5. Bread and dagger (13)
Avian fainted with a faint moan.
The scattered place was on a sofa in one corner of Emma’s workshop. The sight of a woman whose wrists and ankles were restrained with ropes aroused a strange sympathy.
She was a girl who, at the very least, wanted to become an adult.
If someone I didn’t know saw me, it wouldn’t be strange if they immediately reported me to the guards. It’s like having the hands and feet of a slender girl tied up.
Of course, I also had something to say.
First of all, that woman was an elf, not a human.
It meant an enemy of mankind and a spy who had infiltrated the academy. The target the guards had to catch was that woman, not me.
In addition, she was also a skilled combatant.
If I were the opponent, there would be no need for redemption.
No matter what I did, it was hard for the elf to pick me up. As proven so far, the difference in skill was clear, and it was because the elf’s main field seemed to be magic.
For a wizard to deal with a swordsman at close range was tantamount to committing suicide.
However, it was Emma, not me, who was watching the elf’s condition right now.
No matter how much safety equipment was secured, it was not enough.
Emma was straight and kind. It was not surprising that he had sympathy for the elf who cheated him.
And a moment of inattention was the law that gave birth to a fatal mistake.
Since Emma was a non-combatant, I had no choice but to watch the elf with wary eyes.
A future where an elf suddenly woke up and attacked Emma was not impossible.
Even elves wouldn’t be able to die gracefully if that happened.
I looked at Emma’s face with a somewhat nervous feeling.
Unlike me, whose hands were drenched in a cold sweat, Emma’s eyes looking down at the elf were serious. Her chin rested and she was lost in thought for a long time.
It was an eye only a researcher could have.
I’d forgotten about it, but Emma was also a member of the Faculty of Alchemy at the Academy. I just realized that fact.
It was then that Emma’s lips softened.
“The flow of magical power is unstable… Organs that should be stable by nature are also sensitive. It will be accompanied by considerable pain, but it looks like a trace of human body modification.”
It was said in a serious tone.
There could be no doubt that Emma, with her prudent character, would say this. The elf’s body had been modified by someone.
That abnormal regenerative ability must have originated from that.
As soon as I heard the word ‘remodeling the human body’, I suddenly thought of someone.
A woman who took the form of my sister and burst into madness.
And the messy kid who was the nucleus of the corpse giant.
Mitram.
A dark priest and an authority on biomodification.
She, who was once my nemesis, naturally crossed my mind.
A reflexive question leaked out of my mouth.
“… … I don’t know who modified it, right?”
“For now, yes. It’s so twisted that I don’t know the principle, but one… … .”
At the same time, a soft light began to form on Emma’s hands.
The slender hand started near the elf’s stomach, passed around the chest, and brushed past the uvula. Every time that happened, the elf’s body rattled and reacted violently.
Emma, who had been groaning near the elf’s neck for a long time, then raised her hand to the elf’s mouth with all her might.
Then, a grotesque scream erupted from the elf’s mouth.
Meee-!
The elf’s jaw joint opened, revealing a hideous mass of flesh inside. It was truly just an instant.
Shortly thereafter, the mass of flesh disappeared again.
While leaving a familiar trace somewhere in my sight.
I immediately covered my face. A sigh escaped me.
Emma was not particularly surprised by the terrible sight.
Hagiya, she had always been extremely serious when it came to alchemy.
He usually handles all sorts of gross materials, but there was no reason to be scared just because he saw a mass of parasitic flesh on an elf’s body.
She just declared in a low voice.
“… … That’s the magic core. It is so deeply fused with the body that it is impossible to separate it immediately.”
After hearing that, I was finally able to be sure.
There was only one place on the whole continent that did such a bad taste modification.
“Dark Church… … .”
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Just in case, it was the same.
The Dark Church had a close relationship with the northern elves.
No, it was clear that he was plotting some kind of conspiracy through the elf beyond making a relationship. Otherwise, there would be no reason to remodel the human body one by one.
Hearing my sighs, Emma had a worried look on her face.
There was a lot of worry in those eyes that stared at me silently. Since she kept showing hesitation, I deliberately smiled and said,
“It’s okay, Emma. I’ll take care of it.”
Originally, the story should have ended there.
Emma doesn’t fit into the world I live in.
My path has long been stained with blood and corpses. I didn’t want Emma to accompany me on that cold, dark road.
Because I wanted to protect her.
