IDEFP 09

Chapter 9

To anyone who didn’t know the truth, Noah’s movements probably looked like nothing more than the overwhelming physical strength characteristic of the Ombers.

But mana that he hadn’t fully absorbed was visibly spilling out around him.

And that mana was unmistakably mine.

He’s reinforcing his body with mana.

That was why someone who hadn’t eaten properly for days and had only been beaten could move like that.

Even though this should have been the first time in his life he had ever possessed mana…

“…I guess there’s no need to call Miller after all.”

As though he believed I had been attacked, Noah targeted only the guards surrounding me.

His attacks came so quickly they were difficult to follow with the naked eye, and the guards were overwhelmed in an instant.

The nobles in the audience turned pale and began screaming.

Contrary to my worries, Noah was using mana with terrifying brilliance.

The problem was that he seemed mentally unstable.

His back heaved with every breath. His unfocused eyes and ragged breathing spilling from parted lips made him look less human than beast.

“I didn’t exactly expect things to go like this…”

The commotion drew the mages in.

Miller and the other Orlun mages stared wide-eyed between me—my hand drenched in blood—and Noah, wrapped in crimson mana.

“Are you alright?!”

Miller shouted.

“……”

Just like Jeffrey earlier, they all seemed to think I had been injured by Noah’s attack.

Even though this entire situation was my doing, seeing Noah in such a frenzied state made my legs go weak.

When I only sank to the floor without answering, Miller exchanged signals with the other mages.

They pulled out staffs fitted with mana stones and began concentrating.

Their mana reacted to the dull stones, causing them to glow brightly.

The situation was beginning to turn dangerous.

Especially because there was something unsettling in Miller’s eyes.

Hurriedly wetting my dry throat, I tried to stop them.

“Wait, stop attacking—!”

Either he didn’t hear me or chose not to.

Without hesitation, Miller swung his staff.

A violent shockwave blasted toward Noah.

It happened in the blink of an eye.

The impact exploded across the stage, shattering part of it. Dust erupted everywhere Noah had been standing, completely obscuring him from view.

My face went pale at the sudden attack as I stared blankly into the cloud of smoke.

At that exact moment, a shadow loomed above me.

Wrapped in crimson light, Noah burst through the smoke, slipped past the mages, and swung his dagger straight at Miller.

The blade stopped just before piercing Miller’s face.

Apparently, Miller had restrained Noah’s movement with magic at the last second.

Even Miller himself looked shocked, as though he had acted purely on instinct.

If his reaction had been even one second slower, he would have lost an eye.

Miller released a wave of mana that blasted Noah away from me.

Noah spun once through the air before landing lightly on the ground.

“……”

I had heard countless descriptions about the Ombers’ powerful physiques and their nature as a warrior race.

But seeing it in person was entirely different.

The pressure that had once felt distant as mere words now felt terrifyingly real.

And now that terrifying creature had also been given magic.

It was like attaching wings to a tiger.

Then Noah’s gaze shifted toward the audience.

The stage had descended into chaos, and the nobles seated there were hurriedly fleeing the auction hall.

Yet amidst all that confusion, Duke Rosenberg alone remained standing calmly with his hands clasped behind his back, silently watching everything unfold.

At the sight, I clicked my tongue.

He’s insane. It’s like he’s begging Noah to kill him.

As expected, it only agitated Noah further.

The crimson mana surrounding him burned even brighter.

My wounded palm throbbed with heat where Noah had cut me.

Noah turned his body and slowly began walking toward the Duke.

There were many injured guards and mages, but very few were truly incapable of fighting.

No matter how strong Noah was, he was still just a child.

There was no way he could fight everyone here at once.

If Noah attacked the Duke now, the plan that had barely succeeded this far would fail completely.

But what can I even do? I can’t use magic.

I clenched my injured hand tightly into a fist.

The moment Noah bent his knees to leap off the stage, I instinctively shouted—

“Noah!”

At my voice, Noah froze mid-step.

The boy who had been unable to calm his excitement finally turned to look at me.

For an instant, the crimson mana wrapped around him seemed to soften.

