Chapter : 141

After the weekend's commotion, which wasn't really a commotion, I ended up going on an off-site assignment. Wow~ Why, though?

“Why an off-site assignment?”

Yuno was looking at me with an expression that said, ‘I’m giving you a great opportunity.’

That’s kind of annoying, isn’t it?

I was so dumbfounded that I was at a loss for words for a moment.

“It’s a simple market survey.

You can head home right after you finish.”

“⋯Really?”

What, so he really was giving me an opportunity?!

I stared at Yuno with trembling eyes at this unexpectedly immense favor.

As if sensing my joyful gaze, Yuno, who had been focused on his work with his glasses on, took them off and said in a whisper.

“Your internship is less than half over, and you’ve worked hard until now.

From now on, we’ll mostly do simple tasks, centered around off-site assignments.”

They were very grateful words, but why did I feel a sense of dread at this unexpected consideration?

The quick-witted Yuno seemed to notice my feelings, as his eyes turned quite sharp.

Alright, I’d better just keep my mouth shut.

Avoiding Yuno’s gaze, I gathered the necessary documents and quickly escaped the office.

From inside, I could see Senior Cecilia’s desperate plea to be saved, but I decided to ignore it since I had my own problems to deal with.

It’s definitely not because I get beaten up every morning and will continue to get beaten up that I'm being mean! …Anyway, it's not!

I stopped by my room for a moment to get Lou and Albedo, and when I went outside, I spotted Ray.

Senior Lilia was hiding and following him.

“Long time no see, Ray-hyung!”

I deliberately approached him with a friendly smile.

“Isn’t it only been two days since we last saw each other?”

What, has it only been that long? It felt like several days had passed….

“Is that so? So what brings you to the market, hyung?”

“Our food supply ran out, so I came to buy some.”

“Ah, I see.”

It was common for the employer to be responsible for a mercenary’s meals, but that didn’t mean they could eat whatever they wanted.

Since the employer usually purchased a reasonable amount, if there was a special food a mercenary wanted to eat, they would usually get it themselves.

Though, ‘special food’ only meant things like potatoes or corn from their hometown, or lamb meat they bought separately.

“If you’d like, shall I help you?”

As if everyone had expected my offer, Ray smiled neatly and answered right away.

“Then I’d be grateful, wouldn’t I? But don’t you have work to do?”

“I can do my work after helping you.”

It wasn’t like the work would take that long anyway.

Helping Ray wouldn’t make me particularly late for my lesson with Father.

“Then I’ll be in your care!”

And it didn’t take long for me to regret saying I’d help!

I thought two or three hours would be enough, but Ray scurried around here and there more than I expected.

I never imagined it wouldn’t be over until the sky turned yellow.

It was a good thing I got my work done in between, or I would’ve been screwed.

“It ended up taking a while, didn’t it?”

Wow, what an irritating thing to say.

If he had said that with the intention of provoking me, it was very successful.

“Don’t worry about it.”

I was the one who readily offered, thinking it was a good opportunity to watch him.

“You’re curious about the miracle drug that cured Belle-nuna, aren’t you?”

Ray asked bluntly.

Hmph, if he thought I’d be flustered, he was mistaken.

I’d rather be a bit more shameless.

“Was it that obvious?”

I looked at Ray with an awkward smile.

He must not have expected me to admit it so openly, because Ray just smiled silently, looking flustered.

“I’m sorry. From what I know, miracle drugs are extremely rare.”

“I thought you’d feign ignorance a little longer.”

“Continuing to deceive you weighs on my mind.

I’ll be sure to apologize directly to the captain later.”

“The captain will understand.”

Is it over like this for now?

“So, you’ll be learning exploration magic this week?”

“Ah, yes. I should.”

Currently, the mercenary corps that Ray and Belle belonged to had no mages.

Normally, it was standard to take a mage along when exploring a dungeon, but with the sudden appearance of this dungeon, they hadn’t had the chance.

Still, the situation would improve once I learned exploration magic.

Is this the prestige of being a mage? A small laugh escaped me.

“So you couldn’t use exploration magic before?”

“That’s right.”

“That’s amazing. I heard learning even a single new magic is never an easy task.”

Of course. It’s because I have Simunan that I can learn it relatively quickly.

I obviously had no intention of revealing that to Ray right now, so I had to give a vague answer.

“I’m a genius, so something like that is nothing.”

I shrugged lightly. I thought I was being too shameless myself, but what could I do?

“Ray-hyung, you don’t seem like a combatant. Are you going to come along this time too?”

“Even if direct combat is difficult, there might be something I can do to help.”

He’s coming to watch me, isn’t he?

He’s coming to watch me, isn’t he?

Either way, I had a feeling that during the dungeon raid this weekend, either Ray’s identity or the identity of the benefactor who gave him the medicine would be revealed.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“It’s nothing.”

