episode_0040

“Good morning, Claire.”

East Tan Branch, above Harold.

At the butler’s knock, Claire sat up awkwardly on the bed.

A simple breakfast consisting of a salad and a few pieces of meat, ready to be served on the table.

Claire stands up and asks the butler.

“Have you tried it?”

“Yes. The maid in charge of meals has already done it… … .”

“But isn’t the color of the sauce different from yesterday?”

“Is that so? Let me check in the kitchen.”

“No. Just try it.”

“… Yes?”

“Try it.”

The butler who brought the food immediately frowned.

Claire didn’t miss that subtle change in expression.

“You will have only two choices. Eat. Or just kneel down.”

Claire’s finger takes aim precisely at the butler.

The butler moved towards Claire as if he felt wronged.

“Young-ae. It’s been over ten years since I’ve served you. If you don’t even trust me… … .”

“Don’t move. You know my magical talents better than anyone else.”

“Don’t you know? My entire family works as servants of the Harold family. There’s no reason for me to betray Claire… … .”

“Stop!”

Claire screamed in a fit of hysteria.

Damn it.

The butler’s footsteps stop.

Claire swallowed hard and opened her mouth to sob.

“One of two things. Put that food in your mouth or get down on your knees right there.”

The butler looked at Claire in vain.

It was a pitiful gaze, as if looking at a sick person.

“Claire, you seem very tired. You are so different from usual.”

That look on his face as if he was treating me like I was crazy.

Maybe the butler was right.

He had worked for Claire for many years and trusted her, which is why he brought her to Eastan.

It is also true that I am very tired.

The fact that she didn’t know when, where, or what would happen to her was driving Claire’s mind deep into a dark corner.

Maybe he’s going crazy.

As the doctor said, I might have some kind of damn illness called mana sensitivity or something that’s eating away at my mind.

nevertheless.

“Don’t come. Eat quickly. If you eat, everything will be solved. So eat!”

Claire trusted her own reason.

Even if your mind is broken, logic still works.

Even though my emotions were shattered, I could still think as long as my brain was working.

She was that kind of person.

“Then, as you command.”

The butler knelt down in his seat.

It was a behavior she had never shown in the ten years she had served him. She just picked up the sandwich on the plate.

The moment you put it in your mouth, there isn’t an inch of hesitation.

— Throb.

‘Am I really crazy?’

Claire’s eyes waver.

That moment.

— Pfft!

The butler’s new form shot forward in an instant.

On one side of his arm, the symbol of the Blood Regeneration Church shines bright white.

Claire outputted the magic she had previously cast on him.

It was a fire magic with uncontrolled output due to shock.

— Hwaruk

The smell of burning skin also lasted only a moment.

Only black ash piled up on the floor.

“Ahhh… … .”

Bam.

Claire sat down in vain.

◆

Rumors are going around.

The rumor about the real owner of the top quickly spread throughout the top because it was sensational in itself.

“Claire is crazy.”

“Last time, I think I spent tens of millions of kroner on some quack doctor in East Tan?”

“Isn’t it strange that you’re even staying in Easttan? Why are you leaving the capital of the empire and going to this remote countryside… … .”

What’s scary about rumors is that they distort facts.

Claire’s actions are distorted and are giving wings to the rumors. For a while, the ominous rumors about Claire started to spread.

—Whaaah!

A sweltering heat enveloped the building.

A flow of magical power so strong that it almost seems as if it is on fire.

The startled people hurriedly ran to Claire’s quarters.

“Oh, Claire! What the heck is this!”

They looked back and forth between the blackened ash and Claire.

They hesitated as if they were looking at Claire as a monster.

“… No.”

Claire muttered.

The shock didn’t allow my head to turn properly.

The fact that the butler who had been serving him was actually a traitor.

And the fact that the servants who were supposed to follow Claire were looking at her like she was a bug.

Everything was so hard to adapt to.

Even the mana hypersensitivity that Claire was suffering from drove her into a panic.

“Ah, no. This is, this human is trying to kill me—!”

“This… human? Could that pile of ashes be Butler Cain…? ”

“That, that!”

Claire’s eyes trembled violently.

She jumped out of her seat and ran out.

‘Fuck, fuck.’

Where should I go?

It’s been a long time since I’ve felt this much panic.

