STM 182

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁣⁣⁣⁠⁣⁣⁠⁠⁣⁠⁠⁠⁠⁣⁣⁣⁣⁠⁠⁣⁠⁣⁣ ⁣⁠⁣⁣⁠⁠⁠⁠⁣⁠⁣⁠⁠⁣⁠⁣⁠⁣⁠⁣⁣⁣⁠⁣⁣⁣⁠⁠⁣⁣⁣⁠This pathetic fool. I was about to hurl insults at this pleading fetishist when another sound stopped me.

“Cough!”

The informant’s eyes opened. Then his chest heaved as he struggled to breathe.

“Hey, are you alright?”

“W-where am I? Cough, why am I in my house… cough!”

“That’s not the point. You’re about to die because of black magic.”

At the mention of black magic, his eyes widened.

“W-what about the Purification Leaf?”

“Oh, I brought that. But… Huh? Don’t get up.”

I tried to stop him as he suddenly sat up, but I couldn’t hold him back. But perhaps because he lacked strength, he could only raise his upper body halfway before coming to a halt.

“I-I have to go.”

“Where?”

“That herb… Haa… There’s someone who needs it.”

Ah, I knew it. Who could that be? A family member? The moment the thought crossed my mind, the starfish trembled and pointed out the window with one arm.

What’s outside…? The only house across the street with its lights on caught my eye. Is the sick person a neighbor?

“The supply is late this time, so it could be dangerous, I have to get it to them quickly… Cough, cough!”

His whole body shook as he coughed, then he looked around.

“The herb… Huh?”

Upon spotting the box containing the herb, his eyes suddenly widened.

“Why is there less?!”

He’s got a keen eye even in a situation like this.

“I used it on you.”

“Th-that’s ridiculous… it is supposed to be used on someone else!”

The man, who had barely escaped death, flew into a rage, but Tairok ignored him and cut straight to the chase.

“If you want what’s left, give me the information.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Hand over the herb first.”

Tairok’s gaze was as cold as ice, but his expression was the opposite. He looked relaxed, as if he’d never lost a psychological battle like this before.

“You’re mistaken. I used the herb on you because I wanted to save time. I can get the information from someone else. But you’ll never be able to get the Purification Leaf again.”

“No one would risk their life to give you information.”

“Do you really think I care about someone else’s life?”

His smile was particularly scary at a time like this. The informant’s face, already as pale as a corpse, turned even bluer. The starfish began to tremble even more. I had no choice but to step in.

“Let’s calm down and talk this through.”

“If you want to calm me down, why don’t you bring Lord Salvation here, cough.”

“Hmm, so the ‘Salvation’ you’re talking about is…”

“The one from the Adeye family. I heard he’s the real Salvation.”

No, that’s wrong. I barely managed to hold back the urge to correct him. Was this the karma for being the first to call myself Salvation? It felt like a mission I thought would involve deceiving just one person, Tairok, had turned into an epic project to deceive the entire Tubain. I sighed and asked, just in case.

“What exactly are you planning to ask Salvation for?”

“It’s obvious. He’ll ask him to heal the one in need of medicinal herb.”

It seemed like Tairok’s sudden interjection was correct. The informant’s expression froze. Mine froze even more. Fuck.

“Did that person fall victim to black magic too?”

“You don’t need to know. If you want the information, hand over… the Purification Leaf…”

His voice, which had been rising as he reached out in excitement, faded like a stretched-out tape. Only then did he notice his bare wrist.

Blink, blink.

He looked at his wrist with his mouth open, then raised his gaze.

“How… did you do this…?”

“I undid it.”

“That’s impossible… Not even the greatest mage could undo this! Are you a mage?”

“No. I just heard from someone how to undo it.”

“W-who?”

I felt like the questions would never end. Unable to take it anymore, Tairok advised me.

“No need to waste your breath on that idiot. We can find the information elsewhere.”

Right, I had been warned from the start that the informant might back out. I placed the remaining herb on the table and turned to leave.

