Chapter : 15
The road to Noah’s house was more treacherous than usual. It was because a group of strangers suddenly tried to ambush me.
I thought to myself that being too clean isn’t ideal during such times, and I carefully made sure not to get blood on me while handling the situation. Fortunately, the lingering scent of blood quickly faded from my hands.
“Sorry I’m late.”
I expected Noah to be lounging in the living room as usual and apologized in advance as I entered, but for some reason, the living room was eerily empty.
It wouldn’t make sense for him to be in the kitchen or bedroom at this time of day.
As I questioned this, a loud noise came from a door in the corner of the living room. It was the door leading to Noah’s laboratory.
Could it be that this troublesome little brat broke his promise and is conducting experiments on Adele again?
I was completely caught off guard.
The noise grew clearer as I walked closer to the door, sounding as if things were crashing and breaking. It seemed like they were talking to each other too.
With each cautious step, I stood at the door, then suddenly slammed it open, infusing my voice with magic.
“Noah! Stop! I’ve told you so many times… just be friends with Adele!”
However, the forceful tone quickly faded as I saw the scene before me. I had assumed Noah was tying Adele up and experimenting on him, but the situation was quite the opposite. Adele had shoved Noah off his chair.
Looking down, I saw sharp tools that had been carelessly scattered on the floor were now pushed into a corner.
There were strange jars scattered around, but what could they be for?
I redirected my gaze from the clutter to Adele and Noah.
“Uh, uh… ahahaha. This… this guy? Didn’t I tell you to stop with the pranks?”
It seemed like they were in the middle of some chaotic activity. Noah, drenched in sweat, playfully slapped Adele’s arm, who was equally sweaty.
Adele stared at Noah, then suddenly snatched the paper from his hand and tore it into pieces, crumpling them into a ball and tossing it away.
“Still, I have to do it this way… right, brother?”
Adele answered with an innocent voice and immediately ran up to me, wrapping his arms around my waist.
“I missed you, Luisa!”
“You’ve been having fun, I see.”
“…Hmm.”
Adele seemed less than thrilled about the situation as he frowned, though Noah had already gotten off his chair and quickly ran over to us. He grabbed Adele’s arm and pulled him closer, flashing a grin at me.
“Yeah! I taught him how to write, and we had a great time! I really like Adele! Turns out we get along really well.”
Adele and Noah exchanged looks, their eyes full of unspoken camaraderie.
‘Oh, they really get along well, huh?’
I felt guilty for having suspected that Noah had been using Adele as a test subject.
“Your brother’s really… well, his personality…”
“I know. I like Adele too.”
It seemed that pairing the two together was a good idea after all.
I nodded in satisfaction as I watched the two of them walking arm-in-arm.
However, despite Luisa’s belief that they had become close friends, the relationship between Noah and Adele was, in fact, rooted in distrust and mutual disdain.
‘Do you want to die?’
‘If you don’t want me to unfold the contract I made right in front of Luisa, you’d better keep that petty mouth shut.’
‘Now you’re even threatening the person who saved your life?’
‘Shut up.’
Remembering those terrible three days, Adele forced his furrowed brow to smooth out and buried his face in Luisa’s shoulder.
What a ridiculous turn of events.
Noah had relentlessly pushed Adele day and night to find a way to mix Luisa’s magic into an antidote efficiently.
The curse inside his head fought violently against Luisa’s magic that was directly entering his body.
Like a rat cornered by a cat, the more intense the experiments became, the faster the curse gnawed away at Adele’s mind.
While he endured with great effort, Noah didn’t care about his suffering and made unreasonable demands, asking him to rate the pain on a scale from 1 to 10, even with decimals.
Damn alchemist. No wonder he doesn’t have any friends!
Adele glared at Noah, who had mocked him for not being able to endure even that much, while cursing inwardly.
But this was still bearable.
In the end, it had helped Luisa on the days when she was absent, even if only a little.
The problem came afterward.
While Adele was calming his stomach, which was churning from the potion, Noah dipped his thumb in red ink and stamped it on the “slave agreement” signature line.
Even in his dazed state, Adele had to face off against Noah after the contract’s magical shackles bound him.
“Glad you two are getting along.”
But Luisa, oblivious to all that, only said this calmly.
Adele felt a pang of disappointment as she didn’t seem to notice his frustration, but that feeling quickly vanished when she gently patted his back.
“Ha-ha. I told you not to worry. Who would use that kid as a test subject?”
What a disgusting person.
That guy didn’t deserve to be called disgusting by anyone.
