episode_0005

Seeing Enna’s face slowly hardening, Asel quickly explained the situation he was in, before she misunderstood.

He took refuge in the slums, fleeing from his devil-worshipping parents. He was living there as a drug delivery person, and Evelyn originally worked in a factory, but now she was sick and needed medicine as soon as possible. He conveyed this as concisely as possible.

“So, becoming a disciple will be difficult. If I disappear, I’d have to leave my sister here alone.”

Asel cared for Evelyn quite a bit. If they had grown up normally, the two might have lived squabbling like any other siblings, but the environment Asel and Evelyn grew up in was not easy.

The village they lived in was a remote mountain valley with no name. People who visited were less than one or two a year, a closed group living only among residents.

Asel and Evelyn grew up experiencing all sorts of injustices there. They were beaten countless times, and they had to handle all the village chores, such as cleaning livestock manure and urine, chopping firewood, or fetching water.

Except for sleeping hours, they lived only by working like hell all day long. It was like being thrown into an environment where they had no choice but to rely on each other.

That relationship became even stronger after they left the village and settled in the slums. Therefore, Asel had no intention of leaving Evelyn here alone and just suddenly leaving.

“You’re a good younger brother.”

Enna said this with a sympathetic smile upon hearing Asel’s unfortunate life story. Then, she bent her knees and met his eyes.

“Don’t worry. If I take you as my disciple, I’ll take care of your sister too.”

“…Really?”

“Is there any reason why not?”

Enna smiled gently. She pushed back Asel’s hair, which was plastered to his face by the rain, and stood up.

“More importantly, you said you need to buy medicine for your sister right now, didn’t you? Let’s go. I have some medicine.”

“…Medicine?”

“An alchemist belonging to the same organization tends to give me various medicines frequently. Among them is a medicine that can cure any disease.”

Enna turned back to Asel and took out a few glass bottles clinking from her pocket. From bottles containing ominous black liquid to bottles half-filled with red, blue, yellow, and other elixirs. Enna floated them with magic, carefully sorted them, and then held a medicine filled with emerald-colored liquid in her hand, wearing a faint smile.

“Guide me.”

Asel stood blankly for a moment at her words, then, as if making a decision, began to walk ahead. Enna followed him, recalling the directions for taking the medicine the alchemist had told her.

It had been a long time since she walked with two feet instead of riding lightning.

*

Enna frowned for a moment when she saw the house Asel guided her to.

A shack on the verge of collapse, teeming with rats and bugs. The wooden walls gnawed by bugs had holes all over them, and the slightly sagging ceiling creaked precariously, as if it would collapse onto the house’s interior at any moment.

‘A person can even live in a place like this.’

Secretly admiring the adaptability humans possess, she followed Asel, who entered the house.

Passing through the wooden door, which was too embarrassing to call a front door, and entering inside, her eyes fell upon a small girl lying in the center of the living room. She was in a precarious state, sweating madly and convulsing in her limbs. Her face was not just red, but cooked like a fiercely heated lump of metal.

“Sister!”

Asel shouted, screaming, and ran towards Evelyn. He frantically tapped Evelyn’s shoulder and shouted her name, but there was no answer. She was just gasping for breath.

Even that was getting fainter. Her limbs couldn’t stay still, and her ragged clothes were stuck to her skin due to sweat. It was difficult to take them off, and there weren’t even clothes to change into in the first place. Asel gritted his teeth and removed the metal he had placed on Evelyn’s forehead. Like the warmed metal, Evelyn’s forehead was still hot.

“…Mage-nim.”

Asel called out to Enna with a look on the verge of tears. Even a child with an unusually sharp mind for their age, when facing the imminent death of a blood relative and unable to do anything, tends to revert to a child of that age. Enna looked down at Asel, full of worry and concern, and wore a faint smile as if to say ‘don’t worry’.

There was no reason to delay. Enna immediately opened the cap of the potion bottle she had taken out and slowly began to pour magic power into the interior.

Hwaaak!

As the pure magic power released without changing its properties touched the medicine, the emerald-colored reagent began to glow with a faint light. Enna poured in magic power until the light was on the verge of fading, and the moment it became slightly darker than before. She carefully poured the reagent into Evelyn’s mouth.

“…”

She slightly lifted Evelyn’s head to help her drink the medicine completely.

After confirming that Evelyn’s throat swallowed once, Enna nodded her head. Towards her, Asel asked in an anxious voice.

“…Is it over?”

“Ah, yes. If you wait about an hour, she’ll wake up soon. The medicine’s effect… it’s already circulating.”

Enna said, lightly stroking Evelyn’s forehead.

As she said, Evelyn’s rough breathing had returned to normal before she knew it. Her convulsing limbs also found their place, and aside from the beads of cold sweat, no additional sweat seemed to be flowing. Asel came close to Evelyn and only after confirming these things himself did he let out a sigh of relief.

“Haa…”

He plopped down nearby and wiped his face with his hand. Along with his face contorting with the movement of his hand, anxiety and fear slowly peeled away. If he hadn’t met Enna. If she hadn’t readily offered her goodwill, he probably would have lost Evelyn today.