“Make good use of what’s left.”

“Wait!”

Thud!

He jumped out of bed and rolled across the floor. He’d probably die from broken bones before black magic even got to him. Yet despite the pain, he froze again.

This time, it was because he’d spotted the bracelet lying on the floor. His eyes darted back and forth, as if he couldn’t believe the bracelet had snapped in two.

“Who told you that?”

“None of your business.”

Tairok interrupted and grabbed my arm, but I couldn’t follow him out. The starfish was begging again.

[H-help. P-please.]

“W-who told you that?”

The informant’s voice trembled as he asked again. I looked at him for a moment before speaking.

“Adeye Lu.”

The moment he heard the answer, tears welled up in the informant’s eyes. It was as if simply hearing that name had saved him.

‎

‎

‘Mother, I’ve been assigned to the First Guard Unit, just as I’d hoped! It’s an important position where I’ll be guarding the Grand Duke and the Montaine people right by their side.’

Her son’s voice, brimming with joy, still rang vividly in her ears. It had only been two years. She couldn’t give up on her child yet.

No matter how long he’d been unconscious, over a year now, no matter how his once-healthy appearance had vanished and pus oozed from his emaciated body, she couldn’t just give up and wait for him to die.

But there was nothing she could do. All she could do today was wipe his body down with a damp cloth. The fact that he had managed to survive this long was thanks to the medicinal herb someone had given her.

Since she was entirely dependent on that person’s goodwill, she couldn’t ask for more once the herb ran out. It had been a week since she gave him the last dose of the herbal tea.

Her son’s body shook convulsively, his limbs twisted. Even in his unconscious state, his face contorted in agony.

The mother quickly got up, placed some dried herbs with sedative properties into the brazier, and lit them. Not long after, a pungent smell spread along with the white smoke, but her son’s seizure did not subside this time.

As her child’s suffering dragged on, she recently experienced internal conflict. If he cannot recover, wouldn’t ending this pain quickly be the right path for his sake?

Yet she still could not abandon hope. What if her son miraculously recovered and could continue the life he desired? If only a miracle would happen.

Even though she knew miracles were nothing more than fleeting clouds in the sky, she simply couldn’t let go of hope. Oh God, please grant us a miracle. It was just as she was holding her son’s hand and praying.

Knock, knock, knock.

Someone knocked on the door.

‎

‎

The owner of the house next door, the one with the thorn bushes, was a woman in her early 50s. At first, she looked pleased to see the informant, but when she saw us with him, she became frightened and wary. However, when the informant handed her the remaining herb, she was overjoyed as if they were gold.

“T-thank you. Thank you.”

“No, I didn’t bring these–”

The informant tried to point at us with both hands, but dropped them again under Tairok’s cold stare.

“Hmm, how is your son doing?”

In response to the question, the neighbor’s face immediately darkened.

“There’s still no improvement. You went to the trouble of finding such precious herb to help us…”

“No. It’s not precious.”

He denied it, then glanced at us.

“More importantly, these people here would like to see your son’s condition.”

“M-my son’s condition right now is…”

The neighbor was terrified. She probably was afraid people would find out her son was ill because of black magic. Could it be that she lived in this abandoned house to avoid people?

“It’s all right. These people are here because they know your son’s situation. Please come this way.”

The informant stepped in for the hesitant woman and led us into a room. And the moment the door opened, I understood why the neighbor had hesitated.

A foul odor instantly overwhelmed my senses. Without realizing it, I held my breath and stopped short. A half-naked young man was lying on the bed.

The neighbor must have been washing her son’s body, as a bucket of water and a cloth lay scattered beside the bed. It seemed her son was the source of the smell. Traces of pus oozing from various parts of his body were clearly visible.

To be honest, I had briefly doubted myself on my way here. I wondered if seeing a patient afflicted by black magic meant I could actually cure him.

But the moment I saw the man’s body, that worry faded into the background. Instead, my mind was filled with another question. What was that? Something black was writhing inside the man’s solar plexus.