The Sage, Sage Lill (Part 3)
"My... real identity?"
"Yeah." Leo gave Edwin an offhand look, unbothered by the boy's suddenly serious expression. "Underneath that cloak, you're wearing clothes that look ridiculously expensive, but the way you act isn't like a noble at all. Makes me wonder where you came from and what you were doing before this."
Not like a noble? What does acting like a noble even mean?
It doesn't sound like he thinks I look like royalty, either. Flustered, Edwin stared blankly into empty space. How were nobles supposed to act? Come to think of it, he had no memory of ever meeting other nobles, even in the Imperial Palace. In the Ventrum Empire, no noble would ever bother paying a personal visit to inquire after a third prince who possessed not a shred of authority.
The former head maid and the maidservants in the main palace were from noble families, but...
Those maids—now banished from the palace—had always been too busy with their own duties for Edwin to spend any time around them. Not that their relationship had ever been warm enough to mingle anyway.
"At first," Leo said, shrugging as he voiced his theory, "I figured you were the son of some big-shot merchant guild. Someone like that might actually have business with Old Man Sage."
"Huh? What do you mean by that?"
"What do you think? I figured you came to buy Old Man Sage's recipe for the cure."
"A cure? What cure?"
Leo looked genuinely surprised by Edwin's reaction. "Hey, are you seriously asking because you don't know? You came all this way looking for Old Man Sage, so how can you not know?"
"No, I just... Rachel told me he was the smartest person on the continent..."
"The smartest person on the continent? Well, maybe so." Leo stroked his chin. "After all, Old Man Sage is the one who created the cure for Scale Disease."
"Wh-what?!"
Edwin's shocked cry echoed through the entire forest.
"That's impossible! They said Scale Disease is incurable! That it can only be treated with Divine Power!"
"Yeah, I figured you'd react like that." Leo nodded, as if finding Edwin's disbelief entirely expected. "But he pulled off the impossible, which is why people call him a sage, isn't it?"
Edwin hesitated for a moment upon hearing Leo's words, his brow furrowing. "Then why are the people here still sick? What about the cure?"
"Because he can't make the medicine right now."
"Why not?"
"We're missing an ingredient. According to Old Man Sage, there's a vital component that has to go into the medicine, and it's impossible to get right now."
"Wh-what is it?"
"I don't know what it is either. All I know is that it only comes from the Holy Kingdom."
"Then can't he just buy the ingredient from the Holy Kingdom right away?"
"You know we're in no position to do that. The old man hasn't stepped foot outside this village in years. Don't you get what that means?"
"Still..."
Thinking back to the faces of the sick he had seen in the village made Edwin's chest tighten with sorrow. He spoke up in a hesitant voice. "It's really true, right? That there's a cure?"
"Why would I lie? I survived thanks to Old Man Sage's medicine."
"What? But you just said he couldn't make it!"
"He had some medicine made before he came here. There was only one bottle left, and I drank it."
When Leo first met Sage, his parents had already succumbed to the disease. It was none other than Sage who had saved the boy left behind, sick and alone in the world.
"Old Man Sage is my savior. Though thanks to that, I'm stuck doing all these annoying chores every day."
The sudden revelation of Leo's past froze Edwin in place.
Both of his parents are dead...
It had been a long time since Edwin had lost his own mother, but his father was still alive. If there was a problem, it was only that his father held not an ounce of interest in him. Even losing one parent had been agonizing; how unbearable must it be to lose both? Edwin wanted to offer some form of comfort, but he had no idea what to say. He already knew all too well that careless condolences could easily do more harm than good.
In the end, the young prince opted to change the subject, awkward though it was.
"Th-then you were infected too? And taking the medicine cured you?"
"Yeah. I caught it, but I took the medicine before my flesh began to rot, so it didn't leave any scars. Lucky for me."
"I see. That's... that's really wonderful."
Unable to think of anything else to say, Edwin merely fidgeted with his fingers.
Noticing the prince's awkward discomfort, Leo started walking again. "All right, this is the last errand. Let's finish up quick and head back. If we're any later, the old man's gonna nag our ears off."
"O-okay!"
After walking in silence for quite a while, they arrived at a small cave nestled halfway up the mountain. Leo stepped inside the softly glowing cavern and scooped up a small piece of ore that had chipped off from the wall.
"You just need to mine stones with a bluish-purple glow on the surface. Ones that look exactly like this. Got it?"
Edwin tilted his head as he examined the stone resting in Leo's palm. "What kind of stone is this anyway?"
