Chapter 120: Lake – Conclusion

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“This side is more or less done.”

In the forest filled with the smell of grilled fish, Leon piled up the corpses of the Land Fish by swinging his staff.

“But… who is that over there?”

“He said his name is Trace. A professor of demonology at Steele. You’re the famous student with the staff incident, right?”

“Ah, yes… But why is the professor here…?”

“Do you guys want to be here?”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

While they were talking, Riley snapped his fingers on the other side. The mother Land Fish, which had been buried in Trace’s hardened earth tomb, was pulled out and instantly frozen. It turned into frozen bones and shattered into pieces with Riley’s snap.

Among the fragments scattering with a clear sound, a black stone appeared. Tsk. Riley clicked his tongue and crushed it under his foot.

“I’ve already contacted the nearest knight order… Sugar. Are you okay?”

On the other side, Ian sat in front of Sugar and asked. Not long after Riley arrived, Leon and Ian also showed up and were helping with the cleanup.

“Sugar?”

Sugar, who had been staring blankly ahead, sat still with her mouth slightly open. Her side was torn, her stockings were ripped, and there were scratches all over. Ian began to wash her wounds with water magic.

“Did you hit your head or something…”

Leon approached the two.

“Can you explain what happened? Giant fish came up to the land—”

“Land Fish.”

“Giant Land Fish came up to the land, well, they’re Land Fish so they’d come up to the land… Anyway, is it normal for them to attack people? Moreover, I saw some heretics at the forest entrance earlier. What on earth is going on?”

As Leon pressed for answers, Riley waved his hand dismissively. Leon sighed in dissatisfaction.

“She’s not in a good state. Let her rest and talk later.”

Countless mana orbs had covered the lakeside. She had attempted such bombardments three times. The last one misfired, though.

“You. How are you feeling?”

“…”

“Sugar.”

Sugar flinched. Riley knelt beside her, interlocking his fingers with hers.

“Ah…”

Only then did Sugar react. The mana flowing through their tightly clasped hands made her body tremble.

“R-R-R-Riley.”

“How many ‘R’s are there?”

“I-I’m fine. You don’t have to share your mana…”

“Be quiet.”

He tightened his grip and sent more mana. Sugar let out a soft moan at the slight discomfort. Her body felt full.

“It’s ridiculous. If your mana was leaking, you should’ve told me instead of relying on mana potions…”

Sugar had been careful to hide her condition from Riley. She hid mana potions in her waist bag to disguise the total amount. She covered the leaking points with mana to conceal them.

Without professional equipment, it’s impossible to perfectly grasp someone’s internal mana flow. So, she could roughly deceive him. Unless someone had eyes like Louveci, it was possible.

“And then you go crawling off somewhere alone?”

Sugar silently bowed her head. Driven by a sense of duty to set Riley free, Sugar had overexerted herself. If it were her from before, she would’ve grumbled and complained, or tried to avoid scolding.

But now, Sugar had no choice but to fumble for the truth. Hiding it was no longer useful.

“W-well… Venom… called me out here…”

“The snake? That snake from before?”

Sugar nodded and took out the box from her bag. The bag, which had been bulging and about to burst, finally relaxed.

At that moment, a snake crawled out from the shadows.

“What the! Why is there a snake there!”

Ian, who had been watching, was startled. Hearing about the snake, Trace and Leon also approached Sugar.

“So, the box. What’s inside? What led us all the way here?”

“Can we open it here? It’s the cause of the Land Fish’s growth…”

Sugar explained to her friends. The mother Land Fish that swallowed this grew, causing this incident.

Riley shook his head as he listened.

“It’s a bit different. There was a black stone among the bones of that big monster. Probably… the box was just a trigger.”

“What’s that? Then it’s like…”

It’s as if this was all planned.

Sugar swallowed her words.

The moment she brought out the box, it was set up to be swallowed. To cause a commotion. The black stone fed Land Fish waiting.

Did the cultists arrange this as some kind of gatekeeper?

The creature staring intently at Sugar was the snake. The pitch-black snake, barely visible, raised its head and just stared at Sugar.

“Venom… is this it?”

Sugar carefully handed over the box. The snake only flicked its tail.

“…I’ll open it.”

Then Riley reached out.

“Give it to me. I’ll open it.”

“No. It’s better if I do it. Especially if it’s related to the evil god, I should be the one.”

“Think about your condition.”

“I’m fine. You shared your mana with me. I’m not seriously hurt…”

“Change that mindset. Do you think you’re only seriously hurt if your limbs are broken? Even if they were, you’d still step up.”

“But I have to—”

“Sugar.”

“…”

While they were arguing, Trace took the box.

“You’d still be at it even after sunset. Give it here. I’ll open it.”

Before they could react, the box clicked open.

And. Trace’s eyes widened.

He was a mage who rarely showed emotion. But there were times when he did.

Trace stared blankly at the contents. Various emotions flashed across his face, but ultimately, he returned to calmness. A mask-like expression.

“Professor… what’s inside that’s making you react like that?”

When asked, the old mage silently handed over the box.

When Sugar took it, she soon locked eyes with it.

Gray eyes staring back at her. Two of them.

Sugar’s mouth slightly opened.