If I said I was looking forward to this weekend but also wished it wouldn’t come, would that be too much of a contradiction?

A hollow laugh leaked out.

“Well then, I’ll be heading off first. See you on the weekend, Ray-hyung.”

“Yeah, okay.”

With those words, I left the village of the fief.

“Kkeueung.”

I’d have to move quickly to make it to Father’s lesson on time.

It wouldn’t be a bad idea to practice movement magic while I was at it.

I quickly used movement magic to leave the place.

* * *

“Hmm….”

Ray, who was left alone, intently watched the spot where Theo had disappeared using movement magic.

Ray’s eyes, as if gauging something, held a cold, colorless hue.

It was a completely different appearance from the usual Ray, but no one was there to notice that fact.

“Simunan?”

Even for a genius, learning a single magic couldn’t be that easy.

Exploration magic looked easy, but it was quite difficult to learn.

Especially the method that utilized space magic, used by Theo’s teacher, ‘Evan Lisitoel’.

But, was it even plausible to learn that in a week?

“If he didn’t have Simunan, that is.”

No one heard the small voice Ray muttered.

Not even Lilia, who was monitoring even the shape of Ray’s mouth from afar.

“Haha.”

Could it really be Simunan? Greed swirled in Ray’s eyes.

The moment Simunan is extracted and placed in a new body, it loses its power.

However, wouldn’t it be possible to observe and dissect it through magical processing?

“Will I have enough time to get everything ready?”

Just then, a snake slithered under Ray.

As if to confirm his intentions, the snake climbed up Ray’s body and coiled itself around his neck.

“I’ll be able to give ‘that person’ a fine gift.”

The snake’s momentum was fierce, as if it could strangle him at any moment, and its pointed head showed it was a poisonous snake.

But Ray paid it no mind and gently stroked the snake’s scales.

He treated it like a cute pet, his expression so monotonous that it even held a hint of weariness.

It was a look that absolutely did not suit a ‘normal’ young man.

Lilia was about to step forward, but in the time it took for her to blink once, Ray had vanished.

“……?!”

“Even if you don’t care about being caught, you should have been a little more careful.”

Ray, who had appeared beside her in an instant, smiled innocently like a pure young man.

The air around them was utterly peaceful.

However, an inexplicable sense of déjà vu was stirring every single cell in Lilia’s body.

“Ray… is that you?”

“If you’re asking my name. For now, yes?”

Lilia immediately tried to flee without hesitation, but Ray was a little faster.

It was just a split second, but that was enough to turn her suspicion into certainty.

Ray was by no means a normal young man. If he were a normal young man, when Lilia moved at her full speed, he could never be ‘a little faster’ than her.

Above all, not with such a relaxed face.

“You’ve deceived everyone?”

“Haha!”

At Lilia’s question, Ray burst out laughing.

“Don’t worry.”

The young man slowly approached Lilia and caressed her forehead.

A hazy energy flowed from his gentle touch.

At the same time, Lilia’s eyes turned cloudy.

”I’ll erase the unnecessary memories.”

The young man’s lips curled up.

“Now, it’s time to forget everything.”

A bizarre smile formed on the young man’s face.

* * *

What was I doing? The moment the question arose, Lilia belatedly looked around.

Right, at Theo’s request, I was watching Ray.

He said it didn't really matter if I got caught… so I was definitely watching him⋯

My memory is spotty. However, Lilia didn’t feel that there was anything particularly strange about it.

Normally, she would have been suspicious of such an awkward flow of memory, but right now, she was just confused.

“Lilia?”

Startled by the voice calling her, Lilia turned around.

Ray, who seemed to be carrying a load of luggage, was looking at her.

“Ray.”

“I was just having trouble with all this luggage. Could you help me out a bit?”

“Of course I can.”

Wow, perfect! Ray clapped his hands lightly and rejoiced.

He was bossing Theo around earlier, so is it my turn now?

Huh? Right. Theo was…

Once again, the flow of her memory faltered.

“You saved me, Lilia.”

At the words calling her name, Lilia ultimately failed to notice the strangeness.

With her mind lightly tampered with by memory manipulation magic, perhaps only the greatest mage on the continent could personally check and notice that something was amiss.

No matter how highly praised she was, she was, after all, just an Academy student.

“Thank you so much, Lilia.”

“Well, I’m also indebted to the mercenary corps.”

At her awkward follow-up, Ray laughed out loud, Ha ha!

“No, I really mean it, thank you.”

He was thanking her for the arrogant confidence that believed she could control all the variables and keep watch with her own skills.

By the time she realized it, it would be after many things had become irreversible.

Unbeknownst to Lilia, the snake on Ray’s body slithered away, disappearing beyond the bushes.

To deliver this joyous news to its master.