TUHWKM 09

Chapter 09

Munch, munch.

“Hmm.”

The oranges that had filled the basket were now showing the bottom.

“…Should I have helped out a bit after all?”

Once my stomach was somewhat full, a time for deliberation arrived.

The face of the farmer I had met at the orchard earlier flickered in my mind. That face with dark circles reaching down to his chin, coughing repeatedly.

That was definitely the effect of black magic.

Some black magic caused harm just by manifesting. For example, the contaminated energy that had spread beyond the orchard earlier.

Having worked all along with only a fence between him and the land where contamination was creeping up, he must have been considerably affected. I guessed there were quite a few territory residents in a similar state to that farmer. Some might be in even worse condition.

“That’s a problem…”

I had restored the land, but I couldn’t grow trees and bear fruit with magic every single time.

That all consumes mana. And it’s exhausting.

Therefore, it meant that people like the farmer ajusshi needed to work hard at farming so that I could get fruit for free to my heart’s content.

“I suppose it’s best to do something after all.”

I finished the last remaining orange and rose from my seat.

Charlotte’s other specialty was potion-making. The potions she made boasted unparalleled efficacy. No potion sold on the market could match Charlotte’s creations.

“Where was the pharmacy again?”

From memory, the grand ducal castle’s pharmacy was somewhere in the basement of the main castle.

As I walked down the basement corridor, retracing my memories, I came to an abrupt halt. It was because I saw a familiar figure in the distance.

“Mother.”

I hurriedly hid behind a pillar. I poked my head out slightly to confirm the other party once more. I hadn’t been mistaken. Kaierus, in a shirt, was walking from the end of the corridor.

Why is he here again?

What terrible timing.

I subtly squeezed myself back behind the pillar. There was nothing good about running into Kaierus.

I should hide until he disappears and then go.

“And what kind of eccentric behavior is this now? Playing rat?”

“Eek.”

What?

When did he get here?

He was over there just a moment ago.

At some point, Kaierus had approached and was leaning against the pillar, smiling. His red lips twisted upward.

“…Hello?”

“Oh, so the rat can speak human language too.”

I unconsciously shrank my shoulders and subtly sidled away.

“What brings Your Grace all the way here?”

“I should be the one asking.”

A chilly gaze slowly swept from the top of my head to the tips of my toes.

“If you’re not a rat, then what business does a person have all the way down in the main castle’s basement?”

My hair stood on end.

I know that look.

It’s the look of someone calculating how to kill me again.

“I really didn’t come out to do anything strange…”

“So, your business.”

This is murderous, really.

I deliberated for a moment.

I had genuinely been about to do something constructive, but I couldn’t honestly tell Kaierus my destination.

He would definitely become suspicious.

I forced my stiff lips upward into an awkward smile.

“Well, you know, a hobby… life?”

“I see.”

Kaierus nodded.

“Not even a week since being expelled from the capital, and you’re already enjoying a hobby life in a new territory. Impressive. I’m curious what kind of hobby it is.”

He took a step closer.

“Shall we go together?”

“No?”

Am I crazy?

“Oh my, did that sound like an invitation?”

Kaierus approached even closer as if determined. His long eyes curved refreshingly. To give off such an eerie atmosphere while smiling so genially was truly a remarkable talent.

As I subtly backed away, I realized there was nowhere left to retreat and turned my head.

“…A-aren’t you busy?”

“I happen to be free. I caught the black mage I was tracking. I was just on my way back after throwing them into the underground prison.”

Ah, I see.

“Lead the way.”

It was an order that sounded like a final ultimatum.

In the end, crying and eating mustard, I slowly began to walk. Kaierus followed three or four steps behind me, smiling round and round.

“Actually, I like exploring. There’s no particular destination—I was just looking around the castle.”

“I see.”

“Mages are naturally curious.”

“Oh.”

He’s not even listening.

I hurriedly went up to the first floor and began wandering all over the main building.