However, today’s Emma looked a little different.
After hesitating for a while, she asked me at first glance.
“I’m leaving again… … ?”
“Perhaps, but don’t worry… I’ll be right back.”
It was a consolation thrown in the hope that Emma would be at least a little reassured.
Even so, Emma lowered her head and said nothing. Seeing her shadowed face made me feel bad.
I took a step closer to Emma.
Standing without strength, she felt like she could be hugged in my arms even if I pulled her lightly. So I casually reached out my hand, then stopped.
It was a useless nonsense.
Letting out a long sigh, I turned my back.
Elf, putting it back in the sack would have been enough.
It was time to go see senior Neris.
There were limits to the information I could gather on my own.
If it hadn’t been for Emma’s small muttering, I would have left.
“… … i heard You almost died.”
It was the moment when my steps stopped.
My perplexed gaze turned to Emma. Regardless, Emma continued her confession in a gloomy tone.
“Isn’t that the potion I made? I know the side effects best, so I got a call from the saintess. I hid it at first… I think I deserve to hear that much.”
Why did the word ‘qualification’ hang in my heart so much?
No, in fact, I knew in my heart.
I was giving ‘special treatment’ in the name of protecting Emma. And there was room for this to feel like discrimination depending on the point of view.
Preferential treatment and neglect are two sides of the same coin.
It didn’t work out on either side alone.
“At first, my hair went white. Then I was out of breath… I came to my senses, but I didn’t even know I was shedding tears and I was crying profusely. For a while, yup. No, for a few days… … .”
“… … Emma.”
I called her name with a sad heart.
However, Emma did not return her characteristic bright and spirited answer. He just declared to me with a lonely expression on his face.
“Ian, I’m afraid of you.”
Cook, was a word that pierced my heart.
“I am afraid that you will die, and I am afraid of the world without you… I didn’t do this until I knew you, isn’t it strange?”
Sobs were mixed with the trembling voice.
In no time at all, Emma’s emerald eyes were filled with hazy dew. I wanted to offer some consolation, but my lips couldn’t part.
“But the scariest and hardest thing for me is that you might die and I can’t do anything. Well, it has no choice but to be, since I’m a commoner girl who only knows how to make potions… … .”
“… … Emma.”
I couldn’t stand it any longer and opened my mouth.
I couldn’t think of anything to say. He just instinctively wanted to stop Emma’s self-abasement.
My hand carefully grasped Emma’s.
“I already owe you my life many times over. Why do you think that, you are enough for me… … .”
“… … I know.”
Forcing her crying voice to calm down, Emma hurriedly wiped her eyes with her sleeve.
“I knew you would say that… thanks.”
should have known
Emma was quick-witted and smart. He never went against the wishes of others, and he was overflowing with consideration and did not put his own point forward.
It was the same even now.
I didn’t even understand it yet, but Emma was quick to gather her mind, fearing that I would be in trouble. I was heartbroken over that.
Still, there was nothing I could do.
The Dark Church was lurking in the north. If he had even trained with the elves, he had to assume that the risk was even higher.
I couldn’t take Emma to such a dangerous place.
The cold, dry climate of the north also bothered him, and he also worried about the pride of the Yurdina family, which was one of the 5 most prestigious families in the empire.
Not to mention commoners, even low-ranking nobles might not be treated properly.
If you accompany Emma, who has a sense of qualification for her status, you will not see anything good.
The numerous reasons were rich.
That alone was reason enough not to take Emma. I made up my mind and looked at Emma.
It was then.
With slightly teary eyes, Emma smiled pitifully.
“I will wait again… Should I have a good trip?”
The moment I met that pitiful expression.
“… … let’s go.”
My hair went white, so that’s what I said.
On the contrary, it was Emma who had a bewildered look.
Her eyes widened a little as she quietly tried to let me go.
“Yes?”
“Come with me, Emma. As much as you, I will protect you somehow… … .”
Even though I was making such a boast, I was conflicted about whether this was the right thing to do.
But no matter how much I thought about it, my answer would be the same. At least from the time I faced Emma’s watery smile, I had fallen into a trap.
The conclusion has already been drawn. All that was left was the determination to make it come true.
So I had to harden my heart inwardly.
OK, let’s do it.
Because Emma wants it that way.
Although Emma didn’t know why, she just kept her eyes wide open.
On the way to the north, a new companion was added.
*
It was several hours later that the elf regained consciousness.