7. Jealousy is my strength (24)
The place where I woke up was a remote place in the academy.
In fact, the exact location was unknown. It was because the archwitch collapsed before he could even ask about it.
Of course, there were still plenty of questions left.
It was a yard where I didn’t know how Lia rescued me from unconsciousness and passed out, and what happened to Lia after that. I had no clue where the Archwitch had taken me.
Even so, I decided to suppress the questions that came to mind.
First of all, improving the archwitch’s condition was the priority. After that, won’t you ask questions or not?
It was fortunate that I was in the senior year of the academy.
It was me who spent several years at the academy. No matter how wide the academy was, by the time you were in your senior year, you had no choice but to become familiar with its geography.
Thanks to that, my wandering ended in a relatively short time. There was no need to hesitate anymore, and my body shot through the wind.
At the end of that road, I had arrived at the research building of the Faculty of Alchemy before I knew it.
It was stealth, reminiscent of a special operation.
I had to lower my self-control, hold my breath, and walk as silently as possible. It even used space refraction, which was mainly used for avoidance, to the extent of avoiding the gaze of others.
Because there was a reason it had to be.
The Archwitch was a figure that was nothing short of a symbol of the Southern Ten Kingdoms.
Long ago, the South was a land of struggle between small villages and nameless kingdoms. The heavenly fortress called ‘Daesurim’ did not allow outsiders to approach, but it did not allow peace and prosperity either.
A land of hell where only war continued day by day.
What struck them was disaster.
The demon named ‘Vampire’ suddenly emerged as a fear of the Great Forest. Even thousands of allied troops were no match for the monster.
Everyone was prepared to die.
Centuries of war have torn the South apart. It was a time when no group with the power to stand alone against the vampires existed, let alone a central point to unite the South.
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Just then, a great wizard appeared.
A woman from an aristocratic family sacrificed herself to seal the ‘vampire’ deep in the Great Forest. Those who witnessed the unprecedented magic that dealt with the five elements and the bloody battle that continued until half of the great forest was annihilated had no choice but to shout in unison.
‘A new master has been born!’
After that, she gave up her name.
She was reborn as the ‘great witch’, the root and state affairs of the Southern Ten Kingdoms.
It was such a symbolic feat.
I couldn’t show her blushing, gasping and moaning. It might turn out to be news that would shake the foundations of the Southern Ten Kingdoms.
To put it bluntly, is it comparable to the rumor that the emperor of the empire is suffering from a serious illness?
The ‘Great Witch’ must always be strong.
I couldn’t be weak or shaken. Therefore, it was forbidden to show the face of a sick girl.
Because that was the Master’s destiny.
Fortunately, no misfortune occurred that would nullify my efforts. I managed to sneak into Emma’s studio without anyone noticing.
In fact, the real conundrum was just beginning.
“What about this… … .”
I had no choice but to let out a sigh of relief.
In front of my eyes was a note I had put together a while ago.
——
＜How to prepare an unknown drug＞
1. Mix silverweed seed powder, ground world tree leaves, and Great Forest gypsophila in a ratio of 3:1:2.
2. After boiling for 3 minutes with clear water from a water source rich in magic power, filter through a sieve to leave the essence.
3. Residues from the above process are dried in a short time with high-temperature dry wind and stored. (※Required for course 17)
4. Boil the essence down so that it does not dissolve immediately when dropped.
… (Omitted below)…
——
It was the contents of the recipe that remained on the back of the letter, arranged in order. Even though it was summarized as briefly as possible, the number of questions exceeded 24.
Will I be able to do it well?
After hesitating so much, a faint moan reached my ears.
“Big… oops, turn it off… … !”
Even though she was on the verge of losing consciousness, the archwitch’s body was squirming and complaining of pain.
How sick would that be?
Eventually, I let out a deep sigh.
Anyway, I didn’t have a choice.
Can you do it?
No, I had to.
**
The Archwitch had been dreaming for a long time.
It was a memory from long ago. A story from hundreds of years ago, when girls still had names.
One day the girl realized
“You are a genius.”
He was a teacher whose face I couldn’t even remember properly.
As a child, the first wizard who took care of the girl exclaimed. These were the words he heard after mastering all the steps his master hadn’t taught him in just one night.
‘Genius’.
The girl didn’t particularly like the praise.
It was an evaluation that was neither objective nor quantitative. What the hell is the standard for ‘genius’?
But the girl had to realize again.
“You are a genius.”
“The future of the family is up to you.”
The standard for ‘genius’ was unknown.
However, it was clear that everyone around the girl called her ‘genius’. Although the detailed criteria were not known, the girl became a ‘genius’ just like that.
