Chapter 94. Archmage of the Coalition Forces (1)
Iliana flinched at my words.
“W-Who are you....?”
Iliana’s eyes darted from side to side in bewilderment.
At that very moment—
“Do you know her?”
Kai suddenly asked me.
“And why did you suddenly snap to attention when you saw her?”
“....Hmm?”
At Kai’s words, I looked down and discovered that my body had stiffened into a rigid attention stance.
....I had not noticed it at all.
In other words, it had been a natural reflex. It was a habit from my time in the Coalition Forces.
That was understandable, considering Iliana was the Commander of Mage Command.
As a commander, she held a far higher rank than me, the Special Warfare Unit’s Covert Operations Commander.
My first encounter with Isolde had turned into a fight, which was why I had reacted differently to her.
Had I met her like this, my reaction would not have been much different.
I consciously relaxed my rigid posture.
“....Ah, forgive me. You look remarkably similar to someone I know.”
However, I could not help speaking respectfully to her.
Iliana looked remarkably young. She was actually younger than me.
To me, however, she was still the Commander of Mage Command.
Kai, who knew nothing about that, was contorting his face into an indescribably peculiar expression.
“B-But how do you know my name....?”
Iliana asked while regarding me with considerable wariness. As expected of the future Archmage, she was remarkably perceptive.
Ah, to hell with it.
“Is the medicine complete?”
I simply played dumb and glossed over her question.
Even if I beat Iliana to death, I could never defeat her in a battle of intelligence and logic.
“Y-Yes....? Ah, yes.”
“Didn’t you manufacture the medicine for my commission?”
“I-I did receive a commission to manufacture medicine, but....”
Iliana’s eyes moved from side to side before her body flinched again.
Apparently, she felt uncomfortable with the gazes of three men focused upon her.
Sure enough, Iliana answered in a voice that gradually grew quieter.
“I received the commission from the Merchants’ Guild....”
“This impressive gentleman commissioned us to handle it. We were effectively acting as subcontractors.”
Edlen tactfully answered her.
“W-What?”
Iliana’s small shoulders flinched once again.
“Th-Then....?”
“You may deliver the medicine to Lord Adrian here.”
“....Adrian?”
Iliana repeated my name and sank into thought. She repeatedly tilted her head as though she had heard it somewhere before.
“Don’t tell me! Are you the person selling monster meat?!”
Iliana exclaimed with widened eyes.
Apparently, the rumors had reached not only the Holy Kingdom but also the Langrid Mage Tower.
“That’s correct.”
“How did you remove the madness from the monsters?!”
Iliana exclaimed, her eyes filled with astonishment.
The hesitant behavior she had displayed only moments ago had disappeared completely, and her face now overflowed with curiosity.
“I’ve researched it extensively, but the best I could do was formulate a few hypotheses!!”
Iliana was still Iliana.
Whether in the past or the present, she remained filled with magical curiosity.
“Could I receive the completed medicine first?”
“....Yes? Ah, y-yes.”
Iliana answered with a somewhat disappointed expression. She then extended her hand into empty space.
With a swoosh, the air swallowed her hand.
It was subspace magic.
I had grown accustomed to my Inventory, but subspace magic was still high-level magic.
It was not something a newly appointed Apprentice Mage should have been capable of using.
Nevertheless, Iliana manipulated subspace magic with practiced ease.
“I put it somewhere around here.... Ah! Here it is.”
Iliana pulled her hand back.
A red bottle emerged in her grasp.
The potion was as red as though raging flames had been compressed within it.
“As for its effects, I attempted to alleviate the symptoms described in the commission as much as possible....”
Iliana began explaining various things about the medicine’s effects.
However—
“By deliberately retaining the medicinal ingredients’ side effects, it reverses the thermal energy deficit and grants heat resistance. Furthermore—”
....I could not understand a single word.
Judging from her explanation, Iliana seemed to have created it herself.
