UHWKT 25

Chapter 25

“Ugh.”

It’s insanely bitter.

I frowned without realizing it.

Every time I chewed the root, a filthy, stagnant-water-like bitterness spread through my mouth, making my stomach heave.

Come to think of it, raw, uncooked ilaune did have toxicity.

If I end up bedridden from eating this, I’m billing all of that as well. I shouldn’t have asked for only the retainers’ average salary. At this level, I deserve overtime pay for work outside my duties.

Gulp.

I barely suppressed the urge to vomit and swallowed the ilaune.

“Ugh.”

Thump, thump, thump.

My body reacted immediately. My heart pounded as if it might burst, and my head grew hot. A tingling sensation began to rise from the tips of my limbs.

Alright, calm down.

From now on, I have to keep my head clear.

I focused on the sensations throughout my body and took deep breaths. As I soothed the wildly rampaging mana, I soon felt my blood vessels expand and the mana inside me begin to surge violently.

“…It worked!”

I exclaimed in awe, forgetting that just moments ago my face had been scrunched up like a crushed can.

“Ilaune is no joke.”

Charlotte’s base amount of mana was already enormous, but having that mana inflated twofold, threefold made me feel dizzy.

Just chewing on the raw root did this much. How incredible must a properly refined elixir be?

After a brief moment of amazement, I concentrated so that the massive power dominating my entire body wouldn’t leak away.

I guided the mana filling my body to my fingertips and compressed it tightly.

This is some serious mana. I can’t waste even a single drop.

Wooooong—

Soon, along with the sensation of something exploding at my fingertips, a dazzling radiance spread outward. That light quickly blanketed the entire sky nearby. My eyes stung, and I couldn’t see an inch ahead.

Flash!

The blinding light that had filled the surroundings burst outward in all directions.

Kiiieee—!

Amid the bright light, I faintly heard the sound of griffins writhing in pain, and soon fragments of light poured down softly, like a rain of jewels.

“Ugh… is it done?”

I opened my tightly shut eyes. Perhaps due to the aftereffects of the light, it took quite some time for my vision to return.

When I could finally see the sky, the griffin flock had already fled all at once.

“Hah… it’s done.”

As the tension drained away, my arm dropped limply.

I felt the mana that had filled my body subside all at once, like a dam bursting. Maybe because I’d been concentrating so intensely, all the strength drained from my body.

After a while, the soldiers who had been hiding began to emerge one by one. Looking at the now-quiet battlefield, they each burst into cheers.

“The mage drove all the monsters away!”

“Long live the mage!”

“She saved us!”

Waaah!

Listening to the deafening cheers ringing in my ears, I collapsed onto the spot with a thud.

Gurgle.

I was hungry, and I felt like crying a little.

That evening, the elite knights who had set out to capture the dark mage returned.

The culprit, who had been fleeing here and there, was captured by Damon and dragged down to the underground of the Grand Duke’s castle.

Damon, who achieved a feat as soon as he arrived in the territory. Minor damage, with no fatalities.

A clean ending.

“Haaah….”

Except for me.

“…My lord, is something perhaps wrong with Miss Charlotte Schmidt?”

“She’s been like that since yesterday, so just ignore her.”

That unfilial brat—he doesn’t even know what kind of sacrifice I made.

“Ugh….”

My ilaune.

My return cheat key.

“This is all His Highness the Grand Duke’s fault. If he’d just kept one more mage in the territory, I— I—! Ngh.”

I slammed the desk and stood up in protest. Kairus and Basel’s gazes turned toward me.

But that was all. Kairus lightly ignored me and asked Basel,

“What’s the damage report?”

“Other than a few stalls collapsing and some road damage, there’s nothing significant. The residents of the territory are also safe, with no casualties. And….”

After saying that, Basel glanced at me briefly, then had an attendant bring a trolley into the office.

My goodness, what is all that?

The trolley was piled high with fruit and meat. There were also what looked like homemade spices and animal hides.

“These are tribute gifts received from the territory’s residents. All of them are addressed to Miss Charlotte Schmidt.”

“…Me?”

Me? Why me?

“You evacuated all the residents and defeated the griffins alone. After restoring farmland last time and distributing potions, and now driving away monsters as well, it seems they feel grateful in many ways.”

