Chapter 64
Chapter 64
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 64
Chapter Title: Side Story - Bond
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The boy looked up at the sky.
The sky was filled with the light of the sun.
People enjoyed prosperity under the sun's light.
But the boy thought,
"What if night comes?"
The boy made wings from feathers and flew into the sky.
The closer he got to the sun's light, the more it burned him.
His wings turned to ash, and smoke filled his body.
As his body finally ignited, the boy said,
"It won't match the sun, but it should have meaning."
The boy fell. His body became dry kindling, turning into a small bonfire.
As the sun set, people gathered around the bonfire.
Humanity obtained light for the first time.
We call that light fire.
Suddenly, his eyes snapped open.
It was a dim night, filled with the long chorus of crickets and frogs.
He was lying in bed, covered by a blanket.
His body wouldn't move properly.
It wasn't pain or broken bones.
His body, especially his left arm, felt completely numb, like a stone block.
First, he needed to figure out where he was.
Leo gave his body a slight push and sat up in bed.
"You're awake?"
In the room was a woman leaning against the wall, head bowed.
The thick cigar in her mouth added a certain charm.
"Who are you..."
Memories flashed through his mind. He had nearly been crushed by the collapsing stone wall when this woman suddenly appeared and saved him.
"Black Rock Chris Reinhardt. You can think of me as the one who brought you here."
His body was properly bandaged with ointment applied. No minor wounds remained, so it seemed he'd received proper treatment while asleep.
"...What happened to the others?"
Chris put out her cigar and walked toward Leo.
"The victims will have aftereffects, but with a few months of treatment, they'll recover. As for Aria, the girl who went through hell with you, she's currently undergoing training—as punishment for her reckless actions."
Aria. It was a name that suited the girl well.
Chris explained how Aria had ended up there. For her to tail suspicious people who suddenly took a child—that was so reckless, just like her.
"Training... as punishment?"
"Yes, for sneaking into a black mage's ritual chamber."
He'd suspected it after entering, but he hadn't realized it was real. He'd only heard rumors about black mages' rituals.
"Truth be told, Aria should be grateful it's just punishment."
"..."
Indeed, writing a reflection was far better than death—in every sense.
"So, how's your body? If you're injured, tell me. The longer you wait, the harder treatment becomes."
Leo checked his condition for a moment, then recalled his numb left side.
"My body won't move right. It's not like a fracture or muscle pain..."
"Let me see."
Chris suddenly pulled down Leo's clothes and touched his chest. Being touched by a mature woman there felt embarrassing and strangely thrilling.
For a pubescent boy, that cleavage was too much stimulation.
"Just as I thought."
She removed her hand from the scar on his chest and nodded to herself.
"How long ago did this scar form?"
"About... a month ago... I fought that girl and it stabbed into my chest..."
A dagger had pierced his chest, and he'd roughly cauterized it with a lamp for hemostasis. It seemed the sloppy treatment was the problem.
"Aria did that?"
"No... If anything, I started the fight..."
He'd thrown down the gauntlet, and he'd been the one to escalate, so he couldn't claim victimhood.
"I wasn't judging right or wrong."
"Then... what?"
"Your paralysis is from Aria's attack. That's the verdict."
Chris drew a black shortsword from its sheath. Engravings adorned the blade and hilt—stylish, but purely decorative, unrelated to the sword's power.
"You've seen this before, right?"
A clear energy flowed along the blade, sharp enough to alter the air itself.
"...Aura?"
"If you know it, this'll be quick."
She sheathed the sword again.
"To use Aura... you either need innate talent or special training methods."
He knew that. That's why he neither used nor learned it.
"But there are a few forgotten shortcuts for Aura."
She drew again and thrust.
"Aria's dagger probably injected Aura into your heart. Haven't you had ongoing chest pain lately?"
He had, but he'd dismissed it as natural pain. Expecting no aftereffects from that treatment would be unreasonable.
"...Aura from something that simple...?"
"Simple, but the aftereffects are severe. Like now."
The pain was one thing, but paralysis was a major issue.
"And that's not all. Unless you're prepared to unleash stored mana in an instant, it becomes poison."
Only then did the splitting stone wall make sense. In that blaze, he'd temporarily unleashed Aura.
"...So is it resolved?"
"If you're fine living half-crippled, sure."
Of course not—and it wasn't resolved.
"Your body now has temporarily opened Aura pathways. But as a shortcut, the condition is dire. Ignore it, and you'll live like this forever."
Worse than death.
"...Is there a way?"
"Yes. That's why I brought you."
"Then the method..."
"First."
Chris sheathed her sword and leaned against the wall again.
"Answer my questions. We'll discuss the method after."
Intimidation washed over him. Far beyond any foes he'd fought.
A chill killing intent flowed.
"I ended up investigating you against my will."
Chris held up his mercenary tag. Leo's worn one.
"Checked your status: Leonardo, you're a registered guild mercenary. But..."
She set the tag on the table with a sigh.
"Why can a 13-year-old boy take bandit extermination or human trafficking suppression quests?"
It was undeniable fact. Even if this was a black mage's ritual site, human traffickers were beyond a young mercenary's level.
"...Should I explain the reason? Or the method first?"
"Method first."
"I had ties to the guild master and passed a test. And..."