“It was a fun time. Not as much as when I’m with Luisa though.”
Adele returned to his innocent face as if he had never harbored any resentment toward Noah, and flashed a bright smile at Luisa.
“I’m glad you had fun. Adele, how about we turn up the fun next time and make the game even more intense?”
That crazy bastard. Here we go again.
Adele raised his fist, unseen by Luisa, and vowed to punch that insane alchemist in the head someday.
Was it really that embarrassing to be caught being friendly with someone? I silently watched Noah and Adele, who were sneakily bickering.
Maybe it was because they were both young men of similar ages, but it made me proud to see that they had become close friends.
After watching them for a while, I turned my attention to the chaotic mess of the laboratory. There seemed to be no evidence of anyone having eaten in the living room, so I wondered if they had eaten here, but it didn’t seem like that was the case.
“You two. Have you eaten?”
“No. There’s nothing left to eat.”
“When did that happen?”
“When was it… I think it was yesterday? I can’t quite remember.”
Noah tried to recall the time but quickly covered it up with a laugh. Adele, too, seemed to not feel much of a need for food and didn’t provide a clear answer.
“How long has it been since you went to the city?”
“Well, I remember going last winter.”
It was now the end of spring, meaning he hadn’t gone in at least three months.
‘I should have paid more attention.’
I had not expected to be away for three days, and when I came to Noah’s house, I hadn’t brought much food. It was my mistake that I hadn’t remembered Noah asking for help when he was almost starving.
Looking carefully, I noticed that Adele’s face seemed thinner than it had been three days ago.
“Wait here. I’ll go buy some food from the city.”
As I tried to head out to get food quickly, Noah blocked me.
“Why wait for me to come back? Just eat at a restaurant in the city.”
“It’s dangerous.”
“What?”
Who’s dangerous? Me? Or you, Luisa?
Noah raised his hand, gesturing vaguely.
“Adele.”
“…How could he be in danger? We’re both right here.”
True. If Noah and I were both with him, it should be fine.
‘But…’
I hesitated to speak about going to the city.
Noah seemed to catch on to my worry and, with a sigh, started to criticize me.
“Is that overprotective too? He needs to start learning things on his own.”
“Luisa, where’s the underground city?”
Unable to hold back his curiosity any longer, Adele asked me.
“Underground city?”
“…Huh?”
Even though I had provided an answer, Adele’s face was still full of question marks.
How should I explain this? I hesitated, and before I could speak, Noah cut in.
“Well, this is good. He’s curious, and besides, he’s going to live here from now on, right? He’s not going anywhere else, is he?”
At Noah’s words, Adele’s eyes lit up, and he looked at me with a hopeful expression.
As he clung to my sleeve in excitement, I finally nodded.
‘I have to go to Leon’s anyway.’
“Fine. Let’s go.”
“Wow…!”
Adele, who had been sulking, immediately brightened up and was overjoyed. After I patted his head, we all headed out together.
The way to the underground city was surprisingly simple.
At the central fountain in the slums, we just had to go to the inn in the 9 o’clock direction, Mars.
Of course, it was a hassle to infuse magic into the storage room door in the inn’s kitchen and push it sideways like a sliding door.
With one hand, I held Adele’s hand, and with the other, I infused magic into the doorknob and slid the door open.
Inside the storage room, a magical portal awaited us, big enough for only three people to enter.
Adele’s grip tightened on my hand, possibly because Noah kept scaring him.
As soon as we stepped into the portal, the sky, which had been dawn, quickly darkened. That was a feature of the underground city. No matter what time it was outside, it was always nighttime here.
Adele, looking around in wonder, stared at the sky for a while.
“Today’s sugar delivery! Addicts, gather!”
“Fresh fish, meat, right here!”
“Combat slaves, come check them out! They’re perfect for self-defense when you go outside!”
“Magicians, alchemists! Want to see the new test subjects?”
Though the streets were dark, the lively voices from everywhere filled the city.
“This is the underground city, Adele.”
A city where only the powerful can walk.
Adele flinched at the provocative words and gazes from all around and stuck close to me. As we entered, everyone pretended not to notice, but their eyes were on us.
Still, those who knew Noah and me quickly averted their gaze or looked away.
“Anything you want to eat?”
I tapped Adele’s forehead to get his attention and then continued.
Adele, who had been embarrassed earlier, now wiped away his expression and began to seriously think about food.
At that moment, Noah, who had been silently observing, suddenly interrupted.
“Why hesitate? We’ve got some nutritious potions made by an alchemist.”