“This…”

Meanwhile, Venom crawled up to her. As if asking to see it too.

She couldn’t bring herself to pick it up, so she showed it to Venom while it was still in the box. And what happened next occurred in the blink of an eye.

The snake opened its mouth wide and swallowed one of the eyeballs.

At the sudden sight, everyone gasped. Then, the snake lay down on the ground, forming a circle.

It bit its own tail.

Gulp. Gulp. It slowly swallowed its own tail, its body.

Facing this self-destructive paradox, everyone was left speechless.

Soon, there was nothing left on the ground.

.

.

.

“This is why I hate heretics. Everything about them is absurd.”

On the way back, Leon spat out. It seemed like a soliloquy to sort out his feelings.

The four of them borrowed a carriage from the knights. Before the knights arrived, Trace asked to be treated as if he were never there and left. They’d meet again at Steele.

In a corner of the rattling carriage, Sugar was nestled in Riley’s arms. Firmly held in place by Riley’s arm, she couldn’t move.

In her small hand was the box. A box with only one eyeball left.

She still didn’t fully understand the final goal of the familiar or what the contents of the box meant. But she had obtained it.

She had to take it.

When the snake disappeared like that, the wound on her wrist also vanished. The mana leakage naturally stopped as well.

And so, this incident came to an end. For now, they’d rest. They decided to discuss the details later.

Sugar leaned her tired body against Riley. She felt the heartbeat against his warm, broad chest.

“Ah…”

Listening to it, her own heart raced as well. And then she remembered—

‘I don’t want you to leave my side.’

I thought I’d let you go someday. But what do I do if you say something like that?

The premise itself was denied. I thought I had to let Riley go, but that wasn’t what Riley wanted.

But I don’t know how to accept it.

Do you like me that much too? Can’t you bear to be apart from me?

I want to ask what you really mean, but I can’t open my mouth. It’s scary. Putting it into words, the thought of something changing, is terrifying.

I think I understand the reason for the marking a little now. Pretending to be clean, but you’re just as obsessive as me. It’s just that you’re not good at expressing it in words.

Heh. The corner of her mouth lifted.

‘What… why am I smiling… It’s not a good thing that we’re both obsessed with each other.’

She smiled without realizing it. Sugar quickly touched her cheek and lowered the corner of her mouth. But she couldn’t help the joy she felt.

Meanwhile, Riley’s hand slowly crept up to the nape of her neck. Ah. She was already sensitive from using so much mana.

“Riley… why do you keep touching my neck?”

Normally, he’d touch her lower abdomen or waist. It’s an easy spot to reach when she’s in his arms.

But today, he kept touching her neck. As if gauging something, he spread his palm wide and felt around.

“Can’t I touch you?”

“It tickles…”

Well, ticklish? She felt something strange. A subtle thrill, similar to when he touched her waist. She looked up at him with moist eyes, about to complain, when Riley muttered.

“There’s no part of you that isn’t weak…”

“Huh? What did you say?”

She didn’t hear him clearly, so she asked again, but Riley simply let go of her hand. He said, ‘I’ve finished the estimate,’ but she didn’t understand what he meant.

“Riley, you’re weird…”

“Maybe I am.”

“What’s that?”

She expected a retort like ‘You’re weirder,’ but his answer was unexpected.

“Let’s just sleep.”

Even as he said that, he subtly caressed her lower abdomen. But since she had gone out on her own today without understanding Riley’s feelings, Sugar decided to let it slide.

It had been a tiring day. It was still daytime, but they had been running since dawn. Let’s get some rest.

Sugar twisted her damp lower body and closed her eyes, entrusting her whole body to Riley.

Soon, a whisper of ‘Sleep well’ echoed faintly, and her consciousness melted away into a sense of relief.

***************

It’s an empty place. Or perhaps a full one.

A strange space that seems both dark and bright.

The woman in black floating there had stopped all actions and was waiting for only one being.

Soon, her loyal familiar arrived.

The snake used its tail to open its master’s eyelids. Then, it pulled out an eyeball from its stomach and placed it into the master’s empty eye socket.

“…Ah.”

Hoo, hoo— The woman began to breathe. Her limbs moved. Consciousness returned.

“Ah… Lunacy. You did well. Really. You worked so hard…”

Louveci, having regained her senses, adjusted the position of her eyes and immediately hugged her familiar.

The snake, which absorbs others’ mana to offer to its master. Forcing the conversion of mutually repelling mana is extremely inefficient. Yet, there was mana flowing abundantly within its body. The energy of the Saintess, unforgettable forever.

“Sugar… You’ve splendidly retrieved my eyeball. I look forward to seeing how you’ve grown…”

Of course, she wouldn’t be able to see it. Still, Louveci trembled as she stroked Lunacy—Venom. And then, she ‘saw’ another energy.

It felt like being pulled into the past. A rather unexpected person. Louveci flinched for a moment, then smiled.

“You were with her too…”

Back then. A disciple created on a whim. Seeing how the familiar willingly responded, it seems she hasn’t been forgotten.

“Then, it’s not the time to be idle.”

There’s a long way to go. Much to do.

Now that she can move, she must act busily.

The woman in black set off with her familiar. Though blind, as always, she gazed straight at her destination.