‘Then its effectiveness is guaranteed.’
After all, Iliana was Iliana.
She was an Alchemist beyond comparison with someone like Avarus and an Archmage proficient in every field of Arcane Studies, not merely Alchemy.
There was a reason she had been called the [Mage of Truth].
“....And those are the effects of this medicine.”
Apparently, her explanation had finally ended, and Iliana paused to catch her breath.
I had not understood a word she said, but—
“Edlen.”
At my call, Edlen snapped out of his daze.
He rummaged around before retrieving a large chest from the safe.
“Here is the remaining balance of five hundred thousand gold.”
Iliana glanced around self-consciously as she stood before the chest.
She then stored the chest in her subspace.
“Then I’ll be leaving.”
Iliana immediately turned and left the shop.
“Wait a moment.”
Creak—!
At my call, Iliana froze while opening the shop door.
“You need to give me the medicine before you leave.”
“....Ah! R-Right!”
Iliana scurried back over and carefully handed me the medicine she had been cradling against her chest.
She then bowed.
“Th-Then....goodbye.”
Iliana turned to leave the shop again.
“Wait a moment.”
Creak—!
At my second call, Iliana stopped once more.
“If you have time, would you like to try some monster meat?”
“....Y-Yes?”
“Weren’t you curious about how I removed the monsters’ madness?”
“W-Well....”
“A single observation is worth more than thousands of theories.”
Those were words Iliana had spoken in my previous life.
“Ah, well....”
Iliana hesitated briefly before speaking.
“I don’t have....any money.”
....She had no money?
Of course, I had no intention of charging her.
“Didn’t you just receive the commission fee?”
It had been five hundred thousand gold at that.
That was an enormous sum—enough to eat Rex meat until one was full for an entire month.
Yet she claimed to have no money?
“That isn’t m-my money....”
....Well, that was true.
The commission had been made with the Endowed Chair Mage responsible for supervising Iliana.
However—
‘Something is strange.’
Something about this was exceedingly strange.
Iliana appeared to have personally made the medicine.
Shouldn’t she receive some form of performance bonus for that?
“I won’t charge you. I would like to treat you as thanks for making the medicine.”
“R-Really?!”
Iliana’s blue eyes became perfectly round.
Despite trying not to show it, she appeared to possess an enormous amount of magical curiosity about monster meat.
“Th-Then....!”
“Could you go ahead to the Predator Restaurant in Freche’s central plaza? I’ll follow you shortly.”
“Ah, yes! I’ll go on ahead!”
Iliana answered energetically before hurrying out of the shop. I silently watched until she had completely disappeared from sight.
“Edlen.”
“....Yes?”
“You did well.”
“....Pardon?”
Edlen tilted his head.
He apparently had no idea what he had done well.
“Um.... Did this humble servant do something well?”
He had done far more than merely well.
“That was extremely nice.”
By placing the Alchemy commission with the Endowed Chair Mage responsible for Iliana, Edlen had created an opportunity for me to meet Iliana naturally.
How much money would I otherwise have needed to spend to meet her?
I could not say for certain, but I probably would have needed to prepare tens of millions of gold.
I would have had to bow and scrape before the Langrid Mage Tower as well.
Yet Edlen had created this situation with only one million gold.
The word “nice” naturally escaped my lips.
However, Edlen apparently had not expected me to praise him so highly.
“Hehe, it is an honor!”
Since I said he had done well, he simply accepted the praise with delight.
After thoroughly praising Edlen—
“Edlen, can you investigate the supergenius Endowed Chair Mage who accepted this commission?”
“Of course! What aspects would you like me to investigate?”
“Find out everything you possibly can, including his past conduct, his reputation within the Mage Tower, and his recent activities.”
“Yes! I will investigate him as quickly and accurately as possible!”
“I’ll leave it to you, then.”
I did not forget to provide him with a generous bonus.
Strictly speaking, however, Edlen was not actually my subordinate.
