Chapter 141 : Chapter 141
Chapter 141: Ekampote (3)
Being a criminal was better.
It was only natural. Because mages are killed if they're caught.
Why do they live risking danger?
It was a stupid question. I didn't want to make the excuse that I wouldn't know because I wasn't a mage. That was more embarrassing.
The mage, Harad, was by her side.
She had placed him there herself. It was Harad who had approached her first, but it was Ellen who had insisted on having him as her escort.
So she should have thought more.
At least on the topic of mages.
Wimar came to mind.
Save Rosen, and save him too? That was Ellen's greed. Harad had intended to grant it.
‘And me?’
Ellen tries not to read Harad's expression.
Because that's what he wants her to do.
But that doesn't mean she shouldn't care about Harad.
On the contrary, she had to care more.
‘...I'm embarrassed.’
Her face grew hot. It wasn't because of Ocellin sitting in front of her. Ellen couldn't look at Harad's face, sitting next to her.
Ignorant.
That wasn't a compliment, but an insult. It was fine when fighting, but not when she was next to Harad. Ignorance didn't suit Harad.
When she was with Harad, Ellen also had to think.
It wasn't for herself.
Harad would do that for her.
‘Why should I, when you're here.’
Ellen had answered that way to Harad's suggestion that she think about it.
Harad would surely listen.
He would think about Ellen's worries for her.
‘And me?’
She had to think about Harad.
That was the right thing to do. No, even if it wasn't the right thing to do, she had to. She couldn't just keep receiving.
‘Now?’
What could she think of right now?
“How did you know right away?”
Ocellin Ekampote asked Harad.
She meant how he had noticed she was a mage.
“She could have been a noble who uses mages like slaves.”
“There are often such cases.”
Ellen's eyes shone. This was a story she knew.
The continent is wide. There are those who deal with mages, and those who use or are used by them.
She had also heard this from Harad someday.
“I was testing you.”
“Pardon?”
“You bit right away.”
Ellen knew that was a lie.
Harad can distinguish mages.
He seemed to be trying to hide that fact.
“As soon as I tested you, you manifested magic. That will act as a very fatal blow. The fact that I asked if you were a mage means I was already suspicious.”
Ocellin flinched.
Harad was looking at her.
“I understand. You must have never been caught before.”
Ellen noticed that the position of his gaze was somewhat low.
Harad was looking at Ocellin's chest, not her face.
Now that she looked, the dress was somewhat provocative.
The cleavage was a little deep. Harad licked his lips with his tongue.
‘This man...’
Ellen, who had been scowling, soon tilted her head. It was too subtle to be lust.
It looked more like it was close to appetite.
‘...Heart.’
The shadow mage had tried to offer his heart.
Harad had not eaten it.
And he had killed Wimar with a pure white fire.
Harad had suffered from the aftereffects. He hadn't used the Moon Orb. He had endured it with his body and held Wimar's funeral.
He had consumed magic, and his internal injuries were from the aftereffects.
The more that happened, the stronger the desire for predation became, Ellen had learned from Harad.
Right now, Harad was holding back that desire.
‘Heart.’
He needed a heart.
Ellen was proud that she had something to come up with for Harad's sake.
‘How do I get one?’
This is the continent. Unlike the North, even magical beasts are rare.
Ocellin was right in front of her.
Kill her? That's a crazy idea. There's no way Harad would want that.
‘If there isn't one.’
What happens if there is no heart?
One becomes an addict.
A mage who has predated once cannot stop predating until they die.
That addiction becomes stronger the more one predates, Harad had once explained.
‘If I become an addict?’
What happens if one becomes an addict?
Harad had never explained that far.
Ellen enjoyed alcohol and cigarettes.
It was because she was confident she could quit anytime.
Harad would be the same.
Until now, Ellen had thought so.
Because the very first time, in the inner sanctum of the Flower District, Harad had predated a heart so nonchalantly.
It must have meant the addiction was not a big deal.
“I heard you met a Great Devil, ah, a 5th Rank mage in Macabel Forest. Is that true?”
“I did.”
“Was his Origin perhaps a shadow?”
“That's right. Do you know him?”
At those words, Ocellin showed a look of displeasure and waved her hand.
“No way. We are Liberation. There's no way we have ties with an addict. The shadow is a monster that even the Rebellion faction shakes its head at and pretends not to know.”
“He seems famous.”
