Chapter 26
“Teacher!”
A child with an innocent expression held something out to a middle-aged man.
“My father told me to bring this to you! He said thank you for sending the medicinal herbs last time!”
“Oh… I see.”
With a bitter smile, the man accepted the item from the child.
Inside the basket was food prepared with care.
It wasn’t anything luxurious, but the sincerity of the maker was clear, and the middle-aged man expressed his gratitude.
“Please tell Mr. Hans that I’m thankful.”
“Yes! Ah—um, but…”
After bowing politely, the boy hesitated, as if he had something more to say, then cautiously asked,
“…Do the bad men still keep coming these days?”
“……”
At those words, an awkward smile hung on the middle-aged man’s lips.
“Don’t worry. Nothing bad will happen.”
“B-but I heard what my father said last time… Those bad men are going to hurt you, teacher…”
“It’s fine. Your teacher is strong.”
With that, the man ruffled the boy’s hair and smiled.
“Th-then that’s a relief!”
Just as the boy smiled in reassurance, the man flinched after noticing something behind the child.
“Teacher…?”
“Louis, you should go home now.”
Though the boy looked confused, the man gently patted his head.
“Isn’t Mr. Hans waiting for you? We’ll see each other tomorrow.”
“Yes!”
The boy nodded and quickly ran off.
And then, after a short while—
“Come out.”
“Heh heh.”
Before the words even finished, a man slowly approached.
With a greasy smile and a coarse tone, he spoke.
“Former mage, sir. Have you given some thought to our proposal?”
The middle-aged man glared at him sharply.
“I’m certain I refused.”
“Oh, how disappointing.”
Grinning widely, the man continued in a threatening tone.
“I didn’t think our offer was that bad. Research requires money, doesn’t it?”
“……”
“Mages cost a lot, after all. Even the materials for research are expensive.”
The man sneered and continued.
“You just need to mix and make the drugs we ask for. Then we’ll make sure you’re well taken care of—”
“I won’t make drugs that addict people.”
“…Ha.”
At those words, the corners of the man’s mouth lifted. Looking at the middle-aged man as if he were ridiculous, he said,
“That kid earlier didn’t know a thing. For all we know, this village might get trampled by a band of thieves as soon as tomorrow.”
“…You bastard!”
“If you’re a good teacher, you should know what needs to be done, right?”
The man patted the middle-aged man’s shoulder and called his name.
“Barean Arvo.”
“……”
“You were once a promising talent of the Mage Tower. You should make the wise choice. Don’t you think?”
In the end, the middle-aged man—Barean—couldn’t answer.
He only trembled in helplessness, head lowered, until the man disappeared from sight.
* * *
Alhaio Village.
It was a village built on the frontier of the eastern edge of the continent.
There was nothing particularly special about it.
However, frontier settlements were inevitably places lacking proper administration.
Thus, Alhaio Village maintained its own security through a self-organized militia, protecting itself.
“Who are you people?”
“Get lost. We don’t take outsiders.”
In other words, they were far more wary of outsiders than most villages.
Sure enough—
Sion and Lumia were stopped by villagers right at the entrance.
“We-we didn’t come with any strange intentions! We’re just looking for someone in this village…”
“Stop with the tricks.”
The villager growled as he glared at Lumia.
She shrank like a small herbivore, her shoulders drooping.
“H-hii… I’m telling the truth…”
“Get lost.”
The militia member blocking their way showed no sign of easing and issued an order to leave.
That was when Sion stepped forward.
“You seem especially on guard.”
“I told you—don’t try anything—”
Without another word, Sion spread his hand.
At that moment—
Whoosh!
A spear of flame formed through magic.
“M-magic?!”
“May we enter?”
Seeing Sion smile calmly while aiming the flaming spear, the militia member broke into a cold sweat.
In the end, uneasy but with no choice, he allowed them entry.
“P-please… go in.”
“Thank you for your hospitality.”
Sion lightly patted the man’s shoulder and passed him by.
Then he spoke to Lumia.
“Tower Master, did you see that? Explaining your innocence is tedious and academic. Powerful magic, on the other hand, ends things quickly.”
“…Is that really how it works?”
“It is. That’s the essence of negotiation.”
“I don’t think that’s right…”
As they exchanged words, the two headed deeper into the village.
“By the way, how did you know that senior was in a place like this?”
“He sent a letter once. That’s how I confirmed it. …I just didn’t expect it to be somewhere like this.”
Lumia sighed, her voice heavy.
“…You were right, Sion. This wasn’t the time for me to focus only on studying.”
“Realizing it now is enough. You can improve from here.”
Sion encouraged her while observing the village.
The atmosphere was grim.
A pervasive tension lingered, as though it could snap at any moment.
