episode_0046

“… Where are you going?”

“Go west of the empire.”

After leaving House Eildarin, I turned my car around and headed towards the rugged terrain west of the Empire.

There is the workshop of Lehenna, one of the eight evils and a black magician.

I’m on my way to farm black magic items and grimoires in Rehenna’s workshop.

Since the workshop’s owner, Rehenna, died by my hand, the place is currently empty and uninhabited.

Warlocks mostly live alone, and their workshops are hidden away so that they are difficult to find from the outside.

You may wonder who would need a black magic item, but if you give it to Eri Astranor, the quality of your magic battles will improve.

In battles between wizards, information warfare is key.

Knowing their magic in advance will greatly change the outcome of the battle.

However, black magic items and their grimoires are sometimes contaminated.

So, I was planning to wait for the cooldown of the Heart Sword and slowly give it to the family after collecting the black magic items this time.

“Hey, are you feeling okay these days?”

“It’s okay.”

“But, last time too… … .”

Libra’s words brought back memories of the past.

After eating the red heart fruit, I suffered a bit because the side effect was that my whole body was feverish.

That must be the story of that day.

It seems I made you worry needlessly.

“Don’t worry about it. What happened last time was just a side effect of eating the red heart fruit that I won at auction.”

“… Yeah.”

The answer wasn’t very encouraging, but… there was no way to prove that I was healthy.

I just brushed it off as nothing serious.

How long did you run like that?

A harsh land stretching west from the center of the empire.

We reached the entrance to the place.

The rugged terrain with dizzying cliffs that greet them is reminiscent of the Roden Canyon, the stronghold of the Belmagor Cult that they saw last time.

There was a crucial difference there.

Unlike Roden Canyon, the cliffs were covered with dense forests that reminded me of a jungle.

For those who do shady things, there is no place more appealing than this.

“Get off here.”

After getting off the magic car, we immediately headed into the rough terrain.

The interior of the rugged terrain was full of creepy-looking bugs, perhaps because of the thick grass.

‘This is a bit burdensome.’

I glanced to the side and saw that Libra looked unfazed.

On the other hand, I feel like… I just want to quickly achieve my goal and get out of the forest.

Fortunately, it didn’t take long to find Rehenna’s workshop.

In the first place, she was also human, so she couldn’t settle down in such an absurd place.

“This is it.”

“… Cave?”

A huge cave where Rehenna’s workshop is hidden.

We arrived before a great mystery of nature.

“Go straight.”

As Rehenna is a warlock, she would have also installed safety devices using warlock magic in her workshop.

Aren’t there traps that cause all sorts of nightmares or mental attacks?

But it doesn’t work for me.

The trap’s target is the person walking at the very front, so from here on out, I took the lead.

“Go home, trap!”

“It’s okay.”

As soon as we entered the cave, a magic circle on the floor was activated.

Then, black smoke instantly enveloped my body.

[!] The Guardian’s Oath Ring resists mental attacks.

– Current contamination rate: 4.2%

All of them were solved by the effect of the Guardian’s Oath Ring.

The same thing happened after that.

– Current contamination rate: 10.6%

Three traps were triggered before I entered Rehenna’s workshop, but none of them posed a threat to my body.

The interior of the workshop was an extremely unpleasant interior.

The magic circles that filled the inside of the cave were dizzying.

The animal corpse placed on top of that magic circle looked like a sacrifice often used by black magicians.

Perhaps those magic circles are maintaining the magic that guards the entrance to the cave.

Because warlocks use sacrifices to channel magic that is floating in the air rather than their own.

Since that meant that the magic circles would activate again after some time, I just roughly kicked the magic circles away.

The corpses that were offered as offerings were also properly disposed of.

“… A strange smell.”

“This is the average for a warlock.”

Certainly, since he was a black magician who used animal corpses as sacrifices, the stench of rotting corpses was vibrating inside him.

“You can take things like grimoires. As long as you don’t open them, they’ll be safe. Black magic items might have curses on them, so I’ll take them.”

“Is it okay to use mental magic?”

“It’s okay to some extent.”

As long as the Guardian’s Oath Ring allows, I will not be subject to psychic attacks.

Since Rehenna’s workshop was quite large, we split into two groups to look around the inside.

As it was a black magic item that was not seen often, Libra also looked quite interested.

These items can be sold if you want, but it’s best not to try the standard route.

Because it’s something that will definitely catch Lois Goldwyn and others in the act.

If I sell it, I can get a lot of money for it, but… it would be better to give it to Eri so she can build up her knowledge.

Of course, I won’t give it to you for free.

“I’ve collected them all.”

“Yeah.”

After waiting for a while, it seems Libra has taken a turn around the workshop.

I also gathered the items I had collected while walking around the workshop in one place and roughly looked over the list.

After looking through it briefly, it seems like I have most of the items I was thinking of… but I can’t see one grimoire.

There must have been a grimoire containing the black magic of the psychic realm… … .

Well, it’s not really an important item.

“Then go out.”

“Yeah.”

We came out of the cave because we had achieved our goal.

The sun was already setting, so we left the forest and returned to the magic car before it was too late.