“Because he's an addict. We always have to be on the lookout. We never know when we might get caught up in it.”
Addict.
At Ocellin's words, Ellen's hand twitched.
“I just found out this time that the shadow's Rank is 5th Rank. He regained his reason for a change…”
“Let's stop talking about that.”
“Pardon? Ah, you said you came to see the manager, you must be in a hurry?”
“I've come a long way. I need to return quickly.”
That was a lie.
Harad would even travel the continent for Ellen if she wanted.
Ellen had that kind of certainty.
Harad had deliberately cut her off.
It must have been because he didn't want to talk about addicts.
And here, the only one who didn't know about addicts was Ellen.
“Keep talking.”
“Pardon?”
“I said, keep talking. About addicts.”
Ocellin looked flustered.
Just then, Harad intervened.
“It's a story you don't need to know. You're just wasting time.”
“I feel like I'll regret it if I don't hear it now.”
“……”
Harad shut his mouth.
He was obsessed with regret.
And it wasn't his regret, but Ellen's regret.
The reason was a secret. He's always so secretive.
“Keep talking, Ocellin. What did you say an addict was?”
Ocellin smiled awkwardly.
Her pupils rolled back and forth between Harad and Ellen. Finally, she opened her mouth.
“My goodness. Harad, you predated a heart?”
Ocellin was horrified.
“An act that even the Rebellion faction considers a taboo…”
“Was it like that at the time?”
Harad muttered something incomprehensible.
This was not the time to focus on that. Taboo. Ellen's face hardened even more.
“Surely not with your mouth?”
“Very rarely…”
“He did it often. What happens then?”
Ellen covered Harad's mouth and asked.
Ocellin did not answer immediately.
She glanced at Harad.
“Harad is my escort. Which means I'm the master.”
“Not the master, the superior…”
“You shut up.”
“……”
Harad smiled bitterly.
He didn't seem that troubled.
That expression slightly relieved Ellen.
Even though he was an addict, it didn't seem that severe.
“What happens when you become an addict?”
“You can't live without a heart.”
“What if there's no heart to eat?”
“You go crazy.”
Like the shadow mage.
Ocellin said, glancing at Harad.
“……”
That mage wasn't just a crazy bastard.
He was crazy from addiction.
“If you predate a heart, your reason returns. Sometimes.”
Ocellin added.
“What if you can't predate?”
“They say you eat anything. Any heart.”
“…Pardon?”
“They eat anyone. Just like drug addicts snort any powder. It doesn't have an effect, but it gives a little pleasure.”
Ellen's face hardened.
Just then, Harad said from the side.
“I'm an exception.”
“……”
“My mental strength is extraordinary.”
“Son of a bitch.”
Ellen jumped up and swung her fist.
It didn't reach. The fist went limp right in front of Harad's face.
Her eyes were closing.
“Ah, damn…”
A dream is coming, Ellen sensed intuitively.
Like that, she closed her eyes and collapsed.
* * *
“...She's rougher than she looks.”
“She's a Serzila.”
On the outside, she's an unmistakable beauty.
Ocellin seemed quite impressed by Ellen's words and actions.
“I'm sorry. I must have said something unnecessary.”
“It's fine, it's not a secret.”
It wasn't much of a secret.
As she had said earlier, it was a story Ellen didn't need to know.
Anyway, the addiction was a problem that would be solved someday.
When he reached the 6th Rank, he would be free from the addiction, Harad was half-certain.
Because predation is a desire of the Origin.
If he could subdue the Origin, that desire would also be subdued.
‘It actually turned out well.’
It was a story Ellen would have found out about someday anyway.
It was a gain because it induced a dream.
“...Are you really okay?”
“Didn't I say, it's narcolepsy. She's like this sometimes.”
I had caught the collapsing Ellen naturally.
“You did look used to it.”
Ocellin relaxed her eyes.
Just a moment ago, she had been looking at Harad like a lecherous man.
“What do you think? Do you feel like meeting now?”
I asked in a low voice.
Ocellin flinched. I wasn't looking at her.
“...How did you know this time?”
“I was testing you. You bit right away again.”
“……”
Ocellin bit her lip.
She was skilled, yet not skilled.
It was probably because she had never been caught as a mage before.
“The preamble was too long, for people who are busy taking care of their own lives.”
Don't cause any more trouble and return quietly.
