Chapter 74. The Thread of Fate
Before heading to the Lawless City, Violess—
I stopped by the Commercial City of Freche first.
The reason was none other than Seraphia’s remedy.
Seraphia was currently unconscious.
Fortunately—or perhaps unfortunately—nothing would happen to her immediately.
The 241 days spent inside the Infinite Labyrinth applied only within the Infinite Labyrinth.
Only about two days had passed outside.
Still, I needed to check whether the remedy had been completed before leaving.
The Commercial City of Freche.
I had returned to Freche after eight long months.
However, nothing had changed.
That was also because those 241 days had passed only inside the Infinite Labyrinth.
It would have been stranger if anything had changed.
As I walked through the streets of Freche—
“It has been a long time since I last visited Freche.”
Someone suddenly came up beside me and spoke.
It was Kai, the knight with flowing blond hair.
“I told you to return to the County first. Why did you follow me?”
“I have no particular intention.”
Anyone could tell that he had some ulterior motive.
I simply could not tell what it was.
If I could understand what went on inside a madman’s head, that would make me a madman too.
“Let us go.”
….Whatever.
I shook my head once and continued walking.
We soon arrived in front of Edlen’s shop.
When I opened the door—
Edlen, who had been sitting behind the counter, reflexively shot to his feet.
“Welco—!”
Then Edlen recognized my face.
His eyes widened—
“You have returned, Lord Adrian!!!”
Edlen bent forward at a perfect ninety-degree angle—
Thud!
And slammed his head into the counter.
It looked painful enough to make me wonder whether he had cracked his skull.
“Owww....”
Fortunately, his head did not seem to be broken.
Edlen vigorously rubbed it before raising his head again. Then he noticed Kai beside me and tilted his head.
“And the gentleman beside you is...?”
“A leech.”
“Pardon? A leech...?”
“You don’t need to pay attention to him. You can treat him like a leech.”
Kai stared at me with a sour expression, but I casually ignored him.
“More importantly, what happened with the matter we discussed last time?”
“If you are referring to your younger sister’s remedy…. Ahem!”
Edlen cleared his throat.
Judging by his expression, he appeared ready to launch into a lengthy explanation—
“After you left, Lord Adrian, I gave considerable thought to how I could handle this matter in the fastest and most efficient—”
“Just give me the result.”
“....I have yet to find an Alchemist willing to accept the commission.”
Edlen answered with an utterly dejected expression.
His face resembled that of a weasel that had just received a severe scolding.
“This humble servant even distributed flyers throughout the Mages’ Guild, but no one was willing to accept the commission....”
Edlen lowered his head apologetically.
“Was there a particular reason?”
“Most of them said that the commission was simply too difficult.”
The cause of Seraphia’s condition was the Frost Curse [P].
It produced symptoms caused by a [Supernatural Thermal Energy Deficiency].
Even at a glance, it was clearly no ordinary condition.
Producing a remedy capable of treating such symptoms would be impossible without extraordinary skill.
More importantly, the required ingredients were no simple matter either.
An essence formed from concentrated fire energy, Flame Heart.
A rare plant that absorbed the sun’s energy, Sun Herb.
An ore formed from concentrated magma energy within the heart of a volcano, Magma Pillar.
An essence that could be gathered only at a particular location for a limited period as the sun rose, Dawn’s Flame.
Each ingredient alone cost twenty thousand gold.
“They also said they could not afford the compensation if they ruined the ingredients.”
They could potentially be required to repay eighty thousand gold. It was understandable that no one dared touch the commission.
“I apologize....”
Edlen lowered his head even further, as though it were his fault.
However, I could not blame Edlen for this.
Frost Curse [P].
The [P] stood for Primal.
This was a special ability ranking system distinct from the ranks of biological evolution abilities, which ranged from F to S.
Based on everything revealed thus far, the hierarchy was—
Rare [R] < Unique [U] < Epic [E] < Legend [L] < Myth [M] < Primal [P].
Primal [P] was the highest rank.
Treating an illness caused by an authority of that rank could never be easy.
‘If I had known this would happen, should I have forced Avarus to make the remedy?’
Avarus, the mad Alchemist.
Nevertheless, Avarus’s skill had been genuine.
It would be fair to say that almost no Alchemists on the continent surpassed him.
Creating Homunculi was by no means easy.
Only a highly accomplished mage who had mastered Alchemy could barely accomplish it.
In other words, now that Avarus had been annihilated, the Devotees of the Fallen Souls could no longer create Homunculi.
That also meant Avarus had possessed more than enough skill to produce Seraphia’s remedy.
In a sense, the Elixir of Infinity had also been a remedy for Seraphia created by Avarus.
However, after thinking about it carefully—
‘It wouldn’t have mattered.’
Not only would Avarus never have obediently produced the remedy, but his mind had completely broken.