It would be the first time since all the porters and workers who had been assisting him at the warrior party died.

Lee Han helped me back then too.

He comforted and set her straight when she was heartbroken.

But now there is no limit.

I have to find it.

Lee Han.

Claire wandered, cornered by the cliff.

At one point, she arrived at the headquarters of the Seven Deadly Sins.

“Hey, Ilsal! Please let me meet Ilsal.”

Despite the urgent voice, the man manning the reception desk simply answered calmly.

“Ilsal is busy right now and doesn’t have time to meet Yeongae.”

“Where is that! How much money did I spend on you! Where is this! I’ll give you more, I’ll give you more money, so let me meet you right now!”

“But you did leave a note.”

“Note?”

“Yes. Lee Han… So, this is information about that person’s location. Would you like to hear it? It’s a bit pricey, though. ”

Claire clung to her staff as if she were a drug addict.

“Please, give me more. I’ll give you as much as you want. Right now.”

“Is it okay if it doubles the original commission amount?”

“I’ll give you as much as you want. So please… … !”

The corners of the staff’s lips rose slightly at Claire’s hanging.

Double the deposit.

It was clear that even the most senior of Harold’s subordinates would have a hard time affording that amount. Everything was going according to plan.

But there’s no way Claire, who’s lost her mind, could tell that fact.

The clerk smiled and handed me a small note.

“If you go there, you’ll probably meet him.”

It was a piece of paper with the address of the Social Sciences Research Institute printed on it.

◆

[ Social Science Research Institute ]

Three people are sitting at a table in front of an unnecessarily large reception desk.

“Lloyd. How long do I have to wait?”

The village chief knocks on the table as if he is frustrated.

That was understandable.

— We will invade Chilsaldae, the place that attacked the village chief’s village. Please come.

It’s already been three days since I heard those words and came to the lab to wait.

And yet Lloyd still.

“Please wait a little longer. Others will let us know when it’s time to move.”

Because they were just talking nonsense like that.

What the hell is that nonsense?

Anyway, Lloyd is Lloyd.

The village chief and Julia trusted him, so they waited for a while.

4 days later.

Julia, who had been drumming her fingers on the table, opened her mouth.

This was a bitter pill to swallow.

“Lloyd. How much longer do I have to wait?”

“Just a little more.”

— Boom!

Julia slammed the table roughly.

“When do you say it’s that urgent! I can’t stand it.”

“I agree.”

The village chief intervened from the side.

“Lloyd, if you don’t want to go, I’ll go alone, so if you want, follow me!”

As she stands up, the village chief also stands up from his seat.

“A warrior doesn’t wait. I’ll join you.”

The moment the two who had been throwing tantrums were about to leave together.

— Smart.

There was a knock on the laboratory’s door.

“I’m going out.”

Lloyd stands up calmly.

He passes by the village chief and Julia, who are standing there blankly, and stands in front of the door.

“Who are you?”

“… I would like to entrust you with a commission.”

A voice of endless helplessness was heard.

It’s a familiar voice.

Lloyd bit his lower lip.

Because it was the first time I heard this voice in this life.

— It’s revenge. It’s time for revenge. Are you just going to watch this? I’ll lend you my strength. You can blow up that girl’s upper body as you wish. Take my hand.

Ortega pops up after a long time.

Lloyd took a tranquilizer out of his pocket and chewed it.

‘I need to go buy some medicine.’

There are only a few sedatives left now.

It seems like it’s time to start being careful about misuse, but for now, it’s probably better to focus on handling the task at hand.

Swallowing the bitter taste of the sedative, Lloyd opened the door.

— Squeak.

A door that opens slowly.

The first thing that catches your eye is the bright red hair.

A hair color that is so intense and familiar at the same time.

Ugh.

A part of Lloyd’s heart flutters as if he had been punched. But isn’t it the tranquilizer he took for this? Soon, the trembling in his heart calms down.

“Hey, is this the Social Science Research Institute?”

On the other hand, the voice of the other person was trembling beyond compare.

Green eyes that have lost their shine, unlike in the past.

And the center of gravity was so unbalanced that it seemed like it would topple over at any moment.

It’s a familiar, infinitely familiar look.

Lee Han’s childhood friend, a member of the warrior party, and one of the people who drove him to death.

Claire Harold.

She was standing at the door.