"What does it look like to you?"
"Um... it sparkles, so is it a gemstone? I'm not really sure."
At that cliché answer, Leo shook his head, looking completely unsurprised. "Just because it sparkles doesn't make it a gem."
"Then what is it?"
Leo looked toward the faint blue light glimmering deeper inside the cave. "It's a Magic Stone. Old Man Sage says mages go crazy for these things, and that they sell for way more than jewels."
"A magic stone? If it's a magic stone..."
Even Edwin had heard of magic stones.
Mystical ores imbued with mana.
Magic stones were the primary material used in crafting magic tools. Allowing those without mana to enjoy the benefits of magic, such tools were extraordinarily expensive and rare—undoubtedly because the raw magic stones themselves were so difficult to obtain.
"Old Man Sage and I found this place," Leo said, lifting his chin with pride. "Not even the villagers or those gatekeeper bastards know about it."
Edwin looked at him with admiration, though a question lingered in his mind.
I'm sure I heard that magic stone mines are exceedingly rare in the Empire.
Because of their scarcity, the Ventrum Empire relied heavily on importing magic stones from abroad. Right. I definitely heard the head maid say that before. He remembered overhearing her discussing it with the maids who followed her. Something about mine investments... Didn't she say that if a magic stone mine ever appeared, you had to invest in it no matter what?
While Edwin was lost in thought, Leo brought over pickaxes resting near the entrance. "Here's a pickaxe. I'll dig on this wall, so you check the opposite side."
"Ah, okay."
Taking the pickaxe, Edwin clumsily mimicked Leo's movements as the older boy hacked away at the stone. Fortunately, the cave wall was soft enough to yield even to Edwin's feeble arm strength. Striking carefully with the pickaxe, a magic stone about the size of a baby's fist tumbled free with a hollow clatter. Edwin felt a swell of pride, much like plucking a fruit hanging from a high branch.
"Hey, there's something I'm curious about."
"What now?"
"Why does Sage ask for magic stones? Just because he's a sage doesn't mean he's a mage."
"Never asked. Not really curious, either."
"What? How can you not be curious? I'm really curious."
"Not me. Not like knowing would do me any good." Leo kept hacking away with a nonchalant expression. "I just do what he tells me to do. If you ask me, you've got way too much useless curiosity."
"Ah, well..." Shrinking back at Leo's blunt rebuke, Edwin mumbled under his breath, "Sorry."
Leo paused mid-swing and looked back at Edwin. Seeing the dispirited look on the prince's face, he let out a sigh.
"Hey, Edwin."
"Huh?"
"I naturally talk a bit rough. So don't go twisting it in your head. I'm not blaming you for anything." Leo readjusted his grip on the pickaxe and resumed chipping away at the rock. "Stick around an old man like that long enough, and your tongue gets sharp whether you want it to or not. I'd appreciate it if you could cut me some slack."
Edwin's eyes widened at Leo's words. Never in his life had anyone politely asked for his understanding like this. People had certainly forced their demands onto him, but no one had ever asked for his patience.
"So stop making those useless apologies all the time. Makes me feel like I'm the bad guy."
"Yeah, sorr—" Edwin caught himself before the word left his lips and quickly corrected himself. "I understand."
Edwin's voice sounded markedly brighter than before.
"Good."
Leo gave a brief reply, and soon the only sound echoing through the cave was the rhythmic clatter of iron striking stone.
"Looks like this is enough. Let's head down."
Before they knew it, the crimson glow of twilight had settled over the sky above Luxen Village. Inspecting the haul of magic stones they had mined, Leo packed things up to leave.
"Does this mean I passed the test?"
"Test? What test?"
"Well, Sage told me to prove that I'm not just anybody..."
Before Edwin could even finish his sentence, Leo grabbed him in an embrace and threw them both to the ground.
"Whoa!"
Edwin cried out in shock, only to hear a low groan beside him.
"Ugh... Dammit."
The color instantly drained from Edwin's face. Across Leo's right arm, which had shielded Edwin as they dove, was a massive claw mark.
"A-are you all right?!"
"It's not that deep... I blocked it with the axe..."
In that split second, Leo seemed to have deflected the claws using the axe slung over his back. The axe handle had shattered to pieces from the impact.
"What do you mean it's not deep?! Th-the blood... the blood...!"
Edwin reached out with trembling hands to inspect Leo's wound. Blood wasn't flowing heavily, but the flesh around the laceration was already turning pitch black.
It was unmistakably poison.