He had not been in any condition to make a remedy—or anything else.
“Did you contact the Mage Towers?”
“Of course. However, they were also rather reluctant....”
It appeared the Mage Towers had also expressed difficulty accepting the commission.
However, there was more than one Mage Tower scattered throughout the continent.
“Did you contact the Langrid Mage Tower as well?”
The Langrid Mage Tower.
It was a Mage Tower established thousands of years ago by the Great Sage Arcanis Rilsein, who had devised the method of converting mana into the usable energy known as Mana Force.
Arcanis had been the first person to use Mana Force to reproduce the phenomenon known as magic.
Today, he was known as both the First Mage and the founder of the academic discipline called Arcane Studies.
Arcanis had passed magic down to humanity because he wished to use it to bring change to the world.
He had opened the opportunity to learn magic to anyone who shared that aspiration.
The Langrid Mage Tower had been established with precisely that purpose.
The Langrid Mage Tower had continued its history for thousands of years and produced countless sages and mages.
Today, it stood as the origin of all magical knowledge on the continent and the cradle of mages—
“The Langrid Mage Tower rarely accepts external commissions.”
Edlen answered with a troubled expression.
That did not mean it never accepted them. As Edlen had said, it merely accepted them “rarely”.
“The influence of our Merchants’ Guild is simply insufficient....”
The Merchants’ Guild did not possess enough influence.
The Langrid Mage Tower was sacred ground to every mage on the continent.
It already received a flood of commissions from the continent’s numerous kingdoms and prestigious noble houses.
Unless someone possessed considerable status, they could not even get their foot in the door.
Although the Merchants’ Guild wielded some influence within the Free City, it lacked the power required to submit a commission to the Langrid Mage Tower.
Naturally, I was well aware of that fact—
I took gold coins from my inventory and poured them onto the counter.
Clatter—!
Countless gold coins spilled from the Infinite Inventory. They piled high upon the counter, forming a mountain—
“One thousand platinum coins. One million gold.”
Edlen’s eyes widened.
Proving himself a true merchant, the million gold captured his attention far more than the Inventory did.
There was an old saying—
If something could not be accomplished with money, one should first question whether enough money had been offered.
“Offer all of it as the commission fee.”
“Eeeeeek?!?!”
When I said it as casually as though placing a bounty, Edlen practically jumped into the air.
It was an absurd amount to offer merely for commissioning a single remedy.
However, it was unavoidable if I wanted to treat Seraphia.
Furthermore, if I considered it an opportunity to establish a connection with Iliana, the Archmage of the Coalition Forces, the amount was neither excessive nor wasteful.
In any case, more than twenty million gold still remained inside my Infinite Inventory.
“There should be a mage named Iliana at the Langrid Mage Tower. When you post this commission, establish contact with Commander Iliana…. No, Mage Iliana.”
As justification for approaching her—
“Tell her that the Predator Merchant Company wishes to sponsor her.”
Gulp.
Edlen swallowed and nodded.
“One last thing.”
I took another hundred thousand gold from my inventory and placed it on the counter.
“W-What is this for...?”
“Edlen, that is your compensation.”
“.......”
Edlen stared blankly, as though his mind had gone numb.
His reaction was understandable.
The gold placed on the counter amounted to 1.1 million.
That was comparable to an entire Merchant Company’s annual revenue.
I was casually taking out that amount as though it were pocket change, so Edlen’s mind could not endure it.
Compared to the money inside the Infinite Inventory, it was not exactly pocket change, but it was not a particularly substantial amount either.
“Make the golden leech handle any miscellaneous work that arises while you carry out the commission. I have business elsewhere, so I’ll be leaving first.”
Leaving the dazed Edlen behind, I stepped out of the shop.
* * *
The instant I left Edlen’s shop—
“Where are you going?”
The golden leech, Kai, immediately followed me outside and asked.
“I already told you. I’m going to the Lawless City.”
“Then I shall accompany—”
“You will remain here and assist Edlen. A significant amount of money is involved, so there will probably be considerable interference.”
“......”
“Treat Seraphia immediately once the remedy is completed.”
“....Understood.”
Kai looked somewhat disappointed, but he nodded without complaint.
For some reason, Kai’s attitude toward me was noticeably different from before.
The fact that he had stuck to me like a leech and intended to accompany me to the Lawless City was already quite strange.
Nevertheless, perhaps because this concerned Seraphia’s remedy, Kai agreed to remain in Freche.
Despite the considerable workload involved in my orders, Kai did not show the slightest sign of reluctance.
As I silently observed him—
“You’re quite something yourself.”
“What do you mean?”
“You haven’t closed your eyes even once since we entered the Infinite Labyrinth.”
I had been continuously recovering from physical exhaustion through Regeneration [B+], so I had been fine.
Player’s Will [EX] had also allowed me to withstand the mental damage.
