STM 77

“There’s a divine beast inside, so I thought I’d be able to see it.”

After I said that, I bit my lip because it sounded like a weak guess.

“Then are you saying the shield that traps the divine beast is black magic, and I can see it?”

“I don’t know either. But right now…”

He looked around. His gaze was keen, as if he was trying to find the truth beyond the scene visible to him.

“If this is fog, then it’s definitely magic. When a spell is cast over a large area, fog is created and an illusion is layered over it.”

“Really?”

I asked again and immediately regretted it. Now that I thought about it, Lu had majored in magic at the academy.

Fortunately, Tairok didn’t doubt my words. There was a reason.

[Lu has never once properly attended class.]

How did he even graduate?

[With money.]

…Right, that’s true. It’s annoying to recall, but I was alive again this time thanks to Lu’s past self, so I should be grateful.

“I didn’t attend classes properly, so I know nothing about magic.”

“I know.”

“…Yes.”

“Anyway, large-scale illusion spells like this aren’t easy for an ordinary magician to maintain for long. But it’s different if it’s black magic.”

Black magic… Before I could recall what I’d read in books, Mo explained it first.

[Black magic: A general term for magical applications that use the power of black stones, which come from monsters. Because it draws power from black stones, even those with weak mana can use advanced spells. However, if one directly absorbs the power of the black stone into the body, there’s a fatal flaw where one’s mind is dominated by the dark energy within the stone.]

“Zav has been sweeping up nearly all the black stones on the market in recent years. So that was the reason.”

Tairok’s cold murmur reached my ears. But when he turned toward me, his voice sounded gentle, as if he were a different person.

“In the past, there were people who could detect black magic. They were those protected by a spirit.”

“Who were they?”

“The Baron family of Jarzayal.”

My eyes widened at the familiar name. The young man I’d saved at the wine party was Jarrayal Brons.

The reason I’d saved him was because of the Bichon’s back of the head… Ah! I thought I’d hidden my surprise well, but Tairok couldn’t be deceived.

“You met the guardian spirit of the Jarzayal family?”

Yes, well. I muttered that as an answer, then asked curiously.

“Can that spirit detect black magic? What kind of spirit is it?”

“A spirit of darkness.”

What? That fluffball-looking thing is a spirit of darkness? How… Oh! The mouth! My jaw dropped without realizing it.

There was a reason why that spirit, despite its soft and round appearance, had a mouth that looked like the entrance to hell when it opened.

I’d thought it was some kind of larva spirit because it gave me bugs as gifts. Both the Poison Spirit and that one looked harmless but had vicious true forms. I placed my hand on forehead and spoke honestly.

“It told me to eat the bug, so I did, and maybe that’s why I can detect black magic.”

“……”

“Oh, it was actually an edible bug.”

Why is he looking at me like that? He looked surprised, but his voice was calm.

“The Jarzayal family isn’t a family of spirit summoners. But long ago, the spirit of darkness promised to protect their house and gave them a few gifts.

Thanks to those gifts, the Jarzayal family could destroy black magic, and they played a big role in the war against dark mages. One of the gifts still remains. But.”

But?

“Because of that war, many people in the Jarzayal family died. Now there’s no one left who can communicate with the spirit, so no one knows whether it’s still protecting them. No, everyone believed the spirit’s protection had ended. Everyone except the Jarzayal family themselves. They still keep the spirit’s gift as a family heirloom, even though they don’t know how to use it.”

Ah, so that’s why he was surprised. Well, who would’ve guessed you had to eat bugs?

“But that’s impressive. They’ve kept the bugs for years.”

He slowly smiled.

“Yes, impressive indeed. It’s a family treasure over three hundred years old.”

This time, I was at a loss for words.

“Once, when a major threat came from monsters, the head of the Jarzayal family risked his life to protect the heirloom. When rumors spread that the item he protected was a bug, they were ridiculed. People still gossip about it even now. But the Jarzayal family has never once treated the heirloom carelessly, no matter how many people around them called it foolish.”