Even as I opened and closed about twenty perfectly normal doors and circled the corridors about three times, Kaierus persistently followed behind me.

When I was running out of excuses, I turned to look at him.

“Really, this is all there is…”

“Ah, so your newly discovered hobby is rummaging through the main castle?”

“If you put it that way, yes?”

“Then when do you plan to stop by the pharmacy?”

“What?”

What?

“…You knew?”

Instead of answering my question, Kaierus stared at me for a moment before replying.

“Well, in the main castle’s basement, there are only two paths: one to the prison and one to the pharmacy. Ah, or perhaps you were trying to go to the prison? If so, I can arrange that right away…”

“No!”

I denied urgently.

At that, Kaierus laughed with an amused face.

He had known and was toying with me. For the first time, I thought he was truly obnoxious.

“Then now, please really lead the way.”

He jerked his chin.

Unable to contain my curiosity, I asked.

“But you’re not going to stop me?”

“Why would I?”

“…I’m going to make potions, you know?”

“I know.”

Kaierus grinned.

“Why would I stop you? If you do something suspicious and get caught, that would be an excellent pretext for execution.”

I knew it.

I knew this was his scheme.

Ugh, how obvious.

“I won’t stop you. I told you, didn’t I? You may use black magic as much as you like, if you wish.”

Kaierus even went so far as to egg me on.

My body trembled.

As expected, I should get him to write a contract soon, catching him on some pretext. With magical notarization so he can’t break it.

But for now, there was no particular way out. Even if I made another excuse and avoided him, Kaierus would obviously find some way to surveil me.

In the end, I headed to the pharmacy with Kaierus attached to me like a tumor.

It wasn’t like I was doing anything suspicious. I was going to make some potions good for the farmers’ health—there was no need to be self-conscious. I am confident.

Coincidentally, there was no one in the pharmacy. The servant in charge of this place seemed to have stepped away for a moment.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

The farmer ajusshi’s condition was a kind of poisoning symptom. So I just needed to mix an antidote with a supplement that boosts mana resistance. Fortunately, this potion was tricky to make, but the ingredients were ordinary.

I gathered the necessary medicinal herbs while keeping an eye on Kaierus.

Meanwhile, despite having stubbornly intruded, he actually seemed to have little interest in me. He perched on the desk with his arms crossed, merely surveying the pharmacy slowly.

Is he really just looking for a chance to cut my throat? What a vicious bastard.

“I’ve gathered everything.”

“You’re fast.”

Kaierus looked at the basket of herbs in my arms.

“So what are you trying to make?”

“You ask quickly.”

Since I didn’t want to have my life threatened again, I answered obediently.

“Something like an antidote. I saw earlier that the people working in the orchard seemed to have been exposed to black magic for quite a long time. I’m going to give it to them.”

“…You?”

For the first time, doubt appeared on Kaierus’s face. This time, rather than honestly confessing that it was for my stable meal supply, I just shrugged.

For a moment, only gazes exchanged in silence.

Kaierus stared intently at me, and I stared intently at Kaierus.

When there’s no hostility like this, he’s quite handsome and well-built. His pitch-black hair like ebony, and his eyes that shine just like gold. Perhaps because his impression was sharper than Fabian’s, my gaze lingered.

My eyes rested for a while on Kaierus’s pale complexion.

“Why, are you finding me handsome all of a sudden?”

A ghost-like bastard.

“…Please wait a moment.”

I set down the basket and walked back to the center of the pharmacy.

I took out a few more types of medicinal ingredients in addition to the herbs I had just gathered.

Kaierus’s persistent gaze pricked at my back.

This is so burdensome.

I need to finish quickly.

I put the ingredients together, ground them, and boiled them in a pot. When the color of the mixture changed, I infused mana. Blue energy spread out, and the distilled liquid was collected in a small bottle.

The completed potion had a clear, pale purple hue.

I held it out to Kaierus.

“Here, drink this.”