When she had bewitched Harad and Ellen earlier, Ocellin had said that.
It meant she didn't want to get involved any further.
And yet, Ocellin had suddenly resolved Ellen's question, which had no nutritional value.
Her mind might have changed, but, well.
It was more plausible that someone's curiosity had intervened.
‘A commoner who gets along with a mage. And a Serzila at that.’
For the Liberation faction who wanted to live like people, they couldn't help but be interested.
“If I achieve my goal, I'll return quietly. Without causing any trouble.”
I said to the empty air.
The Liberation faction desires a simple peace.
“If you want to hear the story of me and Serzila, I can tell you.”
There was no answer.
I scowled slightly.
“I don't want to use force, since we're in the same boat.”
Ellen was sleeping.
I didn't want to disturb her sleep.
“But I will if I have to.”
It was then that a reaction came.
A small, very small spark of magic flew. It was proof that the intent that was manifesting the magic had wavered.
Thus, the Liberation faction dislikes conflict.
I didn't feel uneasy.
Whatever the intention, the one who used magic first was Ocellin Ekampote.
“First, give me a bed.”
I wanted to lay Ellen down comfortably.
* * *
Ellen had dreamt just a few days ago.
The theme then was the Church.
It must have been because of the stimulus of Wimar.
This time, the theme will be heart addicts.
The shadow mage. And the fact that Harad had been predating hearts must have been a stimulus.
‘I don't have any particularly special memories.’
Anyway, it was a very good phenomenon.
To have dreams in succession within a few days.
I carefully laid Ellen down.
Her peacefully sleeping face was still unfamiliar if unfamiliar. A woman. Not a man.
‘Just as Ocellin said.’
If Ellen just stayed still, she was a beauty second to none in the world.
Of course, that would be no fun.
I covered the soundly sleeping Ellen with a blanket. She would be dreaming right now.
‘And me?’
Lately, I had been dreaming too.
‘Why not this time?’
A few days ago, I did.
Was it at the same time? No.
It was during Wimar's funeral.
Harad and Ellen had slept in shifts.
‘Stone of Regression.’
That stone fed on Elaine's blood.
In the end, it meant the owner of the regression was Elaine.
I had just interfered.
‘I just ate the result of the regression. The Stone of Regression, that magical item, and Elaine are still connected.’
That connection provides dreams to Elaine.
‘The more she dreams, the deeper the memories of her past life penetrate into Elaine. I have come to experience that indirectly.’
It must be because my relationship with Elaine has deepened.
With Elaine, whose connection to the Stone of Regression has strengthened.
‘It doesn't force dreams on me. I must be sleeping to dream.’
Because I was connected to Elaine, not to the Stone of Regression.
‘Give stimulus, and observe. That must be my role.’
I had to give stimulus.
At the same time, I became an observer.
An observer who can check what kind of dream Elaine has when given a stimulus.
‘Can I pretend to know?’
My heart tightened. It was the restriction of the regression.
It was a threat to not say that I had started dreaming, to become a thorough observer.
‘Picky. Making me dream to regain my past life.’
A mere tool.
My breath caught in my throat. My heart almost exploded.
This strange magical item acted as if it had intelligence.
‘Cancel.’
Only then did my heart function.
I smiled bitterly and left the room. It was Ocellin's room. She was waiting in front of the door.
“Will you be okay?”
“With what?”
“You seem to be trusting them too readily.”
Ocellin pointed at the door with her chin.
She meant what was he trusting to let Ellen sleep here.
“They could harm her, or threaten her.”
“Then everyone dies.”
“……”
“Except for me and that young lady.”
Ocellin flinched.
“I'll kill you even if you wake her.”
“Aren't you too different from before?”
Before, I had acted like a kind teacher.
But now, he was openly exuding killing intent.
“I am that young lady's escort.”
Even though he's going to leave her in the room.
“Please don't be like that in front of the manager. He's a really kind and gentle person.”
“Similar to me.”
“……”
Hardly.
Ocellin had roughly figured out what kind of person Harad was.
It wasn't that Ellen was moving away from her escort.
It was that the lock named Ellen had been released from the mage named Harad.
…If she could, she wanted to hide the manager.
But Ocellin was not in a position to do so.
The secret of Ekampote had been discovered. She needed to shut Harad's mouth.
“……Follow me. The manager is waiting.”
Ocellin resented Rosen.
Why did you have to get caught.