Chapter 103
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 103
Chapter Title: Falling Flowers (5)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Come to think of it, I was inside a carriage.
The not-so-spacious interior was packed to the corners with fancy clothes, gaudy bags, stacks of papers whose contents were a mystery, and bulging pouches of food.
The ornate exterior decorations peeked through even inside, confirming it was undoubtedly the large, flashy carriage of the Magos Traveling Troupe.
"I knew the Master would come to see the show someday. That's why I rearranged the schedule to linger in the same area for almost a month."
Bertharot chattered away excitedly.
So that explained why the Magos Traveling Troupe had been loitering noisily near our branch.
They hadn't dared show themselves to me directly, just waiting for me to come find them...
"...You're performing?"
I muttered in disbelief.
"Mostly odd jobs and assisting with the shows. Lately, I've started learning dance and song too. It feels great when the audience applauds."
Bertharot beamed innocently as he said it, like a completely different person. I couldn't hide my surprise.
"You must really be enjoying it."
"The leader and everyone else are good people. They know my situation well... And I need to save up money to buy Echronium."
Echronium. I see.
Bertharot was supplementing his mana deficiency with Echronium. But only high-quality stuff could properly fill the void.
"Why not just raid people? That'd be much faster."
"Because the Master told me not to do anything dangerous..."
I stared at Bertharot, speechless.
I vaguely remembered saying something like that. But was that reason enough to suppress his instincts? Just those words?
"W-Well, the part about not showing up in front of the Master... I couldn't keep that promise in the end. Sorry..."
Bertharot bowed his head dejectedly.
A handsome young man taller and older than me bowing like that looked utterly bizarre.
"Liberic."
I told him my name.
"It's Liberic Eldrian. Not Master, not Luther."
Bertharot repeated "Liberic" once.
"Forget that promise. You're... not bad. I never imagined it'd turn out like this, but you're really not bad."
Not bad, but it must have been painful all the same.
Dragons were embodiments of mana. Just sustaining themselves required far more mana than ordinary magical beasts or demons.
Kaella must have exploited that weakness to lure him in.
"You're great and all, Liberic—not Master anymore. I didn't expect you'd end up this cute, though. Of course, I recognized you instantly since I know your mana."
Bertharot grinned brightly.
I let out a small sigh and pulled a pouch of Echronium from my belt.
The Echronium Luwen had given me was top-quality, hard to obtain even with money.
I scooped out a handful from the pouch and placed it in Bertharot's hand.
"Take this. Use it when you need it."
"Whoa, this is... incredible quality?"
Bertharot's eyes widened as he peered intently at the Echronium.
It was also a reward for obeying my words and living quietly all this time.
I chuckled softly.
"Yeah, it's good stuff. But it'll run out eventually. Before that... I'll find a way."
"A way?"
Bertharot carefully tucked the Echronium into an inner pocket of his clothes.
"A way for you to live with a stable mana supply."
For the first time, even back when I changed his appearance in Cornik, I felt a genuine sense of responsibility.
I couldn't just leave Bertharot like this. I created him, so I had to take responsibility to the end.
"Whoa, if there's a way like that, it'd be amazing..."
"Bel! There you are!"
The moment a young woman's voice rang out, Bertharot slammed the carriage door shut with a bang.
The motion was so swift and fierce that I staggered and collapsed backward.
Light footsteps pattered closer, and Bertharot pressed his back flat against the door.
His shadow blocked it completely.
"What's in the carriage? Move aside!"
"N-No, Jina. There's nothing here..."
Bertharot stammered in panic. The woman called Jina had an incredibly loud voice.
"Did you pick up another puppy? Or a cat? An owl?!"
"I said there's nothing!"
"A lizard?!"
"That was after the leader grilled and ate one last time—I decided not to pick up any more after that shock!"
"Then it must be something inedible this time. Move, don't act suspicious."
My sluggish mind turned slowly.
What if someone found a bloodied fifteen-year-old boy with broken limbs inside the troupe's carriage...?
The pain in my body, which I'd momentarily forgotten, began to rear its head again.
"There's nothing, Jina. Sword dance is starting soon, right? This isn't the time."
"Jina! Where are you? It's about to begin!"
Right after Bertharot finished speaking, another troupe member's voice called from afar.
After a moment of quiet outside, Bertharot opened the door again.
"Liberic, sorry. If Jina found out, it'd get complicated..."
"Yeah."
I sat limply, staring at the blood pooling in my palm.
Bertharot cried out in horror. He said something, but my fading consciousness couldn't make it out.
His arms wrapped tightly around me, dragging me out of the carriage.
I barely managed to grab a golden tassel on his shoulder and whispered in his ear.
"Take me to Prius... If the silver wolf comes for me..."
I could entrust it to him.
The unfinished words lingered in my mouth.
I lost consciousness in Bertharot's arms without saying them.
When I touched the last remaining white brick, it crumbled to ash.
It was the final piece barely holding its shape.