Afterwards, everyone who caught a glimpse of the girl’s talent couldn’t help but exclaim and praise.
Soon, the girl’s fame spread all over the continent. There was no time to feel the longing and expectations of countless people. Wasn’t it the weight I had been carrying since I was ten years old?
She had never been under expectations, so the girl did not know how heavy the expectations of everyone were.
I just thought it was natural.
just, yes
Sometimes I felt a sense of longing.
The girl had an older sister who was seven years old. The older sister, who cherished and cherished the girl, often expressed her difficulties as the eldest daughter.
“Everyone in my family thinks of me as the next head of household.”
It was difficult for a young girl to understand.
Why is it so hard to handle other people’s expectations, and if it’s such a big pain, why can’t I just shake it off and leave?
It was around the time I vaguely knew the answer.
“You are the head of the next generation.”
At the family lord’s declaration, the vassals applauded as if it was a natural decision.
the girl saw
The drops of blood that fell from her sister’s eyes stained with cold and hot emotions.
Eventually, years passed, and the bloody tears she saw then turned into flames and burned everything.
in the ruins.
The girl became very lonely.
As always.
It was a nightmare I had seen so many times before. The archwitch’s worn-out heart didn’t even rattle anymore.
Is it over now, the moment the girl uttered a self-deprecating sigh.
“… … Master?”
Suddenly, the shadowy world was bathed in light.
The Archwitch could only look around in amazement. Memories like this wouldn’t exist.
The girl’s world has always been dark and dull. Has the achromatic world ever shone so brightly?
White clouds passed like a tidal wave over the retina open like a clear lake.
It is an unfamiliar landscape.
In the distance, the shadows of the two were visible. It was a man with a worried look on his face and a girl who was turning her head with a calm expression on her face.
“Master, what the hell… Have you ever had a nightmare?”
It was bizarre.
At that strange question, the girl inadvertently smiled.
“Hey, what is a nightmare? It must have been about an hour at most. Seriously, this is why I’m afraid of age… Hee-hee?!”
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Just as I clicked my finger, lightning struck from the air.
It was a punishment to discipline the arrogant disciple. Even if it did, it wouldn’t cause anything but exhilarating pain.
Seeing the girl tremble, the Archwitch struggled to suppress her laughter. Eventually, with a clearing of his throat, he let out a solemn voice.
“… … I was awake a long time ago, second.”
It was probably the daily life that the girl had hoped for.
And the world comes crashing down
Pure white, pure white.
while erasing all memories.
*
The Archwitch gasped and opened her eyes.
The profuse cold sweat and wide-open eyes represented her astonishment.
What the hell?
The nightmare was not strange. It was a memory that I had seen many times before I realized the extreme meaning of magic.
But the dream that followed was clearly strange.
The Archwitch was a landscape she had never experienced before. Although he had taken disciples several times in his hundreds of years of life, he had never had such a deep and longing heart.
Even so, why?
Is your heart beating like this?
The Archwitch carefully folded her hands over her beating heart.
What is ‘happiness’?
Feelings like that would not have been allowed to me.
It was then that a sudden realization crossed my mind.
My whole body felt refreshed.
It was a completely different physical condition from before, when she was moaning in excruciating pain. The startled Archwitch’s eyes scanned all over my body.
Eventually, the woman’s eyes landed on the incense burner placed by her head.
A faint smell of medicine wafted from it.
A very familiar scent.
“… … how?”
Along with the vaguely uttered question, the archwitch’s body slowly rose.
It was the drug that the Archwitch always had in her smoking pipe. In order to seal the ‘vampire’ monster deep in the Great Forest, the Archwitch had to use her body as the core of the barrier.
The price was like this.
Without analgesic drugs, a pitiful life in which daily life cannot be maintained due to pain beyond imagination. It was inevitable that the Archwitch, faced with such a fate, developed a drug that had no side effects and was suitable for her body.
Yeah, it’s a recipe no one should know about.
A man lay face down in a corner of the studio. It seems that he was trying to overcome fatigue in his own way, but since he burned incense in the incense burner, it must have been difficult to overcome his drowsy body.
A small note lay in front of him.
＜How to prepare an unknown drug＞
It was a complex process that even experts were reluctant to challenge.
It was a difficult recipe to follow if you hadn’t mastered it for a long time because it incorporated a very unique refinement method.
But this guy did it.
The Archwitch’s eyes turned to the face of the man lying on the table in silence. It must have been a first meeting, but it was a face that gave off a familiar feeling.
He licked his lips and hesitated for a while.
The first words the Archwitch managed to utter were accompanied by trembling eyes.
“… … Ian Percus.”
what the hell are you