“No, but still, how am I supposed to accept all of this….”

I forgot that my cheeks had just been wet with tears and felt dazed. I’d been thinking only about the ilaune that vanished in vain—never imagined I’d receive gifts like this.

“…Is it really okay for me to take all of this?”

“Take it. Refusing would only hurt the territory’s residents more.”

What is this?

This feels strange.

The pit of my stomach felt ticklish.

While I blinked awkwardly, the attendants placed the tribute gifts in a heap beside my desk and disappeared.

I picked up the fruit on top. Maybe they’d carefully selected only the prettiest ones—it was perfectly round and glossy, without a blemish.

[Kyuu?]

“Golsun, I think I’m moved.”

My mouth was still bitter from using my precious ilaune, but I started to think that maybe it hadn’t been a completely hollow sacrifice after all.

Right, I’d planned to return after finding the Stone of Wishes from the beginning.

Let’s think that good is good.

“So, how is the culprit’s condition?”

“He caused a disturbance during the night, but he’s calmed down now. With the mana suppression device, he can’t really exert any strength.”

“That’s a relief. Have you still not gotten any meaningful testimony?”

“Sir Damon is interrogating him, but the resistance is fierce. As you can see, he’s also younger compared to the dark mages we’ve captured recently.”

Huh? Wait.

“Younger?”

I set down the fruit I’d been fiddling with and asked.

“Yes. Since he’s refusing to talk, we don’t know his exact age, but he appeared to be a boy around fifteen. Quite young for a dark mage.”

A boy…?

Wait a second.

Don’t tell me—

“By any chance, were his eyes red?”

“…How did you know that?”

I jumped to my feet without realizing it.

No wonder—it felt strange from the moment they said he’d led monsters here. A normal dark mage couldn’t possibly command that many griffins.

“He’s in the underground prison right now, right? Could I go see him?”

Kairus and Basel exchanged puzzled looks.

“Is he a dark mage you know?”

“No, it’s not that. There’s just something I want to check.”

Kairus tilted his head.

“What do you think I’d say?”

You’d say no.

Obviously.

“Ah, Your Highness. What’s that over there?”

I suddenly pointed out the window.

And while Kairus’s gaze turned, I quickly unfolded a teleportation magic circle.

Thud!

“Ow.”

I rushed the teleport, so the landing felt awful.

Rubbing my sore backside, I stood up. I’d landed in the middle of an underground corridor. To the right was the alchemy room, and to the left was the entrance to the dungeon.

“…Mage, what brings you here?”

“Oh, hello.”

By coincidence, the soldier I’d met earlier in front of the village was standing guard at the dungeon entrance.

“I came on the Grand Duke’s orders. May I go inside for a moment?”

“Yes, go ahead.”

Easy. Too easy.

Before anyone could come after me, I quickly slipped into the dungeon.

Inside, it was dark and damp. It was twice as desolate as the imperial palace dungeon where I’d once been imprisoned. The smell of old, caked blood and a strange rot filled the air. Somehow, I felt like I knew the source of the smell, so I squeezed my eyes shut and quickened my pace.

After walking for a few minutes, I reached the deepest part of the dungeon. Fortunately, Damon seemed to be away for the moment—there was no one guarding the area.

I peered carefully inside the bars. As Basel had said, a small figure that looked to be in his mid-teens was sitting there.

Snow-white skin, snow-white hair cascading down to his chest.

Flash.

At that moment, a pair of red eyes turned toward me.

“…That startled me.”

Clank, bang!

“XX, what are you now? Get lost!”

“Hi.”

When I gently waved my hand, the boy’s face twisted savagely. He bared sharp fangs and growled.

“Now even some worthless thing comes crawling in… XX, if I hadn’t let my guard down, you’d all be dead. You ungrateful bastards—how dare you bind me with this kind of toy? You traitorous bastards, just wait until I get out of here…! XX XX XXX!”

Oof, my ears hurt.

I’d been a little worried something might have gone wrong in the meantime, but he’s lively.

I took a step closer to the bars and bent down.

“I know you.”

“What?”

“I know you’re not a dark mage.”

A crooked gaze turned toward me.

“What, I thought you were an idiot, but you seem like someone I can actually talk to?”

“Of course.”

I smiled at him.

“You’re a demon, aren’t you?”