Therefore, “bonus” was not quite the appropriate term, but regardless—
“First, my loyalty belongs to money! Second, it belongs to Lord Adrian!!”
Leaving behind Edlen, who folded himself into a 180-degree bow, I exited the shop.
At that moment—
“What was that?”
Kai, who had followed me outside, abruptly questioned me.
“What now?”
“I’m talking about that woman.”
“Commander Iliana— No, what about Lady Iliana?”
Kai’s eyebrow twitched.
“You treated her completely differently from how you usually treat people.”
“So what’s the problem?”
“It isn’t necessarily a problem, but perhaps....”
Kai looked meaningfully at me.
“Have you taken a liking to that woman?”
He began spouting insanity.
“Is that your preference?”
What kind of insane nonsense was this bastard talking about?
“Then what about the Saintess?”
“....What?”
“Weren’t you in that kind of relationship with the Saintess?”
I had told him to use his imagination, but he had activated his insanity instead.
“It isn’t like that.”
“Was the Saintess not your type?”
“I said it isn’t like that. And why do you keep talking about my ‘type’?”
“To be honest, you used to pursue one woman after another without discrimination. I assumed that being female was your only requirement.”
“What are you—”
....Ah, it had not been long since Kai last knew me as a delinquent.
“However, now that I think about it, you never once slept with a woman.”
Well, that was true.
To be honest, I did not remember much about my delinquent days.
Therefore, I had no memories of pursuing one woman after another, as Kai had described.
Nevertheless, I knew why I had never slept with any of them.
It was because of Father’s influence.
As a noble Count, Father placed tremendous importance upon bloodlines.
In other words, he would never have permitted me, his eldest legitimate son, to carelessly sleep with another woman.
He had somehow tolerated my gambling and debauchery.
After all, I was still his flesh and blood.
However, precisely because I was his flesh and blood, he would never tolerate me carelessly mixing that blood with someone else’s.
Because of Father’s influence, I had lived a life of gambling and debauchery, yet had never once slept with a woman.
To avoid becoming involved in sexual situations, I had never even allowed maids to assist me while bathing.
“I had been wondering why. Was it because none of those women suited your preferences?”
Kai, who knew nothing about those circumstances, continued misunderstanding the situation however he pleased.
“A timid and introverted personality. A small and petite physique. A cute appearance. I certainly never saw anyone like that in the County.”
What kind of insane nonsense had this bastard been spouting all this time?
Furthermore, he only said that because he did not know Iliana.
Iliana was absolutely neither timid nor introverted.
There was no way the Commander of Mage Command, the greatest military power of the Coalition Forces, could possibly be timid and introverted.
However—
The Iliana I had just met had been remarkably timid and introverted.
‘It was strange.’
She was completely different from the Iliana I remembered.
Considering that Isolde had been exactly the same as in my previous life, this was undeniably strange.
“It isn’t like that.”
“Are you certain?”
“Interest in a woman doesn’t always have to be romantic.”
“Then what kind of interest is it?”
“You don’t need to know.”
Kai once again looked meaningfully at me.
“Usually, when there is interest between a man and a woman—”
“According to that logic, you and Seraphia must be in that kind of relationship too.”
“....I misspoke.”
Kai immediately understood and apologized. Still, this bastard truly was difficult to understand.
To be honest, I had wondered whether Kai romantically loved Seraphia.
Otherwise, it was difficult to explain that degree of loyalty.
There was no other apparent reason for Kai to be so utterly obsessed with Seraphia.
I had therefore assumed that his behavior might stem from romantic affection for her.
‘But that doesn’t seem to be the case.’
At least, that was how it currently appeared.
Of course, Kai might simply be concealing his feelings for Seraphia.
Alternatively—
He might not realize that what he felt was romantic affection.
But who could possibly understand what went on inside a madman’s head?
Wouldn’t understanding that make me a madman as well?
“Enough of this pointless nonsense.”