“Recently, bandits nearby—”
“Mr. Kar went out hunting and met a terrible fate—”
As Sion walked, he focused on the conversations reaching his ears.
[Would you like to review the information derived from conversations observed within the village?]
‘Go on.’
[It appears that a bandit group known as the Ethan Brotherhood has been active in the area. There have already been multiple victims.]
‘What a mess.’
In that case, the village’s safety couldn’t be guaranteed.
Judging from the militia member earlier, they lacked real fighting strength.
Most were merely hunters with no real experience facing bandits.
“The senior you mentioned—his name was Barean Arvo, right?”
“Yes. He was very promising even at the main tower. He was on the verge of reaching the 7th Circle by the standards back then.”
“Oh?”
Sion smiled with satisfaction.
Lumia’s growth was abnormal, but nearing the 7th Circle was still extraordinary talent.
[If used properly, he would be incredibly helpful. Even without magic, someone of that caliber is valuable.]
‘Indeed.’
That was precisely why this was their first destination.
After walking for some time—
“We’re here.”
They finally arrived at Barean’s house.
It stood in a fairly secluded part of the village.
Yet there were clear signs of frequent visitors—likely villagers.
“It doesn’t look like he completely cut himself off from others.”
“Seems so.”
Lumia nodded with a relieved smile.
“I was worried, but it looks like he’s been living decently at least—”
“…Hmm?”
Sion frowned slightly, sensing something off.
“W-why? What is it?”
“…Tsk.”
Without answering, Sion clicked his tongue and drew up mana.
“S-Sion?”
Lumia tilted her head in confusion.
Then—
BAM!
Sion blew the door open with magic.
“S-Sion?! What are you doing?!”
“What does it look like?”
With sharp eyes, Sion strode inside.
“Saving a life.”
“…?!”
Inside the revealed house—
Glass bottles lay scattered everywhere, and a middle-aged man lay slumped weakly among them.
Lumia’s eyes shook.
“S-senior…?”
Barean Arvo.
The very senior they had been searching for.
* * *
Sion immediately checked Barean’s condition.
Akasha quickly assessed Sion’s intent and reported.
[He is poisoned. It appears he consumed an unverified potion.]
‘…An unverified potion?’
Sion immediately approached the desk.
Several bottles containing what looked like reagents were placed on top.
“Hm.”
He examined them one by one.
[Reagents made from refined serium leaves, and even a concentrated extract of Altaer root… Human, these are all—]
‘Materials related to mana recovery.’
After confirming that much, Sion spoke to Lumia.
“It seems he took an unfinished mana-heart treatment and failed.”
“A t-treatment? For the mana heart… Is that even possible?”
“No. It’s impossible.”
Sion answered firmly.
A damaged mana heart was no different from a terminal illness.
Just as Altair couldn’t overcome his condition and eventually died, a damaged mana heart couldn’t be restored.
“That’s why this happened. He likely used highly toxic herbs deliberately to restore it, but…”
“…Ah.”
“If we had arrived even a little later, we’d be cleaning up his corpse right now.”
At those words, Lumia staggered, blaming herself.
“It’s m-my fault. I should’ve paid more attention…”
“Spare me the pointless self-blame. It serves no purpose.”
“But—”
“Was there anything you could’ve done back then? That was a time when simply maintaining the tower left you no breathing room.”
And indeed, she had no such luxury.
The tower was barely surviving on the Rostery family’s support.
“If anything, we found him quickly.”
“I-is that so?”
“It is.”
Sion spoke decisively.
Self-reproach was useless in situations like this.
“In any case, his life isn’t in danger. I neutralized the poison immediately.”
“Thank goodness…”
“But that’s not what’s important.”
Sion glanced at Barean and continued.
“The real question is why he took it.”
“…Ah.”
“Unless he intended suicide, he wouldn’t recklessly consume a defective, unfinished product.”
In other words—
“He must be in a situation so desperate that he’d cling to even the faintest miracle.”
Arms crossed, Sion considered what could have driven Barean to such desperation.
And what came to mind was—
‘…The Ethan Brotherhood.’
The bandits he’d heard about on the way here.
He hadn’t confirmed Barean’s circumstances yet, but he strongly suspected a connection.
“Hm?”
Something caught Sion’s senses as he scanned the area.
It was moving.
Pretending not to notice, he suddenly reached out.
Squash!
What he grabbed was a bug.
At a glance, it looked no different from an ordinary insect.
But Sion instantly recognized its true nature.
“Hah. A familiar.”
He sneered coldly.
Someone had been using it to monitor Barean.
“How crude.”
With a chilling smile, he crushed the bug to death.
‘Very well. I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of scum they are.’