Thinking so, Asel deeply bowed his head towards Enna, who was standing quietly and looking at him with soft eyes.

“Thank you. It feels like no amount of words will be enough. Truly, truly thank you.”

Enna wore a faint smile at Asel’s words of gratitude. She walked over to Asel’s side, sat down gently, and took off the hat she was wearing.

“You don’t need to thank me. It’s natural for a master to help her disciple, isn’t it?”

“…Master, you say.”

Asel asked back with a wry smile. At that reaction, Enna looked back at Asel with a look of ‘surely not’.

“…Surely you’re not saying you won’t be my disciple, are you?”

‘I thought I had gained some points by saving Evelyn, but is it still not enough?’ Enna thought to herself, feeling impatient.

Of course, she had no intention of showing off that she had saved Evelyn. It was because she could save her, she just saved her. If Enna had had no means whatsoever to save Evelyn, she wouldn’t have saved Evelyn. So, grumbling about this would be an act beyond a pricked conscience, reaching the level of having no conscience at all. Although she had experienced many things while living as a mage, human feelings remained in her.

‘Still, I thought I had built up some favor. Maybe not.’

Enna pouted slightly and weakly hugged the hat she held in her hand.

Just then, seeing Evelyn who began to stir a little, Asel opened his mouth.

“If you just let me, I want to do it. Being a disciple.”

“…! Really?”

“Yes. But I’m not sure if I have talent. Wouldn’t you just be disappointed if you took me along for nothing…?”

“Disappointed?”

Enna scoffed and looked back at Asel. Her eyes held an undisguised desire.

“For you to disappoint me, a development like, ‘Actually, I was a demon, and I clung to my master to suck up power,’ needs to happen. Unless that’s the case, you cannot disappoint me. That’s how special the talent you possess is.”

“…Is that so?”

“Of course. Furthermore, I’ve never seen anyone awaken magic on their own while watching a battle. Though you may not have fully realized it, that in itself is amazing. So…”

Enna patted Asel’s head with her hand and smiled.

“Let’s go together. I’ll teach you magic. I’ll show you the world.”

Enna reached out her hand to Asel. Asel gazed at that small, pure white hand for a moment, then let out a chuckle and extended his right hand.

***

“Ugh…”

Evelyn let out a groan and stirred. She squirmed while lying down for a while longer, then slowly began to open her eyes. Heavy eyelids covered her vision, but she forced herself to shake off the drowsiness by raising her body.

‘I always woke up right away, but why am I so tired today? Is it because I was sick and woke up?’

She let out a refreshing yawn and quickly looked around. Immediately after, her body stiffened abruptly.

“Oh, ohhh…”

The place reflected in her sight felt awkward. No, not just awkward, but alien. Evelyn had never in her life entered such a space. She touched the floor, which wasn’t just soft but felt addictively so, with her hand and began to quickly absorb information.

The overall space wasn’t very wide. At most, about the size of one master bedroom. But the walls, finished with high-quality wood, were letting her know that this space was definitely not the slums.

And what about the ceiling? It was decorated luxuriously overall, and lanterns emitting yellow light were brightly illuminating the space.

Warm sunlight was seeping into the interior of the space through the transparent window on the wall, and the scenery beyond the window was changing rapidly. Upon closer observation, it seemed to be moving. No, it didn’t just seem to be moving, it really was moving. Evelyn was startled and covered her mouth with her hand.

‘Kidnapping?’

Ominous imaginations arose in her mind. She recalled the situation just before she fell asleep and cast her gaze across the way. And in her eyes, she saw some strange pure white woman and Asel sitting there. Without even noticing that Evelyn had woken up, the two were earnestly talking about something.

“Detailed training will begin after we arrive in Wiheim. Before that, I’ll just tell you what Mana and Magic Power are.”

“Mana is the substance that forms the foundation of this world, and Magic Power is the power source that mages use to refine Mana and manifest magic. Is that right?”

“…What? How did you know?”

“I read a book that was in the carriage. It was written there.”

“You read a book? You can read?”

“It’s a small talent.”

The content of their conversation didn’t register. Only the sight of the two people was clearly reflected in Evelyn’s sight. Gasping for breath, just before fainting, she recalled the words Asel had spoken with a determined expression and opened her mouth.

‘He said he’d be back before sunset, he said he’d bring medicine! In the end, he sold himself to get the medicine cost?’

Tears welled up in Evelyn’s eyes. She glared at the paper the suspicious woman took out and bit her lip.

‘That paper must be a slave contract. If only I tear that up, Asel can be freed too.’ Evelyn thought so and shot up from her seat. At that large movement, only then did the two people notice that Evelyn had woken up.

“Sister!”

Asel shouted in a cheerful voice. Evelyn looked at him for a moment, then glared at Enna and spoke.

“Let Asel go! You witch!”

“Sister?”

“Huh?”

Asel spoke, his eyes wide, and Enna, who had intended to quietly watch the two reunite, tilted her head.

She gazed at Evelyn, who was glaring at her with a hostile gaze, and thought with a serious expression.

‘Maybe she’s not fully recovered yet?’

“Let him go! Witch!”

It seemed so.