I handed the medicine to Kai.
“As you saw, I still have matters to handle in Freche. Kai, take the medicine back to the County.”
Kai accepted the medicine as though it were more precious than his life.
Frankly, he probably would not have handled his own life with that much care.
“And when you arrive at the County, you’ll find some unfamiliar recruits.”
“Recruits....?”
“You’ll understand when you see them. You wouldn’t believe me even if I explained.”
“That depends on what you tell me—”
“Enough. You’ll be responsible for their basic military training.”
Kai was the Chief Knight of the White Wolf County.
Operational command and the training of soldiers were also among his responsibilities.
Furthermore, Kai was a madman whose chivalry was every bit as exceptional as his loyalty.
The Soldiers of Frost had possessed extraordinary combat prowess in my previous life.
Considering that Kai had trained every last one of them, he was a reliable enough knight to entrust with the Visters’ basic military training.
‘It would be difficult to kill Kai now anyway.’
Immortal Link [E] was part of the reason, but the proper course of action regarding Seraphia had also become somewhat ambiguous.
What if Ian was currently drawing the Emperor’s attention?
It would be quite some time before I heard Ian’s regrets.
Of course, that might not be the case.
It was merely a hypothesis based upon my speculation.
Therefore, as things stood, the situation was quite literally “ambiguous”.
I might as well put Kai to work like this.
Of course, whether he would follow my orders was an entirely separate matter.
Perhaps it was because his Affinity was currently at [Trust].
“Understood.”
Kai did not voice a single complaint.
* * *
The Predator Restaurant was the most popular restaurant in Freche.
As a result, it was usually packed with customers.
Today, however, that was not the case.
Adrian had declared that business was over for the day and sent everyone away.
The nobles had wailed and caused an unbelievable commotion because of it.
Nevertheless, Adrian had not budged.
As though today were reserved exclusively for Iliana, he had driven everyone else away.
‘W-Why is he going this far....?’
To be honest, Iliana had never expected to receive such an extravagant welcome.
He had said it was his way of treating her for making the medicine, but she had merely manufactured it after accepting an Alchemy commission.
The commission fee had been more than sufficient.
In fact, it had been excessive.
In other words, she had already received compensation. Therefore, Adrian had neither the need nor the reason to treat her like this.
More fundamentally, why would he treat someone he had only just met?
‘And how did he know my name?’
No matter how much she thought about it, she had never introduced herself first.
More importantly—
‘W-Why does he keep staring at me....?’
Why did Adrian keep looking at her from across the room?
And why were his red eyes so intense?
‘He’s frightening....’
What if he intended to devour her?
Or perhaps he intended to use her as an experimental subject.
What if he planned to abduct her without anyone ever realizing what had happened....?!
Perhaps—
Adrian used monster meat to lure people away and kidnap them.
Perhaps countless abducted people were imprisoned in the underground dungeons of the White Wolf County, where they endured horrific torture and experimentation every day.
Perhaps he combined humans and monsters to create grotesque creatures.
Perhaps he transformed people into monsters using forbidden drugs. Perhaps he exchanged the souls of monsters and humans!
What if monster meat itself had been created through such experiments?
Come to think of it, wasn’t Adrian infamous as a “delinquent”?!
What if her curiosity had driven her straight into a Dragon’s lair?!!
‘C-Calm down. I need to calm down....!’
Iliana repeatedly stroked her chest with trembling hands.
Was there not a saying that one could survive even after being dragged into a Dragon’s lair as long as one remained calm?
Iliana slowly released her ragged breaths.
At the same time, she calculated 63,455 escape simulations inside her mind, but—
‘If necessary, I can use Teleportation Magic.... Ah! I haven’t set spatial coordinates in Freche....! A dimensional portal consumes too much Mana, and it would be even more dangerous if the spell were interrupted halfway through....!’
Every possible means of escape ended in failure within Iliana’s mind.
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