I didn’t miss that opportunity.

Throwing off the robe I was wearing, I ran straight toward him.

Then, in one swift motion, I wrapped the robe around him and pulled him into my arms.

Noah didn’t resist my touch.

Holding the suddenly quiet Noah beneath the robe, I took a deep breath.

My racing heartbeat and trembling breaths passed directly into the boy held against me.

Once I confirmed Noah had calmed down, I finally spoke.

“…It seems continuing the auction will be impossible now.”

The nobles had fled, the stage was destroyed, and guards lay collapsed everywhere.

Jeffrey looked utterly devastated.

***

I lifted the robe slightly to check Noah’s condition.

Now completely calm, he stayed still and didn’t avoid my touch.

Compared to before, he seemed so gentle it almost felt like the previous chaos had been a dream.

Then Duke Rosenberg stepped onto the stage.

“What exactly is the meaning of this?”

At the sound of his voice, I looked up.

Apparently too furious to care anymore, he had already removed his mask.

Jeffrey hurried after him, desperately trying to calm him.

“T-There must be some mistake! He definitely came from beyond the southern border, I swear—”

Completely shaken by the unexpected situation, Jeffrey could only repeat himself helplessly.

The Duke walked toward Noah and me with eyes full of disbelief.

“Lift your head.”

Despite the order, Noah remained motionless in my arms.

Humiliated beyond measure, the Duke finally lost his patience and raised the cane he was holding high into the air.

Just as I moved to block him, Noah—who had remained still until then—lifted his head and glared directly at the Duke.

The moment their eyes met, the Duke froze completely.

It couldn’t be helped.

Black hair and black eyes were the symbols of the Ombers—

But Noah’s eyes now glowed red like rubies.

The same color as mine.

The color of someone blessed with mana.

There could be no clearer proof that Noah had become capable of sensing mana.

After confirming it with his own eyes, the Duke bit his lip hard.

Then he turned a furious glare toward Jeffrey beside him.

“You dare attempt to deceive me?”

Every word came out tightly restrained, as though he were barely suppressing his rage.

Jeffrey visibly shuddered.

“T-This is a misunderstanding! When I first brought him here, he definitely—”

Looking moments away from tears, Jeffrey stared at Noah.

Noah’s expression remained unreadable, but beneath the robe he clung tightly to my hand, as though suppressing his rising fury through sheer force.

“How foolish.”

The Duke suddenly spoke again.

When I looked up, I realized he was staring directly at me.

“Even if you discovered mana within that slave, you do realize whose affairs you’ve just ruined, don’t you?”

Holding Noah closer, I answered firmly.

“I merely did what was right. Nothing more.”

“…What was right, hm.”

The Duke’s lips twisted crookedly before he abruptly turned away.

“The friendship auction is finished. By the end of this month, every investor will demand their money returned.”

With those final words, he left the hall alongside his attendants.

Jeffrey scrambled after him in panic.

Only after both the Duke and the auction organizer were gone did the tension finally leave my shoulders.

Judging from the Duke’s words, no slave market operating under the name of a “friendship auction” would appear in Midtown again for quite some time.

But as long as the Duke remained untouched, the root of the problem still existed.

Slave markets could always emerge again elsewhere under different names.

Pulling myself together, I looked toward the guards and mages approaching us.

First, I need to clean up this situation.

Miller glared at Noah with a grim expression.

“Lady Isabella, it’s dangerous. Please step away from him.”

“And what exactly do you intend to do if I step away?”

“…What?”

Caught off guard by my response, Miller stared at me uncertainly.

“Well… that boy attacked both the guards and our mages…”

“If someone were dragged to a strange place for the first time in their life and had their life threatened, wouldn’t anyone react that way?”

At my words, Miller’s lips tightened as he glanced awkwardly at the injured mages around him.

“…Then what are you planning to do with him?”

There was a trace of anger in his voice now.

I looked down at Noah.

Now that the tension had faded, he seemed on the verge of falling asleep.

After a brief moment of thought, I answered.

“I’ll take him with me.”