—

When I returned to the mansion, I first placed a curse on the items I had brought this time.

[!] The Guardian’s Oath Ring resists mental attacks.

– Current contamination rate: 94.2%

Actually, there is nothing you can ask me to do.

When I opened the book of grimoire, the curses that had seeped into it poured out, but they were all resisted by the effect of the Oath of Protection Ring.

Because the magic circle that has already been activated will lose its power and fall apart.

The amount of items was not that large, so it seemed like it would be finished within 3 days.

First of all, let’s stop here for today…

Here’s the problem:

I took out the item I bought at the auction house.

[Uncheol]

– Rating: Legendary

A fragment of a meteorite that fell from the sky

Cloud iron, a material used to craft higher-level weapons.

This is also a one-of-a-kind material item.

Since the materials were purchased for 200,000 gold at the auction house, you should entrust them to a trustworthy person when requesting the weapon to be made.

This part can be left to Lisiella Tierniel, one of the five major families who focuses on alchemy.

Tomorrow is the day that Lisiella is coming to our house.

Because the super regeneration potion that is created only through the vision of the Tierniel family can only be handled by high-ranking members of the family.

She and several other figures would regularly visit our household to personally deliver potions like this.

You can meet with Lisiella tomorrow and ask her to make the weapon for you.

Instead, I also thought about what I would pay her in return.

Because I know very well what she wants.

—

A quiet dawn.

Libra slowly got up from her room.

She began to act as if she had been waiting for silence to fall on the Calderon household.

What she was holding in her hand was a grimoire that still had a curse on it.

This time, a book of grimoires containing advanced mental black magic obtained from the black magician’s workshop.

She took the grimoire without Cain knowing and quickly left the house in case anyone saw her.

Within the family, there were people from the collateral line and servants within the mansion who kept watch.

Since the last assassin’s appearance, the security has been tightened even more.

It wasn’t particularly difficult for Libra to avoid being caught by this many people.

The place she arrived at with quick steps as if she was being chased by time was the fortune telling house in the center of the empire that she used to use.

Libra no longer has a shop, but… she still returns here occasionally to work as a witch.

Libra, who entered the store, immediately prepared a pot and boiled it with a magic catalyst.

The purple flames created by her magic burned the bottom of the cauldron.

I stirred it for a while until all the magic catalyst had dissolved, and soon bubbles began to boil.

The preparations for the curse are complete.

Libra dropped the grimoire into the cauldron without hesitation.

Then, black foam started to spurt out like crazy from the grimoire, dyeing the inside of the cauldron black.

“… … .”

Libra immediately emptied the pot, added the magic catalyst again, and started boiling the pot again.

Because you can’t tell if it’s all done in one go.

—

The day has dawned.

“Is Libra okay?”

“… … . Yeah.”

Since last time, I felt that Libra was sleeping more in the mornings.

Especially today, his swollen eyes looked like they had stayed up all night.

“If you’re tired, you can rest today.”

“Okay.”

If you stay next to me like that, I’ll get on your nerves.

I thought about sending it back by force, but I just left it.

Anyway, I have nothing to do today after finishing my interview with Lisiella.

at that time.

dripping-

“Are you here?”

“Kane, have you been waiting long?”

Lisiela Tierniel. She opened the door to her office.

“… This way?”

It had only been a year since Lisiella delivered a potion to our family, so Lisiella, who was seeing Libra for the first time, asked me.

“My escort.”

“Really?”

Lisiella, who had been looking back and forth between me and Libra, shrugged her shoulders and placed the potion she had brought on the desk.

“5 Super Regeneration Potions. Delivered.”

“Confirmed.”

A potion containing a red-tinged liquid in a luxurious glass bottle.

For me, who has consumed the red heart fruit, it is a useless item, but for others in the family, it is no different from the elixir of life that will save their lives.

Since this potion is made only with the vision technology of the Tierniel family, the number produced per month is limited.

Therefore, we purchase them regularly and fill our family storage.

“Oh right, Cain. You’ve been a mess lately, haven’t you? From what I heard… You blew up the Senate?”

“One left.”

“Huh… You’re not denying it?”

“Whatever you think, it’s your freedom.”

The nine dead elders of the Calderon family are said to have died fighting against the demon worshippers…

Anyone who knows anything about them knows that there is something suspicious about their deaths.

I just won’t say it out loud.

“Riciel, more than that. I have a favor to ask.”

“Kane you to me?”

I took out the fortune teller and showed it to her.

“This is part of the meteorite debris. I want you to make a sword out of it.”

“This is… … strangely shaped. This is my first time handling it. Is it okay?”

“It’s okay. It won’t be much different from other ores.”

“Then what? What about the compensation? By the way, you know that these special minerals can’t be bought with money, right?”

Smelting special minerals requires a lot of advanced magical catalysts.

Since you are forcibly refining an item that cannot be refined, a higher level catalyst is required.

The problem is that there is an absolute shortage of advanced catalysts, making it difficult to obtain them even if you have money.

“I know. If you make a weapon, I will do what you want most.”

“Oh… What is it?”

“The Senate of House Tierniel. I’ll take care of it.”

“… … What?”

Lisiella’s eyes opened wide.