Leo paused, then spoke.
"In exchange for no retirement or death insurance, and forfeiting other benefits, I contracted for all quest types and ranks."
Chris dropped the cigar she'd been about to light, flustered.
"...Do you know what that means?"
Leo probably knew best.
"Yes. I gave up all guild perks outside quests."
"...The guild master was an acquaintance? And allowed that?"
"I asked for it."
Far from it—the guild master worried for him and made the contract cancellable anytime, no penalties or notice required.
"...Family?"
"...Probably. I'm working as a mercenary under those terms to find them."
Chris's eyes changed.
Leo continued his story.
To dispel suspicion? Or because he needed an adult to tell?
Leo avoided acknowledging the answer he knew.
"...That's how it happened."
"So you never found your mother...?"
"If only I'd found remains, it'd ease my mind... but no body, and she never returned alive."
Leo gave a bitter smile.
"...You okay?"
"It... happens. Being a mercenary taught me the world has ways to die without even leaving a corpse."
Burning to ash, sunk in the sea weighted down, or devoured bone and all by monsters.
Common occurrences.
His mother's death was.
"Not words for a kid."
"...For a killer like me..."
At that moment, Chris bowed her head.
No, more than that.
She knelt on the floor, palms down, head lowered.
"I'm sorry."
"...What? Why suddenly...? Get up!"
Her sincere, weighty apology flustered Leo instead.
"I judged you without knowing you, based only on Aria's story from a month ago. This is my apology."
She brushed off her black clothes and stood.
"And you saved my niece Aria and all the victims. This is my thanks."
Chris touched Leo lightly, infusing mana. Sensation temporarily returned to the numb area.
"I can move..."
"Temporary. To control mana from a shortcut, you need orthodox mana training."
Leo grew a bit downcast.
"That's... regrettable. Mana training is incredibly rare."
"So I'll teach you. House of Reinhardt's Mana Physical Training."
"...Pardon... PARDON!?"
Had he misheard? Or wished too desperately?
"I said I'd teach you House of Reinhardt's Mana Physical Training. It's the most efficient."
"...Why go that far...?"
"Anyone can bow and apologize or thank. As an adult, I have duties to bear."
She walked toward the door.
"And as a child, you have the right to rely on others. But..."
Creeeak, thud.
As Chris quietly opened the door, Aria tumbled into the room.
"...Ugh...!"
"Aria, what are you doing here?"
"I-It's not... Aunt..."
Leo, watching from bed, asked coolly,
"What's my name?"
"Leonardo, yeah."
Caught too ridiculously.
"You heard everything?"
"Yeah."
Quick answer. Embarrassed about eavesdropping, she avoided his eyes.
"So, learning mana training fixes my body and makes me stronger?"
"Depends on your effort. I teach the method; mastery is on you."
Good terms.
"Then, if I master it in a month, can I fight Aria again?"
"...Serious?"
"Who'd joke about this? I'd die."
Chris laughed heartily. Leo wondered if he had a talent for humor.
"Haha, amusing. Aria, your thoughts?"
"...Uh... sure... yeah..."
Still embarrassed, her agreement was half-hearted.
"So it's settled?"
"...Yes. You've got good eyes."
Looking into them, Chris extended a hand.
"Your eyes burn with will and passion. Even if you don't win now, it'll help Aria greatly ahead."
"We'll see after trying."
She smirked—not mockery, but appreciation of his childlike boldness.
"Then, become a squire of our house?"
"That's how I started working for House of Reinhardt."
"Something's missing, right?"
"...You knew."
Leo had intentionally only skimmed his past life story. What the Sage wanted was surely...
"...How Aria died..."
"So when's the lovemaking?"
No surprise, but Leo questioned why history called this man Sage.
"...Forget that. How'd the test go?"
"Check the black stone first."
Leonardo looked at the black stone on his bracelet. A red line ran to its center.
Crystalline like a gem, yet textured like flowing blood.
"I told you. It'll grow by consuming your mana."
"...Like this?"
"Probably triggered by the lightning. I don't know the details of the change."
Pressing why would embarrass them both. The Sage hadn't anticipated this either.
"Anyway, that's why I brought you here. Weapon changed, so worried about successive rampages."
"The test?"
Not about scores or passing?
"Seemed useful for stabilizing the weapon. Emotions affect it easily. Failure would've killed us both."
Should he rage at the casual tone or be relieved? At least the bracelet was stable.
"...Now what?"
"Keep talking if you want, or leave the cave if not. Then..."
Drip...
"...Hey..."
For some reason, his lower body felt wet. A strangely hot sensation nagged. Warm liquid trickling was unpleasant.
"...Sage... Does reality affect here?"
"Yeah. Pissing yourself definitely registers."
Shame engulfed him. No way, but... seemed he'd done it in the hospital bed.
"I'll... go out now!!"
"Yeah, wash your underwear first."
Too mortified for curses, Leo bolted out.
Eyes flashing, he yelled,
"Nooo...!!"
"...Huh...?"
Before the bed—right beside it—a girl was pulling down his pants.
At the crotch, not urine but thick, dark liquid stained warmly and heavily.
The white-haired, blue-eyed girl held his pants down past his waist, exposing his hips.
"...Th-that... hic...?"
Aria said at last.
Her face redder than the patient's.