Piles of such ashes littered the area.
When the golden lightning bolt shot from Bertharot's hand toward Kaella, half of the buildings on both sides of the narrow alley were obliterated.
Kaella's wooden roots burst into flames in an instant, reduced to ashes along with her.
Just before the lightning erupted, the Silver Guard Knight outside the alley sensed the danger and ordered the knights to fall back.
The next moment, the massive bolt roared straight ahead.
It incinerated Kaella in a flash and scarred the branch's outer wall, garden, and annex facade across the street.
I stood atop the straight scorch mark it left.
Even at a glance, the distance to the annex was considerable.
Now, Lesion soldiers and Prius members were busily repairing the damage together.
Explaining the terrifying power of that lightning to the Silver Guard Knight had been quite the challenge.
He knew magic in combat was usually manifested through a single attribute.
Not wanting to reveal Bertharot's existence to Prius, I'd mixed half-truths about the lightning's power I'd tasted before, the dragon's might, and Kaella's magic affinity.
The Silver Guard Knight simply said he understood and asked no more.
Something not stone caught my eye on the ground—a dark red gem-like object.
The last Echronium embedded in Kaella's chest.
It had morphed into a flower shape, and this was one petal. Now drained of power and light.
When I reached for it, the petal turned to dust and scattered emptily.
"Lib."
Shuren approached, dressed in knight's attire.
"You okay?"
He sighed worriedly as he looked me over. I smiled and stood.
"If I weren't, I wouldn't be out here. Wedin was praising the greatness of Prius's holy mages."
"That guy..."
Shuren groaned, rubbing his forehead.
He was the one who'd ordered me confined to bed for three more days.
When I arrived at the branch unconscious on Ashe, Shuren and the Silver Moon Knights had been scouring the city for me.
I understood his concern, but with Miles injured and immobile, I couldn't stay down forever.
Miles's right shoulder, chest, and waist wounds were severe, but Wedin's prompt treatment saved his life.
Now he spent half his days in the sealing chamber, half in the medical ward bed.
"This way."
I followed Shuren.
True to Wedin's words, my injuries had improved greatly thanks to Prius's holy mages.
My constitution resisted holy magic, requiring double the treatment of others, but now I could move freely with just minor pain.
Showing any discomfort would have Shuren sending me straight back to bed.
I let out a soft sigh and surveyed the street under repair.
Daylight exposed the devastation starkly.
The neat stone-paved roads were torn up, wooden roots sprouting wildly and nearly demolishing buildings and walls.
The branch garden was in the same state.
Kaella was gone, but her roots and thorny vines remained.
"Even cutting them keeps them regrowing. Strong herbicides do nothing," Shuren said, pointing to workers digging out roots.
Elsewhere, they burned the massive flower buds Kaella had summoned.
Fortunately unbloomed, but they grew bit by bit over time.
"The mana is corrupted. Kaella drew from the dragon's power."
Her magic affinity matched the dragon's mana perfectly.
I could see the dark traces of mana lingering on the roots and vines.
I'd used the dragon's mana too, but my differing affinity made it less efficient.
"This spot's good."
I stopped, surveying the area.
Kaella's residual magic scattered around, with a view past the crumbled wall to the branch garden.
Shuren nodded, asked nearby workers to step back a few paces.
"Liberic. I brought the item you requested."
The Silver Guard Knight arrived, holding something wrapped in soft cloth.
"Thank you, Silver Guard Knight."
I took it—it had been in the sealing chamber, so I'd asked him for it.
He handed it over and stepped back with Shuren.
Unwrapping the cloth revealed a blue-tinged Echronium.
I infused a bit of mana, activating the inscribed spell.
It began glowing slowly, rising into the air.
My mana started it, but once airborne, it absorbed the dragon's mana and shone on its own.
"Ooh, what's that?"
"Magic...? What kind?"
People murmured, glancing over—slightly annoying.
I ignored them and drew my staff.
The Echronium overhead had fully formed a sphere of light.
I'd only manifested the spirit in the sealing chamber before, so I'd wondered if it'd work stably here... but it succeeded.
'Hello, Liberic.'
A clear, resonant voice echoed in my mind.
Unlike the audible voice in the chamber.
I was a bit flustered.
"I didn't teach you that..."
'I learned from Ashe's communication method. With so many hearing people here, I judged it best not to let my voice reach them.'
"Right, yeah. You learn fast."
Impressive intelligence—who made this? At this rate, I could entrust the sealing chamber to it soon.
"Liberic, is it working?"
The Silver Guard Knight eyed me skeptically.
To him, I probably looked like I was muttering to thin air again.
I gave a wry chuckle.
"Yes, don't worry. It'll be fine."
Then, looking up at the light sphere:
"Purify this place. Can you help?"
'Of course.'
"I'll designate targets. Reference the recorded past mana, and calibrate unchanged points too."
'Understood.'
That calm response felt reassuring.
I composed the incantation in my mind and raised my staff overhead.