drawn out, subjected to everyone's scorn and finger-pointing, meeting the most wretched death—and this was the result.
"It's obvious he's figured it out. That the tonic I was giving him was the problem...."
He wouldn't accept any new tonics now. Jess walked over and stopped in front of a large jar in the corner of the secret chamber.
"You've collected quite a lot."
A voice came from behind. Jess turned without a hint of surprise and stared at the man standing there.
"The Patron graces us. This is a perfect secret room—how exactly do you enter?"
"I can appear anywhere Your Highness is. Your Highness's body is my gateway, after all."
The man's identity was the Patron, wrapped head to toe in bandages. Jess clicked his tongue and turned back toward the jar.
"Disgusting creature. Does your dimension not have manners?"
"My apologies if I startled you. Oh, this is a glass jar."
The Patron lightly traced the jar with his finger as he spoke.
"Your Highness's blood reacts strongly with organic matter. So it's best to store it in glass or metal containers like this."
"I tried a wooden barrel, and it just broke through. At least, as you said, it doesn't spoil no matter how much time passes."
"Your Highness's blood never spoils on its own. Instead, it spoils other things. But after several years, to have collected this much...."
The jar was filled to the brim with vivid red blood. Jess replied indifferently, as if it were nothing.
"Whenever I had a moment, I wounded myself and collected it. The more weapons, the better."
"Excellent words. Might I be excused for a moment?"
"What?"
The Patron raised his finger and lightly brushed Jess's face. Jess flinched, then gritted his teeth as he saw the Patron bring the finger to his mouth.
"You bastard...."
"My apologies. This is an important verification process. Oh, ooh...."
After tasting Jess's face, the Patron shuddered, convulsing for a moment. Jess glared at him anxiously and demanded.
"What do you even learn from doing that?"
"I can confirm what and how far Your Highness can accept. The emotional distortion in those receiving patronage shows how far it's progressed, which is crucial for determining the quality of the patronage."
"....What?"
"And right now, Your Highness.... harbors even more intensely twisted emotions than before. Oh, this is impressive. I handle several others besides Your Highness, but none have shown a taste this warped."
"Are you mocking me now?"
Jess furrowed his brow. The Patron shook his head with a smile on his lips.
"Of course not. It's praise. At this point, I could grant Your Highness's third wish—and in a very grand fashion."
"My third wish?"
"You have that last wish you saved from before, don't you? I've been preparing for it in advance."
"You knew my wish in advance?"
"Of course."
The Patron nodded as if it were obvious.
"Most people ask for exactly what I've investigated and prepared in advance as their wish. Your Highness's first two were just as I expected."
"....So?"
Jess narrowed his eyes and glared at the Patron.
"So, what is my final wish?"
"Power."
"Power?"
"Don't you want power? Not the authority to command people from a high position, but literal physical strength."
The Patron mimed swinging a fist through the air. Jess bit his lip, his expression as if struck where it hurt.
"Weren't you pained by being compared to your brother, praised as Knight Master material since childhood? Haven't you secretly envied the immense power of Knight Phiren, who serves right by your side? Don't you desire the pure power to crush anyone you dislike with your own hands?"
Of course he did.
Having lived compared to others since childhood, Jess had always craved power.
He had unconsciously hidden it to avoid revealing his inferiority complex, but whenever powerful beings appeared before him, jealousy would churn his guts.
Thanks to that, at this moment, Jess realized why his insides were bubbling like they were about to explode.
'It's because Claude gained power.'
The being he had tried to bring to the most miserable ruin had suddenly become a master of holy magic, rampaging freely.
And recently, he'd even gained elemental magic power. According to spy reports from Berit, its might rivaled that of an Arch Wizard.
That very thing had set off Jess's inferiority complex. After sending the Crown Prince to his doom, he'd thought he wouldn't feel this pain anymore....
"Now, I can grant your wish far more powerfully than at our first meeting. What do you say? Will you make your third wish right here?"
Like that day long ago, the Patron pulled out a syringe from beneath his bandages. Jess stared at the needle for a long while with shaking eyes, then asked.
"If I take that, will I really get strong? As strong as a Knight Master?"
"Of course. No—definitely stronger than that."
Stronger than a Knight Master?
Jess felt his breath quicken. But recalling his position as regent, his excitement cooled in an instant.
What use would it be anyway?
Even if he gained the power to beat Claude to death right now, could he handle the fallout if he actually did it?
"That seems too risky...."
"Pardon? What do you mean?"
"It's too dangerous as is. Is there a way to use that power without anyone ever discovering it's me?"
"You want to hide your identity when using the power? Indeed...."
The Patron nodded and pulled out an additional tube from beneath his bandages.
"In that case, I recommend this. You can transform into a being whose identity no one in the world knows."
"Transform?"
"Yes. When the power fades, you'll return to your original body, so there's no risk."
Such a convenient power existed in the world?
But the Patron had never lied when it came to granting wishes so far. Jess rolled up his sleeve and extended his forearm right there.
"I'll make my third wish now. Give me power."
"A wise decision, Your Highness."
The Patron smiled broadly and stuck the needle into Jess's forearm.
"Gh...."
It was a far stronger shock than the previous wishes.
But the pain was brief. Regaining his senses, Jess realized he had been reborn as a completely new being, incomparable to before.
"This.... this is power."
"How is it? Satisfied?"
The Patron asked in a gentle voice. Without replying, Jess abruptly picked up the jar containing his blood with one hand.
"Hm? What are you doing with that?"
"...."
Jess turned and headed to the washbasin in the opposite corner.
"I'm throwing it away."
"Pardon? Why waste it like that?"
"I don't need this crap anymore. My power alone is enough."
He poured every drop of the blood he had collected into the drain beneath the washbasin. The Patron seemed pleased with Jess's demeanor, nodding as he slowly began to fade away.
"A resolute attitude—it's a pleasure to see. Then, please enjoy it to the fullest...."