So that’s why the Bichon’s friend is still protecting the Jarzayal family, even now. Even without communication, the spirit must’ve known that they cherished its gift.

My heart felt a bit heavy. I turned my eyes away and deliberately pressed down my emotions.

“Baron Jarzayal would be happy if he knew the spirit’s protection still continues.”

“……”

“Why? Wouldn’t he be happy?”

“Can I tell him?”

Ah, right. If he did, my ability would be revealed. That would be troublesome.

“Please don’t mention me. Just tell him that it works only if you eat the bug. Though since it’s an old heirloom, I doubt he’ll actually eat it… And also tell him that the spirit still protects their family.”

He slowly smiled at my words.

“Thank you.”

Flinch.

My body instinctively rejected his words of gratitude. Why did he thank me when I didn’t even say anything special? And why did he smile so softly like that… I caught myself thinking and shook my head quickly.

Get a grip. That gentle smile means nothing. I gave him important information, so of course he should thank me.

I should remember Doctor Kim getting all worked up after being gaslighted, calling Tairok’s letter a love letter. I can’t fall for meaningless kindness like that.

I made up my mind with that resolve, but it didn’t even last ten minutes.

Ha, ha. This is exhausting.

How can an uphill path keep going like this?

The damn lake was halfway up the mountain. No wonder Zav didn’t want to go there.

I grumbled to myself, and at some point, my steps started to slow. Because of the fog covering my vision, I started to see things that I couldn’t make out from afar.

Tap, tap, stop.

Tairok, who had been walking ahead, stopped and looked back at me.

“What’s wrong?”

I couldn’t answer his question because I was busy looking around. Between the trees, there were corpses of animals.

Deer, badgers, rabbits, and more. More than a dozen that I could see right away. More than half of them seemed long dead, their bodies already decaying.

I had seen one or two animal corpses while coming up here, but there were unusually many in this place.

“There are animal corpses here. …A lot of them.”

He looked at me for a moment, and then I heard his calm voice.

“There’s a pond below the slope.”

Ah, the water that had gone foul.

“The animals were caught in the illusion too.”

“Probably.”

Tairok walked ahead again, but he turned back after only a few steps. It was because I hadn’t moved.

“Are you alright?”

“What wouldn’t be alright about this?”

“And yet you sound angry?”

If someone else saw us, they might think he was talking nonsense, because I was just standing there without any reaction.

That was why I was confused about how he knew I was angry. When I didn’t answer, he muttered like it was strange.

“Unexpected.”

“What is?”

“I didn’t think you’d get that angry over animals.”

Death has become so common to me that I feel no real emotion toward it anymore. But at some point, every time I face death, a small weight starts to form inside my chest. And little by little, without showing, it sinks lower each time. Whether it’s a human, an animal, or even a bug.

I’d gotten used to the rich vitality of this place, and I realized again how heavy that weight inside me had become.

“Someone has to get angry. Life is precious.”

I muttered and clenched my jaw. I didn’t know who was trying to hide something here, but it made me furious.

“Do you know how to break this illusion spell?”

He silently watched me. I had gotten used to him by now, so I knew that silence meant yes. But there must have been a reason he couldn’t immediately answer.

“Is it difficult?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“They probably buried black stones to maintain the spell. Since the area is wide, there must be a lot. But you can’t just remove the black stones carelessly.”

If we touched them recklessly, it sounded like something worse would happen.

Then what should we do? Before I could ask, Tairok answered.

“But the first black stone is different. If you find and destroy that one, you can interfere with the magic safely. Then you can break it by force.”

The first black stone. But the area was too vast to find where it was buried.

And if I removed the wrong one, it would probably react like it would take my life.

I thought about it for a moment, but the decision came quickly. Realistically, there was nothing I could do here.

What I had to do was ignore the strange phenomenon and keep going to the Crystal Lake. I still had to rescue the divine beast.

I knew that in my head, so I started walking again, but the anger remained in me like ice that refused to melt.