However, Kai was different.
Although he possessed Immortal Link [E], he had been required to consume Aura continuously.
Aura was not a power that could be instantly replenished like calories.
It was not as though Kai had merely stood around and watched either.
Consequently, Kai had also been able to train—
“Did I not have to maintain the light with my Aura?”
Furthermore, he had been able to train his Aura.
Not a single ray of light entered the Infinite Labyrinth. Kai had been forced to regulate his Aura’s light constantly so that I could see.
“I had no choice but to concentrate on controlling it so that my Aura would not be exhausted. In that sense....”
Fwoosh—!
A deep-blue Aura suddenly erupted from Kai’s sword. However, its density was clearly different from ordinary Aura.
“An Aura Blade?”
“As expected, you recognized it immediately.”
Kai looked at me with astonishment.
However, I should have been the one saying that. I was far more surprised than he was.
An Aura Blade.
It was a technique that went beyond merely coating a sword with Aura and instead “compressed” the Aura.
And what kind of power was Aura?
It was an “outrageous power” that dragged things existing only within an individual’s imagination into reality.
Although its effects differed depending on the imagination imbued within it, there was generally almost nothing an Aura Blade could not cut.
Strictly speaking, a few things did exist.
One example was the RuneSteel I had seen in Avarus’s secret vault.
It was one of the few metals capable of withstanding an Aura Blade.
However, it could only withstand it. It could not block it completely.
Cutting through it merely took some time.
In other words, given sufficient time, an Aura Blade could cut through RuneSteel.
In terms of cutting power alone, it rivaled a Dragon’s Claw and could even surpass one under certain circumstances.
In other words, it possessed power comparable to my Dragon’s Claw [A].
Furthermore, cutting power was not its only ability.
An Aura Blade could release shock waves accompanied by explosive energy.
Depending on how it was utilized, it could damage targets beyond the reach of the sword’s trajectory.
Naturally, it was not an easily mastered technique.
It demanded both an individual’s imagination—
In other words, absolute faith in Aura—and extraordinarily precise Aura control.
That was why it was also called the “Symbol of a Master”.
In other words—
“I have also advanced to a higher realm.”
It meant that Kai had become a full-fledged Master-level knight.
I had not been the only person to grow during those 241 days within the Infinite Trial Grounds.
Of course, 241 days was not a short period.
Maintaining a constant state of tension while sustaining one’s Aura for such a long time was extraordinarily difficult.
“It is all thanks to you, Lord Adrian.”
....Even so, he was unquestionably insane.
Wait a moment.
“Thanks to me?”
“Did you not help me maintain my Aura without difficulty?”
....That was technically true.
Just as Kai had protected me while I was vulnerable, I had also protected Kai.
In fact, one could say that I had protected Kai more often.
However, I had done so only because I would also be in danger without Kai’s light.
I had never intended to help him grow stronger.
“More importantly, it was thanks to you that I survived that place.”
Kai bowed to me once again.
Did he remember what I had said at the mansion?
He did not say thank you.
In any case, because of the variable known as me, Kai’s growth had already surpassed what it had been in my previous life.
‘At this rate, he might actually surpass the Commander of the Frost Legion.’
The signs were already troubling, but it would be a problem if he genuinely surpassed him.
The Commander of the Frost Legion had practically been a nightmare.
And Kai might surpass even him?
Of course, I had already surpassed my former self from my days as Predator, but—
“Once again, I sincerely appreciate everything you have done for Lady Seraphia and the County.”
◆Kai’s Affinity toward you has increased!
◆Kai’s Affinity toward you has reached the [Trust] state.
◆A person in the [Trust] state completely believes in and relies upon you and will follow you in anything.
◆Kai will willingly accept personal losses for your sake.
I should avoid bringing him with me from now on whenever possible.
* * *
The chapel was filled with a quiet and reverent atmosphere. Soft candlelight placed along the walls illuminated the surroundings.
At the central altar stood a woman dressed in pure-white ceremonial robes. She calmly lowered her head as though offering a prayer.
Her name was—
Isolde Cordelia.
A princess of the Holy Kingdom of Cordelia and the 213th Saintess.
An attendant priest quietly approached the central altar.
“Your Holiness, I have something to report.”
At the attendant priest’s call, Isolde gently raised her head.
Her eyes resembled topaz. They silently waited for the attendant priest to continue.
“It is a report from the ‘Eye of the Pilgrim’, which has been monitoring the Lawless City.”
The Eye of the Pilgrim.
It was a secret order of knights belonging to the Holy Kingdom of Cordelia that monitored the activities of external heretical forces and anti-religious organizations while gathering intelligence.
Its members were spread throughout the continent and tasked with identifying and eliminating potential threats to the Holy Kingdom of Cordelia in advance.
“The head of the Predator Merchant Company has appeared in the Lawless City.”
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